The Last Will and Testament of Cecil Rhodes/Part 1
THE LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT OF CECIL JOHN RHODES.
PART I.
THE LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT.
The sixth and last Will and Testament of Cecil John Rhodes is dated July 1st, 1899. To this are appended various codicils, the last of which was dated March, 1902, when he was on his deathbed.
The full text of the Will and its Codicils will only be published when the Will is proved in South Africa.
The following are the substantive passages of the Will so far as they have as yet been given to the public.
The Will begins:—
I am a natural-born British subject and I now declare that I have adopted and acquired and hereby adopt and acquire and intend to retain Rhodesia as my domicile[1].
(I.) His Burial Place in the Matoppos.
His last resting place.I admire the grandeur and loneliness of the Matoppos in Rhodesia and therefore I desire to be buried in the Matoppos[2] on the hill which I used to visit and which I called the “View of the World” in a square to be cut in the rock on the top of the hill covered with a plain brass plate with these words thereon—“Here lie the remains of Cecil John Rhodes” and accordingly I direct my Executors at the expense of my estate to take all steps and do all things necessary or proper to give effect to this my desire and afterwards to keep my grave in order at the expense of the Matoppos and Bulawayo Fund hereinafter mentioned.
The Shangani monument. I direct my Trustees on the hill aforesaid to erect or complete the monument to the men who fell in the first Matabele War at Shangani in Rhodesia the bas-reliefs for which are being made by Mr. John Tweed and I desire the said hill to be preserved as a burial-place[3] but no person is to be buried there unless the Government for the time being of Rhodesia until the various states of South Africa or any of them shall have been federated and after such federation the Federal Government by a vote of two-thirds of its governing body says that he or she has deserved well of his or her country.
(2.) His Property in Rhodesia.
The Bulawayo and Inyanga Estates. I give free of all duty whatsoever my landed property near Bulawayo in Matabeleland Rhodesia and my landed property at or near Inyanga near Salisbury in Mashonaland Rhodesia to my Trustees hereinbefore named Upon trust that my Trustees shall in such manner as in their uncontrolled discretion they shall think fit cultivate the same respectively for the instruction of the people of Rhodesia.
The Matoppos and Bulawayo Fund.
I give free of all duty whatsoever to my Trustees hereinbefore named such a sum of money as they shall carefully ascertain and in their uncontrolled discretion consider ample and sufficient by its investments to yield income amounting to the sum of £4,000 sterling per annum and not less and I direct my Trustees to invest the same sum and the said sum and Mr. Rhodes's Westacre Farm in the Matoppos.
A View on the Inyanga Farm.
A view of Groote Schuur seen from the hill behind, running up to Table Mountain.
An Agricultural College.For the guidance of my Trustees I wish to record that in the cultivation of my said landed properties I include such things as experimental farming, forestry, market and other gardening and fruit farming, irrigation and the teaching of any of those things and establishing and maintaining an Agricultural College.
(3.) Groote Schuur.
Approach to Groote Schuur.
Conditions.(i.) The said property (excepting any furniture or like articles which have become useless) shall not nor shall any portion thereof at any time be sold let or otherwise alienated,
(ii.) No buildings for suburban residences shall at any time be erected on the said property and any buildings which may be erected thereon shall be used exclusively for public purposes and shall be in a style of architecture similar to or in harmony with my said residence.
Residence of Federal Premier.(iii.) The said residence and its gardens and grounds shall be retained for a residence for the Prime Minister for the time being of the said Federal Government of the States
The Dining-room.
The picture over the mantelpiece was purchased for the house by a relative, but was afterwards removed by Mr. Rhodes, who preferred a homelier portrait by Romney.
The Dining-room.
of South Africa to which I have referred in clause 6 hereof my intention being to provide a suitable official residence for the First Minister in that Government befitting the dignity of his position and until there shall be such a Federal Government may be used as a park for the people ([7]).
(iv.) The grave of the late Jan HendrikThe Hofmeyr Grave. Hofmeyr upon the said property shall be protected and access be permitted thereto at all reasonable times by any member of the Hofmeyr family for the purpose of inspection or maintenance.
I give to my Trustees hereinbefore namedThe Groote Schuur Fund. such a sum of money as they shall carefully ascertain and in their uncontrolled discretion consider to be ample and sufficient to yield income amounting to the sum of one thousand pounds sterling per annum and not less upon trust that such income shall be applied and expended for the purposes following (that is to say)—
(i.) On and for keeping and maintainingIts objects. its objects for the use of the Prime Minister for the time being of the said Federal Government of at least two carriage horses one or more carriages and sufficient stable servants.
(ii.) On and for keeping and maintaining in good order the flower and kitchen gardens appertaining to the said residence.
(iii.) On and for the payment of the wages or earnings including board and lodging of two competent men servants to be housed kept and employed in domestic service in the said residence.
(iv.) On and for the improvement repair renewal and insurance of the said residence furniture plate and other articles.
The Hall.
Dealers were in the habit of leaving curios in the hall for Mr. Rhodes’s inspection.
↑The Library.
Showing stone figure (Phænician hawk) from ancient gold workings in Rhodesia.
The Billiard-room.
The Panelled Room.
(4.) Bequests to Oriel College, Oxford.
I give the sum of £100,000 free of all duty whatsoever to my old college Oriel College in the University of Oxford ([8]) and I direct that the receipt of the Bursar or other proper officer of the College shall be a complete discharge for that legacy and inasmuch as I gather that the erection of an extension to High Street of the CollegeFor College buildings. buildings would cost about £22,500 and that the loss to the College revenue caused by pulling down of houses to make room for the said new College buildings would be about £250 per annum I direct that the sum of £40,000 part of the said sum of £100,000 shall be applied in the first place in the erection of the said new College buildings ([9]) and that the remainder of such sum of £40,000 shall be held as a fund by the income whereof the aforesaid loss to the College revenue shall so far as possible be made good.
Resident Fellows.And inasmuch as I gather that there is a deficiency in the College revenue of some £1,500 per annum whereby the Fellowships are impoverished and the status of the College is lowered I direct that the sum of £40,000 further part of the said sum of £1000,000 shall be held as a fund by the income whereof the income of such of the resident Fellows of the College as work for the honour and dignity of the College shall be increased ([10]).
