CORRESPONDENCE.

Colonist, Volume LXII, Issue 15310, 25 February 1920, Page 5

CORRESPONDENCE.

THE CAWTHRON TRUST,

(To the Editor of "The Colonist.") Sir, —Press reports say that a statement was made by the chairman of the Cawthron Trust at Timrsuay night's meeting that the Institute could be erected in any part of the Dominion, and that it is to be looked on as a Dominion, and not a .Nelson institution. As one of the beneficiaries under the public bequest, may I ask you to reprint i the part of the late Air Cawthron's will which deals with the bequest? In view of. the above quoted statement, there are many Nelsomans who would like to re-read the terms of the trust. 1 am, etc., WALTER S. SNODGRASS. .Nelson, February 23rd.

The will has been the subject of a judgment by Mr Justice Chapman, who, in part, said: "The appointments (of trustees) indicate a desire on the part of the testator to have as his trustees local men, to the extent at least of ensuring that they shall be able regularly to meet and attend to the affairs of the trust. In other respects there is nothing in the will to lead to the conclusion that it can be characterised as a local trust, it is, however, inevitable tli at in the main the institute created should as to its location become a Nelson institution, and there can be no objection to this so long as there is no exclusion of aspirants from elsewhere and no departure from a scheme calculated t.-> be of benefit to the Dominion generally." The commission of scientists, it will be remembered, expressed the opinion "that the chief scope of the ! work of the Institute should be instruction in and performance of scientific re- i search, as suggested by the trustees;! such research to be definitely related to the industries of Nelson and of the Dominion." The Solicitor-General's objections to the Commissioners' scheme affected only certain details in connection with the establishment of scholarships. Mr Justice Chapman held that ' if the trustees were at liberty to narrow the scope of the trust in this wav °y giving a preference to Nelson and Marlborough scholars it might be open for them to narrow it in more objectionable ways. There is nothing to suggest that such a preference was contemplated by the te3tator 3 and I do not think that the trustees can fetter hemselves in this way. His Honour also, with regret, came to a conclusion in favour of the feolicitor-Generai's argument that "it is not competent for the trustees to subsidise a student of another college—that it there is to be teaching the trustees must provide for their own teaching " Ihe judgment of Mr Justice Chapman in interpretation of the points raised under the wall is what the trustees have' to go by, and therefore it would not; really serve any purpose to reprint the' will itself.—Ed. "Colonist." I