National Tartan Day
The final item of business is the members' business debate. I ask those who are not staying for the debate to leave us quickly and quietly. We will debate motion S1M-1670, in the name of George Reid, on national tartan day. As usual, the motion will be taken without any vote.
Motion debated,
That the Parliament notes the importance of National Tartan Day, held annually in the United States on 6 April, which celebrates the contribution of Scots and Scots-Americans to the creation and prosperity of America and welcomes the opportunities National Tartan Day offers as a vehicle for strengthening economic, social and cultural links between our two countries.
Presiding Officer,
"The time is now near at hand which must … determine whether"
we
"are to be freemen or slaves … Our … unrelenting enemy leaves us only the choice of brave resistance, or the most abject submission. We have, therefore, to resolve to conquer or die."
Those are the words of George Washington, pledging himself to the cause of American independence in 1776. They were quoted in the United States Senate debate on tartan day to make a living link to Scotland. For every Scot, those words should bring back memories of an event 462 years earlier:
"Liberty's in every blow!
Let us Do—or Die!!!"
In using those linked quotations, I am not making any political statement about contemporary Scotland. Tartan day is an American event. It concerns Scots Americans who gave their country independence and built it into what it is today. Tartan day is about the Scots concept of liberty. The sovereignty of the people is a fundamental ingredient of what has made America great. I commend the First Minister most warmly for seeing and seizing the opportunity that the day presents to promote Scottish enterprise, education, culture and tourism in the States.
When Trent Lott, the Senate majority leader—himself descended from the Buchanans of Loch Lomond—and Newt Gingrich, then Speaker of the House and a descendant of the McPhersons, introduced resolution 155, to declare 6 April national tartan day in the States, they focused on the Scots and the sovereignty of the people. It is worth writing the official report of their resolution into our Official Report:
"Whereas April 6 has a special significance for all Americans, and especially those Americans of Scottish descent, because the Declaration of Arbroath, the Scottish Declaration of Independence, was signed on April 6, 1320 and the American Declaration of Independence was modeled on that inspirational document;
Whereas this resolution honors the major role that Scottish Americans played in the founding of this Nation, such as the fact that almost half of the signers of the Declaration of Independence were of Scottish descent, the Governors in 9 of the original 13 States were of Scottish ancestry …
Whereas this resolution recognizes the monumental achievements and invaluable contributions made by Scottish Americans that have led to America's preeminence in the fields of science, technology, medicine, government, politics, economics, architecture, literature, media, and visual and performing arts; Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate designates April 6 of each year as ‘National Tartan Day'."
Sometimes, it takes Americans to remind us Scots of our own heritage and history. While senators on Capitol Hill pay tribute to Scotland as the first country ever to articulate the contractual nature of governance—from the Declaration of Arbroath, through the national covenant, to the Claim of Right that underwrites this very Parliament—we Scots perhaps stay a bit mute on the subject.
Two Scots in particular should be honoured this tartan day for making America what it is. The first is John Witherspoon, Church of Scotland minister, from Beith in Ayrshire. He not only signed the Declaration of Independence but, as president of the College of New Jersey, which was shortly to become Princeton University, he trained the leadership of the new country. Through his hands passed one President, one Vice-President, 12 state governors, 56 state legislators, 33 judges including three members of the Supreme Court, and the whole officer class of the war of independence—all of them given a Scottish education. At the college, he pumped into those young revolutionary minds the ideas of the Scottish enlightenment, which was flourishing here in Edinburgh, and the philosophy of Francis Hutcheson, Lord Kames, David Hume, Adam Smith, Thomas Reid and Adam Ferguson—commonsense philosophy; the belief that a man is as good as his master and that the people reign supreme.
The second great Scot to make America what it is was James Wilson, who was born in 1742 on a farm outside Cupar. He too signed the Declaration of Independence and was, to a large extent, responsible for the initial drafting of the US constitution. Importantly, his Scots ideas shone through into the future. He argued for limits on the power of the President, for proportional representation and for direct election of the Senate and of the President.
In my last minute, I ask members to think of the long line of Scots who distinguish the American-Scots roll of honour: Alexander Hamilton, first Secretary of the Treasury, who put the new country on a sound financial footing; John Paul Jones, who founded the American navy; a whole host of doctors and lawyers; pre-eminent Scots entrepreneurs and inventors, such as Andrew Carnegie, Alexander Graham Bell and Wallace Carruthers; and nine Presidents of Scots descent.
Woodrow Wilson, 28th President and son of a Scots Presbyterian minister, said:
"Every line of strength in American history is a line coloured with Scottish blood."
It is small wonder that David McCrae of Greenock, arriving in the promised land, should write home in his first letter:
"I begin to think, Mither, that either the world is awfu small or Scotland awfu large."
I have confined my remarks to the Senate resolution on tartan day. I hope that members have not found it too much of a history lesson. I know that when Alasdair Morrison winds up the debate, he will quite rightly wish to show that Scotland has a future for its past, as a vibrant small country that is ready for the challenges of the new millennium.
To the United States consul in Edinburgh, Liane Dorsey, who will be present in the gallery throughout the debate, I give a word of welcome. We are proud to have had an American consulate in our capital city continuously since 1798.
To our friends on Capitol Hill, I say a thank you for tartan day. As a small nation—now with our own Parliament, back after a recess of 300 years—we are grateful for the acknowledgement of our contribution to what has made Americans great.
On our side, I make only one request to the Scots diaspora. I do so in Gaelic: cuimhnich air na daoine on tàinig thu—remember the people from whom you came.
Many members want to take part in the debate. If members keep their remarks to three minutes, we will get everybody in.
Patricia Ferguson, the other Deputy Presiding Officer, will lead our delegation to tartan day next month. I call her to speak next.
