MUNIFICENT GIFT.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20716, 8 November 1930, Page 2 (Supplement)

MUNIFICENT GIFT.

£2,000,000 TO BRITAIN. I CHARITABLE OBJECTS. TRIBUTE FROM AMERICAN. The large sum of money which Mr. Edward S. Darkness, tho American railway magnate and philanthropist, has donated to Great Britain, has been placed in tho hands of the trustees. To bo known as tho Pilgrim Trust, the gift, it was staled recently by two of the trustees, amounts to nearly £2,000,000. The only condition imposed on tho trustees who will administer the fund is that it should bo used for " charitable " purposes—a word capable of wide interpretation. It was assumed when news of tho gift was first made public that social and educational works would largely benefit. Tho aim of the donor and the gonerous feelings which have prompted the munificent gift are set out in tho preamble of tho trust deed: "Whereas it is acknowledged by all that Great Britain in tho war spent her resources freely in the common cause, and, in the years that have elapsed eince peace has sustained, honourably and without complaint, a burden wheih has gravely increased the difficulties of life for her people. And whereas* by tho bounty of providence, America has of late enjoyed an ample measure of prosperity and the donor himself has been blessed with worldly means. And whereas tho donor feels himself bound by many ties of affection to the land from which he draws his descent. And whereas it seems to him that it is right for a private American citizen to show his admiration of what Britain has done, by a gift to be used for somo of her more urgent needs. And whereas he is in hopes that such a gift, wisely applied, may assist not only in tiding over tho present time of difficulty, but in promoting her future well-being—"

Free Hand to Trustees. Mr. Darkness has appointed as the original trustees of the fund: Mr. Stanley Baldwin, M.P., Lord Macmillan, Sir James Cloquhoun Irvine (prinicipal of St. Andrews University), Sir Josiah Stamp, and Mr. John Buchan, M.P. Ollices for carrying out the work of the trust have been taken in London. Mr. Thomas Jones, late Deputy-Secretary of the Cabinet, has accepted the position of secretary. Mr. Buchan stated on September 30 that the trustees had not yet had a meeting, and could noi announce any policy. Lord Mucrnillan said: " We have got a freo hand. With such a sum, one can do so much to aid scientific inquiry or to further research in any field;" > Mr. Harkness is a native of Ohio. His father was one of the original partners of Mr. J. D. Rockefeller in the Standard Oil Company, and invested a large part of his fortune in railways. From his mother, Mr. HarknesS inherited £18,000,000.

Previous Gifts to Britain. Previous gifts by Mr. Harkness to the United Kingdom include: £IOO,OOO to St. Andrews University; £40,000 to tho Shakespeare Memorial Theatre, Stratford-on-Avon, and £6OOO to Oxford—£sooo for new buildings at Lincoln College and £IOOO (o the Oxford Preservation Trust. Large sums have been give by Mr. Harkness to the universities of his own country. Harvard and Yale (where lie graduated), alone have benefited by gifts of millions of pounds. His mother, the late Mrs. Stephen V. Harkness, established in 1913, tho Commonwealth Fund, by which there are available for candidates of British descent, thirtyeight Fellowships, of an annual value of about £6OO each, tenable for two years at certain Aeinican universities. The nearest analogy to the Pilgrim Trust is tho Carnegie United Kingdom Trust, which was founded in 1913 with a capital of £2,000,000. The Carnegie Trust is dedicated to: "The improvement of the well-being of tho masses of the people of Great Britain by sucf? means as are comprehended within tho meanings of the word ' charitable.' " The Carnegie Trust has spent large sums on the provision of public libraries and for other useful purposes.