The Sun.
London, England, 1827-08-09 00:00:00

SPIMIT 44 THE PUBLIC JOURNALS.

We recorded yesterday, in a Second Edition
of the nines, that melancholy, but not unfore-
seen event, which has deprived the empire of an
accomplished and powerful Statesman, when such
a loss could ill be borne. The late Prime Mi-
nister is the last of five who may be said to have
perished at their posts within the last 22 years
—all, with the exception of Mr. Perceval, sink-
ing under the toils and cares of office, or under
vexations incidental to it, and operating on al-
ready shattered constitutions. The names of
Pitt, Fox, and Liverpool, and Canning, are
warnings to political ambition in.this country, of
the end which too often betides it. Elsewhere
will be found, in somewhat of the form of a me-
moir, the successive dates and circumstances
which divide the several stages of Mr. Canning's
life. These we pass over as milestones on a
journey, feeling a far deeper , interest in the per-
son and character of him.whose rapid course they
measured, and in the scene on which we lose
sight of a fellow-traveller, who has bidden us an
eternal farewell, Mr. Canning evinced over the
companions of his boyhood a superiority of quick
intelligence, to which 'there could not be tliirly
kipplieit the usual term " precocious." There
wva nothing premature in his early talent—no-
thing fallacious, forced, or disappointing. The
lead which he took when a child, he maintained
through the intellectual tilts of youth, and
through the sterner struggles of ambitious and
unyielding manhood, until, after some partial de-
feats and vicissitudes, for which he was more to
blame than fortune, he reached the ne plus ultra
of,a British subject, and fell while the civilized
world still cheered him with shouts of applause
and felicitation. To the prompt and sensitive
excitability of Mr. Canning, may be traced the
impediments which retarded his final • success,
and which snore than once threatened to frus-
trate his more aspiring efforts. If Mr. Canning
could have subdued for a while the indignation
under which he wrought against Lord Castlereagh,
by means which afforded his personal enemies a
pretext for representing him, though falsely, as an
intriguer, the feelings ofother members ofthe Art-
land Cabinet would have co-operated with-liim
and with the public voice, and have expelled, with
something like contempt, from office, the incom-
petent author and director of the ruinous Wal-
cheren expedition. The issue of this indiscreet
quarrel with Lord Castlereagh was, their simul-
taneous loss of office, and Mr. Canning's long
exclusion. The more plausible and measured
temperament of Mr. 'Canning's adversary intro-
duced him again to power under Mr. Perceval
in the department of Foreign 'Affairs, in which
situation he had the good fortune to inflict on
Mr. Canning the deep -disgrace of an overpaid
and unnecessary, embassy to Lisbon. This was
the real blot on Mi. Canning's political embla-
zonment—one, indeed, which we are ready to
acknowledge that a series of illustrious services
hive long since compensated and redeemed, if
they have not entirely obliterated ; but which
the faith and moral use of history impose upon
us the reluctant duty of here affixing to the name
of Mr. Canning. That the earlier portions of
this statesman's life exhibited no evidence com-
pared with that which has flowed from every
week and hour of its more recent progress, on
which could be established any of Mr. Canning's
now indefeasible claim to the reputation of a
friend of human liberty, may be accounted for by li
the subaltern order of those duties which, until
within these three years, and since the overthrow
of Buonaparte, he had been called upon to dis-
charge. An exception of course will be made 1
for the time during which he filled a Cabinet
office under Mr. Pitt and the Duke of Portland ;
but then the great interests of the war swallowed
up all questions on which might hinge the fame
of a statesman for his free or despotic principles :
so that it was not until his acceptance of the
poit of Foreign Minister, after the self-destruc-
tion of Lord Londonderry, that Mr. Canning
had at once the forces wherewith to act, and a
field on which to display them. Try the de-
parted statesman by a testiike this, and then let
every Englishman determine how much he gained
by Lord, Londonderry's death, and what he has
lost in Mr. Canning ! England was disen-
gaged from the trammels of the Holy
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 Ameri-
cans, which is at once its own guarantee and re-
ward. Constitutional P'ortugal has been upheld
against the invasions of the House of Bourbon,
by diplomatic skill and military energy, so di-
rected, disposed, and justified, as to protect, ac-
cording 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 indeperidence 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 seasonable exercise, by the mere
notoriety. that Mr. Canning was Minister of
Great Britain. At home, whatever has been at-
tempted by his Government, has been attempted
well, though, thanks to his enemies and those of
the people of England, it has not been so well
accomplished. .The .principles which
he would
have realised, had . life. and power been granted,
were those under which tbe poor man's food
i
would have been ncreased,`and the national ex-
The .qbestion now , is he-
poises economised.
