§ 1. Mr. Pitmanasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what report he can make on the intentions of the Trustees of the British Museum in regard to the acceptance of a legacy under the will of the late George Bernard Shaw.
§ The Chancellor of the Exchequer (Mr. Harold Macmillan)I am informed by the Trustees of the British Museum that, as residuary legatees, together with the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and the National Gallery of Ireland, they are necessarily defendants to a summons issued by the Public Trustee, as executor of the will of the late George Bernard Shaw, to obtain the court's construction of various clauses in the will, including the determination as to whether the terms relating to the residuary trust funds in connection with the proposed British alphabet are valid and effectual. The matter is sub judice and I can make no statement about the intentions of the Trustees of the British Museum.