
1 

(1) There shall be established a Royal Patriotic Fund Corporation, which shall be a body corporate by that name, with perpetual succession and a common seal, and power to acquire and hold lands without licence in mortmain.
(2) The constitution, rights, powers, and duties of the Corporation shall be determined in accordance with the First Schedule to this Act.
2 
The property of the Corporation shall, subject to any special trust relating to any part thereof, be administered by the Corporation for the benefit of the widows, children, and dependents of officers and men of the naval and military forces of the Crown.
3 

(1) The Patriotic Fund Commission is hereby dissolved, and the property, rights, duties, and liabilities thereof, and all property held in trust therefor, are hereby transferred to and vested in the Royal Patriotic Fund Corporation.
(2) The officers and clerks in the service of the Patriotic Fund Commission shall be transferred and attached to the Royal Patriotic Fund Corporation: Provided that such persons shall not by reason of the transfer be in any worse position legally in respect of their salaries, tenure of office, or superannuation allowances than they would have been if this Act had not passed.
(3) References in any deed, will, or other instrument to the Patriotic Fund Commission shall, unless a contrary intention appears, be construed as references to the Royal Patriotic Fund Corporation.
4 
The enactments mentioned in the Second Schedule to this Act are hereby repealed to the extent specified in the third column of that schedule.
5 

(1) This Act may be cited as the Patriotic Fund Reorganisation Act, 1903.
(2) It shall come into operation on the first day of January nineteen hundred and four.
FIRST SCHEDULE
Section 1.
1 
The Corporation shall consist of the following persons, namely :—
(a) Twelve members nominated by His Majesty by warrant under the sign manual, who shall be appointed for a term of three years, but shall be eligible for re-appointment, and who are referred to as " appointed members."
(b) The lord lieutenants of counties.
(c) The chairman for the time being of every council of a county : Provided that a county council may, if the chairman is unable or unwilling to act, appoint some other person in place of the chairman, to be a member of the Corporation, and any person so appointed shall hold office for one year from the time of his appointment.
(d) Every person for the time being entitled to the style of Lord) Mayor, and the mayor for the time being of every county borough in England, Wales, and Ireland.
(e) Every person for the time being entitled to the style of Lord Provost, and the provost for the time being of every royal, Parliamentary or police burgh in Scotland with a population of or exceeding 50,000 according to the census for the time being last taken : provided that any question as to the persons entitled to the style of Lord Provost may be decided by the Secretary for Scotland, and his decision shall be final.
(f) Any number of persons not exceeding seven whom the council of the Corporation may think fit to co-opt as members, each of whom shall have been nominated as the representative of a charitable fund founded for the like purposes as the Corporation.
2 
If during the three years immediately succeeding the commencement of this Act any vacancy occurs by death, resignation, or otherwise anions the appointed members, His Majesty may appoint some person to supply the vacancy, and that person shall hold office until the expiration of the three years.
After the expiration of the three years the appointed members shall be selected as follows.; namely, six members shall be appointed by His Majesty by warrant under the sign manual, and the remaining six members shall be co-opted by the general council, and the members so appointed or co-opted shall hold office for a term of three years, but shall be eligible for re-appointment or co-optation by His Majesty or by the council.
Where any vacancy occurs by death, resignation, effluxion of time, or otherwise in the office of any member so appointed or co-opted, the vacancy shall be filled by appointment by His Majesty or by co-optation, as the case may be. Any member so appointed or co-opted shall hold office for three years, and shall be eligible for re-appointment or co-option.
3 
The powers and duties of the Corporation shall be exercised and performed by the general council of the Corporation, consisting of the whole of the members, and by an executive committee appointed from among the members.
4 
The general council shall meet once at least in every year, and shall also meet when required to meet by a requisition in writing signed by not less than ten members of the Corporation, and seven members shall constitute a quorum of the general council.
5 

(a) One of the members of the Corporation appointed by the Crown shall be nominated by the Crown as president of the council.
(b) The chairman of the executive committee shall be elected by the committee and shall be the vice-president of the council.
6 
The executive committee shall consist of not less than twelve nor more than twenty members of the Corporation, of whom three shall constitute a quorum. Four members in the first instance, and thereafter one member of the committee, shall be appointed by the Treasury, two by the First Lord of the Admiralty, two by the Secretary of State for War, and the remaining members shall be appointed by the general council.
7 
The business and affairs of the Corporation shall be conducted by the executive committee under the control of the general council, who may make general rules for, or give special directions to, the committee, but subject to any such rules or directions the committee shall regulate their own procedure. General rules made by the council may provide for the formation of local committees for purposes connected with the fund (the members of which need not be members of the Corporation), and may regulate the functions of those committees, and may provide for other matters incidental to the due conduct of the business of the Corporation.
8 
The Paymaster-General shall be the treasurer of the Corporation, and he shall keep such accounts on behalf of the Corporation as the Treasury may from time to time direct.
9 
All securities belonging to the Corporation shall be deposited in the Bank of England for the credit and at the disposal of the Corporation, and all interest and dividends accruing on such securities shall from time to time be received by the Bank of England, and shall be carried by them to the cash account of the Paymaster-General in their books.
10 
On the sale at any time under the authority of the Corporation of any annuities, stocks, funds, or securities standing to their account in the books of the Bank of England, and of any securities belonging to the Corporation deposited with the Bank of England, the proceeds of the sales shall be received by the Bank, and shall be carried by them to the cash account of the Paymaster-General in their books.
11 
The accounts of the receipts and expenditure of the Corporation shall be audited in such manner and by such persons as the Treasury may from time to time direct.
12 
The Corporation may employ a secretary, clerks, and servants at salaries, and the said salaries and all other proper expenses of the Corporation shall be paid out of the funds at the disposal of the Corporation.
13 
The general council may establish a scheme of pensions for persons in the permanent employment of the Corporation, and for that purpose may create a superannuation fund, one half of which shall be furnished by contributions from the beneficiaries, and the other half of which shall be furnished from the funds at the disposal of the Corporation.
14 
The Corporation may from time to time solicit and receive contributions from the public and donations of property for the purposes of the Corporation, and may also receive any such sums as may be granted by Parliament.
15 
The Corporation shall in each year make a report of their proceedings to His Majesty.
SECOND SCHEDULE
Section 4.


Session and Chapter. Short Title. Extent of Repeal.
30 & 81 Vict. c. 98. The Patriotic Fond Act, 1867 The whole Act.
44 & 45 Vict. c. 46. The Patriotic Fond Act, 1881 The whole Act.
49 & 50 Vict. c. 30. The Patriotic Fund Act, 1886 The whole Act.
62 & 63 Vict. c. 45. The Patriotic Fund Act, 1899 The whole Act.