HC Deb 27 March 1873 vol 215 cc224-5
LORD CLAUD JOHN HAMILTON

asked the First Lord of the Treasury, Whether the presentation of the estate of Hannahfield by the Lords of the Treasury to the Magistrates and Sheriffs of Dumfries for the benefit of the inhabitants of that town, as reported in the "Times" of the 24th instant, is substantially correct; and, if so, whether he has any objection to lay the Treasury Minute on the subject upon the Table?

MR. BAXTER

Sir, the statement regarding the gift of the Hannahfield property to the town of Dumfries which appeared in The Times of the 24th instant, copied from The Scotsman, is substantially correct. The last paragraph of that statement, however, is not sufficiently precise, and might convey an erroneous impression. It is as follows:— The intention of the husband of the late proprietor is said to have been to leave the estate for educational purposes, but he died suddenly before his will was completed. The fact is that a draft deed which he had caused to be prepared in 1838, about three years before his death, bearing pencil corrections by himself, has been produced. Its main object is, after providing certain legacies to relations and others, to found an educational institution in Dumfries for the benefit of the neighbourhood. The Treasury decision merely gives effect to his expressed intentions. That decision was conveyed in a Treasury letter dated the 18th instant, to the Queen's and Lord Treasurer's Remembrancer in Scotland, which the noble Lord may have if he chooses to move for it.