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Address by Councillor Wilson at the unveiling of the Arbroath statue.

“ The bi-centenary of the birth of Robert Burns, which falls tomorrow, will be celebrated in every village, town and city in Scotland at this time, and indeed, all over the world.   But, apart from this, and in addition to it, as far as Arbroath is concerned, there will emerge during this ceremony a moment of time which will be unique and memorable in the annals of the Arbroath Burns Club and in the life of Arbroath, a moment when a project, initiated by the Club nearly 70 years ago, will be brought to fruition as their tribute to the memory and the honour of Robert Burns.   It is in these circumstances that I am charged by the Club to introduce to you the Earl of Airlie.  I am proud and honoured to do this, but I think that the best way I can do it is to say that the Earl needs no introduction to any audience in Arbroath.   He is known by sight and by repute in every corner of this county of Angus and far beyond it.   He is known for his good works and his public service, and for his readiness and helpfulness at all times to perform any service in the interests of others.”

 

Address by Provost D. A. Gardner of Arbroath

“I am glad, Mr. Wilson, that you as a native of Arbroath, have enjoyed the honour and  satisfaction of being the one to preside over the Burns Club during this auspicious time, the bi-centenary of the birth of Burns, and on this auspicious occasion, the unveiling of a statue to his memory.

This statue has been contemplated for 70 years.   The anticipation has been long, but the realisation is all the \sweeter.   I also am honoured in being the one to accept custody of the statue on behalf of all Arbroathians at home and abroad.   In so doing I have been reminded that this is not the first piece of stone of which I have accepted custody within these burgh boundaries.   The other one, the Stone of Destiny which suddenly appeared eight years ago within a few hundred yards of this spot bears no resemblance in appearance to this one in shape nor in beauty which Mr. Scott Sutherland has made for us, but they do resemble one another in that both are symbolic of that spirit of independence which characterises the Scottish people.   Both are representative of the soul and aspirations of a nation.  This one, however, is more personal.   It is put here, in the shape of Robert Burns, to remind us of the work of a Scotsman who has, because of these works, become well-beloved in all corners of the globe – a Scotsman who holds a revered place in the world’s literature, the culminating point in the direct line of Chaucer, Dunbar, Lindsay and Ferguson – a Scotsman who has perpetuated in the written word the kindness, the hospitality, the steadfastness which was a characteristic of the old Scotland; a characteristic which, though changing in a changing time will never, I hope, lose its humanity, and will continue to exert a humanising influence among the nations of the world at a time when it was never more greatly needed.

In accepting this statue, I hope that it will long continue to remind Arbroathians and visitors alike of Burns and that love of humanity, that democratic freedom and that individual responsibility which has characterised our nation and which he immortalised in verse.                  

 

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