II. RELATIVE, &c. CHAP. II. scarcely treat them with ordinary respect. No such unqualified donations should be made or allowed to have effect, and the actual receipt of any benefit should be made to depend upon proper conduct towards parents and guardians, whether testamentary or appointed by the Court of Chancery, until an age when the influence of education and habit will probably have secured the continuation of good conduct. 2. Parent and Lake When a parent, relation or friend, apprehends that the improvidence of his donee may dissipate any property given to him, he may by very express terms in his deed or bequest, so modify his donation as to prevent the benefit passing to creditors; but very great care must be observed to introduce such express terms as will legally operate to deprive the creditors of their general right to the distribution of their debtor's property.(h) Where a bequest of the dividends of stock to a nephew was solely for the maintenance of himself and his family, declaring that such dividends should not be capable of being charged with his debts or engagements, and that he should have no power to charge, assign, anticipate or encumber them; and that if he should attempt so to do, or if the dividends, by bankruptcy, insolvency or otherwise, should be assigned or become payable to any other person, or be, or become applicable to any other purpose than for the maintenance of the nephew and his family, his interest therein should cease, and the stock be held upon trust for his children, and afterwards the nephew took the benefit of the Lords' Act, (1 Geo. 4, c. 119,) and some years afterwards the testator died; it was held, that such insolvency, under the latter terms of the bequest, operated as a forfeiture of the life interest given to the nephew by the will. (i) But if in a bequest to trustees, for the benefit of a son, there be merely a prohibition against his alienation, without any clause of cesser or bequest over, then if he become bankrupt his assignees will be entitled. (4) And so if the clause of forfeiture extend only to alienations in fact, and do not provide against alienations by operation of law, then also if he become a bankrupt his assignees will become entitled. (7) The clause may be, that in the event of any commission of bankruptcy, or any discharge under an insolvent act, or even of process issuing, the annuity shall cease; or in the same form as in (h) See a form in 6 T. R. 644, and other cases cited 1 Russ. & Mylne's R. 568; where it was held, that in consequence of the express stipulation, creditors took no interest. (i) 1 Russ. & Mylne's R. 364. (1) Id. 690. clauses of re-entry in leases in case of insolvency, and as also as in the other cases above referred to. CHAP. II. II. RELATIVE, &c. 2. Parent and ments, when It may be proper here to notice some rules observed in Courts of Equity, in giving or refusing effect to what are termed child. "family arrangements," and by which, between a father and Family arrangea son, or between brothers, an agreement has been made to sustained in dispose of property in a different manner to that which would equity. otherwise take place. In these cases frequently the mere relationship of the parties will give effect to bargains otherwise without adequate consideration, and though it is an established principle of Courts of Equity, that in dealings between attorney and client, guardian and ward, and in the purchase of reversionary interests, the purchaser is bound to show that he has given the full consideration, (m) yet in family arrangements it is otherwise. The Court will not view transactions between father and son in the light of reversionary bargains, but will regard them as family arrangements, though with a reasonable degree of jealousy, so as to prevent the influence of a father surprising his child, when just of age, into an improvident arrangement; and they will not look into all the motives and feelings which might actuate the parties in entering into such arrangements. There may be considerations in such cases which the Court could not possibly reach. It might be conducive, for instance, to the best interests of the parties, the son as well as the father, that the father should be enabled to educate all his younger children in a liberal way, and which might justify his requiring his eldest son to give up part of his interest for that purpose, so that his brothers and sisters may be so brought up and educated, and placed in such situation as to do him credit in the world. (n) And therefore, where a father being tenant for life, with remainder over to his first and other sons successively in tail male, persuaded his eldest son, soon after he attained twenty-one, to join in a recovery, and an annuity was secured to him during his father's life, and parts of the estate were limited to the father in fee, and the residue of them were resettled, the son taking back an estate for life, with remainder to his first and other sons in tail general, remainder to his daughter in tail general; it was held, that this transaction was to be considered as a mixed case of bargain and sale, and of family arrangement, and that the eldest son having died without issue, his brother was bound by the (m) 6 Ves. 266; 17 Ves. 20; 1 Turn. & Russ. 9. (n) Per Lord Chancellor, 1 Turn. & Russ. 13. CHAP. II. &c. 2. Parent and child. arrangement, and the Court of Chancery refused to set aside II. RELATIVE, the settlement as obtained by undue influence. (o) So an agreement between two brothers to divide equally whatever property they might receive from their father in his life-time, or become entitled to under his will, or by descent or otherwise from him or from a third person, is not contrary to public policy, but will be enforced in equity, though it was insisted that it was a fraud upon the intention of the father or third person, to divide that which he might intend one alone should solely enjoy, for the latter might, if he thought fit, have so qualified his donation by express restriction, and not having done so, he left his donee at liberty to do with the property as he thought fit.