161 N.Y. 233 | NY | 1900
Lead Opinion
On the application of the relator, the state board of charities, the courts below have awarded a peremptory mandamus commanding the defendant to permit the relator to visit the buildings and grounds and to inspect the books and papers of the former and to give full information concerning the operations of the society and to comply with the rules and regulations of the board in the management of its corporate affairs. The question presented by this appeal is whether there was power in the courts to award the writ.
The state board of charities asserts that the defendant is sub
It is said that this corporation, in order to promote the objects of its incorporation, has been given legal capacity to take and administer gifts and bequests that would be called charitable under the statute of Elizabeth and under general rules of law applicable to trusts, and all that is quite true. But it is an error to conclude that a corporation must necessarily be of a charitable nature becausé it has capacity to take and administer such gifts. A very large class of corporations may do that without affording the slightest ground for an argument that they are or must be charitable institutions or cor
The defendant receives under the charter of Hew York the sum of thirty thousand dollars annually from the city treasury to promote the objects of its organization. But in receiving and disbursing that sum of money, it neither receives nor administers any charity, but is simply allowed something by the city for doing work that otherwise would devolve, as we shall see hereafter, on the police department, and which the society can do better and with much less expense than the police. The fact that the president of this corporation and the then mayor of Hew York, when commending its work to the public, described it as an institution founded on the broadest principles of charity, has no weight in the determination of the question involved in this appeal. A corporation cannot be classified by what its friends or promoters may say about it, but only from the nature of the powers which it may lawfully exercise and the business in which it is lawfully engaged. It is manifest, therefore, that in any inquiry concerning the nature, character or clas
This corporation was, therefore, created for the purpose of enforcing laws enacted to prevent cruelty to children, and that is the only object or purpose of its existence. The means by which it is enabled to fulfill the purpose of its creation were also provided in the law of its creation, and are there stated as follows: “Sec. 3. Any society so incorporated may prefer a complaint before any court or magistrate having jurisdiction for the violation of any law relating to or affecting children, and may aid in bringing the facts before such court or magistrate in any proceeding taken. Sec. 4. All magistrates, constables, sheriffs and officers of police shall, as occasion may require, aid the society so incorporated, its officers, members and agents in the enforcement of all laws
In a very broad and general sense it may doubtless be said that any individual or corporation that does anything to avert
The powers of the board over charitable institutions originated in the abuses supposed to exist in the appropriation and expenditure of public money for charitable purposes. Therein is to be found the reason of the law, and it is safe enough to assume that a corporation that does not fall within the reason of the enactment is not a charitable institution, even though engaged in a good and laudable work without gain or reward. The board was empowered to deal with charitable institutions, not in the broad and general sense to which I have referred, but in the more limited and restricted sense in which these terms are used in the Constitution and the statute. The scheme of state supervision was not intended to apply to every institution engaged in some good or commendable work for the relief of humanity from some of the various ills with . which it is afflicted, but only to those maintained in whole or in part by the state or some of its political divisions through which charity, as such, was dispensed by public authority to those having a claim upon the generosity or bounty of the state. These are the only institutions that are within the' reason or policy of the law, and when thus limited and restricted there is still ample scope for its application. It will apply to all institutions, public or private, that give public pecuniary relief in that form commonly called charity when we refer to the administration of government, and it will exclude only those institutions that ask nothing in the form of charity from the state though they may be engaged in some good work in their own way that might be called charitable in the sense that it is unselfish and voluntarily assumed.