The High Table.And I further direct that the sum of £10,000 further part of the said sum of £100,000 shall be held as a fund by the income whereof the dignity and comfort of the High Table may be maintained by which means the dignity and comfort of the resident Fellows may be increased.
Repair Fund.And I further direct that the sum of £10,000 the remainder of the said sum of £100,000 shall be held as a repair fund the income whereof shall be expended in maintaining and repairing the College buildings.
Counsel to the childlike Dons.And finally as the College authorities live secluded from the world and so are like children ([11]) as to commercial matters I would advise them to consult my Trustees as to the investment of these various funds for they would receive great help and assistance from the advice of my Trustees in such matters and I direct that any investment made pursuant to such advice shall whatsoever it may be be an authorized investment for the money applied in making it.
(5.) The Scholarships at Oxford.
Whereas I consider that the education of young Colonists at one of the Universities in the United Kingdom is of great advantage to them for giving breadth to their views for their instruction in life and manners ([12]) and for instilling into their minds the advantage to the Colonies as well as to the United Kingdom of the retention of the unity of the Empire.
Advantages of Residence.And whereas in the case of young Colonists studying at a University in the United Kingdom I attach very great importance to the University having a residential system such as is in force at the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge for without it those students are at the most critical period of their lives left without any supervision.
Edinburgh Medical School.And whereas there are at the present time 50 or more students from South Africa studying at the University of Edinburgh many of whom are attracted there by its excellent medical school and I should like to establish some of the Scholarships hereinafter mentioned in that University but owing to its not having such a residential system as aforesaid I feel obliged to refrain from doing so. And whereas my own University the University of Oxford has such a system and I suggest that it should try and extend its scope so as if possible to make its medical school at least as good as that at the University of Edinburgh ([13]).
The Union of the English-speaking Peoples.And whereas I also desire to encourage and foster an appreciation of the advantages which I Marble Bath-room, Groote Schuur.
Mr. Rhodes's Bedroom.
The bed was made by local craftsmen from a South African wood of great hardness.
From Mr. Tennyson-Cole’s Portrait of Mr. Rhodes.
(Purchased by Oriel College, Oxford.)
The Shangani Monument.
These are small reproductions of two of four bas-reliefs which are being made by Mr. John Tweed, the sculptor, for the monument to the men who fell in the first Matabele War at Shangani. (See page 4.)
Three-year £300 Scholarships.Now therefore I direct my Trustees as soon as may be after my death and either simultaneously or gradually as they shall find convenient and if gradually then in such order as they shall think fit to establish for male students the Scholarships hereinafter directed to be established each of which shall be of the yearly value of £300 and be tenable at any College in the University of Oxford for three consecutive academical years ([14]). I direct my Trustees to establish certain Scholarships and these Scholarships I some- times hereinafter refer to as “the Colonial Scholarships.”[15]
Photograph by][Taunt, OxfordOriel College, Oxford.
The appropriation of the Colonial Scholarships and the numbers to be annually filled up shall be in accordance with the following table:—
Total No. Appropriated. | To be tenable by Students of or from | No of Scholarships to be Filled up in each Year. | ||||
South Africa | 24 | 9 | Rhodesia | 3 and no more | ||
3 | The South African College School in the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope | 1 and no more | ||||
3 | The Stellenbosch College School of Rondebosch in the same Colony | 1 and no more | ||||
3 | The Diocesan College School of Rondebosch in the same Colony | 1 and no more | ||||
3 | St. Andrew’s College School Grahamstown | 1 and no more | ||||
3 | The Colony of Natal in the same Colony | 1 and no more | ||||
Australasia | 21 | 3 | The Colony of New South Wales | 1 and no more | ||
3 | The Colony of Victoria | 1 and no more | ||||
3 | The Colony of South Australia | 1 and no more | ||||
3 | The Colony of Queensland | 1 and no more | ||||
3 | The Colony of Western Australia | 1 and no more | ||||
3 | The Colony of Tasmania | 1 and no more | ||||
3 | The Colony of New Zealand | 1 and no more | ||||
Canada | 6 | 3 | The Province of Ontario in the Dominion of Canada | 1 and no more | ||
3 | The Province of Quebec in the Dominion of Canada | 1 and no more | ||||
Atlantic Islands | 6 | 3 | The Colony or Island of Newfoundland and its Dependencies | 1 and no more | ||
3 | The Colony or Islands of the Bermudas | 1 and no more | ||||
West Indies | 3 | 3 | The Colony or Island of Jamaica | 1 and no more | ||
Total | 60 | 20[16] |
American Scholarships.I further direct my Trustees to establish additional Scholarships sufficient in number for the appropriation in the next following clause hereof directed and those Scholarships I sometimes hereinafter refer to as “the American Scholarships.”
I appropriate two of the American Scholarships to each of the present States and Territories of the United States of North America.[17] Provided that if any of the said Territories shall in my lifetime be admitted as a State the Scholarships appropriated to such Territory shall be appropriated to such State and that my Trustees may in their uncontrolled discretion withhold for such time as they shall think fit the appropriation of Scholarships to any Territory.
I direct that of the two Scholarships appropriated to a State or Territory not more than one shall be filled up in any year so that at no time shall more than two Scholarships be held for the same State or Territory.[18]
German Scholarships.By Codicil executed in South Africa Mr. Rhodes after stating that the German Emperor had made instruction in English compulsory in German schools establishes fifteen Scholarships at Oxford (five in each of the first three years after his death) of £250 each tenable for three years for students of German birth to be nominated by the German Emperor for “a good understanding between England Germany and the United States of America will secure the peace of the world and educational relations form the strongest tie.”[19]
The selection of the scholars.My desire being that the students who shall be elected to the Scholarships shall not be merely bookworms I direct that in the election of a student to a Scholarship regard shall be had to
The four qualifications.(i.) his literary and scholastic attainments
(ii.) his fondness of and success in manly outdoor sports such as cricket football and the like
(iii.) his qualities of manhood truth courage devotion to duty sympathy for the protection of the weak kindliness unselfishness and fellowship
and
(iv.) his exhibition during school days of moral force of character and of instincts to lead and to take an interest in his schoolmates for those latter attributes will be likely in after-life to guide him to esteem the performance of public duty as his highest aim.
