Edinburgh Merchant Company Order Confirmation 1996

Payment of pensions out of Darling fund

40 (1) The full income of the Darling fund shall after meeting the expenses of management, be applied by the Master’s court in the provision of pensions to be known as “Alexander Darling Silk Mercer’s Fund Pensions”, of not less than £15 per annum to women qualified as hereinafter provided in this section, who are in the opinion of the Master’s court in need.

(2) The women qualified to receive such pensions shall be women of 55 years of age and over, of good character, preferably unmarried or widowed and being—

(a) (i) gentlewomen born in the City of Edinburgh; or

(ii) gentlewomen who for the greater part of their lives have been resident in the City of Edinburgh; or

(iii) gentlewomen who are the widows of men born in the City of Edinburgh; or

(iv) gentlewomen who are the widows of men who for the greater part of their lives were resident in the City of Edinburgh:

Provided that the Master’s court shall be the sole judges of who are to be deemed gentlewomen for the purposes of this subsection; and

(b) women who have been employed at any time within the City of Edinburgh in the manufacture or sale of any textile garments for ladies and children or such articles of apparel including, without prejudice to the foregoing generalities, millinery, furs, laces and silks as are usually dealt in by a ladies' silk mercer:

Provided that women who have been wholly concerned in the manufacture or sale of garments for men’s wear shall not be so qualified.

(3) In so far as is possible, the number of pensions available shall be apportioned one-half to gentlewomen qualified as mentioned in paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of this section and one-half to women qualified as mentioned in paragraph (b) of subsection (2) of this section.

(4) In the allocation of pensions under this section preference shall be given to women bearing the surname Darling or Millar or Scott or Small and to women born in the town of Lanark:

Provided that all those so named or so born are to be given equal preference and that the order of narrating the qualifications for preference is not in any way indicative of any preference inter se.

(5) The Master’s court shall not pay a pension out of the Darling fund to any woman so qualified who is eligible for any national old age pension or allowance if such payment would cause the reduction of such national old age pension or allowance by an amount equal to or more than the amount of the pension payable out of the Darling fund and accordingly in any such case the amount of the pension payable out of the Darling fund shall from time to time be modified so that there shall be no such reduction of such national old age pension or allowance.