Together with Mr Reid and other members of the Scottish Parliament, I was privileged to be able to attend tartan day in Washington last year. Looking around the chamber, I see that a number of the members who were there last year are with us this afternoon. I was struck by the hospitality that we were shown and by the interest in America in maintaining the Scottish heritage that many Americans recognise as their own.
I would like to highlight a number of points that show that the connection continues to this day, and to echo the history that Mr Reid has so eloquently outlined to us. In doing so, I want to mention my home city of Glasgow.
The links between Glasgow and America go back to the very beginning of that great nation. By 1730, trade from Glasgow to America was fully established. Glasgow's tobacco lords had cornered the market, in the process becoming Glasgow's—and Scotland's—first millionaires. Unfortunately, trade was curtailed by the civil war, but Glasgow's shipyards were prized for their ability to construct packet-ships, which I am told were used by both sides in the civil war. They were built in Glasgow and dispatched across the Atlantic.
After the civil war, shipbuilding on the Clyde, which was recognised as being top quality, quickly became Scotland's major export to north America. The Glasgow of today has many remnants of that past, both in the fine buildings that adorn our city centre—especially the Merchant City—and in the place names. Virginia Street, for example, is obviously connected with that particular trade. When I looked for similar connections in America, I was intrigued to find that the idea of naming places or streets after one's homeland is very much part of American culture. In fact, I was surprised to find no fewer than eight Aberdeens, eight Edinburghs and seven Glasgows in the United States. I am sure that, wherever we were to land in America, we would, as George Reid said, feel very much at home.
It is interesting to note that it was a Scot—Logie Baird—who, in 1928, first transmitted television pictures across the Atlantic. It is fitting that today's debate is being recorded and webcast for an American audience. The Americans would be proud of the way in which, since the first days of the Parliament, we have embraced new technology. I will come back to that in a moment.
America is also proud of Scotland because there are so many women members of our Parliament. When we were in Washington last year, that was one of the main areas that people expressed an interest in and wanted more information about. Given that the idea of international women's day originated in America, at the socialist women's international, it is understandable why that is.
In recent years, Glasgow has had other links with America. We in Glasgow were very much involved in the repatriation of a ghost dance shirt that had been taken from one of those killed at Wounded Knee. Glasgow City Council negotiated with the Wounded Knee Survivors Association and was able to come to an agreement that allowed the important artefact to be returned to its homeland.
Today, I was told of an interesting piece of history. Alexander Hamilton may have drafted the US constitution, which declares that all men are created equal, but it was black Scots Americans—the descendants of African slaves and Scottish settlers—who helped to give substance to those aspirations two centuries later. One of them was Professor Joseph Douglas. I do not have time to go into Professor Douglas's entire curriculum vitae, which is long and distinguished, but I will say that he is a lifelong campaigner in America for higher education for all and was the first black professor of engineering at Penn State University.
I wanted to mention Professor Douglas not only because of his Scots ancestry, but because he ties us in with the idea of using new technology. Professor Douglas's daughter, Marion, works for the United Nations in Macedonia. Having watched a meeting of our Equal Opportunities Committee in February this year, she brought Professor Douglas's heritage to our attention. She decided that, since she had, as it were, found the Scottish Parliament, she would tell us about her own heritage. It is interesting to note that new technology is beginning to reap dividends in promoting the culture of Scotland and the Parliament of Scotland as far afield as Macedonia.
It gives me great pleasure to associate myself and my party with the motion that George Reid has so ably proposed. One of my earliest childhood recollections is the sight of thousands of people queuing at Yorkhill quay in the 1950s to board ships bound for the United States. Even as a young child, I wondered what attracted so many of my parents' generation to leave Scotland to seek their future elsewhere. We Scots travel far, but we also travel well. In that era particularly, we went in large numbers to the United States, contributing to the make-up of the most diverse, cosmopolitan and fascinating potpourri that is American society.
In some ways, it is sad that over many generations our chief export has been our people, but at the same time, it is a matter of considerable pride that Scots Americans have played such a prominent role in the development and governance of the United States. The evidence for that is apparent. As Patricia Ferguson said, settlements from North Dakota to Georgia bear the name of Glasgow. It even seems that some of my forefathers got as far as the west cost, where they founded the township of Aitken, Oregon.
From time to time, we seem to export some of our more militaristic citizens as well, but they too have made a tremendous contribution to US society. Ulysses S Grant, the victor of the battles of Vicksburg and Missionary ridge, was of Scots descent. When he accepted the confederate surrender in 1865, he described himself as being sad and depressed at the downfall of a foe who had fought so long and valiantly. He was probably reflecting on the fact that almost half the population of the defeated confederacy were also of Scots descent, including his opponent, General Stonewall Jackson. Grant went on to become President of the United States, a position that he held with great honour and distinction.
The Scots military connection in America goes further. George Patton was of Scots descent, as was Douglas MacArthur. Colin Powell can claim to be not only the first black American Secretary of State but of Scots descent. It is those ties of kinship, friendship and blood that have meant that we and America have stood shoulder to shoulder during the past 100 years in battles against fascism and the threat of world communism. Our ties and roots run deep and, I would like to think, in both directions.
To those Americans who do not know Scotland, I say that we are no ephemeral and mystical Brigadoon, but a vibrant, living and contemporary society. Scots are proud of their long history and rich heritage. However, although we respect the past, we do not live in it. We glory in our culture, but we are far from blind to the merits of other people's. Like Americans, we thrive not only in adversity, but in the joys of diversity and we are seldom slow to sing the praises of our nation.
Every year, we welcome many thousands of American visitors and it is a pleasure and a joy to do so. Scotland is unique. The type of scenery that we have to offer can be found nowhere else in the world. Scots cuisine at its best cannot be bettered. To those Americans who do not know us, I say, "We are a small, small country—there are only 5 million of us—but there are 5 million people out there who are interested, keen to meet you and very anxious indeed to have you as a friend." To those who have not been here, I say, "Everyone in the Parliament extends the warmest invitation to come." To those who, like General MacArthur, have vowed that they will return, I say, "Haste ye back."