The Summer House at Groote Schuur (with the Devil’s Peak in the Background).
This old restored Dutch belvidere is a favourite holiday resort of the poorer classes of Cape Town. Family parties picnic there.
No Racial or Religious Tests.No Student shall be qualified or disqualified for election to a Scholarship on account of his race or religious opinions.
Method of ElectionExcept in the cases of the four schools hereinbefore mentioned the election to Scholarships shall be by the Trustees after such (if any) consultation as they shall think fit with the Minister having the control of education in such Colony, Province, State or Territory.
Time of commencing Residence.A qualified student who has been elected as aforesaid shall within six calendar months after his election or as soon thereafter as he can be admitted into residence or within such extended time as my Trustees shall allow commence Photograph by][E. H. Mills.Mr. B. F. Hawksley.
Mr. W. T. Stead in his office overlooking the Thames.
The scholarships shall be payable to him from the time when he shall commence such residence.
Scholars to be distributed among Colleges.I desire that the Scholars holding the scholarships shall be distributed amongst the Colleges of the University of Oxford and not resort in undue numbers to one or more Colleges only.
Discipline.Notwithstanding anything hereinbefore contained my Trustees may in their uncontrolled discretion suspend for such time as they shall think fit or remove any Scholar from his Scholarship.
The Annual Dinner.In order that the Scholars past and present may have opportunities of meeting and discussing their experiences and prospects I desire that my Trustees shall annually give a dinner to the past and present Scholars able and willing to attend at which I hope my Trustees or some of them will be able to be present and to which they will I hope from time to time invite as guests persons who have shown sympathy with the views expressed by me in this my Will.
(6.) The Dalham Hall Estate.
The Dalham Hall Estate[21] is by Codicil dated January 18th 1902 strictly settled on Colonel Francis Rhodes and his heirs male with remainder to Captain Ernest Frederick Rhodes and his heirs male.
The Codicil contains the following clause:—
“The essence of a proper life.”Whereas I feel that it is the essence of a proper life that every man should during some substantial period thereof have some definite occupation and I object to an expectant heir developing into what I call a “loafer.”
On encumbered Estates.And whereas the rental of the Dalham Hall Estate is not more than sufficient for the maintenance of the estate and my experience is that one of the things making for the strength of England is the ownership of country estates which could maintain the dignity and comfort of the head of the family but that this position has been absolutely ruined by the practice of creating charges upon the estates either for younger children or for the payment of debts whereby the estates become insufficient to maintain the head of the family in dignity and comfort.
Country landlords the strength of England.And whereas I humbly believe that one of the secrets of England’s strength has been the existence of a class termed “the country landlords” who devote their efforts to the maintenance of those on their own property.[22] And whereas this is my own experience. Now therefore I direct that if any person who under the limitations hereinbefore contained shall become entitled as Conditions of tenure.tenant for life or as tenant in tail male by purchase to the possession or to the receipt of the rents and profits of the Dalham Hall Estate shall attempt to assign charge or incumber his interest in the Dalham Hall Estate or any part thereof or shall do or permit any act or thing or any No encumbrance.event shall happen by or in consequence of which he would cease to be entitled to such interest if the same were given to him absolutely or if any such person as aforesaid (excepting in this case my said brothers Francis Rhodes and Ernest Frederick Rhodes) (i) shall not when he shall become so entitled as aforesaid have been for at Ten years’ work.least ten consecutive years engaged in some profession or business or (ii.) if not then engaged in some profession or business and (such profession or business not being that of the Army) not Serve in Militia or Volunteers.then also a member of some militia or volunteer corps shall not within one year after becoming so entitled as aforesaid or (being an infant) within one year after attaining the age of twenty-one years whichever shall last happen unless in any case prevented by death become engaged in some profession or business and (such profession or business not being that of the Army) also become a member of some militia or volunteer corps or (iii.) shall discontinue to be engaged in any profession or business before he shall have been engaged for ten consecutive years in some profession or business then and in every such case and forthwith if such person shall be tenant for life then his estate for life shall absolutely determine and if tenant in tail male then his estate in Forfeiture of title.tail male shall absolutely determine and the Dalham Hall Estate shall but subject to estates if any prior to the estate of such person immediately go to the person next in remainder under the limitations hereinbefore contained in the same manner as if in the case of a person whose estate for life is so made to determine that person were dead or in the case of a person whose estate in tail male is so made to determine were dead and there were a general failure of issue of that person inheritable to the estate which is so made to determine.
Photograph by H. J. Jarman][Bury St. EdmundsMr. Rhodes’s Burial Place: The Summit of “World’s View.”
After various private dispositions Mr. Rhodes in his original will left the residue of his real and personal estate to the Earl of Rosebery, Earl Grey, Alfred Beit, William Thomas Stead, Lewis Lloyd Michell and Bourchier Francis Hawksley absolutely as joint tenants.
The same persons were also appointed executors and trustees.
In a Codicil dated January, 1901, Mr. Rhodes directed that the name of W. T. Stead should be removed from the list of his executors.
In a second Codicil dated October, 1901, Mr. Rhodes added the name of Lord Milner to the list of joint tenants, executors and trustees.
In a third Codicil, dated March, 1902, Mr. Rhodes appointed Dr. Jameson as one of his trustees, with all the rights of other trustees. The Right Hon. Cecil J. Rhodes.
(From a sketch by the Marchioness of Granby.)
- ↑ Being thus domiciled in Rhodesia his estate is not subject to the death duties levied on those domiciled in England.
- ↑ Mr. Bertram Mitford says:—“For grim, gloomy savagery of solitude it is probable that the stupendous rock wilderness known as the Matoppo Hills is unsurpassed throughout earth’s surface. Strictly speaking, the term ‘hills’ scarcely applies to this marvellous range, which is rather an expanse of granite rocks extending some seventy or eighty miles by forty or fifty, piled in titanic proportions and bizarre confusion, over what would otherwise be a gently undulating surface, forming a kind of island as it were, surrounded by beautiful rolling country, green, smiling, and in parts thickly bushed. High on the outside ridge of this remarkable range, about twenty miles distant from Bulawayo, towards which it faces, there rises a pile of granite boulders, huge, solid, compact. It is a natural structure; an imposing and dominating one withal, and appropriately so, for this is the sepulchre of the warrior King Umzilikazi, founder and first monarch of the Matabele nation.” Rhodesia says:—“It would appear, according to the discovery of a Native Commissioner, that the hill on the summit of which the remains of Cecil Rhodes have been laid is known in the vernacular as ‘Malindidzimo.’ The literal translation of this is given as ‘The Home of the Spirit of My Forefathers,’ or, without straining the meaning unduly, ‘The Home of the Guardian Spirit.’ It does not appear that Mr. Rhodes was aware of this rendering when he expressed a desire to be buried on that spot after his race was run.”
