COURTROOM DRAMA OVER OPIUM KINGS' PORTRAITS

A historian has prompted a debate over the display of portraits of two
Scottish politicians, who were also among the worst narcotics
traffickers in history, in Dingwall Sheriff Court.

The paintings of Sir James Matheson of Achany and the Lews and his
nephew, Sir Alexander Matheson of Ardross and Lochalsh, have been
looking down on the Ross-shire court for the best part of a century.

They traded in opium from India to China and brought misery to
thousands on the other side of the world, but became MPs and were
honoured for their public works in Britain.

A debate is to follow the discovery from old papers that their
portraits were gifted to the local authority.

Sir James (1796-1878) bought the island of Lewis, built Lews Castle
and was created a baronet in recognition of his "... great exertions and
munificence in providing the inhabitants of the Lews with food during
the severe famine in 1845/46".

Sir Alexander (1805-1886) became chairman of the Highland Railway and
built Ardross Castle in Easter Ross and Duncraig Castle above Plockton.

James was born in Lairg in Sutherland, the illegitimate son of a
Highland gentleman. He went east, where he was one of the founders of
the legendary trading house of Jardine Matheson, which made its wealth
by selling opium bought in India to China, where it had been banned
since 1729.

By the late-1830s they were reputed to be handling 6000 chests of
opium a year at an estimated 8000% profit. China moved to suppress the
use of opium in the 1830s, leading to the two opium wars in the 1840s
and 1850s.

David Alston, a historian and a Ross-shire councillor, has long been
intrigued by the two images adorning the court walls. He said: "There
has always been something surreal in having portraits of two of the
world's biggest drug dealers hanging in a Scottish courtroom.

"Now there is a further twist in the discovery that the paintings
belong to the Highland Council, having been gifted to the former Ross
and Cromarty County Council in 1918.

"The Mathesons' trade in opium to China, in a market kept open by
British military power, caused immense harm. As a public body, the
Highland Council must ask itself: what do we do with our portraits of
villains like these? One answer could be to take them down and lock
them away. But I think the better solution is to make sure that those
who see the paintings realise they are looking at international drug
dealers. We need to decide where these pictures should hang. I will
raise the issue with colleagues in Highland Council and will write to
the Scottish Courts Service."

David Hingston, former procurator-fiscal at Dingwall, said: "I am not
surprised they belonged to the council as the council was responsible
for providing the court at that time. I did always think it highly
ironic that these two gentlemen were looking down as we were
prosecuting some small drugs offence. But they are useful in that they
remind us how thinking about things such as drugs can change. In their
time drugs were not only accepted but were government policy."

A spokeswoman for the Scottish Court Services said: "We will consider
the issues raised, once we have received this letter (from Dr Alston)."