152 A Defcription of HEREFORDSHIRE. 11 hundreds, contains about 660,000 acres, has one city, two parliamentary boroughs befides, five other markettowns, and 176 parishes, and fends eight. members to parliament. Its chief rivers are the Monow, Wye, Lug, and Frome, which abound with falmon, especially the Wye, that are always in feafon. The air is healthful, and the people commonly live to a great age, infomuch that ferjeant Hofkins of this county, having entertained K. James I. at his houfe, gave his majesty the diverfion of a maurice dance by 5 old men, and as many women, whofe ag. s toThe foil is gether made up 1000 years. every where exceeding fruitful, producing plenty of excellent grain, and intermixed with rich paftures, which feed abundance of cattle, especially theep, whofe wool is very much esteemed. The wheat and barley are fo good, that the Lemiter bread and Weobly ale are thought to exceed all in England. Here are alfo fome medicinal fprings, and quarries of excellent marble. But what renders this county particularly remarkable is its great plenty of fruit of all forts, efpecially apples, from which they annually make such vaft quantities of cyder, as not only to ferve themselves, it being the general drink of the inabitants, but also to furnith London, and other parts of England; their Readftreak, a fort of apple bearing that name, being exceedingly cfteemned. The places of chief note, as mentioned above, are, April 1060, but rebuilt, as fome fay, in the Conqueror's reign, and others, in that of. K. Henry I. It is a beautiful, magnificent ftructure; and the bishop's palace, the clofe with the dignitaries houses, and the college of the vicars and chorifters, are pleasantly fituate. The city is pretty large, but the houses old, and the people A few, their chief manufacture being gloves. The markets are on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays; it is governed by a mayor, 6 aldermen, a common council, &c. and fends two members to parliament. B 2. Weobly, or Webley, about 5 miles. N. W. from Hereford, an antient borough by prefeription, that fends two members to parliament, elected by the inhabitants who pay foot and lot, and returned by the conflables. It has a mean market on Tuesdays, and is chiefly noted for fine ale. 3. Lemster, or Leominster, 7 miles N. E. of Weobly, a large, antient and pleafant town, feated in a rich foil, on the Criver Lug, over which it has feveral bridges. The houfes are tolerably built, and it is a great thorough-fare to and from London. It is governed by a bailiff, high-fteward, recorder, 25 capital burgeffes, &c. and fends two members to parliament. Their chief commodity is cloth and gloves. It has an old large church, and its market is on Friday, of great account for corn, cattle, fheep, wool, hops, &c. It is chiefly noted for its fine wool, known by the name of Lemfter wool, which the inhabitants call Lemfter ore; as alfo for its fine wheat and flour. D 1. Hereford, 101 computed, and 131 measured miles N. W. from London, an antient city, thought to be founded by the Saxons in the time of Edward the Elder, as the name is of Saxon original, fignifying the ford of an army, which well fuits with the fituation, the Severn being E for hundreds of years the frontier between the English and Welth, almost ever at war with each other, in which this place fuffered fo much, that at the Norman invafion it was almost in ruins. They re F built it, and for its defence erected a 4. Kyneton, 11 miles S. W. of Lemfter, a pretty large, well-built town, with a very good market on Wednesdays. It has a free-fchool, and its chief trade is in narrow cloths. 5. Pembridge, 6 miles E. of Kyneton, a fmall town, with a market on Tuefdays, tho' not very confiderable. 6. Bramyard, 13 miles E. of Pembridge, has a market on Mondays. 7. Lidbury, miles S. of Bramyard, a well built town, feated in a rich, clayey foil, and much inhabited by clothiers, who drive a great trade here. It has an hofpital well endowed, and a good market on Tuesdays. 8. Rofs, 8 miles S. W. of Lidbury, a well built populous town, commodiously feated in a fertile foil, and made a free borough by K. Henry III. It has a market on Thursdays, very confiderable for corn, cattle, and provifions, and much reforted to by the inhabitants of Gloucestershire and Monmouthshire. JOURNAL 153 1754 JOURNAL of the PROCEEDINGS and DEBATES in the POLITICAL CLUB, continued from p. 114. In the Debate upon the Army begun in S gentlemen have objected abroad, nay, that there is not at prefent fo much as a fufpicion of any dif turbance, if such a large number of troops be now neceffary, the fame number must always be neceffary, which is a doctrine I fhould tremble A to fee established by the majority of an incorrupt and independent parlia ment. Again the largenes of the "I am really furprifed, Sir, to hear Α B number of troops propofed to be kept up for the enfuing year, and have given very ftrong reafons for fupporting their objections, I waited for fome time to hear what anfwer could be made to those objections, and if I had heard any thing like an answer, or any tolerable reafon given for keeping up fuch a numerous army of mercenary troops within this ifland in time of peace, C I fhould have given you no trouble upon this occafion; but as no anIwer has yet been made, I think myfelf obliged to call upon those gentlemen who are for fuch a dangerous and expenfive measure, for, I hope, they will not allow the quel- D tion to be put, without attempting at least to answer the objections that have been made. Whatever affurance they may have of the question's being carried in favour of