See also:

• CORPORATION (from Lat. corporare, to form into a body, corpus, corporis)

CORPORATION (from See also:

• LAT

Lat. corporare, to See also:

• FORM (Lat. forma)

form into a See also:

• BODY

body, corpus, corporis)  , in See also:

• ENGLISH

English See also:

• LAW
• LAW (0. Eng. lagu, M. Eng. lawe; from an old Teutonic root lag, " lie," what lies fixed or evenly; cf. Lat. lex, Fr. loi)
• LAW, JOHN (1671—1729)
• LAW, WILLIAM (1686-1761)

law, an association of persons which is treated in many respects as if it were itself a See also:

• PERSON, OFFENCES AGAINST THE

person . It has rights and duties of its own which are not the rights and duties of the individual members thereof . Thus a See also:

• CORPORATION (from Lat. corporare, to form into a body, corpus, corporis)

corporation may own See also:

• LAND

land, but the individual members of the corporation have no rights therein . A corporation may owe See also:

• MONEY

money, but the corporators as individuals are under no See also:

• OBLIGATION

obligation to pay the See also:

• DEBT (Lat. debitum, a thing owed)

debt . The rights and duties descend to the successive members of the corporation . This capacity of perpetual See also:

• SUCCESSION (Lat. successio, from succedere, to follow after)

succession is regarded as the distinguishing feature of corporations as compared with other See also:

• SOCIETIES, LEARNED

societies . One of the phrases most commonly met with in law-books describes a corporation as a society with perpetual succession and a See also:

• COMMON

common See also:

• SEAL
• SEAL, FUR
• SEAL, HAIR

seal . The latter point, however, is not conclusive of the corporate See also:

• CHARACTER (Gr. xapareri7p, from xap&crew, to scratch)

character . The legal attributes of a corporation have been worked out with See also:

• GREAT

great fulness and ingenuity in English law, but the conception has been taken full-grown from the law of See also:

• ROME
• ROME (Roma)

Rome . The See also:

• TERM

term in See also:

• ROMAN

Roman law corresponding to the See also:

• MODERN

modern corporation is collegium; a more See also:

• GENERAL
• GENERAL (Lat. generalis, of or relating to a genus, kind or class)

general term is universitas . A collegium or corpus must have consisted of at least three persons, who were said to be corporati—habere corpus . They could hold See also:

• PROPERTY

property in common and had a common See also:

• CHEST (Gr. Kiarl, Lat. cista, O. Eng. cist, test, &c.)

chest .

They might See also:

• SUE, EUGENE [JosEPH MARIE] (1804—1857)

sue and be sued by their See also:

• AGENT (from Lat. agere, to act)

agent (syndicus or actor) . There was a See also:

• COMPLETE

complete separation in law between the rights of the collegium as a See also:

• BODY

body and those of its individual members . The collegium remained in existence although all its See also:

• ORIGINAL

original members were changed . It was governed by its own by-See also:

• LAWS

laws, provided these were not contrary to the common law . The See also:

• POWER [WILLIAM GRATTAN] TYRONE (1797-1841)

power of forming collegia was restrained, and societies pretending to See also:

• ACT (Lat. actus, actum)

act as corporations were often suppressed . In all these points the collegia of Roman closely resemble the corporations of English law . There is a similar parallel between the purposes. for which the formation of such societies is authorized in English and in Roman law . Thus among the Roman collegia the following classes are distinguished: (r) Public governing bodies, or municipalities, civitates; (2) religious societies, such as the collegia of priests and Vestal Virgins ; (3) See also:

• OFFICIAL (Late Lat. QJicialis, for class. Lat. apparitor, from officium, office, duty)

official societies, e.g. the scribae, employed in the See also:

• ADMINISTRATION (Lat. administrare, to serve)

administration of the See also:

• STATE
• STATE, GREAT OFFICERS OF

state ; (4) See also:

• TRADE (O. Eng. trod, footstep, from tredan, to tread; in M. Eng. the forms teed, trod and trade appear, the last in the sense of a beaten track)
• TRADE, BOARD OF

trade societies, e.g. fabri, pictores, navicularii, &c . This class shades down into the societates not incorporated, just as our own trading corporations partake largely of the character of See also:

• ORDINARY (med. Lat. ordinarius, Fr. ordinaire)

ordinary partnerships . In the later Roman law the distinction of corporations into See also:

• CIVIL

civil and ecclesiastical, into See also:

• LAY

lay and eleemosynary, is recognized . The latter could not alienate without just cause, nor take land without a See also:

• LICENCE (through the French from Lat. licentia, licere, to be lawful)

licence—a restriction which may be compared with modern statutes of See also:

• MORTMAIN (0. Fr. mortemain; med. Lat. mortua manus, dead hand)

mortmain . All these privileged societies are what we should See also:

• CALL (from Anglo-Saxon ceallian, a common Teutonic word, cf. Dutch kallen, to talk or chatter)

call corporations aggregate .

