The Sun.
London, England, 1866-01-13 00:00:00

144C0i

Mr. Peabody's Gift to the Poor of London.

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The following report has been issued :

" The proceedings of the trustees, to whom Mr. Peabody-
committed the charge of his munificent ' Donation of
£150,000 for the Benefit of the Poor of London,' and the
course which they have adopted for its application, con-
forniably with the recorded intentions of the donor, will
be best understood by recalling the terms in which his
wishes were originally conveyed.
"In his letter of the 12th of March, 1862, addressed to
the United States' Minister, Lord Stanley, M.P., Sir J.
Emerson Tennent, Mr. C. M. Lampson, and Mr. J. S.
Morgan, Mr. Peabody, after alluding to the sums which he
had previously bestowed in America—at Danvers, the
place of his birth, and at Baltimore, the first scene of his
active life—for the foundation of institutions calculated to
promote the intellectual, moral, and social welfare of his
fellow-countrymen, proceeds to say that, in pursuance of
a long-cherished determination to attest, by a similar gift,
his gratitude and attachment to the people of London,
among whom he had spent the last 25 years of his life,
he was then about to devote £150,000, 'to ameliorate the
condition of the poor and needy.of this great metropolis,
and to promote their comfort and happiness.'
" This sum he hoped would be so applied by the
trustees that the result would 'be appreciated, not only
by the present but by future generations of the people of
London.'

"As regards its expenditure, Mr. Peabody had but
three conditions to impose ; but these were, as he said,
fundamental principles, from which it was his solemn
injunction that those intrusted with the application of
the fund shall never, under any, circumstances, depart.'
" 'First and foremost among them is the limitation of its
uses absolutely and exclusively to such purposes as may
be calculated directly to ameliorate the condition and aug-
ment the comforts of the poor, who either by birth or esta-
blished residence form a recognised portion of the popula-
tion of London.

" Secondly, it is my intention,' he said, ' that now and
for all time there shall be a rigid exclusion from the
management of this fund of any influences calculated to
impart to it a character either sectarian as regards religion,
or exclusive in relation to local or party politics.
" Thirdly, it is my wish that the sole qualification for
a participation in the benefits of the fund shall be an as-
certained and continued condition of life, such as brings
the individual within the description (in the ordinary sense
of the word) of the poor of London ; combined with
moral character and good conduct as a member of society.'
" Assuring to the trustees the utmost latitude for the
exercise of their judgment in deciding on the mode of ex-
penditure, Mr. Peabody without, in the remotest degree,
desiring to limit their discretion in the selection of the
most suitable means for giving effect to his purposes, threw
out one suggestion for consideration, among the many
which would necessarily come under their attention—viz.,
whether it might not be found conducive to the realisa-
tion of the conditions above stated, ' to apply the fund or a
portion of it in the construction of such improved dwell-
ings for the poor as may combine, in the utmost possible
degree, the essentials of healthfulness, comfort, social en-
joyment, and economy.'
" Thus generously endowed alike with funds, and with
discretion to choose the mode of their employment, the
first care of the trustees was to obtain a deed so framed as
to confer legal powers on those who were to be intrusted
with their administration, and to insure their undeviating
application to the generous objects contemplated by the
giver. But at this stage considerable difficulty was encoun-
tered, arising mainly from the fact that the large amount
to be expended was not a bequest by will, -in which case
precedents are sufficiently numerous, but a gift during the
lifetime of the giver, which therefore involved the neces-