under their corporate seal and the signature of the president or presiding officer, and may also sell their personal estate; and they may make all necessary by-laws, not inconsistent with the laws of the State, and impose all necessary duties. (Ib., Sec. 11, Art. IV.)

§ 781. The first meeting of such religious corporation, unless otherwise provided for, may be called by a notice published in some convenient newspaper, for at least ten days before the time appointed for the meeting, which notice must be signed by one or more persons named in the charter, and such meeting, when assembled, may proceed to organize the corporation. (Ib.)

§ 782. In addition to the foregoing facilities for incorporating religious societies in Mississippi, it is provided that any religious society consisting of the members of any particular denomination or congregation, desiring to act as an organized body, may do so by associating together, and electing or appointing, from their own body, any number of trustees or managers, by whatever name known, for the purpose of managing the affairs of the society. The society or association are required to keep a record of its proceedings, which must show the organization thereof, and the election of the trustees or managers; and any society thus organized at each particular locality, must be a distinct and independ ent society. Such society may sue and be sued, by their society name or appellation, and process may be served on their presiding or chief officer, or their secretary. (Ib., Sec. 10, Art. LII.)

§ 783. Any religious society or congregation, or ecclesiastical body, may hold, at any one place, a house or tenement for a place of worship, with proper and reasonable ground attached thereto; a house or tenement as a place of residence

for their pastor or minister, with proper and reasonable ground thereto attached; a house or tenement to be appropriated and used as a male school, or seminary of learning, with proper and sufficient ground thereto attached; and another house or tenement, to be appropriated as a female school or seminary of learning; and a cemetery of sufficient dimensions, and no more. Though it is provided that any religious society or denomination may own such colleges or seminaries of learning as it may think proper, if used for such purposes. (Ib., Art. LIII.)

§ 784. All lands, tenements or hereditaments, or any interest or benefit therein or therefrom, except for the purposes specified in the last preceding section, which may be given, granted, conveyed, leased or released to any religious society, denomination or congregation, either directly or indirectly, or in trust or confidence for the use or bencfit of such society, either express or implied, or secret, or by the judgment of any court, or by way of lien, mortgage or pledge, are declared to be ipso facto, by such alienation, forfeited to the State. Nor can such society, denomination or ecclesiastical body, by any act or ingenuity, appropriate or have appropriated to its use, or for its benefit, or to its disposition, any present or future interest in lands, tene

ments or hereditaments other than to the extent above mentioned; nor can any such society evade this provision, by any device or subterfuge, in taking or holding more land for any of the purposes above mentioned than is necessary. (Ib., Art. LIV.)

785. Every devise or bequest of lands, tenements or hereditaments, or any interest therein, of freehold or less than freehold, either present or future, vested or contingent, or of any money directed to be raised by the sale thereof, contained in any last will and testament, or codicil,

or other testamentary writing, in favor of any religious or ecclesiastical corporation, sole or aggregate, or any religious or ecclesiastical society, or to any religious denomination or association of persons, or to any person or body politic, in trust, either express or implied, secret or resulting, either for the use and benefit of such religious corporation, society, denomination or association, or for the purpose of being given or appropriated to charitable uses or purposes, is declared to be null and void, and the heir-at-law will take the same property so devised or bequeathed, as though no testamentary disposition had been made. (Ib., Art. LV.)

§ 786. Every legacy, gift or bequest of money or personal property, or of any interest, benefit or use therein, either direct, implied or otherwise, contained in any last will and testament, or codicil, in favor of any religious or ecclesiastical corporation, sole or aggregate, or any religious or ecclesiastical society, or to any religious denomination or association, either for its own use or benefit, or for the purpose of being given or appropriated to charitable uses, is declared null and void, and the distributers are required to take the same as though no such testamentary disposition had been made. (Ib., Art. LVI.)

§ 787. It is made lawful for a pastor of any religious society in the State, to join together in marriage such persons as are of the society, according to the rules and customs established by the society; and the clerk or keeper of the minutes, proceedings, or other books of the religious society, wherein such marriage may be had and solemnized, is required to make a true and faithful register of all marriages solemnized in the society, in a book kept by him for that purpose, and return a certificate of the same to the clerk of the probate court of the county to be by him recorded, and such books are made evidence. (Ib., Ch. 40, Sec. 1, Arts. II and III.)

CHAPTER LVIII.

RELIGIOUS SOCIETIES IN LOUISIANA · HOW INCORPORATEDCHARTER HOW AMENDED POWERS OF SUCH CORPORATIONSRESTRICTIONS UPON-LIABLE TO BE SUED –

QUALIFICATION

OF TRUSTEES.

§ 788. Whenever any number of persons in the State of Louisiana, exceeding six, may be desirous of forming themselves into a corporation or body politic for religious purpo ses, and to acquire and enjoy the rights, privileges and powers of a body corporate and politic in law, it is made lawful for such persons to prepare and sign an instrument, either in an authentic form or under private signature, wherein they must declare and specify the purposes and objects of such corporation; the name, style and title thereof; the place chosen for its domicil, the manner in which the managers and officers of such corporation are to be chosen, the officer on whom citations may be served, and the length of time during which the corporation shall exist and continue. See § 678 for a guide for a form for the corporate instrument. (Revised Statutes, 1856, Tit. Corporations, Sec. 1.)

§ 789. The act of incorporation above provided, must be handed to the district attorney of the district in which the domicil is fixed, for examination as to its legality, and should he be of the opinion that the purposes and objects of the corporation, as specified in said act, are legal, and that none of the provisions therein contained are contrary to law, he is required to indorse his opinion to that effect thereon. The act, together with the opinion of the district attorney, must then be recorded in the office of the parish recorder,

or other officer performing the duties of parish recorder, which act, when so recorded, will constitute the subscribers to the same, and their associates and successors, a body politic and corporate, for the purposes and objects declared and contained in the act, and will have continuance and succession by the name, style and title as set forth in the act, and a copy of such act, duly certified by the officer in whose office the same is recorded, is made full and complete evidence of the contents of the original act. (Ib.)

§ 790. In case the district attorney neglect or refuse to give the certificate required, the applicant may take a rule on him in the district court of the parish in which it is intended for such corporation to have its domicil, to show cause within ten days from the service thereof why the applicants should not be created a corporation according to the terms and conditions set forth in the act of incorporation. Should the district judge be of opinion that the pur poses and objects of the corporation, as specified in the acts, are legal, he must give judgment accordingly, a copy of which judgment must be recorded with the act in the office of the recorder of mortgages, or other officer exercising his duties in lieu of the certificate of the district attorney. (Ib., Sec. 2.)

§ 791. When any corporation may be desirous of improv ing, amending or altering the articles and conditions upon which the corporation may be incorporated, it is made lawful for such corporation in like manner to draw up an act specifying and containing the alterations, improvements or amendments which they may desire to make to the original act of incorporation, which act must be handed to the district attorney for his opinion as to the legality of the alterations, amendments or improvements proposed, and he must give his opinion touching the legality of the same; and in