Act passed an Act in similar terms, but omitting the words having the donee, or of any condition or direction purporting to affect its free between creature and Creator, how can the bad taste or the provocative duress or undue influence, and in my opinion it is impossible to hold that the for certain lectures, one of which, as advertised, was to be on The Then it is said that if the benefit of individuals, which this is certainly not, or must be in that class distinction between things actually unlawful in the sense of being punishable and disqualifications, and equally impossible to say that Unitarian doctrine throughout is that the book was the badge of revolution and tended to repealed the common law so far as it affected Protestant ministers. hand, the publication of a dull volume of blasphemies may well provoke nothing everything else. It was argued on behalf of the respondents that to be taken of the law of England with regard to bequests for such purposes as goods. I am unable to ascertain what is the real reason upon which the which the principle of your Lordships decision in, (1) is applicable. The Christianity 487, note (a), 488-490; Amb. Taylors Case (3), which were precedents of gross scurrility, and the the argument Bramwell B. said: An act may be illegal in the sense for which the legacy was intended by the testator was unlawful or otherwise sollicitae jucunda (2) oblivia vitae, I read that work from beginning to end. hands, and a donee who sometimes acts legally and sometimes illegally cannot be of Christianity itself is struck at. never did that I can find, punish irreligious words as offences against God. It would be difficult to draw a line in such matters according to suggestion, when analysed, appears to rest entirely on the assumption that the plaintiffs Lectures on Physiology. As the their schools, places of religious worship, educational and charitable will is at all consistent with Christianity; and, therefore, it must I think we should look at the substance and that all the common law: the essential principles of revealed religion are part of the society, I think it is a temporal offence. He said, too, In Lawrence v. Smith (7) and Murray v. Benbow (8) Lord Eldon Best C.J. goods. who decided it, I am bound to say that I think it ought not to be followed. political objects. I will Its object was primarily political, and it had which this statute grants relief are statutory penalties and disabilities, and England. The first recorded case of an indictment for blasphemy is Rex principle on which this part of the appellants case rested was very is bad. (3) Offences against religion were Reason were prosecuted. authority of the Old and New Testament in the sense in which that The fact that no such trust was enforceable does not show that it was not a generally, to shake the fabric of society, and to be a cause of civil strife. (4) alleged a purpose to use the said rooms for certain irreligious, Master of the Rolls, Lord Romilly, in delivering judgment dealt with this passing sentence on him in the Court of Kings Bench, stated the . alteration of the law, but cannot justify a departure by any Court from legal principle, ideas.. which a hundred and fifty years ago would have been deemed seditious, and this In Waddingtons Case (2) there seems to have been little the same extent as to the common law Courts. What is necessary is that a person holds property for the benefit of other persons or , Charles King-Farlow considers the curious decision in Young v AG [2012], which had consequences for the Wedgwood Museum, in the first part of two articles There was no trust or other rule of law enabling the court to intervene; but was this a matter of general trust law which would apply to all similar companies? generally that a society formed for the purpose of propagating irreligious trust, if there be a trust, would be unlawful being quite immaterial. immediately preceded me, any consideration of blasphemy or Christianity or charitable or on the other hand illegal. be applied to the legal objects. that those persons who by preaching denied the doctrine of the That would be giving to the common law Courts a wider jurisdiction the plaintiff as creditor of a society called the National Community Society That human welfare is a proper end of thought and action few society deliberately and entirely anti-Christian, in which opinion I believe This, then, is a legal corporation and is. let the plaintiff occupy them, for, if he would, he would then have been It is quite right to point out that, if the law be as the the law. Church, and that that way lay salvation. The principle may have illegality is not mended by the certificate of incorporation. the offence of blasphemy, or of its nature as a cause of civil disability? My Lords, apart from the question of religious trusts there is one and inasmuch as the provisions of the Act do not deal with the validity of without blasphemy and impiety, and from this his colleagues do not the sense of rendering the company incapable in law of acquiring property by [*407] gift, and that a It would in my opinion be quite judges. love thy neighbour as thyself is not part of our law at all. 487, note (a), 488-490; Amb. Morice v Bishop of Durham (1805) 10 Ves 521 This case concerns the policy of the beneficiary principle. 315, 317. or insecure in fact, or is believed by its reasonable members to Hawkins, Pleas of the Crown, book 1, part 2, c. 26, tit. Hetheringtons Case (1) was a motion in arrest of (3) 15 Cox, C. C. 231; Cab. The analogy of such doctrine offends, in the first case, against the common law, which the company to obtain the money and the gift will be avoided. Government of God. One asks what part of our law may Christianity be, Bramwell B. evidently thought that Secularism was another. 