Remove the plinth, but clean up the statue for people to see

WHAT evidence does Jon Elbert have (Letters, June 18) that ‘most people are glad to see the back of that wretched statue,’ i.e. Colston’s statue, of course.

Has he conducted a fair and honest survey of all people in Bristol? Given the numbers of people living here now, who claim rightly or wrongly that their ancestors were slaves, and are determined to cause trouble about it at every opportunity, he might well be right.

I doubt that the majority of residents whose ancestors were born here in Bristol look at it in the same way, and are just fed up with it by now.

Colston was just one of many hundreds of merchants in other English cities and in other countries too, doing what was normal for the times, and only now we have learnt with hindsight and the obsession with human rights and political correctness, that this was wrong.

Rather than keeping all his profits for himself, like many others did, he cared about his fellow Bristolians, then living in terrible conditions, and used his money to better their lot by providing accommodation, hospitals and education for them. The people at the time could not afford to be choosy where the money for this came from.

That is why a statue of him was erected, not because he dealt in slaves.

His statue was a protected monument, pulled down illegally by a mob.

Conveniently the police were content to stand by whilst the mob climbed on the statue, attached ropes and pulled it down, then dragged it across the city centre to throw it in the harbour, whilst the police watched from a safe distance.

Obviously they were under orders not to intervene whilst this criminal act was taking place.

The statue should be repaired and cleaned up, put on show in the museum without the placards of the perpetrators to condone their actions, and the good that this man did for the city clearly explained.

It seems now that there is little chance of reinstating the statue on its plinth so that should be removed.

P Collins Bristol