favour of himself, his executors, administrators, and assigns, a charge on the holding to the amount of the sum due to him, and of all costs properly incurred by him in obtaining the charge or in raising the amount due thereunder.

(4) The court shall on proof of the tenant's title to have a charge made in his favour make an order charging the holding with payment of the amount of the charge, including costs, in like manner and form as in case of a charge which a landlord is entitled to obtain.

The powers and duties of the county court are now exercised by the Board of Agriculture (63 & 64 Vict. c. 50, s. 3 (1)).

Custom, agreement or the Acts may be the basis of the claim to compensation for an improvement comprised in the First Schedule to the Agricultural Holdings Act, 1900, for which a charge is obtained (Agricultural Holdings Act, 1900 (63 & 64 Vict. c. 50), s. 3 (3)). See infra, p. 75.

A mortgagee in possession is a landlord within the meaning of this section. See Tenants Compensation Act, 1890 (53 & 54 Vict. c. 57), s. 2, infra, p. 60.

Effect of section. This section is designed to meet the case of persons who are not the beneficial owners of land, and it enables them to charge the land to any extent for improvements without incurring any personal liability whatever. The Act distinctly provides that in their case the only way of obtaining payment is the way mentioned in this section, and it would seem there is in such case no one personally liable to pay, accordingly, as most of the land in the country is vested in trustees, the charge for compensation will not generally be a charge that creates any personal liability. The result will be that if the holding was sold and did not realize the amount charged, the owners, however rich they might be, would not be liable to pay a penny. The trustee, as soon as he knows what he has to pay, can get a charge on the holding for the amount. The Act is silent as to the person in whose favour the charge is to be made, whether in favour of the trustee or the person who advances the money. It also is silent as to the evidence that is to be required before such a charge is made, and there is no discretion or power to go into the matter, the charge must be granted; and it does not say, although it must be implied, that the trustees would have power to assign the charge. It does not state, as in the case of the beneficial landlord, that the charge is to be made payable to the landlord, his executors, administrators and assigns.

If the landlord does not pay the tenant for a month after he has quitted his holding, the tenant can get a charge himself for the compensation and costs of obtaining and raising the charge.

This it appears the tenant can do ex parte, without notice to anyone, as within one month from leaving the holding he can apply for a charge for the sum due to him. If the tenant proves his title he will be able, as soon as the award is delivered, to get a charge and his costs. The charge may be for repayment by instalments, or as the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries thinks fit; and the tenant may possibly be able at once to enforce the provisions of the Conveyancing Act against the landlord.

There seems to be no provision for setting aside a charge, even if improperly obtained, or of compelling a tenant to be paid off; as there is no mortgagor, the precise position of a hostile tenant, who obtains a charge on his landlord's estate, is one that the High Court alone can determine; at least he will be able to put his landlord to considerable cost, as the rule of a mortgagee getting his costs may be applied, and he certainly can cause much annoyance.

32. Advance made by a company.] Any company now or hereafter incorporated by Parliament, and having power to advance money for the improvement of land, may take an assignment of any charge made by a county court under the provisions of this Act, upon such terms and conditions as may be agreed upon between such company and the person entitled to such charge; and such company may assign any charge so acquired by them to any person or persons whomsoever.

For "county court read "Board of Agriculture and Fisheries."-63 & 64 Vict. c. 50, s. 3 (1). See supra, pp. 26—31, and infra, p. 74.

33. Time of notice to quit.] Where a half year's notice, expiring with a year of tenancy is by law necesssary and sufficient for determination of a tenancy from year to year, in the case of any such tenancy under a contract of tenancy made either before or after the commencement of this Act, a year's notice so expiring shall by virtue of this Act be necessary and sufficient for the same, unless the landlord and tenant of the holding, by writing under their hands, agree that this section shall not apply, in which case a half year's notice shall continue to be sufficient; but nothing in this section shall extend to a case where the tenant is adjudged bankrupt, or has filed a petition for a composition or arrangement with his creditors.

Service of notice to quit.-Section 28, supra, p. 26, is applicable to service of notice to quit: Thus service of notice to quit is good,

if the notice be sent to a tenant in a registered letter addressed to him at his place of abode, notwithstanding that the addressee refuses to sign the receipt for the letter when it is offered to him, and that the postman in consequence of the refusal takes the letter back to the post office (Van Grutten v. Trevenen, [1902] 2 K. B. 82 ; 71 L. J. K. B. 544; 87 L. T. 344; 50 W. R. 516).

Notice to quit.-Form 10, post, Chap. IV.

Non-application of section.-Wherever there is an express contract as to the time of quitting, or as to the mode of giving notice to quit, the section does not apply (Barlow v. Teal (1885), 15 Q. B. D. 501, citing Wilkinson v. Calvert (1878), 3 C. P. D. 360). Exclusion of section.-Form 11, post, Chap. IV.