There is such a plain distinction between the charity which the state dispenses by statute, and that which is voluntarily extended by private benevolence, either through individuals or societies with a corporate organization, that there will be
If the thirty thousand dollars which the defendant receives from the city could in any proper or legal sense be called charity, there might be some foundation for the claim that it is within the jurisdiction of the board, although that sum is but a very small part of the annual expenses. But obviously it is not paid or received as a charitable contribution. The state in its political divisions expends large sums of money to prevent or punish crime, including the crime of cruelty to children. So one can very well claim that 'those moneys, expended in the enforcement of the criminal law, are paid for charity, and yet that is the very purpose for which the city contributes this money to the defendant, and, hence, it cannot give to the corporation the character of a charitable institution any more than it could to the police department when expended there for services of a similar kind. The defendant receives no public money for charitable uses, and administers no charity in any legal sense. The fact that it feeds, clothes and cares for children temporarily, while detained as witnesses or victims of cruelty pending the prosecution of the offenders in the courts, is admitted to be but an incident of its mom purpose and character. The place where the children are thus temporarily maintained could more properly be classified as a house of detention than as a charitable institution. The main reasons in the court below for the decision were based upon the English cases defining what were considered bequests or gifts for charitable uses. That
The power to make rules for the government of a corporation implies the right to participate in its management in some degree at least. It is difficult to see how the efficiency of the one now in question can be promoted by dividing its powers and functions between its regular officers and a central board at the capital of the state. In order to properly discharge the peculiar functions conferred by the law of its creation, the defendant must act promptly and summarily, not by written rules, but according to the circumstances of every case. It is engaged in the stern task of making war upon crime and vice in peculiar forms, and it would be just as impracticable to interfere by hard and fast rules with freedom of action as it would be to plan the details of a military campaign in the cabinet instead of trusting to the judgment and discretion of the commanding officer in the field. The legislature evidently understood that corporations of this character are not subject to the jurisdiction of the state board of charities since it -has provided that they are subject to visitation by the Supreme Court, and it appears that this power has been exercised with respect to this particular corporation. (Laws 1899, chap. 360.) It is scarcely conceivable that it was intended to subject the defendant to two distinct and different methods of state supervision.
There is nothing in these views that conflicts with the decision of the court in the case of People ex rel. New York Institution for the Blind v. Fitch (154 N. Y. 14). It was held in that case that the word “ charitable,” as used in the Constitution and the statute, conferring the powers referred to upon
The order of the Appellate Division and the Special Term should' be reversed and the application denied, with costs in all courts to the defendant. •
That the question up for decision is a fairly debatable one is demonstrated by the several opinions that have been written in this court and the court below. The strength of the argument seems to me to be on the side that denies to the state board of charities the right of visitation and to make rules and regulations for the government of this defendant, and it is fully presented in the opinion of Judge O’Brief and the concurring memorandum of Judge Gray.
But if, after weighing the arguments pro and con, a doubt remained I should resolve that doubt against the claim of power asserted by the state board of charities.
If the legislature, from which this relator originally obtained the power, which has recently been incorporated in the Constitution, but on no broader lines than the legislative
If I could entertain a reasonable doubt upon the question of the power claimed by the state board of charities in this matter, I should be disposed to resolve it in its favor; because, as a constitutional body, invested with power to visit and regulate those institutions of the state which, being of a “ charitable, eleemosynary, correctional or reformatory character,” expend the public moneys in pursuing their corporate purposes, it is right that every just and fair concession should be made to its claim of power. It was intended to accomplish, as it does, a politic and useful work in preventing and correcting abuses in the administration of charitable and reformatory institutions. But I am convinced, after a careful consideration of the chartered purposes of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, and notwithstanding the
Charity, as a broad idea, underlies and prompts most, if not all, of the work which is undertaken with the object of better-ing the condition of human beings. In these days of active philanthrophy, the administration of government has been largely influenced by the desire of improving the social condition of the commonwealth. But it is, in my opinion, incorrect to assert that an agency, which has been created to enforce the laws of the state for the prevention of cruelty to children, is a charitable institution. This society is only charitable in the general concept of human duties and not in the political sense. The statutory intent was to provide an independent and effective means of enforcing certain provisions of the criminal law and the intent is effectuated through the creation of a corporate body, whose sole undertaking is directed to that work. The Penal Oode invests it with cértain duties with reference to the laws relating to children and empowers its officers and agents to arrest offenders against the law and to bring them before magistrates. Police powers are given to it and it is, in effect, a prosecuting agent of the state with respect to its laws. The corporation may prefer complaints in court and magistrates and "officers are required to aid it in the enforcement of all laws relating to children. Such charitable work as it does, in the general sense, is merely incidental and transitory in the temporary care of such children as, for the time being, while the society is enforcing the law in particular cases, are detained in its custody. They, perforce, must be detained as witnesses to, or subjects of, an offense and, therefore,
I do not think that the question of whether the institution is a charitable one, in the legal, or statutory, sense, is to be determined upon the theory which found acceptance below, that its appellation conclusively establishes its charitable purpose, and that its objects are inherently charitable. To reason from the fact that its work is inherently charitable, because bettering the condition of children through the enforcement of the laws against their cruel treatment or neglect, that it is, therefore, to be classified with the charitable institutions, which the Constitution subjects to the visitorial powers of the state board of charities, does not seem to me to be a scientific conclusion. That it is an “ institution ” of the state is not of itself sufficient to authorize the state board to claim the right of visitation; for the Constitution only confers that right where the institution is of a charitable character. That services are gratuitously rendered is not a reason for denominating it as a charitable institution; for there are other corporations and there are governmental departments, where the services are, also, gratuitously performed and yet they are not and could not, in a proper sense, be termed charitable institutions. Its.objects are philanthropic; but so are those of other corporations, which are not regarded as charitable institutions. The chartered function of the society is the enforcement of provis
Nor does it appear that the legislature has classified this society as among the charitable institutions of the state. It has, in various enactments, separately classified the society; giving it a distinct place from those institutions which, being of a charitable, eleemosynary, correctional, or reformatory nature, are made subject to the authority of the state board.
