1. (1) A trustee (whether a sole trustee or a trustee with others) may, notwithstanding any rule of law or equity to the contrary, by power of attorney, attested by one or more witnesses, delegate to any person capable of being appointed to be a trustee of the trust the execution during any period for which the trustee is engaged on war service within the meaning of this Act, and a further period of one month thereafter, of any trust of which he is trustee. (2) For the purposes of this Act a trustee shall be deemed to be engaged on war service : (a) If he is engaged on active service in connection with the present war as a member of any of the military or naval forces of the Crown; and (b) If he is engaged on service in any work abroad, in connection with the present war, of the British Red Cross Society, or the Saint John's Ambulance Association, or any other body with similar objects; and (c) If in connection with the present war he is a prisoner of war in the enemy's country or is interned in the country of a neutral Power. (3) All jurisdiction and powers of any court shall apply to the donee of a power of attorney given under this Act so far as respects the execution of the trust in the same manner as if the donee were a trustee of the trust. (4) A statutory declaration by the donee of a power of attorney under which the execution of a trust is delegated, that the donor is engaged on war service within the meaning of this Act, or that in any transaction the donee is acting in execution of the trust, shall be accepted as sufficient evidence of the fact by any person dealing with the donee. 2.-(1) A power of attorney given under this Act may be deposited at the central office of the Supreme Court or proper office of the Supreme Court of Judicature in Ireland under section forty-eight of the Conveyancing Act, 1881, without any such verification of its execution as is therein required; and, notwithstanding anything in any Act or Rules, the Bank of England, the Bank of Ireland, the paymaster-general, the accountant-general of the Supreme Court of Judicature in Ireland, and any other person, shall not refuse to act on the authority of any such power of attorney, although the power is not attested by two witnesses, or fails in any other respect to comply with any formality required by law or practice. (2) The donee of a power of attorney given under this Act may, for the purpose of the transfer of any inscribed stock, himself delegate to an attorney the power to transfer. (3) The fact that it appears from any power of attorney given under this Act, or from any evidence required for the purposes of any such power of attorney, or otherwise, that in dealing with any stock the donee of the power is acting in the execution of a trust shall not be deemed for any purpose to affect any person in whose books the stock is inscribed or registered with any notice of the trust. (4) In this section the expression "stock" includes shares and any fund, annuity, or security transferable in books kept by any person or by any instrument of transfer, either alone or accompanied by other formalities, and any share or interest therein. 3. The powers conferred by this Act on trustees in relation to any period for which they are engaged on war service, may also be exercised by any trustee not engaged on war service in relation to any period during which, being abroad, he is for any reason connected with the present war unable to return from abroad to the United Kingdom; and this Act shall have effect, in its application to such trustees, with the necessary modifications. 4. (1) This Act may be cited as the Execution of Trusts (War Facilities) Act, 1914. (2) This Act shall not apply to Scotland. (3) This Act shall not apply to any trustee under an implied or constructive trust. 2. THE ACT OF 1915. 1. A tenant for life or a person having the powers of a tenant for life within the meaning of the Settled Land Acts, 1882 to 1890, shall be deemed to be a trustee within the meaning of the Execution of Trusts (War Facilities) Act, 1914 (hereinafter referred to as the principal Act), and accordingly may in pursuance of the principal Act by power of attorney delegate the exercise of all or any of his statutory powers under the Settled Land Acts, 1882 to 1890, and also all or any of the powers (if any) conferred upon him by the settlement in extension of such statutory powers: Provided that such delegation shall only be made to the trustees of the settlement for the purposes of the said Acts or to one or more of them. 2. For removing doubts it is hereby declared that an executor or administrator of a deceased person is, in relation to the administration of the estate of the deceased, a trustee within the meaning of the principal Act, and that he may appoint as his attorney his co-executor or co-administrator (if any), or any other person who would be capable of being appointed by a court of competent jurisdiction to be administrator with the will annexed or administrator of such deceased person, if no executor or administrator existed : Provided that for the purpose of this provision, a person shall not be deemed to be incapable of being appointed administrator by reason only that some other person would have, according to the law or practice of the court, a prior claim to be so appointed. 3.