Readers' letters: Proposed Elsie Inglis statue is not a fitting tribute

As chairman and founder of the Dr Elsie Inglis-Scottish Women’s Hospitals Trust I write in considerable consternation having read your article on the subject of the Royal Mile monument to Elsie Inglis (Scotsman, 4 April).

Sadly, your article omits much of the widely expressed dissatisfaction with the imposed choice of the sculptor Alexander Stoddart for the monument to this Edinburgh woman surgeon, pioneer of social and war medicine and founder of The Scottish Women’s Hospitals of World War I.

In contrast, The Trust’s constitution has at its centre fundraising for a Royal Mile monument to the luminary Edinburgh surgeon employing a sculptor chosen by fair competition.

Artist's impressions showing the front and back views of the proposed statue of Dr Elsie Inglis on the Royal Mile

Furthermore, having been immersed in this subject for 28 years, I am of the opinion that Mr Stoddart’s design is wholly unsuitable for the monument, since it does not address the multi-facetted nature of Inglis. Moreover, a monopoly on High Street monuments by one artist does not reflect the diversity of artistic talent in Scotland.

Since 1998, The Trust has devised and funded a series of monuments and commemorative events. A monument and rowan tree, unveiled and planted by the Princess Royal at the SWH hospital at the Abbaye de Royaumont in 2005 and 2008. A further plaque by The Trust at the SWH Headquarters was unveiled by Princess Anne in 2002. Moreover, to preserve the ethos and memory of Inglis, The Trust's annual commissioned bronze medals, now in their ninth year, encourage Scots school-leavers and undergraduates to read Medicine.

I hope Edinburgh Council will take these points on board, with the many other objections raised, and work collaboratively with our Trust to a successful and fair conclusion in the spirit of Elsie Inglis.

Ian McFarlane, Edinburgh

Another round

If I decided to base my opinions on any group of people in the country by listening to two blokes in their cups in a pub, I would be rightly dismissed as pretty shallow.

To then write a letter to the Scotsman suggesting that these somewhat bigoted fellows were indeed representative of Scottish nationalists generally (4 April) would be to take that shallowness to new levels. To infer next that a dislike of English beer, as proposed by the said gentlemen, was to some extent a comment on a dislike of the English in general, sounds paranoid. It is!

Brian Bannatyne-Scott, Edinburgh

No to wealth tax

By calling for the introduction of new taxes the Finance Secretary, Shona Robison, runs the risk of undermining the hard work currently being undertaken to drive the investment and growth Scotland needs to continue funding the public services we all want.

For too long, economic growth in Scotland and the UK has been insipid and we need policies that will attract investment, jobs and growth. Overall taxation levels in the UK are already at a record high, a situation even more acute in Scotland, where only 11 per centof taxpayers pay 65 per cent of tax raised. We need to make our tax revenues more sustainable by attracting the investment that grows our higher rate tax base.

Implementation of any proposed new taxes may never leave the drawing board, but this type of political noise gets noticed overseas and risks giving investors the impression of a volatile and uncompetitive business environment. Similar schemes in many other countries have largely either been repealed or failed to bring in the additional revenue promised, while at the same time acting as a barrier to investment and driving out talent.

Politicians and business leaders – including myself – are in the US as part of Tartan Week, making the case for Scotland as an attractive investment destination and selling Scotland as a place that is good to do business. A competitive tax landscape is key factor in attracting firms and jobs to Scotland, as is clarity and stability on taxation that is not subject to short-term changes, and we should be wary of undermining that message.

Sandy Begbie CBE, CEO, Scottish Financial Enterprise, Edinburgh

History lesson

Jill Stephenson (Letters, 5 April) is sadly misguided by arguing that Scots are wrongly portrayed as “heroes or victims”. As a history graduate schooled in England and as a teenager here, I have experience of both English and Scottish education. History is taught similarly, even if the English system is more skewed to English history, and vice versa. Mary Queen of Scots and the Jacobites were seen as being oppressed while Edward I and the early Hanoverian kings were seen as being oppressive towards the Scots.

There are many other examples of victims, including the Highland Clearances. While the English Duke of Sutherland is widely thought to be the main perpetrator, many tenants were evicted by Scottish landowning aristocracy, loyal to German-born George II, and tenants in poverty and famine were forced to emigrate.

Thankfully those days are past now and Scotland has its own parliament and makes its own laws. In two world wars Scotland sent proportionately more troops to defend democracy than the rest of the UK. Scots are famous across the world for welcoming all peoples from oppressive regimes. This isn’t all political spin, it’s historical fact.

Neil Anderson, Edinburgh

Gael force

Your veteran reviewer, Joyce McMillan, refers to “the banning of Gaelic language, song, dress and story after the 1745 rebellion” (Scotsman, 5 March). In fact the Act of Proscription passed in 1746 makes no reference whatsoever to the Gaelic language or its songs or stories and there is no record of any legal action being taken against those using it.

Robert Cairns, Ceres, Fife

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