In his opinion piece (30 October), Andy Burnham argues that British people today cannot be held liable(负有法律责任的) for historical wrongs “in which they played no personal part”. On one level, he is right. But he confuses two very different things: personal liability and the continuing responsibility of the state.(但他混淆了两件截然不同的事：个人责任与国家持续承担的责任。)
安迪·伯纳姆在其评论文章（10月30日）中主张，今天的英国人不应为那些“他们个人并未参与”的历史过错承担责任。在某种意义上，他说得没错。但他混淆了两件截然不同的事：个人责任与国家持续承担的责任。
When slavery was abolished in the British empire in 1833, the government borrowed £20m – an extraordinary sum then – to compensate enslavers for the loss of their supposed property.(1833年大英帝国废除奴隶制时，政府借了2000万英镑——在当时是一笔巨款——用来补偿奴隶主，弥补他们失去所谓“财产”的损失。) Some 40,000 claims were made. The British taxpayer carried the cost, and the resulting public debt was not finally clear(还清（债务）)ed until 2015.
1833年大英帝国废除奴隶制时，政府借了2000万英镑——在当时是一笔巨款——用来补偿奴隶主，弥补他们失去所谓“财产”的损失。当时共收到约4万份索赔申请。英国纳税人承担了这笔费用，由此产生的公共债务直到2015年才最终还清。
Around 3,000 people in Britain received about half of the compensation fund. The state had effectively used public money to preserve the wealth of a privileged elite, while leaving the victims of slavery uncompensated.(国家实际上是用公共资金维护了一个特权精英阶层的财富，却让奴隶制的受害者分文未得。)
英国约有3000人拿到了补偿基金的一半左右。国家实际上是用公共资金维护了一个特权精英阶层的财富，却让奴隶制的受害者分文未得。