National tartan day is celebrated annually in the United States of America on 6 April. As George Reid said, that date has special significance for Scots, because the Declaration of Arbroath, which was our Declaration of Independence, was signed on 6 April 1320. Therefore, 6 April is a national day when Scottish Americans can remember and take pride in both their Scottish heritage and the influence that Scots have had on the creation, character and prosperity of America.
Scots have played a pivotal role in developing education in the new world, as George Reid said, establishing universities and colleges such as Princeton and New York's first medical school. However, the flow has not been all one way. The library in Inverurie, where I live, is, as in so many communities in Scotland, a Carnegie library.
Scots have also contributed to government and politics. I am a MacPherson and today learned of a link of which I was previously unaware. I thank George Reid for that; it was of great interest to me.
Patricia Ferguson outlined how the Scottish influence can almost be mapped by place names. I am an Aberdonian—a Scottish Aberdonian, with American cousins in the eight Aberdeens in the United States. The Scottish Aberdeen is the oil capital of the UK. Grampian region, which includes Aberdeen and the north-east corner of Scotland, is twinned with Houston, the oil town on the other side of the Atlantic. The flow of black gold from the North sea has created a tremendous flow of people, investment and expertise between America and Scotland.
Andrew Fulton, chairman of the Scottish North American Business Council, said:
"The first oil boom of the mid-1970s further cemented the relationship between the two nations, as expertise from Texas was imported into Grampian".
We were delighted to welcome the Texans then and glad that many of them liked Grampian enough still to be with us today. We are also delighted that the knowledge and expertise that we developed with our American partners in developing the North sea are now being re-exported to other developing oil fields across the world.
Tartan day is a grand opportunity to celebrate and take pride in the shared heritage and the many cultural, business and personal links that exist between Scotland and the United States. I want briefly to mention a Gordon tartan day that happened in Scotland last year. Huntly, in my constituency, is the heart of the Gordon clan territory in the north-east. Last year, it celebrated the millennium by hosting Gordon 2000. Gordons from all over the world—many of them from the United States—converged on the town to celebrate their family and their roots. We had a truly wonderful weekend. Even the sun shone.
Unfortunately, we could not welcome all those people at the moment, as we are under the cloud of an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease. Many of our friends from America have had to change their plans to come to Scotland. We appreciate their understanding and co-operation in staying away, but we want them back. I appeal to them to support us as soon as we are open for business again, which I hope will be very soon.
The motto of Aberdeen is "Bon Accord", which we translate as, "Happy to meet, sorry to part, happy to meet again." We mean it. Alasdair Morrison will talk to everyone in Gaelic later. For the benefit of the American visitors whom I hope we will welcome in the months to come, I will give an introduction to a little Doric. The phrase that we greet people with in Aberdeen is, "Fit like?" and the response is, "Nae bad; fit like yersel?"
I am happy to support this significant motion. There are important historic and living connections between Scotland and north America. I will cite two examples—one from my family and one from my constituency.
James Douglas-Hamilton and I may be the only two members of the Parliament who are directly descended from members of the previous Scottish Parliament in 1707. I am not sure whether Patrick Home of Renton was offered any of the famous English gold but, for the record, he voted against the incorporating union. I am therefore all the happier to be making the return journey from the Westminster Parliament to the new Holyrood Parliament.
Members of the next generation of the family took part in the Jacobite rising of 1718. Some were condemned and transported to Culpepper County in Virginia. Like so many Scots, they played their part in the early development of the United States of America. Indeed, one of them was closely associated with George Washington. It is fascinating to examine some of the correspondence and records of those times. A lot of it, from my family and other families, is in the Scottish Record Office. That heritage should be celebrated.
My constituency, East Lothian, is the birthplace of John Muir, the great explorer of the wilderness of north America and the founder of the north American—and world—conservation movement. He was born and went to school in Dunbar. His family emigrated to Wisconsin. He founded the great national parks, such as Yellowstone and Yosemite. He must be the greatest example of a Scot who has made an immense contribution to the life and environment of the United States and the rest of the planet.
There is a rich history—and a living history—of contacts between Scotland and the United States of America. Americans welcome the fact that our new Scottish Parliament is actively involved in promoting those contacts through tartan day. We will be able to build on those contacts and I am especially pleased to hear that the United States consul is with us today.
On a point of order, Presiding Officer. I understand that more members want to speak in the debate than time will allow. If I were to move a motion without notice to extend business by 30 minutes, would you be so minded to take it?
I am happy to accept an extension of up to 30 minutes.
Motion moved,
That the debate be extended by up to 30 minutes.—[Mr George Reid.]
Motion agreed to.
We should now be able to fit in all the members who want to speak in the debate.
It is interesting to note that the way to ensure that one's point of order has a successful outcome is to be a Presiding Officer. That is clearly the way forward.
I was struck by Bill Aitken's comment that cities in America were named after his family; he made that claim on the ground that they shared his surname. By that rationale, given that my surname is Hamilton, my family did not make it past Lanarkshire. I am not entirely sure that that is something to boast about.
I welcome this debate and congratulate Mr Reid on securing it. Like Patricia Ferguson, I was in America last year for tartan day. I am well aware of the profile that it brings to Scotland. I learned of the result of the referendum that created this Parliament in a bar in Boston—I was spending a year in that city—so I have a particular affinity with America.
