FOR FUTURE BRITISH PREMIERS

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 60, 4 December 1917, Page 7

FOR FUTURE BRITISH PREMIERS

FAMOUS COUNTRY SEAT GIVEN

A HANDSOME BEQUEST

The famous Chiltern estate known "Chequers" is to become the future country residence of British Prime Ministers in perpetuity. By the generosity of Sir Arthur Lee, the present difo tenant. the_ estate, the mansion, ;aiid everything it contains is to be forthwith as a free gift in "trust to the nation, on condition that ■Sir Arthur and Lady Lee may, if they desire, remain in occupation, as. tonj<ants of the trustees, for so long as they (Shall live.

Mr. Lloyd George lias expressed his "warm approval of the scheme, and has authorised Sir Artluir Lee to "go iflhead" with it. "Future generations of_ Prime Ministers," lie says, "will jthink with gratitude of the impulse "whiijli has thus prompted von so genIcrously to place this beautiful mansion at -their disposal. - I have no doubt that such a retreat will do much to -alleviate the cares of State which they 'will inherit along with it, and you will earn the grate"ful_ thanks of those witose privilege it is to enjoy it. As soon as the preliminaries are completed, I shall he glad to attend and preside 'over the -first meeting of the trustees." , In a memorandum outlining the conditions of the trust, Sir Arthur' tells us that the scheme is not a mere whim, but a carefully-thought-out policy based on a long experience of political life land official conditions, and of the beneficial effect that the climate and atmosphere . of Chequers invariably exercise upon hard-working men of affaire. _ Sir Arthur has foreseen that it is impossible to tell from what classes or conditions of life the future wieldcrs of power in this country will ■be drawn. They may bo men of wealth and famous descent; they may belong to the world of trade; or they may spring from the ranks of manual toilers. To none of these, he maintains, could the spirit and anodyne of Chequers do anything but good. To the city-bred man periodic contact with rural life would help himi to preserve a §ust sense of proportion between the claims of town and country, while to the revolutionary the antiquity and Calm tenacity of the place would exercise a check upon too hasty upheavals. Week-ends for Premiers. Apart from these subtle influences, Sir Arthur lays down the sensible inaxim, "Tho better the health of our lulers tho more sanely will they rule." iWith this idea in mind the (scheme is bo planned as to tempt the Premier, Hot only to make tho placo his official residence, but to visit it regularly. It will be made possible for him, therefore, to live there even if he has no income beyond his salary. A sufficient endowment is provided to cover the cost of a permanent nucleus staff of servants, of keeping up tho gardens and grounds, of maintenance and repairs, and other necessary outgoings. There is also a "residential" allowance for the official occupant, calculated in • a fashion deliberately designed to entourage regular week-end visits. The object being to preserve the Trust in perpetuity, steps have been taken to constitute a board of ex-ofiicio trustees, which has been constituted as follows, with power to add to their number: The Prime Minister; the Speaker, House of Commons, Foreign (Secretary, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, President of the Board of Agriculture, First Commissioner of iWorks, Chairman of Executive ComSnitteo of "National Trust for .Places : of Historic Interest," Director of the National Gallery.

If the Prime Minister is unwilling to cxorciso his right of residence the ■place is to he offered in turn to the Chancellor of the Exchequer (in view 'of the ancient association of his office "with the house), tho Foreign Secrotary, the 'American Ambassador, the Speaker, the Minister for •Agriculture, the Minister for the 'Navy, the Minister for the Army, and the First Commissioner of Works. Ii is also provided that no alteration 01 addition is to be made to the principal features of the house. Lest this should seem too rigid, Sir Arthur explains that the recent restoration has aimed at bringing the house back to the appearance and atmosphere intended by its original builders, and he •wishes to protect it against such outrages as wore inflicted on it by the "late Georgian Goths and Vandals." The area of the estato is about 1600 acres, and the house is situated in a fold in the hills at a height of nearly 700 feet above the sea. It comprises Coombe'Hill (the highest point of th 6 Chilterns), which Sir Arthur presented to the National Trust in 1913; The ■woods on the estate are not to he cut down, but' cropped and replanted. Th 6 farms (about 700 acres) are now fully stocked. Sir Arthur hopes that they will become model farms in every re l spect. They are to. be leased by the trustees to tho Board of Agriculture, to ho maintained and run as a cer.tr6 of up-to-date agricultural influence in the district. Profits are to he credited to the Trust Fund. This fund is tn ho invested in Trustees Securities and should produce about £2200 a year, apart from the profits of the woods' and farms. If for any reason the trust should fail and the house remain unoccupied for not less than ten years the cntiro property is to he sold and invested by the Public Trustee, tho income to be paid to tho National Gallery for the purchase of pictures for the nation.

History of the Estate. Chequers takes its name from Elias do Scacarriis, Keeper of the King's Exchequer in the reign of Henry 11. His descendants were called "do Chakcrs" or "do Chekers." No trace of his house exists, but in the grounds are the remains of the ancient stronghold of Cymbeline, tho reputed birthplace of Caractacus. Prom the Chekers the property passed by marriage to the Hawkeys,_ who held ib for 350 years. They rebuilt the house in the latter part of the 15th century, and it was largely reconstructed in 1565. Tho present north front is practically as it was left by William Hnwtrey of that date. Tho property eventually passed by marriage to tho Wolloys and the Thurbarnes, the last of whom, Joanna, married John Russell, the son of Sir Jolm Russell and Frances, youngest daughter of Oliver Cromwell. It was through this marriage that tho collection of Cromwell relics and pictures originally came to Chequers. Having never changed hands except by will for 800 years, the estate came to Mr. Delaval 'Astley, the last owner bv inheritance, who died childless in 1912. Chequers is 38 miles by road from Hydo Park Corner, and can be reached by train in 1} hours from door to door. Future Prime Ministers who happen to bo golfers will find a 9-hole course on' the estate within half a mile of the house.