Lord Grenville 1806-1807
Henry Addington was born in 1759. Henry's father, Dr. Anthony Addington, had several important patients including the prime minister, Lord Chatham and his son, William Pitt. After being educated at Winchester School and Oxford University he became a lawyer.
Addington's friendship with the Pitt family helped him obtain the seat for Devizes in 1784. Later that year, William Pitt, like his father before him, became prime minister of Britain. Henry Addington was a loyal supporter of Pitt's Tory administration. Although Addington was only thirty, in 1789 Pitt suggested that he should become speaker of the House of Commons. Addington agreed with the proposal and with the help of Pitt was elected as speaker. The post received a salary of £6,000 a year and this enabled Addington to purchase a large estate in Reading.
William Pitt's policy of Catholic Emancipation so upset King George III that he asked Addington to help him remove his prime minister. After discussing the matter with Pitt, Addington agreed, and in 1801 he became Britain's new prime minister. Several ministers such as George Canning and Lord Castlereagh who agreed with Pitt's policy on Catholics, refused to serve under Addington. Henry Addington was an unpopular prime minister and in 1804 large numbers of his own party turned against him and he decided to resign.
The following year Addington was granted the title of Lord Sidmouth and agreed to serve as a minister in Pitt's government. However, he only served under William Pitt for six months. When Pitt refused to promote Viscount Sidmouth's friends he resigned from the cabinet.
In 1812 Lord Liverpool became prime minister and he offered Sidmouth the post of Home Secretary in his new government. Viscount Sidmouth now had the responsibility of dealing with social unrest in Britain. This included making machine-breaking an offence punishable by death. On one day alone, fourteen Luddites were executed in York. Social unrest continued and in 1817, Sidmouth was responsible for the passing of what became known as the Gagging Acts. This resulted in the arrest and imprisonment of radical journalists such as Richard Carlile.
The unpopularity of Sidmouth increased in 1819 after he wrote a letter supporting the action of the magistrates and the Manchester & Salford Yeomanry at what opponents called the Peterloo Massacre. In November 1819, Sidmouth persuaded Parliament to pass a series of repressive measures that became known as the Six Acts. Sidmouth retired from office in 1821. He continued to support the Tories in parliament and voted against Catholic Emancipation in 1829 and the Reform Act of 1832. Lord Sidmouth died on 15th February 1844.
Duke of Portland 1807-1809
William Cavendish Bentinck, the eldest son of the 2nd Duke of Portland, was born in 1738. Educated at Eton and Oxford University, in 1761 Bentinck was elected to represent the Woeby constituency. After a year in the House of Commons, Bentinck's father died and he therefore became the 3rd Duke of Portland.
In July 1765, Portland entered Lord Rockingham's Whig cabinet, where he served as lord chamberlain until the fall of the government the following year. The Duke of Portland returned to power in 1782 when Lord Rockingham appointed him as lord lieutenant of Ireland.
For a short period in 1783 the Duke of Portland became leader of the Whig administration. The Duke of Portland's government was concerned with the power of the East India Company and in 1783 Charles Fox attempted to persuade Parliament to pass a bill that would replace the company's directors with a board of commissioners. George III made it known to the House of Lords that he would consider anyone voting with the Bill an enemy. As a result of this interference, Portland's government resigned.
William Pitt, a Tory, replaced Portland as Prime Minister and held office for the next eighteen years. In 1794, Portland and a group of the Whigs entered a formal alliance with Pitt. Portland became Home Secretary and played an important role in the passing of the Act of Union in 1801. The Duke of Portland also served as Home Secretary under Henry Addington who was Prime Minister between 1801 and 1804.
When Lord Grenville resigned in 1807 over the refusal of George III to accept Catholic Emancipation, the Duke of Portland agreed to form a new administration. Now sixty-nine years old and in poor health, Portland remained in office until shortly before his death in 1809.