Tartan day has existed only for a short time, but it has been very successful. Members who have not had the opportunity to go to America for tartan day should do so. It is awe-inspiring to see what the Americans can make of their Scottish heritage. In many ways, it is a great lesson to us about how we can be more bold and creative in what we do with our history. I am delighted that representatives from every party will be in America for tartan day. I hope that there will also be representatives from the tourist board, because we can learn a great deal from the can-do mentality that defines America.
During one trip to America, on a lecture tour with Alex Salmond, I saw that the success knew no bounds. At the start of the trip, the claim was that there were 9 million people in America of Scots descent. That figure grew halfway through our trip to 12 million and, by the end of our trip, it was 24 million. If that does not define success, I do not know what does.
Tartan day is bipartisan and it is interesting to note who has taken part in it in the United States. Trent Lott has been a good friend of Scotland and has driven forward the idea in the United States, but the chamber should be aware of the considerable interest from people in the Democratic Party. One whom I know well is Ted Kennedy. I had a long conversation with him when I went for a long lunch with the Kennedys—I am not sure that the Kennedys do anything other than long lunches. Ted Kennedy is well aware of what is happening in Scotland and was keen to lend his weight to the democratic movement that he saw here.
We should bear in mind the fact that the themes of justice, self-determination and freedom are close to the hearts of Americans. We have a receptive audience in America and I suggest that, on this tartan day and all future tartan days, we try our best to exploit that and to embrace the friendship. America is a hotch-potch of cultures and Scots have a proud tradition there. I hope that many of us will be in America and that we can welcome many Americans to our shores in the future.
I, like other members, congratulate George Reid on lodging the motion, which celebrates the contribution of Scots and Scots Americans to the creation and prosperity of America.
I want to highlight the legacy of the man who was arguably the greatest capitalist in history but who was also arguably the greatest philanthropist—Andrew Carnegie.
Members might find it strange that somebody like me, who is steeped in the Labour and trade union movement, should wish to acknowledge Andrew Carnegie's memory. However, coming from Fife and as MSP for Dunfermline—Carnegie's home town—I know from first hand the great extent of the legacy that Carnegie has bequeathed on his homeland. He left Dunfermline in 1847 aged 12 and settled with his family in Pennsylvania. Forty years later, through a mixture of sheer hard work and total ruthlessness, he had amassed a huge fortune. That ruthlessness probably came to a head in 1892, when his company was involved in the most violent industrial dispute in late 19th century American trade union history, over trade union recognition at the Homestead steel works. The incident is shrouded in much controversy; Andrew Carnegie was not in the US at the time, because he was holidaying in Scotland. However, whether by accident or design, Andrew Carnegie's life appeared to take something of a turn from that time on.
In his famous essay of 1889, "The Gospel of Wealth", Carnegie wrote:
"A man who dies rich, dies disgraced."
From then on, he set about releasing the huge fortune that he had managed to amass. That fortune was estimated at $350 million in 1900, which is worth far more than $112 billion today. His aim was to give 95 per cent of it away.
As Nora Radcliffe has acknowledged, one of Carnegie's passions was education. Through the Carnegie Trust and his bequests, more than 2,800 libraries have been created throughout the world, more than 600 of which are in the UK. My town of Dunfermline has benefited greatly from his bequests. Not only did he build four community centres, the first public baths in Scotland and the Carnegie Hall he bequeathed money to establish a technical college, which was named after his uncle, George Lauder. He also bought what was possibly his greatest acquisition for the town, Pittencrieff park, which he had not been allowed to play in when he was a child. Furthermore, he received the freedom of 57 British cities, which is far more than Winston Churchill achieved.
Earlier this week, I attended the annual dinner of the UK Carnegie Trust, which was held in Dunfermline. Yesterday, the trustees held their annual general meeting, which was chaired by Andrew Carnegie's great-grandson. Carnegie's fortune was earned in the US. Today, 100 years later, his bequests are still enriching the lives of many Scots, particularly in education and leisure.
We have heard much talk in the debate about our links with America and, indeed, the love that we Scots have of everything American and Americans themselves. However, perhaps I am the only member in the chamber who can actually prove her love of America and Americans. My husband is an American, and for the sake of our friends on Capitol Hill, he is a li'l ole farmboy from Oklahoma. He is almost, but not quite, an Okie from Muskogee. Furthermore, although my son is a great muckle boy with a great Scottish brogue, he is very proud of the fact that he is an American citizen—complete with American passport—having been born in Dover, Delaware.
Everyone—particularly our friends over in the States—will have guessed that I was a military bride and, as such, I have been all over the States, from east to west and north to south. I have truly left my heart in San Francisco; Chicago is really my kind of town; and so very, very often I have wished that I were still in Dixie.
Duncan Hamilton talked about how tartan day is really taking off in the States; I had living proof of that on Tuesday night. The phone rang and it was a little niece from Oklahoma who wanted us to send to her information about Scotland and the Scots for a project that she was doing in second grade. That showed that tartan day is becoming a part of the American way of life. It has not quite reached the status of St Patrick's day, but we can hope.
I am proud to have been chosen to be among the delegation from the Parliament that will visit Washington in a couple of weeks' time. The other night, I was saying to my husband that I had been in Washington before. He reminded me cruelly that the last time I was in Washington, my son, who is now 35, was being taken about in a baby buggy. Before members start trying to work out my age, I should point out that I was a child bride.
To our friends from Capitol Hill I say, "See y'all in a couple of weeks." I hope that, when we leave, they will extend to us that wonderful southern invitation, "Y'all come back now, y'hear."
I congratulate George Reid on securing the debate and I pay tribute to Trent Lott and Newt Gingrich, and to all those who supported them, for establishing tartan day. In my humble speech—dressed as I am in the tartan of Menteith of Clan Graham—I shall mention a few names in the context of the different contributions that have been made by Scots, and Americans of Scottish descent, to America's prosperity.