the number they propofe, yet in common decency, and out of that refpect E which gentlemen owe to one another, they ought to give the house fome reafons for their being of a different opinion from thofe gentlemen who have moved for a leffer number. What those reasons may be I am very much at a lofs to conjecture; for as the Hon. gentleman who moved for F this large number told us, that every thing is quiet at home, and as we have from the highest authority been informed, that every thing is quiet E- of E April, 1754. fome gentlemen to be whigs, or that act upon revolution principles, and yet at the fame time declare for keeping always up fuch a numerous army of mercenary troops; for every one knows, that both the revolution and our prefent happy eftablishment were founded upon the principle of refiftence; but by keeping up fuch an army they will make refiftence not only ridiculous but mad; nor can the mildness of his majesty's government, or the fecurity we have from his juftice and moderation, be made an argument in favour of fuch a measure, but on the contrary it is an argument against it; for, like Q. Elizabeth, he may point to people in the streets and fay, Thefe are my guards: Upon thefe I can depend for defence against all my enemies, either foreign or domeftick. And I am fure the old pretence of Jacobitifm can now furnish no argument for keeping up a numerous army in time of peace; for they met with such a rebuff in their last attempt, that, I am convinced, they will never make another, whilst our fovereign poffeffes, as his majefty does, the hearts and affections of all the rest of his fubjects, especially as they must now be convinced that, however much France may encourage them to rebel, fhe will never give them any effectual affiftance. Thus, Sir, it is not now poffible to draw an argument for keeping up U fuch 154 PROCEEDINGS of the POLITICAL CLUB, &c. April B fuch a numerous army from any circumstance at home, and it is equally impoffible to draw fuch an argument from any circumstance abroad. Last year, it is true, a birth in one place, and a death in another, furnished fome of my old freinds with a pre- A tence for changing their opinion, and differing from me upon the fubject of our army: Whether or no they will now return to their old opinion is more than I know, but I am fure the fame pretence cannot now be made ufe of; for the French are fo far from having reaped any benefit from the birth of a dauphin, that they feem to be more divided and diftracted than they were before; and the Dutch government is now refettled upon as firm a bafis as it was before, with this additional ad- C vantage, that the known wifdom of the princefs governante will in all human probability fecure its internal tranquillity during her life, and probably increafe its vigour and activity, as the liberties of that people, of which they are fo wifely jealous and D to gloriously tenacious, can never be fuppofed to be in danger under her administration. I know, Sir, it may be faid, that tho' the European fky appears now to be perfectly ferene, yet it is extremely liable to fudden fquawls, E and therefore we fhould be always provided with fuch a number of regular troops, as may enable us to fend our ftipulated quota to the affiftance of any of our allies that fhall happen to be attacked. But we all know, Sir, that there is not one of our al- F lies that in fuch a cafe would infift upon our fending our troops: They would gladly accept of an equivalent in money or in fhips of war. And as to wars upon the continent of Europe, fhould we ever have the miffortune to be engaged as principals G in another, I fhall never be for carrying it on by a large body of nati. onal troops, because we can always get foreign troops to hire, and with 3 the fame fum of money that the tranfporting and maintaining a body of our own troops abroad will coft us, we may hire double the number of foreign troops. This therefore should be our adopted measure in every war upon the continent of Europe, and if any fuch war fhould foon happen, our adopting this measure will be abfolutely neceffary; for as a pretty certain conjecture may be made how the feveral powers of Europe will ftand affected in fuch a war, I have been at the pains to make the calculation, and I think it is evident, that the powers who may probably be allied against us, will have a greater number of troops to bring into the field, than can now be brought by thofe powers that may probably be engaged in an alliance with us. In fuch a cafe would it not be ridiculous in us to fend 20,000 of our own troops to join our allies, inftead of joining them with 40,000 foreign troops, which would put us to no greater expence ? This alone, Sir, is a fufficient reafon for our refolving never to carry on any war upon the continent of Europe, by fending thither a large body of national troops; but there are feveral others. A balance of power in Europe is certainly a confideration that may often engage as, at leaft as allies, in a war upon the continent, but with refpect to this ifland it is as certainly a foreign, and a very remote confideration; therefore if we fhould hereafter find it neceffary to spend our money for the fupport of it, I hope we fhall for the future take care not to spill our blood. We know what a diftrefs is brought upon agriculture, and upon every fort of manufacture, by a large augmentation of our army: We know how our streets and highways are filled with thieves and robbers by the dif banding of that army; and we know what a lafting expence is brought upon the publick by half pay to gentlemen who have neglected or for faken |