The corporation See also:

• SOLE (Solea)

sole (i.e. consisting of only a single person) is a later refinement, for although Roman law held that the corporation subsisted in full force, notwithstanding that only one member survived, it did not impute to the successive holders of a public See also:

• OFFICE (from Lat. officium, " duty," " service," a shortened form of opifacium, from facere, " to do," and either the stem of opes, " wealth," " aid," or opus, " work ")

office the character of a corporation . When a public officer in English law is said to be a corporation sole, the meaning is that the rights acquired by him in that capacity descend to his successor in office, and not (as the See also:

• CASE
• CASE, JOHN (d. 1600)

case is where a public officer is not a corporation) to his ordinary legal representative . The best known instances of corporation sole are the See also:

• KING
• KING (O. Eng. cyning, abbreviated into cyng, cing; cf. O. H. G. chun- kuning, chun- kunig, M.H.G. kiinic, kiinec, kiinc, Mod. Ger. Konig, O. Norse konungr, kongr, Swed. konung, kung)
• KING [OF OCKHAM], PETER KING, 1ST BARON (1669-1734)
• KING, CHARLES WILLIAM (1818-1888)
• KING, CLARENCE (1842–1901)
• KING, EDWARD (1612–1637)
• KING, EDWARD (1829–1910)
• KING, HENRY (1591-1669)
• KING, RUFUS (1755–1827)
• KING, THOMAS (1730–1805)
• KING, WILLIAM (1650-1729)
• KING, WILLIAM (1663–1712)

king and the See also:

• PARSON

parson of a See also:

• PARISH (Gr. irapouda, district, neighbourhood; 7r&poucos, one dwelling near or beside, from crap&, OtKOS, house; Lat. paroecur, Late Lat. parochia; cf. Fr. paroisse)

parish . The conception of the king as a corporation is the See also:

• KEY
• KEY (in O. Eng. tang; the ultimate origin of the word is unknown; it appears only in Old Frisian kei of other Teutonic languages; until the end of the 17th century the pronunciation was kay, as in other words in O. Eng. ending in aeg; cf. daeg, day; clang
• KEY (the phraseograms being indicated by hyphens)
• KEY, SIR ASTLEY COOPER (1821-1888)
• KEY, THOMAS HEWITT (1799-1875)

key to many of his paradoxical attributes in constitutional theory—his invisibility, See also:

• IMMORTALITY (Lat. in-, not, mortalis, mortal, from mors, death)

immortality, &c . The term quasi-corporation is applied to holders for the See also:

• TIME (0. Eng. Lima, cf. Icel. timi, Swed. timme, hour, Dan. time; from the root also seen in " tide," properly the time of between the flow and ebb of the sea, cf. O. Eng. getidan, to happen, " even-tide," &c.; it is not directly related to Lat. tempus)
• TIME, MEASUREMENT OF
• TIME, STANDARD

time being of certain official positions, though not incorporated, as the churchwardens of a parish, guardians of the poor, &c . The Roman conception of a corporation was kept alive by ecclesiastical and municipal bodies . When English lawyers came to See also:

• DEAL

deal with such societies, the corporation law of Rome admitted of easy application . Accordingly, in no See also:

• DEPARTMENT (Fr. departement, from departir, to separate into parts)

department has English law borrowed so copiously and so directly from the civil law . The corporations known to the earlier English law were mainly the municipal, the ecclesiastical, and the educational and eleemosynary . To all of these the same principles, borrowed from Roman See also:

• JURISPRUDENCE (Lat. jurisprudenlia, knowledge of law, from jus, right, and prudentia, from providere, to foresee)
• JURISPRUDENCE, COMPARATIVE

jurisprudence, were applied . The different purposes of these institutions brought about in course of time See also:

• DIFFERENCES, CALCULUS OF (Theory of Finite Differences)

differences in the rules of the law applicable to each . In particular, the great development of trading companies under See also:

• SPECIAL

special statutes has produced a new class of corporations, differing widely from those formerly known to the law .

