The court certified to the lord-chancellor their opinion, That there is not any visitor, governor, or overseer, or visitors, governors, or overseers of the said hospital appointed, within the intent and meaning of the act of parliament made in the 43d of Eliz. c. 4. above referred to; so as to exclude the application of the powers granted by that act

The open principles upon which modern institutions of charity are established, afford to their respective gover nors an ample power of examining into their affairs, and of redressing any abuses of their laws, or misapplication of their revenues; and this is the chief reason that we seldom meet with any cases in the courts on such subjects but what relate to ancient establishments: the general meetings of the governors of modern charities possess an intire control over their whole economy, and over the powers they have delegated either to their committees, or to their officers: these powers they may at any time resume; and the wise precautions almost universally taken for official fidelity in the execution of the trust reposed, secures in addition to expulsion, the summary redress of pecuniary restitution for peculation.

Upon the whole, the subject of visitation may be reduced to these principles :

That in all institutions of a public nature, for public government, founded by charter from the crown, the king is the general visitor.

That in all private institutions (the distinction has already been fully' explained) the founder and his heirs, or the person whom he or they shall appoint, is visitor. And in default of such appointment, this visitatorial power vests in the crown.

That the visitor's power is conclusive, to redress all grievances, and decide all differences, elections, and the

like, on appeal, which must be made to him. That his decisions are without further appeal, but must be agree able to the statutes of the institution, and the laws of the realm; and if otherwise, they are then examinable by the king's courts.

And that wheresoever the king is visitor, or where no visitor is appointed, all such differences are likewise cognizable by his courts at Westminster Hall.

СНАР.

CHAP. II.

OF LEASES, &c.

33 H. 8. c. 27. Dyer, 247.

19 H. 7. c. 7.

SEVERAL statutes have limited the terms for leases of hospital lands.

The act of Hen. VIII. for leases of hospitals, colleges, and other corporations, states, that by the common laws of this realm, all assents, elections, grants, and leases made and granted by the majority of the chapter or fellows, or brethren of any cathedral church, hospital, college, or corporation, by whatsoever name incorporated, were as effectual as if the whole body assented thereto; yet divers founders had made, among their peculiar acts; local statutes, that if any one should dissent, no such lease, election, or grant should be made; to which they had been sworn, and so the residue could not proceed to the perfection thereof, without the danger of perjury; for avoiding whereof, and for the due execution of the common law universally within the realm, and every place, in one conformity of reason to be used; it is ordained, that every peculiar act or statute made by any founder, at the foundation, whereby the grant, lease, gift, or election of the governor or ruler, with the assent of the majority, having voice of assent, should be in any wise hindered by any one or more of the lesser number contrary to the common law; should be as to such statute void and no person of any such hospital, college, or corporation, should from thenceforth be compelled to

take

take an oath for the observing such order or statute, on pain to the person giving such oath, to forfeit 51.

Watson's Com,

The statute having thus confirmed the common law, in the power which reason also ascribes to the majority of every society, in all their acts, and particularly in those of leases, elections, grants, and the like; the next act 13 Eliz. c. 10. we meet with on this subject was purposely made to re- Incumb. c. 41. strain long leases of ecclesiastical lands; yet it has always 11 Co. 76. a. had a benign and favourable construction, and therefore has been held to include all manner of hospitals, be they incorporated by any name, or be they sole or aggregate. "All leases, gifts, grants, feoffments, conveyances, or estates, to be made or suffered by any master and fellows of any college, dean and chapter of any cathedral or collegiate church, or master or guardian of any hospital, parson, vicar, &c. of any houses, lands, or teneinents, Limited to 21 being part of the possessions thereof, other than for 21 years, or 3 lives. years, or three lives, from the time any such lease shall be made or granted, whereupon the accustomed yearly rent or more, shall be reserved, and payable yearly during the term, shall be utterly void." But the act does not extend to make good any university lease for more years than are limited by the private statutes of any college. Nor to any new lease made on the surrender of a former lease, or by reason of any covenant or condition contained in any lease then continuing; so that the new lease do not contain more years than the residue of the former, then continuing, shall be, at the making of such new lease, hor at a less rent.

But a subsequent statute which continues the above, declares, that this shall not extend to any grant, assurance, or lease of houses belonging to any such college, hospital, or corporation, which houses are situate in any city, or town, or suburbs, but that the same should be granted as thentofore,

2 F

Continued by

1

16 C. 1. c. 4.

14 Eliz. c. 11. sec. 17.

2 Leon.188.

Roll. 161.

3 Co. 61.

Hunt v. Single

ton.

thentoforé, according to the common law or statutes of such institution; so that such house be not the capital or dwelling-house, used for the habitation of the persons abovesaid, nor have ground thereto belonging above ten 14 Eliz. c. 12. acres :-Proviso, that no lease shall be made by force of this statute in reversion, nor without reserving the accus tomed yearly rent at the least nor without charging the lessee with the reparations, nor for longer term than forty years at the most; nor any houses shall be permitted to be aliened, unless in recompense thereof there shall be afore, with, or presently after such alienation, good, lawful, and sufficient assurance made in fee-simple, absolutely, to such colleges, houses, bodies politic or corporate, and their successors, of lands of as good value, and of as great yearly value at least, as so shall be aliened.

Cro. El. 564.

Continued by

39 Eliz. c 18.

sec. 13, 41.

16 Car. 1. c. 4. Gibs. 737.

18 Eliz c. 1. Moor, 759. Godb. 29,

Goodtitle v. Funucan. Doug 552. 1781. 1 Anders. 65,

If a corporation aggregate make a lease not warranted by this statute, it is void against themselves.

Five years had scarcely elapsed since the last act, before it was found necessary for parliament to intercept a practice which began very generally to prevail, of granting further leases of ecclesiastical lands, before the current leases had expired, which defeated the true meaning and intent of the last statute: wherefore, by another act in the year 1576, all such new leases made within three years of the period of the current lease, and all bonds and covenants for any such renewal, were declared void

Lord Mansfield, speaking of this statute, said, the words of the 13th Eliz. c. 10. strongly require ecclesiastical leases to be in possession, and not in reversion; yet all the judges held, in Fox v. Collyer, that an immediate lease for 21 years, of premises on which there was a subsisting lease for four years, was good. The 18th Eliz. c. 11. restrained the right to make such concurrent

leases