The Canningites, led by George Canning and then the Viscount Goderich as First Lord of the Treasury, governed the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 1827 until 1828.
Formation On 9 April 1827 the Tory Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Robert Banks Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool, suffered a cerebral haemorrhage. He had been prime minister nearly fifteen years, ever since the assassination of his predecessor Spencer Perceval in May 1812. The man chosen to succeed him was the Foreign Secretary and Leader of the House of Commons, George Canning. Canning was very much on the moderate wing of the Tory Party, and many of the more hard-line members of Liverpool's government, including the Home Secretary, Sir Robert Peel, and national hero Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington (Master-General of the Ordnance), refused to serve under him. Canning's government was therefore recruited from the moderate wing of the Tory Party, known as the Canningites, with the support of several members of the Whig Party.
Fate Canning, who was in poor health at the time of his appointment, died in office on 8 August 1827, and the Leader of the House of Lords Frederick Robinson, 1st Viscount Goderich succeeded him as prime minister. However, Goderich's government never even met in a session of Parliament, and was replaced by a High Tory government under the Duke of Wellington on 22 January 1828.
Cabinets
George Canning's Cabinet, April 1827 – August 1827 George Canning – First Lord of the Treasury, Chancellor of the Exchequer and Leader of the House of Commons John Copley, 1st Baron Lyndhurst – Lord Chancellor Dudley Ryder, 1st Earl of Harrowby – Lord President of the Council William Bentinck, 4th Duke of Portland – Lord Privy Seal William Sturges Bourne – Secretary of State for the Home Department John William Ward, 1st Earl of Dudley – Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Frederick John Robinson, 1st Viscount Goderich – Secretary of State for War and the Colonies and Leader of the House of Lords William Huskisson – President of the Board of Trade and Treasurer of the Navy Charles Williams-Wynn – President of the Board of Control Nicholas Vansittart, 1st Baron Bexley – Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston – Secretary at War Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 3rd Marquess of Lansdowne – Minister without Portfolio
Changes May 1827 – George Howard, 6th Earl of Carlisle, the First Commissioner of Woods and Forests, enters the Cabinet July 1827 – The Duke of Portland becomes a minister without portfolio. Lord Carlisle succeeds him as Lord Privy Seal. W. S. Bourne succeeds Carlisle as First Commissioner of Woods and Forests. Lord Lansdowne succeeds Bourne as Home Secretary. George Tierney, the Master of the Mint, enters the cabinet
The Viscount Goderich's Cabinet, September 1827 – January 1828 Lord Goderich – First Lord of the Treasury and Leader of the House of Lords John Copley, 1st Baron Lyndhurst – Lord Chancellor William Cavendish-Scott-Bentinck, 4th Duke of Portland – Lord President of the Council George Howard, 6th Earl of Carlisle – Lord Privy Seal Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 3rd Marquess of Lansdowne – Secretary of State for the Home Department John William Ward, 1st Earl of Dudley – Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs William Huskisson – Secretary of State for War and the Colonies and Leader of the House of Commons J. C. Herries – Chancellor of the Exchequer Henry Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey – Master-General of the Ordnance Charles Grant – President of the Board of Trade and Treasurer of the Navy Charles Williams-Wynn – President of the Board of Control William Sturges Bourne – First Commissioner of Woods and Forests Nicholas Vansittart, 1st Baron Bexley – Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston – Secretary at War
Full list of ministers This is a list of the members of the government. Members of the Cabinet are indicated by bold typeface.
