THE CAWTHRON TRUST.

Colonist, Volume LXI, Issue 151033, 26 July 1919, Page 5

THE CAWTHRON TRUST.

MR JUSTICE CHAPMAN'S JUDG- - ■'.'■■ MENT. ■ :

TRUSTEES' SCHEME UPHELD IN

THE MAIN,

OBJECTION TO SCHOLARSHIPS SUSTAINED.

I United Press Associathmi. I ' j

Wellington, July 25. ~ In the Supreme Court to-day, Mr Justice Chapman, in a lengthy judgment in the case of the Trustees of the will of the late Thomas Cawthron, of Nelson, said it was evident that the scientific commission exhaustively considered what would be the best course to pursue in connection wfEh the various suggested, projects for the utilisation of the large fund, amounting to £180,000, or, after purchasing land and erecting buildings for an institute, about £150,000. After recounting the findings of the Commission, His Honour remarked that tne scheme indicated might 'be described as both comprehensive and elastic, and might be characterised as one which the Trustees could adopt with great advantage both to Nelson and to the Dominion generally, if it fell within the terms of the trust declared by:;the will. His Honour was satisfied that the scheme did in its main features fall within the limits of the testator's intentions. The trust was somewhat inartistically worded, and might admit of other forms of institute being founded, but that was immaterial, as it was not lacking in bieadth of expression. An establishment in the nature of a school, institute, and museum which, whether in the shape of teaching or of research, gave complete prominence to industrial and technical matters, was within the trust, and, once it was within the' trust, it was for the Trustees to determine the relative prominence to be given to such subjects, school, institute, and museum, if they were to be regarded as separate branches. A clumsy feature of the definition was that tiie word "institute" was in the middle of the enumerated objects instead of at the beginning, but that did not affect the interpretation of the clause. His Honour said that since receipt of the report the Trustees had in some measure modified • the scheme and in some degree removed the grounds of objection of the Attorney-General. His Honour thought the objection to the proposal to give preference, all other things being equal, to Nelson and Marlborough candidates for what were termed minor scholarships must prevail. "The other question is more difficult " observed His Honour. "The SolicitorGeneral argues that it is not competent for the Trustees to subsidise a student of another college—that if there is to be teaching, the Trustees must provide for their own teaching. I have come with regret to the conclusion that this objection must prevail. I come to this conclusion with regret, because I' can see that on its merits there is much to recommend the proposal, calculated, as it is, to facilitate the finding and fostering of young aspirants of the type best calculated to advance the institute. I cannot but see, however, that it involves too great a straining of what we know from the terms of the will to nave been in the testator's contemplation.1 "In my opinion, the first question put 'by the summons cannot be specifically answered, but a sufficient answer appears in what I have said.

"With reference to the second question, the answer is that the Trustees are empowered by the will to establish an •institute having for its object scientific; research upon the lines indicated by the report of the commissioners, but subject to the objections I have indicated."