- ↑ A lady writing over the initials “S. C. S.” in the Westminster Gazette says:—“Very beautiful is a little story which I once heard told of Mr. Rhodes by Mr. G. Wyndham. Beautiful, because it contains the simple expression of a great thought, said quite simply, and without any desire to produce effect, in private to a friend. Mr. Wyndham told how, during his last visit to Africa, they rode together on to the summit of a hill in the Matoppos, which commanded a view of fifty miles in every direction. Circling his hands about the horizon, Mr. Rhodes said, ‘Homes, more homes; that is what I work for.’”
- ↑ A Daily Telegraph correspondent, writing from Bulawayo on Oct. 14, 1901, gives the following account of the dam referred to in the will:—“Mr. Rhodes’s Matoppo Dam is to be used in connection with the irrigation of a portion of his farm near Bulawayo. This farm is situated on the northern edge of the Matoppos, eighteen miles from Bulawayo, and through it runs the valley of a tributary from the Malima River. This tributary is dry eight months in the year, and the land around consequently parched. Mr. Rhodes has built a huge earthwork wall to dam the tributary. The work was commenced in May, 1899. It will render possible the cultivation of some 2,000 to 3,000 acres of the most fertile soil. The total cost up to date has been something under £30,000. The total capacity of the reservoir is 900,000,000 gallons. A small body of water was conserved last season, and fifty acres of lucerne planted as a commencement. It is doing extremely well under irrigation. The site of the works, the northern edge of the Matoppos, is very picturesque. The green lucerne makes a delightful contrast against the dull and hazy browns of the surrounding country which prevail during the dry season. An hotel has been built on some rising ground overlooking the dam, and it is expected that it will be very popular as a holiday resort for the youth and beauty of Bulawayo—become, in fact, the African replica of the famous Star and Garter at Richmond.”
- ↑ Mr. Seymour Fort, writing in the Empire Review for May, 1902, says:—“Apart from his position as managing director of the British South Africa Company, Mr. Rhodes is one of the chief pioneer agriculturists in Rhodesia, and has spared neither brain nor capital in endeavouring to develop the resources of its soil. In Manicaland he owns a block of farms on the high Inyanga plateau, some 80,000 acres in extent, where on the open grass country he is breeding cattle and horses, while a certain portion is fenced and placed under cultivation. Great things are expected from these horse-breeding experiments, as the Inyanga hills are so far free from the horse-sickness so prevalent in other parts of South Africa. This plateau forms a succession of downs at an elevation of some 6,000 feet above the sea. The soil is alluvial, of rich red colour and capable of growing every form of produce, and by merely scratching the surface the natives raise crops of mealies and other cereals superior to those grown elsewhere in Manicaland. It is an old saying in South Africa that you find no good veldt without finding Dutchmen, and several Transvaal Boers have settled in the neighbourhood. English fruit trees flourish, and Mr. Rhodes has laid out orchards in which the orange, apple, and pear trees (now five years old) have borne well. Very interesting also are the evidences of an old and practically unknown civilisation—the ancient ruins, the mathematically constructed water-courses and old gold workings which are to be seen side by side with the trans-African telegraph to Blantyre and Cairo which runs through the property, and connects Tete with the Zambesi.”
- ↑ Mr. Garrett, writing in the Pall Mall Magazine for May, 1902, says:—“If you would see Rhodes on his most winning side, you would seek it at Groote Schuur. It lies behind the Devil Peak, which is a flank buttressed by the great bastion of rock that is called Table Mountain. The house lies low, nestling cosily among oaks. It was built in accordance with Mr. Rhodes’s orders to keep it simple-beams and whitewash. It was originally thatched, but it was burnt down at the end of 1896, and everything was gutted but one wing. From the deep-pillared window where Mr. Rhodes mostly sat, and the little formal garden, the view leads up to a grassy slope and over woodland away to the crest of the buttressed peak and the great purple precipices of Table Mountain. Through the open park land and wild wood koodoos, gnus, elands, and other African animals wander at will. Only the savage beasts are confined in enclosures. No place of the kind is so freely, so recklessly shared with the public. The estate became the holiday resort of the Cape Town masses; but it is to be regretted that some of the visitors abused their privileges—maimed and butchered rare and valuable beasts, and careless picknickers have caused great havoc in the woods by fire. Sometimes the visitors treat the house itself as a free museum, and are found wandering into Mr. Rhodes’s own rooms or composedly reading in his library. Brown people from the slums of Cape Town fill the pinafores of their children with flowers plucked in his garden, and wander round the house as if it were their own. The favourite rendezvous in the ground was the lion-house, a classical lion-pit in which the tawny form of the king of beasts could be caught sight of between marble columns.”
- ↑ Writing in the Times on the artistic side of Mr. Rhodes, Mr. Herbert Baker, his architect, says:—“Artistic problems first presented themselves to his mind when, as Premier of Cape Colony, he made his home in the Cape Peninsula. His intense and genuine love of the big and beautiful in natural scenery prompted him to buy as much as he could of the forest slopes of Table Mountain, so that it might be saved for ever from the hands of the builder, and the people, attracted to it by gardens, wild animals, and stately architecture, might be educated and ennobled by the contemplation of what he thought one of the finest views in the world. This love of mountain and distant view—the peaks of the South African plateaux are seen 100 miles away across the Cape flats—was deep-seated in his nature, and he would sit or ride silently for hours at a time, dreaming and looking at the views he loved—a political poet.
