Pitt, as if left behind in the race, again resumed it; asked Lord Barrington if he would presume to say that there were actually 3000 men in arms in America? would he add paper to paper? He himself should pity Lord Loudun, if stated as a commander of sufficient force! He professed being hostile to no man, was friendly to his King and country; but the inadvertence of his Majesty’s Ministers had brought his age to the brink of destruction--yet it was no comfort to look back and blame; it was a pleasure to try to be of service. There had been a long series of ignorance, and incapacity, and collusion, since the treaty of Aix; our Ministers had gone on, hardly complaining, quite acquiescing! Lord George Sackville spoke very sensibly on the situation of affairs, with some reproof on Ministers, but charging more on the defects of the constitution of our colonies, which ought to have one power established there, as the French government in their settlements is one. On the Pensylvanian Quakers he was more sharp, and with great reason; they had defeated every plan of defence, were careless against the French, acrimonious out of season against their Governor, and had passed a Militia law, which they meant should be ineffectual. The estimate, amounting to 81,000_l._, was voted without a division. The next day, Lord Barrington moved for leave to bring in the Bill, and explained the restrictions it was to contain. Pitt thanked the Ministry for having departed from their first plan, which had been calculated to consist entirely of foreigners: yet he ascribed the honour of this mitigation to the opposition made, and said, that ever since they had heard the first objections, the Ministers had been trying to play with poison and dilute it, yet still it was poison. If others would take it for a remedy, let the Bill be brought in; though he had thought it wrong from the first concoction. He charged the plan as a violation of the Act of Settlement, on which supposition this and all the following Debates rolled. He said, he heard that we wanted Dutch engineers for sieges--what sieges had the Dutch made? English officers had behaved everywhere with lustre--the Dutch nowhere. Were Dutch engineers of such value, that we should _pro tanto_ repeal the Act of Settlement?--but wanted! were officers wanted? was it a symptom of scarcity of officers, when you have just broken a brave[52] officer, distinguished with marks of two wounds, and by the applause of the Duke; and who was cashiered for nothing but his vote in Parliament!