For these reasons, as for those expressed by Judge O’Brien more fully, I have reached the conclusion that the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children is not subject, under the Constitution, or the laws of this state, to the control or visitation of the state board of charities.
Dissenting Opinion
(dissenting). The papers upon which this application was made, after stating in a general way the provisions of the Constitution and laws of the state relating to the powers and duties of the state board of charities, the incorporation of the defendant and its particular business and objects as stated in its articles of association, set forth in part the various annual reports which were made by its officers, which disclose that in 1875 the defendant received donations amounting to $4,965 ; that in 1876 its donations amounted to $3,735 ; that in 1877 it received various donations and subscriptions amounting to several thousand dollars, also numerous contributions of clothing by charitably disposed people; that in 1878 it received numerous contributions from members of the society as well as from those who were not members, including one bequest of ten thousand dollars, and that two hundred and eighty-six children were temporarily relieved by the society; that in 1879 two hundred and ninety-seven children had been temporarily relieved and supplied with clothing, and that large sums of money had been contributed by its members and others and that numerous donations of children’s clothing were received during that year. ■
The annual report for 1881 was to the effect that the defendant received by way of donations and subscriptions over nine thousand dollars, exclusive of dues of members, and also many donations of children’s clothing. In the report for that year, the president explained the work carried on by the society in the" following language : “ Miserable little creatures are brought in at all hours from the streets; their garments, saturated with filth and vermin, are promptly removed and destroyed; they are thoroughly washed and cleansed in a lavatory provided for that purpose, and then dressed in clean clothes and fed, if hungry, with a substantial meal; they are at night, perhaps for the first time in their lives, placed in comfortable beds. In the morning they are taken before the proper court for disposition, and their places are soon filled by others. This is the practical every day and night work of the society. It is non-sensational, but none the less substantial.” The report of the superintendent for that year disclosed that there had been during the year sheltered, fed and clothed in the society’s reception rooms three hundred and fifty-one children, at an average cost of more than two dollars
The report for 1882 states that three hundred and forty-five children were cared for and clothed in the society’s room for that year, at an expense for board and clothing of' $1,160.21; that $129.38 was expended for temporary relief to starving families, and that upwards of thirteen thousand dollars was received by donations, subscriptions and dues of members for that year.
In the report for the year ^883, the defendant’s president;, among other things, says: “ Charitably-disposed persons are often perplexed how they can best expend money with the prospect of doing the most good.” Then, after stating what was required to become a member of the defendant society, he added : “ The rescue of children involves the broadest principles of charity, and those who uphold the society strengthen the hand which accomplished the result.” The chairman of the board of directors in this report says: “ It is one of the peculiarities of this institution that its doors are always open and no child in the city, either male or female, has ever been turned away without shelter for the night. * * * The public should bear in mind that the usefulness of this institution is limited only by the amount of pecuniary assistance given it.” This report also shows that during the years 1881, 1882 and 1883 one thousand one hundred and twenty-four children were sheltered and clothed; that ten thousand one hundred and seventy-two meals were furnished them, and that upwards of seventeen thousand dollars was received in 1883 by donations, subscriptions and dues of members.
The report of 1884 shows that over seven hundred children Avere sheltered during the last year; that $13,200.34 was received by donations, subscriptions and dues of members; and that legacies amounting to upwards of eighteen thousand dollars in addition were paid to the society.