But from these create he can
Forms more real than living man,
Nurslings of Immortality.There are many stories of him telling worried and disputing politicians to turn from their "trouble of ants" to the Mountain for calm, and in the same spirit he placed the stone Phœnician hawk, found at Zimbabye, in the Cabinet Councilroom, that the emblem of time might preside over their deliberations. The ennobling influence of natural scenery was present in his mind in connection with every site he chose and every building he contemplated; such as a cottage he built, where poets or artists could live and look across to the blue mountain distance; a University, where young men could be surrounded with the best of nature and of art; a lion-house, a feature of which was to have been a long open colonnade, where the people could at once see the king of beasts and the lordliest of mountains; the Kimberley “Bath,” with its white marble colonnades embedded in a green oasis of orange grove and vine trellis, looking to the north over illimitable desert. Such things would perhaps occur to most men, but with him they were a passion, almost a religion. Of his more monumental architectural schemes few have been realised. For these his taste lay in the direction of the larger and simpler styles of Rome, Greece, and even Egypt, recognizing the similarity of the climate and natural scenery of South Africa to that of classic Southern Europe. He had the building ambition of a Pericles or a Hadrian, and in his untimely death architecture has the greatest cause to mourn."
- ↑ In the list of the Masters of Arts of Oriel College, in the year 1881, occurs this entry: “Rhodes, Cecil John,” to which a note is added, “late Premier of the Cape Colony.” Tradition says that Oriel was first founded by Edward II., who vowed as he fled from Bannockburn he would found a religious house in the Virgin's honour if only Our Lady would save from the pursuing Scot. Edward III. gave the University the mansion called Le Oriole which stood on the present site of the College. A portrait of Sir Walter Raleigh hangs on the walls of the College Hall. The present income of the College is said to be not more than £7,500 per annum. The revenue of the twenty-one Colleges of Oxford is £206,102, or less than £10,000 each. The present Provost of Oriel is David Binning Monro: he is also Vice-Chancellor of the University. Among the hon. Fellows are Mr. Goldwin Smith, Lord Goschen, and Mr. Bryce. Among the famous names associated with Oriel besides those of Raleigh and Rhodes are the following:—Archbishop Arundel, Cardinal Allen, Bishop Butler, Prynne, Langland, author of “Piers Plowman”; Barclay, author of “The Ship of Fools”; Gilbert White, author of the “Natural History of Selborne”; Thomas Hughes, author of “Tom Brown's Schooldays”; Dr. Arnold, Bishop Wilberforce, Archbishop Whately, Cardinal Newman, Dr. Pusey, John Keble, Bishop Hampden.
- ↑ The extension of Oriel College cannot at present take place. St. Mary Hall, which adjoins the College, belongs to the Principal (Dr. Chase), who was appointed to that position as far back as December, 1857. A statute made by the last Commission provided that upon his death St. Mary Hall shall be merged into Oriel College. The College has always contemplated, sooner or later, an extension of its buildings to High Street. The Hall runs close up to the houses facing the University Church, and the majority of these premises already belong to Oriel College. The northern side of the quadrangle of St. Mary Hall will ultimately be pulled down, together with the High Street shops, and the new buildings will face the main thoroughfare on the one hand and the quadrangle on the other.
- ↑ A senior member of Oriel when interviewed on the subject of Mr. Rhodes's bequests said:—“The College revenues do not admit at present of their paying the Fellows as much as the Commission contemplated, and so far they had been at a disadvantage. Mr. Rhodes probably became aware of this fact, and wished to enable the College to reach the limit set by the Commission, £200 a year, as the maximum. The limit imposed by the Commissioners will not apply to Mr. Rhodes's bequest, it being a new endowment, so that not only may the emoluments of the Fellowships reach the figure specified by the Commissioners, but go beyond that. So far Oriel College has not been able to rise to the level which the Commissioners considered a proper amount. As to the amount set apart for the High Table, we do not want more comforts or luxuries, we are quite happy as we are. We have enough to eat, but still, it was very kind of Mr. Rhodes to think of us in that way.”
- ↑ Possibly Cecil Rhodes was thinking when he spoke of the childlike and secluded Don of a story current in his day at Oriel—and current still—of John Keble, who was better at Christian poetry than at worldly calculation. One day Keble, who was Bursar, discovered to his horror that the College accounts came out nearly two thousand pounds on the wrong side. The learned and pious men of Oriel tried to find the weak spot, but it was not until expert opinion was called that they found that Keble, casting up a column, had added the date of the year to Oriel's debts!
- ↑ Mr. Rhodes, speaking to Mr. Iwan Müller on the subject of his scholarships, said:—“A lot of young Colonials go to Oxford and Cambridge, and come back with a certain anti-English feeling, imagining themselves to have been slighted because they were Colonials. That, of course, is all nonsense. I was a Colonial, and I knew everybody I wanted to know, and everybody who wanted to knew me. The explanation is that most of these youngsters go there on the strength of scholarships, and insufficient allowances, and are therefore practically confined to one set, that of men as poor as themselves, who use the University naturally and quite properly only as a stepping-stone to something else. They are quite right, but they don't get what I call a University Education, which is the education of rubbing shoulders with every kind of individual and class on absolutely equal terms; therefore a very poor man can never get the full value of an Oxford training.”
- ↑ “Mr. Rhodes,” says “A Senior Member of Oriel,” “suggests that the University shall develop a medical school of the kind they have in Edinburgh. That might involve a considerable expense on the University which it is hardly in a position to bear, being very short of money as it is. The question of a medical school has been often discussed, and so far the conclusion arrived at has been adverse to the idea of the establishment of a medical school at Oxford. It has been considered that the infirmary at Oxford is not big enough, and the cases are not sufficiently numerous to provide practical experience for the students. The idea has been that they should get their general knowledge at Oxford, and then obtain practical hospital work elsewhere.”
Commenting upon this, a distinguished Oxford Professor said:—“The opinion expressed by a senior member of Oriel College of the present position of the Medical School in Oxford is in the main correct, but contains one sentence which conveys an erroneous impression of the present attitude of the University in relation to medical teaching.
“A medical education comprises three kinds of study, each of which must be of first-rate quality. One of these is preliminary, and consists in the theoretical and practical study of general science. The second comprises anatomy, physiology, pathology, pharmacology, and hygiene. The third is purely professional, and corresponds to what used to be called walking the hospitals.
