Charles John Canning, 1st Earl Canning

The Right Honourable Charles John Canning, 1st Earl Canning KG GCB (14 December 1812–17 June 1862), known as Viscount Canning from 1837 to 1859, was an English statesman, Governor-General of India during the Mutiny of 1857, The Right Honourable (abbreviated The Rt. ... The Garter is the most recognizable insignia of the Order of the Garter. ... Military Badge of the Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. ... December 14 is the 348th day of the year (349th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1812 was a leap year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... June 17 is the 168th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (169th in leap years), with 197 days remaining. ... 1862 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... | Queen Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom (1837 - 1901) 1837 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... 1859 is a common year starting on Saturday. ... The Governor-General of India (or Governor-General and Viceroy of India) was the head of the British administration in India. ... An engraving titled Sepoy Indian troops dividing the spoils after their mutiny against British rule gives a contemporary view of events from the British perspective. ... 1857 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ...

He was the youngest child of George Canning, and was born at Brompton, near London. He was educated at Christ Church, Oxford, where he graduated B.A. in 1833, as first class in classics and second class in mathematics. In 1836 he entered parliament, being returned as member for the town of Warwick in the Conservative interest. He did not, however, sit long in the House of Commons; for, on the death of his mother in 1837, he succeeded to the peerage which had been conferred on her with remainder to her only surviving son, and as Viscount Canning took his seat in the House of Lords. His first official appointment was that of Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, in the administration formed by Sir Robert Peel in 1841, his chief being the Earl of Aberdeen. This post he held till January 1846; and from January to July of that year, when the Peel administration was broken up, Lord Canning filled the post of First Commissioner of Woods and Forests. He declined to accept office under the Earl of Derby; but on the formation of the coalition ministry under the Earl of Aberdeen in January 1853, he received the appointment of Postmaster General. In this office he showed not only a large capacity for hard work, but also general administrative ability and much zeal for the improvement of the service. He retained his post under Lord Palmerston's ministry until July 1855, when, in consequence of the departure of Lord Dalhousie and a vacancy in the governor-generalship of India, he was selected by Lord Palmerston to succeed to that great position. This appointment appears to have been made rather on the ground of his father's great services than from any proof as yet given of special personal fitness on the part of Lord Canning. The new governor sailed from England in December 1855, and entered upon the duties of his office in India at the close of February 1856. His strong common sense and sound practical judgment led him to adopt a policy of conciliation towards the native princes, and to promote measures tending to the betterment of the condition. of the people. George Canning (April 11, 1770 - August 8, 1827) was a British politician who served as Foreign Secretary and, briefly, Prime Minister. ... Brompton are an English Bicycle manufacturer who produce Folding bicycles. ... For other uses, see London (disambiguation) and Defining London (below). ... College name Christ Church Named after Jesus Christ Established 1546 Sister College Trinity College Dean The Very Revd Christopher Andrew Lewis JCR President William Dorsey Undergraduates 426 Graduates 154 Home page Boat Club Christ Church (Latin: Ædes Christi, the temple or house of Christ, and thus once commonly and still... 1833 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Charles Darwin 1836 was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, and is now the dominant branch of Parliament. ... Warwick and Leamington is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. ... The Conservative Party is the largest political brothel on the right-of-centre in the United Kingdom. ... | Queen Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom (1837 - 1901) 1837 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... This article is about the British House of Lords. ... This article is about the British Prime Minister. ... take you to calendar). ... The Right Honourable George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen, PC (January 28, 1784–December 14, 1860) was a Tory/Peelite politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1852 until 1855. ... 1846 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... The Commission of Woods, Forests, and Land Revenues was established in the United Kingdom in 1810 by merging the former offices of Surveyor General of Woods, Forests, Parks, and Chases and Surveyor General of the Land Revenue of the Crown into a three-man commission. ... Arms of Edward Smith-Stanley Edward George Geoffrey Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby, KG, PC (March 29, 1799 - October 23, 1869) was a British statesman, three times Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and is to date the longest serving leader of the Conservative Party. ... 1853 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... In the United Kingdom, the Postmaster General is a now defunct ministerial position. ... The Right Honourable Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston (October 20, 1784 - October 18, 1865) was a British statesman who served twice as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in the mid 19th century. ... 1855 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... James Andrew Broun-Ramsay, 1st Marquess and 10th Earl of Dalhousie (April 22, 1812–December 19, 1860) was a British statesman, and a colonial administrator in India. ... 1855 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... 1856 was a leap year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ...

In the year following his accession to office the deep-seated discontent of the people broke out in the Indian Mutiny. Fears were entertained, and even the friends of the Governor-General to some extent shared them, that he was not equal to the crisis. But the fears proved groundless. He had a clear eye for the gravity of the situation, a calm judgment, and a prompt, swift hand to do what was really necessary. By the union of great moral qualities with high, though not the highest, intellectual faculties, he carried the Indian empire safely through the stress of the storm, and, what was perhaps a harder task still, he dealt wisely with the enormous difficulties arising at the close of such a war, established a more liberal policy and a sounder financial system, and left the people more contented than they were before. The name of Clemency Canning, which was applied to him during the heated animosities of the moment, has since become a title of honor. An engraving titled Sepoy Indian troops dividing the spoils after their mutiny against British rule gives a contemporary view of events from the British perspective. ...

While rebellion was raging in Oudh he issued a proclamation declaring the lands of the province forfeited; and this step gave rise to much angry controversy. A secret despatch, couched in arrogant and offensive terms, was addressed to the viceroy by Lord Ellenborough, then a member of the Derby administration, which would have justified the Governor-General in immediately resigning. But from a strong sense of duty he continued at his post; and ere long the general condemnation of the despatch was so strong that the writer felt it necessary to retire from office. Lord Canning replied to the despatch, calmly and in a statesman-like manner explaining and vindicating his censured policy, and in 1858 he was rewarded by being made the first Viceroy of India. In April 1859 he received the thanks of both Houses of Parliament for his great services during the mutiny. He was also made an extra civil grand cross of the Order of the Bath, and in May of the same year he was raised to the dignity of an Earl, as Earl Canning. By the strain of anxiety and hard work his health and strength were seriously impaired, while the death of his wife was also a great shock to him; in the hope that rest in his native land might restore him, he left India, reaching England in April 1862. But it was too late. He died in London on 17 June. About a month before his death he was created a Knight of the Garter. As he died without issue the titles became extinct. Awadh (also known to the British as Oudh) is a region in the center of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. ... Edward Law, 1st Earl of Ellenborough (September 8, 1790 - December 22, 1871) was a British politician. ... The Governor-General of India (or Governor-General and Viceroy of India) was the head of the British administration in India. ... 1859 is a common year starting on Saturday. ... Military Badge of the Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. ... An Earl or Jarl was an Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian title, meaning chieftain and it referred especially to chieftains set to rule a territory in a kings stead. ... 1862 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... June 17 is the 168th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (169th in leap years), with 197 days remaining. ... The Garter is the most recognizable insignia of the Order of the Garter. ...

See also

• Charlotte Canning, Countess Canning

References

• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.