The Salvation Army (Western Australia) Property Trust Act 1931 (WA)

Western Australia The Salvation Army (Western Australia) Property Trust Act 1931 Western Australia The Salvation Army (Western Australia) Property Trust Act 1931 Contents 1. Short title and commencement 8 2. Terms used 8 3. Salvation Army (Western Australia) Property Trust incorporated 8 4. Number and appointment of trustees 9 5. Custody of common seal and quorum of trustees 9 6. Use of common seal and making of contracts 9 7. Certain property vested in Property Trust 11 8. Trustees' powers 12 9. How trust property to be dealt with 13 10. Power to mortgage 13 11. Power to sell 14 12. Protection of mortgagees and purchasers 14 13. Proceeds of sale of real or personal property held for Social Work 15 14. Meetings of trustees, minutes and register of land 15 15. Removal of trustees 15 16. Trustees may act despite vacancies 16 17. Appointment of officers: evidence of resolutions 16 18. Construction of wills etc. 17 19. Property given to Salvation Army to vest in body corporate 17 20. Saving of rights enforceable against General 18 21. General's rights vested in body corporate 18 22. Vesting of estates in land in body corporate 18 23. Delegation of powers by General 19 Notes Compilation table 20 Western Australia The Salvation Army (Western Australia) Property Trust Act 1931 An Act to provide for the temporal affairs of The Salvation Army in the State of Western Australia. Preamble Whereas by a Deed Poll (hereinafter called the "Deed of Constitution") dated 7 August 1878, and under the hand and seal of William Booth, and afterwards enrolled in the Chancery Division of the High Court of Justice, England, on 13 August 1878, the origin and doctrines of the religious society or organisation therein referred to, then known as the Christian Mission, were recited and stated and it was by the said Deed of Constitution amongst other things provided that the said Christian Mission was and should be always thereafter under the oversight, direction, and control of some one person, who should be the General Superintendent thereof, whose duty it should be to determine and enforce the discipline and laws and superintend the operations of the said Christian Mission, and to conserve the same to and for the objects and purposes for which it was first originated, and that the General Superintendent should have the powers therein mentioned, that the said William Booth should continue to be for the term of his natural life the General Superintendent of the said Christian Mission, unless he should resign such office, that the said William Booth and every General Superintendent who should succeed him should have power to appoint his successor to the office of General Superintendent, and all the rights, powers, and authorities of the office should vest in the person so appointed upon the decease of the said William Booth or other General Superintendent appointing him, or at such other period as might be named in the document appointing him, and that it should be the duty of every General Superintendent to make in writing, as soon as conveniently might be after his appointment, a statement as to his successor, or as to the means which were to be taken for the appointment of a successor at the decease of the General Superintendent, or upon his ceasing to perform the duties of the office such statement, to be signed by the General Superintendent and delivered in a sealed envelope to the solicitor for the time being of the said Christian Mission, but such statement might be altered at will by the General Superintendent at any time during his continuance in office upon a new statement being signed by him and delivered as before‑mentioned to such solicitor as aforesaid: and whereas by the said Deed of Constitution it was provided that the General Superintendent should have power to expend on behalf of the Christian Mission all moneys contributed for the general purposes of the said Christian Mission, or for any of the special objects or operations thereof, but he should annually publish a balance‑sheet (duly audited) of all such receipts and expenditure, and that the General Superintendent should have power to acquire by gift, purchase, or otherwise any hall or meeting‑house, school‑room, vestry, land, building, and appurtenances and any seats, fittings, furniture, or other property whatsoever which might in his judgment be required for the purposes of the said Christian Mission, and to build upon such land, or alter or pull down any such buildings, and to hire on lease or otherwise any land or buildings, and to lend, give away, let, sell, or otherwise dispose of any such property, land, or buildings as he might deem necessary in the interests of the said Christian Mission, wherein all trustees should render him every assistance, and that he might in all such cases as he should deem it expedient so to do nominate and appoint trustees or a trustee of any part or parts respectively of such property, and direct the conveyance or transfer thereof to such trustees or trustee, with power for the General Superintendent to declare the trusts thereof, and from time to time, if it should seem expedient to him so to do, to revoke any such trusts or the appointment of such trustees or trustee, and upon such revocation the same property should be conveyed or transferred to such persons or person, and upon such trusts as he might direct, but only for the benefit of the said