Page:History of the Radical Party in Parliament.djvu/181

1827.] Death of Castlereagh to Canning's Premiership. 167 appearance, not as an isolated fact, but as a result of the natural historical growth of the Liberal tendencies of the nation, increased in power and influence. It was neither unnatural nor unfortunate, therefore, that the man who was to give expression to, and convert into active policy, this national feeling in favour of freedom, should be a member of the Tory party. Had he been a Whig, he would have had no power to carry Parliament with him ; and the fear that he might introduce the same principles into his treatment of domestic affairs would have closed the ranks of the dominant faction, against which opposition would have been useless. Canning was, on many of the most prominent subjects of the day, a Tory of Tories. He was the most persistent and the most determined of the enemies of Parlia- mentary reform, and he maintained the privileges and powers of the English Church with the greatest vigour, and so it seemed that he might be trusted to support Liberalism abroad, without danger of applying it too recklessly at home. The old leaders of the party, indeed, distrusted him, and in that they did but follow an instinct which told them that the spirit in which Canning was inclined to work was perilous to them and to their doctrines. It is true that, in his advocacy of Catholic emancipation, he was in agreement not only with Pitt, but also with Castlereagh ; but with them, and especially with Castlereagh, the opinion was one to be avowed as a theory and as a part of a bargain made at the time of the union, but not to be pushed forward with any zeal, or even with much desire for its success. With Canning the case was different : he was the actual ally and encourager of men whose whole life and soul were devoted to the cause, and he took it up with the intention of carrying it to a successful issue. This distinction, however, was not recognized as vital by many of the Tories in the House of Commons, nor were they quite alive to the effect which the commercial and financial policy of Canning and Huskisson might have upon the interests of the landed proprietary and the fortunes of their party. And so, in spite alike of the wishes of King and Cabinet, Canning