Excerpt from The Life of Field Marshal, the Duke of Wellington, Vol. 2 of 2 Amongst the papers to which the reader's attention is specially invited, is the Duke's memorable letter to Sir John Burgoyne on the National Defences - a document now so scarce that not one of the numerous booksellers who had been applied to was ableto lay his hand upon a copy. Taken in connection with the Duke's speech on the Militia Bill, it may be regarded as a legacy to all those persons to whom the preservation of our liberty and independence is confided. Happily the Duke's prediction, that he would live to see the day when hostile armies should contend within the United Kingdom, has not been verified; but that day may not be remote, and its couse quences disastrous, if the wise counsel of the illustrious chief is disregarded. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.