Halsey v. Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Diocese

Robinson, J., delivered the opinion of the Court. ■ This is a bill filed for the purpose of obtaining a construction of the will of the late Susanna Warfield, and for the purpose of having certain trusts declared therein administered, and the estate settled, under the direction of a Court of equity. The main questions are — First, whether certain devises and bequests made to the Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church of the Diocese of Maryland are valid devises and bequests ? Secondly, To whom, and in what proportions, are the legacies bequeathed to Ceorge W. Holmes and Dr. Lewis Holmes, both of whom died in the life-time of the testatrix, to be distributed ? ²⁸⁰ And thirdly, whether the bequest of $5000 to each of the executors, is to be construed as a bequest to them in their character as executors, or to them as individuals?” 1. In the first clause of the will, the testatrix devised the “Groveland” farm, on which she resided, to her nephew, George W. Holmes for life, and upon his death to her nephew, Dr. Lewis Holmes for life, and upon his death, she directed that one hundred acres of the said Groveland farm, including the portion where the mansion and surrounding out-buiklings are located, should be set apart by her executor and trustee, should she fail to do so herself; and the one hundred acres thus to be set apart, “with the buildings and improvements, furniture, pictures, portraits and silver,” she devised “to the Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church of the Diocese of Maryland, a body corporate, and its successors forever, to be held as a place for a church school for hoys, to be under the control and supervision of said corporation.” The said school she directed should be called the “ Warfield College ” in memory of her brother, who formerly owned the “ Groveland farm, ” and who intended himself to make a like disposition of said property.

By the second clause of the will, after providing a fund of $20,000 “face value in bonds or stocks or other good securities,”' the income of which was to be paid to her sister, Anna E. Wade for life, the testatrix directed that $5000 of said fund should at the death of Mrs. Wade “be paid to the Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church of the Diocese of Maryland, as an endowment to the above mentioned Warfield College.” By the fifteenth clause, she gave whatever amount of money should be to her credit at the time of, her death, in the Savings Bank of Baltimore, to the Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church of the Diocese of Maryland, as a further endowment for the Warfield College. ²⁸¹ Now, by a codicil made three years after the date of her will, after referring to the gift in her will of the “Groveland” estate, &c., to her nephews George W. Holmes and Lewis Holmes, and at' their death to become an Episcopal Church College to be named after her brother, she says, “As Summerville Holmes and Dr. Lewis Holmes are now dead, and all things changed, I have to change my will also. And as the Church does not wish to be bothered with so much land, neither does George W. Holmes, it is my great desire to sell all the land but fifty acres, and the proceeds of the sale to be invested in some good securities for the benefit of the Warfield College.” Construing the will and codicil together, there can .be no question as to the testatrix’s intention in regard to the disposition of the Groveland property. And, as thus construed, the codicil operates as a revocation of the first clause of the will in two respects, and in these two only, — First, to reduce the quantity of land devised to the Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church of the Diocese of Maryland for a church school from one hundred acres to fifty acres, the said fifty acres to include the Mansion House and out-buildings and improvements; and secondly, she directs the remaining portion of the farm to be sold, and the proceeds to be invested for the benefit of the college. And, such being the case, the question is whether the devise thus made to the Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church of the Diocese of Maryland, is a valid devise ?

And this can hardly be considered an open question in this State. The Statute of 43 Elizabeth in regard to charities, is not, it is true, in force here, but it is well settled that a Court of chancery, has jurisdiction, independent altogether of the Statute, to enforce a trust for charitable and religious purposes, provided the devise or bequest be made to a person or body corporate capable of taking ²⁸² and holding the property so devised and bequeathed, and provided, further, the object and character of the trust be definite and certain. When these exist, — when the gift is made to one capable of taking it, and when the trust is declared in definite terms, — a Court of chancery has the same power to enfore such a trust for a.charitable or religious purpose, as it has to enforce a trust for any other purpose. Barnum, et al. vs. Mayor, &c. of Baltimore, et al., 62 Md., 293 ; Crisp, et al. vs. Crisp, et al., 65 Md., 422 ; Eutaw Place Baptist Church vs. Shively, et al., 67 Md., 493 .

And, if so, the question resolves itself to this: Is the Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church of the Diocese of Maryland capable of taking property by gift or devise for the purpose of founding and maintaining a church school for boys ? And in regard to this there cannot he, it seems to us, any contention. It is now, and has been for years, a lawfully incorporated body, and by the Act of 1878, chapter 403, the Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church of the Diocese of Maryland is expressly authorized “to receive, by gift, devise, or otherwise, contributions in money, lands, or other property, and to hold the same for burial grounds, church colleges, church or parish schools.” Here, then, is a devise of land to a body corporate, capable of taking and holding the same. And the object for which the land and the legacies are given, is declared to be for the purpose of founding and supporting a church school for boys, to be called the “Warfield College.” The object and purpose of the trust are definite and certain, and such as a Court of chancery has full power to enforce.

And, this being so, we are of opinion that the devise of the fifty acres of the Groveland Farm, including the buildings and improvements, together with the furniture, pictures, portraits, silver, &c., and the several bequests in the will and codicil to the Convention of the ²⁸³ Protestant Episcopal Church of this diocese for the purposes of a church school for hoys, to be called the “Warfield College,” are valid devises and bequests. And the executors and trustees named in the will having declined to act, a Court of equity has the power to appoint a trustee to set apart the fifty acres of the “'Grove-land Farm,” including the buildings, and' to sell the remaining portion of the farm, and to invest the same in good securities for the support of the college. It will be necessary, of course, to get the sanction of the Legislature to these devises and bequests, as required by Article 38, Declaration of Rights, Constitution. It follows from what we have said, that the legacy of six thousand dollars to the vestry of the Holy Trinity, in Carroll County, for the support of the rector of the Church of the Holy Trinity and of St. Barnabas’ Chapel, and for the repair of the church, is also a valid bequest, subject to the sanction of the Legislature. 2.