and he has, by this enquiry and reform alone, saved the Unity thousands of pounds, without at the same time compromising the honour or dignity of the Order. The present (247th) general law, containing the scale by which travellers are now paid was proposed and carried by Mr. Webb at the Bradford A.M.C., in 1843, and has never been disturbed since. Although the amount paid may seem low, a much larger sum could not be paid, with our present income, without serious detriment to the Unity, as was proved by the Isle of Man A.M.C., which granted one shilling and sixpence per day to each traveller, and which rule had to be suspended at the end of two months, as it would inevitably have devoured the larger portion of the funds of the Unity. It has been stated that prior to Mr. Webb taking up this question of travelling relief, the Order paid upwards of £6,000 per annum; but according to the statistics of our able C.S., Henry Ratcliffe, it will be seen, in the last quarterly (April) report that the average for the last seven years amounted to £388 7s. 74d. These figures will tell their own tale.

Mr. Webb has also from the first taken an active part in the reduction of the initiation fee for young members. When this question was introduced, (by P.P.G.M. Aitken, Ashton-under-Lyne, in 1847,) he drew up an elaborate comparative table showing the advantages to be derived by the admission of young members, and forwarded the same to the Oxford A.M.C., by the late lamented P.G.M. John Bradley; this document was used in the discussion, and aided at the Preston A.M.C. in reducing the guinea fee.

Mr. Webb has attended the following Annual Meetings, in all of which he has taken an active part in the progressive principles which make the Independent Order of Odd-fellows stand out in bold relief from all other institutions organised for similar purposes:-viz., York, Bradford, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Halifax, Dublin, Lincoln, Leicester, and Shrewsbury. During the past year, Mr. Webb has materially assisted in raising the sum of fifty pounds towards a new District Infirmary now in the course of erection at Ashton-under-Lyne, which sum. as recorded in these pages, was presented by the Hyde District to the Institution at a concert and soiree held in the Mechanics' Institution on the 28th of February last. On the same evening the members presented Mr. Webb with a handsome gold watch and chain valued at twenty-six guineas, as an acknowledgment of his faithful and zealous services to the District and Order for upwards of 24 years. It may be truly said that no man has more hardly earned a tribute of gratitude from his fellow members than has Mr. Webb. Through his energy, perseverance, and the respect in which he is held by all classes in Hyde and the neighbourhood, he has been the principal cause of the establishment of a Savings' Bank in Hyde, for the purpose of affording to Friendly Societies and the labouring classes, a secure and profitable investment of such sums of money as they may be able to save. So highly did all classes think of his untiring energy and selfabnegation in this matter, that they voluntarily presented him with a purse of twenty pounds for his services. Such is a brief outline of the career of Mr. Webb, of whom it may be said, as Othello said of himself, he has “done the state some service, and they know it.” Such men are a credit to our institution, and an ornament to society; and we heartily wish the veteran long life and happiness. May his example be followed by many aspiring members of the Manchester Unity.

THE LAW OF TRUSTEES.

"Ir is a true act of friendship to accept an onerous trust. In the creation of a trust, the person whose property is to be the subject of it, has to weigh well how far he can confide in the integrity of the proposed trustee; and, to guard as well against dishonesty as against death, or an inability or unwillingness to continue a trustee, more than one is generally appointed. On the other hand, the proposed trustee has to reflect upon the liabilities which he will incur. He may well hesitate, for he can hardly have lived long in society without meeting with some family whose prospects in life have been destroyed by an innocent error of the head of the house, in the execution of a trust.”*

These important remarks of a great authority deserve much consideration, and have more application to our modern Friendly Societies than the generality of members commonly suppose. It should be well understood, that such societies as have not received the legal certificate of a Registrarand they are not few, but many-are really private partnerships; having trusts to be executed, with regard to which the trustees are amenable to the common rules and jurisdiction of the courts of law and equity. And those societies which are registered are also subject to these laws, but have, at the same time, the advantages afforded by the Friendly Societies' Acts, and the uniform rules, certified by the Registrar, for their guidance. This, however, is certain, that even registered societies will not be wise to act on all their rules, although passed by a Registrar. And the unregistered societies, as well as the registered, must bestow more attention than they have, up to the present time, to the subject of this paper, before trustees can be said to have that reasonable protection to which they are clearly entitled, or members feel secure and satisfied as to the position of the invested capital, or surplus funds, or whatever other term may be used to designate that which lawyers call the Trust Estate.

Almost any person may be a trustee; the chief exception being that aliens cannot as to real estate. It is good public policy which debars them from purchasing and legally holding land, and what they cannot do themselves they are not allowed to undertake for others, because fictitious trusts might be created to defeat the object of the laws, and to such an extent as to leave the soil of the country in the possession of foreigners and enemies.