tvveen two classes of Successors to this able Mi-
nister; one of whom would diminish the bread,
and perpetuate the taxes ; while the, other stands
pledged to the system of humanity and economy,
consecrated by the dying, breath of Mr. Canning.
Of the ornaments and accessories of the de-
ceased Minister, whether as a member of the
Senate or of society, it is not strictly our
design to speak. His eloquence—that much
and dangerously 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 in it : they
formed its distinctions and its attractions ; but
they are characteristics of a secondary rank. In
our minds
.14r. Canning was not the foremost,
though alio* the foremost, of cotemporary
speakers. Brougham is more sarcastic, more
impetuous, inure fruitful 'and discursive—
Plunkett more logical, more original, more forci-
ble, 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 vi

his youth seem to be attached and devoted to,
him, while he is said to have been -gaining ra-
pidly 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.

Curiosity is extremely active in observing
whether any, and what indications may be given,
of the manner in which Mr.- Canning splace is
to be supplied, but it can as yet fix upon no de-
cisive facts. Lord Lansdowne's attendance upon
his Majesty was of an official character. His
situation required that he should report the
death of the Prime Minister. But Lord
Goderich and Mr. Sturges Bourne have been
" sent for." How short a time is it since this
expression " sent for" was in full use and em-
ployment before ? The Marquis-of Lansdowne,
though not " sent for," may have conversed with
his .Majesty on the subject of some future ar-
rangement ; and Lord Goderich and Mr.
Sturges Bourne are members of Mr. Canning's
Administration—the latter particularly attached
to his person, and the depositary of his confi-
dence- We merely state these circumstances :
let others weigh how far they may be entitled to
form the basis of a conjecture.—lbid.
Mr. Canning is no more—Peace to his manes !
Never hid he a greater admirer, or a friend more
cordial, than we are proud to confess ourselves
to hate been towards him, so long as he adhered
with apparent sincerity to those principles by
which our country under Providence has been
saved, and her glory elevated to the highest pitch
of human splendour. That he should ever have
erred from the fair and open path of rectitude,
to entangle himself in the wiles of a faction,
whose sinister views and dangerous projects he
had so long and so nobly combatted, is a consi-
deration which has of late weighed heavily upon
our mind, and a circumstance which we shall
never to cease to regret' and deplore. But, dc
niorluis nil nisi bonuni ; and looking for the
future only to . his good and splendid qualities,
we are sincerely anxious to forget those recent
events of his life which have unfortunately cast
so deep a shade upon his earlier and better years,
when the lustre of his talents shone forth to the
admiration of the world, and in some degree to
the credit and advantage of his country. Whilst
we deeply lament, that for purposes of undue
ambition, he should have thrown himself into
the arms of the basest revilers of his Sovereign
and the worst enemies
,of the Constitution, we
cannot at the same time help recollecting with
exultation and delight, the success of his brilliant
'exertions in better times, in holding up to public
execration the iniquitous views and perfidious
designs of tho'se very men with whom in an evil
hour he has since been induced to coalesce and
make common cause. That portion of Mr. Can-
ning'g life will cause his memory to be revered by
us to the last moment of our existence; nor will
the country, we hope, have any cause to entertain
a different feeling upon the subject, since the
season of error was so brief that no chance was
afforded of any materially injurious consequences
resulting from it. Mr. Canning, though lately
degraded by becoming the colleague of Whiga
kand Radicals, it must never be forgotten, was
t once the chief expositor of the insidious pur-
poses of the former, and the treasonable designs
,
of the latter. The country is,, therefore, in a
high degree his debtor for his early services,
whilst it has no specific charge of injury to al-
lege against him for his conduct during his
sh( -'4?ction with the libellers of the K•

sort conin _mg
and the enemies of the State—the reflection of
his unnatural union with whom, we firmly be-
lieve, sunk deeply in his mind, and cut short a
life which, under different circumstances, might
have proved valuably lasting to his country.—
With this just tribute to the memory of an
highly talented and distinguished Statesman,
upon whose mortal remains the tomb is now
about to close, we conclude, for the present, as
we commenced this hasty sketch, with the sin-
cere and devout offering of our prayer—Peace to
his manes.—Morning Post.