“The subject of the first, namely, inorganic and organic chemistry, natural philosophy, and biology are now amply provided for in the University. We have laboratories which are well equipped for present needs, though no doubt they may require extension at a future period; and very complete collections for illustrating the instruction given in zoology and botany.
“The subjects of the second part are those which constitute the science of medicine as distinguished from its practice. A physiological department was established some fifteen years ago, the equipment of which will certainly bear comparison with any other in the country. More space is, however, required for the development of certain branches of the subject. The department of human anatomy has been completed for ten years.
“It has a museum, a commodious dissecting-room with all modern improvements, and all other adjuncts that are required for the teaching of a subject so important to medicine. The pathological laboratory was opened by the Vice-Chancellor six months ago. It is more closely related to practical medicine than the others, and constitutes a common ground between the University and the Radcliffe Infirmary. As regards the building and the internal arrangements, it is all that could be desired, but the funds available for its complete equipment are inadequate, nor has the University as yet been able to provide sufficient remuneration for the teaching staff.
“The only branches of medical science, for the teaching of which special departments have not yet been established, are pharmacology (action of drugs) and public health.
“As regards the third part of the medical curriculum, viz., instruction in the practice of medicine, the University had adopted the principle that the two or three years which its students must devote to their purely professional studies must be spent where the existence of great hospitals affords opportunities for seeing medical and surgical practice in all its branches.
“As regards medicine, Oxford has been for the last dozen years providing what it considers the best possible education. The practical difficulty which prevents many from taking advantage of it is the long duration of the total period of study. The Oxford student of medicine must spend some six or seven years, reckoned from the date of matriculation to the completion of his hospital work. This time cannot be shortened with advantage. For those who come with the income to which Mr. Rhodes's munificent bequest affords this difficulty will scarcely exist. The scholarship will abundantly provide for the years spent in Oxford and enable its holders to compete with advantage for the Hospital Scholarships which have been already mentioned.” - ↑ The Rev. W. Greswell, M.A., wrote to the Times on April 9th as follows:—“A scholarship foundation given during his lifetime by the Right Hon. C. J. Rhodes has already been in force at the Diocesan College, Rondebosch, near Cape Town. This year two members of the college—W. T. Yeoman and F. Reid—have been awarded £175 per annum and £125 per annum respectively in order to help them to go to one of the colleges at Oxford and continue the studies they have begun at the Cape. Originally the endowment was of £250 per annum for a single scholarship, tenable for three years at Oxford; but quite recently, by an additional act of generosity on the part of the donor, £50 per annum was added to the value of the scholarship, bringing it up to £300 per annum. At the same time a discretionary power was given to the Diocesan College to apportion the whole sum, pro hac vice, between the first two competitors, if it seemed expedient to do so and if the parents were willing and able to add something of their own. For Mr. Rhodes always thought that a student coming to Oxford should have a thoroughly sufficient, if not good, allowance, in order that he might enter into every phase of University life without the ever-present thought of the 'res angusta domi.' The scholars-elect are still continuing their studies at the college at Rondebosch until such time as they are ready to proceed to Oxford in 1903. Mr. Rhodes made, in the case of the Diocesan College, somewhat the same stipulation as to tests and proficiency as in his subsequent magnificent endowments.”
The Bursar of Christ Church being questioned as to the point whether the £300 a year would close the gates of Christ Church to the Rhodes scholars, Mr. Skene pointed out that it all depended on the question whether the £300 a year was to keep the scholars the whole year through, both in term time at the University and in vacation elsewhere, or merely during the University years of six months. “If the latter,” he said, “then £300 a year will keep them comfortably enough at Christ Church, and will enable them to enter into the social and varied life of the House. But if this amount is also to serve for vacation expenses, the balance left for the University will make it impossible, or, at any rate, inadvisable, for them to come to Christ Church.”
A senior member of Oriel says Mr. Rhodes contemplated that the sum he provides shall be sufficient to maintain the recipients, together with their personal expenses, travelling, clothing, etc., and to enable them to mix freely in the society of the place and take a position amongst men who are well equipped in this world's goods. An ordinary young man at Oxford—I don't say at this college—would be comfortably off with an allowance of £250 a year, and many parents allow their sons that amount. Mr. Rhodes makes it £300—probably he took into consideration that people coming from abroad would have to face extra expenditure in the shape of travelling expenses. - ↑ Mr. Stevenson, of Exeter College, says there already exists in Oxford a small Colonial club for occasional meetings and dinners and the supply of friendly information. But the Colonials whom I have known very readily merge in the surrounding mass of undergraduates. There are several Colonials and Americans, for example, at Balliol, and Corpus, and Lincoln, and St. John's, Morally they are strong men, and they are popular. Then they are good athletes. We had two Americans in the boat this year. If Mr. Rhodes’s trust should be the means of our getting some gigantic Colonials—or even Boers, for he excludes no race—who can do great things, say, at putting the weight, we may be able to wipe out Cambridge altogether! All Oxonians would agree that that would be a great achievement.
- ↑
The following is a list of Colonies to which no Scholarships have been appropriated:—
POPULATION. White. Coloured. Canada Nova Scotia 459,000 about 100,000 New Brunswick 331,000 Prince Edward Island 103,250 Manitoba 246,500 North-West Territories 220,000 British Columbia 190,000
1,549,750 100,000 West Indies Bahamas 15,000 38,000 Leeward Islands 5,000 122,500 Windward Islands 5,000 92,500 Barbados 15,000 180,000 Trinidad and Tobago 10,000 262,000
50,000 695,000 Mediterranean Gibraltar 22,000 — Malta 5,000 179,000 Cyprus 237,000 —
264,000 179,000 Indian Ocean Mauritius 10,000 360,000 Ceylon 10,000 3,562,000
20,000 3,922,000 Far East Borneo 1,000 174,000 New Guinea 250 350,000 Hong Kong 2,500 97,500
3,750 621,500 Indian Empire 150,000 295,000,000 Egypt 108,000 9,700,000 Soudan — 10,000,000 The following is the population of the Colonies to which scholarships have been allotted:—
POPULATION. Scholarships. White. Coloured. South Africa Rhodesia 11,000 800,000 9 Cape Colony 500,000 1,850,000 12 Natal 64,900 865,000 3 Australasia New South Wales 1,359,000 7,200 3 Victoria 1,193,000 7,500 3 South Australia 359,000 7,000 3 Queensland 473,000 30,200 3 Western Australia 152,500 30,000 3 New Zealand 770,000 46,000 3 Tasmania 173,000 — 3 Canada Ontario 2,168,000 — 3 Quebec 1,621,000 — 3 Atlantic Islands Newfoundland 210,000 — 3 Bermudas 6,500 11,200 3 West Indies Jamaica 15,000 730,000 3
Total 9,075,900 4,384,100 60 Thus a population of 13,460,000 persons in the British Colonies is allotted 60 scholarships. A population of 76,000,000 in the United States is only allowed 100 scholarships. But a population of 7,405,000 persons, excluding India, Nigeria and Egypt, are allotted no scholarships at all. The average of scholarships to population is one in 760,000 in the United States, and one in 224,000 in the fifteen British Colonies to which they have been allotted. If the omitted British Colonies were dealt with on the same scale as the fifteen, 33 new scholarships would have to be founded.
