PARISHES. A. Of the formation and incorporation of parishes; Mode of becoming a member, and of dissolving that relation; Their capacity to hold and manage estate. § 1. How parishes may be constituted, incorporated, and organized. 2. Mode of becoming members of a religious society. 3. Mode of withdrawing from the same. 4. The powers of parishes to hold ib. Limitation of income. B. Of parish meetings and choice of officers. § 1. Mode of calling parish meetings. 2. Choice of Clerk, Assessors, Collectors, Treasurer, and other officers. ib. Oath of Clerk. ib. Power of Assessors. 3. Power of Moderator. ib. Method of notifying meetings. C. Of their powers to raise money, and of the assessment and collection of taxes. § 1. Purposes for which parishes or religious societies may raise money. ib. Of the assessment and collection thereof. 2. In what cases taxes may be 3. Treasurer's power and duty in signated by the person paying, unless, &c. 5. Parishes may appoint Treas- ib. To require bonds. cases. 8. Owners of meeting-houses D. Of the corporate powers of ministers, and of parish or church officers to take and to hold estate in succession. §1. Ministers of parishes, &c. may be grantees of property for pious or charitable uses. ib. Their power to prosecute and defend actions. ib. Alienation of estate, &c. to be valid during alienor's office. 2. Ministers of protestant churches may take parsonage lands in succession. ib. Their power to sue and defend actions touching the same. 3. Deacons of protestant church es and church wardens may take and hold estate in succession. ib. Their power to sue and defend actions. ib. Who shall be deemed the corporation, in case ministers, elders or vestry are joined in the grant. 4. The act is not to make void judgments of courts. ib. Alienation of lands without the consent of the church or vestry is invalid. 5. Of alienation of lands by min- 6. Churches, not episcopal, may cession. ib. They may prosecute and defend actions. ib. They may alienate estate with 8. Limitation of income. A. Of the formation and incorporation of parishes; Mode of becoming a member, and of dissolving that relation; Their capacity to hold and manage estate. § 1. Any persons twenty-one years of age, or upwards, desirous of incorporating themselves into a parish or religious society, may apply to any Justice of the Peace in the county where the majority of such applicants reside, who shall issue his warrant to one of such applicants, directing him to notify them to meet at some suitable place, in the manner by this act provided, for the purpose of incorporating themselves into a parish or religious society. And such persons so assembled, may choose a clerk, and such other parish officers, as they may think proper and thereupon shall be, and hereby are declared to be a body politic, to be known by such name and style, as they may see fit to adopt; and shall have all the powers and privileges incident by law to parishes and religious societies. ch. 135, s. 1. 2. Any person may become a member of any parish or religious society now existing or hereafter to be created, by being accepted by the society of which he wishes to become a member at a legal meeting of the same, and giving notice thereof in writing to the clerk of the society which he is about to leave; which notice and the time of receiving the same, it shall be the duty of such clerk to record. But every person ceasing to be a member of any parish or religious ciety shall be liable to be taxed for all moneys raised by such parish or society before his ceasing to be a member thereof. ch. 335, s. 8. 3. Provided, That no person shall be compelled to join or be classed with any parish or religious society without his or her consent: and when any person shall choose to withdraw from any parish or religious society, and shall leave a written notice thereof with the Clerk of such society, he or she shall be no longer liable to pay any part of any future expenses which may be incurred by such society. ib. 4. Every parish or religious society shall have power to take by gift, grant or purchase any estate real or personal, until the clear annual income of such parish or society arising from such estate, shall amount to three thousand dollars; and to give and grant or bargain and sell the same; and shall have power to order and establish such regulations and by-laws for the management of their affairs as they may see fit: Provided, The same be not contrary to the laws of this State. s. 2. B. Of parish meetings and choice of officers; 1. The inhabitants of each parish or religious society may meet annually and at such other times as they may deem proper, in the town where the religious meetings of such parish or society are usually held, at such time and place as they shall be notified to attend by the Assessors or standing committee of such parish or society, or by such other person as may have the warrant of such assessors or committee therefor, such meetings to be notified seven days at least before the holding of the same, by written advertisements posted up at the principal outer door of the meeting. house or place of worship of such parish or society, or in such other mode as any parish or society may agree upon at any legal meeting of the same. ch. 135, s. 3. 