ABSTRACT
The Elizabethan Statute on Charitable Uses is a starting-point because it marks a turning-point in national policy. Till the Reformation was felt to be secure there had been a division of views as to charitable endowments. The Statute of Elizabeth on Charitable Uses was passed at practically the same moment as the Statute for Relief of the Poor and formed part of a concerted social programme for dealing with urgent problems of transition. The cy près principle is that when a testator manifests a general intention of charity, but the particular object of his bounty cannot be carried out literally, it must be carried into effect as nearly as possible. The Endowed Schools Act, 1869, followed on an elaborate inquiry by Royal Commission which from 1864 to 1868 examined not only the state of secondary education but the nature of many charitable endowments.