The reports for 1885 to 1897, inclusive, shoAV the receipt by the society of many thousands of dollars by way of donations, subscriptions and legacies, and the payment of large sums of
In 1888 the defendant purchased a house ana lot on Twenty-third street for twenty-five thousand dollars, and made alterations to its buildings at an expense of more than eleven thousand dollars.
The report for 1889 contained a statement oy its attorney that the' defendant had been exempted from the payment of the collateral inheritance tax upon legacies to it, but that in other cases it had been held that it was liable to such tax, and recommended the procurement of a statute to exempt it and other charitable societies.
In 1890 the report of the society shows that a law was enacted (L. 1890, ch. 553) exempting the personal estate of corporations organized for the enforcement of laws relating to children and other charitable corporations from taxation, and provided that the collateral inheritance tax should not apply to any such corporations,
Its report for 1891 disclosed that its indebtedness on its building had been discharged, and donations to enlarge it and sustain the work were urgently solicited. It then described its buildings and the purposes for which they were used, and declared that the money which enabled it to perform this work had been provided by a generous public.
In the report of 1892, the president of the defendant says that, aided by the charitable and humane, without distinction of creed, it soon had a recognized as well as a corporate existence, and that it had been supported theretofore by liberal contributions from the charitable. Among the expenditures for 1892 was the sum of $218,992.65 for the construction and furnishing of its new building.
In the report of 1894, the president makes an appeal to the public, asserting that the society needs large and liberal donations for its support, that it costs- much to feed, clothe and care for children, even temporarily, and that it was greatly hoped that the charitably disposed who, on leaving this world, may desire to do something for little children, will remember that in
In the report for 1895, President Gerry states his views of the relation of the state board of charities to the defendant under the revised Constitution, and its effect upon it, as follows : “The people of the state of Hew York, by recent amendments to their Constitution, decided that the care and education of children are of paramount importance to the state. • They enlarged the provisions for public education, and also lent strength and force to the numerous institutions conducted by individuals in a corporate form for the care, support, maintenance and reformation of the helpless and vicious. The state board of charities, composed of eminent individuals from different parts of the state, was invested with extraordinary powers; not simply for the maintenance of these institutions, but to insure the proper care and education of the children intrusted to them. Entirely unsectarian, conservative in its views and firm in its action when abuses present themselves, there is every reason to believe that this state board will give an impetus to child-saving work which will be felt by the people, the institutions and by the children alike, with most satisfactory results to each.”
Section 194 of the Consolidation Act was amended in 1894 so as to compel the board of estimate and apportionment of the city.of Hew York to include in its final estimate the sum of thirty thousand dollars for the uses and purposes of the defendant. This sum has been paid to the society annually during the years 1895, 1896 and 1897. The same provision is contained in the present charter of the city of Hew York. (§ 230.)
In 1896 a special appeal was made by the society for finan
The moving papers then assert that the society is a charitable and eleemosynary institution within the meaning of the Constitution and laws, and subject to the visitorial powers of the board of charities; that the defendant and its officers have refused and still refuse to allow the state board of charities to visit and inspect the institution, and have refused to recognize its rules or to allow it to have access to its grounds, buildings, books and papers.
The defendant, without denying any of the allegations contained in the moving papers, except that it is subject to visitation by the state board of charities, sets forth in great detail its particular work in an affidavit by its secretary and superintendent. It receives on commitment, subject to the order of the court, all children charged with the commission of crime; receives temporarily, subject to the order of the court, children who are the victims of physical violence or who are held as witnesses pending the criminal prosecution of an offender, and children who are witnesses to offenses. Children who have been victims of physical violence are furnished medical attendance by a skilled physician, assisted by a competent nurse. It receives under commitment children under the age of sixteen, who are not retained except temporarily, but who are subsequently
The only question presented by this appeal is whether the state board of charities is authorized and required to visit and
The board of state commissioners of public charities was first established by chapter 951, Laws 1867. That act authorized and required the commissioners, at least once in a year, and as much oftener as they deemed necessary, to visit all the charitable and correctional institutions of the state, excepting prisons, receiving state aid, and to ascertain certain facts, particularly set forth in the statute which need not be stated in detail.
