section, and whether there is any evidence of misappropriation of funds sufficient to support legal proceedings; and we desire to express our acknowledgment of the ready assistance which we have received in these matters, as well as in cases arising under the Blind Persons Act, 1920, referred to in the next section of this Report, from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis and other Police Authorities. In addition to the appeal which was pending at the end of the year 1921, as mentioned above, another appeal against a decision of the Registration Authority removing a Charity from the Register, was presented to us under Section 5 (1) of the Act. This appeal was dismissed, and the Charity concerned is being wound up under our control. We have, during the year, consented under Section 9 (2) of the Act to the institution of proceedings against a person who was charged with an offence against the Act in appealing to the public for donations to a War Charity which had been removed from the Register. The defendant was convicted and a fine of £10 was imposed. In the case of one unregistered War Charity which had been represented to us under Section 7 of the Act, an application to the Court was necessary in order to enforce compliance with an Order requiring accounts and information to be furnished, and after long delay a Scheme has been established by which provision is made for the winding up of the Charity by a body of Trustees who have been good enough to undertake this duty. In the case of other War Charities having surplus funds which could no longer be applied to the original objects of the Charities, we have upon the application of the administering Trustees made Orders extending the Charitable Trusts Acts. to the Charities and establishing Schemes for their future regulation. The number of such Schemes made during the year has been six. In other cases, in accordance with the practice explained in previous Reports, we have assisted the Trustees in the preparation of Declarations of Trust, or, more frequently, in the absence of an intention to create a continuing trust, surplus funds remaining after the original objects have been satisfied, have, with our approval, signified by letter or by Order of Opinion and Advice, been allocated to objects cy-près to those for which the Charity was established. (3) The Blind Persons Act, 1920. During the past year the number of Charities for the Blind entered in the combined Register kept by us of all Charities registered under the Act was 75; the number of Charities for the Blind entered in the combined list kept by us of all Charities which have been exempted from registration was six; and the number of Charities for the Blind entered in the combined list kept by us of all Charities of which registration has been refused was four. The corresponding figures for the year 1920 were 88, 1, and 1 respectively. In the result of the inquiry referred to in last year's Report as being conducted in the case of the Charity for the Blind of which registration had been refused, a very unsatisfactory situation was disclosed. Steps have been taken to obtain particulars of outstanding liabilities and claims, and the Charity is being wound up under our control. Of the four Charities for the Blind of which registration has been refused in 1921, as mentioned above, three were represented to us by the Registration Authority under Section 7 of the War Charities Act, 1916, as re-enacted and modified in and by the Act. Of these one has been wound up under our supervision; in the case of one, proposals are under consideration for the transfer of the funds to the Committee of another Charity for administration by them for the existing objects; and in the case of the third it appeared that no funds had been collected. We have, during the year 1921, given formal decisions in four cases upon the question whether a Charity is a Charity for the Blind within the meaning of the Act, and have made five Orders under Section 5 (2) (a) and Section 7 of the War Charities Act, 1916, as re-enacted and modified in and by the Act, but, as in the case of War Charities, it has hitherto been found possible to deal with the bulk of the work arising under the Act by means of correspondence or personal interviews at our office. (4) The Parochial Church Councils (Powers) Measure, 1921. By Section 4 (1) (ii) of the Parochial Church Councils (Powers) Measure, 1921, all powers, duties and liabilities of the Churchwardens of every parish under specified heads, including the care, maintenance, preservation and insurance of the fabric of the Church and the care and maintenance of the Churchyard have been transferred to the Parochial Church Council. In the result of this transfer many trusts directing payment to Churchwardens of charges lawfully incurred by them under these heads have necessarily come under review. Section 7 (1) of the Measure provides that when the governing body of any parochial Charity which is an ecclesiastical Charity does not include any persons appointed by the Parochial Church Council of any parish affected thereby, that Council may appoint additional members of such governing body not exceeding the number allowed by the Charity Commissioners in each case. Applications have been made for our approval of appointments under the Section, and, in some cases, a question has arisen whether a particular Charity is parochial and ecclesiastical within the Section. The expression" Parochial Charity" is defined by the Measure as meaning a Charity the benefits whereof are confined to inhabitants of a single parish, and the expression "parish in the Measure has the same meaning as in the Constitution of the National Assembly of the Church of England, that is to say, an ecclesiastical parish or district the minister of which has a separate cure of souls therein. The expression "Ecclesiastical Charity " is not defined by the Measure, and we have taken the view that, pending any definition given by an amending Measure, Charities are to be deemed ecclesiastical for the purposes of the Measure if they are wholly ecclesiastical within the interpretation indicated by the Local Government Act, 1894, section 75 (2), and are limited to the Church of England. (5) Sales of Charity Land. The total number of Orders for sale in the 68 years, 1854-1921, has been 20,011, and the purchase money has amounted to £21,029,593 in cash, besides £204,658 of stock. In the past year the sales under our Orders have produced £1,106,039 in cash, besides £12,607 of stock; and, in addition, yearly payments in respect of land sold have been created amounting to £4,371. The amounts in 1920 were £2,257,381 in cash, £960 of stock, and yearly payments £350. The quantity (so far as ascertainable) of the land sold in 1921 under our Orders was 13,791 acres, of which 1,639 acres were situated in Urban Districts and 12,152 acres in Rural Districts. For 1920 the corresponding figures were 32,605 acres, viz., 1,870 in Urban Districts and 30,735 in Rural Districts. The value of land bought has been £37,898 in 1921, and £106,999 in 1920. (6) Classified Statement of Orders. The following table specifies the number and description of the Orders which we have made during the past three years. For the reasons stated in previous Reports, the figures in this table must continue to furnish a very inadequate measure of the amount of business transacted in our Office, a large proportion of which, especially of that which arises from the recourse to our Board by trustees of Charities for the protection and assistance afforded by our advice, is disposed of by correspondence or in personal conference. The table shows that we have made 560 Orders during the past year in exercise of the authority first conferred upon our Board by the Charitable Trusts Act, 1860, for the appointment or removal of trustees, for the establishment of schemes for the regulation of Charities, or for vesting their real estate, through an easy and simple course of procedure, free from technicalities B6628 and almost wholly free also of cost. The numbers of such Orders made by us in the years 1920 and 1919 were 451 and 313 respectively. ... ... ... 110 ... 164 214 5 7 7 2 2 ... 113 Authority for improvements or for expenditure ... 195 1,040 55 . 14 ... Authority to purchase real estate ... ... ... ... ... ... *The powers of the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries to make exchanges of Charity Lands being more summary and beneficial than the powers vested in our Board for the same purposes, such transactions are most generally referred to their cognizance. Description of Orders. Number during year— 1919. 1920. 1921. Orders authorising the transfer of Stock or the ... ... ... 1,785 1,881 236 104 The foregoing Table shows that the number of Orders made by our Board during the past year has been in excess of the number in 1920 and greatly in excess of the number in 1919. Our Returns of incoming and outgoing letters also show that during the past year there has been a considerable increase as compared with previous years in the amount of the general business transacted in our Office. (7) Accounts of Charities. The number of separate charities of which Accounts have been rendered to us during the past year is 32,772. The like number for the year 1920 was 33,191. The total number of Accounts which have been received is 44,546. This number includes: The total number of Accounts received in 1920 was 51,934. (8) Schemes under Charitable Trusts Act, 1853, An Act confirming the Scheme approved and certified by us in the year 1920 was passed on the 17th August, 1921. During the past year we have approved and certified one new Scheme requiring an Act of Parliament to give effect to it. This |