"also to purchase and hold in mortmain, in perpetuity, "or otherwise, any lands of whomsoever the same shall "be holden, which shall not be subject to forfeiture by "reason of such alienation or acquisition." This right remains appended to the royal prerogative, and is recognised and established in these cases*.

c. 17.

32 H. 8. c. 12.

C. 20.

1 Eliz. C. 4.

11.

Notwithstanding the many attempts to settle a 26 H. 6. c. 3. proper support for the clergy since the reformation, 27 H. 8. c. 6. government had never been able to attain this point; c. 47. by reason whereof, divers mean and stipendiary preachers 2 & 3 Edw. 6. were in many places entertained to serve the cures, 7 Edw. 6. c. 4. and officiate therein; who depending for their necessary maintenance upon the good will and liking of their hearers, had been under temptation of too much complying and suiting their doctrines and teaching to the humours, rather than the good, of their hearers, which had been a great occasion of faction and schism, and contempt of the ministry: wherefore queen Anne, 2 & 3 Ann. c, desirous of rendering the clergy more independent, A. D. 1703. had remitted the first-fruits and tenths of poor clergy; and by this act relinquished her whole revenue arising from that source, for the purpose of erecting à corporation, to appropriate the same for a perpe tual augmentation of the maintenance of poor clergy, in places where the same are not sufficiently provided for: the act empowers the queen to institute such a corporation, and authorizes all persons charitably disposed towards so good a work, to grant or devise their lands or goods, for the purpose of carrying its designs into execution, notwithstanding the restraints of wortTM Sec. 4.

main.

In consequence of this act, the queen, by letters-patent,

This subject will be more fully noticed in treating of purchasing lands, in Part II. c. i. s. 2.

erected

5 Ann. c. 24. A. D. 1706.

Cap. 25.

6 Ann. c. 27.

erected the corporation, known by the title of Queen Anne's bounty;" but the terms of the act being generally expressed, and without any exceptions as to the poorer clergy having small livings, they were still liable to the payment of this duty, which their incomes could but ill support; and several of them were, in consequence, held by sequestration by temporary curates, without being regularly filled by institution and induction; wherefore a new act was made three years afterwards, exempting all livings of less value than 50l. per annum from the payment of this contribution; but this exemption was not to extend to the tenths of any benefice granted away by the queen's predecessors to any person or corporation. And by the next act, the same bounty was carried into Ireland.

A subsequent statute passed in the following year recites, that the clause of exemption mentioned in the above act was intended only to save the rights of such persons who had grants of the first-fruits of any such benefice from the crown previous to that act; but forasmuch as the said first-fruits, the tenths whereof were so granted, were, notwithstanding such grants, reserved to the crown, and were then granted by her majesty to the governors of Queen Anne's bounty, for the augmentation of the maintenance of the poor clergy and their successors; and forasmuch as the discharging of the first-fruits and arrears thereof of small livings, the tenths of which were not vested in the said governors, would be a proper augmentation of the same: it is enacted, that all ecclesiastical benefices, with cure of souls, not exceeding the improved value of 50l. the tenths wheref are not vested in the corporation, and the incumbents thereof should be for ever discharged from the first-fruits; and the time for payment of such first-fruits,

as

'as remained liable, of considerable benefices, was extended by instalments to be within the space of four

years.

This bounty was designed to extend not only to parsons and vicars who come in by presentation or collation, institution and induction, but likewise to such ministers as come in by donation, or are only stipendiary preachers or curates, officiating in any church or chapel where the liturgy of the church of England is used, most of which were not corporations, nor had a legal succession, and were therefore incapable of taking a grant or conveyance of such perpetual augmentation, agreeably to the queen's intentions; and in many places it would be in the power of the impropriator, donor, parson or vicar, to withdraw the allowance paid to the minister or curate serving the cure; or in case of a chapelry, the incumbent of the mother church might refuse to employ a curate, or permit a minister duly nominated or licensed, to officiate in such augmented chapel, and might officiate there himself, and take the benefit of the augmentation, though his living be above the value of those intended to be first augmented, and the maintenance of the curate or minister would thus sink instead of being augmented: wherefore, in a subsequent statute reciting these circum- 1 Geo. 1. c. 10. stances, brobably from facts which had already happened, it was declared, that all churches, curacies, or chapels, which should at any time receive the intended augmentation, should then become perpetual cures and benefices, and the, ministers thereof be deemed in law bodies politic and corporate, and have perpetual succession, and legal capacity to take in perpetuity, all lands, tithes, &c. which should be granted to, or purchased for them, by the governors or benefactors of Queen Anne's bounty, or other persons contributing with them; and

the

S. 4.

A. D. 1714.

Sect. 13.

Sec. 21.

A.D. 1716.

the impropriators or patrons be excluded from receiving any profits thereof, directly or indirectly. That the incumbent, patron, or ordinary of any augmented living, might, with the concurrence of the governors of this charity, exchange all or any part of the estate settled for the augmentation thereof, for any other estate, in lands or tithes of equal or greater value, to be conveyed to the same uses: and that all lands granted for such augmentations by the governors to any church or chapel, by deed inrolled in chancery within six months afterwards, should go in perpetual succession thereto.

It was, however, found, that the laws for the colleca G. 1. c. 10. tion of the perpetual yearly tenths were in some cases defective, and in many instances improper and inconvenient to be put in execution; by reason whereof, the late queen's intentions could not be so easily answered, unless some new regulations were made for the more easy levying and paying the same; for remedy whereof, and that the governors might be better enabled to execute the trust in them reposed, and the poor clergy with greater ease and advantage receive the benefit of this bounty, a new collector was appointed, instead of the archbishops and bishops, who had before received the contributions, and he was directed, to pay the same into the exchequer; and thus it continues at this -day.

The augmentations made by this corporation are by way of purchase, not by pension; and the stated sum to be allowed to each cure to be augmented is 2001. to be invested by the corporation in a purchase. In order to encourage benefactions, the governors are authorised to give 2001. to cures not exceeding 451. per annum, where any person will give the same or a greater sum, or the value thereof in hands, tithes, or rent-hargçes.

All

All charitable gifts in real or personal estate made to the corporation are to be strictly applied according to the direction of the donor; and where the gift is generally to the corporation, without any particular direction, it is applied with the rest of the stock of the society. And the parson whose cure is augmented by this bounty is to receive the augmentation free from all fees of office. And the governors may now contract for the redemption 42 G. 3. c. 116, of their land-tax.

S. 15.

In order to promote the residence of the clergy where 43 G. 3. c. 107. there is no suitable parsonage-house, the governors are authorised to apply money in their hands towards building, rebuilding, or purchasing such a house within the parish; and the provisions of the statute of 2 and 3 Anne, c. 11. s. 4. are now by this act extended to enable minors, insane and feme coverts, to grant lands to the society, notwithstanding the act of mortmain, 9 G. II. c. 36.

The first notice of Chelsea college, by parliament, 7 Ja. 1. c. 8. was in 1609, when a private act passed for empowering certain persons to bring fresh streams of water, by engine, from Hackney Marsh to London, for the benefit of Chelsea college. That a college for polemical, divinity to vindicate the reformation, with power to take lands - not exceeding 3000l. should be erected there, and a trench dug for carrying water from the river Lee to London, to maintain it. This college was afterwards relinquished. Parliament gave authority to the crown G. 1. c. 20to incorporate the commissioners of these water-works, 1721. by letters-patent: and to enable them to purchase lands of 1000l. per annum, and to make bye-laws for, their regulation. The present college for disabled soldiers was founded by Car. II, and superseded the original design; and besides contributions, the charges of this national establishment

8