First, I mention somebody who was not directly involved with America—Sir Walter Scott. Sir Walter Scott helped not only to establish the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party, but to invent the historical novel and save the Scottish pound from abolition. He guaranteed the revival and popularisation of tartan by ensuring that George IV wore a kilt and tartan garb on his visit to Edinburgh. We therefore owe a debt to Sir Walter Scott. I recommend that anybody who has not visited his house, Abbotsford, or who has not seen Scott's view—which looks over his house in the Borders—should go there and take in that view, be they Scots or Americans who are visiting this country.
Secondly, I pay tribute to a Scot in America, reminding us that many Scots still go to the States and contribute to modern America. Dr Stewart Butler is such a person. A graduate of St Andrew's University, he is the vice-president of the Heritage Foundation, which is based in Washington DC. I inform those who have not heard of that foundation that it is in the vanguard of new political thought in the United States. Dr Butler has, through the foundation, been one of the key brains behind the development of social and domestic policy in Washington DC. It is people such as Dr Stewart Butler who continue to ensure that Scots make a contribution to the free and just society that prospers in the United States.
Another American whom I want to mention—this time of Scots descent—is a man whom I discovered by surfing the web. I recommend that all members of the Scottish Parliament punch their surnames into a search engine and see what it finds. I found Senator Dick Monteith, a senator in California State Senate. He is not only a Monteith and a Republican; he is a defender of rural schools and has proposed a bill to provide tax relief for agriculture—my sort of guy. I shall e-mail the Official Report of this debate to Senator Dick Monteith, professing my support for his agricultural bill.
In conclusion, I mention two things about Arbroath. First, Arbroath is not famous only for its declaration of independence; it is famous because the inventor of the Buick car came from Arbroath. To anybody in America, that is probably one of the foremost reasons for being proud of coming from Arbroath.
Secondly, the anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Arbroath—6 April—is a fitting day to have tartan day in America. As a direct descendant of Sir John Menteith, who signed the Declaration of Arbroath, I am pleased to support the motion and the United States of America's tartan day.
Andrew Wilson was due to speak next, but has explained to me that he has had to leave to catch a plane, whether to America or not I do not know. I call Dennis Canavan—our independent member of the Scottish Parliament.
I congratulate George Reid on securing the debate. I applaud the aim of strengthening links between Scotland and America and trust that that also embraces Canada, as I understand that tartan day was originally a Canadian initiative.
The links between Scotland and north America go back many years. There is hardly a family in Scotland that does not have relatives on the other side of the Atlantic. For example, in the 1920s, my mother emigrated at the age of 19 to Canada and then moved to the USA before coming back to Scotland. I realise that some of my political opponents wish that she had stayed there; I might, had that been the case, not be here. She was one of a family of eight and, as a result, I have countless cousins in Canada and the USA. Many Scots will be able to tell a similar story.
The motion refers to the strengthening of
"economic, social and cultural links"
between Scotland and America. I hope that that becomes a reality. However, I want to make two suggestions regarding national tartan day.
I wonder whether "tartan day" is the best name for a day that celebrates the links between Scotland and America. Many Scottish families identify with a clan tartan, as do many American families whose Scottish roots often date back centuries. However, the Scotland of the 21st century is a multi-ethnic society and I wonder whether that might be better recognised if the day had a different name. The date—6 April—was chosen because it is the anniversary of the Declaration of Arbroath. I suppose that calling the day, "independence day" would ruffle too many unionist feathers, but "Scotland day", "Caledonia day" or "saltire day" might be worthy of consideration as an alternative.
My second suggestion relates to the Scottish Parliament's delegation to national tartan day—I declare a non-interest, as I am not interested in being a member of that delegation. I feel strongly that the membership of any official delegation from the Scottish Parliament should be subject to parliamentary approval rather than being decided behind closed doors by the Parliamentary Bureau, acting like some sort of secret society.
The Scottish Parliament was supposed to herald a new era of open democracy. It should therefore ensure that all members of the Parliament are invited to apply for membership of any delegation. The final selection should be subject to parliamentary approval by means of an appropriate motion.
I hope that, as well as going to America, the delegation will come back. [Laughter.] I also hope that it will report to the Parliament. I hope that all future delegations from the Parliament will, on returning—if they return—report back to us. In this instance, I hope that the delegation comes back with good news of achievements in terms of strengthened economic, social and cultural links between Scotland and America.
I thank George Reid for securing this debate and I also thank all those who have worked hard on the debate.
The bad boys and girls of history are, unfortunately, always a lot more interesting than some of the good and the great. That is why John Paul Jones is particularly fascinating. He was a distinguished pirate before he founded the American navy. Without a navy, America might not have achieved independence when it did, because the fledgling United States navy was up against the might of the British navy. John Paul Jones, being an inventive man from Kirkcudbright, acquired the navy in the easiest possible way: he simply boarded United Kingdom ships, pinched them and ran up the American flag. He also rearranged the Russian navy for Catherine the Great. I think that he was the chap whom everyone faxed when they wanted something done about acquiring navies.
As for other half-good, half-bad boys, the great example is that of Carnegie. Our colleague from Dunfermline, Scott Barrie, has gone through Andrew Carnegie's history. I remind members that Andrew Carnegie was a valiant champion of the black American. Members would be moved to read some of his typed speeches from the turn of the 20th century. He founded the Carnegie Mellon University, the first black university. Unfortunately, it had to be exclusively black, because that was the only way for young black people to get a university education. Carnegie said that blacks work far harder than whites, and quoted the federal statistics on that at a time when blacks were being accused of not working hard enough. Of course they were: 90 per cent of them were engaged in labour by the age of 10.
The story of John Logie Baird is fascinating. I made the centenary programme about Baird and the birth of television in 1988. Patricia Ferguson correctly referred to the transatlantic broadcast in 1928. It was a terrible race between Britain and America to see who could be the first. Baird had three engineers in London, plus himself. He was up against Bell Laboratories in the States, which had 400 engineers. Baird's television equipment had to be smuggled into the United States, because it was not legal to compete against the States in the race for television at that time.
