The Sun.
London, England, 1846-04-17 00:00:00

TRE SUN

LITERATURE.

THE LIFE OF THE RIGIIT HON. GEORGE
CANTING. By Robert Bell, Author of " The .His-

tory of Russia," &c.

Few public min have furnishei better topics for an
interesting biography than George Canning. He was
come of a good family, but brought up in very straitened
circumstances. His father, who appears to have been
one of the most reckless of Irishmen, died in great po-
verty when he was one year old; his mother who had to
shift for herself and her on in the best way she could,
took to the stage, and married twice after the death of
her first husband, neither marriage being fortunate.
The childhood of Canning
was passed un d
auspicious guardianship of Mr. Reddish he
er the
seconr ind-
husband) whose disorderly habits excluded the possi-
bility of moral or intellectual training. The profligacy
of his life communicated its reckless tone to his house-
hold, and even the material wants of his family were
u
frequently neglected to feed his wants elsewhere. Yet
these inauspicious circumstances the talents of
the child attracted notice. Fortunately, they attracted
the notice of his uncle, Mr. Stratford Canning, who
procured him from a family estate in Ireland an annuity
of 2001., which possibly saved the child from ruin. The
history of the youth of this celebrated orator would
have been remarkable, independent of the eminence
which he afterwards attained, for, though exposed to
the worst example—though his mother for years led the
life of a strolling actress, and her vicissitudes arid hard-
ships were of no ordinary kind, her son, from the very
dawn of childhood, exhibited the most amiable dispo-
sitions and a love for order, moral principle, industry,
and domestic virtues which distinguished him to the
last. His lot, too, was cast in a period the most re-
markable in the history of England for great events and
illustrious men. From the commencement of the French
revolution, or, rather, the execution of the French king,
to his dcath, in 1827, Mr. Canning was a public cha-
racter, End engaged more or less in the important
transactions that occurred during that long and eventful
period. He was admitted by common consent to be the
most finished and eloquent debater in Parliament. His
conduct as foreign secretary, with one remarkable ex-
c.:ption, met with the admiration of all parties. His
connexion with Pitt, Wellesley, Wellington, &c., and
his persevering and often successful opposition to Fox,
and the other great leaders of the W hig party, gave a lustre
to his name not equalled by that of any modern orator or
statesman. Mr. Bell, therefore, had one of the finest
subjects for a biography that could have been selected,
and we must say, that he has done it ample justice. His
remarks in general are sound, and accord with historical
facts His style is chaste, vigorous, and impressive. He
rarely displays any strong political bias, and seems
anxious to render justice not only to the subject of his
memoir but to the great men, his foes as well as his
friends, that figured during the war with France. He
rarely or never allows the attention to flag, for the dry his-
tory of facts is constantly enlivened by some little episodes
respecting such men as Wilberforce, and Windham, and
Sheridan, and Fox, and all told in brief and becoming
language. He gives a specimen of his style and powers
of description from a short account of Canning's manner
of speakir g and appearance when he began to emerge
into public life. After leaving college he had chamb: rs in
Lincoln's Inn, and, like mist young men of the day, was
in the habit of attending clubs, where the politics, and
especially the crowding events of the French Revolution
were discussed. Here is a picture of him in his twenty-
second year:—

" Amongst them was a student of pale and thoughtful
aspect, who brought to the nightly contests unusual
fluency and grace of elocution. He, too, along with the
rest, had been inspired by the heroic spectacle, had
pondered upon its causes, and exulted over its prospects.
His head was full of constitutions ; for his studies lay
amongst the elementary writers, rather than the special
pleaders and Corm-mongers ot the law. And after a
morning of close reading and severe reflection, he e ould
wend his way in the evening to one ot these debating-
rooms, and taking up his place unobserved, watch the
vicissitudes of the discussion, noting well its effect upon
the miscellaneous listeners; then, seizing upon a moment
when the argument failed from lack of resources, or ran
into sophistry or exaggeration, he would present himself
to the meeting. A figure slight, but of elegant prop r-
tions ; a face poetical in repose, but flsctusting in its
expression with .every fugitive emotion ; a voice low,
clear, and rich in modulation ; and an sir of perfect
breeding, prepares his heaters for one who possesses
superior powers, and is not unconscious of them. He
opens calmly—strips his topic of all extraneous matter—
distributes it under separate heads—disp:ses of objec-
tions Kith a playful humour—rebukes the dangerous
excesses of preceding speaker.—carries his auditors
through a coin, lete syllogism—establishes the propo-
sition with which he set out—and sits down amidst the
acclamations of the little senate. Night after night
witnesses simUar feats ; at length his name gets out; he
is talked of, and speculated upon ; and people begin to
ask qaestions about the stripling who has so suddenly
appeared amongst them, as if he had laden trom the
sky."

