CHAP. XIII. application of the said rents and profits, or any part thereof, by reason of any default, neglect, or breach of trust in the , said , or any receiver so to be appointed as hereinbefore is men- and unpaid by the space of thirty days or more next after CHAPTER XIV. OF ESTATE BILLS. A private act of parliament, which has been defined Effect of a conto be " an assurance of record (1)," does not, like other veyance by act of parliament. assurances, depend on the aid or consent of the parties themselves, but upon the authority of the high court of parliament, where it is placed upon the same footing as the records of the kingdom. which private framing acts usually are Some of applied for. No species of private act is so involved, or re- Occasions on quires so much skill and knowledge in the it, as those for the conveyance of estates. the purposes for which a private act may be necessary, have been already enumerated nnder the head of PARTITION. Other objects are the following:-to enable infants to suffer recoveries, or levy fines of entailed, or convey other, lands, for the purpose of making a family provision on their marriage, or for other reasonable and beneficial purposes,-to authorise guardians and committees to renew leases and apply rents, &c. in payment of fines and expenses,-to enable tenants for life, and others having only particular interests, or committees of lunatics, to make or renew leases, fell timber, or exercise other acts of ownership, which would (1) 1 Bl. Com. 184, 2 Ib. 344. CHAP. XIV. be beneficial to all parties interested, but whose consent, by reason of coverture, idiotcy, &c., cannot be obtained, to empower tenants for life and remaindermen, to charge an estate with jointures, to enable them to marry suitably to their rank and family, where no parties, except such as are very remotely interested, could be prejudiced thereby,-to enable tenants for life to raise portions for their younger children, under the trusts of a term, before the period fixed by the settlement,—to enable trustees of settlements to sell or exchange settled estates, where opportunity occurs of thereby procuring others more eligibly situated,-to confirm exchanges or partitions of estates, in cases where some of the parties are incompetent to assent to the agreement of the others, to correct mistakes or omissions in family settlements, or other deeds, by which the intention of the settlors is prevented from being carried into effect,— to enable bodies-corporate to sell, purchase or exchange lands, where beneficial to the objects of their institution, to authorise the enfranchisement of copyholds under settlement,-to dissolve a marriage in order to prevent a spurious offspring becoming entitled to settled estates, or other just cause,-to naturalize subjects bearing allegiance to a foreign power, to enable them to hold land, or for other beneficial or reasonable purposes,-to enable a person to use the name and bear the arms of another, in pursuance of the conditional provisions of a will or settlement;-in short, to remove any obstacle which may be interposed to the full and beneficial enjoyment and disposition of property, by the parties substantially and beneficially entitled thereto. A conveyance thus made may be the act of the legisla ture, yet it is, nevertheless, regarded as a mere assurance, and cannot be noticed either by the court or the jury, unless specially pleaded and set forth; unless, as is now generally the case, the act contain a distinct declaration to that effect. CHAP. XIV. ginate in the Lords. Private bills, unless some rate or payment, or penalty Estate bills for breach of their provisions,-for then they become in generally orithe nature of money-bills, and must originate in the House of House of Commons,-may pass through their first stage in either house. Such bills, however, are very generally introduced first in the House of Lords, and more especially in the case of ESTATE BILLS, inasmuch as the petition for leave to bring in the bill must be referred to the judges, for their approval, before the bill can proceed in that house; and, therefore, it is prudent, on the score of economy, to encounter this obstruction before any expense has been incurred in preparing the bill, &c. Acts of Parliament, for the transfer or settlement of Parliament very cautious real property, were formerly obtained principally at the at the present instance of powerful individuals, and often on very day in passing estate slight, not to say unjust pretexts. In later times, how- bills. ever, much care and precaution has been practised, in reference to bills of this description, more especially in the House of Lords, where the bill is not allowed to proceed, until the petition has been referred to two of the judges, and they have reported in favour of it. The first step is a petition for leave to bring The first step, in this proceeding, is a petition, praying for leave to bring in the bill. The petition comprises a full recital of the state of the title, so far in a bill. as may be proper to shew the difficulties under which the parties labour, and the incompetency of any other court of judicature to grant relief; and there must be an averment, that no persons who by all interested parties. CHAP. XIV. may hereafter become interested in the estate, under Must be signed any subsisting limitations, can be prejudiced by the operation of the bill. By an order of the House of Lords, the petition must be signed by all parties who are interested in it; and this order extends to trustees for interested parties, with the exception of such only as are mere conduit pipes, as trustees to preserve contingent remainders in strict settlements. Where the consent of material parties cannot be had immediately, there is generally a clause in the bill, declaring that its operation shall be suspended till they are able to give their consent. In a recent case of this kind, one of the parties whose consent was to be had was residing abroad; he died before his consent could be obtained, and it was necessary to apply to parliament again for a second bill to amend the first. An act cannot the sale of lands under which there are mines. By a standing order of the House of Lords, no private be obtained for bill can be had for the sale of lands, under which there are known to be any mines. Two instances have recently come under the author's observation, in which bills were rejected on this ground, after the parties had incurred considerable expense. The proper course, in this case, is to apply for a bill to demise the lands for a term. Provisions and It is also a standing order of the house, that where a precautions as bill is brought to empower any person to sell or dispose to bills affecting lands settled, of lands in one place, and to buy or settle lands in or to be pur chased and set- another place, the committee to whom such bills shall tled. be referred, do take care that the values be fully made out; and if the bill shall not be for making a new purchase, but only for settling other lands in lieu of those to be sold, in that case provision shall be made in the bill, that such other lands be settled accordingly. But if the bill be to purchase and settle other lands, in that |