The reform of municipal corporations has also restricted the operation of the principles of the older corporation law . These principles, however, still apply when special statutes have not intervened . The legal origin of corporation is ascribed by J . See also:

• GRANT (from A.-Fr. graunter, O. Fr. greanter for creanter, popular Lat. creantare, for credentare, to entrust, Lat. credere, to believe, trust)
• GRANT, ANNE (1755-1838)
• GRANT, CHARLES (1746-1823)
• GRANT, GEORGE MONRO (1835–1902)
• GRANT, JAMES (1822–1887)
• GRANT, JAMES AUGUSTUS (1827–1892)
• GRANT, ROBERT (1814-1892)
• GRANT, SIR ALEXANDER
• GRANT, SIR FRANCIS (1803-1878)
• GRANT, SIR JAMES HOPE (1808–1895)
• GRANT, SIR PATRICK (1804-1895)
• GRANT, U
• GRANT, ULYSSES SIMPSON (1822-1885)

Grant (See also:

• TREATISE

Treatise on the Law of Corporations, 185o) to five See also:

• SOURCES

sources, viz, common law, See also:

• PRESCRIPTION

prescription, act of See also:

• PARLIAMENT (Anglo-Lat. parliamentum, Fr. parlement, from parler, to speak)

parliament, See also:

• CHARTER (Lat. charta, carta, from Gr. Xap-rns, originally for papyrus, material for writing, thence transferred to paper and from this material to the document, in O. Eng. boc, book)

charter and implication . Prescription in legal theory implies a grant, so that corporations by prescription would be reducible to the class of chartered or statutory corporations . A corporation is said to exist by implication when the purposes of a legally constituted society cannot be carried out without corporate See also:

• POWERS, HIRAM (1805-1873)

powers . Corporations are thus ultimately traceable to the authority of charters and acts of parliament . The power of creating corporations by charter is an important See also:

• PREROGATIVE

prerogative of the See also:

• CROWN

crown, but in the See also:

• PRESENT

present state of the constitution, when all the powers of the crown are practically exercised by parliament, there is no See also:

• ROOM

room for any See also:

• JEALOUSY (adapted from Fr. jalousie, formed from jaloux, jealous, Low Lat. zelosus, Gr. j'i os, ardour, zeal, from the root seen in '&u', to boil, ferment; cf. " yeast ")

jealousy as to the manner in which it may be exercised . The power of chartering corporations belonged also to subjects who had See also:

• JURA
• JURA (" deer island ")

jura See also:

• REGALIA (Lat. regalis, royal, from rex, king)

regalia, e.g. the bishops of See also:

• DURHAM
• DURHAM, JOHN GEORGE LAMBTON, 1ST EARL OF (1792–1840)

Durham granted a charter of See also:

• INCORPORATION (from Lat. incorporare, to form into a body)

incorporation to the See also:

• CITY (through Fr. cite, from Lat. civitas)

city of Durham in 1565, 1602 and 1780 . The charter of a corporation is regarded as being of the nature of a See also:

• CONTRACT
• CONTRACT (Lat. contract us, from contrahere, to draw together, to bind)

contract between the king and the corporation . It will be construed more favourably for the crown, and more strictly as against the grantee . It cannot alter the law of the land, and it may be surrendered, so that, if the surrender is accepted by the crown and enrolled in See also:

• CHANCERY

chancery, the corporation is thereby dissolved .

Great use was made of this power of the crown in the reigns of See also:

• CHARLES
• CHARLES (1270-1325)
• CHARLES (1421-1461)
• CHARLES (1525-1574)
• CHARLES (c. 1319-1364)
• CHARLES (Fr. Charles; Span. Carlos; Ital. Carlo; Ger. Karl; derived from O.H.G. Charal,latinized as Carolus, meaning originally " man ": cf. Mod.Ger., Kerl," fellow," A.S. ceorl, Mod. Eng. " churl ")
• CHARLES (KARL EITEL ZEPHYRIN LUDWIG; in Rum. CAROL)
• CHARLES [KARL ALEXANDER] (1712-1780)
• CHARLES, ELIZABETH (1828-1896)
• CHARLES, JACQUES ALEXANDRE CESAR (1746-1823)
• CHARLES, THOMAS (1755-1814)

