GOVERNMENT GRANT TO GEN GORDON’S RELATIVES.

Kumara Times, Issue 2698, 15 May 1885, Page 2

GOVERNMENT GRANT TO GEN GORDON’S RELATIVES.

The proposal of the Government to provide for the administration of the Parliamentary grant of £20,000, in accordance with General Gordon’s expressed wishes, has met, it is stated, with the entire approval of the deceased officers relatives. General Gordon, it seems, executed a will some little time before leaving England, in which he bequeathed a life interest in his estate to his eldest sister, Miss Gordon, who •■psides at Southampton. Provision was also made for this lady to receive a similar benefit fmm anV snnjs which might subsequently ucci ue to him, such, for instance, as the compensation Gen-

eral Gordon would undoubtedly have received from the King of the Belgians had he resigned his commission in the British army and undertaken his projected journey to the Congo. The will farther directed the trustees that, on the demise of Miss Gordon, the capital should be divided amongst the testator’s nephews and nieces, a larger proportion being given to the latter than to the former, and unmarried nieces benefitting to a a greater extent than married relatives of the same degree. It is upon these lines that the Government intend to proceed in respect to the Parliamentary grant, and the sum will be placed in the hands of trustees for the purpose. Her Majesty, however, reserves power to vary the disposition of the grant should any later information as to General Gordon’s desires come to hand. It may be added that the deceased officer’s will, although somewhat brief in its terms, is not merely “ a paper equivalent to a will,” as stated by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, but is a good and sufficient instrument for all legal purposes. Some difficulty (according to the European Mail), however, is apprehended in proving it, iu view of the circumstances under which the testator met his death.