-(1) In favour of any person dealing with the donee of a power of attorney made under the principal Act or this Act, any act done or instrument executed by the attorney shall, notwithstanding that the power has become revoked by the act of the donor of the power or by his death or otherwise, be as valid and effectual as if the donor of the power were alive and of sound mind and had himself done such act or executed such instrument, unless such person had actual notice of the revocation of the power or of the death or unsoundness of mind of the donor of the power before such act was done or deed executed. (2) In favour of a person dealing with the attorney any such statutory declaration made by the attorney as is mentioned in subsection (4) of section one of the principal Act, shall be conclusive evidence of the facts therein declared. 4. Where an infant who has been engaged on war service within the meaning of subsection (2) of section one of the principal Act, or who, having been abroad but not actually engaged on war service, has been for any reason connected with the present war unable to return from abroad to the United Kingdom, has died, all acts and instruments purporting to be done or executed on his behalf under the provisions of section sixty of the Settled Land Act, 1882, after the date of his death shall, in favour of any person who had not at the time the act was done or the instrument executed actual notice of the death, be as valid and effectual as if such infant were still living. 5. A trustee or infant to whom the principal Act or this Act applies shall, for the purposes of those Acts, be presumed to remain alive until definite news of his death has been received or such death has been presumed by a court of competent jurisdiction, and the fact that he is reported "missing or "missing and believed to be killed" shall not be construed as giving to persons having knowledge of such report actual notice of his death, although in fact it has occurred. 6. This Act may be cited as the Execution of Trusts (War Facilities) Amendment Act, 1915, and shall be construed as one with the principal Act; and this Act and the principal Act may be cited together as the Execution of Trusts (War Facilities) Acts, 1914 and 1915. THE CONVEYANCER. No. 2. THE CONVEYANCER is published monthly and is obtainable on the first Monday of each month through the Law Booksellers or Stationers, or direct from the Publishers. COMMUNICATIONS respecting matters of an Editorial nature should be addressed to The Editor of The Conveyancer," at 35, Surrey Street, Strand, W.C. CONTRIBUTIONS or manuscript forwarded with a view to insertion in the publication must be sent at the risk of the sender, although every effort will be made to return drafts or unsuitable copy. SUBSCRIPTION RATES :-Annual Subscription (payable in advance), £1 10s., inclusive of Inland Postage; Single Copies, 2s. 6d. (postage 2d. extra). EDITORIAL AND PUBLISHING OFFICES :--35, Surrey Street, Strand, W.C. Editorial Notes. THE opinion expressed in our first issue that a demand existed amongst members of the legal profession for a publication of the nature of The Conveyancer has been fully confirmed. Within a week from the date of the first issue the number of Annual Subscribers exceeded by 100 per cent. the number upon which we have based our calculations for a whole year, and the original printing order had, in consequence, to be very considerably increased. The result is most gratifying. The publication is now an assured success from all points of view; and the reception afforded it by the profession has urged us on to even greater exertions and ambitions. To those who have been kind enough to express their appreciation of our efforts we tender our heartiest thanks; and we assure one and all of our Subscribers that neither trouble nor expense will be spared in endeavouring to make The Conveyancer all that was claimed for it in the first instance. WITH regard to the Supplement generally, we would emphasise the fact that the First Part will, throughout, consist of Forms relating to one particular subject, and the Second Part of Forms which are specially required for the time being, or which are framed upon suggestions received from Subscribers. The subjects dealt with in the First Part will be alphabetically arranged, and are intended to include Precedents of all documents commonly requisite by the Conveyancer. Although the different subjects will be contained under alphabetically arranged subject-headings, this will not involve that the practitioner will have to wait a considerable period before the more important subjects, e.g., Wills and Powers of Attorney, are dealt with. In order that docu 46 ments the most frequently required in practice may be 27. Naturalization. 28. Negotiable Instruments. 29. Parcels. 30. Parties. 31. Partitions. 32. Partnerships. 33. Patents. 34. Personal Services (Contracts for). 35. Powers of Appointment. 36. Prospectuses (Company). 37. Public Houses. 38. Public and Local Authorities. 39. Railways. 40. Registration of Deeds. 41. Releases. 42. Requisitions on Title. 43. Separation Deeds. 44. Settlements. 45. Shipping and Mercantile Documents. 46. Solicitors. 47. Statutory Declarations. 48. Trade Apprenticeship. 49. Trade Marks and Designs. 50. Trust and Trustees. 51. Underwriting. 