(WAR OF 1812) Bathurst Henry 3rd Earl Letter offering sugges

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(WAR OF 1812.) Bathurst, Henry, 3rd Earl. Letter offering suggestions for the anti-war pamphlet "A Key to the Orders in Council." Autograph Letter Signed as "Bathurst," to John Wilson Croker. 3 pages on 2 sheets, each 7 1/4 x 4 1/2 inches; edge-mounted in paper mat. Np, 18 May [1812]

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To slow the march of the United States toward war with Great Britain in 1812, John Wilson Croker (Member of Parliament and Secretary to the Admiralty) wrote an anonymous pamphlet titled "A Key to the Orders in Council" which set out the British side of the story, urging Americans to recognize the French as the true enemy. He apparently circulated a copy to the Earl of Bathurst (1762-1834), then serving as the British Secretary of State for War and the Colonies, who offered these critiques of Croker's work.
Bathurst's cover letter notes that the pamphlet "is drawn up in a most clear & satisfactory manner & brings the question forward in a very intelligible way." He offers two suggestions on a separate sheet. First, "here I should suggest be inserted the late re-publication of the Berlin & Milan decrees, remarks on their extension, and specially observing that in declaring the Provisions to be in full force, no exception is made of America." Secondly, he argued that "it is a too disputable question whether France has or has not the right to prohibit the introduction of American manufactures into her territory," and offers some revised language concerning the American role in free trade. An interesting inside look at the efforts of British leadership to craft their propaganda efforts in America shortly before the war.