Charles II. and See also:

• JAMES
• JAMES (Gr. 'IlrKw,l3or, the Heb. Ya`akob or Jacob)
• JAMES (JAMES FRANCIS EDWARD STUART) (1688-1766)
• JAMES, 2ND EARL OF DOUGLAS AND MAR(c. 1358–1388)
• JAMES, DAVID (1839-1893)
• JAMES, EPISTLE OF
• JAMES, GEORGE PAYNE RAINSFOP
• JAMES, HENRY (1843— )
• JAMES, JOHN ANGELL (1785-1859)
• JAMES, THOMAS (c. 1573–1629)
• JAMES, WILLIAM (1842–1910)
• JAMES, WILLIAM (d. 1827)

James II . Every corporation, it is said, must have a name, and it may have more names than one, but two corporations cannot have the same name . And corporations cannot See also:

• CHANGE (derived through the Fr. from the Late Lat. cambium, cambiare, to barter; the ultimate derivation is probably from the root which appears in the Gr. «a urmu', to bend)

change their name See also:

• SAVE, or SAVA (Ger. Sau; Hungarian Szdva; Lat. Savus)

save by charter or some See also:

• EQUIVALENT

equivalent authority . The See also:

• POSSESSION
• POSSESSION (Lat. possessio, possidere, to possess)

possession of a common seal, though, as already stated, not conclusive of the corporate character, is an incident of every corporation aggregate . The inns of courts have common See also:

• SEALS

seals, but they are only voluntary societies, not corporations . Generally speaking, all corporate acts affecting strangers must be performed under the common seal; acts of See also:

• INTERNAL

internal administration affecting only the corporators, need not be under seal . The See also:

• RULE

rule has been defended as following necessarily from the impersonal character of a corporation; either a seal or something equivalent must be fixed upon so that the act of the corporation may be recognized by all . A corporation may be abolished by See also:

• STATUTE

statute, but not by the See also:

• MERE
• MERE, ADALBERT (1838-1909)

mere authority of the crown . It may also become See also:

• EXTINCT

extinct by the disappearance of all its members or of any integral See also:

• PART

part, by surrender of charter if it is a chartered society, by See also:

• PROCESS

process of law, or by See also:

• FORFEITURE (from " forfeit," originally an offence, and hence a fine exacted as a penalty for such; derived through the O. Fr. forfeit, from the late Lat. foris factum, a trespass, that which is done foris, outside)

forfeiture of privileges . The power of the See also:

• MAJORITY (Fr. majorite; Med. Lat. majoritas; Lat. major, greater)

majority to See also:

• HIND

hind the society is one of the first principles of corporation law, even in cases where the corporation has a See also:

• HEAD (in 0. Eng. heafad; the word is common to Teutonic languages; cf. Dutch hoofd, Ger. Haupt, generally taken to be in origin connected with Lat. caput, Gr. KerbOvi7)
• HEAD, SIR EDMUND WALKER, BART
• HEAD, SIR FRANCIS BOND, BART

head . It is even said that only by anact of parliament can this rule be avoided . The binding majority is that of the number present at a corporate See also:

• MEETING (from " to meet," to come together, assemble, 0. Eng. metals ; cf. Du. moeten, Swed. mota, Goth. gamotjan, &c., derivatives of the Teut. word for a meeting, seen in O. Eng. Wit, moot, an assembly of the people; cf. witanagemot)

meeting duly summoned .

In corporations which have a head (as colleges), although the head cannot See also:

• VETO (Lat. for " I forbid ")

veto the See also:

• RESOLUTION

resolution of the majority, he is still considered an integral part of the society, and his See also:

• DEATH

death suspends its existence, so that a head cannot devise or bequeath to the corporation, nor can a grant be made to a corporation during vacancy of the headship . A corporation. has power to make such regulations (by-laws) as are necessary for carrying out its purposes, and these are binding on its members and on persons within its See also:

• LOCAL

local See also:

• JURISDICTION
• JURISDICTION, CRIMINAL LAW, DIVORCE

jurisdiction if it has any . The power to acquire and hold land was incident to a corporation at common law, but its restriction by the statutes of mortmain See also:

• DATES

dates from a very See also:

• EARLY
• EARLY, JUBAL ANDERSON (1816-1894)

early See also:

• PERIOD
• PERIOD (Gr. irepioSos, a going or way round, circuit, aepi, round, and &Sis, way, road)

period . The English law against mortmain was dictated by the jealousy of the feudal lords, who lost the services they would otherwise have been entitled to, when their land passed into the hands of a perpetual corporation . The vast increase in the estates of ecclesiastical corporations constituted by itself a danger which might well justify the operation of the restricting statutes . The Mortmain Acts applied only to cases of See also:

• ALIENATION (from Lat. alienus, belonging to another)

alienation inter vivos . There was no power to devise lands by will until 32 See also:

• HENRY
• HENRY (1129-1195)
• HENRY (c. 1108-1139)
• HENRY (c. 1174–1216)
• HENRY (Fr. Henri; Span. Enrique; Ger. Heinrich; Mid. H. Ger. Heinrich and Heimrich; O.H.G. Haimi- or Heimirih, i.e. " prince, or chief of the house," from O.H.G. heim, the Eng. home, and rih, Goth. reiks; compare Lat. rex " king "—" rich," therefore " mig
• HENRY, EDWARD LAMSON (1841– )
• HENRY, JAMES (1798-1876)
• HENRY, JOSEPH (1797-1878)
• HENRY, MATTHEW (1662-1714)
• HENRY, PATRICK (1736–1799)
• HENRY, PRINCE OF BATTENBERG (1858-1896)
• HENRY, ROBERT (1718-1790)
• HENRY, VICTOR (1850– )
• HENRY, WILLIAM (1795-1836)

Henry VIII. c . 1 (1540), and when the power was granted corporations were expressly excluded from its benefits . No devise to a corporation, whether for its own use or in See also:

• TRUST

trust, was allowed to be See also:

• GOOD, JOHN MASON (1764-1827)

good; land so devised went to the See also:

• HEIR (Lat. heres, from a root meaning to grasp, seen in heres or erus, master of a house, Gr. xeip, hand, Sans. hat ana, hand)

heir, either absolutely or charged with the See also:

• TRUSTS

trusts imposed upon it in the abortive devise . A modification, however, was gradually wrought by the judicial interpretations of the Charitable Trusts Act 16o1, and it was held that a devise to a corporation for a charitable purpose might be a good devise, and would stand unless voided by the Mortmain Acts; so that no corporation could take land, without a licence, for any purpose or in any way; and no localised corporation could take lands by devise, save for charitable purposes . Then came the act of 1736, commonly but improperly called the Mortmain Act . Its effect was generally to make it impossible for land to be See also:

• LEFT

left by will for charitable uses, whether through a corporation or a natural person.' The See also:

• WILLS, WILLIAM GORMAN (1828-1891)

Wills Act 1837 did not renew the old See also:

• PROVISION (Lat. provisio)

provision against devises to corporations, which therefore See also:

• FELL
• FELL, JOHN (1625-1686)

fell under the general law of mortmain .

The law was consolidated by the Mortmain and Charitable Uses Act 1888, and the result is simply that corporations cannot take land for any purpose without a licence, and no licence in mortmain is granted by the crown, except in certain statutory cases in the interests of See also:

• RELIGION
• RELIGION, FOLKLORE, CUSTOM

religion, charity or other definite public See also:

• OBJECT

object . The power of corporations at common law to alienate their property is usually restricted, as is their power to See also:

• LEASE (derived through the Fr. from the Lat. laxare, to loosen)

lease it for more than a. certain number of years, except by See also:

• SANCTION (Lat. sanctia, from sancire, to decree or ordain)

sanction of a public authority . The more important classes of corporations, how-ever, are now governed by special statutes which exclude or modify the operation of the common law principles . The most considerable class of societies still unaffected by such special legislation are the See also:

• LIVERY

Livery Companies (q.v.) . Under See also:

• COMPANY

COMPANY will be found an See also:

• ACCOUNT
• ACCOUNT (through O. Fr. acont, Late Lat. comptum, cornputare, to calculate)

account of the important enactments regulating See also:

• JOINT (through Fr. from Lat. junctum, jungere, to join)

joint-stock companies . The question to what extent the common law incidents of a corporation have been interfered with by special legislation has become one of much importance, especially under the acts See also:

• RELATING

relating to joint-stock companies . The most important case on this subject is that of Riche v . The Ashbury Railway See also:

• CARRIAGE

Carriage Company, 1875 (L.R . 9 Ex . 224; L.R . 7 H.L . 653), in. which, the See also:

• JUDGES, THE BOOK OF

judges of the See also:

• EXCHEQUER

exchequer chamber being equally divided, the decision of the See also:

• COURT
• COURT (from the O. Fr. court, Late Lat. cortis, curtis, a popular form of class. Lat. cohors, gen. cohortis; the mod. Fr. form tour is due to the influence of the Lat. curia, the word used in medieval documents to translate " court " in the feudal sense)
• COURT, ANTOINE (1696-176o)

court below was affirmed .