By chapter 571, Laws 1873, the duties and powers of that board were defined and enlarged, and its name changed to “ the state board of charities.” The board or any of its commissioners was thereby authorized, whenever they deemed it expedient, to visit and inspect any charitable, eleemosynary, correctional or reformatory institution in the state, excepting prisons, whether receiving state aid or maintained by municipalities or otherwise. This statute remained unrepealed and was in force when the Constitution was amended in 1894.
The Constitution, as amended in that year, declares that “ The legislature shall provide for a state board of charities, which shall visit and inspect all institutions^ whether state, county, municipal, incorporated or not incorporated, which are of a charitable, eleemosynary, correctional or reformatory character,” including reformatories except those in which adult males convicted of felony shall be confined, and also excepting institutions which are subject to the visitation and inspection of the state commission in lunacy or the state commission of prisons. It then provides the manner in which the board shall be appointed, preserves the existing laws relating to such institutions, their visitation and inspection so far as they are not inconsistent with the provisions of the Constitution, and provides that the visitation and inspection therein provided for shall not be exclusive of other visitation and
By chapter 771, Laws 1895, the iaws relating to the state board of charities were revised and consolidated. That statute makes it the duty of the board to visit, inspect and maintain a general supervision of all institutions, societies or associations which are of a charitable, eleemosynary, correctional or reformatory character, whether state or municipal, incorporated or not incorporated, states in detail the nature and character of such inspection and supervision, and after mentioning some of the institutions subject, to such supervision, adds this general provision : “ And institutions, societies and associations, whether state, county, municipal, incorporated, or not incorporated, private or otherwise, which are of .a charitable, eleemosynary, reformatory, or correctional character or design.”
The legislature, by chapter 546, Laws 1896, passed a general act relating to state charities, the provisions of which, so far as they relate to this subject, are in substance like those of the Laws of 1895, and again after naming certain institutions, adds: “And all asylums, hospitals and institutions, whether state, county, municipal, incorporated or not incorporated, private or otherwise, except institutions for the custody, care and treatment of the insane, are subject to the visitation, inspection and supervision of the state board of charities, its members, officers and inspectors.”
The proper determination of that question involves an examination of the statutes under which the defendant was organized, its articles of association and the proof contained in the record as to its character and design, and the nature of its work as indicated by the statute, its charter and the acts and offices it performs. It is to be borne in mind that the question to be here determined is the character and design of the defendant, and not merely the powers which are conferred upon it, or the means which may be adopted by it to carry that design into effect.
The defendant was organized under chapter 130 of the Laws of 1875. The title of that act was, “ An act for the incorporation of societies for the prevention of cruelty to children.” It provides the manner in which and by whom such societies may be organized, and confers upon them the power to prefer complaints for the violation of any law relating to or affecting children, and to aid in bringing the facts before a court or magistrate. It then requires all magistrates and peace officers to aid them in the enforcement of all laws relating to or affecting children.
In pursuance of that statute the promoters of the defendant made and executed a certificate, in which it was stated that they desired to associate themselves together for the purpose of preventing cruelty to children, and that the particular business and object of the society was to prevent cruelty to children, and the enforcement, by all lawful means, of the laws relating to or in anywise affecting children.
Thus it is seen that the primary object of the institution was to prevent cruelty to children. It was only for that purpose that the institution could have been properly organized under the statute. It is true that it conferred upon the defendant
There is no dispute as to the manner in which this institution has been maintained and conducted. It is. stated in the moving papers, no portion of which is denied except the conclusion of law as to the power of the board to visit and inspect the defendant. The defendant, however, sets forth in considerable detail the offices and acts it performs and the manner of their performance. It has been and is supplied with means to- carry on and conduct its affairs by donations and contributions from .benevolent persons, both by present gift and legacy, and by an annual appropriation of thirty thousand dollars, which is levied upon the taxpayers of the city of Hew York. During its existence, at an expense of more than three hundred thousand dollars, it purchased a site, constructed a building and furnished it. The building is seven stories in height. The third floor is used as a dining and play room, a reception room for the children and for matron’s and attendants’ rooms. The fourth and fifth floors are used for dormitories, for an infirmary and for nurses’ rooms. Upon the sixth floor are a kitchen, laundry and nurses’ quarters, and the top floor is an open playground for children. It has appliances for cleansing the children who are received at all hours of -the day and night, and who are furnished with proper food, shelter, medical attendance and medicine during the period required for their permanent location elsewhere.