52. Voluntary Assignments. The above list must not be considered as final or as including all the subjects proposed to be dealt with in the First Part of the Supplement, but merely as indicating the order in which the principal subjects are proposed to be included. Copyholds are, it will be observed, proposed to be dealt with under the heading "Manors and Manorial Rights." This is in view of the possibility of Lord Haldane's Real Property and Conveyancing Bill not becoming an Act of Parliament before the letter "C" is reached, but becoming law by the time "M" is included. THE Increase of Rent and Mortgage Interest Bill, as originally introduced, is set out in full elsewhere. The amendments made by the Commons are as follows: (1) The exclusion of clause 1; (2) the rental or rateable value as mentioned in clause 2 now stands at £35 for London, £30 for Scotland, and £26 for the rest of the country; (3) the area for London is to be the Metropolitan Police area; (4) the Act is not to apply to a house let at a rent less than two-thirds of its rateable value; and (5) the Act is to apply to sub-tenants. the Fifth Number. As the Bill (see page 7 of the December issue) seeks to enfranchise all copyhold land, it would not be wise, of course, to include a number of Precedents which would subsequently become valueless. It will also be observed that every document relating to Companies" is not proposed to be dealt with under that one particular heading. This is to prevent the subject, allimportant to many practitioners but of small importance to others, occupying the entire contents of the First Part of the Supplement to numerous Numbers. It is therefore proposed to deal with Debentures, Liquidation of Companies, Prospectuses and Underwriting under separate headings. The arrangement has the further advantage that the two last-mentioned subjects may possibly be reached at a time when this country is ne longer at war, instead of a time when Prospectuses have ceased to appear, and Underwriting has become an impossibility. Ir will be noticed that (at the request of numerous Subscribers) the stamp duty payable in respect of any SINCE our last issue, Sir Matthew Ingle Joyce has retired from the Judiciary; Mr. Arthur Frederick Peterson has been appointed a Judge of the Chancery Division in his stead; and Mr. George Cave has become Solicitor-General in the place of Sir Edward Carson. 44 * MR. PETERSON should prove a valuable addition to the Bench. As a leader in Mr. Justice Neville's Court his services were in great request, and his unassuming but firm manner should stand him in good stead. His appointment has been much criticised in the lay Press on the ground of economy." But not to have filled the vacancy caused by the retirement of Mr. Justice Joyce would have destroyed the "linked system" which has done so much towards preventing arrears in the Chancery Division, and would, as the Law Times truly points out, have resulted in "false economy." The system referred to involves there being an even number of Judges. If four were sufficient, we should not advocate maintaining the number at six; but we do not believe it would be. ELSEWHERE will be found certain correspondence which has taken place between the Treasury and the Chancery Press, Ltd., in the matter of the issue of certain share capital. It is clearly advisable that the Treasury or some Government Department should be empowered at the present time to prevent the issue of capital of undesirable Companies, or Companies which would absorb any large amount of public money. But the refusal of the Treasury sanction in the case under notice is obviously absurd and ridiculous. The Chancery Press, Ltd., is a Company formed for the special purpose of issuing The Conveyancer. The Conveyancer is -it is submitted-clearly issued " in the public interest," and, having regard to the Forms which it publishes under the Emergency Statutes, it should, surely, be looked upon by the Government in the light of a public, if not a Government, asset. The whole of the capital sought to be sanctioned by the Company was to have been supplied by the Managing Director and a co-Director, and no portion thereof by the public. If in IN our last issue we stated (page 4) that no debentures of a Company would be stamped by the Commissioners unless the consent of the Treasury to the issue had been previously obtained. A Subscriber (whose letter is contained elsewhere, page 25), points out that a debenture will be stamped if it is insisted upon. In reply to an inquiry upon the subject the Secretary of the Board of Inland Revenue writes us: "I am directed by the Board of Inland Revenue to acquaint you that the debenture will be stamped on presentation without prejudice to any action which the Treasury may see fit to take." It is difficult to conceive what action the Treasury could take, seeing that their sanction to an issue of shares or debentures is not made obligatory to obtain by any Act of Parliament ? The Treasury and New Issues of Capital. Extraordinary Decision in the Case of "The Conveyancer." IN our first issue we drew attention to the fact that complaints were numerous with reference to the refusal of the Treasury to grant their consent to issues of share capital of Private Companies in cases where a Company is clearly a desirable one and no sums of money are subscribed by the general public. We think, however, that the recent refusal by the Treasury to give their sanction to an issue of shares by the Company which publishes The Conveyancer will be considered as unwarrantable and unjustifiable as it is ridiculous. As the facts relating to the issue will doubtless prove interesting, they are set out below: On November 13th last the Managing Director of the Chancery Press, Ltd., wrote to the Treasury asking |