What to do with £1.6m fund set up by North East slave trader James Dick?
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Moray councillors will be asked to decide tomorrow on what to do with a £1.6 million trust fund set up by a Forres slave trader.
Born in 1743 James Dick became a successful merchant in the West Indies then London in the later half of the 18th century.
However, research has now found that Dick along with his partner Robert Milligan were involved in the sale of more than 500 slaves shipped from Africa in 1779.
Following his death in 1828 a fund of around £114,000 was established to encourage learning and efficient teaching in what is now Moray, Aberdeenshire and Aberdeen.
The Dick Bequest fund now stands at more than £1.6million.
Moray schools benefit every year from it to the tune of around £5000 in equipment and £10,000 in learning grants for teachers.
While the council has no direct control over the Dick Bequest, it is required to nominate a councillor to sit as one of 10 governors who assess applications to the fund.
Members of the education, children and leisure committee will decide tomorrow what to do.
Options include a ‘do minimum’ approach, similar to the stance taken by Aberdeenshire Council.
That would mean not applying for grants or promoting the scheme.
However, the local authority will still have to nominate a councillor to sit on the board of governors and would be unable to prevent teachers applying directly to the fund.
Further options include lobbying the Scottish Government to re-direct funds to benefit people in Jamaica.
This stance is backed by historians David Alston and Donald Morrison whose research had uncovered Dick's past.
In his report head of governance, strategy and performance Alasdair McEachan said: "Very few local authorities seem to have addressed the issue of the historical legacy of slavery in their areas.
"However Glasgow City Council have taken the step of commissioning a major academic study into historical bequests linked to transatlantic slavery.
"This will include an audit of bequests and donations, street names and built heritage, scrutiny of records, public consultation and a resulting strategy."
A memorial to James Dick hangs in Anderson’s Primary School in Forres.
Both Mr Alston and Mr Morrison advocate using it to educate pupils on the area’s involvement with slavery.
A statue of Dick's partner Robert Milligan was removed from its plinth opposite the Museum of London Docklands in June last year because of his links to colonial violence and exploitation.
Dick grew up in a house in Forres High Street.
In the summer months, he herded cattle and during the rest of the year he received his education at Rafford grammar school about three miles from Forres.
His father employed him as his bookkeeper and it was during this time that Dick wished to marry the family's household servant.
Because his parents objected to this, Dick left home at the age of 19 for the West Indies.
After providing for his daughter, Dick left £114,000 in his will with instructions for the setting up of a bequest fund to help the schoolmasters and schools in Aberdeenshire, Banffshire and Morayshire.
He stated is was his wish to "form a fund for the benefit of that neglected though useful class of men (the country schoolmasters), and to add to their present trifling salaries."