- ↑ The following is a list of the States and Territories of the United States, with their population at the time of the last census:—
Population—United States, 1900 State. Population. Alabama 1,828,697 Arkansas 1,311,564 California 1,485,053 Colorado 539,700 Connecticut 908,355 Delaware 184,735 Florida 528,542 Georgia 2,216,331 Idaho 161,772 Illinois 4,821,550 Indiana 2,516,462 Iowa 2,231,853 Kansas 1,470,495 Kentucky 2,147,174 Louisiana 1,381,625 Maine 694,466 Maryland 1,190,050 Massachusetts 2,805,346 Michigan 2,420,982 Minnesota 1,751,394 Mississippi 1,551,270 Missouri 3,106,665 Montana 243,329 Nebraska 1,068,539 Nevada 42,335 New Hampshire 411,588 New Jersey 1,883,669 New York 7,268,012 North Carolina 1,893,810 North Dakota 319,146 Ohio 4,157,545 Oregon 413,536 Pennsylvania 6,302,115 Rhode Island 428,556 South Carolina 1,340,316 South Dakota 401,570 Tennessee 2,020,616 Texas 3,048,710 Utah 276,749 Vermont 343,641 Virginia 1,854,184 Washington 518,103 West Virginia 958,800 Wisconsin 2,069,042 Wyoming 92,531
45 States Total. 74,610,523 Territories, etc. Alaska 63,441 Arizona 122,931 District of Columbia 278,718 Hawaii 154,001 Indian Territory 391,960 New Mexico 195,310 Oklahoma 398,245 Persons in Service Stationed Abroad 84,400 5 Territories
U.S. Total 76,299,529 - ↑ Mr. Stevenson, of Exeter College, told an interviewer recently a good story of an American who came to Oxford without a scholarship or other aid. He was a wild Westerner, and unceremoniously walked into a college one day and asked to see the Head. He then asked to be admitted on the books. He had no particular references, but clearly was a strong man. After some time he was admitted. He read hard and played hard. In the long vacation he returned to America and worked for his living—at one time as a foreman of bricklayers—and brought back enough money to go on with. In the Christmas “vac.” he went to America and lectured on Oxford and England, and again brought back more money. And so he gradually kept his terms and eventually took double honours. “He was very well read: most interesting: most enthusiastic. We could do with many like him.”
- ↑ I am assured, says the Daily Telegraph Berlin correspondent, that Kaiser Wilhelm himself was much struck by the donor’s generosity, and by the motives which actuated him in thinking of Germany in this way. His Majesty was specially touched by the attention shown to himself, and forthwith signified his intention to comply with the stipulation that candidates for the scholarships should be nominated by himself. In due time they will be so selected by the Kaiser.
Mr. W. G. Black, of Glasgow, writes to the Spectator:—“Mr. Rhodes seems to have been impressed by the German Emperor’s direction that English should be taught in the schools of Germany. It may not be uninteresting to note that his Majesty’s first action on receiving Heligoland from Great Britain was to prohibit the teaching of English in the island schools. That was in 1890. The prohibition was bitterly resented by the people, who had since 1810 been subjects of the British Crown, but they were, of course, powerless.”
- ↑ The following account of the discussion which took place when the proportion of marks was finally settled is quoted from the Review of Reviews, May, 1902, p. 480. The discussion is reported by Mr. Stead, who was present with Mr. Rhodes and Mr. Hawksley:—Then, later on, when Mr. Hawksley came in, we had a long discussion concerning the number of marks to be allotted under each of the heads.Mr. Rhodes said: “I’ll take a piece of paper. I have got my three things. You know the way I put them,” he said laughing, as he wrote down the points. “First, there are the three qualities. You know I am all against letting the scholarships merely to people who swot over books, who have spent all their time over Latin and Greek. But you must allow for that element which I call ‘smug,’ and which means scholarship. That is to stand for four-tenths. Then there is ‘brutality,’ which stands for two-tenths. Then there is tact and leadership, again two-tenths, and then there is ‘unctuous rectitude,’ two-tenths. That makes up the whole. You see how it works.”Then Mr. Hawksley read the draft clause, the idea of which was suggested by Lord Rosebery, I think. The scheme as drafted ran somewhat in this way:—A scholarship tenable at Oxford for three years at £300 a year is to be awarded to the scholars at some particular school in the Colony or State. The choice of the candidate ultimately rests with the trustees, who, on making their choice, must be governed by the following considerations. Taking one thousand marks as representing the total, four hundred should be allotted for an examination in scholarship, conducted in the ordinary manner on the ordinary subjects. Two hundred shall be awarded for proficiency in manly sports, for the purpose of securing physical excellence. Two hundred shall be awarded (and this is the most interesting clause of all to those who, in their intercourse with their fellows, have displayed most of the qualities of tact and skill which go to the management of men, who have shown a public spirit in the affairs of their school or their class, who are foremost in the defence of the weak and the friendless, and who display those moral qualities which qualify them to be regarded as capable leaders of men. The remaining two hundred would be vested in the headmaster.The marks in the first category would be awarded by competitive examination in the ordinary manner; in the second and third categories the candidate would be selected by the vote of his fellows in the school. The headmaster would of course vote alone. It is provided that the vote of the scholars should be taken by ballot; that the headmaster should nominate his candidate before the result of the competitive examination under (1), or of the ballot under (2) and (3) was known, and the ballot would take place before the result of the competitive examination was known, so that the trustees would have before them the names of the first scholar judged by competitive examination, the first selected for physical excellence and for moral qualities, and the choice of the headmaster. The candidate under each head would be selected without any knowledge as to who would come out on top in the other categories. To this Mr. Rhodes had objected on the ground that it gave “unctuous rectitude” a casting vote, and he said “unctuous rectitude” would always vote for “smug,” and the physical and moral qualities would go by the board. To this I added the further objection that “smug” and “brutality” might tie, and “unctuous rectitude” might nominate a third person, who was selected neither by “smug” nor “unctuous rectitude,” with