His fame at Eton as well as at Oxford, his agreeable
manners and literary attainments, soon introduced him
to higher society, and made him a great favourite with
the Whig party ; but in reality he never declared for
them. For aught we know he was as good a Tory at
twenty-three as at fifty-seven ; and therefore, though
he had associated from accident with the Whigs more
than the Tories, there was no dereliction of principle in
joining Pitt, who made the first overtures on the sub-
ject. He entered Parliament in 1793, as member for
Newport, in the Isle of Wight, and was soon found of
the greatest service in debate, After filling various
offices, he was appointed Foreign Secretary on the re-
tirement of " All the Talents ;" and then he distin-
guished himself by one of the mv4t daring, prompt,
masterly, and successful acts performed duri:',.f the war.
Oa the best authority, he bad learned that, immediately
after the treaty of Tilsit, Bonaparte had resoled to
make the king of Denmark yield to his imperious will
by joining with the other northern powers in a rnari-

time attack upon England. No time was to be lost.
In a few weeks the powerful and well-appointed fleet of
Denmark might have been in the hands of the French,
but Canning anticipated them. An English fleet en-
tered the Sound. bombarded Copenhagen, and gallantly
captured the whole navy of Denmark. A loud outcry
was raised against. this " atrocious breach of neutrality,"
this " w heksale piracy," but Canning heard alt the
charges with the greatest composure. He knew he was
justified iu sending out this expedition, and time would
make his justification known to the world Fouch6, in
his political confessions, admits that, "by one of the
secret stipulations of the treaty of Tilsit, the Danish
fleet was to be placed at the disposal of France," and
waAssandswettn,rl
etti srh,oaietrlfh
pEatGhtamaessiopiiisneobbrnioiet.phrrs,e arrival of the intelligence that the
3ha giveeut t
never,C
c Copenhagen
himselfhns agligui
eepen
didt
ut hhnsaeoudt
death
seeuaarrtrrende red to
violenttho ef sP• eacur l trans-
portst
from Foucll, nor from any agent of Russia—he learned
it from the Prince Regent, to whom it had been com-
municated by the Regent of Portugal ; and the Foreign
Minister nobly kept concealed the source of his intelli-
gence, notwithstanding every taunt, and reproach, and
execration. This was a set-oil for the miserable expe-
dition to Waleberen, the entire blame of which Mr.
Bell lays on the shoulders of Castlereagh, to whom we
think he shows less fairness and leniency than to any
other public character. Castlereagh was not a wit more
to blame than any other member 121 the Cabinet, who
gave his consent to the hazardous undertaking. It was
in fact a great national undertaking—a Government
measure, and Canning, as well as the rest must come in
for his share of the blame. If he was so confident of
its ruinous consequences as is reported, he should not
have dallied with the Duke of Portland, or the King, or
aannyd tch'tehreerb)rdrescolnaargedeTohCe afbabtl°eeuiredaglhia:ase resigned l
as tb at
e once,
lic, his reasons. And, i h
" winged" for concealing his sendtiimdenntostfrdoemsearyceollteoagbuce
ssoancteopnliyngi,nbtyerheisstesdil,enhcee,deasnerveexdpehdii
i os inattehedrichlymost
ef7-1
the worst asphlpointed,
oresof stEttndetahnedm. osut e spgariadc (the
ids appointment us Foreign Minister, and was out of
ptpheeanntsailty, however, to the full amount. He resigned
office till the close of the war. The rest of his political
life is rapidly but graphically sketched by his bio,
grapher, and some interesting detail-7, as well as occa.
sionaily new facts, are given in relating his plans as
Minister for Foreign Affairs during the invasion oft
Spain by the French under the Duke of Angouleme
his recognition of the South American Republics, his
attacks on the Holy Alliance, sad the strange plots
formed against him by his old friends when he became
Prime Minister. In one part of the work it is stated as
a maaer of fact that the appointment of Sir Arthur
Wellesley to the command of the army in Portugal was
the sole act of Canning. We could almost wish the
statement to be taefonnded for the sake of Wellington
Himself. Another statement is here made, which shows
how much Wellington and Peel owed to Canning in
being able to carry the Catholic Relief
" The sacrifices he made for the sake of this question
were great. . Office was the least of them. lie sacrificed
for it all prospect of representing in Parliament that
university in which he had been educated, the crowning
object of all the dreams of his youthful ambition. Every-
thing was against him on this question ; his own party,
the King, the Duke of York,the
Premier, the Chan-
cellor, the Holm.> 4)1 Lords ; and, for many years the
House of C'imnsous, and Arm n ,pular prejudices in
England. He perseverect sjuiluktikxem #e brought