Before a person can be a trustee, he is appointed by some deed, will, or other instrument, or authorised so to act, and he usually shews his acceptance of the trust by doing some act, such as proving the will, taking possession of the deed and estate, or discharging the necessary duties of his office. Once a trustee, he cannot divest himself of that character till he has performed the trust, unless with the consent of the Court of Chancery, or of his "cestui que trust," which words are commonly used, and are well understood, legally, to signify the person who is the real, substantial, and beneficial owner of the property held in trust. A trustee is not allowed to take remuneration by way of recompense or salary, but he may defray and reimburse himself, out of the trust funds, expenses legitimately and properly incurred. He is required to use customary care and diligence-that which is usually exercised by men of ordinary prudence and vigilance in the manage ment of their own affairs. If he omits to sell property when it ought to be sold, and it is afterwards lost, though without his fault, he is liable, because the loss, though not directly occasioned by his default, would never have happened had he not failed in strictly performing his duty.

Lord St. Leonards' Handy Book.

It is a strict rule of the Court of Chancery, that property under its control shall be invested on real security, or in the three per cent. consols, and it is an established duty on the part of trustees so to invest. If a trustee invests, or even suffers money previously invested to remain on unauthorised security, (which means any other kind of security than those just mentioned,) and such security afterwards fails, he will be liable, as he will also for the fluctuations of any unauthorised fund. To this, however, there is an exception by reason of the Act 22 and 23 Vic., cap. 35, (1859), which provides that where a trustee shall not, by the instrument creating his trust, be expressly forbidden to invest on real securities in any part of the United Kingdom, or in the stocks of the Eank of England, (including the New India Stock), it shall be lawful for him to invest the Trust Fund on such securities or stocks; but this sweeping measure is considered, by eminent lawyers, so contrary to the rules of equity, that parliament will probably repeal it. In the meantime, although the Court of Chancery will not permit or direct trustees to make such investments, it is understood that trustees, acting on their own account, will not be made liable or acts done whilst the statute is in operation, if they plead it. A trustee, authorised to invest on mortgage of real estate, should take security on land of the value of one third more than the money advanced; and if the security be on houses of fluctuating value, he should see that, under no circumstances, can it be reduced below the value of the money advanced; for if of a mill, or factory, or houses at a watering place, or the like, he may have the mortgage thrown on him, and be made responsible for the money advanced. The Court of Chancery has lately decided in a case where a trustee was directed to invest in the Public Funds, or on Government Securities, or on security of real or leasehold property in England and Wales, he was not authorised to invest upon security of railway mortgages, under the Companies' Clauses Consolidation Act, or on Great Northern Railway Debenture Stock. If authorised to lend on personal security, a trustee is not to do so to the husband who is engaged in trade, or to a trading concern. When trustees are directed to invest on Government Securities or on real estate, and they do not, they are responsible either for the money, at four per cent, or the stock which might have been bought when the investment should have been made, and the dividends. A trustee is never permitted to make any profit to himself, in any of the concerns of his trust, and if any advantage is gained by him, it belongs to the cestui que trust. Hence he is accountable for all interest which he ought to have made, and would have made, by investing the property on the security directed by the instrument creating the trust, or on authorised security, (as before stated), where there is no direction as to the mode of investment. He will also be answerable for any interest and gains beyond, which he has obtained through the trust property, if the amount of such extra interest and gains can be ascertained, or be made to pay interest.

Where there are two or more trustees, it is the duty of each to see that the property is duly secured or rightly applied. If, by the act or consent of one, the Trust Fund is paid over to the other, and he who receives misapplies or wastes it, each will be accountable for the whole, except where money is remitted to a co-trustee, to be paid by him in his neighbourhood, and where it would naturally have been remitted (instead of undertaking a journey) by the sender, had it been his own money. If one trustee improperly suffer another to detain trust money in his own hands, or lend it him, or join in lending to any one else, on insufficient security, each will be liable for the whole loss which may happen. If it be mutually agreed by trustees that one shall have the sole management of one part of the trust property, and the other of another part, each will be liable for any loss, because the party not acting was in fault for giving the other the power, and exposing him to the

temptation to commit a breach of trust. A trustee is responsible for his own acts and defaults, and for those wrongful acts and defaults of his co-trustees to which he is privy, and in which, though without any corrupt motive, he expressly, tacitly, or virtually acquiesces, or which would not have happened but for his own act or default. Each of the trustees jointly implicated in a breach of trust is responsible for the entire loss, and liable to make it good, and the cestui que trust may proceed against any or either of them singly or separately, even against the less guilty, and he who is compelled to make good the loss may seek contribution from the others. But if a trustee has not failed in doing a palpable duty, and has invested the trust property on good security, he will not be answerable for losses which happen without any want of customary care or diligence. The rule is, that where a trustee acts by other hands, either from necessity or in the common usages of mankind, he is not answerable. If, for instance, he deposit money with a banker in good credit, to be remitted by bill drawn by a person of good credit, and the banker or drawer should become bankrupt, the trustee would not be responsible, Where a trustee places trust money in the hands of a banker, he should take care to keep it separate from his own. If mixed in a common account, he would be deemed to have treated the whole as his own, be charged with interest, and liable for any loss by the banker's insolvency. Where a general trust of a public nature is created, it has been decided to be essential to the purposes of the trust, that a majority of the trustees should have the power, both in law and in equity, of binding the minority, and it is not, therefore, likely that the minority would be held responsible.

