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4. Any married woman, or any woman about to be married, may apply in writing to the directors or managers of any incorporated or joint stock company that any fully paid up shares, or any debenture or debenture stock, or any stock of such company, to the holding of which no liability is attached, and to which the woman so applying is entitled, may be registered in the books of the said company in the name or intended name of the woman as a married woman entitled to her separate use, and it shall be the duty of such directors or managers to register such shares or stock accordingly, and the same upon being so registered shall be deemed to be the separate property of such woman, and shall be transferred and the dividends and profits paid as if she were an unmarried woman; provided that if any such investment as last mentioned is made by a married woman by means of moneys of her husband without his consent, the court may, upon an application under section nine of this act, order such investment and the dividends and profits thereon, or any part thereof, to be transferred and paid to the husband (d).

(d) Before this act a married woman having separate estate could purchase shares in a joint stock company, and (if there was nothing in the company's deed to prevent it) she might stand as a shareholder on the register, so as to make her separate estate liable. (Matthewman's case, L. R., 3 Eq. 788; see Butler v. Cumpston, L. R., 7 Eq. 16.)

Where railway stock was registered in the name of a married woman, and she sued for dividends in her own name, it was held that the nonjoinder of her husband was only the subject of a plea in abatement. (Dalton v. Midland Counties R. Co., 13 C. B. 474.)

33 & 34 Vict. c. 93, s. 4.

As to a married

woman's property in a joint stuck company.

As to a married

woman's property

in a society.

5. Any married woman, or any woman about to be married, may apply in writing to the committee of management of any industrial and provident society, or to the trustees of any friendly society, benefit building society, or loan society, duly registered, certified, or enrolled under the acts relating to such societies respectively, that any share, benefit, debenture, right, or claim whatsoever in, to, or upon the funds of such society, to the holding of which share, benefit, or debenture no liability is attached, and to which the woman so applying is entitled, may be entered in the books of the society in the name or intended name of the woman as a married woman entitled to her separate use, and it shall be the duty of such committee or trustees to cause the same to be so entered, and thereupon such share, benefit, debenture, right, or claim shall be deemed to be the separate property of such woman, and shall be transferable and payable with all dividends and profits thereon as if she were an unmarried woman; provided that if any such share, benefit, debenture, right, or claim has been obtained by a married woman by means of moneys of her husband without his consent, the court may, upon an application under section nine of this act, order the same and the dividends and profits thereon, or any part thereof, to be transferred and paid to the husband. 6. Nothing hereinbefore contained in reference to moneys Deposit of moneys deposited in or annuities granted by savings banks or moneys ditors invalid. invested in the funds or in shares or stock of any company shall

in fraud of cre

33 & 34 Vict. c. 93, s. 6.

Personal property not exceeding 2001. coming to a married woman to be her own.

Freehold property coming to a married woman, rents and profits only to be her own.

How questions as to ownership of property to be settled.

Married woman

of insurance.

as against creditors of the husband give validity to any deposit or investment of moneys of the husband made in fraud of such creditors, and any moneys so deposited or invested may be followed as if this act had not passed (e).

(e) As to transfers of property in fraud of creditors, see Twyne's case, 1 Smith, L. C. 10 et seq.; 3 Davidson, Conv. 832, note (ƒ), 2nd ed.

7. Where any woman married after the passing of this act shall, during her marriage become entitled to any personal property as next of kin or one of the next of kin of an intestate, or to any sum of money (ƒ) not exceeding two hundred pounds under any deed or will, such property shall, subject and without prejudice to the trusts of any settlement affecting the same, belong to the woman for her separate use, and her receipts alone shall be a good discharge for the same (g).

(f) As to the kinds of property which will pass under a gift of money in a will, see Hawk. Wills, 49; Ogle v. Knipe, L. R., 8 Eq. 434; Prichard v. Prichard, L. R., 11 Eq. 232; Collins v. Collins, 19 W. R. 971.

(g) Before this act, a legacy left to a married woman in general terms must have been paid to her husband. (Palmer v. Trevor, 1 Vern. 261.) Where, however, she had obtained a protection order under 20 & 21 Vict. c. 85, s. 25, payment to herself was ordered. (Re Kingsley's Trusts,

6 W. R. 849; Re Rainsdon's Trusts, 4 Drew. 446.)

The inaccuracy of the marginal note to this section should be observed. The marginal note forms no part of the statute itself. (Claydon v. Green, L. R., 3 C. P. 511.)

8. Where any freehold, copyhold, or customaryhold property shall descend upon any woman married after the passing of this act as heiress or co-heiress of an intestate, the rents and profits of such property shall, subject and without prejudice to the trusts of any settlement affecting the same, belong to such woman for her separate use, and her receipts alone shall be a good discharge for the same.

