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TRUST AND THUSTEK. 



TRUST AND TRUSTKi:. 



railway bridge*. The bridge which support* the London and Black wall 

 Railway Kraut the street called the Miuories is a remarkable example. 

 It hu a clau- (pan of sixty-three feet, and U supported by six massive 

 trussed boauu, weighing about fifteen tons each. When used in floors 

 or roofing, timber may be applied on each aide of the iron, supported 

 by ledge* formed for the purpose, to render the fitting of the joiaU 

 and other timber* easy. Smart recommends the use of bridging and 

 ceiling joists formed of wide hoop-iron riveted together, with a slip of 

 poplar between them to hold the flooring or lath-nails; and he 

 observed that neither fir nor oak will, when thin, receive nails near so 

 well as poplar, without splitting : in addition to which he says that, 

 besides being very durable if kept dry, it has the advantage of being 

 uiui'h luu combustible. 



Trussing has been applied with advantage to the raising of sunken 

 floors, and the repair of beams which, from sagging or from the ravage* 

 of dry-rot, have become dangerous. In the forty-second volume of the 

 "Transactions of the Society of Art*,' pp. 149-152, U an account of a 

 method of raising a sunken floor, which had been successfully practised 

 . F. Hielmun, and for which he was rewarded with the large 

 medal of the Society. The floor on which be had operated bad 

 sunk in the middle to the extent of five inches, and bad become very 

 tr. mul"U-, iu consequence of the removal of a trussed partition, in 

 onl-T to throw two rooms into one. The ceiling and cornice of the 

 room below being valuable, it was desirable to apply a remedy from 

 above, which was accomplished by removing the floor, and applying 

 to each side of the sagged beam a oast-iron arch, of which the span 

 was equal to the length, and the height or spring equal to the depth, 

 of the beam. The ends or abutments of these arches were united by 

 tic-rods of wrought-iron. Four equidistant holes were then cut trans- 

 versely through the beam near its lower edge, and in each of these was 

 placed a short bar, having an eye projecting on each side of the beam. 

 Through these eyes were passed vertical bars or trussing bolts, which 

 row above the top of the beam, and were there connected together by 

 cross-pieces, which rested upon blocks attached to the cast-iron arches. 

 By screwing down nuts upon the upper ends of these bolts, as the 

 arches themselves could not yield, the beam was compelled to rise, and 

 was so restored to its original straightness. The cast-iron arches and 

 their tie-rods were formed of several small pieces, so that they might 

 be very conveniently applied ; but for the method of accomplishing 

 this, and for other matters of detail, we must refer to Mr. Richmau's 

 account, which is illustrated with engravings. In the same volume 

 (pp. 153-ltH) is an account of the means adopted by Mr. Alfred Ainger 

 for supporting the decayed timbers of the roof of the church of St. 

 Mary Alderuiary, in the city of London, by means of cast-iron trusses 

 or cradles. This operation was performed under circumstances oi 

 unusual difficulty, some of the beams being so much decayed by the 

 dry-rot as to have lost all bearing upon the walls. The ingenious con- 

 trivances adopted, which were rewarded by the Society of Arts with 

 their large gold medal, prevented the necessity for destroying a richly - 

 ornamented ceiling, the restoration of which would probably have 

 cost SOUttf. 



TKUST AND TRUSTEE. A trust, which is in fact only a new 

 name given to a use, is well defined by Lord Coke in the words 

 employed by him for the definition of the latter term, namely : " A 

 confidence reposed in some other, not issuing out of the land, but as a 

 thing collateral, annexed in privity to the estate of the land, and to 

 the iwrson touching the laud, for which ee*fui out UK has no remedy 

 but by VIH<I in Chancery." (Co. I jtt. 272 b.) The explanation of 

 the terms of the above definition, and an account of the origin of uses 

 ami trusU, and their connection with each other, will be found under 

 USES. The purpose of this article is to give a general account of the 

 nature, constitution, and objects of trusts, of the duties and liabilities 

 of trustee*, and of the rights and estate of the catui ju trtuu, that is 

 of thn persons beneficially entitled under trust*. 



The first division of trusts u into simple and special The simple 

 trust corresponds exactly with the ancient use, and is where property 

 is simply vested in one person for the benefit of another, the terms o 

 the trust not being specified, but left to the construction of law. The 

 special trust, on the other baud, is where property is vested in a 

 trustee for purposes particularly pointed out, and where therefore he 

 U not the simple depositary of the estate, but is bound, in his cliaracter 

 of trustee, to the active performance of certain duties. Special trust* 

 are further subdivided into ministerial and discretionary ; the former 

 being such as require for their performance only the ordinary qualities 

 of a rational agent, the latter such as involve the exercise of more or 

 lea* judgment and discretion. 

 1. of the creation of trust*. 



1. And first, as to trust* created by the act of a party. 

 A declaration of a trust is regarded in equity as a gift or conveyance 

 of property to the persons who are the object* of the trust, and there- 

 fora the capacity to declare a trust U limited by the same rule* as the 

 power of disposing of property at law. Thus persons under the 

 disabilities of coverture, infancy, lunacy, or idiotey are incapable o 

 creating trust* wherever they would be incapable of conveying at law. 

