The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-12-19
THE SMALL END OF AFORTUNE
LEFT YEARS AGO FOR THE EDUCA-
TION OF GEORGIA NEGROES.

| Through the Course of Time 1t Has
DwindIed From $4,000 to 1897.
The Remnant Used to Purchase a
Library For the Georgia Industrial
| CoIIege-The Books Soon to Arrive.
How the Money Was Accumulated.
! Bequeathed and Lost.
The Georgia Industrial College for Col
into possession of remnant of a fortune
| of $4,000, left sixty-five years ago by John
| Mclean of Glasgow, Scotland, to be up
| piled to the education of colored people
in Georgia when the laws of the state al
| lowed them to be educated.
The remnant of that fortune was just
| 1897, which, by direction of the state board
| of education, has been given to the Geor-
| gia Industrial College, and which has
been used by the commissioners of thai
| institution to purchase the nucleus of q
| library which will be useful for years to
come to its students. The money has Just
| been sent to book publishers for books
on mechanics, carpentering, blacksmith
| ing, agriculture and on the subject of
teaching, books which will be useful to
the students for study and reference, and
the library Will probably arrive and be
in shape for use within few days.
story Of far more than ordinary inter-
est surrounds the legacy which in the pass
! ing of years dwindled to so small a sum.
Courts and receivers have had their turn
at it, and it has run the gauntlet not
only of the claim of the heirs but of the
embezzler, too. Resembling in some feat
ures the famous case of Jarndyce VS..
Jarndyce, its termination has been more
fortunate, in that there was at least a
miserable pittance left to be devoted to
the purpose for which the original $4,000.
or thereabouts, was intended
Away back in the twenties, two Scotch
men by the name of McLearn, uncle and
nephew came to Georgia They were
thrifty, and through their efforts soon
amassed a considerable fortune Tradi-
ton has it that much of this fortune was
derived from smuggling slaves in from
Africa, a practice from which, in those
days, much money was derived, and which
was not confined wholly to the buccaneers
Of the high seas Be this as ii may, thew
managed TO secure possession of a large
and valuable plantation located on the
savannah river not far from Savannah
which was well stocked with slaves.
Neither of the McLearns ever married
and it was not many years before both
of them died. A relative by the name of
John McLearn a resident of Glasgow.
Scotland, fell heir TO the property. IT is
said John was a cynical old bachelor. who
was violently opposed to the institution of
slavery He made a viii prior 10 his
death, about 1892, a copy Of which is now
IN the ofiice OF the state school commits
sloner in Atlanta, in which directions
We're given to his executors to sell the
property in Georgia Half Of the pro-
ceeds from this sale was to be divided
among his relatives in Scotland and the
other half was to be devoted to the edu-
cation of the negroes ON the Lowrie plan
tation, the property belonging to the es-
tate, whenever the laws Of the state
should allow them to be educated. 1t is
said the half of the proceeds from this
property TO be devoted to the purpose
named, amounted to about $4,000. perhaps
little more.
Five gentlemen, who were citizens Of