A £l00,000 GIFT.

Timaru Herald, Volume XIC, Issue 13433, 4 November 1907, Page 3

A £loo,ooo GIFT.

4 magnificent gift has been made to the public of - Melbourne by the trustee:; of.the late Edward Wilson,-'one* of; the former proprietors of the •'Argus" paper. When Mr Wilson died / some years ago, 'says',the "Review of Reviews," he l^ft 0 his fortune in trust fcr philanthropy, and year after year the public has witnessed the spectacle of the "Arguu" distribution a distribution which has always been employed wisely and judiciouslv in the'assistance of the best philanthropic efforts, and which always appeals to one's best impulses. It is. a public ]:? son everv year in our duty, to our neighbours. Many thousand* or pounds have been distributed annually with the regularity of clockwork, and it is not at all extravagant to say that the hearts; of thousands upon thousands of people have been gladdened by the kindliness and goodncfss which prompted this splendid beneficence. But the public received quite a pleasurable r.hock the other day when it was announced that the trrstees were prepared to give £IOO,OOO towards the erection of a new hospital. The community has not received such a leading to the high.paths of the common good for a long time. A new hospital is badly needed, but there seamed little prospect of its becoming a realised fact, and when the public read the news of the proposed gift, it gave a gasp of pleased surprise. A big-hearted impulse liks that which inspired Mr Wilson does not ond in the actual benefit which is derived by the needy public; it enriches the whole community morallv and, inspiring others to do likewise, 'opens fountains of charity in many other • hearts that otherwise would have remained cealed.