34. Tenant's property in fixtures, machinery, etc.] Where after the commencement of this Act a tenant affixes to his holding any engine, machinery, fencing, or other fixture, or erects any building for which he is not under this Act or otherwise entitled to compensation, and which is not so affixed or erected in pursuance of some obligation in that behalf or instead of some fixture or building belonging to the landlord, then such fixture or building shall be the property of and be removable by the tenant before or within a reasonable time after the termination of the tenancy.

Provided as follows:

1. Before the removal of any fixture or building the tenant shall pay all rent owing by him, and shall perform or satisfy all other his obligations to the landlord in respect to the holding:

2. In the removal of any fixture or building the tenant shall not do any avoidable damage to any other building or other part of the holding:

3. Immediately after the removal of any fixture or building the tenant shall make good all damage occasioned to any other building or other part of the holding by the removal:

4. The tenant shall not remove any fixture or building without giving one month's previous notice in writing to the landlord of the intention of the tenant to remove it :

5. At any time before the expiration of the notice of removal the landlord, by notice in writing given by him to the tenant, may elect to purchase any fixture or building comprised in the notice of removal, and any fixture or building thus elected to be purchased shall be left by the tenant, and shall become the property of the landlord, who shall pay the tenant the fair value thereof to an incoming tenant of the holding; and any difference as to the value shall be settled by a reference under this Act, as in case of compensation (but without appeal). Acquired fixtures are within the section (63 & 64 Vict. c. 50, s. 4). See infra, p. 75.

Fixtures will, of course, only mean something ejusdem generis with engines, machinery, or fencing, not all fixtures of any kind, and the right an agricultural tenant had, under the Landlord and Tenant Act, 1851 (14 & 15 Vict. c. 25), s. 3, of removing buildings erected by him with the landlord's consent, is extended to fencing. As these fixtures are the property of the tenant they can be taken in a distress for rent, or under an execution, and sold; while, if they had been the landlord's, this could not have been done. On an assignment of the lease they would not pass, but would have to be separately enumerated, and would make the deed, so far as related to them, a bill of sale.

Removal of trade fixtures.-A glass house erected by a nurseryman for the purpose of carrying on his trade may be removed by the tenant at common law, notwithstanding the provisions of the above section are expressly excluded by his lease, since his common law rights are preserved by s. 60 of the Agricultural Holdings (England) Act, 1883 (see infra, p. 54). Neither is he precluded from removal by a covenant "to leave gratis" for the landlord "all improvements made by the tenant in consideration of "no claim being made by the landlord for similar matters" on entry, since the expression "similar matters was not applicable to extensive houses of the nature of trade fixtures (Mears v. Callender, [1901] 2 Ch. 388).

The landlord gets the right of purchase, not at the value of the fixtures, but at their value to an incoming tenant, which may often be much less than the actual value.

section are

Market gardeners.-The provisions of this extended to every building or fixture affixed or erected by a tenant who is a market gardener (58 & 59 Vict. c. 27, s. 3, see infra, p. 63).

Notice of intention to remove.-Form 12, post, Chap. IV. Notice of intention to purchase.—Form 13, post, Chap. IV.

35. Application of Act to Crown lands.] This Act shall extend and apply to land belonging to her Majesty the Queen, her heirs and successors, in right of the Crown.

With respect to such land, for the purposes of this Act, the Commissioners of her Majesty's Woods, Forests, and Land Revenues, or one of them, or other the proper officer or body having charge of such land for the time being, or in case there is no such officer or body, then such person as her Majesty, her heirs or successors, may appoint in writing under the Royal Sign Manual, shall represent her Majesty, her heirs and successors, and shall be deemed to be the landlord.

Any compensation payable under this Act by the Commissioners of her Majesty's Woods, Forests, and Land Revenues, or either of them, in respect of an improvement mentioned in the first or second part of the First Schedule hereto, shall be deemed to be payable in respect of an improvement of land within section one of the Crown Lands Act, 1866, and the amount thereof shall be charged and repaid as in that section provided with respect to the costs, charges, and expenses therein mentioned.

Any compensation payable under this Act by those Commissioners, or either of them, in respect of an improvement mentioned in the third part of the First Schedule hereto, shall be deemed to be part of the expenses of the management of the Land Revenues of the Crown, and shall be payable to those Commissioners out of such money and in such manner as the last-mentioned expenses are by law payable.

Power to Treasury to direct cost of improvements to be charged to capital, and repaid out of income." Where at any time, after the passing of this Act, any operation, work, matter, or thing, being within the description of the improvement of land contained in section nine of the Act of the session of the twenty-seventh and twenty-eighth years of her Majesty's reign, chapter 114 (the Improvement of Land Act, 1864), is effected or done in or with reference to any part of the possessions and land revenues of the Crown under the management of the Commissioners of her Majesty's Woods, Forests, and Land Revenues (hereinafter in this Act referred to as the Commissioners of