Spencer Perceval 1809-1812
Spencer Perceval, the son of the 2nd Earl of Egmont, was born in 1762. After being educated at Harrow and Trinity College, Cambridge, he became a lawyer.
In 1796 Perceval was elected MP for Northampton. In the House of Commons Perceval became a strong supporter of William Pitt and the Tory group in Parliament. When Henry Addington became Prime Minister in 1801 he appointed Perceval as his solicitor-general. The following year he was promoted to attorney-general.
When Lord Portland became Prime Minister in 1807 he appointed Perceval as his Chancellor of the Exchequer. Perceval got on well with George III and loyally supported the king's opposition to Catholic Emancipation.
When Portland died in 1809, Spencer Perceval accepted the king offer to become Prime Minister. Perceval's period of power coincided with an economic depression and considerable industrial unrest. This resulted in his government introducing repressive methods against the Luddites. This included the Frame-Breaking Act which made the destruction of machines a capital offence.
Perceval held the post until 1812 when he became the only British Prime Minister in history to be assassinated. Spencer Perceval was shot when entering the lobby of the House of Commons by John Bellingham, a failed businessman from Liverpool. Bellingham, who blamed Perceval for his financial difficulties, was later hanged for his crime.
Lord Liverpool 1812-1827
Robert Jenkinson, the eldest son of the first Earl of Liverpool, was born on 7th June, 1770. He was educated at Charterhouse and Christ Church, Cambridge. At the age of twenty Robert was granted the seat of Appleby, a pocket borough owned by Sir James Lowther. Robert Jenkinson was a Tory and in May 1793, he spoke against Earl Grey's attempt to introduce parliamentary reform.
In February 1801, the Prime Minister, Viscount Sidmouth, promoted Jenkinson to the cabinet. Two years later Sidmouth granted Jenkinson the title Lord Hawkesbury in November 1803. When Pitt replaced Sidmouth as Prime Minister in 1804, Jenkinson became leader of the government in the House of Lords.
On the death of his father in December, 1808, Jenkinson became the second Earl of Liverpool. WhenSpencer Perceval became prime minister in 1809 he appointed Lord Liverpool as secretary of war and the colonies. Perceval was assassinated in 1812, by a deranged bankrupt who blamed the government for his troubles, and Lord Liverpool was asked to become Britain's new prime minister.
Lord Liverpool was to remain in office for fifteen years. At first Liverpool was a popular prime minister. In 1815 British forces were victorious at the Battle of Waterloo. The abdication of Napoleon and the successful conclusion of the French Wars improved the public standing of Lord Liverpool's government. It was hoped that with the end of the conflict in Europe Lord Liverpool's government would be able to concentrate on introducing the social reforms that were much needed in Britain.
Liverpool disagreed with those who advocated reform. He reacted to the growth in the radical press by increasing the tax on newspapers. Radical journalists such as Robert Carlile and Henry Hetherington, responded by campaigning for an end to all taxes on knowledge.
In 1817 Britain endured an economic recession. Unemployment, a bad harvest and high prices produced riots, demonstrations and a growth in the Hampden Club movement. Lord Liverpool's government reacted by suspending Habeas Corpus for two years.
The economic situation gradually improved and Liverpool hoped that a reduction in taxation would prevent a revival of radicalism when the suspension of Habeas Corpus came to an end in 1818. This was not the case, and the summer of 1819 saw a series of large gatherings in favour of parliamentary reform, culminating in the massive public meeting at Manchester on 16th August 1819.
Lord Liverpool made it clear that he fully supported the action of the magistrates and the Manchester and Salford Yeomanry. Radicals reacted by calling what happened in St. Peter's Fields, the Peterloo Massacre, therefore highlighting the fact that Liverpool's government was now willing to use the same tactics against the British people that it had used against Napoleon and the French Army.
Liverpool's government decided to take action to prevent further large meetings demanding social reform. In November 1819 Parliament was assembled and it quickly passed the Six Acts. In 1822 Liverpool used similar methods to deal with the distress and disaffection in Ireland.
