The Militia Act 1802 (42 Geo. 3. c. 90) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom affecting the Militia, a locally raised force for home defence. It applied to England and Wales, with Scotland covered by the Militia (Scotland) Act 1802 (42 Geo. 3. c. 91), and Ireland by the Militia (Ireland) Act 1802 (43 Geo. 3. c. 2). Subsidiary acts dealt with the City of London, the Cinque Ports, and the Stannaries, which had special legal requirements.
Background Following the restoration of Charles II in 1660, Parliament passed several acts empowering the lord-lieutenant of each county to appoint officers and raise men for the English Militia. In 1662, the City of London Militia Act 1662 (14 Cha. 2. c. 3) was passed, which codified the power of [lord-]lieutenants of places in England and Wales to raise the militia.
Following the formation of Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707, the English Militia was transformed into the British Militia. The militia's usefulness as a military force, never great, declined thereafter, until by the middle of the 18th century it required a major overhaul. This was achieved by the Militia Acts 1757–1762, passed as a response to the threat of a French invasion during the Seven Years' War. In 1796, the Militia Act 1786 (26 Geo. 3. c. 107) was passed, which consolidated the law regulating the British Militia.
Following the formation of the United Kingdom in 1801, Parliament brought forward bills to consolidate acts relating to each of the English, Scottish and Irish militias.
Passage Leave to bring in the English Militia Bill was granted to the Secretary at War, Charles Philip Yorke , the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Henry Addington , Robert Steele and George FitzRoy, 4th Duke of Grafton, , on 13 April 1802. The bill had its first reading in the House of Commons on 13 April 1802, presented by the Secretary at War, Charles Philip Yorke . The bill had its second reading in the House of Commons on 14 April 1802 and was committed to a committee of the whole house, which met and reported on 15 April 1802, with amendments. The amended bill was re-committed to a committee of the whole house on 17 May 1802, which met on 17 May 1802 and reported on 18 May 1802, with amendments. The amended bill had its third reading in the House of Commons on 20 May 1802 and passed, with amendments.
The amended bill had its first reading in the House of Lords on 21 May 1802. The bill had its second reading in the House of Lords on 26 May 1802 and was committed to a committee of the whole house, which met on 31 May 1802 and reported on 3 June 1802, with amendments. The amended bill had its third reading in the House of Lords on 9 June 1802 and passed, without amendments.
The amended bill was considered to by the House of Commons on 14 June 1802, and was committed to a select committee, consisting of 14 members of parliament. +NameCommentaryCharles Philip Yorke Secretary at WarHenry Addington Chancellor of the ExchequerRobert Steele Sylvester Douglas, 1st Baron Glenbervie, Edward Smith-Stanley, 13th Earl of Derby, Robert Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool, Sir William Heathcote, 3rd Baronet, John Fane, 10th Earl of Westmorland, George Howard, 6th Earl of Carlisle, Francis Gregor Sir William Lemon General Isaac Gascoyne Richard Grosvenor, 1st Earl Grosvenor, Sir William Elford The committee met on 15 June 1802 and reported on 17 June 1802, agreeing to some amendments, but disagreeing with others. The House of Commons requested a conference with the Lords, which was appointed and met for the first time on 18 June 1802. NameCommentaryCharles Philip Yorke Secretary at War, part of the select committeeHenry Addington Chancellor of the Exchequer, part of the select committeeRobert Steele Part of the select committeeSylvester Douglas, 1st Baron Glenbervie, Part of the select committeeEdward Smith-Stanley, 13th Earl of Derby, Part of the select committeeRobert Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool, Part of the select committeeSir William Heathcote, 3rd Baronet, Part of the select committeeJohn Fane, 10th Earl of Westmorland, Part of the select committeeGeorge Howard, 6th Earl of Carlisle, Part of the select committeeFrancis Gregor Part of the select committeeSir William Lemon Part of the select committeeGeneral Isaac Gascoyne Part of the select committeeRichard Grosvenor, 1st Earl Grosvenor, Part of the select committeeSir William Elford Part of the select committeeIsaac Corry John Baker Holroyd, 1st Earl of Sheffield, Sir James St Clair Erskine Sir Henry Paulet St John-Mildmay Edward Lee Sir Robert Buxton Thomas Tyrwhitt Sir Nathaniel Holland Charles Shaw Lefevre Henry Jodrell Sir George FitzGerald Hill Bernard Howard, 12th Duke of NorfolkGeorge Capel-Coningsby, 5th Earl of EssexWilliam Fitzwilliam, 4th Earl FitzwilliamJacob Pleydell-Bouverie, 2nd Earl of RadnorHenry Herbert, 2nd Earl of CarnarvonAlexander Wedderburn, 1st Earl of RosslynRobert Hobart, 4th Earl of BuckinghamshireThomas Pelham, 2nd Earl of ChichesterGeorge Eden, 1st Earl of AucklandHenry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville A further conference was appointed on 22 June 1802. NameCommentaryJames Martin Richard Brinsley Sheridan George Johnstone George Tierney Alderman Harvey Christian Combe William Dickinson William Sturges John Nicholls Richard Bateman-Robson William Fullarton Sir Charles Henry Talbot Sir John William Anderson Sir John Honywood Benjamin Hobhouse Mr Law Edward Golding Sir William Dolben Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh, Rt Hon. William Wickham William Adams General Nisbet Balsour Richard Ellison John Fordyce Whitshed Keene John Simpson George Legge, 3rd Earl of DartmouthWilliam Fitzwilliam, 4th Earl FitzwilliamAlexander Wedderburn, 1st Earl of RosslynRobert Hobart, 4th Earl of BuckinghamshireGeorge de Grey, 3rd Baron WalsinghamCharles Cocks, 1st Baron SomersRichard Pepper Arden, 1st Baron Alvanley The conference met again on 22 June 1802, during which the Lords insisted on an amendment "calculated to prevent the Fraud and Imposition to which the Mode of Proof of the Fact of a Person being a Quaker, hitherto required by Law, and prescribed by the Bill, has been found liable", which was accepted by the Commons.
