Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1890-08-12

Mr. Rroadhead-lt Wouiu ocf y
=, would be beneficial II any one
shoaId give my property to poor
,asr That would be very benen-
cial TO the poor man
l Mr.. Stewart-That would be n
mere private matter, but TINS, you
.,-e would be n public matter. HOW
,ver. / understand yeur point
Mr.. Broadhead-The poor lnai. .Ls
and the poor Mexicans, aud Ine
moor aMOrmOns," and the poor
..t;entiles', talth0ugh do not know
they are POOR, so far rs the worthy
nor are concerned, have an Interest
in this fund, and charity Is person.
ated in that respect. a
Mfr. Stewart-I did not understand
that YOU claimesi, 20 far rs anything
whatever Is applied TO educational
nurposes. that Il should be confneu
10 that one sect Of Mormons, did
you? -.
Mr.. Broadhead-Yes, sir; oh, yes,
certainly. The intention OF tne
donor il 10 he carried out; that Is
what | claim. / do not deny that
education il n charitable purpose,
hut this was intended for the educa-
ton of the Mormon children anu
not the other children in the Terri
tory Of Utah, and providing for the
wants Of such poor persons As the
members Of the Mormon Church
through proper trustees might III
rect.
Mr.. Stewart-Suppose il should
appear in n general way, for II does
not stand on the same footing As n
will, where the intention OF the
testatOr Is distinctly and expressly
expressed, there can he no question;
here Is where there Is n general
sort Of contribution all around
70 corporation that has
certain powers; now, do you
say this intention Is 10 be
established and to show what the
usage isa OF course you can not
show the intention Of all these
persons.
Mr.. Brnadhsad-I think that IL
the best way in the world Ofshowing
II, by showing that these donations
were given year after year, time
after time, to the leaders Of the
Church as trustees 10 constitute a
fund which was used for the relief
Of the poor, for education, and other
purposes, and they still continue to
give Il, and that IL i still used in the
same way.
Mr.. S,ewart-Do you understand
50 far as this is applied 70 the pur-
pose Of education that the Gentiles
were excluded from enjoying any
benefits or instruction from the
schools under this; that their chill
dren were excluded from sharing
the benefits Of the appropriation 10
the educational fund?
Mr.. Broadhead-By whom, the
Mormens?
Mr.. Stewart-Nes, sir.
Mr.. Broadhead-I do not know
how that j.. What / meant 10 say
i they could exclude them IL they
chose, for IL Was intended for that
particular sect and not for the world
at large.
When n person makes a donation
Of what j. his own, what has been
acquired rs the product Of his own
toll, he has the right 10 say how II
shall he used, provided It Is not
for an illegal purpose; and It matters
not in principle whether the mode
OF giving is by will or by donation
inter TirOs. II the intention can he
asceTtained, that intention must
govern
II the property in this case was
given 70 the Mormon Church 10 be
devoted to charitable USES, then the
Church must determine how 1t
shall lie used b carry out those
purposes according to the intention
OF the donor; il the Church rs a
corporation has been dissolved, as 1t
has been in this case, then the court
as the representative Of the Govern
ment according 20 the rules laid
down in this case must either manage
the fund as IL vas intended - be
managed, or must appoint trustee
or trustees TO 50 manage IL.
The statute OF charitable use, i3d
Elizabeth, followed in detail the
objects Of charity which had been
organized and systematized in the
Roman Empire under the reign Of
Constantine; the revenues provided
for charitable uses under that
statute were tithes, legacie-, and do
nations Of mOvables and immOvables.
and the intention Of the donor was
always carried out. The courts Of
this country tell u that the princi-
pies embodied in the statute Of iGd /
Elizabeth have uniformly been I
adopted and carried out by our
courts Of equity, although the I
statute itself has not been adopted,
for the plain reason that the statute I
provides for the collection Of the 4
revenues for charitable uses, and ap- /
points officers for that purpose; our I
political system tOlerates no EN- I
forced methods Of collecting rev. !
enues, such as tithes for charitable I
USES. Charity with Us j. voluntary !
and comes from the individual-nO .
part Of il from the State.
History tells US that in the year 1
OF the Norman Conquest, Baldwin, |
Count Of Flanders, died, leaving a
will, in which he said, remembering
the words Of our Lord, II was a 4
stranger, and We took me in; naked, |
aud ye clothed me; I was hungry, |
and We gave me food"
have gwen a villa to a church for the
support and rcfresHment Of the poor.
We are told that the Jewish hus-
when his harvest was
over, left a sheaf Of wheat upon the
field for the benefit Of the unknown
stranger.
These are illustrations Of general
charities not confind to any indi-
viiual or particular class Of individ-
uals, and the rule is that the pur-
pose Of the benefit must lie general,
Or 10 n general class, for II is the
Of the person upOn
whom the benefit may fall that
gives merit to the action. \ legacy
10 n friend Is no charity. True
charity must spring from a love Of
and n desire to relieve
the sufIerings and necessities OF our
Horace Birney, in the celebrated
iirard will case, in his argument
before the courts in the land said:
Whatever u given for the love Of God. or
'or the love of our netghbor. IN the cath
llic and universe! sense gwen from these
motives and 20 these ends, free from the
tain Of every thing that y personal, private
u selnsh--ls gtit for charitable uses
But these gifts may be limited to
! certain class e SharswOOd X Budd,
Leading Cases on Real Estate, d.
.3Sl-the requirement OF generality.
'eing satisfied 10y a comprehension
4 persons or designated communi-
ieS, ~ the students Of a certain r.
igiOus faith, the suffering poor Of a
ertain place, or the poor emigrants
( a certain city. All such gifts for .
pecial charitable uses have been /
ustained 10y the courts, and know !
{ no better or more reliable book I'm ;
which TO find the authorities upon a,
his subject than in the sd volume
Sha rzunpI 4 nrfIH T.aHG,,..