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on the father or guardian, though the latter service may be dispensed with by the registrar; the service may be effected under s. 28 of the Agricultural Holdings (England) Act, 1883 (as to which see infra, p. 26). An application for removal or change of guardian must be made to the judge on written notice served on the guardian proposed to be removed or changed, or his solicitor. County Court Rules, Order XL., r. 1, as to which see infra, p. 91.

26. Provisions respecting married women.] Where the appointment of a person to act as the next friend of a married woman is required for the purposes of this Act, the county court may make such appointment, and may remove or change that next friend if and as occasion requires.

A woman married before the commencement of the Married Women's Property Act, 1882, entitled for her separate use to land, her title to which accrued before such commencement as aforesaid, and not restrained from anticipation, shall, for the purposes of this Act, be in respect of land as if she was unmarried.

Where any other woman married before the commencement of the Married Women's Property Act, 1882, is desirous of doing any act under this Act in respect of land, her title to which accrued before such commencement as aforesaid, her husband's concurrence shall be requisite, and she shall be examined apart from him by the county court, or by the judge of the county court for the place where she for the time being is, touching her knowledge of the nature and effect of the intended act, and it shall be ascertained that she is acting freely and voluntarily.

27. Costs in county court.] The cost of proceedings in the county court under this Act shall be in the discretion of the court.

The Lord Chancellor may from time to time prescribe a scale of costs for those proceedings, and of costs to be taxed by the registrar of the court.

The section applies to proceedings brought to recover money agreed or awarded to be paid for compensation, costs, or otherwise, for the appointment or change of guardian, for the appointment, removal or change of the next friend of a married woman, for the removal of an arbitrator for misconduct, for the opinion of the

judge of a county court on a case stated by an arbitrator, for the setting aside of an award or arbitration improperly procured or where there has been misconduct on the part of an arbitrator, or for the taxation of costs of and incidental to an arbitration and award. Scales of costs were prescribed by the Lord Chancellor on November 27th, 1900. See infra, p. 102.

28. Service of notice, etc.] Any notice, request, demand, or other instrument under this Act may be served on the person to whom it is to be given, either personally or by leaving it for him at his last known place of abode in England, or by sending it through the post in a registered letter addressed to him there; and if so sent by post it shall be deemed to have been served at the time when the letter containing it would be delivered in ordinary course; and in order to prove service by letter it shall be sufficient to prove that the letter was properly addressed and posted, and that it contained the notice, request, demand, or other instrument to be served.

A notice to quit may be served in accordance with the above section (Van Grutten v. Trevenen, [1902] 2 K. B. 82 ; 71 L. J. K. B. 544; 87 L. T. 344; 50 W. R. 516).

Service of notice.-Care must be taken that notices are duly served, for if either party prove a want of knowledge of the notice, and no reasonable means of obtaining such knowledge, any proceedings taken in default of notice will in all probability be set aside. All notices should be in duplicate, so that, if necessary, the service of a copy of the notice may be duly proved. Proof of the service of a notice is not sufficient to make ex parte proceedings valid, the service of the actual notice must be proved.

A general agent entrusted with the` management of an estate has prima facie authority to receive for the landlord any notice under the Acts (Ingham v. Fenton (1893), 10 T. L. R. 113).

Service on the solicitor will probably be good where there are legal proceedings.

Known place of abode.-Where a landlord's only known address was that of his solicitor, it was held by His Honour Judge STEAVENSON that service of a tenant's claim for compensation on the landlord's solicitor was good (Wells v. Fletcher (1903), Estates Gazette, August 22nd, 1903).

29. Power for landlord on paying compensation to obtain charge.] A landlord, on paying to the tenant the amount due to him in respect of compensation under this Act, or in respect of compensation authorised by this Act

to be substituted for compensation under this Act, or on expending such amount as may be necessary to execute an improvement under the second part of the First Schedule hereto, after notice given by the tenant of his intention to execute such improvement in accordance with this Act, shall be entitled to obtain from the county court a charge on the holding, or any part thereof, to the amount of the sum so paid or expended.

The court shall, on proof of the payment or expenditure, and on being satisfied of the observance in good faith by the parties of the conditions imposed by this Act, make an order charging the holding, or any part thereof, with repayment of the amount paid or expended, with such interest, and by such instalments, and with such directions for giving effect to the charge, as the court thinks fit.

But, where the landlord obtaining the charge is not absolute owner of the holding for his own benefit, no instalment or interest shall be made payable after the time when the improvement in respect whereof compensation is paid will, where an award has been made, be taken to have been exhausted according to the declaration of the award, and in any other case after the time when any such improvement will in the opinion of the court, after hearing such evidence (if any) as it thinks expedient, have become exhausted.

