A Bill for the more effectually raising a Military Force, for the Protection of the Settlements and Possessions of the East India Company, 1771

Printed bill, London, 1771.

This Bill, aimed to improve the quality and number of the Company's European troops and deemed to be essential for successful Indian warfare, was presented to the House of Commons in February 1771. It proposed the formation of a regiment to be based within Great Britain 'for the Purpose of levying, assembling, and training in Arms the Recruits' raised for service in the Company's forces overseas. British Army opinion was hostile to the Bill, however, as it was feared that it would result in serious competition for recruits between the Company's and the King's forces. The Bill was finally defeated in April, after, in Horace Walpole's words, 'many long debates'.