TRUST GRANTS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 12 August 1938, Page 5

TRUST GRANTS

QUESTION OF PRINCIPLE. ; ASSISTANCE TO STUDENTS. ' A point of principle was involved in an application which came before the Trust Lands Trust last night for a grant to a student proceeding to England to further his studies. The chairman, Mr H. P. Hugo, said the applicant had already received four grants from the Trust-, and these had helped him to get his M.A. degree. The question was whether the Trust was prepared to give further assistance. Mr A. Owen Jones said that in the past the Trust had made' grants 'to students going to England on the recommendation of the University. This applicant was going on his own accord and the question was, how far was the Trust prepared to go in a case of this kind? It opened up a big question. Mr Jones made it clear that he was not against a grant being made, nor did he say that the applicant did not deserve one.

“There is no question about this young man not being eligible for a grant from the Trust,” said Mr W. H. Jackson, who said that reports about the applicant showed that he was above the average. This student, he said, had a career so creditable that he w’ell deserved a Trust grant. Mr J. Macfarlane Laing referred to a grant recently made by the Trust to enable an applicant to go overseas to further his studies, but in his case he would have been unable to go without assistance. In the . present instance it was not a case of insufficient funds preventing a student from proceeding overseas. The Trust, he thought, would be quite in order in making some grant, if only to .recognise the good use he had made of grants given by the Trust in the past. Mr E. G. Eton, stating that there was a lot in what Mr Jones had said, considered that if the Trust had plenty of funds it would be a different thing. A grant of £5 or £lO would not be much good. He had an open mind on the matter until he had heard the opinion of other members.

Stating that he could see Mr Jones’s point, Mr C. E. Grey said that if a grant were made in this instance the Trust would be setting a precedent and might receive many other applications for the same purposes. Mr R. Krahagen, stating that a grant of £25 had been made to a recent applicant, said that he did not think it would interfere with the estimates if the Trust made a similar grant to the present applicant. He moved accordingly. Mr Jackson seconded the motion. Mr H. H. Daniell pointed out that the position in regard to many university students was that there was no particular bursary offering for the type of work they were doing. He would like to see some further report about the applicant from his professors.

Mr Hugo observed that the Trust had not too much money to give away. The matter required careful consideration.

Mr Daniell moved an amendment that the matter should be referred back to the education committee.

Seconding the amendment, Mr J. H. Handyside said that although, if a grant were made, they were opening the gates pretty wide, it was not establishing a precedent, as each case was considered on its merits.

“There is no need to delay the matter,” said Mr Jackson. “The Trust had £2OO credit in the scholarship fund and could easily afford £25. You all know the facts of the case. The boy has had a brilliant career and deserves assistance."

Mr Jones said the Trust should get a proper, authentic report from the university as to the applicant’s qualifications, as in the past the Trust had always in these cases had such reports before it when dealing with them. It was decided to refer the matter to the Education Committee.