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Biographical Memoirs of Eminent Persons. 



[SEPT. 



" The Anti- Jacobin Examiner," a weekly 

 satirical paper of great wit and talent, was 

 brought out in support of the administration. 

 Mr. Frere, Mr. Ellis, and Mr. Canning are 

 understood to have been the parlies chiefly 

 concerned in its publication. Mr. Pitt, him- 

 self, is said to have been a contributor; and 

 that Mr. Canning was one of its principal 

 supporters, there is no doubt. His " New 

 Morality," a parody on Milton's" Morning 

 Hymn" his " Lives of the Triangles," in 

 which Dr. Darwin's poetical style, and the 

 principles of the jacobin reformers were 

 most laughably burlesqued " The Student 

 of Goltingen,'* a mock tragedy, in ridicule 

 of the German drama, <fec., and his " Uni- 

 versal Benevolence," a parody on one of 

 Soulbey-'s Sapphics, entitled " The Widow,'* 

 constituted some of the severest and most 

 effective satires of the time. 



Mr. Canning went out of office with Mr. 

 Pitt, in 1801 ; and, during the ensuing 

 short administration of Mr. Addington and 

 his colleagues, he showed himself a most 

 powerful antagonist both in and out of par- 

 liament. His poetic.'il squibs of that period 

 were equally laughable, and perhaps equally 

 severe with those which had appeared in 

 " The Anti-Jacobin Examiner;" but, in 

 elegance and sarcastic point they were cer- 

 tainly inferior. 



With Mr. Pitt he returned to office in 1 804, 

 and succeeded Mr. Tierney, in the office of 

 treasurer of the navy, which he continued to 

 hold till Mr. Pitt's death in 1806. He was 

 also honoured with a seat at the Board of 

 Privy Council. On Mr. Pitt's death, he again 

 went into opposition: but, soon afterwards 

 he joined the Duke of Portland, and became 

 Secretary of State for the Foreign depart- 

 ment. It was during this secretaryship that 

 he made his famous speeches on the bom- 

 bardment of Copenhagen, and the seizure 

 of the Danish Fleet; and, during his secre- 

 taryship, also, that (on the morning of Sep- 

 tember 1, 1809), he fought a duel upon a 

 dispute arising out of ths conduct of the 

 Walcheren expedition, with the late Mar- 

 quis of Londonderry, then Lord Castlereagh, 

 Secretary for War and Colonies. The par- 

 ties met on Putney Heath ; on the second 

 fire, Mr. Canning received his adversary's 

 ball in his thigh ; but. as there was no frac- 

 ture, he recovered sufficiently to attend the 

 levee on the 1 1 th of October, and resign his 

 seals of office. Lord Castlereagh also re- 

 signed. Mr. Canning had declared that Lord 

 Castlereagh was a man whom he could not 

 act with ; but both parties afterwards came 

 into office, and Mr. Canning condescended 

 to act under Lord Castlereagh. The dis- 

 cussion of this affair alone might occupy 

 several pages. All that we shall observe is 

 the conduct of politicians appears to be 

 directed by principles and feelings very dif- 

 different from those of the rest of man- 

 kind. 



In 1812, Mr. Canning identified himself 

 with the Marquis of Wellesley, endeavoured 



to effect a coalition with the Grey and Gren- 

 ville party, and was very active in the poli- 

 tical discussions of the period. In 1812, 

 too, he first offered himself as a candidate 

 for the representation of Liverpool. He was 

 four times elected a representative for that 

 town, but never without a strong opposition. 

 The second election took place after his 

 embassy to Lisbon, the third in 1818, and the 

 fourth in 1820. 



It was in 1816, that Mr. Canning went 

 out as ambassador to the court of Portugal, 

 on the allowance of 14,000 a year: his 

 acceptance of which was severely animad- 

 verted upon in parliament. In 1818 he 

 came into office as president of the Board of 

 Controul, for India affairs. In 1820, on the 

 commencement of proceedings against her 

 Majesty Queen Caroline, he resigned his 

 office, and retired to the continent. Having 

 returned to England, he was in the ensuing 

 year appointed Governor-General of India. 

 He had actually taken leave of his consti- 

 tuents at Liverpool, for the purpose of pro- 

 ceeding to Bengal, when the sudden death of 

 the Marquis of Londonderry offered to him 

 the more desirable post of Secretary of State 

 for the Foreign department. He accepted 

 that office, and held it until the lamented 

 illness of the Enrl of Liverpool rendered it 

 necessary to appoint a successor to that 

 nobleman. Mr. Canning considered the 

 premiership as his inheritance; he received 

 his Majesty's commands to re-organize the 

 cabinet ; his Grace the Duke of Wellington, 

 Lord Eldon, Mr. Peel, and three or four 

 other members of the Liverpool administra- 

 tion resigned ; and Mr. Canning becoming 

 first lord of the treasury, formed a coalition 

 with several of the leading Whigs. Every 

 thing connected with this subject is of a date 

 too recent to require further illustration 

 from us. 



Mr. Canning's talents, as they were dis- 

 played in the composition of state papers, 

 during the war of the French Revolution, 

 were of a very high order. He appeared to 

 equal advantage in the long and voluminous 

 correspondence, which during his secretary- 

 ship he carried on with the American minis- 

 ter, Mr. Pinkney, respecting the points in 

 dispute between the British and American 

 governments. During the time that Mr. 

 Canning is undersood to have had the ar- 

 rangement of the royal speeches, delivered 

 at the opening and close of eveiy parlia- 

 mentary session, those documents were re- 

 markable for perspecuity, point, and luminous 

 expedition. Mr. Canning's oratory was 

 similar in its character so his literary produc- 

 tions. It was fluent, perspicuous, brilliant, 

 and epigrammatic. Mr. Canning was more 

 eloquent than argumentative, more persua- 

 sive than convincing, more sarcastic than 

 impressive. Altogether, he was a man 

 highly gifted, eminently qualified to arrest 

 and command attention. 



Mr. Canning's health had for some time 

 beeu seriously affected ; but, we believe, not 