2. The inhabitants being so assembled may, by written ballot or otherwise, elect a Clerk, who shall be sworn or affirmed to the faithful discharge of his office, two or more Assessors, a Collector, Treasurer and a standing committee, or such other officers as may be deemed proper for the convenient management of their concerns. And the Assessors of such parish or society shall have power to manage the prudential affairs thereof, when no other persons are appointed for that purpose. ib. 3. The Moderator of any meeting of any parish or religious society shall have power to regulate and manage the business of such meeting, to preserve due order and decorum therein, to remove therefrom every person guilty of irregular and disorderly conduct, and to administer the oath of office to the Clerk. And when any vote declared by the Moderator shall immediately be questioned by any per son present, the Moderator shall make the same certain in such manner as a majority of the members present may desire. s. 4. 4. When any five members of any parish or religious society shall signify in writing their desire to have any article inserted in the warrant or notification for calling the next meeting thereof, it shall be the duty of the Assessors to insert the same accordingly. And if such Assessors unreasonably refuse to call a meeting, or any parish or religious society be destitute of Assessors, or other officers empowered to notify a meeting of the same, any Justice of the Peace within the county, upon application in writing of five members of such parish or society, may issue his warrant to any suitable person therein, who may notify a meeting thereof accordingly; and where any parish or religious society shall not establish the method of calling meetings of the same, such meetings may be notified and called in the manner herein before provided for the calling of annual meetings. s. 5. 5. The records of every parish or religious society shall be free to the inspection of every member thereof, and of the Clerk of any other parish or religious society. And it shall be the duty of each Clerk to make and attest copies of record upon request and reasonable compensation therefor. S. 9. C. Of their powers to raise money, and of the assessment and collection of taxes. 1. Every parish and religious society may at any legal meeting thereof grant and vote such moneys as they may judge necessary for the support of the public ministry of religion, for the building, repairing, enlarging or removing of houses of public worship and for all other necessary parish charges;* and may assess the same on the polls and estates of the several members thereof, and cause the same to be collected, conforming to the laws providing for the assessment and collection of State taxes. ch. 135, s. 6. 2. Where any house of public worship belongs to the members of a parish or religious society, it shall be lawful for such parish or society, if they see cause, to assess any moneys voted aforesaid either wholly or in part upon the pews and seats of all individual proprietors therein: Provided, That such individual proprietors of pews and seats, whether members of such society or not, may be present and vote in granting all sums to be assessed on such seats and pews in manner aforesaid. ib. 3. If the taxes or any of them so assessed on said pews and seats shall remain unpaid for the space of six months after the assessment thereof, the Treasurer of such parish or religious society shall sell such pews and seats at public vendue to the highest bidder; first posting up a notification of such intended sale at the principal outer door of such house of public worship, at least three weeks before the time of sale, therein setting forth the numbers of the pews or seats if any, and the amount of taxes due thereon; and shall make, execute and deliver to the purchaser sufficient deeds of conveyance of the same, and the moneys arising from such sale, over and above the taxes and incidental reasonable charges, said Treasurer shall pay over to the former owners of the pews and seats so sold respectively, or their assigns, on demand. ib. 4. All moneys paid by any person for the support of pub lic worship, or of public teachers of religion, by a tax on any pew or seat, shall if such person require it, be paid over to * Parishes have no powers to grant moneys except those given by statute. The words, "all other necessary parish charges," relate only to the charges arising from and necessarily connected with the objects specified in the statute. A grant and tax for other purposes would be illegal and the assessors thereof would be held liable as trespassers. See 1 Mass. Rep. 190. |