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Letter to Editor
October 11, 1808
Virginia Argus
Richmond, Virginia
What is this article about?
Francis Baring justifies proposing a toast to 'The President and United States of America' at a public dinner, emphasizing his duty for impartiality amid friendly relations with the US, countering accusations of impropriety or party motives.
Clipping
OCR Quality
98%
Excellent
Full Text
From the London Morning Post, Aug. 18.
TO THE EDITOR.
SIR,
If the dissatisfaction which followed the toast I gave at the public dinner last week, by many supposed to have been "The President and United States," but actually "The President and United States of America," had been confined to the company present, I should have considered any blame that might have attached to me fully removed by the general approbation expressed afterwards at my conduct ; but as it has excited much observation, I must request your indulgence to insert a few lines in justification of myself. I have always considered it to be the duty of a chairman to act with impartiality and propriety, and not to introduce any toast at a public dinner in a clandestine manner. To prove that I had no such intention, the toasts were printed, with a translation for the information of the visitors, and distributed at the table at which I sat, although I believe they were only partially circulated at the other tables. All the friendly governments, with their respective sovereigns, were given in regular succession: Spain, Portugal, Sweden, Sicily, concluding with America. My situation was a public one, and it was not permitted for me to indulge a private opinion or feeling: strict impartiality and correct propriety demanded that I should propose, and not omit America, with whom we are in amity and friendship, placing that country on an equal footing with the rest. An American minister is here; we have one in America; a state of peace must therefore be supposed to exist; and it would have been presumption in me, in the chair of so respectable an assembly, and in the presence of his majesty's ministers, to have decided whether the present state of the connections between the two countries was more or less friendly. Under these circumstances, I must confess that I feel neither doubt or difficulty in referring my conduct to the judgment of every dispassionate person.—
To accusations of party motives of self interested meanness, I can oppose with confidence a long life passed under the eyes of many who were present, and I flatter myself, that its uniform tenor renders it not necessary for me to enter into any further defence.
I am, sir,
Your most humble servant,
FRANCIS BARING.
Hill street, Aug. 11, 1808
TO THE EDITOR.
SIR,
If the dissatisfaction which followed the toast I gave at the public dinner last week, by many supposed to have been "The President and United States," but actually "The President and United States of America," had been confined to the company present, I should have considered any blame that might have attached to me fully removed by the general approbation expressed afterwards at my conduct ; but as it has excited much observation, I must request your indulgence to insert a few lines in justification of myself. I have always considered it to be the duty of a chairman to act with impartiality and propriety, and not to introduce any toast at a public dinner in a clandestine manner. To prove that I had no such intention, the toasts were printed, with a translation for the information of the visitors, and distributed at the table at which I sat, although I believe they were only partially circulated at the other tables. All the friendly governments, with their respective sovereigns, were given in regular succession: Spain, Portugal, Sweden, Sicily, concluding with America. My situation was a public one, and it was not permitted for me to indulge a private opinion or feeling: strict impartiality and correct propriety demanded that I should propose, and not omit America, with whom we are in amity and friendship, placing that country on an equal footing with the rest. An American minister is here; we have one in America; a state of peace must therefore be supposed to exist; and it would have been presumption in me, in the chair of so respectable an assembly, and in the presence of his majesty's ministers, to have decided whether the present state of the connections between the two countries was more or less friendly. Under these circumstances, I must confess that I feel neither doubt or difficulty in referring my conduct to the judgment of every dispassionate person.—
To accusations of party motives of self interested meanness, I can oppose with confidence a long life passed under the eyes of many who were present, and I flatter myself, that its uniform tenor renders it not necessary for me to enter into any further defence.
I am, sir,
Your most humble servant,
FRANCIS BARING.
Hill street, Aug. 11, 1808
What sub-type of article is it?
Persuasive
Informative
Political
What themes does it cover?
Politics
What keywords are associated?
Toast Controversy
Us Britain Amity
Public Dinner
Impartiality
Francis Baring
Diplomatic Propriety
What entities or persons were involved?
Francis Baring
The Editor
Letter to Editor Details
Author
Francis Baring
Recipient
The Editor
Main Argument
the writer defends his impartial proposal of a toast to the united states at a public dinner, arguing it was required by propriety and the existing amity between britain and america, rejecting accusations of clandestine or partisan motives.
Notable Details
Toasts Printed And Partially Distributed
Succession Of Toasts To Spain, Portugal, Sweden, Sicily, And America
Presence Of American Minister And British Minister In America
Rejects Party Motives Based On Long Public Life