C ANN INC. 



married. Her - c , uid husband was an actor ; her third, 

 Mr Hunn,a linen-draper of Exeter. She lived to see 

 the success of her son, from whom she ever receiv- 

 ed the tenderest marks of filial love. Canning, who 

 had inherited a small estate in Ireland, was educated 

 at Eton, where he was distinguished for industry, vi- 

 gour of mind, and elegance of taste, and, at the age 

 of 15, formed the plan of a periodical paper, called 

 the Microcosm, of which he was the principal editor. 

 In 1787, he was entered at Oxford. His vacations 

 were passed witli Sheridan, l>y whom lie was intro- 

 duced to Burke, Fox, ami other ili>iin-,niislieil whigs. 

 But, although Sheridan had already announced him, 

 in parliament, as the future ornament of his party, 

 Canning entered into terms with Pitt, by whom he was 

 brought into parliament in 1793. During the first 

 session, he remained silent. His maiden effort was 

 made in 1794, on the Sardinian treaty, and rather 

 disappointed expectation. In 1794, he took the de- 

 gree of M.A.,and, from tliat time, resided constantly 

 in London. In 1796, he was under-secretary of state. 

 In 1797, he projected, with some of liis Mends, the 

 Anti-Jacobin, or Weekly Examiner, of which Gifford 

 was appointed editor. Canning contributed many poe- 

 tical and other articles to this periodical. In 1798, 

 he supported Wilberforce's motion for the abolition of 

 the slave-trade, and continued always an advocate 

 for the amelioration of the condition of the blacks. 

 In July, 1800, Canning increased his fortune and influ- 

 ence by a marriage with Joanna, daughter of general 

 Scott, a lady with a fortune of 100,000. The ad- 

 ministration being dissolved in 1801, Canning became 

 a member of the opposition, unt'J the restoration of 

 Pitt in 1804. In 1807, he was appointed secretary of 

 Btate for foreign affairs in the Portland administration. 

 A political misunderstanding with lord Castlereagh 

 led to a duel between that minister and Canning, 

 in which the latter was slightly wounded. This dis- 

 pute occasioned the dissolution of the ministry. In 

 1810, he opposed the reference of the Catholic claims 

 to the committee of the whole house, on the ground 

 that no security or engagement had been offered by 

 the Catholics. Some of his most brilliant speeches 

 were on this subject. He invariably supported the 

 admission of the Catholics to power, not as an ab- 

 stract question of right, but as a matter of expediency 

 of hourly increasing expediency. The adoption of 

 the measure being then a matter of policy, the state 

 of opinion, the condition of affairs, and the securities 

 with which it should be accompanied, were, with 

 him, elements of the question. He proposed securi- 

 ties, in 1813, which, with the bill, were rejected. He 

 supported, in 1812 and 1813, the same motion which 

 he had opposed in 1810 ; and, in 1821, two bills in 

 favour of the Catholics having been introduced into 

 the house of commons, he observed, " that the mo- 

 ment was peculiarly favourable for discussion ; that 

 they were in possession of a peace achieved by Catho- 

 lic arms, and cemented by Catholic blood." To Can- 

 ning was principally owing the first blow which shook 

 the throne of Napoleon ; the British policy in Spain 

 was directed and animated by him. "If there was 

 any part of his political life," he declared, on one oc- 

 casion, " in which he gloried, it was that, in the face 

 of every difficulty, discouragement, and prophecy of 

 failure, his had been the hand which had commit- 

 ted England to an alliance with Spain." " Never," 

 said he, on another occasion, " ought we to relinquish 

 our hold of the Peninsula. The ruler of France has 

 one grand object, to which he stands pledged the 

 establishment of his dominion n the Peninsula. If 

 he fail in this, his defeat must be .most signal." In 

 1812, he was elected member of parliament for Li- 

 verpool ; from which he was also returned in 1814, 

 1818 1820. In 1814, he was appointed minister to 



Portugal, and remained absent about two years. In 

 1819, lie declared his decided hostility to parliamen- 

 tary reform, in whatever shape ; tod Us -| cech on 

 Lord John Russell's motion for reform, in 1822, is 

 among the most finished specimens of his eloquence. 

 On the occasion of the proceedings relative to the 

 queen, he declared, that " toward the object of that 

 investigation, he felt an unaltered regard and affec- 

 tion ;" and soon after resigned die presidency of the 

 board of control, and went abroad. Having been 

 nominated governor-general of India, he* was on the 

 point ot embarking, when the death of the marquis 

 of Londonderry called him to the cabinet as secretary 

 for foreign affairs (Sept. 16, 1822). One of his ear- 

 liest acts, in this situation, was to check the French 

 influence in Spain ; and, in a debate on this subject 

 (April 28, 1823), he observed, " It is true that then- 

 is a contest going on in the world between the spirit 

 of unlimited monarchy and the spirit of unlimited 

 democracy. Between these two spirits there is a 

 strife openly in action, or covertly at work, through- 

 out the greater portion of Europe." It was in this 

 session tliat Brougham accused him of " the most 

 monstrous- truckling which the whole history of poli- 

 tical tergiversation could furnish." Canning rose 

 immediately, and exclaimed, " That is false." The 



municated to foreign ministers the determination of 

 his majesty to appoint charges d 'affaires to Colombia, 

 Mexico, and Buenos Ayres. In consequence of the 

 attempts made by Spain to assist the malcontents of 

 Portugal, it was immediately determinea, by the mi- 

 nistry, to support the regency of that country. On this 

 occasion, Canning concluded his speech with these 

 remarks : " Some years ago, I said that I feared that 

 the next war, which should be kindled in Europe, 

 would be a war of opinions. It is the contemplation 

 of this new power, in any future war, which excites 

 my most anxious apprehensions." And, in answer 

 to the argument, that the ministers had encouraged 

 the attack upon Portugal, by having permitted the 

 occupation of Spain by France, he uttered the me- 

 morable words : " Was it necessary that we should 

 blockade Cadiz ? No. I looked another way ; I re- 

 solved that if France had Spain, it should not be 

 Spain with the Indies. I called the new world into 

 existence, to redress the balance of the old." April 

 12, 1827, his appointment to be prime minister was 

 announced. His administration was terminated by 

 his death, the 8th of August following; but not 

 until it ha'd been crowned by the treaty of London 

 (July 6), for the settlement of the affairs of Greece. 



As an orator, Mr Canning was showy, graceful, 

 and prepossessing, with a brilliant wit and caustic 

 satire, though neither formed on a very masculine 

 taste. He possessed, in a great degree, the art of a 

 rhetorician could, with a small stock of ideas, make 

 a great appearance of intellectual resources, and could 

 fill the ear without satisfying or informing the under- 

 standing. His pretension to general views was solely 

 in words. In no case did he strike his own interests 

 out of consideration. During his career, the leading 

 domestic subjects on which the British parliament was 

 called upon to legislate were the following: the liberty 

 of the press, the emancipation of the Catholics, the test 

 and corporation acts, the corn laws, and reform in 

 parliament. Those of a foreign nature were, among 

 others, the various overtures of peace between Bri- 

 tain and France, the settlement of Europe on the 

 final overthrow of Napoleon, the treatment of Italy 

 by the Austrians, the Spanish revolution, and recog- 

 nition of the South American republics. On all 

 these questions, with two exceptions, he invariably 



