HERE we go again with yet another article on our involvement in “history” where we benefited from despicable slavery ("Glasgow can’t blame slavery shame on the British Empire", The Herald, November 12) Yet slavery has been ongoing in Africa for hundreds of years, primarily through the involvement of the Arab nations. Will they be expected to apologise and compensate?
Everyone today is correct – slavery 200 years ago, or at any time, is wrong. By all means apologise on behalf of our ancestors, but also remember that history was also inflicted upon our own people.
Remember that the UK Government, following Culloden, cleared the way for more intensive farming methods to be introduced in the Highlands giving rise to the “clearances”. George Granville Leveson-Gower, the Duke of Sutherland, was notorious for the evictions that took place in the early 1800’s after learning that his lands were best suited for sheep raising and were little fit for human habitation. He evicted thousands of families, burning their cottages and establishing large sheep farms.
Who will, in turn, apologise for the acts of violence and cruelty that resulted in our own people being forced to emigrate to foreign countries, where of course they flourished and established modern democratic countries?
Please accept history as history. It happened and cannot be altered.
Stewart Lightbody, Troon.
Riches of biblical proportions
ANENT my recent letter regarding politicians and fanciful promised borrowing (November 11) here’s a properly costed fact. Had you been born in Bethlehem on the exact same day as Jesus and had started to work immediately for £100 an hour, worked 24 hours a day, never took a day off and never spent a penny of your wages you would now have amassed £1.7 billion. Bizarrely you would find that currently at least 25 Brits would be substantially richer than you and one assumes must have been working harder and longer.
Worse still, had you been paid at the current minimum wage rate you would have accumulated a paltry £145 million; Manchester City FC spent more than that last year on short-term contracts for useless players who now get paid to watch the first team rather than play for it.
It seems the meek have some way to go before they inherit the Earth.
David J Crawford, Glasgow G12.
Ferry fury
I READ your latest report on the ongoing island ferries debacle with increasing incredulity. As Professor Alf Baird says, “we seem incapable of making sensible decisions when it comes to procurement of ferries”.
The number that jumped off the page to me was the £42 million to build MS Loch Seaforth when you think we are in line to pay more than double that for each of the two unfinished ferries from Ferguson’s.
Could this Government-driven situation be any worse? The islanders are increasingly let down and the taxpayer is being taken for a ride while being kept completely in the dark by Government secrecy.
It’s long overdue that Derek Mackay and his boss come clean on this whole Ferguson Marine shambles.
Mind you, I doubt any report will see the light of day before December 12.
Ian McNair, Cellardyke.
Royal dressing-down
I CAN'T believe that I am writing about the wardrobe of a member of the Royal Family.
I find your item about Stella McCartney being called "tacky" for alluding on Facebook to the Duchess of Cambridge wearing on of her designer coats at the Remembrance ceremony really quite unbelievable ("Stella ‘tacky’ for coat plug", the Herald, November 12).
But what I find even more unbelievable is that I helped to pay £1,545 for the creation.
Tina Oakes, Stonehaven.
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