tend any encouragement to any religious denomination except the national church. After the province was surrendered by Holland to the English by the treaty of Breda, the government always hesitated, especially, to grant charters to the Dutch and Presbyterian churches, ostensibly lest it should have the effect to foster an establishment inconsistent with the principles of the laws of England.

§ 308. In 1784 the policy of incorporating religious societies and sustaining the ministry was changed, and on the 6th day of April, 1784, an act of the legislature was passed for the declared purpose of enabling all the religious denominations in the State to appoint trustees, who should be a body corporate for the purpose of taking care of the temporalities of their respective churches and congregations, and for other purposes in the act mentioned. This act premised that many of the churches, congregations and religious societies in the State, while it was a colony, had been put to great difficulties to support the public worship of God, by reason of the illiberal and partial distribution of charters of incorporation to religious societies, whereby many charitable and well-disposed persons had been prevented from contributing to the support of religion, for want of proper persons authorized by law to take charge of their pious donations; and many estates purchased or given for the support of religious societies were then vested in private hands, to the "great insecurity of the society for whose benefit they were purchased or given, and to the no less disgust of many of the good people of the State"; and it was further premised that it was the duty of all wise, free and virtuous governments to countenance and encourage virtue and religion, and enable every religious denomination to provide for the decent and honorable support of divine worship, agreeable to the dictates of conscience and judgment; whereupon provision was made by general law for the incorporation of reli

gious societies in theory the same as the laws now in force in the State. (1 Greenleaf's Laws, Ch. 18.)

§ 309. The policy adopted in 1784, for the incorporation of religious societies in the State, has been in force ever since, though the act has been amended from time to time, until the same has become well nigh perfect, and has been the model for several others of the States.

CHAPTER XXV.

RELIGIOUS SOCIETIES IN MAINE-THE PARISH OF EARLY TIMESTHE TERM STILL USED IN MAINE-RELIGIOUS SOCIETIES HOW INCOKIORATED-POWERS OF RELIGIOUS CORPORATIONS-OFFICERS THEREOF-PARISH MEETINGS-QUAKERS.

§ 310. In the early settlements of New England there was little or no distinction between the church and congregation. The system of parishes universally prevailed. A parish, according to the English law, is "a circuit of ground committed to the charge of one person or vicar, or other minister having cure of souls"; or, as Brande defines it, “an ecclesiastical division of a town or district, subject to the ministry of one pastor." In a church sense, parochia or parish signifies "a competent number of christians dwelling near together, and having one bishop, pastor, &c. or more set over them," and this is in accordance with the sense, custom and platform of the New England churches in early times. (Baker v. Fales, 16 Mass. R. 499.)

§ 311. The people of the parish met together every Sunday in one place, to celebrate divine service. All of the

residents were permitted to come around the communion table, and receive the sacrament from the bishop. Subsequently the more pious part of the congregation had occasion to withdraw from those they deemed profane and immoral, or who denied some of the doctrines held to be essential, and to establish a distinction by particular covenants or profession between the more serious and devout christian and him who was thought to be such in name only; and this necessity originated the distinction between church and congregation which was afterwards and is now marked and well known. (Ib.)

§ 312. In the State of Maine it is now provided that any persons of the age of twenty-one years or more, desirous of becoming an incorporated parish or religious society, may apply to a justice of the peace of the county in which a majority of them reside, who is required to issue his warrant to one of them, directing him to notify the other applicants to meet at some proper place, expressed in such warrant. The person to whom such warrant is directed must give notice of such meeting seven days at least before holding the same, by posting a notification thereof on the outer door of the meeting-house or place of worship of such society, if any, otherwise at such place as the justice appoints. (Rev. Stat. 1857, Ch. 12, Sec. 1.)

§313. The persons thus applying, being so assembled, may choose a clerk and other needful parish officers, and thereupon they are declared to be a corporation, bearing the name they assume, and possessing all the powers of parishes and religious societies. Every parish may take by gift or purchase any real or personal estate, until the clear annual income thereof amounts to three thousand dollars, and may convey such real or personal estate, and establish by

laws not repugnant to the laws of the State. (Ib., Secs. 2 and 3.)

§ 314. The annual or other meetings of the parish may be called by its assessors, to be held at the time and place in the town where they are usually held, and notified in the same manner as prescribed for the first meeting to organize, or in such manner as agreed on by the votes of the parish. At such meeting the parish or society may choose a clerk (who must take an oath of office), two or more assessors, a collector, treasurer, standing committee, and all other and needful officers. The assessors must manage the prudential concerns of the parish, when no other persons are appointed for that purpose, and they must also be duly sworn. (Ib. Sec. 4.)

§ 315. The moderator of any meeting has power to preserve order, manage the business, and administer the oath of office to the clerk and assessors. The moderator of course will be elected by the meeting of the parish, and his election will be valid, though the meeting were called to order and votes were received and declared by a private parishioner who assumed that authority to himself. (Ib. Sec. 5; and Jones v. Carey, 6 Maine R. 448.)

§ 316. When five members of any parish in writing request the assessors to call a meeting, or insert any particular article in the warrant therefor, they are required to do so; and if they unreasonably refuse to comply with such written request, any justice of the peace in the county, on like appli cation, may issue his warrant to one of the applicants, who must notify such meeting in the same manner as prescribed for the first meeting, or as agreed on by parish vote. (Ib. Secs. 6 and 7.)

§317. Every parish at a legal meeting may raise money for the support of the public ministry of religion, for building, repairing or removing houses of public worship, and for other necessary parish charges, and the same may be assessed and collected as State taxes are assessed and collected. Parish taxes, however, can be assessed only on the polls and property of the members of the parish. (Ib. Sec. 8; and Dale v. Kimball, 6 Maine R. 171.)

§ 318. When a house of public worship belongs to a parish, or it and the fee of the land on which it stands is vested in trustees for the use of the parish, such parish may assess any money raised for the purposes specified in the last preceding section, wholly or partly, on the pews or seats, whether owned by members of such parish or religious society or not; and the owners may be present and vote in raising such money. No person has the right to vote in the meetings of any territorial parish who is not either the owner or occupant of a pew in its house of worship, or a contributor to its support, according to the provisions of the twelfth chapter of the Revised Statutes herein referred to. (Ib., Sec. 9, and Laws of 1858, Ch. 34, Sec. 1.)

§319. While a town constitutes but one parish, it may administer its municipal and parochial affairs under one organization, and, while acting in this double capacity, may appropriate any of its property to objects of a parochial or municipal character, which, after the dissolution of that union by the constitution of a new parish, cannot be changed by one alone. Such appropriation, when distinctly made, is equivalent to a grant of the property to a specific use. And when no such appropriation is made of the whole estate, the residue belongs to the town, and the parish can have title to no more than has been appropriated to its use. (First Parish in Boothby v. Wylie, 43 Maine R. 387.)