John Maclean, The Call February 1919
Source: Letter, The Call, 2 February 1919, p. 2;
Transcribed: by Ted Crawford.
The following letter reached us too late for publication in the last issue of “The Call.” In view of the justice of Maclean’s demand we print the letter though it has already appeared elsewhere. ED.,
(Copy.)
41, Victoria Street,
Rothesay,
20th December,
Sir James M. Dodds,
Under-Secretary for Scotland
Sir, – Would you be so kind as to inform the Secretary for Scotland that I do not accept your assertion that “The King” has granted me a “Free Pardon.”
Not “The King (who should be in Holland with his cousin) but the fighting workers of Britain have regained me my freedom, and a healthy fear of these workers has induced you and your friends to try this bluff of a “Free Pardon.” All the time, however, you are trying to pester my wife and myself through your detestable spies, popularly called detectives. I welcome their attention, as it is a sign that you are foaming at the mouth at having to release me.
My immediate reply to that is a demand from the government, through the Scottish Office, for one hundred and fifty pounds (£150), the cost of recovery after my release last time and this from your cold-blooded treatment in those infernos, Peterhead and Perth.
I made a claim last time for seventy-six pounds (£76) and was refused. The new demand includes that sum, and this new demand I intend to insist upon until it is met by the next Government or until the workers assume full control of the British Empire.-Yours sincerely
JOHN MACLEAN.
(Other papers please copy.)