Page:Biographical catalogue of the portraits at Weston, the seat of the Earl of Bradford (IA gri 33125003402027).pdf/122

 himself assumed the title of Lord Hawkesbury. He was a staunch advocate for the union with Ireland, and in 1801 he became Foreign Secretary, on the formation of a new Ministry, which gave him ample scope for his knowledge of political affairs on the Continent; and in the fulfilment of his official duties, he gained new laurels on many occasions too numerous to detail here. Later on, the management of the House of Commons (as it is technically called) devolved upon Lord Hawkesbury, who spoke on all the important questions of the day, and, at the opening of the next session, was called up to the House of Lords in order to strengthen the Ministry in the Upper House. On the return of Mr. Pitt at the head of the Ministry, he received the seals of the Home Department. At a late period of this session, on Mr. Wilberforce again bringing forward his favourite question of the Abolition of the Slave-trade, Lord Hawkesbury was instrumental in opposing the measure in the House of Lords, after it had passed the Commons, a course which he also pursued with regard to the Emancipation of the Roman Catholics of Ireland, advocated by Lord Grenville. On the death of Mr. Pitt in 1806, the King sent for Lord Hawkesbury to form a new Ministry, an offer which he deemed it advisable to decline, accepting, however, the office of Warden of the Cinque Ports. He afterwards resumed his old post as Home Secretary, and, his father dying in 1808, he succeeded to the Earldom of Liverpool. He warmly advocated the cause of Spain, and was selected to move the thanks of the House of Lords to Lord Wellington for his gallantry in the Peninsula. After the assassination of Mr. Perceval in 1812, Lord Liverpool was prevailed upon, after frequent refusals, to accept the office of Prime Minister, and during his long administration, which lasted from 1812 to 1827, many of the questions of the deepest importance connected with home and foreign politics were brought under the notice of the Government. Lord