MUEPHY v. DALLAM.—1 BLAND. 497

the facts stated in the bill, are positions assumed; and must plainly
appear, by the bill itself, in all cases, to entitle the plaintiff to a
decree, in any form or upon any terms; and to lay a sufficient
foundation upon which the Court may rest its judgment. Consent
either tacit or express cannot give the Court jurisdiction where it
has none; or entitle the plaintiff to relief, where, by his own shew-
ing, it appears he has no capacity to receive it. Thus far, and to
this purpose all Courts of justice, as well of law as of equity,
must see, that their judgments and decisions have a proper and
legal foundation to rest upon. Bac. Abr. tit. Pleas & Pleadings,
B. 5, 1; Dr. Bonham's Case, 8 Co. 239: Clark v. Conn, 1 Man. 160.
But, divesting these plaintiffs of their unwarranted pretensions to
be considered as the holders of the equitable lieu of the original
vendor, their case has no one single ingredient or character of
equity about it. Their remedy, if any, is at law as assignees of
the bonds, or upon the special contract subsisting among the
parties.

Whereupon, it is decreed, that the bill be dismissed with
costs. &c.

*MURPHY v. DALLAM. 529
CHARITABLE TRUSTS.

A devise of land to a religious sect without the leave of the Legislature, in
some way previously had and obtained, is void, (a)

This was a creditors' bill filed on the 17th November, 1824, by
John Murphy against Henrietta M. Dallam, William M. Dallam and
others, the widow, executors and devisees of Josias W. Dallam
deceased; upon which a decree was passed on the 8th of Feb-
ruary, 1826, and the real estate of the deceased was sold accord-
ingly. After which the auditor, in his report of the 29th of Octo-
ber, 1828, making a distribution of the proceeds of the sales among
the creditors, &c., says, that he had made no allowance to John
Murphy, who was a purchaser under the decree, for the lot claimed
out of the property sold to him, by the Methodist society in virtue
of a devise in the will of the deceased. Independently of other
objections, the devise would be void as against creditors.

BLAND, C., 12th January, 1829.—It appears by the will of the late
Josias W. Dallam, that he devised one-fourth of an acre of his
lands as described, to Francis Asbury for the use of the Methodist

(a) Cited in Grove v. Trustees, 33 Md. 454. See Dashiell v. Attorney-Gene-
ral, 6 H. & J. 1, note; Reed v. Stouffer, 56 Md. 236; Barnum v. Balto. 62 Md.
275.

32 1B.