THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. MONDAY, DECEMBER 1, 1884.
A few weeks ago we drew attention to fcke manner in—which the monies left to local institutions from the Costley estate • had been dealt with. It vrill.be remembered that, by the terms of the will, three gentleman had to be appointed, on behalf of each of the'institutions benefited, to receive the money. The point with which we found fault was that these gentlemen, who were appointed merely "to- receive the money and to grant an adequate discharge to the trustees, should, without consulting any others who were associated with them in the conduct of the institutions, have proceeded to invest tlie money in their own names. "We thought that, in each case, - 'they should have gone back to the committee, .on whose behalf they received the money, and allowed them to appoint the persons who were to invest the money on behalf of the institutions to whom the funds were left. .. There was certainly no excuse for the departure from this common-sense and business course of procedure in the case of the Oity Council, which is an incorporated body, having a Town Clerk and Treasurer quite* competent to do the work required under direction. And yet it appears, by the result of Mr. Upton's motion at last meeting of the Council, that nobody in .the Council knew anything at all about this money. The Council by a resolution, when the Oostley bequest was known, named Mr. Waddel, Mr. Masefield, and Mr. Harper to receive the money. The first mystery is, that Mr. Masefield never heard any thing, about the matter, and'that, by some authority outside the Council, Mr. Clark's name was substituted. The next mystery is, that the Mayor never heard till Thursday night last that he had been appointed by the Council to receive this money, and apparently does not know by whose authority he has been dealing, with some £12,000.'0r £15,000. It is impossible for us to refrain from bringing another aspect of the question under notice. Some- members of the Council have been " on the rampage" lately, in sulky dudgeon,, or in vituperative fury, because it was suggested that a ' kind of technical knowledge that few men possess, combined, with literary and scientific information, might be found outside the Council to assist the members in the formation of a library arid - art gallery. ; N"ow,:"in this matter of the building up of the library, which the members of the. Council are not fully qualified:- for,' they disdain to seek any outside .assistance. But in the matter of this Costley money left to one of our- local institu--tions which is under •■ the' exclusive management of the Council, they are content that the business shall be managed outside the Council altogether, by' men who are - not members of Council, and who have ■ no responsibility to that body. Now, we.do not hesitate to say that the Council with its shifting members cannot. furnish a committee having the necessary elei ments of permanence and varied .know-"" ledge required to make up a good Library/ Committee, but as it deals wich tens of thousands every year, as.it has just disbursed a loan of a quarter of a million, it surely can manage within itself the investment of the Costley bequest, and all the financial business attached
to that. The members of Council are ' elected ..by the ratepayers because of their competence to manage the funds and the business of the city. They are fit to do that. But their literary and scientific attainments are not taken into consideration, and form no ele-'. ment in their election. And yet, strange to.say, they hold on, .tooth and nail, to their literary and scientific duties, and allowthis very simple piece of busings of the investment of the Oostley funds to be transacted by outsiders. We are sorry that the Mayor should have said .that if the Council "they could have the money to play ducks and drakes with." !No one ever doubted any of those gentlemen in the least. • But the money' left to the Council should be managed by the Council. If the councillors allow the funds to be managed by others, the public will nevertheless hold them responsible', for such carelessness is a virtual breach of trust. But we are quite sure that the whole public will applaud them if they ask the assistance of the highly, skilled and learned gentlemen who have been named, to assist them with their advice in the matter of the Library and Art Gallery. We.hope that what has taken place in the Council will lead to a clearing up on behalf of all the other trusts. The gentlemen who were appointed to receive the money were not appointed% by anybody as a permanent committee for" the management of the "funds, with power to appoint their successors. We believe it is quile competent to apply to the Supreme Court for a direction as to the administration of the trusts, and that, in all probability, would' be the most advisable course to pursue. As regards the City Council .there is no difficulty. The trust could be administered by . its officers, under the direction of the Library or Legal Committee. But • some of the other institutions are managed by more .or less indefinite and fluctuating bodies, who apparently have no power to appoint gentlemen to manage the funds. But the public is bound to be satisfied that this large bequest to the institutions of Auckland, a bequest which will do much to make this a great city, <is thoroughly well managed by gentlemen who are -known, and who feel themselves responsible for their trust. It is perhaps needless to remark that in all we have said on this subject, -Dow and heretofore, we have had no intention of- reflecting on the trustees, "Mr. S. Jackson and Mr. D. Hean. The city owes to these gentlemen a debt of gratitude which it cannot repay, and scarcely can acknowledge. To Mr. Jackson especially the subject has been one ot' great anxiety and trouble,'' and it must be acknowledged that the Supreme Court showed no disposition to liberality when the question, of remuneration had to be settled. We have no doubt that the gentlemen who received the money on behalf of the different institutions have done whatever is wisest, discreetest,and best; but then the institutions will live as long as Auckland endures, which they cannot hope to do, and a fixed and settled arrangement must be made for the future.
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Bibliographic details
New Zealand Herald, Volume XXI, Issue 7189, 1 December 1884, Page 4
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1,088THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. MONDAY, DECEMBER 1, 1884. New Zealand Herald, Volume XXI, Issue 7189, 1 December 1884, Page 4
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