Liverpool found the heavy burden of running a divided country increasingly stressful. Liverpool began to suffer health problems and on 17th February, 1827, he had a stroke. Liverpool was forced to resign and although he lived for nearly two more years, he was rarely conscious. Lord Liverpool died on 4th December, 1828.
George Canning 1827
George Canning was born in London on 11th April, 1770. George's father died when he was one year old leaving the family in poor financial circumstances. George was helped by his mother's brother, who paid for him to be educated at Eton College. A star pupil, George went to Christ Church, Oxford before becoming a lawyer in 1790.
George Canning's uncle, a reformer, arranged for him to meet leading Whig politicians such as Charles Fox. After a period under the influence of Fox, George Canning met the Tory, William Pitt. The two men became friends and in 1793 Pitt helped Canning become MP for the rotten borough of Newtown in the House of Commons.
In 1796 William Pitt appointed Canning as secretary of state for Foreign Affairs. This was the first of a series of posts held under Pitt that included: commissioner of the board of control (1799-1800), paymaster-general (1800-1801) and treasurer of the navy (1801). After Pitt resigned in 1801, Canning joined the opposition to Henry Addington's government. Over the next few years Henry Addington suffered from Canning's parliamentary attacks. Canning was especially critical of Addington's refusal to accept Catholic Emancipation.
In May 1804 William Pitt returned to power and Canning was once again given the post of treasurer of the navy. After Pitt's death in 1806, Canning became foreign minister in the Duke of Portland's government. Canning played an important role in planning the war against France. It was Canning's idea to seize the Danish Fleet. This severely weakened Napoleon's forces and was a a contributing factor to his eventually defeat. Canning promised to send more troops to the Duke of Wellington who was fighting in Portugal. Canning was furious when he discovered that the secretary of war, Lord Castlereagh, sent the troops to Holland instead. A bitter argument took place and eventually Castlereagh challenged Canning to a duel on Putney Heath on 21st September, 1809. The two men missed with their first shots but eventually Castlereagh wounded Canning in the thigh.
Canning left government and for the next few years Canning concentrated on writing. He contributed to the Anti-Jacobin Review and with Sir Water Scott helped to establish the Quarterly Review. Canning contributed several articles on political subjects including the need for full political and religious rights for Catholics. However, Canning was a strong opponent of any increase in the number of people who could vote in parliamentary elections.
In 1812 Canning became MP for Liverpool. Canning was invited by the new prime minister, Lord Liverpool, to become foreign minister. Canning refused office because he was unwilling to serve in the same government as Lord Castlereagh. Liverpool approached Canning on several occasions to join his government and eventually he changed his mind and in 1816 became president of the board of control. After Castlereagh committed suicide in 1822, Canning replaced him as foreign minister. George Canning held the post of foreign minister for the next five years.
When Lord Liverpool resigned in 1827 King George IV interviewed Robert Peel, the Duke of Wellington and George Canning for the post of prime minister. When the king appointed Canning, Wellington, Peel and several other leading Tories resigned from the government. Canning was forced to rely on the support of the Whigs to hold on to power. Those Whigs who accepted government posts had to promise not to raise the issue of parliamentary reform.
Canning first concern was to tackle the problem of the Corn Laws. On 1st March, 1827, Canning introduced the proposal that foreign wheat should be admitted at a 20s. duty when the price had fallen to 60s. This new sliding scale enabled the duty to fall as the price rose, and to rise as the price fell. The Duke of Wellington led the fight against this measure and although passed by the House of Commons, it was defeated in the House of Lords.
Even before being appointed prime minister, George Canning's health was in decline. The strain of office made matters worse and on 29th July he informed George IV that he was seriously ill. Canning was taken to the home of the Duke of Devonshire and on 8th August, 1827, he died in the same room in which, twenty-one years before, his first political influence, Charles Fox, had passed away.