252 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES
VI. C ONCLUSION
(1) Conversion and election are doctrines which illustrate the maxim of Equity—Equity looks to intention.
(2) That being so there would be no election if there was no intention on the part of the donor to put the donee to election.
I. Performance
The problem :—A covenants with B to do a certain act. A does an act which can wholly or partly effects the same purpose i.e. available for the discharge of the obligation arising under the covenant but does not relate the act to the covenant. The question is how is this act to be construed ? Is it to be construed that it is an independent act quite unconnected with the covenant or is it to be construed that the intention of A in doing this act was to perform the obligation. The answer of equity is that the act must be treated as being intended to perform the obligation under the covenant.
Principle :—The principle underlying the doctrine of Performance is that, equity presumes that every man has an intention to perform his obligation and when he does an act which is similar to the one he promised to do, then equity gives effect to that intention.
The difficulties that would occur if this principle was not recognized.
Illus :
A convenanted on his marriage to purchase lands of the value of £200 a year and to settle them for the jointure of his wife and to the first and other sons of the marriage in fail.
A purchased lands of that value but made no settlement, so that, on his death the lands descended to his eldest son.
The eldest son brought a bill in equity founded on his father’s marriage-articles to have land purchased out of the personal estate of the father of the value of £ 200 a year and settled to the uses in the marriage-articles. But for the doctrine of performance the man would get both.