Page:An introduction to Roman-Dutch law.djvu/87

 Rh boards charged with the supervision of orphan children, which so early as the middle of the fifteenth century were already in existence in most of the towns of Holland. Their functions were variously defined by the keuren of the various towns. Strictly speaking, their authority was co-ordinate merely with that of the testamentary guardian, but they constantly tended to supervise and sometimes to encroach upon his functions. Thus in the town of Alkmaar, testamentary guardians must be confirmed by the Orphan Chamber, though as a rule such guardians did not require confirmation. Consequently it was the common practice of testators when appointing guardians by will to express in clear terms their wish to exclude the Orphan Chamber from interference with the estate. Even this did not always produce the desired result.

The word ‘guardianship’ is not free from ambiguity, for it implies sometimes guardianship of the person, sometimes administration of the property, sometimes both. Where property alone is concerned the term ‘curatorship’ may be employed. But it is not always easy to distinguish the two functions, for the person who controls the property tends also to control the person.