.
Mr. Canning is no more. For this event our
readers must have been prepared by the accounts
of his hopeless state which we have been under
the necessity of publishing for some days past.
For full particulars of Mr. Canning's last mo-
ments we refer them to our subsequent columns ;
and from which we will not distract their atten-
tion by any comments at this moment. That
the circumstance is one of great public interest
cannot be doubted ; but that it is an event which
need give rise to any of those feelings of despair
in which some of our contemporaries have in-
dulged, we do not believe. The country has
heretofore weathered greater evils than the loss of
Mr. Canning; and will, we have no doubt, sur-
vive an event which his warmest friends must
have all along foreseen.—Morning Herald.
In a Second Edition of the New Times, yes-
terday, we announced the death of Mr. Can-
ning; an event, for which our readers musehave
been fully prepared, by the tenor of our previous
observations. For all the melancholy details
connected with this national calamity, we must
refer to another part of our paper. They will
be read with deep interest. Thus have the hopes
of Mr. Canning's enemies been realized—thus
has perished, at an early age, one of the most
,gifted Ministers ever entrusted with the destinies
:of nations. For the Government of England is
not that of an individual people. The mag-
nitude of her empire, and the events and wis-
dom which have raised her to the rank which she
ioccupies, have rendered her Administration cos-
inopolite. Every principle which it puts forth—
every act which it performs--are felt, in their
;consequences, throughout the earth ; and her
',policy becomes, in a greater or a less degree, at
a later or earlier period, the rule by which States
'and Monarchies are guided, and nations exalted
or depressed, in the scale of public freedom and
prosperity. In the hands of Mr. Canning that
policy added to its cosmopolitan character, the
still nobler feature of patriotic, united with
universal, beneficence. It dropped those an-
cient prejudices, the offspring of misdirected
egotism, which, under the name of protection,
arrested and injured the best interests of the
country. It established as an active principle,
that which was a law of nature, and a condition
.of the improvement of mankind—the free reci-
procity of commercial intercourse; it threw open
the wealth of nature, and the fruits of man's in-
dustry, under every clime and every social and
political modification, to the enjoyment of all ;
fnd it laid for future and not distant ages the
oundation of a system calculated to mingle all
interests into one, and thus to put an end to
those jealousies from which wars have hitherto

arisen, with all the calamities- of nations. - The,
sole guide of Mr. Canning's political life!
Was patriotism, or, in less suspicious lan-:
gunge, the -sincere love of his country.—
That was the living principle within him.