L,:aN it) N,

his influence and his eloquence-to Lear upon all these
masses of resistance. He Ittist aloof from all personal
intercourse with Caiholiedelegates, that he might stand-
clear of suspicion, and that the purity and indermience
of his motives should be above impeachment. He bore
down these antagonist forces one by one—weakened
their powers of hostility, and effectually succeeded in
winning over the most influential at.d indispensable
oeinions. What actual steps he took in the Cabinet
cannot be known, but they may be readily surmised. It
was quite evident that, under his influence, the tone of
the Csbitiet b: came slowly liberalised ; and that he had
recur( d the right to propound the Catholic quest on for
d:scussion amongst his coiltAgu. s, anti to c, minuniente
with his Majesty upon it, whenever he saw fit. To his
judicious and unwearied labours in this cause, must he
mainly attributed
rv:Gidllsoeibtrirgitegs.
Rea,
veryel
.yrt
ofh' settlement. ttie. th,hleietn
greatesteumi
atudltl monarch,
obstacleanhroHca thie,
depit,bnhr
eeeeeopnrojawraiunlitei.tteehh,r:eti.f
w wayi reluctancer
Wellingtonth
the
et
s; of
afhr
t
less in his hands in 1829."

There are scattered throughout the work sketches of
some of the leading characters that flourished in the
time of Canning, and in general they are drawn
and without unnecessary severity. The sketch of Wil-
berforce is perhaps a little o,er-celeured, but no one can
mistake the original ; and in another place, all honour
is done to him for the inestimable services he rendered
to the cause of übilition

" Wilberforce was the Parliamentary apostle of aboli-
tion. lie worked at it day and night, and prayed for it
with his daily bread. Honour to him for that, in spite
of all his crocheity little ways and eccentricities ! But
he was u sad bore to Pitt, always popping in his fears
and iniTivings at the most inopportune moments ;
sort of philanthropic Paul Pry, perpAually forgetting
his umbrella, and hoping he didn't intrude. Nobody
ever had such an inobtrusive way of oteruding his ad-
vice upon everybody. No matter what the question
was, or who the person, or how slight the acquaintance,
Wilberforce was sure to find some excuse for a hint or a
warning, with such excellent intentions, that it was im-
possible to give vent to the vexation he occasioned. He
had no suspicion of the possibility of doing mischief ;
but went blundering on with the most amiable sincerity
of purpose, good-naturedly setting all his friends right,
and knocking his head against everybody's business
with a simplicity of character upon which experience
was wastf-d in vain."

The character of Lord Liverpool, also, is well de-

scribed :

" In Lord Liverpool, now lost to the public service Tor
ever. Mr. Canning had to mourn the deprivation of a
steadfast and honourable personal friend ; the Mr. Jen-
kinson of Christ Chuich, whom he remembered so well
in his brown coat end the buttons with the initials of
the gr, at orators ; the Lord Hawkesbury of the young
days of Parliamentary strife and experimental diplo-
mact•, who used to make such gallant prophecies about
the tsar in France, and whose empty -Seriousness used to
give such offence to George 111. ; and, finally, that Lord
Liverpool who, by mere respectability of character, kept
together for fifteen years a cabinet composed of the most
incoegruous materials that had probably ever been as-
sembled. The secret of Lord Liverpool's success in re-
taining so long a lease of power lay in the fact that be
did not possess a single quality calculated to provoke
the jealousy or excite the insubordination of his col-
leagues. His control was purely nominal. Slow, up-
rigtit, practical—he never iitterfered with others, and
was suffered to go on in his track without check or inter-
ruption. Nobody feared him, nobcdy disliked him,
nobody doubted his probity. His good qualities were
all of a negative kind—the safest for a Minister who
seeks strength in combination. And this was Lord Li-
verpool's pre-eminent merit."
Before parting with Mr. Bell, we are bound to tell
him, that he is guilty of a most unpardonable propensity,
which mars in a great measure his qualities as a
biographer. We never remember to have seen any book
so encumbered with foot-notes as this ; they become ab-
solutely insufferable. The attention of the reader is
eternally distracted from the text to the notes, some-
times five deep in one page, and occasionally of great
length. The first half of the volume, which contains
altogether 368 pages, is disfigured by not fewer than 127
notes, independent of references to authorities. This
shows t ither great carelessness or hurry, or a want of
the " hump" of arrangement. Four-fifths of them might
have been embodied in the text, or omitted altogether.

THE PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY.
By Fred rich Von Schlegel.

