FROM The West Briton and Cornish Advertiser, April 27, 1911
Mr Passmore Edwards
Cornish philanthropist's death in London – his rise to wealth and fame
The death occurred at his London residence on Saturday night of Mr John Passmore Edwards, at the age of 88.
There are few Cornish men who have attained a more eminent position as a reformer and philanthropist than Mr Passmore Edwards, and the story of his distinguished career is familiar to all his fellow county men.
He was born on March 24, 1823, at Blackwater, his father being a carpenter by trade. The only education he received was at the village school, his teacher being a former miner. He read all the books he could get hold of, often walking to Truro to buy a book for which he had saved up his pence.
Illustrious
It was by the dim light of a single candle that this illustrious gentleman managed to pick up fragments of knowledge, and it was the recollection of this early struggle that encouraged him in later years to promote the public library movement, so that poor boys and girls, besides men and women, might enjoy the educational advantages denied to them during the early and middle parts of the last century.
His first start was made as Manchester correspondent of a London paper at a salary of £40 a year. After remaining in Manchester for about five years he went to London to try his fortune. Here disaster dogged everything he touched for some years, and having been unsuccessful in four journalistic ventures he became bankrupt, paying 5 shillings in the pound. But the spirit of the ambitious journalist, although bowed, was not broken, and later on, strong in the possession of the English Mechanic and the Building News, he was able to summon his old creditors together and pay them in full. From this time onward the financial position of Mr Edwards was firmly established and he rapidly rose to the top of the ladder.
He was appointed to attend the International Peace Congress at Brussels in 1848 as delegate of the London Peace Society and in the following year he was appointed to a similar congress at Paris, while a year later he attended another congress at Frankfurt-on-the-Main. These appointments afforded great delight to Mr Passmore Edwards.
From 1874 to 1880 he sat in Parliament for Salisbury in the Liberal interest. He contested Truro 12 years previous, the other candidates being the late Capt J C Walker Vivian, brother of the Lord Vivian of Glynn, of that day. Liberal, and the later Sir Frederick Martin Williams, Conservative. The working classes were strongly on his side, but he had an uphill fight, not only on account of the great influence of the Williams family, but because Captain Vivian and his supporters did not see their way to coalesce with him in consequence of his advanced views. Sir Frederick headed the poll with 731 votes, Captain Vivian followed with 683 and Mr Edwards was defeated with 406. In 1885 he accepted an invitation to contest Plymouth in the Liberal interest, in the place of Admiral Maxse, but retired in consequence of ill-health. Afterwards, however, he was induced to contest Rochester.
The benefactions of Mr Passmore Edwards to Cornwall have been numerous, his first thought being to build a convalescent home at Perranporth in memory of his mother. The first of the Passmore Edwards Libraries – they now number 25 – was set up in Whitechapel, and was opened in 1892 by Lord Rosebery. His donations of books to public libraries in general ran to some 90,000 volumes. His generosity was not limited to the giving of libraries; many cottage hospitals and convalescent homes bear his name. One of the outstanding benefits which he conferred on London was the foundation of the Passmore Edwards Settlement, where beside the organisation of clubs, classes, concerts, and lectures, attention is given to the work of local government and service on local committees. The invalid children's school attached to the Settlement was the first established in England and the children's recreation classes, to take on branch only of the work, deal with 1,500 children.
Generosity
The following is a list of buildings in Cornwall which owe their existence to his generosity: 1889 – Passmore Edwards Institute Blackwater. 1891 – Cornwall Convalescent Home Perranporth. 1892 – Miners' and Mechanics' Institute St Agnes. 1893 – Chacewater Institute. 1893 – Passmore Edwards Institute Hayle. 1893 – Falmouth Hospital. 1894 – Redruth Free Library. 1895 – Art Gallery Newlyn. 1895 – Cottage Hospital Liskeard. 1895 – Camborne Free Library. 1896 – Falmouth Free Library. 1896 – Truro Free Library. 1896 – Liskeard Free Library. 1897 St Ives Free Library. 1897 – Bodmin Free Library and Technical Institute. 1899 – Children's Hospital Redruth. 1899 – Helston Science and Art Schools. 1899 – Cornwall Central Technical Schools. 1900 – Launceston Free Library and Science and Art Schools.
Mr Edwards had conferred upon him the honorary freedom of Truro, Falmouth, Liskeard and West Ham, and was made a member of several City companies in recognition of his noble efforts in the cause of higher education. Mr Edwards was twice offered a knighthood, but humbly declined the honour.
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