Christian Mission: and whereas on or about 1 January 1879, the name of the said religious society or organisation was changed from "The Christian Mission" to "The Salvation Army," as appears by a Memorandum under the hand of the said William Booth dated 24 June 1880, and enrolled in the Supreme Court of Judicature, England, on 20 April 1906: and whereas by a further Deed Poll under the hand and seal of the said William Booth bearing date 26 July 1904, and enrolled in the Supreme Court of Judicature, England, on 27 July 1904, after reciting the change of name as aforesaid, and that the said society or organisation had since been and was then known and designated as The Salvation Army, and that the title of the "General Superintendent" thereof had been altered into that of "General," and that the said William Booth was then known and designated, and it was intended that every successor of his should thereafter be known and designated as the "General" of The Salvation Army, and it was also recited that in order to minimise the possibility of doubt, dispute, or litigation it was considered desirable to provide more fully and specifically than was done by the Deed of Constitution for the events in which the General for the time being should cease to perform the duties of his office, and also for the nomination and appointment of a successor to the General for the time being on his dying or ceasing to perform the duties of the office, and that the said William Booth had accordingly determined to execute the said Deed Poll: and whereas by the last‑mentioned Deed Poll, after setting forth more fully such events, it was declared (inter alia) that every General for the time being of The Salvation Army should be deemed to cease to perform the duties of his office within the meaning of clause 6 of the Deed of Constitution, and to vacate such office upon the happening of any of the events therein referred to, that is to say (inter alia), if the Commissioners of The Salvation Army, or a majority of such Commissioners amounting to at least 4 in 5, should declare by writing under their hands that they are satisfied that the General is (inter alia) permanently incapacitated by mental or physical infirmity from the adequate performance of the duties of his office, or if a resolution adjudicating the General unfit for office and removing him therefrom should be passed by a majority of not less than three‑fourths of the members present and voting at a meeting of the High Council of The Salvation Army thereinafter referred to: and whereas the said William Booth died on 20 August 1912, having by Deed Poll under his hand and seal dated 21 August 1890, in exercise of the power in that behalf vested in him by the Deed of Constitution as aforesaid, appointed William Bramwell Booth to be his successor, and to succeed him as from the time of his decease in the office of General Superintendent and Commanding Officer of The Salvation Army: and whereas the said William Bramwell Booth by Deed Poll under his hand and seal dated 23 August 1912, duly accepted the said office: and whereas by Deed Poll under the hand and seal of the said William Bramwell Booth bearing date 1 June 1920, it was (inter alia) recited that in connection with and as the outcome of the work, teaching, and experience of The Salvation Army in the United Kingdom and in Australia and in other countries of the world, the said William Booth and the said William Bramwell Booth had evolved and promulgated various operations for the social, moral, and temporal welfare and improvement of the poorer and more needy classes of society, and of persons who were destitute, vicious, or feeble‑minded, or suffering from injury or sickness, or ill‑health, or orphans, or other children needing care in orphanages or reformatories, and for other charitable purposes which operations were then and are now generally known and described as the Social Work of The Salvation Army, and which in relation to the Commonwealth of Australia (thereinafter called "the said Commonwealth") were thereinafter sometimes referred to as the Social Work, and that in connection with the carrying on of the Social Work in the said Commonwealth the said William Booth and the said William Bramwell Booth as his successor in office had acquired certain real and personal property, particularised in the schedule thereto, and other real and personal property would thereafter be acquired for the purposes of the Social Work, and that it was right and desirable that the same respectively should be kept distinct from the other or proper real and personal property of The Salvation Army, and be used and devoted exclusively in and to the Social Work in or connected with the said Commonwealth, and that the Social Work should be defined and regulated, and the trusts of the said real and personal property already acquired and thereafter to be acquired for or in connection therewith declared as thereinafter appearing: and it was thereby witnessed that the said William Bramwell Booth declared that the real and personal property particularised in the said schedule, and all property real and personal which might thereafter be acquired by gift, grant, purchase, or in any manner whatsoever for the purposes of the Social Work in or in connection with the said Commonwealth, and all real and personal property for the time being representing the same or any part thereof respectively, and all which were sometimes thereinafter collectively