LEWIS, Sir GEORGE CORNEWALL (1806-63). An English statesman and author, eldest son of Sir T. F. Lewis, of Harpton Court, Radnorshire. He was horn in London, April 21, 1806. He was educated at Eton and at Christ Church. Ox where he was distinguished for classics and mathematics. He became a barrister in 1831, and after acting on various commissions of inquiry, succeeded his father as poor-law com missioner (1839-47). He sat in Parliament for Herefordshire from 1847 to 1852, and beeame suc cessively Secretary to the Indian Board of Con trol, Under-Secretary of the House Department, and Financial Secretary to the Treasury. Losing his seat in 1852, he accepted the editorship of the Edinburgh Review (1852-551. Elected to Parliament for the Radnor Boroughs in 1855. he became, under Palmerston, Chancellor of the Ex chequer ( 1855-581. Home Secretary ( 1859-611 , and Secretary of War (1861-63). He (lied April 13, 1563. He wrote numerous articles for the magazines, especially for the Edinburgh Periem, and published about twenty hooks on a great variety of topics. Among them are: The Use and
Abuse of Political Terms (18321: Origin and Formation of the Romance Languages (1835); Local Disturbanres in Ireland (1836); .1 Ging sory of Prorinrial Used in Herefordshire (1839); The Ilorernment of Dependeneies(1841): an edition of the spurious Fables of Babrius (1846); The Influence of Authority in Matters of Opinion (1849); The Method of Observations and Reasoning in Politics (1852); an Inquiry into the Credibility of Early Roman History, an attack on Niebuhr (1855) Astronomy of the Ancients (1862); and a Dialogue on the Best Form of Cori. rn in en t (1863 ) . Several of these works displaying solid learning have been re printed. Consult the Letters of O. C. Lewis, edited by G. F. Lewis (London, 1870) ; and Bagehot, Biographical Studies, edited by Hut ton (ib., 1881).