Report No. 17

39. Sections 26 and 27.-

These sections may be altered by recasting the clauses so as to make the scheme more logical. That part of section 27 which refers to "neglect" may be put as a residuary clause under section 26.

40. It is rather difficult to gather from the language of section 26 of the Act what exactly is meant by the expression "subject to the provisions of sections 13 and 15". So far as English and American laws are concerned, no such limitation is imposed. The three exceptions in the proviso to section 26 are well-established under English law, under which a trustee is liable for the acts and defaults of his co-trustee. The rule is clear and simple and is devoid of all complications. Sections 13 and 15, on the one hand, deal with certain specific heads of liability, while section 26 is an independent provision dealing with a different head of liability. The two need not be linked up together. The expression quoted above may as well be omitted.

41. The substance of the last paragraph of section 26 may be transposed to section 30, which, we think, is its proper place.