Among other acts and offices performed by the defendant, it supplies children with temporary relief and with clothing; affords témpora#y relief to destitute families and their children, provides them with medical attendance, pays the wages and
As there is no dispute as to the facts which disclose the defendant’s purpose and the methods it employs to effectuate the design of its organization, the question is presented whether, when its acts and methods are considered in connection with the statute and its certificate of organization, they show that its character and design is charitable, eleemosynary, correctional or reformatory. When thus considered it is manifest that the primary and fundamental purpose and design of this institution and of its promoters was to prevent cruelty to the children of the city of New York.
The statute authorized the defendant’s incorporation but for one single purpose, which was to prevent cruelty to children. While it also conferred upon such an institution the power to make complaints and to aid in bringing the facts before a court or magistrate, yet, obviously, that power was not the sole right intended to be conferred. The certificate filed by the defendant expressly declares its purpose and the desire of its promoters to be to associate themselves together for the purpose of preventing cruelty to children, and that its particular object is the prevention of cruelty to children and to enforce by all lawful means the laws relating to or in any way affecting children, thus showing that the first and important purpose of its organization was to prevent cruelty to children, and that that purpose might so far as necessary be accomplished by enforcing the laws relating to them. It is manifest that the last clause of this provision was not intended to limit the general purpose to the means specified. It was one of the means that might be employed, but not the only one.
The work of the defendant is supported and maintained by gifts from benevolent and charitably disposed individuals, and the surrender of a portion of the funds raised by the city of New York to aid or sustain its various charitable institutions. (Laws 1882, ch. 410, as am. by ohs. 25, 336, L. 1894; charter Greater New York, § 230.) Therefore, that the funds
When we consider that the defendant, in executing the purpose of its organization, clothes the naked, shelters the house-less, feeds the hungry, defends the defenseless, heals the sick and finds homes for the homeless, it is difficult to believe that in character and design it is not charitable. Still, we are told that the sole purpose of its organization was that it might act as a governmental agency to aid in the enforcement of the criminal law, and that all its charitable acts and benefactions were mere incidents to that purpose. I fancy if, at the incorporation of the defendant, its worthy and generous president and the band of benevolent and charitable persons who were associated with him had been told that, the sole purpose of its organization was to collect fines, enforce the criminal law and assist the district attorney, their surprise would have been simply confounding, and such a statement would have been denied with an energy characteristic of the president and his associates. To them such a claim would then have been as repugnant as it is unfounded.
■ Moreover, if it be true that this institution is not that embodiment of a noble charity claimed by its president and other officers when appealing to a charitable public for assistance, then their appeal was based upon an assurance which was unfounded, and, consequently, untrue. Our respect for the individuals who have inaugurated and carried into successful operation this noble charity forbids us to believe them guilty of such an act. It was then believed by them to be, as we think it is, one of the most noble charities that exist in the state.
But it is said that the declarations of the defendant’s officers as to its charitable character and design should have no weight in determining this question, as the views they then entertained were incorrect, and that, even though they were such as to induce the benevolent to aid in what was denominated “a noble charity,” yet their declarations should be utterly dis
Any construction of the'statute which would limit the purpose of the defendant solely to the execution of the criminal law as a governmental agency, is too narrow to meet with our approval. If the enforcement of the criminal law was the sole purpose of the defendant’s organization, it is difficult to discover the necessity for nurses, physicians, matrons and attendants, the erection and maintenance of large and expensive buildings and many other acts and things which are employed and done by the defendant in its benevolent work for the rescue of the miserable and suffering children of a great city.
Besides, if such had been the object of the statute, its title would have been “ An act to authorize the organization of corporations to aid in the enforcement of the criminal law.” With that title thus showing that such was the plain purpose of the law, the inquiry would at once arise by what authority and under what law was a corporation organized under such a statute justified in furnishing houses for shelter, physicians, medicine and nurses for the sick, food and clothing for the hungry and destitute and naked. None can be found. To justify the acts of the defendant and the manner in which it has executed the trust confided to it by a generous public and a liberal municipality, it must rely upon the statute as it is, and it must be construed as authorizing the noble charity which its officers described when they sought aid for its support, and which it has been declared to be by the chief executive of the city whose taxpayers so largely contribute to its maintenance. Otherwise, they have, by a misappropriation of the funds placed in their hands, been guilty of a breach of the trust reposed in them by a confiding public.
