102 BEQUEST OF COUNT RUMFOED. 



and of the accumulation and interest thereof, which cannot be applied in the hands of the complainants to the 

 execution of the general intent of said donor. 



" The cause having been argued by counsel, and fully considered, it appears to the Court that the com- 

 plainants have not done any act, or neglected or omitted to do anything, whereby they have forfeited, waived, 

 or renounced the said donation, and that the President and Fellows of Harvard College have no right, as 

 residuary legatees of Count Eumforii, or otherwise, to claim the same, or any part thereof. It further appears 

 that the said donation was made to the American Academy for a general purpose of charity, that, namely, 

 of promoting a useful branch of science for the benefit of mankind ; that the Academy accepted the same, 

 upon the terms stated, and for the purposes contemplated by said donation, and are now under obligation to 

 carry the general intent of the donor into effect, as far as it is practicable to do so. It further appears, that, 

 in consequence of the impediments set forth in the BiU, it is impracticable for the Academy to carry the 

 general charitable intent of the donor into effect in tlie exact and precise mode specified by him ; but, consid- 

 ering the general and primary intent of Count Eumford to have been to awaken and stimulate the ingenuity, 

 and encourage the researches and experiments of individuals on the continent or the islands of America to 

 make important discoveries or useful improvements upon the subjects of Light and Heat, and to cause them 

 speedily to be published for the good of mankind, it does appear to the Court, that it is quite practicable for 

 the Academy to accomplish and carry into efiect the general charitable intent and purpose of Count Eumford 

 by some slight alterations in the mode particularly prescribed by him for carrying the same into effect. It 

 also appears to the Court that it would tend to promote the general charitable intent of the donor to allow the 

 complainants to invest the principal of the said fund in some safe and productive securities other than the 

 stocks of the United States. 



" Wliereupon, it was ordered by the Court that the matter be referred to one of the Masters in Chancery, 

 to report a scheme for carrying into effect the general charitable intent and purpose of the donor, conformably 

 to the prayer of the plaintiffs' Bill ; and now John B. Davis, Esquire, one of the Masters in Chancery for the 

 County of Suffolk, has reported a scheme in pursuance of said order, which, being heard and considered 

 by the Court, and the same appearing reasonable and conformable to the general intent of the donor, is 

 accepted ; and it is therefore by the Court ordered, adjudged, and decreed, for the reasons set forth in the 

 BiU, that the complainants be, and they are by the authority of this Court, empowered to make from the 

 income of said fund, as it now exists, at any annual meeting of the Academy (instead of biennially, as 

 directed by the said Benjamin, Count Eumford), award of a gold and silver medal, being together of the 

 intrinsic value of three hundred dollars, as a premium to the author of any important discovery or useful 

 improvement on Light or on Heat, which shaU. have been made and published by printing, or in any way 

 made known to the public, in any part of the continent of America, or any of the American islands, preference 

 being always given to such discoveries as shall, in the opinion of the Academy, tend most to promote the 

 good of mankind ; and to add to such medals as a further reward and premium for such discovery or improve- 

 ment, if the complainants see fit so to do, a sum of money not exceeding three hundred doUars. 



" And it is further ordered, adjudged, and decreed, that the complainants may appropriate from time to 

 time, as the same can advantageously be done, the residue of the income of said fund hereafter to be received, 

 and not so as aforesaid awarded in premiums, to the purchase of such books and papers and philosophical 

 apparatus (to be the property of said Academy), and in making such publications, or procuring such lectures, 

 experiments, or investigations, as shall in their opinion best facilitate and encourage the making of discoveries 