Sixty years on, I tried to trace the missing American who helped Baird, on that great day, when newspapers carried headlines such as "People Seen Walking About in London". I could not find that old American, Robert Hart. I reckoned that he would have been about 90 and would be dead. However, I went to the house on Elm Street, Hartford, just to see the house where that transmission had been received, rang the doorbell, and Mr Hart himself, aged well over 90, answered the doorbell. We got some marvellous interviews, commemorating the birth of television.
So much has been achieved between the United States and Scotland. Falkirk's Carron ironworks manufactured the iron stoves for the prairie schooners of the wild west. Carnegie opened up the wild west with his steel rails—his interest in railways, as Scott Barrie rightly said, was controversial. At any rate, of all people, it was Carnegie who opened up the wild west.
As we are veering more and more towards Europe nowadays, we are supposed to have a European mindset. However, we have tens of millions of friends in the United States and Canada. I feel that we are neglecting many of our friendships in those marvellous countries. That is one reason why I have been planning since December to set up a cross-party American and Canadian group for friendship and trade between our countries. Forget the politics. I hope that absolutely everyone who is here for this evening's debate will join it.
I also thank George Reid for securing this debate.
I want to focus on the trade links with the United States. Tartan day has been marked for many years in the United States. As other members have said, there have been, are and will continue to be many cultural, historical and social ties between Scotland and the US. Thanks to Senator Lott and many other sponsors in the Senate, tartan day is now celebrated on a much more official footing. I am grateful and proud that Scotland and Scottish endeavour is being recognised in this way.
As the result of a Senate resolution, tartan day will represent a solid bridge between two democracies, which can learn and have learned much from each other, and will continue to do so. Tartan day is an American celebration. I hope that Scotland can add value to what is fast becoming a major event in America. We heard from Kay Ullrich that her niece's school in America was taking the day very seriously.
I will focus on trade links. The relationship between Scotland and north America spans almost five centuries. It started in 1585 when the first British colonies were settled in North Carolina, and has grown to be one of Scotland's most valuable trading relationships.
Over many years, Scots have emigrated to the USA to seek their fortune. There are now estimated to be 20 million Scots Americans. Since the 1950s, many American companies have established operations in Scotland. More recently, the focus has been on tertiary industries and companies such as Motorola and Hewlett-Packard.
The USA is now Scotland's second-largest export market and is the destination of around 15 per cent of our exports. The Scottish North American Business Council, which was launched in December 1999 to strengthen bilateral business and trading links between Scotland and the USA and Canada, is used by 60 businesses. I congratulate everyone who has developed the council.
The commercial ties and trade links between us are diverse. However, there is still much to do to encourage trade, business and, as Nora Radcliffe said, tourism between Scotland and the United States. As a member of the Enterprise and Lifelong Learning Committee, I will pay close attention to how small businesses develop under the guidance of the Scottish technology and research centres, how Locate in Scotland and Scottish Trade International seek Scottish business opportunities in the USA and the opportunities for developing the many American companies that are located in Scotland.
I encourage all efforts to progress Scottish business abroad and, equally, encourage other countries, in particular America, to invest in Scotland. It is my hope and belief that over the next few years tartan day will provide a shop window for Scotland and allow America a glimpse of the innovation and drive of Scotland's business and leisure industries. Tartan day provides a platform for Scottish and American business interests to engage with each other. I welcome it and commend it to Parliament for the benefit of both our countries.
I am very glad to have the opportunity briefly to contribute to this debate. Within the regional constituency of Mid Scotland and Fife, which I, along with others, represent in the chamber is the great city of Dunfermline, which is the former capital of Scotland. It is the birthplace of many of our kings and, most distinguished of all, Andrew Carnegie. He has been mentioned often in the debate. He was a great Pittsburgh steel millionaire and international philanthropist, and a man of such foresight that he built the Highland setting for Madonna's wedding. He certainly enriched life enormously for people in Scotland and the United States.
I made my first visit to the United States nearly 30 years ago, in 1972, in a delegation that was led by that great Scottish politician, the late John Smith. I was a very junior member of that delegation. We went to Washington DC, to Capitol Hill, and then to a somewhat chaotic Democratic convention at Miami Beach. I returned subsequently as often as four or five times a year, sometimes on work and often on recreation. In the early 1990s, I lived and worked in New York. Indeed, I had the privilege of working in an office on the 76th floor of the Empire State Building, which is a particularly exciting place to be if a hurricane happens to touch the eastern seaboard—it sways quite a bit.
The USA has played a central part in my life and has enriched it enormously. I have friendships there of many years' standing, and which I retain still. The American influence has stretched even to my native city of Aberdeen. We had the same neighbours on either side for 25 years. Then came oil, and then came the Texans. That certainly livened up the neighbourhood and Aberdeen has never looked back. Scottish cuisine was referred to earlier—that is somewhat distinguished terminology for it. Texan barbecues were introduced to Aberdeen and are now a regular feature of life in the city.
Wherever one goes in the United States, one finds Scottish connections and links. Not long ago I was in that wonderful town in the south, Savannah, where I visited a 19th century house. I looked into a bookcase and thought I recognised the bindings on a row of volumes. They had the distinct green-gold bindings of the Spalding Club, which, as Nora Radcliffe knows, is the great antiquarian society of Aberdeenshire. I subsequently discovered that I was in the former home of a Scottish-born cotton merchant from Savannah, who, in the 19th century, regularly commuted between Scotland and America.
I have had the pleasure of introducing many American friends to Scotland and through their eyes I have seen my native land freshly and in a different way. Those experiences have certainly increased my pride in my own country.