The claim that the allusion which is made by the respondent
To sustain the contention of the appellant it is urged that two classes of supervision could not have been contemplated by the members of the constitutional convention or by the legislature. The answer to this argument lies in the fact that the Constitution expressly provides that the visitation and inspection by the state board of charities provided for by the Constitution, shall not be exclusive of other visitation and inspection authorized by law.
It is also claimed that as the acts of charity which are performed by the defendant are temporary and dispensed to the many instead'of the few, its design is not charitable. The logic of this contention is not apparent. Can it be properly said that an institution which dispenses its charity among the many, and for a short period of time, is less a charitable institution than one which aids a lesser number for a longer time ? We think not. The charity of the former may be of more general application than that of the latter, but it is none the less a charity.
It is likewise argued that the fact that its agents are made peace officers is controlling evidence that the defendant is a mere governmental agent and has none of the attributes of a charitable institution. To this we cannot yield our assent. The necessity for their being made peace officers is obvious. The class of children which' the defendant seeks to benefit is found in the slums and dens of a metropolitan community. They are oftentimes surrounded by criminals and desperate and dissolute men and women. To effect the rescue of these children it is oftentimes necessary that the defendant’s agents shall have the power to arrest them or the persons by whom they are detained, and, hence, the powers of a- peace officer
Again it is said : “ The public-spirited citizens, who are the officers of the society and who have given many years of patient and unselfish toil to building up a most praiseworthy and indispensable institution, naturally resent unnecessary interference with their laudable work.” That any such interference has been attempted or contemplated nowhere appears, and it may here be said that this feeling cannot have long existed as is manifest from the statement of its president, that “ The people of the state of New York, by recent amendments to their Constitution, decided that the care and education of children are of paramount importance to the state. They enlarged the provisions for public education, and also lent strength and force to the numerous institutions conducted
The purpose of the Constitution and statutes, continuing and defining the duties of the state board of charities, as was said by this court in People ex rel. N. Y. Inst. for Blind v. Fitch (154 N. T. 14), was to require a close and more efficient supervision of these institutions, and they were adopted in response to a public sentiment which existed throughout the state at the time. Their purpose was not only to secure the proper-expenditure of the public money of the state and different municipalities, but also to protect the generous and charitable by requiring their benefactions to be properly devoted to the particular purpose for which they were intended, and thus that the contemplated recipients should receive the benefactions that were designed for them, at least in the case of institutions which are supported and maintained, wholly or partly, by the state, or any of its political divisions or municipalities.
But we have nothing whatever to do with the question whether the constitutional amendment and the statutes relating to this subject are wise or unwise, desirable or undesirable, beneficial or harmful, but the question before us-is what is the law, and when ascertained it is our plain duty to apply it as we find it to the undisputed facts. When this is done, but one result can follow. If the rules and requirements of the state board of charities are supposed to be improper or harmful to the defendant, the remedy lies with the legislature and
We, however, deem it unnecessary at this time to review the cases upon this subject, as we have so recently examined them that it would be a work of mere supererogation. When the cases referred to in the opinion in People ex rel. N. Y. Inst, for Blind v. Fitch (supra) and the cases cited in this case by the learned Appellate Division are examined, it will be found that they fully sustain the decision of that learned court. Although it has sometimes been difficult to define the word “ charity ” so accurately and acceptably that no doubt could arise as to its application, yet we think that the definition given by Judge Gray in Jackson v. Phillips (14 Allen, 539) is correct, that it should be followed in this case, and that it fully justifies the action of the court below. In that case the learned judge, after a careful and painstaking examination of many cases where the question of what constituted a charity was involved, and of the various definitions which had been given by learned judges and commentators, said: “A charity, in the legal sense, may be more fully defined as a gift, to be applied consistently with existing laws for the benefit of an indefinite number of persons, either by bringing their minds or hearts under the influence of education or religion, by relieving their bodies from disease, suffering or constraint, by assisting them to establish themselves in life, or by erecting or maintaining public buildings or works, or otherwise lessening the burdens of government.”
