228 APPENDIX C 



ing, Civil, Mechanical, Electrical, and Marine ; Geology ; 

 Botany ; Physiology ; Pathology ; Bacteriology ; Anatomy ; 

 Embryology ; and the subjects of Medicine and Surgery 

 in their numerous sub-divisions received one endowment 

 for a lectureship in Geology. Whereas in Arts subjects 

 endowments were given for History and Archaeology, 

 Political Economy, French, German, Education and 

 Constitutional Law and History, without regard to whether 

 or not these subjects were taught with reference to the 

 requirements of technical or commercial education. 



If this had been done genuinely in the interests of 

 technical or commercial education, and Aberdeen in 

 comparison with the other university centres had in this 

 respect a specially urgent and pressing need, it would 

 be only the discretion of the Trustees that was in dispute ; 

 but it was not. It is true that since the war the com- 

 mercial community have realised the need of higher 

 commercial education on a university level. These 

 endowments were allocated long before the war, and 

 the best proof that the needs of commercial education 

 were not the consideration at the time of the allocation 

 is that they are now being considered, and a Faculty of 

 Commerce is in process of being brought into existence. 



The powers of the Trustees in law may be so great 

 as to enable them to over-ride the claims of both science 

 and technical or commercial education, in order to elevate 

 Arts subjects that can in any way be regarded as cognate 

 to the latter. But, if so, it would be sanguine to expect 

 that anyone again will provide funds for the improvement 

 and extension of the opportunities for scientific study 

 and research in the universities of Scotland or in the 

 efficacy of the law to accomplish the object when the 

 funds are provided. 



The question being whether the Trust as constituted 

 has in point of fact fulfilled the wishes and intentions of 

 the founder, the second head of the Executive Committee's 

 reply hardly calls for comment, except in so far as it 

 raises a point of interest. At the date of the minute 



