The Sun.
London, England, 1862-10-16 00:00:00

THE SECRETARY AT WAR ON THE

AMERICAN STRUGGLE.

HEREFORD, WEDNESDAY.

The Herefordshire Agricultural Society held its
annual meeting here yesterday, when there was the
usual great display of Hereford cattle, after which
the agriculturists dined together. There was an
unusually large muster at the dinner table, it being
understood that Sir G. C. Lewis, her Majesty's
Secretary at War, would be present. The chair
was taken by Sir Velters Cornewall, and among the
guests at the cross-table were Lord W. Graham,
M.P., Sir T. E. Winnington, Bart., M.P., Mr.
Mildway, M.P., Mr. King King, M.P., Colonel
Clifford, M.P., &c.
Sir G. C. LEWIS, in reply to the toast of his
health, concurred in a wish expressed that war and
war secretaries would cease ; but if it happened
a foreign nation thought we were unprepared, anti
was tempted therefore to make a descent upon our
shores, it would neither lead to honour nor to the
interest of this country that we should be found
unready. He referred at some length to the 's-
tress prevailing in the cotton districts. He ex-
pressed a hope that it would be of short duration
only, and that the war which was now going on
South.
ern the United States, and the blockade of the
ern States, which prevented the cotton from coming
to this country, would before long come to an end.
That was a subject on which many different opi-
nions were and had been entertained. The govern-
ment of this country was placed in the position ofourses, viz.,
recognition of the Southern c
having to choose between twoSthatetsh oppositeoen
sthtaetoenseohfatnhde,
w
and sympathy or alliance
Union on the other. Well,
Federal section of the
strenuously pursued a
the Government avoided both these extremes.
nae.nudtrality, and had abstained
They had consistently.
middle course of strict.
t or indirect countenance or assist-
from giving director
the belligerent parties.
complaintspar ties. h a (di I
beene a r •)
ance to either
said thatgovernmegnt at Washington that the
It had been
maintained
made by the
this strict
government of England had not
it had •
neu neutrality, because reeo 2,,nised the South as
a belligerent power ; and it had been said that by
recognising the South as a belligerent power we
bad departed from a strict line of neutrali • ty. Now
he (Sir G. C. Lewis) could not but •
think that if
any impartial person reflected on the course of this
unhappy contest, he would
come to the conclusion
that no word of the E • nglish language would apply
with greater aptitude to the Southern States than
the word " belligerent." These parties had com-
bined for the purpose of carrying 011 a war, and
when they looked to the number of armed men they
had raised, when they looked to the large armies
they had brought into the field, to the ability of the
generals by whom those armies were commanded,and
to the pertinacity with which the contest on their
part had been waged, it could not surely be denied
that they deserved the name of" belligerent"in refer-
ence to the manner in which they had carried on the
war against the United States. Under these cir-
cumstances it seemed to him (Sir G. Lewis) that a
more unfounded charge could not have been made
against the Government of this country than that