The bill was granted royal assent on 26 June 1802.
Provisions
The act brought together a number of the Militia Acts which had been passed during the French Revolutionary Wars (1794-1802), repealing them but broadly re-enacting their content. It provided for an "Old Militia" with a total strength of 51,489 in England and Wales (including the City of London, Cinque Ports, and Stannaries), and allowed for a "Supplementary Militia" of half as many again which could be raised with Parliamentary approval.
Each county's Lord Lieutenant would set the amount of militiamen to be raised from the various areas of their country (for example, dividing it by hundreds), and parish constables would draw up lists of all eligible men between 18 and 45. Men were divided into five classes:
Under 30, no children Over 30, no children All men, no living children under 14 All men, one child under 14 All other men
Men were to be drawn from the classes in order - if a quota could be filled only from the first and second classes, the third, fourth and fifth were untouched. A class could be taken in its entirety if it was below the absolute quota, but if larger than the number required, a ballot was to be used. Any man who was taken into service through this process was known as a "principal", and was sworn in to serve as a private soldier for a term of five years, after which they were exempt until a fresh ballot was made, or could volunteer for further service. Instead of serving themselves, they could arrange to provide a "personal substitute" who was willing to serve in their stead; this could be a volunteer already on the local ballot, or someone from elsewhere in the county (or a neighbouring county), and it was expected that they would receive a bounty of a few pounds to encourage them to volunteer. Parishes could also arrange to provide parochial substitutes in lieu of their quota of men, and were allowed to levy a parish rate in order to pay bounties to these substitutes. Finally, any balloted man could pay a fine of £10 and avoid service, though he would be liable to be balloted again after five years. The fines were used to hire substitutes and any surplus would go to regimental funds.
A wide range of men were exempt - most obviously, officers and men of the Army, Navy and Marines, but also peers, clergymen, teachers, university students, constables, sailors, apprentices, or men working in royal arsenals or dockyards. A poor man (defined as one with assets of less than £100) with more than one legitimate child was exempt, as was any poor man physically unfit for service, or any man at all less than 5'4" tall. A man worth more than £100 but unfit for service was still liable to pay his fine or provide a substitute. Quakers were not allowed to avoid service through paying a fine, but were required to find a substitute in lieu of service; if they did not do so, the county was empowered to hire one on his behalf and if necessary seize his property to pay for it.
Any men who died or were discharged as unfit would produce a second ballot of the county (in practice, probably of his local parish) to find a replacement. Should the county fail to provide enough men, it would be fined £10 per head of the annual deficit; this money was to be raised locally and could be used to hire substitutes, but if this failed to achieve the desired result, it was paid to the Treasury.
Repealed enactments Section 1 of the act repealed 11 enactments, listed in that section.
Section 1 of the act also provided that the militia raised under the Militia Act 1786 (26 Geo. 3. c. 107) would be subject to all the provisions and regulations under the act, that commissions, service etc. would continue as under previous acts, and that future deficiencies in the number of private militiamen would be supplied under the act. CitationShort titleTitleExtent of repealMilitia Act 1786An Act, passed in the twenty-sixth Year of the Reign of his present Majesty, intituled, An Act for amending, and reducing into one Act of Parliament, the Laws relating to the Militia in that Part of Great Britain called England.The whole.33 Geo. 3. c. 8Families of Militiamen Act 1793An Act, passed in the thirty-third Year of the Reign of his present Majesty, intituled, An Act to provide for the Families of Persons chosen by Lot to serve in the Militia of this Kingdom, and of Substitutes serving therein; and to explain and amend an Act of Parliament, passed in the twenty-sixth Year of his present Majesty, intituled, An Act for amend- ing, and reducing into one Act of Parliament, the Laws relating to the Militia in that Part of Great Britain called England.As relates to Bounties to be paid to Militia Men whose Terms of Service are prolonged.