9. In any question between husband and wife as to property declared by this act to be the separate property of the wife, either party may apply by summons or motion in a summary way, either to the Court of Chancery in England or Ireland, according as such property is in England or Ireland, or in England (irrespective of the value of the property) the judge of the county court of the district in which either party resides, and thereupon the judge may make such order, direct such inquiry, and award such costs, as he shall think fit; provided that any order made by such judge shall be subject to appeal in the same manner as the order of the same judge made in a pending suit or on an equitable plaint would have been, and the judge may, if either party so require, hear the application in his private room.

10. A married woman may effect a policy of insurance upon may effect policy her own life or the life of her husband for her separate use, and the same and all benefit thereof, if expressed on the face of it to be so effected, shall enure accordingly, and the contract in such policy shall be as valid as if made with an unmarried

woman.

33 & 34 Vict.

c. 93, s. 10.

benefit of his

A policy of insurance effected by any married man on his own life, and expressed upon the face of it to be for the benefit of his wife or of his wife and children, or any of them, shall enure As to insurance of and be deemed a trust for the benefit of his wife for her separate a husband for use, and of his children, or any of them, according to the interest wife. so expressed, and shall not, so long as any object of the trust remains, be subject to the control of the husband or to his creditors, or form part of his estate. When the sum secured by the policy becomes payable, or at any time previously, a trustee thereof may be appointed by the Court of Chancery in England or in Ireland according as the policy of insurance was effected in England or in Ireland, or in England by the judge of the county court of the district, or in Ireland by the chairman of the civil bill court of the division of the county in which the insurance office is situated, and the receipt of such trustee shall be a good discharge to the office. If it shall be proved that the policy was effected and premiums paid by the husband with intent to defraud his creditors, they shall be entitled to receive out of the sum secured an amount equal to the premiums so paid (h).

(h) A wife has an insurable interest in the life of her husband, but her husband has not such an interest in the life of his wife. (Reed v. Royal Exchange Assurance Co., Peake's Additional Cases, 70.) For the previous law relating to policies of assurance effected by married women, see Bunyon on Life Insurance, 349, 2nd ed.

11. A married woman may maintain an action in her own name for the recovery of any wages, earnings, money, and property by this act declared to be her separate property, or of any property belonging to her before marriage, and which her husband shall, by writing under his hand, have agreed with her shall belong to her after marriage as her separate property, and she shall have in her own name the same remedies, both civil and criminal, against all persons whomsoever for the protection and security of such wages, earnings, money and property, and of any chattels or other property purchased or obtained by means thereof for her own use, as if such wages, earnings, money, chattels, and property belonged to her as an unmarried woman; and in any indictment or other proceeding it shall be sufficient to allege such wages, earnings, money, chattels, and property to be her property (i).

(i) Under this section a married woman may sue at law in her own name for the recovery of the property above specified; and it appears that she may sue in equity without a next friend. Except in the cases provided for by sects. 12, 13 and 14, no power of suing her is expressly given by this act. Compare the language of 20 & 21 Vict. c. 85, ss. 21 and 26.

12. A husband shall not, by reason of any marriage which shall take place after this act has come into operation, be liable for the debts of his wife contracted before marriage, but the wife shall be liable to be sued for, and any property belonging to her for her separate use shall be liable to satisfy, such debts as if she had continued unmarried (k).

(4) According to the old law a husband was liable at law for the debts of his wife contracted before marriage. (2 Bright, Husband and Wife, 2.)

Married women

may

maintain an

action.

Husband not to be

liable on his wife's contracts

before marriage.

33 & 34 Vict. c. 93, s. 12.

Married woman

to be liable to the parish for the maintenance of her husband.

Married woman

parish for the

maintenance of her children.

And in equity her separate property was liable to satisfy such debts. (Biscoe. Kennedy, 1 Bro. C. Č. 17, n.; Chubb v. Stretch, L. R., 9 Eq. 555. ) Under this section her separate property is made liable at law to satisfy such debts; the section extends to property settled to her separate use without power of anticipation. (Sanger v. Sanger, L. R., 11 Eq. 470.) An order under the Debtors Act, 1869 (32 & 33 Vict. c. 62), s. 5, may be made upon a married woman. (Dillon v. Cunningham, L. R., 8 Ex. 23.)

