PRIME MINISTER GEORGE CANNING (GREAT BRITAIN) - THIRD PERSON AUTOGRAPH LETTER 07/08/1909 - HFSID 87733

GEORGE CANNING
The then-Foreign Affairs Secretary writes note of apology for missing a scheduled appointment
Third Person Autograph Letter: "Mr. Canning" three times in text, 2 page front and verso, 4½x7. Stanhope, County Durham, Englan. 1809 August 7. In part: "Mr. Canning presents his compliments to the Count J. de Perysage and entreats his forgiveness for not meeting him according to his appointment here this morning. The arrival of intelligence from the Baltick (sic) has made it necessary for Mr. Canning to go down to the Office early...." George Canning (1770-1827) came from a gentlemanly family of limited means, his father abandoned the family and died in poverty before Canning's first birthday and his mother was force to take up work as a stage actress; fortunately, his uncle Stratford Canning took him in as a ward and sent young George to the best schools in England where he excelled at public orations and proved to be a brilliant classicalist. Like most men of this time, Canning came into politics with all the excitement of the French Revolution guiding his ideals, but after seeing the radicalization in France during the Reign of Terror, he switched to the other extreme and became more conservative, becoming a leader in William Pitt the Younger's "Tory" party. He twice served as Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (1807-1809, 1822-1827) during which he founded and wrote in his famous newspaper, The Anti-Jacobin, which supported Pitt's government and condemned revolutionary (Jacobin) works. Canning had a famous rivalry with the Secretary of State for War and the Colonies, Lord Castlereagh, which all but paralyzed the entire British government, and which culminated in a very public 1809 duel. Canning was shot in the leg and Castlereagh was unharmed, yet both decided to resign from their current positions. Canning later returned to his old Foreign Secretary position, and again became powerful under the administration of Lord Liverpool, whom Canning replaced as Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer in 1827, only to die of poor health 119 days later, making his period in office the shortest in the history of the United Kingdom. Canning was buried in Westminster Abbey and his widow was titled the 1st Viscountess Canning in 1828, as a remainder for Canning's children. Folds. Lightly creased. ¼-inch separation at blank mid-vertical fold. Mounting remnant at upper left blank corner (light show through at blank area) and tape stains (no show through) at blank right margin of verso of integral leaf. Nicked at upper blank edge of first page. Otherwise, fine condition.