BURNS LETTER IN CITY

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 28805, 28 January 1959, Page 10

BURNS LETTER IN CITY

Authenticity Supported

The authenticity of a letter said to have been written by Robert Burns and now owned by a Christchurch man has been supported by the chief librarian of the Alexander Turnbull Library (Mr C. R. H. Taylor) in a letter . to “The Press.” Mr Taylor has also appealed that the letter stay in New Zealand.

“I have noticed with great interest the reports in your columns of an original letter by Robert Burns in the possession of a Christchurch man. Of its authenticity I see no reason to have doubts, since it has been in the owner’s family since receipt from Burns himself,” writes Mr Taylor. “It is unfortunately true that there are many forgeries of Burns’ poems, letters and documents in private hands and public institutions, but the Clarke letter does not seem to have suspicious features.

Sending To Scotland “I would like to urge its owner, however, to reconsider his pro- t posal to send it to the Bums’ Memorial r Cpttage in Scotland? There it will be merely one more, » in a very considerable mass of such documents. If he were fio place it in, say, the Canterbury Public Library, it could be seen and appreciated by the great numbers of New Zealand Scotsmen (and other Burns’ admirers) who can never hope to see original writing of Burns. There are few if any other Burns MSS. in this country.

“Some years ago Mr E. J. Bell, former librarian of the Canterbury Public Library, reported that an original of the Kilmarnock edition (1786) of Burns* works was brought in for his inspection by an unnamed Christchurch man. It would be interesting to know where this very rare book is today. As far as I know, no copy of the Kilmarnock edition of 1786 is to be found in Ne\y Zealand, apart from that referred to in this elusive report.” Mr Taylor writes.