Administra tive powers. Judicial powers. They have also extensive powers with regard to the regulation and management of charity property. They may authorise sales (8), leases (t), exchanges (u), partitions (~), repairs and improvements (y), mortgages (2), purchases of sites (a), redemption of rent-charges (), or the application of the charity funds to any objects which the Board may consider beneficial, and which are not inconsistent with the trusts (c). They have also various other powers, such as to authorise trustees to remove schoolmasters and other officers of charities (d), to sanction compromises (e), refer bills of costs for taxation (ƒ), and regulate legal proceedings (g). By sect. 2 of the Charitable Trusts Act, 1860 (1), the Board are empowered to make such orders as may be made by a judge at chambers, or a County Court, for the appointment or removal of trustees of a charity, or for the removal of a schoolmaster, mistress, or other officer, or for or relating to the assurance, transfer, payment, or vesting of any real or personal estate belonging thereto, or entitling the official trustees of charitable funds, or any other trustees, to call for a transfer of and to transfer any stock belonging to such estate, or for the establishment of a scheme for the administration of a charity. The Board, however, must notify to the trustees or administrators of the charity (except such as have been privy to the application) (i) their intention of exercising such jurisdiction (j); and no order may be made with respect to a charity of which the gross revenue shall amount to fifty pounds or upwards, except upon the application of the trustees, or a majority of them, in writing if unincorporated, or under their seal if incorporated, and the Board may not remove any trustee on the ground only of his religious belief (). Nor are they bound to exercise jurisdiction in contentious cases (7). (8) Charit. Trusts Act, 1853, ss. 24, 26; Charit. Trusts Amend. Act, 1855, ss. 29, 38. (t) Charit. Trusts Act, 1853, ss. 21, 26; Charit. Trusts Amend. Act, 1855, ss. 29, 38, 39. (u) Charit. Trusts Act, 1853, ss. 24, (x) Charit. Trusts Amend. Act, 1855, (a) Charit. Trusts Act, 1853, s. 27. A right of appeal by way of petition to the Chancery Division Appeal. from any order of the Charity Commissioners is given to the Attorney-General or to any person authorised by him or the commissioners (m). missioners not The rule in regard to an appeal from the Charity Commissioners Discretion of is the same as in the case of an appeal from a Court of first Charity Cominstance to the Court of Appeal (n). The discretion of the com- interfered missioners is not interfered with unless a strong case of mistake or miscarriage is made out (»). The same rule applies in the case of appeals under the Endowed Schools Acts (p). with on appeal. The jurisdiction of the commissioners extends to charities founded Extent of and endowed in England or Wales, although the revenues are jurisdiction. applied abroad, and, it seems, also to charities founded and endowed abroad if the revenues are applied in England or Wales (9). Their jurisdiction does not, of course, extend to charities ex empted from the operation of the Charitable Trusts Acts ("). Charities vested in corporations, who, either solely or jointly Corporations. with others, are recipients of the benefits thereof, are subject to the authority of the Commissioners (s); and words in the Charitable Trusts Acts applying to a person or individual apply also to a corporation, whether sole or aggregate (t). The Charity Commissioners have also power to apportion paro- Apportionchial charities with a gross annual income not exceeding 307., after ment. a division of parishes (u); and also to apportion Roman Catholic charities, partly applicable to superstitious uses, and to apply the part so applicable to lawful charitable trusts (x). The Commissioners are also authorised to receive and consider Applications applications for their advice and direction concerning charities, and for advice and persons acting on their advice are indemnified (y). (m) Charit. Trusts Act, 1860, s. 8, and notes thereto, post; and Charit. Trusts Act, 1869, s. 10, post. See also sect. 9 of the Charit. Trusts Act, 1860; and sect. 11 of the Charit. Trusts Act, 1869, post; and see Re Hackney Charities, 4 De G. J. & S. 588; and ibid. 10 Jur. N. S. 941, cited in note (1) to sect. 8 of the Charit. Trusts Act, 1860, post. (n) Re Burnham National Schools, L. R. 17 Eq. 241. And see Att.-Gen. v. Bishop of Manchester, L. R. 3 Eq. 436. (0) Re Burnham National Schools, supra; Re Hackney Charities, 34 L. J. Ch. at pp. 177, 178; Re Campden Charities, 18 Ch. D. 310. (p) Ross v. Charity Commissioners, 7 App. Cas. at p. 468; Re St. Leonard, direction. Arbitration. Applications to Courts now Questions or disputes among the members of a charity, whether within or not within the operation of the Charitable Trusts Acts, in relation to any office, or the fitness, disqualification, election or removal of a trustee or other officer, or otherwise in relation to the management of the charity, may be referred to the Charity Commissioners, and their award is final, and may be made a rule of Court (2). The jurisdiction given by the Charitable Trusts Acts to the comparatively Charity Commissioners has rendered applications to the Court in regard to matters which can be dealt with by the Commissioners of rare occurrence (a). rare. Endowed &c. The Commissioners have also had large additional powers