Councillor calls for Burns grant to be withdrawn
By DUNCAN BLACK
THE dispute over a Robert Burns biographer's
claims to have discovered unattributed poems which might have been written by
the bard took a new twist yesterday when a councillor demanded the withdrawal
of a #5000 grant to the writer.
As exclusively revealed in The Herald last week,
Mr Patrick Hogg, from Stranraer, who is writing a biography of Burns, unearthed
a number of poems in two radical newspapers of the time, the Morning Chronicle
and the Edinburgh Gazetteer, which he believes could be the work of the bard.
His claims have sparked a public debate among
Scottish literary experts, many of whom have expressed scepticism about the provenance
of the poems.
Yesterday it emerged that a Conservative councillor
on Dumfries and Galloway Regional Council has asked his colleagues to withdraw
a grant which has helped Mr Hogg conduct his research.
The cash came from a #100,000 fund set aside by
the council to finance suitable local projects during the bicentenary of the poet's
death.
Councillor Neil McKay, a Burns enthusiast, said:
``If Burns wrote these poems, then I am a Dutchman. This money could have been
put to far better use at a time when the papers are full of news about the new
unitary authorities looking at cuts in council services and staff and increases
in council tax.''
He added: ``It seems to me to be a complete waste
of money. All the pundits for 200 years have said these are not authentic Burns
works, so I do not see why we should spend money on something like this.''
Mr McKay said he understood some of the grant
had already been paid, but he had asked the council's economic development committee
to withdraw the rest. His request will be discussed by the committee when it meets
tomorrow. The grant was also criticised yesterday by Labour councillor Mr Bill
Nimmo.
Mr Hogg last night said it would be ``very unfortunate''
if the research was stopped. ``If a few councillors wish to halt the research,
I am not surprised. As a sceptic, I would never have believed it possible that
works of Burns could have been found in 18th-century newspapers.''
He added: ``The very embarrassing public row has
obscured the genuine academic case for possible authenticity.
``At no stage have I asserted any of the poems
definitely to be a work of Burns. I appreciate the support councillors have given
so far and can assure them I have conducted the research meticulously and employed
a detailed methodological analysis of three of the poems. It is my hope that this
research will continue and I believe a final decision ought to be made by a panel
of senior lecturers and professors in both literature and history.''
SNP councillor Ms Christine Hutchison, vice-chairwoman
of the committee, yesterday defended the decision to award the grant. She said:
``The money is only paying for a word processor and for travel. Patrick Hogg had
to travel to Glasgow from an area which has the second highest unemployment rate
in Scotland. Transport from a remote area is not easy.
``I have no misgivings whatsoever. The fund was
for local projects, and this was a very worthwhile one.''
Mr David Smith, immediate past president of the
Burns Federation, who was adviser to the committee's Burns bicentenary sub-committee,
described Mr Hogg's project as ``a fair use of money''.
He said: ``I do not think these are genuine Burns
poems and I would expect that all Burns material has long since been discovered.
But the money was to allow further research. I reckon there was sufficient interest
to warrant further research.''
Bonnie lad.....................9
Letters...........................10
Mon 15-Jan-1996
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