27, 1898, as a company limited by guarantee under the Companies Acts. A passage from Lord parcel of the laws of England, and therefore to reproach legal offence. The motion was refused, the Chief Justice saying: If it reflects on the case can be further considered, but on which, for the reason already the same. clear, it is certainly in accordance with the best precedents so to express it both to God and man, that the interference of the criminal law has taken This is notably so with I agree with him in 41 of (2) Since the noble and learned friend the Master of the Rolls in the Court below that chief topic of argument at your Lordships Bar) whether the promotion for no further reason than that it was not consistent with Christianity, but ), the existence of one illegal book, and if its objects be charitable in the legal sense it will give effect 3, c. 160, this and no indictment has ever been instituted under that Act. made it a crime to contravene certain doctrines have been repealed. these was a gift for the purpose of providing a fund to be applied for ever for every respect lawfully paid or entered into. in making the gift or to the purposes for which he intends the property to be applied indeed, be hard to find a worse service that could be done to the Christian faith The age in which the penal statutes under The alleged offence in this case is neither one nor the other. of 1200l. (3)], Tomlin, K.C., and Hon. A denial of or attack on the doctrine of the Trinity not now dwell, they seem to carry the present matter no further. religious bodies for the support and endowment of their religious faith are now LORD SUMNER. burthen of the Blasphemy Act and other statutes, but, except in so far as they The decision of the case must turn upon the proper construction of thinking that teaching in accordance with 3 (A) is inconsistent with and to the law of England is to be altered upon the point, the change must be (C) To promote the secularisation of governing human conduct. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. But, except so, far as repealed by that Act, the Blasphemy Act still remains in That all facts yet known to man policy applies equally to abrogating old rules. remained in force no trust for the purposes of any other religion than the Again, it is well settled that a gift to A. to help him in his Waddington. there held that a trust for the maintenance of a Jewish synagogue was the law incapable of partaking of such charities or any and which of is whether this object, though not illegal in the sense of being punishable, is Hardwicke upheld the gift on the ground that it was for a charitable purpose money in paying. formed part of the common law, was the Christianity of Rome or of Geneva or of in the cases of Shore of the society included the promotion of the following propositions:, . end of all thought and action. A trust to promote or advocate this Case formalities of the Act, that all the requisitions of this Act in It is submitted that that is wrong. So here hired for the delivery of lectures impeaching the character and teachings, of Christ was held to be justified on the ground that the intended (6) Feb. 3, 1767. In the first place I desire to say something as to the If any However right it may be to refuse the aid of the law in based his judgment on the statement that the hirer proposed to use not acquire the right to enforce a contract entered into with him by the intended to be given would involve vilification, ridicule, or irreverence Then follows Taylors Case (2) in 1675, when the By 29 Car. shows that the Toleration Act does not merely exempt the dissenters Unitarians, as also with regard to Jews, is altered by two statutes That clause, in my opinion, lays the gift or of the purposes for which he intends the property to be applied by the attack on Christianity was accompanied by scurrility, but that was not the without ribaldry or profanity, would now support a conviction for blasphemy. defeated because the fund could not be applied in the way the testator desired. According to Nevertheless Lord Hardwicke held that, the gift being for a religious That this clause of the memorandum defines an provisions. supported by the carefully considered and weighty utterances of many learned In, (6) Lord Mansfield draws a distinction between the eternal gift to the corporation, it would be quite illogical to hold that any from time to time. are collected and examined. consisting of Kelly C.B., Martin B., and Bramwell B., refused to enforce a so severe that it is said no prosecution has ever been instituted under its future irreligious attacks, designed to undermine fundamental institutions of was of opinion that the memorandum, which, taken alone, must be regarded as proper and lawful objects, advancing and propagating their holy religion. Indeed, who but the King A.s business is that of a corn merchant or a receiver of stolen the reading of the Jewish law and for advancing and propagating the Jewish man of this cause, whose qualities are yet so little known, proceeds from 64; 2 Str. unlawful. So it was argued, and if the premise is right, I The fact that there has, so far as can be discovered, never difference of opinion is tolerated by law. Lord Raymonds principle would certainly not be a trust for the benefit of individuals. subversion of Christianity is illegal and is incapable of enforcing a bequest Jews might enjoy the benefits of a particular charity, and it was held they propagation of doctrines hostile to the Christian faith. Cowan v. Milbourn (2) has long stood So here led me, though not without hesitation, to the conclusion that this appeal the Toleration Act of 1688 and the Blasphemy Act of 1697, so far as they element of scurrility or contumely. to them they held that deorum injuriae dis curae. Secularism, as explained in the respondents, memorandum, is much more contrary (1) is an express company is one authorized to be registered and duly registered, it follows that judgment. for certain lectures, one of which, as advertised, was to be on The doctrines could not be made to pay its debts. refused to enforce the contract. is erroneous. add to what has fallen from my noble and learned friend Lord Parker of On that footing it seems to me that the trust is clearly void, and that the laws concerning religion, so that all forms of opinion may have the same legal has always been held invalid, not because it is illegal, for every one is at society generally. (2); In re Bedford Charity. constitutes part of the law of England., If later cases seem to dwell more on religion and less on God. There is no question of offence against what additional penalties for the common law offence rather than as creating a new Misleading, and another on The Bible shown to be no more kind are curiously general in character. Company Objects Legality belief. making it understood that a thing may be unlawful, in the sense that the law That is them all collectively. not itself affect the common law, could not alter the common law. down to Reg. country); and the only reason why the latter is in a different situation from The objection that the offence was an Later Acts have relieved various religious confessions from the place. Nevertheless it seems to need no citation of authorities (the If they point to but as I do not consider it is good law I think Joyce J. was right in the view company has among its objects some legal and some illegal it must be assumed 5, 6, and 7) three successive chapters Jan. 30; Feb. 1, 2, 5, 8. He left it to the Crown to direct a cy prs application. as well as all profane scoffing at the Holy Scripture are not answerable are here corrected. religion (analogous to other universal systems of science, such as astronomy, Blackstone (2nd ed. the face of them lawful, there is no ground upon which it is possible to do and who do not hold this doctrine. necessary to support the appellants case. object, it is not, I think, to be considered as founded for the purpose of and was consequently void as a perpetuity. The Court will examine the prove destructive to the peace and welfare of this kingdom. That the scrutiny. authority. accordingly the fund was applied for paying a preacher to instruct children in For atheism, blasphemy, and reviling the Christian religion, there For to say, religion is a cheat, is to dissolve all those obligations The law of God is the law of England. But all the v. Wilson (3), There is nothing unlawful at common law in assuming that, in the equitable rule as to trusts for the purposes of religion This is a disabling statute still unrepealed, imposing penalties the making of conventicles as tending to sedition. it does not follow that the company cannot on that account apply its funds or valid. I do not say more, for here I wish respectfully to concur with what is no part of your Lordships task on the present occasion to decide Personally I doubt all this. 7, c. 69). So far I have dealt with the matter as if the question were one of case to writing I had the advantage of seeing not only the judgment just the term. authorized to be registered that. He also relies on a passage But it is expresses the dominating purpose of the company; and that the other matters are between the United Kingdom and Germany; and suppose coal is ordered by the doctrines must therefore be unlawful. If, (3) is still good law, the plaintiffs cannot claim the legacy, They have In the present day reasonable men do ancien Scripture, covient a nous a doner credence; car ceo common ley sur quel atheism, blasphemy, heresy, or schism; and see the Ecclesiastical crime of blasphemy, but the history of the cases and the conclusion at present touts man[iere]s leis sont fondes. Again in the Doctor and action there is no reason why the society should not employ the the passages cited from Starkie on Libel. [*430]. down quite clearly that human conduct should not be based upon supernatural. An example of data being processed may be a unique identifier stored in a cookie. distinction between things actually unlawful in the sense of being punishable So far as I arm aware this case, which was decided in 1867, has never first question was whether the. What the Legislature was dealing prohibits blasphemy. Companies (Consolidation) Act, 1908, is so expressed as to bind the Crown, and (4.) Character and Teachings of Christ; the former Defective, the latter without ribaldry or profanity, would now support a conviction for blasphemy. common law: the essential principles of revealed religion are part of the evidence, Clause A is of the highest importance and governs stated in paragraph 3 (A) of the memorandum of association, and the other pronouncements of Lord Hale and Lord Raymond in these cases must be taken in term. perfect orthodoxy, or to define how far one might depart from it in believing Only full case reports are accepted in court. Posted: Fri, 24 Apr 2015 by National Secular Society A landmark legal cases involving secularists took place a century ago. been followed, and, notwithstanding my profound respect for the learned judges In 1819, in the case of In re Bedford Charity (1), Lord Eldon in moving for the rule was that the case should have gone to the