1975

Our President in 1975/6 was:

Allan C. Frazer

He proposed the Toast to Sir Walter at our 68th Annual Dinner on Friday 5th March 1976 in The North British Hotel

Summary of the Speech:

Allan C. Frazer's address is a rich, witty, and affectionate tribute to Sir Walter Scott, blending personal humility with deep literary insight. The speech covers multiple themes, anecdotes, and reflections on Scott’s legacy, the Club’s history, and the complex relationship between Scott and the legal profession.

Key Themes and Highlights:

1. Historical Affection and Club Origins:
2. Frazer imagines Scott looking down fondly on the Club's activities.
3. Recalls the Club’s founding by Dr Charles Cooper in 1894 and the inaugural dinner at the Waterloo Rooms, reflecting on the cost of attendance (ten shillings and sixpence, inclusive of wine).
4. Jokes that Scott, once Quartermaster of the Edinburgh Light Dragoons, would have appreciated the frugality.
5. Scott’s View of Journalism and Lockhart:
6. Quotes Scott’s 1829 diary calling journalists "thorough-going blackguards."
7. Notes Lockhart's brief editorship of a London paper, arguing it did little to improve Scott’s view.
8. Suggests Lockhart would be more at home in Private Eye than The Times Literary Supplement.
9. Humorous Observations on Club Rituals:
10. Imagines Scott reading the Annual Reports delivered “by some celestial postman.”
11. Jests about the Council as a “self-perpetuating oligarchy” and the AGM as irresistible theatre for a critic of the Reform Bill.
12. Literary Reflections:
13. Discusses Scott’s biographers—Grierson, Buchan, Pearson, Melville Clark.
14. Shares a jest Scott supposedly made about not caring whether he was born in 1770 or 1771.
15. Legal Profession and Personal Humility:
16. Acknowledges being only the second solicitor (Writer to the Signet) to be elected Club President.
17. Jokes about Scott’s disdain for solicitors, quoting Lockhart and The Bride of Lammermuir.
18. Defends solicitors' role as a buffer between the Bar and the public, citing Reginald Hine's Confessions of an Uncommon Attorney.
19. Scott’s Character – Liberty and Ambition:
20. Emphasises Scott’s independence of mind and refusal to allow writing to become a crutch.
21. Celebrates his portraits of common people (e.g. Dandie Dinmont, Jonathan Oldbuck, Edie Ochiltree) over aristocratic caricatures.
22. Quotes Scott's determination to support himself without relying on literary income.
23. Scott’s Honour and Fortitude:
24. Praises Scott’s refusal to declare bankruptcy despite crushing debts.
25. Quotes his journal entries from January 1826, showing resolve and emotional resilience.
26. Touching Anecdote from Felicia Skene:
27. Ends with Felicia’s 1896 story of her elderly father (Scott’s friend James Skene) seeing Scott in a dream shortly before death—symbolising enduring companionship and memory.

Noteworthy Points:

• Tone: Witty, self-deprecating, and affectionate with well-balanced scholarship and humour.
• Personal Note: Frazer gracefully acknowledges his own professional background while drawing attention to Scott’s complex feelings about law, writing, and public service.
• Elegance in Closure: The toast ends with a call to rise in honour of Scott’s spirit, creating a poignant and communal conclusion.

This toast stands out as one of the more literary and character-focused tributes, deftly exploring Scott’s public and private selves with warmth, humour, and respect.