Office Name Date First Lord of the Treasury George Canning 10 April 18278 August 1827 Frederick John Robinson, 1st Viscount Goderich 31 August 182721 January 1828 Chancellor of the Exchequer George Canning 20 April 1827 John Charles Herries 3 September 1827 Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury Joseph Planta 19 April 1827 Financial Secretary to the Treasury John Charles Herries Continued in office Thomas Frankland Lewis 4 September 1827 Junior Lords of the Treasury Francis Conyngham, Earl of Mount Charles 30 April 182726 January 1828 Lord Francis Leveson-Gower 30 April 18278 September 1827 Edward Eliot, Baron Eliot 30 April 182726 January 1828 Edmund Alexander Macnaghten 30 April 182726 January 1828 Maurice FitzGerald 31 July 182726 January 1828 Lord President of the Council Dudley Ryder, 1st Earl of Harrowby Continued in office William Bentinck, 4th Duke of Portland 17 August 1827 Lord Chancellor John Copley, 1st Baron Lyndhurst 2 May 1827 Home Secretary William Sturges Bourne 20 April 1827 Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 3rd Marquess of Lansdowne 16 July 1827 Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department Spencer Perceval 30 April 1827 Thomas Spring Rice 16 July 1827 Foreign Secretary John Ward, 4th Viscount Dudley and Ward 30 April 1827 Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Charles Ellis, 6th Baron Howard de Walden Continued in office Ulick John de Burgh, 1st Marquess of Clanricarde Continued in office until 17 August 1827 Secretary of State for War and the Colonies Frederick John Robinson, 1st Viscount Goderich 30 April 1827 William Huskisson 3 September 1827 Under-Secretary of State for War and the Colonies Robert Wilmot Horton Continued in office President of the Board of Trade William Huskisson Continued in office Charles Grant 3 September 1827 Vice-President of the Board of Trade Charles Grant Continued in office President of the Board of Control Charles Williams-Wynn Continued in office Secretary to the Board of Control Thomas Courtenay Continued in office Lord High Admiral Prince William, Duke of Clarence 17 April 1827 First Secretary to the Admiralty John Wilson Croker Continued in office Lord Privy Seal William Bentinck, 4th Duke of Portland 30 April 1827 George Howard, 6th Earl of Carlisle 16 July 1827 Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Nicholas Vansittart, 1st Baron Bexley Continued in office Master-General of the Ordnance Henry Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey 30 April 1827 Lieutenant-General of the Ordnance Sir William Henry Clinton Continued in office Treasurer of the Ordnance William Holmes Continued in office Surveyor-General of the Ordnance Sir Edward Owen 14 May 1827 Clerk of the Ordnance Sir George Clerk, 6th Baronet 4 May 1827 Clerk of the Deliveries of the Ordnance Edmund Phipps Continued in office Storekeeper of the Ordnance Mark Singleton Continued in office Treasurer of the Navy William Huskisson Continued in office Charles Grant 10 September 1827 Secretary at War Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston Continued in office Master of the Mint George Tierney 29 May 1827 Paymaster of the Forces William Vesey-FitzGerald Continued in office First Commissioner of Woods and Forests George Howard, 6th Earl of Carlisle 30 May 1827 William Sturges Bourne 23 July 1827 Ministers without Portfolio Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 3rd Marquess of Lansdowne May 1827 William Bentinck, 4th Duke of Portland May 1827 Lord Lieutenant of Ireland Richard Wellesley, 1st Marquess Wellesley Continued in office Chief Secretary for Ireland William Lamb 29 April 1827 Attorney General Sir James Scarlett 27 April 1827 Solicitor General Nicolas Conyngham Tindal Continued in office Judge Advocate General James Abercromby 12 May 1827 Lord Advocate Sir William Rae, 3rd Baronet Continued in office Solicitor General for Scotland John Hope Continued in office Attorney General for Ireland Henry Joy 18 June 1827 Solicitor General for Ireland John Doherty 18 June 1827 Lord Steward of the Household Henry Conyngham, 1st Marquess Conyngham Continued in office Lord Chamberlain of the Household William Cavendish, 6th Duke of Devonshire 5 May 1827 Vice-Chamberlain of the Household Sir Samuel Hulse 5 May 1827 Master of the Horse George Osborne, 6th Duke of Leeds 4 May 1827 Treasurer of the Household Sir William Henry Fremantle Continued in office Comptroller of the Household Lord George Beresford Continued in office Captain of the Gentlemen Pensioners Henry Devereux, 14th Viscount Hereford 1827 Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard George Parker, 4th Earl of Macclesfield Continued in office Master of the Buckhounds William Wellesley-Pole, 1st Baron Maryborough Continued in office
Notes
References Chris Cook and John Stevenson, British Historical Facts 1760–1830 Joseph Haydn and Horace Ockerby, The Book of Dignities