the case, and it should become necessary to consider the deed as an instrument to ensure that the purposes of the founder, whatever they were, shall be permanently respected without regard to the outlook and sympathies of those administering it, it will be found to be curiously impotent. Although, among the intentions of the founder as set forth in the preamble of the Trust Deed, only two objects are referred to, the encouragement of scientific study and research and the payment of students' fees, in the operative part, which embraces the Trust Constitution, a new and totally distinct purpose, technical and commercial education, not mentioned in the preamble, is added on to share with scientific study and research, without any specific instruction of the apportionment of the funds for each, this being left to the discretion of the Trustees, the share of the payment of fees purpose alone being strictly defined. So that by concentrating entirely on the new purpose, scientific study and research could be effectively excluded and the first of the two intentions of the founder frustrated. Whether, however, the Trustees could justify doing this on a narrow construction of the deed or not, no reasonable beings could claim that they were thereby carrying out the declared intentions of the founder, as set forth in the Trust Deed. Apart, therefore, from a second Mr Carnegie, willing to take the deed into Court to get it interpreted, the question of the relative share of the different objects set forth must remain more or less open. Admitting this, and allowing to the Trustees the most absolute power of discretion, it is still extremely difficult to see how the current uses to which the moneys are being put can be defended. The clause to which the Executive Committee refer does not exactingly or convincingly convey the particular construction which they put upon it, and therefore had better be re-quoted : "One-half of the net annual income shall be applied towards the improvement and expansion of the Universities of Scotland, in the Faculties of Science and REMARKS BY PROFESSOR SODDY 227 Medicine; also for improving and extending the opportunities for scientific study and research, and for increasing the facilities for acquiring a knowledge of History, Economics, English Literature, and Modern Languages, and such other subjects cognate to a technical or commercial education as can be brought within the scope of the University curriculum. . . ." The word "other" shows that the specified Arts subjects are included as cognate to a technical or commercial education, but the Faculties of Science and Medicine, and scientific study and research, participate on their own merits independently, and not as subserving or ministering to a technical or commercial education. It is recognised by the clause that technical or commercial education can only to a limited extent be brought within the scope of the present university curriculum. That it is technical and commercial education rather than the subjects of the present university curriculum that are to be benefited is further shown by the concluding paragraph of Clause B, which deals primarily with the payment of students' fees :: "In the case of Schools or Institutions in Scotland established to provide Technical or Commercial Education, the Committee may recognise classes which, though outside the present range of the university curriculum, can be accepted as doing work of a University level, and may allow them and the students thereof to participate under both A and B to such an extent as the Committee may from time to time determine." It is thus natural to inquire in the cases to which I directed attention in which scientific and medical studies had not received a due share of the moneys, whether technical or commercial education has received it. It is only necessary to reiterate a specific instance. In the University of Aberdeen the scientific and medical subjects -Chemistry, Inorganic, Organic, Physical, Agricultural, Physiological, and Technological; Physics, Mathematical and Experimental; Mathematics; Astronomy; Engineer. ing, Civil, Mechanical, Electrical, and Marine; Geology; Botany; Physiology; Pathology; Bacteriology; Anatomy; Embryology; and the subjects of Medicine and Surgery in their numerous sub-divisions-received one endowment for a lectureship in Geology. Whereas in Arts subjects endowments were given for History and Archæology, Political Economy, French, German, Education and Constitutional Law and History, without regard to whether or not these subjects were taught with reference to the requirements of technical or commercial education. If this had been done genuinely in the interests of technical or commercial education, and Aberdeen in comparison with the other university centres had in this respect a specially urgent and pressing need, it would be only the discretion of the Trustees that was in dispute; but it was not. It is true that since the war the commercial community have realised the need of higher commercial education on a university level. These endowments were allocated long before the war, and the best proof that the needs of commercial education were not the consideration at the time of the allocation is that they are now being considered, and a Faculty of Commerce is in process of being brought into existence. The powers of the Trustees in law may be so great as to enable them to over-ride the claims of both science and technical or commercial education, in order to elevate Arts subjects that can in any way be regarded as cognate to the latter. But, if so, it would be sanguine to expect that anyone again will provide funds for the improvement and extension of the opportunities for scientific study and research in the universities of Scotland or in the efficacy of the law to accomplish the object when the funds are provided. The question being whether the Trust as constituted has in point of fact fulfilled the wishes and intentions of the founder, the second head of the Executive Committee's reply hardly calls for comment, except in so far as it raises a point of interest. At the date of the minute REMARKS BY PROFESSOR SODDY 229 7th January 1918-there were eight original nominated Trustees, and five subsequently appointed. The Rt. Hon. H. H. Asquith was appointed in 1909, W. J. Dundas, Esq., in 1914, the only three scientific members among the nominated Trustees having been appointed in 1917. There is still one vacancy, caused by the death of Lord Kinnear at the end of 1917, and when this has been filled up, it is hoped that the statement made-to the effect that the vacancies have for the most part been filled by the appointment of men eminent in various branches of science-may continue to be true. FREDERICK SODDY. 9th February 1918. POSTSCRIPT ADDED BY PROFESSOR SODDY, "The papers announce that at the Annual Meeting of the Carnegie Trust held on 20th February 1918, the vacancy above referred to was filled by the appointment of Lord Sands, so that the British Science Guild will draw its own conclusion as to this misleading statement." F. S. |