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so , indeed , as to induce Mr . Pitt , who probably could have little other very cogent motive for befriending him , to offer him the post of Under Secretaryship of State , which he accepted in 1796 , and was accordingly returned for the Treasury borough of Wendover . But he was some time in the House
before he assumed courage to speak , although so strongly supported ; for he was returned to Parliament in 1793 , and his first effort was the speech in favour of the subsidy proposed to be granted in 1794 to the King of Sardinia , which
was not at all in his best style , and met with a reception more favourable than its intrinsic merits , perhaps , deserved . About five years afterwards , in 1799 , the young orator married Miss Scott , the sister of the Duchess of Portland , with whom he obtained such a fortune as
gave him more standing in the country than he had heretofore possessed ; and he continued a vehement supporter , and occasionally an ultra one , of Mr . Pitt and his measures , until the latter went out of office in the year 1803 . The short administration of Mr . Addington and his colleagues was determinately
opposed during its whole existence by Mr . Canning , whose talent for ridicule exhausted itself upon the Premier ' s person , while the political measures of the Ministry were assailed by his logic and his oratory . At this time he sat for the borough of Tralee ; and as he had gone out of office with Mr . Pitt , so he returned with that Minister in the new
situation of Treasurer of the Navy , which office he continued to hold until Mr . Pitt's death in 1806 . On the death of Mr . Pitt , Mr . Canning went into opposition again ; but his talents rendered him invaluable to any Ministry which could obtain his assistance ; and it was not long before he found himself again in power with an accession of rank ,
having joined the Duke of Portland , as Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs . It was in this capacity that he made his famous speeches upon the bombardment of Copenhagen and the seizure of the Danish fleet . And he also fought a duel , upon a dispute arising out of the conduct of the Walcheren expedition , with the late Marquis of Londonderry ,
then Lord Castlereagh , who was the Secretary for War and Colonies , which terminated in Mr . Canning ' s being wounded , and in both parties going out of office . It was Lord Castlereagh who gave the challenge ; and at bix o ' clock on the m 6 rning of the 21 st of September , 1809 , the parties met near the telegraph , Putney-heath . Lord Castle-
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reagh was attended by the present Marquis of Hertford , and Mr . Canning by Mr . Ellis . After taking their ground , they fired by signal , and missed ; but no explanation taking place , they fired a second time , when Mr . Canning received his adversary ' s ball in his thigh . He did not fall from the wound , nor was it known by the seconds that he
was wounded , and both parties stood ready to give or receive further satisfaction , when Mr . Ellis , perceiving blood on Mr . Canning ' s leg , the seconds interfered . Mr . Canning was conveyed to his house , Glocester-lodge , at Brompton , where he was for some time confined ; but as the bone of the thigh was not fractured , he recovered sufficiently to attend the levee on the 11 th of
October , and resign his seals of office , as did Lord Castlereagh also . " The quarrel excited a considerable sensation among the friends of both parties at the time ; and it was understood that his late Majesty expressed his strong disapprobation of the practice of settling ministerial disputes by
sword or pistol . Mr . Canning addressed two letters to Earl Camden ( which were published ) , defending the part which he had taken in the affair ; but the result was , his separation from the party with which he had acted ; and not long after he made that which may be considered as his first demonstration in favour of
popular principles , by offering himself as a candidate for . the representation of Liverpool , for which place he was elected in 1812 . Mr . Canning stood four times for Liverpool , and was each time elected , but never without a strong opposition . On the first occasion he had four antagonists , and his majority was 500 : the numbers being for Mr .
Canning , 1 , 631 ; for General Gascoyne ( the second member ) , 1 , 532 ; for Mr . Brougham , 1 , 131 ; for Mr . Creevey , 1 , 068 ; and for General Tarleton , 11 . The second election took place after Mr . Canning ' s embassy to Lisbon , and very great exertions indeed were made to throw him out ; but he was nevertheless returned after a struggle of three days , by the retirement of his opponent ,
Mr . Leyland ; whose name , indeed , had been set up by the hostile party > in spite of his personal declaration that he was desirous not to serve . The third election , of 1818 , was distinguished by an extraordinary quantity of electioneering manoeuvre , eighteen nominal candidates having been set up , on one side and the other , in addition to the four real ones ; the majority , however , of Mr . Canning , was greater than on any occasion be-
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Obituary .- " Bight Hon . George Canning . 689
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Sept. 2, 1827, page 689, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1800/page/57/
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