Page:William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (3rd ed, 1768, vol II).djvu/392

 376 tion of the tatute 43 Eliz. c. 4. it is held, that a devie to a corporation for a charitable ue is valid, as operating in the nature of an appointment, rather than of a bequet. And indeed the piety of the judges hath formerly carried them great lengths in upporting uch charitable ues ; it being held that the tatute of Elizabeth, which favours appointments to charities, uperedes and repeals all former tatutes, and upplies all defects of aurances : and therefore not only a devie to a corporation, but a devie by a copyhold tenant without urrendering to the ue of his will , and a devie (nay even a ettlement) by tenant in tail without either fine or recovery, if made to a charitable ue, are good by way of appointment.

regard to devies in general, experience oon hewed how difficult and hazardous a thing it is, even in matters of public utility, to depart from the rules of the common law; which are o nicely contructed and o artificially connected together, that the leat breach in any one of them diorders for a time the texture of the whole. Innumerable frauds and perjuries were quickly introduced by this parliamentary method of inheritance: for o looe was the contruction made upon this act by the courts of law, that bare notes in the hand writing of another peron were allowed to be good wills within the tatute. To remedy which, the tatute of frauds and perjuries, 29 Car. II. c. 3. directs, that all devies of lands and tenements hall not only be in writing, but igned by the tetator, or ome other peron in his preence, and by his expres direction; and be ubcribed, in his preence, by three or four credible witnees. And a imilar olemnity is requiite for revoking a devie.

the contruction of this lat tatute, it has been adjudged that the tetator's name, written with his own hand, at the beginning of his will, as, "I John Mills do make this my lat will Rh