I hope that the delegation will have a successful visit. It is enormously important to promote our links with the United States and to promote tourism, which benefits us all immensely, particularly within my own region in Highland Perthshire and Highland Stirlingshire, and also, of course, beyond in Aberdeenshire. It is important to increase those links and contacts and for all of us to go back and forth to that great country, which plays such a distinguished role, in so many ways, in international politics and to the story to which Scotland has made such a significant contribution.
I am pleased to make a brief contribution to the debate and I welcome the fact that George Reid secured it.
Last year, I had the pleasure of travelling to Virginia and Washington DC as part of a delegation that was looking into e-government and how we can learn from its application in the United States. That is part of the continuing relationship that we must have with the United States, which is not only about the past and what has gone before but about what we can do now.
While I was there, I had one of those experiences that leads us to say that, in many ways, language is what binds us together with the US but, in other ways, separates us. I had the opportunity to visit Dumfries, Virginia, but when I told people in Virginia that I was going to Dumfries they had no clue where I was intending to go, because they pronounce it "Dumfrys." Unlike Duncan Hamilton, I did not have the opportunity to lunch with someone as distinguished as Ted Kennedy, although, in the True Grit Restaurant, "Dumfrys", I had my picture taken with a life-size cut-out of John Wayne, which certainly impressed my children.
As Patricia Ferguson said, it is important to understand the connectivity that we can maintain with the United States through the deployment of new technology. It may be surprising to learn that people watch the webcast of First Minister's question time in Arizona at 4 am, but the fact that they do so is to be welcomed. The internet, e-mail and all those trappings allow us to maintain a greater connectivity with the United States, which we must all welcome and encourage.
I will go back to a much earlier connection. Some members who are present this evening were present for a members' business debate in my name on Robert Burns a few weeks ago. Robert Burns and his works are a great Scottish contribution to the culture of the United States, where he is held in high regard and is well read. We welcome that interest, just as we welcome Americans coming to Scotland to find out more about Burns and his homeland.
The Robert Burns World Federation, which the minister knows well, is to hold its annual meeting in Atlanta. Presiding Officer, I think that it would be appropriate to send at least one delegate from the Parliament to that meeting. We also welcome the Burns fields, a park in Milwaukee that is being named after Robert Burns.
We had strong links with the United States in the past, but we must take advantage of the strong links that we can forge and continue to forge in the future.
I congratulate George Reid on securing this debate and will follow on from David Mundell's remarks about developing and understanding our current links with the United States.
We sometimes have the attitude that tartan is a thing of the past. Much of the debate has been concerned with the past. I would like to turn to what is happening on college radio in America. What does Scotland mean to 18 to 26-year-old Americans? It means Sharleen Spiteri, who is part of a band from Glasgow that is called Texas. It means Shirley Manson from Edinburgh—a good friend of mine—who is in the American band Garbage. Currently, three Scottish bands are in the US college radio stations top 10. They are Teenage Fan Club, Arab Strap and the remarkably titled band—Mull Historical Society. [Laughter.] That is what Scotland means to young Americans. We have exchanged and converted their music to our music and we are re-exporting it.
Two years ago, I stood on the esplanade at Stirling Castle. In front of me were some gentlemen whom I recognised from a brief period I had spent working in New York. They were clearly traders from Wall Street on a weekend golf holiday. We were all on the esplanade to see the American band REM. The traders had also managed successfully to achieve their ambition of playing Scotland's three great golf courses. For members who have not heard of REM, the band's lead singer, Michael Stipe, is a great golfer.
The three guys, all of whom were aged under 30, asked me why they had to find out about the concert from the REM website. They asked why had they not seen a poster. In fact, they asked why had they not seen the concert advertised in neon in Times Square. They told me that they thought that they should have been told to go and see REM, the castle that was in the "Braveheart" movie, William Wallace's birthplace and to play the Royal Troon golf course and the Old Course at St Andrews.
Today, many of us are celebrating our connections with the United States. Mine are numerous: I cannot count the number of cousins I have from the eastern to the southern and the western seaboards of the United States. History is important, as it is to our American friends, but what is more important is to recognise our continuing cultural links and particularly the links that younger Scottish people are making. That contribution includes our games creators, most of whom are based in Glasgow, who are in direct contact with silicon valley. In the eyes of young Americans, which is a great tune by David Bowie, those people are Scotland.
We have also had exported to us the American, Claudio Reyna, who plays soccer in Scotland. That is marvellous. It is also fantastic that we have our own National Football League team in the Scottish Claymores. When the Claymores come back for the coming season, I suggest that everyone goes to see them. It is an interesting experience.
Let us look not at emigration or the past, but at interconnections into the future. At the moment, the UK has a number of devolved assemblies and the United States has a federal structure. Let federalists learn from that. I learn from the Declaration of Independence.
It is worth mentioning that there is a cemetery just by St Andrews House that contains a tribute to Abraham Lincoln and the countless thousands of young Scots who died fighting for the northern cause in the American civil war. I hasten to add that President Abraham Lincoln abolished the institution of slavery in that civil war. The memorial is a testimonial to those from this country who gave their lives.
Last summer, I had occasion to go to America. At Montclair, which is near New York, I opened a fête in tribute to the British contribution in north America. I was astonished that every stall had Scottish goods, including Scottish tartans and Scottish sgian-dubhs. Everything about it seemed remarkably Scottish. The connection goes very deep indeed.
Perhaps one of the most moving experiences of my life was at the island near Staten Island, very close to the Statue of Liberty, where some 25 million Europeans entered America. Many were young Scots, many were down on their luck or in circumstances of great misfortune, but at least 98 per cent were accepted. It was known as the island of hope and of tears—tears for the 2 per cent who were turned away, but great hope for those who entered the United States of America. We are extremely proud of the contribution that they and their descendants have made. The relationship goes very deep indeed. We wish it to be cherished, remembered and appreciated in the years to come.
