The Timaru Herald TUESDAY, MARCH 9, 1937 LORD NUFFIELD’S GENEROSITY.

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLIII, Issue 20671, 9 March 1937, Page 6

The Timaru Herald TUESDAY, MARCH 9, 1937 LORD NUFFIELD’S GENEROSITY.

Lord Nuffield’s gifts in the cause of humanity have been so princely and so well apportioned, that the very genius of the distinguished Englishman now an honoured visitor within our gates, is revealed not only in the munificence of his donations to the causes that need assistance, but in the moving example liis beneficence ought to lie to other men of riches. In the course of a statement to the Press, the other day in making a handsome donation to the centres of population to be devoted to the cure of the afflicted, Lord Nuffield said:

“To give money to causes which are praiseworthy and needy is not, of itself, a difficult matter, especially in one’s own land. In other countries, however, the subject becomes less simple, and I have found that a great deal of thought is necessary in order to arrive at an equitable basis of distribution.” But if Lord Nuffield lias found some difficulty in determining the system under which his rich gifts should be apportioned, he has solved many of the problems that must have confronted him by the very fulness of his liberality. It is not surprising that tributes to Lord Nuffield’s generosity should be paid by all sections of the community. The spokesmen for the Government of New Zealand, have voiced their deep appreciation of our distinguished visitor’s open-handed generosity. The municipal heads of the centres of population have had cause for thankfulness in the generous assistance Lord Nuffield has given them in tackling the big problem of relieving distress in their midst, particularly in the care of crippled children, hospital and maternal work and those who suffer blindness, deafness and dumbness; indeed the great captain of industry, who is paying this country a hurried visit has laid down one condition only, in making his gift of £51,700 for charitable purposes throughout the Dominion, namely that the less fortunate members of the community, particularly all who were afflicted with physical disabilities, should be uppermost in the minds of the municipal administrators of the large sum Lord Nuffffield has provided. But if the Government and the municipalities, along with the institutions in all parts of New Zealand that will benefit through Lord Nuffield’s generosity are deeply grateful to him for the financial assistance lie has so modestly and so spontaneously given, the most enduring gratitude will repose in the hearts of those less fortunate members of the community who have been helped. It Wfts this sense of deep gratitude that inspired a writer in The Bulletin to pen this tribute to Lord Nuffield: Treasure on earth is his—and a sounder treasure, I’ll say, for one who holds it to help and heal, A worthier wealth, with nothing on earth to end it, Where never the rust may rot or the moth may rend it, Or thieves break through and steal. Ever they come and go, the makers of millions. But strange how few a passing thought have lent To the darkened lives around them, the lots so dreary, The plight of the sick and suffering and weary, The maimed, the halt and the spent. But he—his heart goes out to the crippled children Whose pathway, from the cradle to the grave, Might well be a pilgrimage beyond enduring Ij the white-walled wards were never there for the curing Or the white-sleeved arms to save. His name may never go ringing adown the ages For the wealth he won or the title gained thereat. But he’s fairly topped the score for generous giving, And be sure for many a year he’ll still be living In many a heart for that. N.S.W. T. THE R. Many monuments will be erected to the memory of Lord Nuffield’s liberality. At Oxford, where already the Nuffield professors are being appointed, brass tablets will doubtless tell succeeding generations of the princely gifts of a great Englishman; in the distressed areas, a new era of economic revival will grow out of Lord Nuffield’s invaluable assistance; in many centres of population grateful municipal authorities will continue to pay glowing tributes to his liberality in helping the cause of humanity, but the most precious remembrance of Lord Nuffield’s generosity will be the grateful hearts of the children, whose little lives have been gladdened because the great benefactor of the child heard their inarticulate cries and gave out of his goodness of heart the handsome donations that made possible the cure of many of the afflicted, and at the same time showed the way for other men of wealth to follow his noble and inspiring example. BELGIUM’S PLACE IN EUROPE. Quite an interesting diplomatic situation has developed from the dramatic announcement of the King of the Belgians that his country sought only neutrality as far as the moving currents of European affairs are concerned. It is now reported, however, that the Brussels correspondent of The Times suggests that public opinion in Belgium is becoming increasingly apprehensive lest the diplomatic stalemate in Western Europe may furnish Herr Hitler with a pretext for a new manoeuvre, making Belgium’s position even more difficult than it has been since the violation of the Locarno Pact. Belgium’s geographical position, her origins, and ethnographical character, it is well to note, make her extremely susceptible to any rivalries between France and Germany over European hegemony. The background of present Belgian events can be traced to the efforts of each of these two powers to bring the small kingdom under its wing. The Franco-German shadow over Belgium has meant a menace to Belgian unity. Particularly since the May elections there has been a growing division on whether to remain attached to what many Belgians deemed the declining power of France. The newly proclaimed alliance between the Belgian Rexists and Flemish Nationalists is a direct outcome of this division since it has been described by the Belgian press as proGerman and anli-French. In face of this, King Leopold’s proclamation of “neutrality” was an attempt to prevent the spread of a looming throat to Belgian unity and the consequent dangers of this for Belgian independence. By his move he deprived the pro-French and pro German elements within his country of a big reason for quarrelling, Deprived of their “anti-French” and “anti-Blum” war cries, the Rexists are now, however, concentrating on their interior aims to “purify” the Belgian regime of Marxism and bring in their corporate state. The proFrench Belgian elements have been silenced on their proGerman accusations against the Flemish Nationalists and Rexists. How far reaching any changes in Belgium’s structure may be as' a result of present events only the future can tell. The one thing standing out now is that King Leopold and his Ministers are iu a better position to deal with the disaffection® in Belgian national unity, but the growing influence of the Rexists makes the position most difficult.