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    great interests of the war swallowed up all questions oa which might hinge the fame of a statesman for his free or desr potic principles ; so that , it was not until his acceptance of the post of Foreign Minister , after the self-destruction of Lord Londonderry , that Mr . Canning had at once the forces wherewith to act , and a field on which to display them .

    " Try the departed statesman by a test like this , and then let every Englishman determine how much he gained by Lord Londonderry ' s death , and what he has lost in Mr . Canning 1 " England was disengaged from the trammels of the Holy Alliance , almost before the familiars of that body could look round them and discover the hand which set her free .

    " An invasion of Spain , which no reasoning could palliate , was rendered , by Mr . Canning ' s dexterity and spirit , little more noxious in its result than it was . defensible in its origin ; and the world saw contrasted an outrage by France upon the Spaniards , which will bring about its own termination and punishment , with a blessing conferred by England on the Americans , which is at once its own guarantee and reward .

    " Constitutional Portugal has been upheld against the invasions of the House of Bourbon , by diplomatic skill and military energy , so directed , disposed , and justified , as to protect , according to all reasonable calculation , the civil rights of the people of that kingdom , through the same means and on the same political and international obligations which Mr . Canning has made subservient to the independence of King Pedro ' s crown .

    " The spirit through which the whole south of Europe must one day vindicate the liberties which belong to man , has been , though not ostentatiously encouraged , kept alive , and ready for seasonal ble exercise , by the mere notoriety that Mr . Canning was Minister of Great Britain .

    " At home , whatever has been attempted by his Government has been attempted well , though , thanks to hia enemies and those of the people of England , it has not been so well accomplished . The principles which he would have realized , had life and power been granted , were those under which the poor man ' s food would have been increased , and the national expenses economized .

    • * Of the ornaments and accessories of the deceased Minister , whether as a member of the senate or of society , it is not strictly our design to speak . His eloquence— -tluU much und dangerously

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    overvalued art in England—his eloquence was perfect in its peculiar kind ; but that kind was not the most admirable . Grace and elegance , wit and . spirit , copiousness and harmony , were all comprehended iu it ^ they fo r med its distinctions a $$ ita attractions ; but they are characteristics of a secondary rank . In our lnuada Mir .

    Canning was not the foremost , though among the foremost , of contemporary speakers . Brougham is more sarcastic , more impetuous , more fruitful and discursive—Plunkett more logical , more original , more forcible , and impressive . Nowhere does there now exist the profound , the terrible , or sublime .

    " In private life , and its endearing and sacred relations , Mr . Canning bears the repute of having been an estimable and exemplary person . The friends of f his youth seem to be attached and devoted to him , while he is said to have been gaining rapidly on his friends of more recent acquisition .

    " Sooner or later , even in this world , justice is rendered to most of us before we die . Let the respective partisans of Canning and Londonderry now meditate for a moment the place which each of these Ministers of the same kingdom fills in the heart of the people . Let , we say , the lesson be studied , and sink deep . The memory of the one is embalmed by his countrymen in unaffected sorrow : the remains of the other were loaded

    with execrations , and pelted with ordure at the grave . " ( Times . ) We add the following paragraph from another public journal . " Mr . Canning had assumed almost a Tory mania ; and , in 1798 , in conjuncr tion with Mr . Frere and Mr . Ellis , he became the conductor of The Anti-Joco *

    bin ; or , JVeekly Examiner—a work which administered to the virulence of party , and to which nothing but the wit and elegance of Mr . Canning , and the ardent spirit of the times , could have given currency or a temporary fame . In this

    celebrated vehicle of party animosity , wit , sarcasm , irony , vituperation , and every possible weapon , were used to degrade and misrepresent the French leaders , and to render the liberal party in England ridiculous , if not odious , in the eyes of the country «

    " In this also he published his « New Morality , ' a severe satire on the reigning follies and vices , in the style of the Iinir . tations of Horace , or rather of Juvenal , which had » o well succeeded with Gifford and others . " A sense of humiliation marked h& Parliamentary demeanour to the death of Lord Londonderry . All hia speeches

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    Obituary , —Bight Hun . George Canning . j $

• Citation
  • Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Sept. 2, 1827, page 691, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1800/page/59/