The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1861-10-29
British Opinions.
III W our War Looks on the other
side.
SENSIBLE SPEECH or MR.. POSTER, NJ. p.

! Mr.. w (. Foster, M. F., addressed a
large meeting at Bradford, England, on
Tuesday evening the lst inst. He said
This terrible war. SO far as it affected
the feelings of the people of this country,
was like no war which had happened Fl r
a long period. IL was almost like war
In England itself 1t was war, not only
between people of the same blood and Ian
gnage like ourselves, but there was hardly
street in Bradford, or village in York
shire, without inhabitants who had rela-
tons in America directly affected But
even if the case were otherwise, it was 9
war Of intense interest, because he cor.
ceyed that it was war to solve the prob
lem whether race OF civilized men In
this are Of the world could, in peace and
safety, keep millions Of their fellow be-
ings IN slavery. They often heard this
war described as not only terrible and
calamltous war, but as being causelest
war. Now, a terrible and calamitous war
It undoubtedly was. Civil war was terri
bic ander any circumstances but it was
still more terrible when carried on among
a.race of men of such strong passions as
the Anglo Saxon race. Ii was a grieyous
punishment to the people of America for
half of them having tried not to d.
mlnish slavery, but to increase it, and the
other having connived at their doing SO;
and it was also punishment to England
for having left this legacy Of slavery to
them. They ought not, therefore, to won
der if we also were suffering from this ca
lamltous war. But although calamitous,
1t was not causeless war. He should
show that ii was the natural crisis Of that
disease which had been born with the
American Commonwealth and grown with
It, and which was now testing its very
life. 1t appeared almost puerile to state
any other cause except slavery as the cause
of this war, when all who had studied
American affairs had been wondering year
after year that this state of things could
20 on without CONFUSION Yet there
were able writer's who took contrary
view, on the ground that the South could
not have intended, on account of slavery,
to break up that Union which virtually
made the whole of the States the prison
of the slave, and every Federal officer his
jailer, and drew line bounding their
own territory over which he might escape
to freedom. 1t was argued, therefore, by
such writers that there must be something
behind slavery, and it was suggested that
this something was love Of place, or de-
velopment Of democracy, or, especially,
desire for free trade But let them look
at the facts, and in doing SO they must
judge men by their actions.
In England there had been great surprise
at the Sudden change in: Northern feeling
which followed the attack upon Fort Sum
ter. lie was not SO surprised himself, and
for this reason, he had wondered how the
men in the Free States could brook the in
suits and outrages which were heaped up
on them; how, especially, the great
Democratic party in the Free States ap-
peared to approve, at any rate, to connire,
at these outrages. For a time we had at
trlbutcd this connivance altogether to low
motIyes-love Of place or money. Doubt |
less they had much to do with it, but he
had found out, on looking closer, that
there was also good motye-loyo of
Union. The Democrats were prepared to
MAINTAIN the Union at any cost and any
sacrihce--bccause, as patriots, they We're
proud OF the greatness OF their country,
and they We're willing to make any conces-
sions to the South, to avoid dissolution
OF that Union to which they believed they