establishment are defrayed by a considerable sum paid yearly out of the poundage of the army, and one day's pay of each officer and soldier.

The act of incorporation of Guy's Hospital establishes and recites the will of Thomas Guy, Esq. who had, during his life-time, erected, at his own expence, two squares of the hospital, called by his name, in the parish of St. Thomas, in Southwark, and thereby devised the residue of his estates, said to be of about the value of 200,000l. to trustees to erect and compleat the plan which he had formed for an hospital for the reception of 400 poor persons, or upwards, labouring under any distempers, infirmities, or disorders, thought capable of relief by physic or surgery, but who, by reason of the small hopes there might be of their cure, or the length of time which might be required for that purpose might be adjudged or called incurable, and as such, not proper objects to be received into, or continued in the hospital of St.Thomas, or other hospitals, in which no provision had been made for distempers deemed incurable, of whom he directs them to receive twenty lunatics deemed incurable; and if there should be room, then to receive any number of patients from St. Thomas's Hospital; and he ordered the trustees to apply for letters-patent, or an act of incorporation, to enable them to hold, take, alien, and dispose of his residuary estates, and therewith to purchase, take, and enjoy messuages and lands, and other estates of inheritance in perpetuity, or otherwise, to the value of the said residuary part of his estates, or such further or other yearly value as his majesty or the legislature might deem convenient; that his residuary estate should then be conveyed to the said trustees for the charitable uses which he had ap pointed; and that they should invest any surplus in the purchase of real estates, as a perpetual provision for the

maintenance

maintenance and cure of the poor sick persons to be received into the said hospital; and if there should be more money than should be requisite for those purposes, to apply the surplus to the relief of such other poor sick persons, or such other objects of compassion, as should appear to the governors so incorporated to be most worthy and deserving of pity and relief, or for such other public and charitable purposes as they should think convenient. The governors were, by this act, enabled to hold his estates for the use of the hospital, and to sell and invest the produce in other lands, with all the usual powers of a corporation.

It would extend this work far beyond the limits of its utility to notice every institution which has been privileged by incorporation, with licence to purchase, hold, and alienate lands in mortmain; more especially as that single fact has very seldom furnished a ground for application to either of the Courts of Judicature, or led to any parliamentary discussion of their rights; it has therefore been deemed preferable to close this part of our investigation.

OF

MORTMAIN

AND

CHARITABLE USES.

PART II.

CHAP. I.

OF THE STATUTE OF 9 GEO. 11. c. 36.

THE present act of mortmain originated in the House of Commons; and when it was first proposed, it was considerably more comprehensive than when it passed into a law; for the exempting clauses in favour of the universities and colleges therein-mentioned were the result of several petitions against it: as they subsisted by charitable donations, they were reasonably alarmed at the consequences, which they apprehended would prove fatal to their future progress, and several amendments were made in it before it received the royal assent.

in

The bill was first proposed, and leave given to bring it 10 Smol'et,537. on the 5th March, 1735, O. S. and Messrs. Ord, Glan

ville, and Plumer, with the assistance of Sir Joseph Jekyl, master of the rolls, were ordered to prepare the same. On the 18th it was read a second time, and ordered to be committed to a committee of the whole house,

Journ. Dom.
Com.

On the 26th of March, 1736, O. S. a petition against it was presented from the university of Oxford, stating, that the petitioners were by their constitution entirely founded in charity, and must ever continue to depend upon it; and that notwithstanding the large benefactions with which they had been formerly endowed, yet many of the societies were so meanly provided for, that the pious designs of their founders must remain imperfect without future benefactions, which had been found by long experience to arise by low degrees; that they hoped, when their case should be duly considered, they would not be thought to be within any of the general mischiefs that might arise from alienations in mortmain; that as their present possessions were inconsiderable, in respect of the great number of persons who were maintained out of them, and as the donations they then enjoyed, as well as those they might thereafter receive, must be solely appropriated to the advancement of religion and learning, they hoped that no difficulties or discouragements would be put in the way of those whose pious and charitable intentions might dispose them to give their assistance towards rendering the university in general, as well as the several societies of it, more instrumental in promoting those great and necessary ends, and therefore praying to be exempted from the restraints mentioned in the bill. This petition was immediately referred to a committee of the whole house.

On the 2d of April a petition was also presented by the governors of Queen Anne's bounty, praying that their rights might also be saved. And on a motion of reference to a committee of the whole house, that was negatived, there being 95 ayes and 143 noes. It was therefore ordered to lie on the table.

On the 5th of April an address was voted for a return of what licences had been granted by the crown, and for

what