LIVERPOOL, Robert Banks Jenkinson, second Earl of, son of the preceding, was born 7th June 1770. At an early age he was placed at an academy at Parson's Green, near Fulham, where he remained until his thirteenth year; he was then removed to the Charter-House School, where he continued between two and three years; and soon after leaving the Charter-House, he was entered as a student at Christ Church College, Oxford, where he became acquainted with Mr Canning. About the period of the breaking out of the French Revolution, Mr Jenkinson paid a visit to Paris, and was in that capital when the Bastille was demolished. Soon after his return to England he was introduced to parliament as one of the representatives of Rye, and took his seat under the avowed patronage of the minister, Mr Pitt. His first speech was delivered on the 27th February 1792, and manifested considerable ability. His next public appearance was as an opponent of the abolition of the slave trade. On the 2d of April 1792, Mr Wilberforce moved, in a committee of the whole house, "that the trade carried on by British subjects for the purpose of obtaining slaves on the coast of Africa, ought to be abolished." Mr Dundas proposed to insert the word "gradually," before the word "abolished;" but Mr Jenkinson moved "that the chairman should leave the chair." The amendment was, however, rejected by a large majority, and Mr Dundas's more adroit proposition agreed to.
Mr Jenkinson's next appearance was in a more prominent and less questionable position. The King of France had been deposed, and the British ambassador, Lord Gower, recalled. On the 15th of December 1792, Mr Fox moved an address to the king, praying that a minister might be sent to Paris to treat with the provisional government of France, touching such points as might be in discussion between his majesty and his allies, and the French nation. In the temporary absence of Mr Pitt, who had vacated his seat by accepting the wardenship of the Cinque Ports, Mr Jenkinson replied to Mr Fox, in a speech which was warmly complimented by Burke. The motion was negatived without a division. In April 1793, Mr Jenkinson was appointed one of the commissioners of the India Board; and on the 6th of May he stood forward in opposition to Mr
Grey's memorable motion on the subject of parliamentary reform. On the 6th March 1794, he opposed Mr Grey's motion for an address to the king, expressive of the concern of the House that his majesty should have formed an alliance with powers whose apparent aim was to regulate the affairs of a country with which they had no right to interfere. On the 10th of April, he undertook a more difficult task, namely, to justify the measures of the ministry, and to palliate the failure of the army commanded by the Duke of York at Dunkirk. On the 30th May 1794, he made one of his best efforts, in opposition to Mr Fox's motion, for putting an end to the war with France. This was perhaps the most active period of his life.
On the 25th March 1795, he married the third daughter of the Earl of Bristol and Bishop of Derry. At the opening of the session of 1796, the address was seconded by Mr Stewart, afterwards Lord Castlereagh, in the first speech delivered by him in the House of Commons. He was answered by Mr Sheridan, who strongly censured ministers, at the same time advising them to declare themselves willing to treat with the French Republic. Mr Jenkinson replied to Mr Sheridan, repeating his former arguments in justification of the government measures. On Mr Grey's motion in the House of Commons (10th March 1796) for an inquiry into the state of the nation, Mr Jenkinson desisted on the effect of the war upon our commerce, contending that, notwithstanding its pressure, the situation of Great Britain, in a commercial point of view, was more prosperous than at any preceding period. On the 28th of May 1796, he participated in the honours of his family, exchanging its surname for his father's second title of Lord Hawkesbury. On the temporary retirement of Mr Pitt from power early in 1801, a new ministry was formed, with Mr Addington at its head; and Lord Hawkesbury, who was appointed to the office of secretary of state for the foreign department, took a prominent part in the debates which ensued. The great business of the succeeding summer and autumn consisted in the adjustment of preliminaries of peace with France. In October Lord Hawkesbury remonstrated against the occupation of Switzerland by the French under Ney, in order to enforce the reception of a new constitution for that country, prepared by the First Consul in his own cabinet.
At this period, the management of the House of Commons had, in a great measure, devolved on Lord Hawkesbury, who, of course, spoke on every topic involving the character of the administration, as well as on the political questions which were brought under the consideration of the House of Commons. At the opening of the next session of parliament he was called to the House of Lords; but the only measure of importance which in that session he brought forward in the new situation in the legislature where he had been placed to defend the measures of ministers, was the Volunteer Consolidation Bill. About the same time he addressed a circular to the ministers of foreign courts resident in London, disclaiming indignantly the charge that his majesty's government had been a party to plans of assassination, and describing the recent seizure and execution of the Duke d'Enghien as "a sanguinary deed, perpetrated by the direct order of the First Consul, in violation of the rights of nations, and in contempt of the most simple laws of humanity and honour."
On the 12th of May, the administration was dissolved by the resignation of Mr Addington; Mr Pitt returned to the head of the ministry, and Lord Hawkesbury received the seals of the home department. The renewal of the war being now inevitable, the first effort of the new government was to place the military establishments of the country on a more enlarged and efficient footing; and, with this view, Lord Hawkesbury exerted himself in the House of Lords in support of the Additional Force Bill. At a later
period of the session, Mr Wilberforce renewed his attempts to put an end to the slave trade, and a bill for that purpose passed the House of Commons; but on its transmission to the House of Peers, it was postponed, on the motion of Lord Hawkesbury, for more mature investigation in the ensuing session. On the 10th of May 1805, Lord Grenville moved the order of the day for taking into consideration the petitions of the Roman Catholics of Ireland. This motion Lord Hawkesbury also opposed. The death of Mr Pitt afforded Lord Hawkesbury an opportunity of placing himself at the head of the cabinet; but being well acquainted with the relative position and strength of parties, his ambition yielded to his good sense, and he declined the flattering offer. He was, however, the political heir of Mr Pitt in all except his talents. Towards the close of 1808, Lord Hawkesbury was, by the death of his father, placed at the head of his family, as second Earl of Liverpool.
Under the administration of Percival, Lord Liverpool became secretary of state for the war department, and after the assassination of the premier, he was placed at the head of the government. (See BRITAIN.) Lord Liverpool died 4th of December 1828.