13. Where in England the husband of any woman having separate property becomes chargeable to any union or parish, the justices having jurisdiction in such union or parish may, in petty sessions assembled, upon application of the guardians of the poor, issue a summons against the wife, and make and enforce such order against her for the maintenance of her husband as by the thirty-third section of "The Poor Law Amendment Act, 1868," they may now make and enforce against a husband for the maintenance of his wife who becomes chargeable to any union or parish (1). Where in Ireland relief is given under the provisions of the acts relating to the relief of the destitute poor to the husband of any woman having separate property, the cost price of such relief is hereby declared to be a loan from the guardians of the union in which the same shall be given, and shall be recoverable from such woman as if she were a feme sole by such and the same actions and proceedings as money lent.

(7) It is provided by 31 & 32 Vict. c. 122, s. 33, that when a married woman requires relief without her husband, the guardians of the union or parish, or the overseers of the parish, as the case may be, to which she becomes chargeable, may apply to the justices having jurisdiction in such union or parish, in petty sessions assembled, and thereupon such justices may summon such husband to appear before them to show cause why an order should not be made upon him to maintain his wife; and the justices may make an order upon him to pay such sum, weekly or otherwise, towards the cost of the relief of the wife as shall appear to them to be proper, and such order shall, if the payments required by it to be made be in arrear, be enforced in the manner prescribed by 11 & 12 Vict. c. 43, for the enforcing of orders of justices requiring the payment of a sum of money.

14. A married woman having separate property shall be subto be liable to the ject to all such liability for the maintenance of her children as a widow is now by law subject to for the maintenance of her children provided always, that nothing in this act shall relieve her husband from any liability at present imposed upon him by law to maintain her children (m).

Commencement

of act.

Act not to extend to Scotland.

Short title.

(m) Before this act, it was held that a married woman was not liable to maintain her children out of her separate property during the life of their father. (Hodgens v. Hodgens, 4 Cl. & Fin. 323.)

As to the liability of paupers and their relations in respect of relief, see 4 Burn's Justice of the Peace, 294, 30th ed.

15. This act shall come into operation at the time of the passing of this act.

16. This act shall not extend to Scotland.

17. This act may be cited as "The Married Women's Property Act, 1870” (n).

(n) This act was intended to protect married women in the enjoyment of the rights of property, and has not by a side wind given them political or municipal rights. (Reg. v. Harrald, L. R., 7 Q. B. 361.)

LAW OF DOWER.

3 & 4 WILL. IV. c. 105.

An Act for the Amendment of the Law relating to Dower. [29th August, 1833.]

INTERPRETATION CLAUSE.

Be it enacted, that the words and expressions hereinafter men- 3 & 4 Will. 4, tioned, which in their ordinary signification have a more conc. 105, s. 1. fined or a different meaning, shall in this act, except where the Meaning of the nature of the provision or the context of the act shall exclude words in the act. such construction, be interpreted as follows; that is to say, the word "land" shall extend to manors, advowsons, messuages, "Land." and all other hereditaments, whether corporeal or incorporeal (except such as are not liable to dower), and to any share thereof; and every word importing the singular number only Number. shall extend and be applied to several persons and things as well as one person or thing.

The principal objects of this statute are,

1st. To make equitable estates in possession liable to dower, and to dispense with the necessity of the actual seisin of the husband.

2nd. To take away the right of dower out of lands disposed of by the husband in his lifetime or by his will, and to give partial charges created by the husband priority over the right of dower.

3rd. To enable the husband to bar the right of dower by a declaration in a deed or in a will. The act does not extend to widows married on or before the 1st of January, 1834.

The objects of this act.

"The effect of the act is evidently to deprive the wife of her dower, ex- Effect of the act. cept as against her husband's heir at law. If the husband should die intestate and possessed of any lands, the wife's dower out of such lands is

still left for her support, unless, indeed, the husband should have executed

a declaration to the contrary." (Williams's Real Prop. 227, 9th ed.)

The nature of the old law of dower, the means by which the right of Report of R. P. dower was defeated, and the alterations in the law which were effected by Commissioners as this statute, will appear from the following extract from the First Report of to dower. the R. P. Commissioners. Some decisions on these subjects have been

added:

"The present law of dower gives to a surviving wife a right to have as- Old law of dower. signed to her for her life one-third of all the lands and hereditaments, with a few exceptions such as common sans nombre and personal annuities (a), of which her husband was seised in law (that is, had the legal property by descent, there being at the same time no possession), or, in fact, for an estate of inheritance in possession at any time during the marriage, notwithstanding any alienation or disposition which the husband may have made of the estates, or any part of them (b).

"It does not give dower out of lands to which the husband had a right, but of which he had not seisin in law or in fact.

"The widow is not entitled to take possession of any land for her dower, the assignment is to be made by the heir; and if he neglect it, or do it

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