TOPICS OF THE DAY.
THE LATE MR. HUSKISSON.
Tuts statesman, whose sudden and lamentable death we have re- corded in a preceding page, was in many respects the most re- markable person that Parliament had to boast. Posterity will inquire, by what means one who was sprung from humble pa- rents' without fortune, without rank, neither supported by pow- erful friends nor pushed forward by secret influence, contrived to raise himself to so high senatorial distinction as Mr. HUSKISSON had obtained. And if posterity be told, that to his talents and his industry and his integrity alone was he indebted for his ho- nours, they will have studied very indifferently the character of the times of their fathers, and have appreciated very inaccu- rately the difficulties which oppose the progress even of the highest genius, if they do not conclude that the talent and the industry and the integrity of Mr. HUSKISSON were passing great. There are two, and but two instances in our days, which approach Mr. HusKissoN's case, and they only approach it. Mr. CANNING was, like him, of hamble birth yet he was sprung from a man • echo had sat in the Parliament of Ireland, he was educated at Eton, and he had the son of Lord LIVERPOOL for his intimate friend. His genius did much, but his fortunate introduction into pub- - lic life did a great deal also. Mr. BROUGHAM comes of a family hum- ble in respect of fortune ; but he had a profession whereon to build his fame—a foundation on which thousands less able had built surely and steadfastly. Mr. HusiussoN had none of these things ; and yet, in the plenitude of 11;s power Mr. CANNING hardly filled a larger space in the public attention than did his sagacious col- league ; nor have the transcendent powers of Mr. BROUGHAM raised him to so high consideration, as the landless, friendless, unprofessioned son of a simple yeoman. In his early career, Mr. HUSKISSON was a warm and zealous Reformer ; and to the end of his life he entertained the most en- larged and liberal views of social government. He did not sacri- fice his principles, though they were such as rendered him little acceptable to the great ; and yet, such was the singular force of his exalted intellect, and so effectually did' it enable him to com- mand the attention and respect of all that he approached, that even his honesty did not impede his rise. Of eloquence in the ordinary sense Mr. HUSKISSON had but little. He could neither gripe and hold fast the heart, like the member for York, by the irresistible energy of his appeals, nor could he please the ear and the fancy with the nicely-modulated language and effervescing wit of Mr. CANNING. let no man, not even Mr. CANNING in his happiest flight, nor BROUGHAM in his most solemn adjuration, ever com- manded the assent of his hearers more completely than the late member for Liverpool. It might be truly said of him, as of the sage in JOHNSON'S tale, " he spoke and attention watched his lips, he reasoned and conviction closed his periods." Mr. HUSKISSON was never unprepared, whatever was the subject of discussion ; and he excelled not in set harangues only—he was a clever and an able debater. His manner, when he first entered on his subject, was cold, almost heavy ; his intonation equable, sometimes monotonous ; he had no peculiar grace of action. The secret of his oratory lay in the facility with which he could bring a number of facts to bear upon his argument, and in the soundness and comprehensiveness of his general views. He was not an op- ponent with whom it was difficult to grapple, for he disdained all slippery arts of avoiding an antagonist • but he was one whom the stoutest champion found it impossible to throw. To the matter- of-fact arguer, Mr. HusaissoN could present an accumulation of details sufficient to stagger even the member for Middlesex ; while to him who looked to rules rather than to cases, he could offer general principles, conceived in so fine and so enlarged a spirit of generalization, that even in his dry and unadorned enunciation they rose to sublimity. Nothing could be finer than the splendid perorations of his more elaborate speeches. It was by the com- bination of an attention so accurate that the most minute objec- tion did not escape its vigilance, and a. judgment so comprehensive that the greatest could not elude its grasp, coupled with habits of unremitting industry, and the most perfect integrity of purpose, that Mr. HUSKISSON on every question of complication and im- portance reigned almost undisputed in the House of Commons. Irresistible as it generally proved, no one dreaded his power. He convinced or he silenced, but he never irritated. His peculiar calmness of temper kept him from indulging in those sarcasms which make the member for York the terror of his foes, and sometimes of his friends. He seldom uttered an ill-natured word, because he was seldom influenced by an ill-natured feeling.
We have considered Mr. HusirissoN in the point of view in which his character was best and most generally known. It would exceed our present limits to enter into a survey of his political history, or to discuss that often-assailed but never defeated system, which has in common parlance taken his name, but of which he Was rather the able advocate and zealous promoter than the origi- nator. Neither do we mean to enter on the private character of the deceased. From the uniform report of friends, among whom we had not the fortune to rank, nothing could be more perfectly amiable than the current of his domestic life. He belonged not to that class of pseudo-patriots who would persuade mankind that the public are unallied to the private virtues. The same simplicity and kindness and integrity which formed the charm of the mem- ber of the Legislature, shed their hallowed influences around the fireside circle of the private citizen. Such was WiartiAnt Hus- arssoN on Wednesday morning; and on Wednesday night, all that remained of the glory of the Senate, the delight of his ac- quaintance, the idol of his family, was a mass of mouldering clay— to which "the worm was a sister, and the slow-worm a brother and a kinsman !"
The following brief particulars of Mr. HosinssoN's career are gleaned from various sources. At the time of his death, the mem- ber for Liverpool could not have been less than sixty years of age; perhaps he was more. None of the accounts that we have seen mention the year or the place of his birth. He is said in his youth to have studied medicine. His mother was sister to Dr. GERUND, at one time physician to the English embassy at Paris, and the intimate friend of HELVETIUS and FRANKLIN. Dr. GE- RUND is said to have left his nephew a considerable property. At the breaking out of the French Revolution, young Husxissou was in Paris: whether he was a member of the Jacobin Club is doubtful—he was a member of the London Corresponding So- ciety. His introduction to CANNING has been attributed to some occasional essays in the newspapers. To CANNING he is described as indebted for his first introduction to Mr. PITT. The Minister was at that time hard run for talented supporters ; Husaissort pleased him ; he was placed in the Home Department under Lord MELVILLE, and soon after entered Parliament for the borough of Morpeth, along with the present Earl of CARLISLE. At the elec- tion of 1802, he stood for Dover, with Mr. TREVANNION and Mr. SPENCER SMITH, and lost it. In 1804, he stood for Liskeard, on the death of Lord ELIOT ; there was a double return, but Mr. Hus- KissoN was declared duly elected. He had married in the interim (in 1 7 9 9) a daughter of the late Admiral MILBANK ; and had been suc- cessively appointed Receiver-General of the Duchy of Lancaster and a Commissioner of Trade. On the formation of Mr. ADDISSON'S Ministry, Mr. HUSKISSON retired with his patron Mr. PITT, on a pension of 12001. a year. When Mr. PITT returned to power, Mr. HussissoN became chief Secretary to the Treasury. He quitted office on Mr. Fox's Administration ; and returned with Mr. PERCEVAL, still holding the secretaryship. In 1809, when Mr. CANNING quarrelled with Lord CASTLEREAGH touching the famous Walcheren expedition, Mr. Husais soN accompanied his early friend on his retreat from the Ministry. Mr. HUSKISSON was afterwards President of the Board of Trade ; and under the Minis- try of his friend CANNING, whom he succeeded as Member for Liverpool, Secretary for the Colonial Department. His junction with the Duke of WELLINGTON, and subsequent quarrel, are fresh in every one's memory.
Previous page