conSchools Acts, ferred upon them by the Endowed Schools Acts, the Allotments Extension Act, 1882, the City of London Parochial Charities Act, 1883, and the Municipal Corporations Act, 1883. With regard to these powers reference is made to Part III. of this Book, where all the Acts are set out in full, and the different sections annotated. (2) Charit. Trusts Act, 1853, s. 64, post; Charit. Trusts Amend. Act, 1855, s. 46, post. (a) See Introd. to Part III. of this Book, post. CHAPTER V. CONSTRUCTION AND ASCERTAINMENT OF TRUSTS. master held A GIFT to the schoolmaster of a particular school by name of Gift to schoolfive pounds yearly, for teaching three boys, has been held not to gift for be a gift to the particular schoolmaster, but to the school itself, school. for teaching three boys in succession (a). Similarly, a gift to the Gift to parish parish church of St. Andrew, Holborn, was construed to be a gift to the parson and parishioners of that parish and their successors for ever (b). church. A gift to the "poorest" of the testator's relations or kindred "Poorest" must, in order to be charitable, be construed to be a gift to such of of a class. them as are actually poor (c). Poor relations becoming rich, or the representatives of deceased poor relations, must be excluded (d). A gift "for the use and benefit of the poorest of my kindred, such as are not able to work for their living, viz., sick, aged, and impotent persons, and such as cannot maintain their own charge," was construed to be a gift for the kindred of the testator, poor according to the definition in the will (e). And there being a further direction that in distributing the estate "to the poor charitable uses," poor, aged, and impotent kindred should be chiefly preferred, it was held that the gift was for necessitous and disabled poor, with a preference in favour of kinsmen (ƒ). of testator's Where a testator gave lands to a college of a university for the Gift to college only use, education in piety and learning of the descendants of the for education brothers and sisters of the testator, and of his two wives, and in descendants. default of such to their poor kindred, it was held that descendants claiming the benefit of the gift must become members of and be educated at the college (g). (a) Cheeseman v. Partridge, 1 Atk. 436. (b) Ibid. at p. 437. See Att.-Gen. v. Cock, 2 Ves. Sen. 273; Re Parker's Charity, 32 Beav. 654; and cf. cases cited ante, p. 8. (c) Att.-Gen. v. Duke of Northumberland, 7 Ch. D. 745, overruling the dictum of Wickens, V.-C., in Gillam v. Taylor, L. R. 16 Eq. 581. See also Isaac v. Parishioner. Immaterial If the qualification for partaking in a charity is being a “parishioner," that word will be construed in its ordinary sense of a person occupying premises liable to be rated in the parish (h). Where the requisite qualification is in fact possessed, the object how qualifica- Gift to charitable corporation impressed with trust for charity. Where a gift is simply made to a charitable corporation, the subject-matter of the gift is at once impressed with a trust for the charitable purposes for which the corporation was created (j). It seems that when the intention is to constitute a charity to Land may be endure for ever, an estate in fee simple will pass without words of conveyed to charity in fee limitation, even though the grantees are not a corporation (). without words The same was the case with wills made before the Wills Act (1). of limitation. Reparation of building. Reparation and ornament of church. The reason given is, that in the case of charities the Court looks to the intention, and carries that into effect without regard to the form (k). Where a bequest is given for the "reparation" of a building, that word is not confined merely to repairing the old building, but may extend to cover the erection of a new (m). In Re Palatine Estate Charity (n), the meaning of "reparations, ornaments, and other necessary occasions" was discussed, and it was held that the erection of a spire came within those words. It was also held that the salaries of the sexton and verger, so far as their services related to the fabric of the church, might under those words continue to be paid, but not that of the organist or bellringer (0). Rule as to receipt of parochial relief. Receipt of Parochial Relief. As a rule persons receiving parochial relief are not entitled to the benefit of a charity intended for the poor (p). (h) Etherington v. Wilson, 1 Ch. D. 160. See further as to the meaning of "parishioner" and "inhabitant," post, p. 208. (i) Etherington v. Wilson, supra. (j) Incorporated Society v. Richards, 1 Dr. & W. at p. 294. See also Att.-Gen. v. Sidney Sussex Coll., L. R. 4 Ch. at pp. 730 seq.; Re Douglas, Obert v. Barrow, 29 Ch. D. 560; and cf. Sonley v. Clockmakers' Co., 1 Bro. C. C. 81. (k) Att.-Gen. v. Corporation of Berwick- (1) 7 Will. IV. & 1 Vict. c. 26. (n) Supra. (0) With regard to the meaning of "ornaments," see Westerton v. Liddell, Moore's Rep. (1857) 156; Phill. Eccles. Law, vol. i. pp. 920, 924, 932. See also Woodward v. Makepeace, 1 Salk. 164. (p) Att.-Gen. v. Price, 3 Atk. at p. 110; Att.-Gen. v. Clarke, Amb. 422; Bishop of Hereford v. Adams, 7 Ves. 324; Att.Gen. v. Gutch, cited Shelf. Mortm., p. 628; Att.-Gen. v. Corporation of Exeter, 3 Russ. at p. 396; Re Sekforde's Charity, 4 L. T. Ñ. S. 321; Att.-Gen. v. Brandreth, 1 Y. & C. C. C. 200; Att.Gen. v. Corporation of Rochester, 5 De G. M. & G. 797; Att.-Gen. v. Leage, App. III. to this Book, post. |