The Sun.
London, England, 1862-10-09 00:00:00

711 E

The 7th company of Royal Engineers, under the
command of Capt. F. E. B.
Beaumont, which
arrived at head-quarters, Chatham, on Monday,
from Halifax, Nova Scotia, and the 20th company,
under the command of Capt. E. C. Sim, which
arrived the same day from Australia, were
officially inspected at Brompton-barracks, yester;
day by Colonel IL D. Harness, C. 8,, the Director
of the Royal Engineer establishment, who expressed
himself well pleased with the appearance of the
men after their long absence from England. With
the exception of some very few, the whole of the
men belonging to the 7th and 9th companies are
married, and, as the number of married men are
considerably in excess of those permitted by the
regulations in each company, they will be draughted
into the 39th and 40th companies just formed at
head-quarters, the 7th and 20th being made up to
their full complement from the depot companies at
Brow pton.
The 7,1 company is relieved at Hali-
fax by the 4th company, under the command of
Capt. 11. W. 11. D. Purnaresq•
Royal Engineers, ac. Yesterday a detachment of
companied by a party of buglers, left headquartets
Chatham, for the Curragh, to join the 17th comPan7
Lient,-Col. Collinson, R.E., accompanied by other
officers, has arrived at Portsmouth, and commenced
an official inspection of the works on Portsdown,
Man, Stokes Bay, and other places surrounding

Portsmouth. Col, Collinson and his staff are on a
tour of examination of all the works of defence,
completed and in progress, along the emit.
A party of 140 drivers of the Royal A -iillery has
left %Varley Barracks for Woolwich, un,',er the corn
mand of Capt. Bazalgette, to join the field battery
at that station.

MR. GLALS7OIIE ON 211 E AMERICAN
WAR.

The right hon. gentleman said, at the public din-
ner given to him at Newcastle, on Tuesday last—lt
is not very usual for a Minister holding my office to
detain a public assembly upon subjects of foreign
policy; but there is one question possessing para-
mount and absorbing importance at this moment,
and so deeply and intimately connected with that
touching matter to which I have last referred, that
I cannot avoid saying a few words upon it—l mean
the deplorable, though in my opinion not doubtful,
struggle which is now proceeding in America. I
for one, exercising my own poor faculties as I best
can, have never felt that England has any reason,
connected with her own especial interest for desir-
ing the disruption of the American Union. I can
understand those who say that it is for the general
interest of the nation that no state should excel any
other nations of the continent. I can understand
those who say—and I confess it to be my own opi-
nion—that it is greatly for the interest of the negro
race that they should have to do with their own
masters alone, and not, as has hitherto been the case,
with their own masters backed by the whole power
of the Federal Government of the United States.
(Cheers.) This has been the state of things that has
subsisted heretofore, and which some, I think, mis-
taking the interests of the negro, have thought it
desirable not to repeal. But the laws by which the
slaves have been governed have been made, not by
the Federal Government, but made by the owners of
those slaves. But the enforcement of these laws has
not rested in the hands of the owners of slaves alone;
they have had a right, a constitutional right, by
the constitution of the United States, to be supported
against their own slaves in the execution of the
laws that they (the slaveowners) had made, by the
whole power of the United States ; and I can there-
fore very well understand the argument that it is
not particularly to be desired, in the interests of
the negro race, that the American Union should be
reconstituted ; but I must confess that, for reasons
that I need not now explain, I do not think that
England has any interest in the disruption of that
Union, and that my own private opinion is that it
was rather for the interests of England that the
Union should continue. I know that that is not
the general opinion entertained ; but whatever view
you may take, I think we all feel that the course
which her Majesty's ministers have endeavoured to
pursue, viz., that of maintaining strict neutrality
under all the circumstances that have heretofore
passed, has been a right course, and has been the
expression of the general sense of the community.
There is, and there can be, no doubt that where two
parties are in great exasperation, it is not at all
likely that he who maintains a strict neutrality will
satisfy both, because in point of fact the state of
mind in which his conduct is liable to be judged of
by the disputants is not a state of mind in which it
is fair that we should expect from them a perfectly
impartial conclusion ; but what we may, I think
expect is, that an honest course of neutrality will be
recognised—that course, I mean, which we have
pursued up to this date—will be recognised after this
unhappy struggle shall have passed away, and when
the circumstances shall be calmly considered. But
I must confess it appears to me that if either party
has a right to find fault with us, it is the Con-
federate rather than the Federal Government.
(Applause.) I mean that if we have deviated at
all from neutrality our deviation has been against
them and not in their favour. We have pro-
claimed neutrality and we have endeavoured to
preserve neutrality ; but we have permitted
the export of arms and warlike stores ; we have
permitted it to two parties—to the Confederates
whose ports were blockaded by the Northern fleet ;
and we have permitted it to the Northerns, who
have had perfect freedom to import all their arms
\and stores they pleased—(applause)--I believe that
course on our part has been a right and just course,
and I think the very statement of the fact proves
that, at any rate, we have not had a biassed influence
in the policy of this country unfavourable to any
fair claim that they had upon us. (Cheers.) Well,
I now, I will for a moment make an appeal to you on
behalf of the people of the Northern States—l mean