3 OCTOBER 1947, Page 4

The death of Earl Nelson at the age of 89

leaves his brother, who is 87, as the last beneficiary of the perpetual pension granted to Admiral Lord Nelson's brother, the Rev. William Nelson, and his descendants in 1806, for the Act passed last session brings this, the last of the perpetual pensions, to an end. The £5,000 a year is subject to ordinary taxation, so that it is worth much less than its face-value today, but it is difficult to follow the statement of The Times that war-time taxation has reduced the pension to less than a quarter of its original figure. The future of Trafalgar House, which the nation presented to the Rev. William Nelson at a cost of £90,000, is a matter of more than personal or local interest. The property was strictly entailed, but the Act which terminated the pension provided, as some offset, for the liberation of the property, so that it might be sold in the open market for the benefit of the Nelson family. But a mansion of too rooms may not be so easily saleable, and it is extremely unfortunate that the project for its acquisition by the Admiralty as sonte kind of rest-home or old-age home should have broken down. Certainly some strong endeavour should be made to secure for the nation the Nelson relics that are to go to auction with the house.