The Administrator-General’s Department presently monitors nine (9) charitable trusts. A charitable trust is created where real or personal property is given in trust to be applied to a specific charitable purpose, normally by way of a bequest under a will. A charitable trust may evolve into a perpetual trust, in that it may continue without any stated termination time. Perpetual trusts are terminable only by virtue of an Order of the Court provided it can be shown that performance of the Trust is impracticable or impossible. The Trust may not fail but the Court can direct that the property be applied for another charitable purpose.

Charitable trusts which are not perpetual may be terminated by virtue of a specified event, such as the death of the last surviving beneficiary. In such cases, the provisions of the trust deed normally provide for disposal of the residuary funds on the occurrence of that specified event.

Notable among the charitable trusts at the Department are:

Estate Henry Salmon Hoskins

Mr. Hoskins, a philanthropist, died on the 14th July, 1915. He was the owner of the Seville Great House and Estate in Saint Ann. One of the main recipients under the will of Mr. Hoskins is the Saint Ann’s Bay Hospital. The present land on which the Hospital is erected is part of the Seville Estate donated under his will. The Department’s continued responsibility lies in the investment of the Trust funds and proper utilization thereof for the benefit of the Hospital.

The H.S. Hoskins Memorial Operating Threatre was built from the Trust funds. A Ventilator, Infant Model 500, Humidifier and an IRMA SL200 Blood Analyzer are some of the equipment purchased from the Trust fund for the Hospital. A Scholarship fund has been set up for nurses.

Due to the enormous responsibilities of overseeing the Seville Plantation, the Department sold the entire plantation to the Jamaica Heritage Trust/Government of Jamaica. The Estate’s Great House is now a museum.

Estate Michael Grabham

Michael Grabham was a retired Surgeon at the time of his death on the 13th April, 1938. The Administrator-General was appointed Executor and Trustee of his will, in which he bequeathed a capital sum to the Government of Jamaica with the interest thereon to be used exclusively for the promotion and extension of the maternity services at the Victoria Jubilee Lying-in Hospital.

Based on an interpretation of the will by the Supreme Court on the 6th June, 1944 and a subsequent scheme approved by the Court, the Administrator-General is required to make half-yearly payments of the income from the fund to the Accountant General. The income is further managed by Trustees appointed by the Court, namely the Principal Medical Officer nominated by the Minister of Health, the Senior Medical Officer of the Victoria Jubilee Hospital and the Secretary of the British Medical Association.

Estate Frederick B. Brown

Frederick Brown died testate on the 2nd December, 1918. His appointed Executors obtained a grant of Probate on the 23rd March, 1919. By Court Order dated 18th February, 1938 the Administrator-General was appointed the sole Trustee of the will. The main asset of the Trust at that time was the Fairie Hill Estate in the parish of Portland, with over Four Hundred acres. The famous Winnifred Rest Home is part of this property. An overseer was appointed to manage the property but the supervision thereof became burdensome and by Court Order in the 1960s, the Administrator-General received permission to sell the bulk of the land. That portion was sold to the Urban Development Corporation and the Trust retained the remaining 25 acres on which the Winnifred Rest Home stands.

Frederick Brown’s instruction in his will regarding the Winnifred Rest Home is that it should be a place of rest for missionaries, teachers and respectable poor persons so that they may come for a limited time to rest. He established in the will, a Board of Trustees for the Home of which the Administrator-General is Chairman.