File:Melville Column, St. Andrew Square - geograph.org.uk - 1516799.jpg

English: The 150 foot-high monument to Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville, was designed by William Burn and erected in 1821. The statue was sculpted by Robert Forrest. Dundas was appointed Solicitor for Scotland at the age of 24. After being elected MP for Midlothian in 1774, he served under the Younger Pitt and was appointed Treasurer of the Navy and, later, President of the India Board. Dundas was accused of establishing a Tory political despotism north of the Border, the Whig, Lord Cockburn calling him "the absolute dictator of Scotland". His political enemies nicknamed him "Harry the Ninth, uncrowned King of Scotland". Dundas' patronage was essential to any aspiring politician of his time and it was his influence that secured many Scots high positions in the Indian Administration.