referred to as "the trust property," should at all times thereafter be held upon trust to use and apply the same and the income thereof for the social, moral, and temporal welfare and improvement of the poorer and more needy classes of society, and of persons who are destitute or vicious or feeble‑minded, or suffering from injury or sickness or ill‑health, or orphans or other children needing care in orphanages or reformatories in the said Commonwealth, and for other charitable purposes in or in connection with the said Commonwealth, in such ways and by such means as the said William Bramwell Booth or other the Director (as thereinafter defined) for the time being of the Social Work should at any time or from time to time think fit subject nevertheless to the provisos therein contained: and that the Social Work should at all times thereafter be under the oversight, direction, and control of the person who should be for the time being General of The Salvation Army, and he should be called in relation to the Social Work the Director of the Social Work (thereinafter referred to as "the Director"), and that it should be his duty to determine and enforce the laws and to superintend the operations of the Social Work, and to conserve the same, and the trust property for the purposes of the trusts thereby declared: and it was provided that for the purpose of identifying and ear‑marking the trust property and the income thereof, and keeping the same distinct from all property of The Salvation Army, full accounts of all moneys contributed, collected, or received for the Social Work, and of the application thereof, should be kept in such manner as to keep the same always distinct and separate from the property of The Salvation Army, and that all conveyances, leases, transfers, assignments, and assurances made to the Director for the time being for the purposes of the Social Work should be expressed to be made to him as such Director, and should thereupon become subject to the trusts of the Deed Poll now in recital, and that whenever any property, real or personal, acquired for the purposes of the Social Work should be conveyed, leased, transferred, assigned, or assured, to any trustees or trustee other than the Director for the time being, such trustees or trustee should in each case execute a sufficient declaration of trust so as in every case to enable the property conveyed, leased, transferred, assigned, or assured to be sufficiently identified or ear‑marked as being property devoted to the purposes of the Social Work: and whereas the said recited Deed Poll of 1 June 1920, set forth the powers which the Director should have over and on and concerning the said trust property: and whereas at a duly convened meeting of the High Council of The Salvation Army held at Sunbury in England on 8 January and on 13 February 1929, the High Council of The Salvation Army referred to in the said recited Deed Poll of 26 July 1904, duly and in accordance with such Deed Poll by resolution, a copy of which (inter alia) was enrolled in the Supreme Court of Judicature, England, on 20 February 1929, adjudicated the said William Bramwell Booth unfit for office as General of The Salvation Army and removed him therefrom, and by way of record declared that the said adjudication was based upon the state of health of the said William Bramwell Booth, and the said High Council, in pursuance of the power vested in it by the said Deed Poll of 26 July 1904, elected and appointed Edward John Higgins, of 101 Queen Victoria Street, London, England, to be the General of The Salvation Army: and whereas by Deed Poll under his hand and seal dated 13 February 1929, and enrolled in the Supreme Court of Judicature, England, on 20 February 1929, the said Edward John Higgins duly accepted the said office upon and subject to the terms not only of the said recited Deed Poll of 7 August 1878, but also of the said recited Deed Poll of 26 July 1904: and whereas the said William Bramwell Booth died on 16 June 1929: and whereas it is expedient to provide that the whole of the property, real and personal, of The Salvation Army in Western Australia which was at the time of his death held by and now stands in the name of the said William Bramwell Booth, upon the trusts of the hereinbefore recited Deeds Poll of 7 August 1878, and 26 July 1904, and 1 June 1920, respectively and of or to which The Salvation Army in Western Australia is otherwise entitled, whether held by and standing in the name of the said William Bramwell Booth at the time of his death, or now standing in the name or names of any other person or persons, and which the General for the time being of The Salvation Army as such General and as Director of the said Social Work of The Salvation Army respectively is entitled to have vested in him upon the trusts of the said recited Deeds Poll, according to the nature of the same, and all choses in action and other property subject to the hereinbefore recited trusts or any of them, or any interest in respect thereof, except property held by and shares in The Salvation Army Auxiliary Company of Australia Proprietary, Limited, shall vest in a body of trustees and the said body of trustees shall be a body corporate, with the powers and authorities hereinafter set forth: Be it therefore enacted by the King's Most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council and the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows (that is to say): —