(p) So in equity, where an agreement has been made in consideration of natural love and affection, or from meritorious motives to save the peace and honour of a family, as with a view to conceal the illegitimacy of an eldest son born before marriage, and his brother afterwards, the execution of it will be decreed. (q) Child's proper ty. With respect to the property of his child, a parent acquires no interest therein whilst living, and is, if of sufficient ability, bound to maintain such child, though the latter have separate property; but if the father be not of ability to maintain or educate his child on a scale according with such separate property, then, if the infant's income arise out of personal estate, and do not exceed 300l. per annum, or if the aggregate income of two infant children do not exceed 600l. per annum, the Court of Chancery will, on his or their petition for the allowance of maintenance, and without any formal bill being filed, and on its being established that the father is not of sufficient ability, order such proper allowance for maintenance as the Master shall approve; (r) but when the income proceeds from real property, maintenance has been refused upon petition without bill, unless the yearly income be under 1007. (s) Where a father has deserted his child, and is not of ability to maintain him, the Court of Chancery will, on petition, make an order referring it to the Master to approve a proper person to act in the nature of a guardian, and to inquire whether it will be for the benefit of the infant that a certain sum should be raised out of the property to which he is absolutely entitled under a will, and upon the Master's report that it is for his benefit, and with the consent (o) Tweddell v. Tweddell, 1 Turn. & Russ. 1. (p) Wethered v. Wethered, 2 Sim. 183; and Harwood v. Took, Id. 192. (g) 1 Atk. 2; 2 Ves. 11; and 1 Fonbl. Tr. Eq. 272. (r) Ex parte Larkin, 4 Russ. 307. (s) In re Sir Wm. Molesworth, 4 Russ. R. 308. CHAP. II. II. RELATIVE, &c. 2. Parent and of the executors of that will, the court will order the sum to be ward. The rights between guardian and ward much resemble those 3.Guardian and between parent and child. A father may, by 12 Car. 2, c. 24, appoint a testamentary guardian, and it may be advisable therein to prescribe the course of education, unless the parents prefer reposing entire and unlimited confidence in the discretion of the guardian. (y) The Court of Chancery will assist a guardian in compelling his ward to obey his legal desires, and where an infant persisted in going to Oxford University instead of Cambridge, contrary to the direction of his guardian, the court sent a messenger to compel his return to Cambridge, (z) It has been considered to be an indictable offence at common law, and, independently of the above statutes, to abduct a ward from the custody of the guardian with intent to marry her, (a) and the marrying a ward subjects the husband to imprisonment in the Fleet, (b) and from which he will not be released without making a proper settlement; (c) and such release does not necessarily follow even after a proper settlement has been made, (d) nor even on the husband's attaining age. (e) If the guardian misconduct himself, he may be removed. (ƒ) A guardian having the delegated controul over his ward, may legally detain her clothes, if he discover that she is about to (t) In re England, 1 Russ. & M. 499. (u) Ex parte Swift, 1 Russ. & M. 575. (1) Ex parte Chambers, 1 Russ. & M. 377. (y) See 3 P. Wm. 51, post, where, from want of express direction in the will, a suit in Chancery became necessary, the father, a Presbyterian, having appointed a clergyman of the Church of England and two Presbyterians testamentary guardians to one of his children, and the former thinking it his duty to inculcate church principles, and the two latter their own, and the Chancellor decreed in favour of the latter, the other near relations of the child being Presbyterians, and the presumption being that the testator must have intended that the child should be (z) 1 Stra. 167; 3 Atk. 721. (b) 8 Ves. 74; 3 P. Wms. 116; 5 Ves. (c) 1 Ves. J. 154. The costs of such settlement may be allowed out of the ward's property, if the husband were not guilty of any aggravated misconduct, and have no property. Anonymous, 4 Russ. R. 473. (d) 8 Ves. 74. (ƒ) 1 Bla. C. 462, note 8; Id. note 11; 2 P. Wms. 561. &c. 3. Guardian and ward. CHAP. II. elope; (g) and, in the case of a ward in Chancery, the court II. RELATIVE, retains jurisdiction after the ward comes of age as long as property remains in court; (h) and when two guardians of an infant have been appointed by the court and one dies, the guardianship does not survive, but fresh guardians must be appointed. (i) When the personal property of infants is very small, as pensions of 151. per annum each, the Court of Chancery will, upon affidavit that the children are living with their aunt, and on her petition, appoint her to be guardian, with liberty to receive the pensions, without incurring the expense of a reference to the Master. (k) 4. Master and apprentice. With respect to the rights and liabilities between master and apprentice, and their injuries and remedies, this relation should be constituted by deed, and with more care and explicit stipulation than are usually adopted, and in such deed an adult party should covenant for the good conduct of the apprentice, who, being himself usually under age, could not be sued for his misconduct. (1) Unless the relation of master and apprentice be duly constituted, there are cases in which the former cannot sue for the abduction of the latter; (m) though in general a third person cannot protect himself from liability to an action for seducing away or detaining an apprentice or servant per quod, &c. by setting up any formal objection to the contract of apprenticeship or hiring whilst the service under it was continuing, (n) and the apprentice himself is liable to be punished for running away, although the indenture be voidable, as he ought to have first avoided them by a reasonable notice. (o) The master has such an interest in his apprentice, that he may defend him with force, (p) and he may maintain an action for the battery, debauching, or injury of his apprentice, if any loss of service ensue ; (q) so if the apprentice be harboured after request, he may retake him or support an action for the detention, (r) or he may sue the third person who covenanted for his services. (s) But a master cannot at his own instance have an habeas corpus for his apprentice who has been impressed, (t) for the statutes only authorize that writ at the instance of the party imprisoned. (u) When, however, an apprentice has been impressed, the Chief |