Version No. 001
The Hastie Bequest Act 1887
Act No. 948/1887
Version as at 20 September 2001
table of provisions
SectionPage
1
SectionPage
1.Short title
2.Trustees to pay £60 000 to the residuary legatees
3.Proportion in which the sum of £60 000 to be divided amongst the residuary legatees
4.The residue of the estate after payment of the sum of £60 000
to be paid to the assignees of the next of kin
5.Trustees may transfer securities for moneys
6.Commission and expenses of Act to be deducted by trustees
from amounts payable under Act
7.Acceptance by representatives of residuary legatees of moneys authorized by Act confirmed
8.Trustees acting in pursuance of this Act released from all
liability in respect of the estate or the trusts of the will
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ENDNOTES
1. General Information
2. Table of Amendments
3. Explanatory Details
1
Version No. 001
The Hastie Bequest Act 1887
Act No. 948/1887
Version as at 20 September 2001
1
Act No. 948/1887
The Hastie Bequest Act 1887
An Act to authorize the trustees of the will of the late John Hastie Esquire to distribute the estate of the said John Hastie in accordance with an agreement between the next of kin of the testator and the several parties entitled under the will.
Preamble
WHEREAS John Hastie late of Corangamite in the colony of Victoria died on the eighteenth day of March One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six having by his will dated the twenty-third day of January One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six bequeathed all his property to Daniel Curdie Daniel Mackinnon John Manifold and Peter Manifold on trust to pay an annuity of Two Hundred pounds to his mother Jane Hastie (since deceased) during her life (which amount was duly paid until her death), and on trust to pay to each of his sisters Mary Hastie and Margaret Gardhouse (then Margaret Ingram and in the will called Margaret Hastie) and to his brother George Hastie who died in the testator's lifetime Fifty pounds per annum during their respective lives, and on trust to set aside two sums of One thousand pounds each to pay the annual proceeds of one of the said sums to his niece Mary Hastie for life and to pay the annual proceeds of the other of the said sums to his niece Jane Anderson (then Jane Hastie) for life, and the testator bequeathed certain other specific legacies all of which have been duly paid, and the said testator directed by the said will that after the death of the last survivor of his said relatives the said Jane Hastie his mother George Hastie his brother Mary Hastie and Margaret Gardhouse (then Margaret Hastie) his sisters and Mary Hastie and Jane Anderson (then Jane Hastie) his nieces the trustees of his said will should pay assign or make over the whole residue of his property estate and effects and the securities in which the same should have been invested as therein directed to the person or persons who should constitute or be recognised as the heads respectively for the time being of the United Church of Great Britain and Ireland in the colony of Victoria and the Moderator and Moderators for the time being of the Synod or Synods or other Supreme Ecclesiastical Court or Courts or such of the Presbyterian Church or Churches as recognise and approve of the principles of church establishment or of a connexion between the Church and State and to the University of Melbourne (all of which said bodies are hereinafter called the residuary legatees) or to any or either of them in such part shares or proportions as they the said trustees of his will or the survivor of them should in their discretion and judgment think fit:
AND WHEREAS the said will was duly proved in the Supreme Court of the colony of Victoria by the said Daniel Curdie Daniel Mackinnon and John Manifold on the tenth day of May One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six, and by the said Peter Manifold on the seventh day of August One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven:
Preamble
AND WHEREAS the said John Manifold died on the third day of January One thousand eight hundred and seventy-seven, and the said Daniel Curdie died on the twenty-second day of February One thousand eight hundred and eighty-four, and the said Peter Manifold died on the thirty-first day of July One thousand eight hundred and eighty-five, and the said Daniel Mackinnon as the surviving trustee under and by virtue of an express provision to that effect contained in the said will appointed Donald Mackinnon and John William Curdie as new trustees of the said will and who are now together with the said Daniel Mackinnon the trustees of the said will:
AND WHEREAS at the time of the said testator's death his mother the said Jane Hastie who has since died intestate, his nephew George Hastie who has since died unmarried and intestate, and the said Mary Hastie the elder Margaret Gardhouse his sisters, and Mary Hastie the younger and Jane Anderson his nieces, were the only next of kin of the said testator:
AND WHEREAS the said Mary Hastie the elder on the twentieth day of July One thousand eight hundred and eighty-two obtained letters of administration for the benefit of herself and the said Margaret Gardhouse Mary Hastie the younger and Jane Anderson to the estate of the said Jane Hastie deceased:
Preamble
AND WHEREAS the said Mary Hastie the younger, on the twentieth day of July One thousand eight hundred and eighty-two in like manner and for like purposes obtained letters of administration to the estate and effects of the said George Hastie the nephew of the said testator:
AND WHEREAS by an indenture dated the seventeenth day of September One thousand eight hundred and eighty-two and made between the said Mary Hastie the elder Margaret Gardhouse and William Gardhouse her husband Mary Hastie the younger and Jane Anderson widow hereinafter called the next of kin of the one part and James Balfour of Melbourne merchant John Mark Davies and James Maitland Campbell both of Melbourne solicitors of the other part the said next of kin the consideration therein specified assigned to the said James Balfour John Mark Davies and James Maitland Campbell their heirs executors and administrators all the income accumulations and interest arising from the property and estate of the said John Hastie to which they the said next of kin were entitled in their individual or representative rights; and it was agreed and declared in and by the said indenture that it should be lawful for the said James Balfour John Mark Davies and James Maitland Campbell to agree upon and carry into effect any arrangement or composition of the claims rights and interests of the said next of kin and of all persons taking through or under them in the estate or in the said income accumulations and interest of the said John Hastie deceased which they the said James Balfour John Mark Davies and James Maitland Campbell should think expedient as well with the trustees of the will of the said John Hastie deceased as also with the representatives of the several institutions and corporations mentioned in the said will of the said John Hastie (and herein called the residuary legatees) and to give their consent to join in any petition to Parliament which might be necessary to obtain an Estate Bill or other enactments to give effect to or carry out any such arrangement or composition:
AND WHEREAS the trustees have converted the real estate into money, and after payment of funeral and testamentary expenses and the debts of the testator and the various legacies and annuities bequeathed by the will the said moneys with the accumulations of the income thereof amounted on the eighteenth day of March One thousand eight hundred and eighty-seven to One hundred and forty-six thousand pounds:
Preamble
AND WHEREAS by an Order of the Supreme Court of the Colony of Victoria dated the twelfth day of July One thousand eight hundred and eighty-seven it was declared that the said James Balfour John Mark Davies and James Maitland Campbell (as assignees of the said next of kin) were entitled to receive from the said Daniel Mackinnon Donald Mackinnon and John William Curdie the trustees of the said will and hereinafter called the trustees all income received or to be received on the said sum of One hundred and forty-six thousand pounds from the eighteenth day of March One thousand eight hundred and eighty-seven till the death of the last survivor of the said relatives of the testator:
AND WHEREAS the residuary legatees are the only persons entitled to the corpus of the said sum of One hundred and forty-six thousand pounds, and their enjoyment of the said corpus is by the terms of the said will postponed until after the death of the last survivor of the said next of kin:
AND WHEREAS the said James Balfour John Mark Davies and James Maitland Campbell are the only persons entitled to the income of the said sum of One hundred and forty-six thousand pounds from the said eighteenth day of March One thousand eight hundred and eighty-seven until the death of the last survivor of the said next of kin:
Preamble
AND WHEREAS all the parties interested are desirous that in lieu of the distribution amongst the said residuary legatees of the corpus of the said sum of One hundred and forty-six thousand pounds being postponed until an indefinite future date dependent upon the death of the survivor of the said next of kin they (the said residuary legatees) should immediately receive the sum of Sixty thousand pounds (subject to charges for a proportionate part of the commission and the expenses of this Act as hereinafter mentioned) in full satisfaction and discharge of the corpus of the said sum of One hundred and forty-six thousand pounds and of all claims of whatsoever nature which they the said residuary legatees may or might hereafter have under the said will or upon the said estate in any manner whatsoever; and the said trustees of the will of the said John Hastie are desirous with the full consent of all the said residuary legatees that the sum of Sixty thousand pounds (subject as aforesaid) should be distributed amongst them the said residuary legatees as follows: To the Church of England in Victoria Twenty thousand pounds; to the Presbyterian Church of Victoria Nineteen thousand pounds; to the Free Presbyterian Church of Victoria One thousand pounds; to the University of Melbourne Twenty thousand pounds; and the said parties are desirous that the balance of the said One hundred and forty-six thousand pounds (less the proportionate part of the charges for commission as hereinafter mentioned) should be paid to the said James Balfour John Mark Davies and James Maitland Campbell as assignees of the said next of kin in full satisfaction and discharge of all claims of whatever nature which they the said next of kin or which the said next of kin or which the said James Maitland Campbell as their assignees may have or might hereafter have under or in consequence of the provisions of the said will or upon the said estate or any part thereof in any manner whatsoever:
Preamble
AND WHEREAS the said parties are desirous that the sum of Four thousand five hundred pounds should be paid to the said trustees as commission for their pains and trouble in administering the said estate, such commission to be borne by the said residuary legatees and the said assignees of the said next of kin in the relative proportions of the amounts to be received by them respectively, and that the said several residuary legatees should bear the expenses of this Act out of the said sum of Sixty thousand pounds in the relative proportion of the amounts to be received by them respectively:
AND WHEREAS all the parties interested in the trusts of the said indenture of the seventeenth day of September One thousand eight hundred and eighty-two being of full age and resident in the colony of Victoria have in writing approved the said arrangement and distribution, and it is expedient that the said trustees should be authorized to carry into effect the said arrangement in accordance with the wishes of the said several parties interested in the said estates and that they (the said trustees) should be indemnified in respect thereof: But inasmuch as the said trustees cannot carry into effect the said wishes without the aid and authority of Parliament:
BE IT THEREFORE ENACTED by the Queen's Most Excellent Majesty by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council and the Legislative Assembly of Victoria in this present Parliament assembled and by the authority of the same as follows:
1.Short title
s. 1
This Act may for all purposes be cited as The Hastie Bequest Act.