Moreover, the question whether the defendant is a charitable institution does not seem to be an open one. We think the decision of this court in People ex rel. N. Y. Inst. for Blind v. Fitch (supra) is controlling in this case. It was there held that the word “ charitable,” as used in the Constitution and
The claim that all the charitable acts and benefactions of the defendant are mere incidents to the purpose of executing the criminal law, cannot, and we think ought not to, be sustained, not only because such was not the intent and purpose of the statute and the organization of the defendant, but it was not the intention of the benevolent and philanthropic citizens who procured it. Their object was to inaugurate and maintain a benevolent and charitable institution for the benefit of an unfortunate and suffering class of the community in which they live. Its purpose was to rescue miserable and unfortunate children from the cruelty to which they were subjected, shield them in the future by securing for them places where they might be cared for until they could protect themselves, thereby relieving them from the brutality and noxious influences by which they were surrounded, and thus enabling them to become respectable members of society. If an institution with sucha purpose and performing such offices is not "charitable in its character and design, pray, what is charity ? We cannot accept the contention of counsel that charity has become so scientific as to not mean charity at all.
The contention that the fact that the board of charities has not hitherto visited and inspected the defendant is evidence that "it was not subject to such supervision, is, under the circumstances, entitled to little weight. It was not until about 1894 that this question was agitated by the public press, and petitions addressed to the constitutional'convention from every part of the state were presented, calling attention
Nor dp I see any force in the contention that the provision of chapter 558, Laws of 1890, which exempts the defendant from taxation, is evidence that it was not an institution of a charitable, eleemosynary, correctional or reformatory character or design. That the act was procured by the defendant is plainly shown by the record. It was not, however, exempted from taxation upon the ground that it was a governmental agency of the state or city, but was classified with other charitable and benevolent associations. Thus, the action of the defendant in procuring this legislation not only indicated that it intended to procure its exemption from taxation, but the record shows that its avowed purpose was to secure and
Counsel for the defendant, insists that the authorities cited by the court below, wherein it was held that societies to prevent cruelty to animals were of a charitable character, have no application here, and that those cases are clearly distinguishable from the case at bar. We not only find no sufficient ground upon which to base any such distinction, but the defendant seems to have entertained a contrary view, as it distinctly states in its opposing papers that while it is not associated with societies for the prevention of cruelty to animals it possesses similar powers as to children.
The importance of this question may, perhaps, be more fully appreciated when we remember that there are now at least twenty such societies organized in the state which expend annually for this charity in the neighborhood of a quarter of a million dollars, that they affect at least fifteen thousand children during the same period, and, as indicated by the past, that it is at least probable that such a society will soon be organized in nearly every county in the state.
Moreover, it is extremely difficult to discover any authority for the organization of a private corporation to act as a ministerial or administrative officer of the state or of any of its political divisions or municipalities for the execution of the criminal or other laws of the state. (Fox v. M. & H. R. H. Soc’y, 25 App. Div. 26.) If the defendant is held to be exempt from such visitation, then all other institutions, similar in character and purpose, must likewise be excepted from the operation of the Constitution and laws relating to the subject.
After a careful examination of all the questions presented in this case, we are unable to reach any other conclusion than that the defendant is subject to the inspection and visitation of the state board of charities, and that the court below correctly so held.
That those who inaugurated and carried into successful
An erx’oneous decision of this case may not be especially important or harmful so far as the mere denial of the right to visit the institution of the defendant is concerned. The injury of such a decision arises from the fact that it practically repeals or substantially ignores the Constitution and statutes by which it was sought to protect the people, the charit - able or eleemosynary institutions of the state and the objects of their bounty. This was to be accomplished by a reasonable supervision by a board which, in the language of the defexxd- ' ant’s president, is “ composed of eminent individuals from different parts of the state,” and which is “ entirely unsectarian,
We are of the opinion that the defendant is an institution of a charitable or eleemosynary character, and that- under the Constitution and statutes the state board of charities is required to visit and inspect it in the same manner as in case of other institutions of a similar character.
We think the order of the court below is right and should he- affirmed.
O’Brien, J., reads for reversal; Parker, Ch. J., concurs in memorandum; Gray, J., concurs in memorandum, and Bartlett, .J., concurs; Martin, J., reads for affirmance, and Haight and Vann, JJ., concur.
Orders reversed, etc.