The view taken by the affirming judges, viz. that the common law incidents of a corporation adhere unless expressly removed by the legislature, may be ' Devises to colleges are excepted from the operation of the act, but such devises must be for purposes identical with or closely resembling the original purposes of the See also:

• COLLEGE (Collegium)

college; and the exception from this act does not supersede the See also:

• NECESSITY (Lat. necessitas)

necessity for a licence in mortmain . illustrated by a See also:

• SHORT, FRANCIS JOB (1857– )

short See also:

• EXTRACT (from Lat. extrahere, to draw out)

extract from the See also:

• JUDGMENT

judgment of Mr See also:

• JUSTICE (Lat. justitia)

Justice See also:

• BLACKBURN
• BLACKBURN, COLIN BLACKBURN, BARON (1813-1896)
• BLACKBURN, JONATHAN (c. 1700-c. 1765)

Blackburn: " If I thought it was at common law an incident to a corporation that its capacity should be limited by the See also:

• INSTRUMENT (Lat. instrumentum, from insincere, to build up, furnish, arrange, prepare)

instrument creat;ng it, I should agree that the capacity of a company incorporated under the act of 1862 was limited to the object in the memorandum of association . But if I am right in the See also:

• OPINION (Lat. opinio, from opinari, to think)

opinion which I have already expressed, that the general power of contracting is an incident to a corporation which it requires an indication of intention in the legislature to take away, I see no such indication here . If the question was whether the legislature had conferred on a corporation, created under this act, capacity to enter into contracts beyond the provisions of the See also:

• DEED (in O. Eng. dead, from the stem of the verb " to do ")

deed, there could be only one See also:

• ANSWER (derived from and, against, and the same root as swear)

answer . The legislature did not confer such capacity . But if the question be, as I apprehend it is, whether the legislature have indicated an intention to take away the power of contracting which at common law would be incident to a body corporate, and not merely to limit the authority of the managing body and the majority of the See also:

• SHARE (O. Eng. scearu, chiefly in compounds, e.g. land-scearu, a share of land, from sceran to cut; cf. " shear" )

share-holders to bind the minority, but also to prohibit and make illegal contracts made by the body corporate, in such a manner that they would be binding on the body if incorporated at common law, I think the answer should be the other way." On the other See also:

• HAND
• HAND (a word common to Teutonic languages; cf. Ger. Hand, Goth. handus)
• HAND, FERDINAND GOTTHELF (1786-185r)

hand, the See also:

• HOUSE
• HOUSE (O. Eng. hiss, a word common to Teutonic languages, cf. Dut. huis, Ger. Haus; in Gothic it is only found in gudhiss, a temple; it may be ultimately connected with the root of " hide," conceal)

House of Lords, agreeing with the three dissentient judges in the exchequer chamber, pronounced the effect of the Companies Act to be the opposite of that indicated by Mr Justice Blackburn . " It was the intention of the legislature, not implied, but actually expressed, that the corporations, should not enter, having regard to this memorandum of association, into a contract of this description . The contract in my judgment could not have been ratified by the unanimous assent of the whole corporation." In such companies, therefore, See also:

• OBJECTS

objects beyond the See also:

• SCOPE (through Ital. scopo, aim, purpose, intent, from Gr. o'KOaos, mark to shoot at, aim, o ic07reiv, to see, whence the termination in telescope, microscope, &c.)

scope of the memorandum of association are ultra vires of the corporation . The See also:

• DOCTRINE

doctrine of ultra vires, as it is called, is almost wholly of modern and judicial creation . The first emphatic recognition of it appears to have been in the case of companies created for special purposes with extraordinary powers, by act of parliament, and, more particularly, railway companies . The funds of such companies, it was held, must be applied to the purposes for which they were created, and to no other . Whether this doctrine is applicable to the older or, as they are sometimes called, ordinary corporations, appears to be doubtful .

S . Brice (Ultra Vires) writes: " Take, as a strong instance, a university or a See also:

• LONDON

London guild .