CANNING, Charles John (1812-1862), of

The youngest son of George Canning, whose brief tenure as prime minister ended with his death, Apr. 1827, Canning enjoyed a brief spell in the Commons before embarking on a distinguished ministerial career, culminating in his appointment as India’s first viceroy in 1858. Canning had been educated at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford, where his contemporaries included many future Peelite colleagues, notably William Gladstone, Sidney Herbert, Edward Cardwell, and Henry Pelham Clinton, earl of Lincoln, later the 5th duke of Newcastle.1M. Maclagan, ‘Clemency’ Canning (1962), 7. He arrived too late at Peterborough to proceed with his planned candidature at the 1835 general election, but Lady Holland noted that ‘he is a fine young man, with considerable abilities & quickness, & probably will distinguish himself in public life when he has an opportunity of so doing’.2Elizabeth, Lady Holland to her son, 1821-1845, ed. earl of Ilchester (1946), 155 (23 Jan. 1835). Shortly afterwards, according to Charles Greville, the prime minister Sir Robert Peel offered Canning a vacant lordship of the treasury, but his mother, who had been created viscountess Canning of Kilbrahan, 22 Jan. 1828, refused, insisting that her son gain some parliamentary experience before accepting office.3C. Greville, The Greville memoirs (1888), iii. 207 (8 Feb. 1835).

An opportunity soon arose at Warwick, where Canning, whom Raikes described as a ‘strong Conservative’, offered on the ‘Castle interest’ of the Tory earl of Warwick and defeated a reformer at the by-election, 23 Aug. 1836.4T. Raikes, Raikes journal (1857), iii. 27 (26 Aug. 1836). Canning had little time to make an impression in the Commons before succeeding to his mother’s peerage early in the following session, by which point he had recorded votes against political reforms such as abolishing the property qualification for MPs and the ballot, 14 Feb., 7 Mar. 1837. Canning does not appear to have spoken in the Commons and seldom spoke in the Lords, but his administrative talents were highly prized and he served as under-secretary for foreign affairs in Peel’s second government, 1841-6. He followed his chief in supporting the repeal of the corn laws in 1846 and was postmaster-general in Aberdeen’s coalition government, although he was ‘very hurt’ not to be in the Cabinet.5Prince Albert, ‘Memorandum’, 28 Dec. 1852, repr. in The letters of Queen Victoria, 1837-1861 ed. A.C. Benson and visct. Esher (1907), ii. 519.

Appointed governor-general of India by Palmerston, Canning’s calm handling of the Mutiny in 1857 and his resistance to the demands for vengeance from much of the press, public and expatriates earned him the nickname ‘Clemency Canning’.6McLagan, ‘Clemency’ Canning, chs. 3-10. Thereafter Indian government was to be carried out under the Crown, rather than the East India Company, and Canning became India’s first viceroy in 1858 and was elevated to an earldom the following year.7Ibid., ch. 10; T. Metcalf, ‘Canning, Charles John, Earl Canning (1812-62)’, www.oxforddnb.com. Although on his return to England in spring 1862 it was expected that Canning would be an increasingly important presence in future governments, especially as he was not yet 50, his time in India had taken a heavy toll, whilst the death of his wife the previous winter had been a grievous loss.8Lord E. Fitzmaurice, The life of earl Granville, 1815-1891 (1905), i. 407-8. He died a few months later from a liver abscess, and his friend and colleague George Granville, 2nd earl Granville noted that ‘nearly all his organs were found to be destroyed by the heavy strain’ of his duties in the subcontinent.9Ibid., 409. As Canning was childless his titles became extinct, but his estate passed to his sister’s surviving son, Hubert de Burgh, later 2nd marquess of Clanricarde (1832-1916).10Maclagan, ‘Clemency’ Canning, p. xv.