2.Trustees to pay £60 000 to the residuary legatees
It shall be lawful for the said Daniel Mackinnon Donald Mackinnon and John William Curdie and the survivors and survivor of them as the trustees or trustee for the time being of the will of the said John Hastie deceased (hereinafter designated the said trustees) to pay the sum of Sixty thousand pounds (subject to the deduction therefrom as hereinafter provided of the said proportionate share of the said residuary legatees of the said commission and the full amount of the costs and expenses of obtaining and relating to this Act) to the said residuary legatees distributed in the proportions hereinafter provided in full satisfaction and discharge of all claims right title or interest whether vested or contingent present or prospective of the said residuary legatees or any of them or of any person claiming through them to or in respect of the said sum of One hundred and forty-six thousand pounds or any part thereof or to or in respect of any part of the estate of the said John Hastie under the said will or in any manner whatsoever.
3.Proportion in which the sum of £60 000 to be divided amongst the residuary legatees
The said trustees shall distribute the said sum of Sixty thousand pounds (subject to the deduction therefrom as hereinafter provided of the said proportionate share of the said commission and subject to the expenses of and relating to this Act as aforesaid) amongst the said residuary legatees as follows that is to say:
To the Right Reverend Field Flowers Goe Doctor of Divinity Bishop of Melbourne or to his successors in the said Diocese and the Right Reverend Samuel Thornton Doctor of Divinity Bishop of Ballarat or to his successors in the Diocese of Ballarat for and on behalf of the Church of England in Victoria the sum of Twenty thousand pounds less the said proportionate share of the said commission and of the expenses of and relating to this Act.
To the Moderator for the time being of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Victoria for and on behalf of the said General Assembly the sum of Nineteen thousand pounds less the said proportionate share of the said commission and of the expenses of and relating to this Act.
s. 3
To the Moderator for the time being of the Free Presbyterian Church of Victoria for and on behalf of the said Free Presbyterian Church the sum of One thousand pounds less the said proportionate share of the said commission and of the expenses of and relating to this Act.
To the Chancellor and Council of the University of Melbourne on behalf of the University of Melbourne the sum of Twenty thousand pounds less the said proportionate share of the said commission and of the expenses of and relating to this Act.
4.The residue of the estate after payment of the sum of £60 000 to be paid to the assignees of the next of kin
s. 4
It shall be lawful for the said trustees to pay over the balance of the said sum of One hundred and forty-six thousand pounds and any other the moneys remaining in their hands of the said estate of the said John Hastie after the payment of the said sum of Sixty thousand pounds as in the preceding sections provided and subject to the deduction therefrom as hereinafter provided of the said proportionate share of the said commission to the said James Balfour John Mark Davies and James Maitland Campbell as assignees of the said next of kin in full satisfaction and discharge of all claims right title or interest vested or contingent present or prospective of the said next of kin and of each and every one of them to all the income received or receivable on the accumulated corpus of the estate of the said John Hastie and in full satisfaction and discharge of all claims right title or interest vested or contingent present or prospective of the said James Balfour John Mark Davies and James Maitland Campbell as such assignees of the said next of kin and in full satisfaction and discharge of any claims whatsoever which either the said next of kin or any of them or which the said James Balfour John Mark Davies and James Maitland Campbell as such assignees may or which but for this Act any of them might have upon the said estate or accumulations either under or in consequence of the said will or in any manner whatsoever, and the said James Balfour John Mark Davies and James Maitland Campbell shall receive the said moneys as such assignees as aforesaid, subject to the conditions of the said recited indenture dated the seventeenth day of September One thousand eight hundred and eighty-two, and subject to the trusts therein created: But the said Daniel Mackinnon Donald Mackinnon and John William Curdie shall be absolutely discharged by the payment of the said moneys to the said James Balfour, John Mark Davies and James Maitland Campbell, and shall not be in any manner responsible for or be in any way required to see to the carrying out of the trusts of the said indenture.