1820 May 31.

Emancipation Spanish

'.4. Prelim y Considrat s. continued

Retrenchment this the easiest

This retrenchment (will it be said? by way of objection) the retrenchment will be to be made upon the official establishment - upon the army branch of it - upon the navy branch of it - at the expense of the functionaries at present belonging to these departments - and this in a form in which the sense of loss will come home to assignable individuals?

My answer is this. To the maintainance of the dominion in question, the present establishment is in all its branches plainly inadequate for the purpose in question, an encrease and that a large one would be necessary. Forbear making the encrease. No man can say he is a loser - a sufferer - from a bare[?] forbearance to put money into his pocket - money which is not his due.

Your army is at present very small - some parts of it if the public prints say true you have actually disbanded. In other parts, to the privates you have given permisson to quit the service.

As to officers what you can do without giving cause of complaint to any one is - to forbear adding to the number This will go no small way towards prevention of encrease in the expenditure, this will go no small way.

Hire of transports for conveyance of troops and stores - encrease of expenditure in these accounts you may forbear without giving cause of complaint or sense of suffering to any body.

To the repair and building of ships of war - the same observation applies and with equal truth: so also to war and sea stores of all kinds

On land you have now nothing to fear from France, you can never have had any thing to fear from Portugal, you can have nothing to fear from any body.

Troops you have no need of any now to keep the people under subjection. Your government is not now like ours a military one.

In National Guard in a [...?] people armed for their own defence and for no other purpose will be your chief dependence Troops of the line, a small body of them will be sufficient to form a school for the National guards, and a nucleus /standard/ to which, in case of war, they may be attached.