A book of such a world-wide celebrity as this master-
piece of the great Schlegel, requires no commendation at
our hands ; in recommending it to the public we might
almost subject ourselves to the imputation of arrogance.
Its perusal is as necessary to every one who is desirous
of comprehending his position as a member of the human
family, as the perusal of Adam Smith's Wealth of Na-
tions is to the political economist, Tully to the rhetori-
cian, or Plato to the moralist. Frederick Schlegel, who
here comprises all times, generations, and empires past
in his comprehensive retrospect, while he applies their
aggregate weaning to the elucidation of the present, was
born in 1769, conformed to the Catholic religion
in 1805, and expired in 1629. In those simple
dates are contained the two outer limits and
the most memorable transition of a career which
will for ever and for ever mark that period of
German literature as with the star of Adonais. William
Augustus Schlegel, for his critical acumen, and Frede-
rick Schlegd, for his analytical subtlety, have no precise
parallels or compeers on record. There is an enthusiasm
and gusto about the one, and a shrewdness and lucidity
about the seller, almost peculiar to themselves in the
relative branches of their art. Hence the two brothers
must ever survive the mutations of science, of letters, or
of fashion, and be resorted to as authoritative in history
and the belles lettres. Mr. Bohn evinces a very admir-
able discrimination in the selection of reprints for his
" Standard Library," nor for the nonce could he possi-
bly have selected one more acceptable to his subscribers
than the "Philosophy of History." Here,Tor an amount
nasst extravagantly disproportioned to the value of the
disquisition. any one may obtain a work encyclopaedic
in its character. From its pages alone we may
derive a perspicuous knowledge of the gradations
mankind from the darkest periods of antiquity
even to the present century—a knowledge by which
many circumstances otherwise mysterious, or utterly in-
comprehensible, become unfold, d to us as links in that
sequential chain wbieli has conducted humanity up to its
present state of civilisation. More conceivable, more
beneficial, and more compatible with revealed religion,
than the wonderful theory of Lanark in reference to the
bodily development of man, this work traces out the ma-
turing causes which have mentally ripened the social
system, and from the inference's of which philosophy we
may acquire some notion of the to be of the mundane
futurity. A more glorious or elevated theme for con-
sideration could scarcely have been selected for the exer-
cise of genius; nor could it scarcely have been handled
with more inimitable sagacity. For its republication in
its present compact form, the publisher deserves every
encouragement.

LIFE AND PONTIFICATE OF LEO THE
TENTH. 2 Vols. By Thomas Roscoe.
Like the foregoing, the mere title of this publication
is sufficient ; it precludes criticism. Its merits and de-
merits, its beauties and deformities (if they may be so
harshly termed), have been already canvassed so re-
peatedly, that public opinion has confirmed itself in
their regard, and the volumes consigned. with a favour-
ing and sanctify ing e3timation, to the bookshelves. It is
scarcely so much with the character of the renowned
pontiff. of whose munificence, and learning, and grandeur
and influence it is an impartial record, or even with the
dispassionate tone and elegant language iu which that
record is couched by the celebrated Thomas Roscoe, that
our remarks have to do, as with the excellence of the
reprint just issued by Mr. Bohn. in his " Standard
Library," and at a price which disarms competition.
If the publisher perseveres in his really remarkable
undertaking, he will ultimately afford the public a Eerie,
of works as sterling in their merits as they are, under
nis arrangement of charges, attainable by the multi-
tude. We are glad to see he purposes issuing a conti-
nuation of the literary productions of Roscoe, in the
,hape of his most admirable translations; a circumstance
which, of itself, will be no inconsiderable boon to the
rending portion of the community. There is much clear-
ness in the typography, and no little taste in the general
embellishment of the " Standard Library"—adjuncts
of a somewhat simil,.r tendency are pre-
' which it would be almost unfair not to mention, as some
F publications
We can, in all sincerity, congratu-
late Mr. Bohn on what
nod and cheap literature to
the purpose of supplyin g
he has already accomplished for
Ily wish the series the prosperity
the million► cisely the reverse.
and cordially
to which it is so fully entitled.

AN ADDRESS upon the LAW and LIABILITIES
of RAILWAY SPECULATIO.N, HINTS
fix LEGISLATIVE INTERFERENCE. By
D. W. Harvey, E', q.
This is a remarkably well-timed little pamphlet, by
4r. Whittle Harvey, President of the Railway Mutual
Protection Society. It conics with an official impress,
and speaks the utility of the society and the attention
which the learned president has paid to the important
objects of the institution. We here have, in a small
compass, and in a popular form, the law and liabilities
upon a subject which, of all others, most engrosses the
public mind at the present time. We earnestly recom-
mend the perusal of this " Address" to whoever is upon a
railway committee or holds a share. We cordially con-
cur in the feelings of just exultation in which Mr. Har-
vey alludes to a sultject touching railway matters, which
!ie brought tssfore the House of Commons in 1836, and
which, though almost scouted at the time, has, within
the last few dap, imal m 1044 ip a royal commission.