the result that there would be a tie, and the trustees would have to choose without any information upon which to base their judgment. So I insisted, illustrating it by an imaginary voting paper, that the only possible way to avoid these difficulties was for the trustees or the returning officer to be furnished not merely with the single name which heads each of the four categories, but with the result of the ballot to five or even ten down, and that the headmaster should nominate in order of preference the same number. The marks for the first five or ten in the competitive examination would of course also be recorded, and in that case the choice would be automatic. The scholar selected would be the one who had the majority of marks, and it might easily happen that the successful candidate was one who was not top in any one of the categories. Mr. Rhodes strongly supported this view, and Mr. Hawksley concurred, and a clause is to be prepared stating that all the votes rendered at any rate for the first five or ten should be notified to the trustees, and also the order of precedence for five or ten to the headmaster. Mr. Rhodes then said he did not see why the trustees need have any responsibility in the matter, except in case of dispute, when their decision should be final. This I strongly supported, saying that provided the headmaster had to prepare his list before the result in the balloting or competition was known, he might be constituted returning officer, or, if need be, one of the head boys might be empowered to act with him, and then the award of the scholarship would be a simple sum in arithmetic. There would be no delay, and nothing would be done to weaken the interest. As soon as the papers were all in the marks could be counted up, and the scholarship proclaimed.
First I raised the question as to whether the masters should be allowed to vote. Mr. Rhodes said it did not matter. There would only be fourteen in a school of six hundred boys, and their votes would not count. I said that they would have a weight far exceeding their numerical strength, for if they were excluded from any voice they would not take the same interest that they would if they had a vote, while their judgment would be a rallying point for the judgment of the scholars. I protested against making the masters Outlanders, depriving them of votes, and treating them like political [[wikt:helots|]], at which Rhodes laughed. But he was worse than Kruger, and would not give them the franchise on any terms.
Then Mr. Hawksley said he was chiefly interested in the third category—that is, moral qualities of leadership. I said yes, it was the best and the most distinctive character of Mr. Rhodes’s school; that I was an outside barbarian, never having been to a university or a public school, and therefore I spoke with all deference; but speaking as an outside barbarian, and knowing Mr. Rhodes’s strong feeling against giving too much preponderance to mere literary ability, I thought it would be much better to alter the proportion of marks to be awarded for “smug” and moral qualities respectively, that is to say, I would reduce the “smug” to 200 votes, and put 400 on to moral qualities. Against this both Mr. Rhodes and Mr. Hawksley protested, Mr. Rhodes objecting that in that case the vote of the scholars would be the deciding factor, and the “smug” and “unctuous rectitude” would be outvoted. If brutality and moral qualities united their votes they would poll 600, as against 400.
It was further objected, both Mr. Rhodes and Mr. Hawksley drawing upon their own reminiscences of school-days, that hero-worship prevailed to such an extent among schoolboys that a popular idol, the captain of an eleven, or the first in his boat, might be voted in although he had no moral qualities at all. Mr. Hawksley especially insisted upon the importance of having a good share of culture in knowledge of Greek and Roman and English history. Then I proposed as a compromise that we should equalise “smug” and moral qualities. Mr. Rhodes accepted this, Mr. Hawksley rather reproaching him for being always ready to make a deal. But Mr. Rhodes pointed out that he had resisted the enfranchisement of the masters, who were to be helots, and he had also refused to reduce “smug” to 200, and thought 300 was a fair compromise. So accordingly it was fixed that it had to be 300—300 for “smug” and 300 for moral qualities, while “unctuous rectitude” and “brutality” are left with 200 each.
We all agreed that this should be done, half the marks are at the disposal of the voting of the scholars, the other half for competition and the headmaster. It also emphasises the importance of qualities entirely ignored in the ordinary competitive examinations, which was Mr. Rhodes’s great idea. Mr Rhodes was evidently pleased with the change, for just as we were leaving the hotel he called Mr. Hawksley back and said, ‘‘Remember, three-tenths,” so three-tenths it is to be.
- ↑ Dalham Hall Estate was purchased by Mr. Rhodes the year before his death. It is situate in Suffolk, not far from Newmarket, and is 3,475 acres in extent.
- ↑ In the Fortnightly Review for May, 1902, Mr. Iwan-Müller gives the following account of the reasons which Mr. Rhodes gave him for preferring country landlords to manufacturers:—“He told me how during a recent visit to England he had stayed with an English country gentleman of very large estates.
“‘I went about with him,’ he said in effect, although I do not profess to be able to recall the exact wording of his sentences, ‘and I discovered that he knew the history and personal circumstances of every man, woman, and child upon his property. He was as well instructed in their pedigrees as themselves, and could tell how long every tenant or even labourer had been connected with the estate, and what had happened to any of them in the course of their lives. From there I went on to a successful manufacturer, a man of high standing and benevolent disposition. He took me over his works, and explained the machinery and the different improvements that had been made, with perfect familiarity with his subject, but, except as to the heads of departments, foremen and the like, he absolutely knew nothing whatever about the lives and conditions of his “hands.” Now,’ he added, ‘my manufacturing friend was a more progressive man, and probably a more capable man than my Landlord friend. Yet the very necessities of the latter’s position compelled him to discharge duties of the existence of which the other had no idea. The manufacturer built schools and endowed libraries, and received reports as to their management, but he never knew, or cared to know, what effect his philanthropy had upon the individual beneficiaries.’”