Page:William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (3rd ed, 1768, vol I).djvu/486

 470 conider the cae of a paron of a church. At the original endowment of parih churches, the freehold of the church, the church-yard, the paronage houe, the glebe, and the tithes of the parih, where veted in the then paron by the bounty of the donor, as a temporal recompene to him for his piritual care of the inhabitants, and with intent that the ame emoluments hould ever afterwards continue as a recompene for the ame care. But how was this to be effected? The freehold was veted in the paron; and, if we uppoe it veted in his natural capacity, on his death it might decend to his heir, and would be liable to his debts and incumbrances: or, at bet, the heir might be compellable, at ome trouble and expene, to convey thee rights to the ucceeding incumbent. The law therefore has wiely ordained, that the paron, quatenus paron, hall never die, any more than the king; by making him and his ucceors a corporation. By which means all the original rights of the paronage are preerved entire to the ucceor: for the preent incumbent, and his predeceor who lived even centuries ago, are in law one and the ame peron; and what was given to the one was given to the other alo.

diviion of corporations, either ole or aggregate, is into eccleiatical and lay. Eccleiatical corporations are where the members that compoe it are entirely piritual perons; uch as bihops; certain deans, and prebendaries; all archdeacons, parons, and vicars; which are ole corporations: deans and chapters at preent, and formerly prior and convent, abbot and monks, and the like, bodies aggregate. Thee are erected for the furtherance of religion, and perpetuating the rights of the church. Lay corporations are of two orts, civil and eleemoynary. The civil are uch as are erected for a variety of temporal purpoes. The king, for intance, is made a corporation to prevent in general the poibility of an interregnum or vacancy of the throne, and to preerve the poeions of the crown entire; for, immediately upon the demie of one king, his ucceor is, as we have formerly een, in full poeion of the regal rights and dignity. Other lay corporations are erected for the good government of a Rh