Literary cadet, and Saturday evening bulletin. [volume] (Providence, R.I.) 1826-1827, 1826-05-13

MIR. CANNlNG's ELOQUENCE.


MIR. CANNlNG'S ELOQUENCE.
The subsequent article on the Eloquence Of
GEORGE CANNING, originally appeared in a work
issued from the London press last summer, entitled
/" Babylon the Great" from which it is extracted.
The work in question contains sketches Of the most
eminent british statesmen, and is said, by the re-
viewers, TO be very interesting.
Since the time Of PITT ami Fox, no Minister has
CANNING and Whatever relates TO a man whose
name is familiar TO II large proportion of tho inhab-
itants Of Europe and America, will be perused with
avility by those who seek for information touching
the mos. eminent nan OF the times.
Mr.. CANNING, to his honor be it said, is the
builder Of mis- own fortune and fame, and is indebted
to nothing but his talents, his industry and perse-
verance, for the exalted station he commands. But
in rising in the world, he has not stopped to the low
idolatry ola courtier, or become the tool and pan
der of his King but with a frmness and an indie
~pendence which sometimes make Il throne totter,
he has journeyed on to fame and honors, boldly
defying the obstacles erected by m~alignity and en-
Wy to oppose him.
In our happy country, where political and relig-
ious institutions are free and unpollutcj-where
bigotry cannot attaint and where aristccracy can.
not exist-instances Of individuals rising by the
mere force of their genius and industry, to the first
honors Of the nation, are not rare. And whilst we
remember that with us,every individual, no matter
- - 4 - 1T - -- t..
been his youthful days, may aspire &c the highest of
national honours, and attain them, it should teach US
TO place an inestimable value on the institutions CT
our country, and incite us to a course Of life which
in the end cannot fail of being productive of the
highest rewards.
In this respect we maintain q decided advantage
and superiority over the monarchies and aristocra-
cies Of Europe, where talent is too often depressed
by the tyranny of Lordiing, and where genius is
crushed by wealth, or silenced and subdued by the
charms of the " Star and Carter" But in no coun-
try on earth can genius, if governed by virtue,
independence and honesty, be depressed for it will
work out its own level, and find its own reward,
reckless Of opposition or malignity, or the frowns
~ y- eN N"6''"ttN ~ N'NsS
uuerrins and fixed principles, GEORGE CANNING
has risen from comparative obscurity, to an emf
nence in the political relations of the British nation,
which but few have attained, and stands among the
first and the best of pre-eminent modern statesmen.
Thcre is not a man living whose appearance is
calculated to put you in better humour with official
| men, with parliamentary orators, with Englishmen,
with mnnkiul in oenpral M even (suItnO- Dpr-
chance, n tingc Of envy with yourself, than this
same aIniable, elegant, eloquent, and, as the event
has proved, liberal and truly English Secretary.
No mans appearance can be more prepossessing than
that of Mr.. Gaming. You do not, indeed, at once
give him your heart, as you do the Chancellor OF
the Exchequer-whose bearing is molesty, and
whose look is candour itself; neither do you yield
mp your mind TO him as you do to the calm, pro-
found, aud searching philosophy of IIuskisson.; but
taking him upon the whole, as he looks and as he
acts, whether as a man or as an orator, he is more
agreeable, more delightful than they. Without
having a single trace of pedantry, Of foppery, or
afrectation about him, Mr.. Canning has more of the
real art of the orator than any other man in the
House. In the range Of his powers, and in depth
of knowledge, more especially on philosophical
subjects, he is inferior to Brougham but in all
those qualitie. which arc calculated to dazzle and
to win an enlightened audience, he is decidedly SUI
perior. Cannin ss head is about the finest you can
meet with. II does not, to be sure, indicate that
depth or that power which are indicated by some
others; hut there is so much symmetry and grace,
so perfect a balancing Of all its faculties, and so to-
tai an absence Of every thing harsh, or mean, or
vulgar, that If he were not a very able man, the
anticipation is so great that his speeches would APP
pear to he fables. But his manner, and, generally
speaking, his matter, are worthy Of the stannary $50
to speak) Of his eloquence. His voice is not SO tre-
mendously loud when elevated, neither can it sink
into the curious under-tone which seems peculiar to
Brougham ; but it is deep and musical, and accords
with his open and manly expression; and though
his action &c somewhat more theatrical than 1t
would be safe for inferior men to undertake., yet no
man knows better how to suit the action TO the
word. Thelanguage which Mr.. Canning employs
is exceedingly snowy and his style, though never
tiresome, is very elaborate. One cannot pronounce
that he is the most acute and close of logicians but
he is generally 60 clear, and always 30 specious, that
one follows him with pleasure. But though he
succeeds well in the establishment OF his own posi-
tions, his forte obviously lies in sacking and demol-
i.hiuy those Of hi. antagonists. He does this with
a wit aud sprightliness truly Horatian and when
he lets loose the arrows of his wit against any per-
sonage, that parsonage must have previously got far
into your esteem, if he do not the while, appear an
object of ridicule. This poignant, and apparently
playful wit, is a more provoking, and, occasionally,
a more powerful weapon, than even the invective Of
Brougham. Brougham, too, can deal in irony, but
his IRONY nj ways zoe, so deep, that you are more
disposed to dislike or pity the object, than to laugh
at him; while the most bitter things that are ut
tered by the secretary, are uttered with perfect