CANCER CAMPAIGN AND TRUST

Dominion, Volume 28, Issue 226, 21 June 1935, Page 10

CANCER CAMPAIGN AND TRUST

Suggestion of Inquiry ADMINISTRATION OF TRAVIS BEQUEST “Society Embarrassed” A statement that, if the present state of affairs continued and it would appear that the trust was not being discharged, it would be reasonable for application to be made to the Supreme Court to have an inquiry into the present administration of tlie Travis bequest, was made to “The Dominion” yesterday by Dr. J. S. Elliott, president of tlie New Zealand branch of the British Empire Cancer Campaign Society (Inc.) when invited to comment on a Press Association message of June 19 from Christchurch reporting an application in the Supreme Court there by the Travis trustee for permission to spend £1753 from the estate on a building belonging to the estate. , . Dr. Elliott said that since the formation of the New Zealand branch of the British Empire Cancer Campaign Society it had been at intervals in negotiations witli the Travis trustees, of whom there were originally three, although now only one remained. “Our objective,” he said, “has been to get the Travis trustees to provide as much money as possible for cancer research and treatment in New Zealand, the scope for this being greater than can be met bj’’ charitable contributions from tlie public. “All that tlie Travis bequest has done for cancer is to provide a certain amount of material for the' X-ray and radium department of the Christchurch Hospital, and also —by far the most important—£soo or £6OO a year for the physicist engaged by the Cancer Campaign Society for work throughout New Zealand. “The Travis bequest is established for the investigation and treatment of cancer and also tuberculosis. The terms of the bequest make it clear that it is a Dominion bequest, but there is apparently a tendency to restrict the so far very limited activities of the bequest to Christchurch or Canterbury. The trustee is bound in the terms of the trust to avoid any provincial feeling.” An Urgent Call.

It. would be reasonable, Dr. Elliott continued, that the two vacancies in the trusteeship should be filled by nominees from other places in New Zealand apart from Christchurch. The question of the discharge of the trust had come before the court in Christchurch a year or two ago. Now Mr. Justice Northcroft had expressed his surprise at the administration of this trust.

“About a month ago an application was sent from the head oflice of the New Zealand branch of the British Empire Cancer Campaign Society to Mr. H. Pearce, the Travis trustee, urging him to contribute handsomely from the Travis trust to the King's Jubilee gift for cancer research, but so far he has not replied,” Dr. Elliott said. “Seeing that Hie large sum of £lO,OOO is lying idle as a surplus of income from the trust, it. would surely not be unreasonable that halt this surplus should be transferred to the King’s Jubilee gift fund. “It is embarrassing for the Cancer Campaign Society to have to point out to the public the urgent need for donations to the cancer fund when at the same time the trustee of the Travis bequest suggests by »ils inactivity that there is no clamant call for the funds of tfie Travis Trust, which were set aside by the late Mr. William Travis for the purpose for which tlie money is requested from the trust.”