It inspired him at his political birth, and
broke forth in the incoherent expression of'
his last earthly struggles. If it ever 'moved in
more paths than it never changed its nature;
and what rivals or enemies degraded into incon-
sistency, was a due regard to the danger or inte-
rests of the State, which, under altered circum-
stances, required the bold or the softened asser-
tion of the same principles, the use or the laying
down of the same powers, and the pursuit or
abandonment of the, same policy. Tus, when
France was in flames, and the Co titient in
blood—when Revolution thundered at our gates, .
and thousands stood ready to welcome her with-
in—Mr. Canning sprung in his might, and,
with the omnipotence of patriotism, wit, and
genius, dashed invading jacobinism to the earth,
and sent back its crest-fallen votaries and allies
howling to their dens. When, at a later period,
the distresses of the times, artfully turned by
demagogues into weapons of rebellion, had laid
open the industrious classes to seduction, and
they were taught to consummate their own rum,
by destroying the lives and resources of their
employers, Mr. Canning again stood forth, the
repressor of outrage, the protector of property,
and, however misrepresented and abused, the
real friend of the people ; but when external and
internal danger had passed away—when the
Giant, who had raised the world against us, was in
his grave, and the very name of disaffection and
Radicalism had lost its meaning in the land—
was it inconsistent in Mr. Canning to think that
by a more liberal policy abroad, and an entire
confidence in the loyalty of the people at home,
tke interests of the country would be best pro-
moted, and her peace and prosperity best se-
cured ? \Vas it inconsistent in him to act upon
this conception—to enforce it by every power of
mind and eloquence—to devote his life to its
establishment, as the policy of his country, and
to perish in its support ? If, in the course of his
struggles with ancient prejudices or party jea-
lousies, when deprived of the valuable co-opera-
tion of his faithful friend, the Earl of Liverpool,
and when deserted, at the utmost need, by the pre-
tended friends of the King, he refused to follow
their example, and to desert his Sovereign and
his country—if, in consequence of his fidelity
and his patriotism, and in, order to prevent the
degradation of the Throne, and the overthrow
of all the political relations, of the State, he
obeyed the Royal mandate, and mingled his la-
bours with those whom his Monarch found
alone able and willing to stand by him at the most
trying hour, where is the inconsistency of his
conduet ? Did he depart from that principle of
duty to his King and love to his country which
had been his first and sole guide through thirty
years of difficulties and dangers,? His boldest
calumniator cannot say that he did. " But he
served with the Whigs !" Yes, he repudiated
party, when fidelity to party would have been
high treason to the Crown. He did not fling
office back into the face of his Sovereign and his
1 benefactor, to compel him to abdicate his Royal
Prerogative, and do the imperious biddings of a
faction. He obeyed, where others would coin-
mand ; and by obedience preserved the inde-
pendence of the Throne, at the cost of his health
—his life! Let such obedience be called in-
consistency, nay, " infamy," (for it has been so
termed by his former flatterers). The King,
whose rights it secured, and the country, whom
it rescued from the sway of an ambitious oli-
garchy, know how to appreciate the devotion
which ends in death, and to embalm it for pos-
terity in their deepest and most lasting grati-
tude. In this general sketch of Mr. Canning's
policy and ruling principle, we have not thought
it necessary to advert to those extraordinary
powers which, though they could not disarm,
and even created, hostility, yet crushed it with
instant stroke whenever it ventured to raise it-
self openly—nor to those brighter qualities of
mind which imparted, to the most trite or in-
tricate subject, a portion of their own efful-
gence. Too short a time has elapsed since the
country rung with the echo of his varied and
commanding eloquence=and the superiority of
his intellect is too imperishably recorded in the
matchless State Paperoostlch have, at different
times issued from his pen—to require, or even
to allow of, an incentive to memory, or to ad-
miration. His measures are before the world,
and have controuled the world. An emancipat-
ed hemisphere bears testiniony to their wisdom--
the progress of constitutional principles among
Continental States proves their efficacy—whilst
the staunching of Christian blood in the East
has surrounded the death-bed of the expiring
Minister with the prayers and blessings of an
half exterminated people.—New Times.