Thomas Muir

“I have devoted myself to the cause of the people.

It is a good cause… It shall ultimately prevail…

It shall finally triumph”

Thomas Muir (Aug 1793)

The text of MSP Jamie Hepburn's motion reads:

S3M-05870 Jamie Hepburn (Central Scotland) (Scottish National Party):

Remembering Thomas Muir of Huntershill— That the Parliament recalls the life and work of the 18th century political reformer, Thomas Muir, often known as Thomas Muir of Huntershill; recognises that, for his advocacy of the democratisation of the Scottish and British political system, he was sentenced to be transported to Australia, with his trial being marked by Robert Burns acknowledging that it had at least in part served as inspiration to write Scots Wha Hae; remembers that, following his escape from the Australian penal colony and flight to the Americas, he was held in Spanish captivity where he was seriously wounded before being released into French protection, arriving in France to be hailed as a martyr of liberty before dying at the age of 33 in relative obscurity; believes that Muir is still too obscure a figure today given his importance to the democratisation of Scotland; considers that more should be done to raise awareness of the life of Thomas Muir of Huntershill; notes that a petition is presently before the Scottish Parliament in the name of Paddy Scott Hogg, calling for the erection of a statue in memory of Thomas Muir, and believes that this might be an appropriate way to commemorate him.