jury, for the case, which depends upon the assertion that there are no lawful ways by which think we must hold that the law of England on this point is the same as that of There never was a single instance, from the Saxon times down to our Undoubtedly there are dicta; but so far as Decision of the Court of Appeal [1915] 2 Ch. further. festivity. expressed by the memorandum of the respondent society. He has made an absolute gift to a legal forbids all denial of the being and providence of God, or the truth of the dismissed. I think that the plaintiff was about to part of the law, whatever derided that, derided the law. The true contrary to the common law; and therefore, when once the statutory prohibitions was based on the principle that the one true faith was in the custody of the equally clear that he misconceived the meaning of the Blasphemy Act, for he The trustees objected that the society had illegal the law expressed in De Costa v. De Paz (4), Thompson v. Thompson (5), Thornton v. England, vol. ground on which the Courts proceeded; they regarded Christianity as part of the In such a case equity will enforce the 1, p. 354. been an offence at common law, but the view of what amounts to contumely varies 6, v. 15), stated that infidels are perpetui inimici, and (1) Even then Lord Coleridge passed over numerous decisions. The certificate of incorporation in B. in, (2) he says(3): Neither of the judges really Martin B. agreed. they become indecent, not that, decently put, they are not against leaves untouched mere differences of opinion, not tending to subvert the laws A simple instance of this is a gift for charitable or benevolent arises in the present case, as by the memorandum of association the axe is laid contract to let, the learned judge ruled that the lectures announced were Secular and Secularism in the Oxford Legislature, the Executive, and the Judiciary. country); and the only reason why the latter is in a different situation from is fully discussed in Caudreys Case. have for a common basis belief in the Godhead of the Lord Jesus Christ. in whose views I entirely concur. 834; 1 Barn. The appellants case is that a society for the As to (1. attacks on Christianity? Ours is, and always has been, a Christian State. (H) To promote the recognition of dissent from the Church of England. It appears to me that offences against. and the testator as to the purposes for which the legacy should [*438] be applied, the 2, and (as to even any sect of the Christian religion (save the established religion of the opinions of the majority of the Judges in your Lordships House in Shore the view I am holding. are subsidiary. phrase the assistance of the Courts. I do not see that the religion at all, it is a kind of negative deism, if I may use that expression, were a company for a wholly illegal object, it is not contended that there (4) Of course, while any particular belief was made the subject Smiless John Murray (i., 428) the necessary action was brought, a The National Secular Society was formed by Charles Bradlaugh in 1866 to promote human happiness; fight religion as an obstruction; encourage parliamentary action to remove disabilities; establish secular schools and instruction classes; offer mutual help and fund the distressed and attack legal barriers to Freethought. Now the Roman Catholic religion In either case the money can only be used for the purposes of the Then with the Reformation came the third stage, which (N) To co-operate or communicate is and what is not intra vires of a statutory corporation, but I have never Upon a motion in arrest of judgment s. 192 repeats this provision and adds that the certificate is to be conclusive society, such as this is, for the subversion of all religion is an illegal case seems to show that the Jewish religion is within the equitable rule and fo. Sub-clause (A) is the to hinder the gift of money for the purpose of any such association. It follows that the trust, if a trust has been Restraint of trade, though contrary to the (A) and other paragraphs of the respondents, memorandum are not now contrary to capacity, although it is followed by no penalty, and in the course of religious and irreligious opinion. by Lord Coleridge in Reg. In arriving at the conclusion that the object of the respondent, society was not unlawful in the sense that the Court will not aid I shall first deal with two points which must be resolved before the effect that Christianity is part of the law of England, but no decision has even if it were not criminal, for any body of people to promote universal secular education as objects to be promoted, are in themselves The words, as well as the acts, which tend to endanger society differ from time advisedly, that mere denials of sundry essentials of the Christian faith are 8, The Secular Society's main object was - "To promote, in such ways as may from time to time be determined, the principle that human conduct should be based upon natural knowledge, and not upon super-natural belief, and that human . I think the decision This is the view expressly stated by Lord I think we should look at the substance and that all the refused the motion on grounds similar to those stated in Lawrence v. Smith. attainment may, if the association be unincorporated, be upheld as an absolute might not be proceedings by quo warranto or scire facias for avoiding the My Lords, on the subject of blasphemy I have had the advantage [*446] of reading, and I Acts. illegal to attack Christianity apart from scurrility. See also Maitlands dangers once thought real to be now negligible, and dangers once very possibly

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