If a cestui que trust for a long time acquiesces in a trustee's misconduct, with full knowledge of it, a court of equity will not relieve in such a case. The court will not visit a trustee with the consequences of a breach of trust committed with the sanction or by the desire of the cestui que trust, or of one committed without such sanction or desire, if when it comes to the knowledge of the cestui que trust he has acquiesced in, and obtained the benefit of it for a long period. Every one who acquires personal property by a breach of trust of an executor, if he is a party to the breach, is responsible to those who are rightly entitled to the property. He who acquires it is not a party to the breach by buying or receiving as a pledge, because a sale or pledge is consistent with the duty of an executor, but by accepting the trust estate, knowing it to be such, in satisfaction of a private debt, or the like.

A trustee should have all documents of title; it is, in fact, his duty to keep them. He is bound to render every necessary information relating to the trust estate, and if he have it not, he is bound to ask for, and, if practicable, to obtain it. He may sell the trust property, or mortgage it, without giving notice of the trust; but the property will not be affected by any claim of creditors against the trustee. If he purchase from his cestui que trust, even at a public auction, the dealing must be fair, and both parties have equal knowledge, or the cestui que trust has the option of taking to or repudiating the transaction.

Where trustees neglect or refuse to do their duty, or misconduct themselves, or mismanage the property, new trustees will be appointed by the Court of Chancery. The Court will assist trustees and protect them, when they ask its aid and direction, to establish, manage, or execute the trust, and in any doutful case it is best to ask for that direction. A cheap and summary mode is now provided by section 30, of the Act of 1859, before referred to, by which any trustee may apply to a judge of the Court for the opinion, advice, or direction of such judge, on any question respecting the management or administration of the trust property; and a trustee so applying is considered to have discharged his duty, and is indemnified. And it is to be observed,

that a trustee is not protected from the consequence of a breach of trust, even if he honestly takes and follows the advice of a solicitor or counsel, or means to assist or accommodate the cestui que trust.

Until lately, the liability created by a breach of trust was only regarded as a simple contract debt; but by the Act 20 and 21 Vic., cap. 54, "if any person being a trustee, for the benefit, either wholly or partially, of some other person, or for any public or charitable purpose, shall, with intent to defraud, convert or appropriate the property, or any part thereof, to or for his own use or purposes, or shall, with intent aforesaid, otherwise dispose of or destroy such property, or any part thereof, he shall be guilty of a misdemeanour," and may be punished with penal servitude for three years, or imprisonment, with or without hard labour, for not more than two years, or be fined. The country is mainly indebted for this to the present Attorney-General, Sir Richard Bethell; and though a severe measure, Lord St. Leonards well remarks, "that no trustee, acting with common honesty, need fear its provisions."

It might appear from the foregoing, that the law is "more prompt to punish than to protect trustees," but this is really not so. They are entitled, as before stated, to the aid and protection of the Court of Chancery, without expense to themselves; and by the Trustee Relief Act, they may voluntarily pay into Court the Trust Funds, in any case, leaving to the parties entitled to apply to the court, and establish their right to the property; but before doing so, they are bound to make every diligent enquiry for the party properly entitled, and hand over the property, according to the trust, in any reasonable way they may be directed. If also a trustee has any fair and honest doubt as to performing his trust, he may decline to act, and leave the cestui que trust to their remedy, by applying to the Court, under Sir George Turner's Act, for appointing a new trustee, or otherwise; but a trustee must not be guilty of causing unreasonable obstruction to vesting the property in any other properly appointed person, or he may have to pay all expenses he may occasion.

Having thus touched upon the main points of law affecting ordinary trustees, it remains to state those which relate to trustees of legally registered societies. The principal Act, the 18 and 19 Vic., cap. 63, enacts as follows :

Rule to appoint and remove Trustees. Sec. 25.-The rules of any Friendly Society shall set forth a provision for the appointment and removal of a

trustee or trustees.

Appointment of Trustees. Sec. 17.-Every society established under this Act shall at some meeting of its members, and by resolution of a majori of those present, appoint a trustee or trustees for the said society, and the like in the case of any vacancy. A copy of the resolution so appointing a person or persons to the office of trustee signed by such trustee or trustees, and by the secretary, shall be sent to the Registrar, to be by him deposited with the rules. Where no trustee shall have been appointed in any society established under previous Acts, the treasurer or other person who has custody of the monies shall be taken to be a trustee.

Property vested in Trustees. Sec. 18.-All real and personal estate belonging to any society shall be vested in such trustee or trustees for the time being for the use and benefit of such society and the members thereof, and the real and personal estate of any branch of a society shall be vested in the trustees of such branch and be under the control of such trustees; and upon the death or removal of any trustee or trustees the same shall vest in those succeeding for the same estate and subject to the same trusts without any conveyance or assignment whatsoever, save and except in the case of stocks and securities of the Public Funds of Great Britain and Ireland which shall be transferred into the name or names of such new trustee or trustees. In all actions or suits or indictments or summary proceedings before magistrates concerning any