The instalments and interest shall be charged in favour of the landlord, his executors, administrators and assigns.

The estate or interest of any landlord holding for an estate or interest determinable or liable to forfeiture by reason of his creating or suffering any charge thereon shall not be determined or forfeited by reason of his obtaining a charge under this Act, anything in any deed, will, or other instrument to the contrary thereof notwithstanding.

Capital money arising under the Settled Land Act, 1882, may be applied in payment of any moneys expended and costs incurred by a landlord under or in pursuance of this Act in or about the execution of any improvement

mentioned in the first or second parts of the schedule hereto, as for an improvement authorised by the said. Settled Land Act; and such money may also be applied in discharge of any charge created on a holding under or in pursuance of this Act in respect of any such improvement as aforesaid, as in discharge of an incumbrance authorised by the said Settled Land Act to be discharged out of such capital money.

Charges are to be obtained from the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries, and not the county court (Agricultural Holdings Act, 1900, s. 3 (1); 3 Edw. 7, c. 31). See infra, p. 74.

A certificate of the amount to be charged and the term for which the charge may be made, must be made by the person making the award, at the request and cost of the party entitled to obtain the charge (Agricultural Holdings Act, 1900, s. 3 (2)). See infra, p. 74.

Compensation under custom or agreement or the Agricultural Holdings Acts may be charged, if for an improvement comprised in the First Schedule to the Agricultural Holdings Act, 1900, s. 3 (3). See infra, p. 75.

The charge is a "land charge" within the meaning of the Land Charges Registration and Searches Act, 1888 (51 & 52 Vict. c. 51), and may be registered (Agricultural Holdings Act, 1900, s. 3 (4)). See infra, p. 75. If not registered, the charge would be void as against a purchaser for value.

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The executors of a tenant for life, who during his lifetime had proceedings for compensation commenced against him but who died before payment of the compensation awarded, may obtain a charge upon the holding in respect of the amount of such compensation paid by them (Gough v. Gough, [1891] 2 Q. B. 665 60 L. J. Q. B. 726; 65 L. T. 110; 39 W. R. 593; 55 J. P. 807). The effect of the provision as to non-forfeiture by creating the charge, will be that a landlord and tenant by agreeing to execute a series of improvements, and settling the terms of compensation, will be able to defeat the settlor's intention. If the settlor intended an unincumbered estate to go to those in remainder, and the tenant for life to do the improvements out of the income, the tenant for life will not be bound to lay out any of his own money; the tenancy may not come to an end in his lifetime, and his son will be saddled with incumbrances that may, or may not, add to the permanent value of the property, to an amount that may take the greater part or the whole of the rental.

Procedure for obtaining charges, infrá, p. 75.

30. Incidence of charge.] The sum charged by the order of a county court under this Act shall be a charge

on the holding, or the part thereof charged, for the landlord's interest therein, and for all interests therein subsequent to that of the landlord; but so that the charge shall not extend beyond the interest of the landlord, his executors, administrators, and assigns, in the tenancy where the landlord is himself a tenant of the holding.

The Board of Agriculture is substituted for the county court by s. 3 (1) of the Agricultural Holdings Act, 1900 (63 & 64 Vict. c. 50).

Compensation claimed under custom or agreement as well as that claimed under the Agricultural Holdings Acts, may be charged, if paid by or due from a landlord, for an improvement comprised in the First Schedule to the Agricultural Holdings Act, 1900 (63 & 64 Vict. c. 50), s. 3 (3). As to which, see infra, p. 75.

31. Provision in case of trustee.] Where the landlord is a person entitled to receive the rents and profits of any holding as trustee, or in any character otherwise than for his own benefit, the amount due from such landlord in respect of compensation under this Act, or in respect of compensation authorised by this Act to be substituted for compensation under this Act, shall be charged and recovered as follows and not otherwise; (that is to say,) (1) The amount so due shall not be recoverable personally against such landlord, nor shall he be under any liability to pay such amount, but the same shall be a charge on and recoverable against the holding only.

(2) Such landlord shall, either before or after having paid to the tenant the amount due to him, be entitled to obtain from the county court a charge on the holding to the amount of the sum required. to be paid or which has been paid, as the case may be, to the tenant.

(3) If such landlord neglect or fail within one month after the tenant has quitted his holding to pay to the tenant the amount due to him, then after the expiration of such one month the tenant shall be entitled to obtain from the county court in

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