 Ily the common law, trust* might be created by parole, but by the 

 wreath section of the Statute of Fraud* (29 Car. II. c. 8) it was 

 enacted that " all declarations, or creations of trust* or confidence* ii 

 any lands, tenement*, or hereditament*, shall be manifested and prove* 



by some writing, signed by the party who U by law enabled to declare 

 such trust, or by his last will in writing, or else they shall be utterly 

 void and of none effect." The words "land*, tenement*, and heredita- 

 ment* " in this clause can have no application to personal estate, trusts 

 relating to which are therefore not affected by the statute ; but 

 comprise chattels real (3 Vet. 696) and copyholds (Amb. 151.) It u 

 o be observed that the statute doe* not re mire trust* to be dtflartd 

 n writing, but only to be mmifatttl ana frond by writing; and 

 herofore, though the language of the 9th section a* to grant* and 

 assignment* of trusts renders it probable that the intention of the act 

 was that the declaration itself should be in writing, it U established 

 that the statute is satisfied if the trust be manifested by any subsequent 

 acknowledgment on the part of the trustee, however informal or 

 ndirect, as by a letter under his hand, his answer in Chancery, or by a 

 recital in a deed, Ac. ; and though tin; writing itself must !>< signed, 

 ihe terms of the trust may be collected from a paper not signed, pro- 

 vided it can be clearly connected with the signed writing. (3 Yes. 

 696; 2Vern. 288; -1 I'. \V. 112.) 



The enactments of the Statute of Frauds with respect to wills, as 

 now modified by 1 Viet. c. 29, also indirectly affect the creation of 

 trusts. As wills must be executed according to certain formalities, it 

 follows that a trust of realty or personalty cannot be created by will 

 without the observance of the proper solemnities; and it has been 

 determined that, if the legal estate be effectually drvisi-d, tmt the 

 declaration of trust be not duly attested, the devisee of the legal estate 

 will be entitled to the beneficial interest (SAtk. HI); though if there 

 be ma/o Jkla on the part of the devisee or legatee, as if there be an 

 express or implied undertaking to execute the in' 

 will establish the trust notwithstanding the statute. (2 Vern. . 



A trust may be created either directly, by express declaration, or 

 indirectly, without mention of a trust in words, by the expression of 

 an intention, which the court of equity will execute as a trust. 



In direct declarations of trust, technical words ore not necessary ; 

 but it is established as a general rule that, where they are employed, 

 they are to be taken in their legal and technical sense. A 



r is made in this respect between what are called trusts 

 executed, in which the limitations are complete and final, and trusts 

 executory, in which the expressed limitations are not intended as 

 complete in themselves, but only as directions or instructions for a 

 settlement to be afterwards executed. To the former the rule is 

 strictly applicable, while with respect to the latter a court of equity 

 will endeavour to execute what appears to be the intention of the 

 parties, notwithstanding the use of inappropriate technical words ; and 

 the only difference in this respect between executory trusts in marriage 

 articles and in wills is, that the known objects and purposes of the 

 former afford a clue to the intention, which in the latter can in general 

 1* collected only from the language of the instrument. (Fearue, 

 Cont. Rcm.'94, 114.) 



When the owner, or the person otherwise entitled to the disposition 

 of property, shows an intention to exercise it iu favour 

 the court, unless where there is a want of consideration, will execute 

 that intention, however informally expressed. Thus when a person 

 has contracted with another for the sale of his estate, he becomes 

 thereby a trustee of the estate for the purchaser ; or if a testator, 

 without expressly devising his lands, direct them to be sold for pay- 

 ment of debts and legacies, the lands will descend to the heir as a 

 trustee for the creditors and legatees. 



Trustees being considered merely as the instruments through which 

 a trust is to be carried into execution, the Court of Chancery will not 

 allow a trust to fall to the ground from the wont of trustees, or tin 'ir 

 refusal to act, but will appoint proper persons to administer the t 



In general all persons capable of acquiring the legal estate iu property 

 are capable of being trustees, and are bound by the trusts declared of 

 it; though an exception should perhaps be made with respect to 

 property vested in the king, against whom there is no remedy in 

 iy, though the subject might sue the crown by preferring a 

 iwtition of right. (Hardres, 467 ; 1 Ves. 44<i.) The fitness of a 

 person for the office of trustee however depends on his capacity to 

 discharge the discretionary part of the trust, and to join in the. 

 requisite assurances relating to the property : ftma covert and infants, 

 on account of the disabilities they labour under, are not proper ; 

 to select for the office of trustees. An alien may discharge the 

 of trustee of personal chattels, though not of lands or chattels real, as 

 he could not sue or be sued respecting such property; beiil. s whirl., 

 the legal estate of the property so conveyed to the alien would vest, on 

 inquisition found, iu the king. (Gilb. ' On Uses,' 43 ; 2 Mer. 431.) 

 2. As to trust* created by operation of law. 



TrusU of this kind may arise in three ways : 1st. Where the trust 

 originally derives its existence from operation of law; 2ndly. Where, 

 a trust already iu existence is revived by operation of law, as against 

 a particular property ; and, Srdly. Where a trust already in existence, 

 and annexed to a particular subject-matter, arises <le now by operation 

 of law as against a particular person. 



Trust* of the first kind arise either where an estate is purchased in 

 the name of one person, and the consideration is paid by anotln r, in 

 which case a trust of the legal estate arises for the p. 

 the purchase-money ; or where, upon a conveyance or will. 

 devisee, or legatee is intended to take the mere legal estate, and tin.- 



