Chapter — Gury-Ballerini, Compendium of Moral Theology (8th ed., 1884)
Chapter V. On Census
- Census is the right of receiving an annual pension from a thing or person. Census can be manifold, namely:
- Reservative, that is, an annual pension to be received from a thing alienated as to the land.
- Consignative, that is, an annual pension to be received from a thing or from a person from the title of purchase.
- Real or personal, according as the pension is constituted on a fruit-bearing thing, or on the labor and skill of a person.
- Temporary, or perpetual, or for life, according as it is constituted for a time, for example, for 20 years, or in perpetuity, or for the life of a man.
- Redeemable from one or each side, according as it can be redeemed at the nod of either party or of both; or irredeemable, if by pact the seller or censuary cannot free himself through restitution of the capital: then the buyer, or censualist, necessarily preserves his right to the census.
- Principles. - I. Any reservative census is lawful, because anyone transferring the ownership of his own thing can reserve to himself part of its fruits, provided he diminishes the price in proportion to the reservation.
II. A real consignative census, both fruit-bearing and pecuniary, is lawful, because it is lawful to sell and buy the right to some part of the usufruct, or to an annual pension.
III. The same conditions generally are required for census by natural right as for sale, namely 1. good faith; 2. sufficient insurance on the part of the censuary toward the censualist; 3. a just price, which is determined by law or by common estimation.
- Questions. - Q. 1. Whether a personal consignative census is lawful?
Resp. Affirmatively, at least by natural right, provided the due conditions are observed; because the right of receiving a pension from another's labor, skill, etc., is as appreciable by price as the right of receiving it from a fruit-bearing thing. - Thus commonly. - St. Lig. n. 839, against others denying it because a person cannot be sold. From Gallican law no one can bind his works except for a time, or for a determined business (1780).
Q. 2. Whether a REDEEMABLE census is lawful?
Resp. Affirmatively, at least on the part of the censuary, just as retrovendition can be lawful. - In Gallican law every census is by its essence redeemable; but it is lawful to agree that it cannot be redeemed before 30 years, just as the price or condition of alienation of an immovable thing (530, 1911).
- Q. 3. Whether it can be redeemable on each side?
Resp. Affirmatively, more probably, because it is a true sale, and the buyer ought not to be of worse condition than the seller, provided there is good faith and equality is otherwise observed. - St. Lig. n. 843. - Less.-Laym., against others.
Q. 4. Whether it is lawful to buy at the current price annual censuses founded in the Government, or shares from the public banker (in French, actions de la banque)?
Resp. Affirmatively. For they are sold as merchandise; they increase or decrease in price according to common estimation.
- Q. 5. Whether a life census is lawful?
Resp. Affirmatively. For it is an aleatory contract, and in no way is repugnant to natural right, and it is approved by civil law.
The following conditions, moreover, are required:
- Account must be taken of the age or health of the person.
- The price ordinarily ought not to extend beyond 15 for 100.
- The censuary cannot redeem himself except by the will of the censualist; nor can the censualist reclaim the capital except insofar as the censuary does not provide the promised securities.
- The census is not extinguished by the civil death of the censualist, but passes to his heirs up to his natural death (1982, 1983). - See Cases, n. 1005.