Excerpt from The Political Life of the Right Honourable George Canning, Vol. 3 of 3: From His Acceptance of the Seals of the Foreign Department, in September, 1822 to the Period of His Death in August 1827 To the merit of originating these alterations, or of adapting them to practice, Mr. Canning laid no claim. They were unconnected for the most part with the business of the department over which he presided, and they related to a branch of politicks, the study of which was of all perhaps the least suited to his taste. N ever theless they were far too important in their nature and consequences for Mr. Canning to have left them wholly to the management of others; and high as was his opinion of Mr. Huskisson's judgment and knowledge in com mercial and financial matters, yet he gave not his approbation to the system of that minister, until, by a careful examination of the principles on which it was founded, he had satisfied himself of their truth nor did he give his support to the measures themselves until he had ascertained, not only that they were in conformity with the general principles which he had approved, but were likewise so qualified, as to be well fitted to the peculiar nature of the case to which they might be intended to apply. Thus Mr. Canning was perfectly convinced of the truth of the abstract principle, that com merce is sure to flourish most, when wholly un fettered bv restrictions; but since such had notbeen the opinions, either Of our ancestors or of surrounding nations, and since, in consequence, restraints had been imposed upon all commer cial transactions, a state Of things had grown up, to which the unguarded application Of the abstract principle, however true it was in theory, might have been somewhat mischievous in prae tice. The opposite course, however, of en tirely disregarding this principle in commercial legislation, would certainly not have been less mischievous in its ultimate results; and Mr. Canning felt that it was the part of sound policy never, indeed, to lose sight Of the principle, but, at the same time, never to forget, that, from the circumstance of its having been previously lost sight of, there existed an absolute necessity for applying it with discretion, and care. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.