Mortmain CHAPTER X. THE REQUISITES OF CONVEYANCES OF LAND AS WITH a view to checking improvident dispositions of property in favour of charities, certain restrictions are imposed by the Mortmain Act (a) upon gifts, conveyances, and assurances of land, or money to be laid out on land, in favour of charitable uses. By several recent statutes, however, conveyances of land for a site for a place of worship are practically exempted from the provisions of the Mortmain Act, and we shall, therefore, first consider on what conditions this exemption is granted, and reserve the consideration of the requirements of the Mortmain Act itself for a later Chapter (b). By 31 & 32 Vict. c. 44 (which applies to conveyances made after the 13th of July, 31 & 32 Vict. 1868), it is provided that all alienations, grants, conveyances, leases, assurances, sur Exemptions from Mortmain Act. c. 44. (a) 8 Geo. 2, c. 36. As to the nature of the restrictions, see infra, Chap. XVI. p. 189. (b) Infra, Chap. XVI. Sites for Places of Worship. 111 Chap. X. for full value. renders, or other dispositions, except by will, bonâ fide made to a trustee or trustees on Conveyances behalf of any society or body of persons associated together for religious purposes, of land, for the erection thereon of a building for such purposes, or whereon a building used or intended to be used for such purposes, has been erected, are exempt from the provisions of the Mortmain Act and of stat. 24 & 25 Vict. c. 9, s. 2 (c), if they fulfil both of the two following conditions, namely, (i) If such alienation, grant, conveyance, lease, assurance, or other disposition has been really made for full and valuable consideration, either (a) actually paid upon or before the making thereof; or (b) reserved by way of rent, rentcharge, or other annual payment; or (c) partly paid and partly reserved as aforesaid without fraud or collusion; and (ii) If each such piece of land does not exceed two acres in extent in each case. Although conveyances which comply with Conveyances the foregoing provisions are exempted from the consideration. (c) This requires the deed declaring the trusts to be enrolled in Chancery within six months. See infra, Chap. XVI. p. 190. for nominal Chap. X. Places of Worship (Sites) Act, 1873. restriction imposed by the Mortmain Act, yet this statute makes no provision for the large class of cases in which the consideration is either nominal only or not the full value of the property. To facilitate the acquisition of sites in this and other respects the Places of Worship (Sites) Act, 1873 (36 & 37 Vict. c. 50), was passed. This Act provides that "any person or persons (a) Being seised or entitled in fee simple, fee tail, or for life or lives, of or to any manor or lands of freehold tenure; and (b) Having the beneficial interest therein ; 66 66 and (c) Being in possession for the time being; "may grant, convey, or enfranchise by way of gift, sale, or exchange, in fee simple or for any term of years, any quantity not exceeding one acre of such land, not being part of a demesne or pleasure ground attached to any mansionhouse, as a site for a church, chapel, meetinghouse, or other place of divine worship, or for the residence of a minister officiating in such place of worship or in any place of worship within one mile of such site, or for a burial place or any number of such sites, provided that each such site does not exceed the extent of one acre.' Where the conveyance under the last-men Places of Worship (Sites) Act, 1873. tioned statute is made by any person entitled only for life or lives, it is necessary to its validity that the person next entitled for a beneficial interest in remainder in fee simple or fee tail (if legally competent) shall be a party and join in it, or, if such last-mentioned person is a minor or married woman or lunatic, that the guardian, husband, or committee of such person respectively should in like manner concur. And it has been held that a father, tenant for life of a settled estate, can, as guardian by nature of his infant son, entitled to the inheritance in remainder, concur on the son's behalf in a grant by himself of part of the settled estate (d). The Act extends to lands of copyhold or customary tenure, and for this purpose it incorporates sections 95, 96, 97, and 98 of the Lands Clauses Consolidation Act, 1845 (e). 113 Chap. X. The purchase-money on such sale, enfran- To whom chisement, or exchange, is to be paid to the money to be purchaseperson selling, &c., where such person is entitled paid. in fee simple or fee tail; but if the person selling, &c., is entitled for life or lives only, it is to be paid to the existing trustees or (d) Re Marquis of Salisbury and The Ecclesiastical Commissioners, 2 Ch. D. 29. (e) These sections deal with the enfranchisement of copyholds. Chap. X. Persons equitably entitled. Married women. Infants and lunatics. trustee (if any) of the instrument under which such person is so entitled, and if there be no such existing trustees or trustee it is to be paid to two or more trustees to be nominated in writing by the person making such sale, &c. (f). The receipt of the persons to whom such money is required to be paid will effectually discharge the purchasers from all liability in respect of its application (ƒ). The Act contains the following additional provisions (g) :— 1. Persons equitably entitled may convey without the trustees joining in the con veyance; 2. Where a married woman is possessed of (f) 36 & 37 Vict. c. 50, s. 2. (g) Ibid. s. 3. (h) This seems to exclude exchange or enfranchisement, and, of course, excludes gifts. |