Page:William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (3rd ed, 1768, vol I).djvu/487

 Ch. 18. town or particular ditrict, as a mayor and commonalty, bailiff and burgees, or the like: ome for the advancement and regulation of manufactures and commerce; as the trading companies of London, and other towns: and ome for the better carrying on of divers pecial purpoes; as churchwardens, for conervation of the goods of the parih; the college of phyicians and company of urgeons in London, for the improvement of the medical cience; the royal ociety, for the advancement of natural knowlege; and the ociety of antiquarians, for promoting the tudy of antiquities. And among thee I am inclined to think the general corporate bodies of the univerities of Oxford and Cambridge mut be ranked: for it is clear they are not piritual or eccleiatical corporations, being compoed of more laymen than clergy: neither are they eleemoynary foundations, though tipends are annexed to particular magitrates and profeors, any more than other corporations where the acting officers have tanding alaries; for thee are rewards pro opera et labore, not charitable donations only, ince every tipend is preceded by ervice and duty: they eem therefore to be merely civil corporations. The eleemoynary ort are uch as are contituted for the perpetual ditribution of the free alms, or bounty, of the founder of them to uch perons as he has directed. Of this kind are all hopitals for the maintenance of the poor, ick, and impotent; and all colleges, both in our univerities and out of them: which colleges are founded for two purpoes; 1. For the promotion of piety and learning by proper regulations and ordinances. 2. For imparting aitance to the members of thoe bodies, in order to enable them to proecute their devotion and tudies with greater eae and aiduity. And all thee eleemoynary corporations are, trictly peaking, lay and not eccleiatical, even though compoed of eccleiatical perons, and although they in ome things partake of the nature, privileges, and retrictions of eccleiatical bodies. Rh