Alasdair Morrison is the minister responding to the debate. He has given notice that at least part of his speech will be in Gaelic, so members should have their headphones ready.
We are here tonight to look forward to tartan day in the United States—6 April, when America celebrates the contribution that Scots have made to its fantastic success. I look forward with immense pleasure to being in America again for the celebrations this year. I can assure my colleague Dennis Canavan that I intend to return to Scotland. David Mundell mentioned the great American icon and legend, John Wayne. His real name was, of course, Morrison. His first name was Marion, which was my mother's name—[Laughter.]
I would like to pay tribute to those who have contributed to the development of tartan day in the United States. It is a tremendous initiative that everyone in Scotland should support. In celebrating tartan day, we celebrate too the strong relationship that Scotland and the United States enjoy today. It is a relationship founded on the history that we share, graced by the appreciation that each country holds of what is special in the other and enlivened by the opportunities that we share to trade and to prosper in the new knowledge economy of the 21st century.
It is natural on this occasion—the question has been posed by fellow members—to ask how the Scots who settled in America came to contribute so greatly to its success. Many historians have identified as a crucial factor the famous Scottish tradition of education. Over the centuries, the Scots who have moved to the United States have carried with them important knowledge and valuable skills. Scots doctors, clergymen and educators were familiar figures in north America from the earliest days of the United States. Scots engineers and farmers, merchants and craftsmen played significant parts in the construction of America. Long before the term "knowledge economy" was invented, Scotland was exporting its expertise and its know-how to the United States. Scottish families and communities in the United States carried forward that tradition of education, self-improvement and professionalism.
It is important to remember that people of Scots extraction in the United States are not always among the affluent successful sectors of the community. For example, there are people of Scots ancestry among native Americans and among African Americans. We need to reach out to those sectors of American society too. It is also important to remember why so many of our people left Scotland in the first place. Some did so because they were looking for the sort of opportunities that America could offer; but others left because they had absolutely no alternative. Many left because it was simply impossible for them to make the best of their talents and abilities in their own country.
It is vital that we ensure that the Scotland that we live in today is not like that. It must be a place where everyone can maximise their own potential in their own country and their own communities. In that regard, tartan day is relevant because there is a lot to be learned from America. It has always been an open society where there have often been far fewer barriers to advancement than were to be found here in Scotland.
America has always welcomed immigrants, including hundreds of thousands of Scots. Perhaps there is a lesson for us there. We need to be a country that opens its doors to people from other parts of the world. If there is one lesson to be learned from the American experience, it is that a society that welcomes immigrants and makes them feel at home tends also to be the sort of society that flourishes economically, culturally and in every other way.
America holds a special place in the consciousness of Scotland. Scots take a keen interest in American life, American arts, American music—some of which shows its own Scottish roots. We take pleasure in welcoming American visitors to our country, and in Scotland too we celebrate the names of Scots who have found success in America. This interest in America is not some random effect of so-called cultural globalisation. It is a genuine fascination and a long-standing bond of concern between the people of Scotland and the people of America.
I believe that it is also true to say that Scotland holds a place in American hearts and minds that is out of all proportion to our size or population. Many Americans hold their Scottish ancestry dear, and tartan day recognises the historic contribution of those ancestors who settled in America. Scottish products are well known, well respected and greatly enjoyed. Many of America's finest golf courses were designed and built by Scots, and of course many Americans have had the pleasure of visiting Scotland for themselves and enjoyed the unique experience it provides—the beauty of its landscape, the fascination of our history, the warmth of our people and, not least, the excellence of our golf courses.
Presiding Officer, it has been a privilege to close this debate, and it will be a privilege to join the all-party delegation in celebrating tartan day. I am happy to support the motion, and I will do so in my native tongue of Scottish Gaelic.
Tha mise toilichte an cothrom fhaighinn an-diugh airson taic a thoirt dhan mholadh seo agus tha mi toilichte sin a dhèanamh nam chiad chànan, cànan nan Gaidheal. Mar Ghaidheal, agus mar Albannach, tha mise mothachail air eachdraidh na dùthcha seo agus gu sònraichte air eachdraidh na Gaidhealtachd agus nan Eilean. Tha fios agam gun do dh'fhàg mòran de dhaoine air Ghaidhealtachd—agus ann am pàirtean eile de dh'Alba—an dùthaich air an cùlaibh ann an suidheachadh gu math dòrainneach. Bha aca ri sin a dhèanamh airson iomadach adhbhar, ach a-nist tha fios againne gu bheil iad air buaidh mhòr a thoirt air na Stàitean Aonaichte. Tha mise toilichte a bhith a' dol a-null dha na Stàitean Aonaichte còmhla ri buill bho gach pàrtaidh agus a-rithist tha mi toilichte mo thaic a thoirt dhan mholadh a chaidh a dhèanamh ann an ainm Sheòrais Reid.
I am happy to have the opportunity today to support this motion, and I am also happy to do so in my native tongue, which is my first language. As a Gael and as a Scot, I am very aware of the history of this country, especially that of the Highlands and Islands. I know that many people had to leave the Highlands and other parts of Scotland, which is sad for many different reasons, but we know that they had a great effect in the United States. I am happy to be going to the States with members from other parties, and I am happy to support the motion.
It is a happy coincidence that our first overseas guest in this Parliament, in the summer of 1999, was Dennis Hastert, the Speaker of the House of Representatives in Washington. I hope that when the delegation goes there it will convey our warm greetings. I wish to say how jealous I am of the two Deputy Presiding Officers. I am the only one who has never been to tartan day, but then somebody has to stay behind in case there is a casting vote. [Laughter.]
Meeting closed at 18:17.