ties may appoint trustees, not exceeding five in number, to hold and manage trust funds for their benefit, who must hold their offices five years and until others are appointed in their stead, with power to fill vacancies for an unexpired term occurring in their board. Such societies, at or before the time of the first appointment of the trustees, may establish rules and regulations for their government which are considered of the nature of a contract, and not subject to alteration or amendment except by all the trustees in office at the time, and by a two-thirds vote of the society interested therein. The terms "religious society" and "society," in the preceding sections of this chapter, include parishes. (Ib., Secs. 25 and 26.)

§ 419. In some cases where there is a valid grant or bequest in trust to a religious society, and no trustees are named in the deed or will, a court of equity will appoint the proper trustees, upon the familiar principle that equity will not suffer a trust to fail for want of a trustee. Of course the object of the trust must be reasonably certain, and then the court will see to it that the will of the testator or grantor is respected and carried out. (Universalist Society v. Fitch, 8 Gray, 421.)

CHAPTER XXX.

RELIGIOUS SOCIETIES IN MASSACHUSETTS

OTHER PROVISIONS

FOR THEIR INCORPORATION-POWERS OF SUCH CORPORATIONS —MONEY, HOW RAISED-WHAT PROPERTY MAY BE HELD BY SUCH CORPORATIONS—THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL AND AFRICAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCHES-PEWS MAY BE TAXED.

§ 420. Persons owning or proposing to build a house of public worship may organize themselves in the same manner as religious societies are authorized to do by the provisions specified in the last preceding chapter, and will thereupon become a corporation with the usual powers, privileges, restrictions, and liabilities of a religious corporation, though such powers may be revoked by the legislature. Every such corporation may hold so much real and personal estate, in addition to its meeting house, as may be necessary for its objects, and as may have been agreed and determined upon at the meeting held for the purpose of organization, but the annual income thereof must be applied to parochial purposes. (General Stat. of 1860, Ch. 30, Secs. 27 and 28.)

§ 421. The clerk of every such corporation must, within ten days after such meeting, leave with the clerk of the town or city in which such house of worship is situated, or is about to be built, a true copy of the record of the proceedings. Should he fail to do so, the organization would be void. The copy aforesaid must be recorded by the clerk receiving it, in a book kept for the purpose, for which he is entitled to a fee equal to that of the registrar of deeds for like services. (Ib., Sec. 29.)

§ 422. Where the proprietors deem it expedient to alter, enlarge, repair, rebuild or remove their house, or build a

new one, they may, at a legal meeting called for that purpose, raise such sums of money as they may judge necessary for the purpose, and to purchase land necessary therefor. A meeting of the proprietors for any of the purposes aforesaid, may be called in the manner prescribed in the by-laws or notes of the corporation, or by a warrant granted by a justice of the peace on application in writing by any five of said proprietors, which warrant must be directed to one of the applicants; or such meeting may be called by a notification by the clerk of the proprietors, who must warn a meeting on a like application to him, and in either case the meeting may be warned by notification served by posting an attested copy thereof on the principal outer door of the meeting house, or leaving such copy with or at the last and usual place of abode of such proprietors seven days at least before the meeting. (Ib., Secs. 30 and 31.)

§ 423. Money may be assessed on the pews in such house, and the assessment may be committed to the treasurer of the proprietors, who must forthwith give notice by posting up an advertisement at the principal outer door of the house, stating the completion of such assessment, and the day of delivery thereof to him; and if any part of such taxes remains unpaid for three months afterwards, the treasurer must proceed to collect the same forthwith by sales at public auction of the pews whereon the same remains unpaid. The treasurer must post up a notification of the intended sale of a pew at the principal outer door of such house, at least three weeks before the time of sale, setting forth the number of the pew, if any, the name of the owner or occupant, if known, and the amount of the tax due thereon; and if any part of the said tax remains unpaid at the time, the treasurer must sell the pew at public auction, to the highest bidder, and must execute and deliver to the purchaser a sufficient deed of conveyance. The money arising from the

sale, beyond the taxes and incidental reasonable charges, must be paid by the treasurer to the former owner of the pew, or to his assigns. (Ib., Secs. 32 and 33.)

§ 424. An affidavit annexed to an original notification or to a copy thereof, made before a justice of the peace, and recorded on the proprietors' records within six months next after such sale, is allowed as one mode of proof of the posting up of the notifications hereinbefore required. (Ib., Sec. 34.)

§ 425. The aforesaid proprietors, for the purpose of building a new house, or of altering, enlarging, repairing, rebuilding, or removing their house of worship already built, may sell their house or take down any pews therein. The pews taken, however, must first be appraised by three or more disinterested persons chosen by the proprietors for that purpose. The pews newly erected must be sold by the treasurer of the proprietors, at public auction, to the highest bidder, and deeds thereof given in like manner as when pews are sold for the payment of taxes. The money arising from such sales must be applied, so far as may be necessary, to paying the appraised value of the pews taken down, and the deficiency, if any, must be paid by the proprietors of such house, within thirty days after the sale. Under this provision, a parish or religious society, whenever it deems it necessary for the purpose of building a new house, or of altering, enlarging, removing or rebuilding its house already built, may take down any pew therein, or sell the house, and no person is entitled to compensation for a pew so taken down, when such house is unfit for the purposes of public worship. (Ib., Secs. 35, 36 and 37.)

§ 426. The trustees of any society of the Methodist Episcopal church, or of the African Methodist Episcopal church,

appointed according to the discipline or usages thereof respectively, or as such society chooses, may organize and become a corporation, with the powers, privileges, duties and liabilities of other religious corporations, subject, however, to account to the quarterly meeting of such society, according to such discipline and usages. But all powers derived from such organization may be revoked by the legis lature. Such trustees may receive, hold and manage all the property, both real and personal, belonging to such society, and may sell and convey the same, and hold in trust gifts, grants, bequests, or donations, made to such society for the support of public worship and other religious purposes, but the annual income thereof, exclusive of the meeting house, cannot exceed four thousand dollars. (Ib., Secs. 43 and 44.)

§ 427. The first meeting of such trustees may be called by a justice of the peace, upon the application of three or more of the trustees, at which they may choose a secretary and other officers, and all of the provisions of this and the last preceding chapters in relation to the warning and organization of meetings of religious societies, so far as the same may be applicable, apply and are in force in regard to meetings for the organization of such trustees. The secretary, before entering upon the duties of his office, must be sworn to the faithful discharge of the same, and a record of such oath must be kept in the record of the proceedings. An attested copy of the record of the proceedings at such organization must be kept with the town or city clerk, and recorded within ten days of such meeting; and if the secretary omits to leave such copy within the time specified, the organization will be void. (lb., Sec. 46.)

§ 428. There is still another provision by which seven or more persons within the State, having associated themselves by agreement in writing for religious purposes, under any