any real and personal estate held for the benefit of any such governing body, or of any parish, congregation, society, church, chapel, mission, religious, benevolent, charitable or educational institution, existing or acting under such governing body ar the time of their election, or which had then or may thereafter be given for any such purposes, provided that the net yearly income received from the said property shall not at such time exceed the sum of twenty-five thousand dollars.

[Section 11 of General Corporation Law, authorizes every cor poration to take and hold property for its uses and objects. Section 4 of revision, provides for the vesting of the temporalities and property of the unincorporated governing body in the incorporated ons. The property limitation is omitted as superseded by General Corporation Law, section 12.1

3. Whenever any church, parish or religious society, in connection with any such governing body, shall become extinct, by reason of the death or removal of its members, or for any other cause, it shall be lawful for the trustees elected by such governing body, as aforesaid, to take possession of the temporalities belonging to such extinct church or society, and manage, sell or dispose of the same, and apply the proceeds thereof to any of the objects or purposes mentioned in the second section of this act. It shall not be lawful for said trustees to divert said property to any other object. The governing body to which such church or society. belongs shall determine when any church or society has become extinct, or has ceased to maintain religious services for two consecutive years (as is customary La said governing body) provided that no church or society having more than thirteen resident attending male members, each of whom has annually paid pew rent, or annual contributions toward the support of the church or society the last two years, shall be declared extinct, except it has failed to maintain religious service for two consecutive years, according to the customs and usages of the governing body to which such church or society belongs. (Thus amended by L. 1882, chap. 23. superseding L. 1880, chap. 55.)

[Section 15 of revision, without material change. See note to that section.]

§ 4. The trustees elected by virtue of this act shall hold their offices at the pleasure of the governing body by whom they are

elected, and all vacancies shall be filled by such body as they

Occur.

[Section 14 of revision, without change of substance.]

(Laws 1876, ch. 176; R. S., 8th ed., 1909.)

Section 1. The rector, wardens and vestrymen or the trustees, consistory or session of any church, congregation or religious society, incorporated under any of the laws of this State, shall administer the temporalities thereof and hold and apply the estate and property belonging thereto, and the revenues of the same, for the benefit of such corporation according to the rules and usages of the church or denomination to which said corporation shall belong; and it shall not be lawful to divert such estate, property or revenue to any purpose, except the support and maintenance of any church or religious or benevolent institution or object connected with the church or denomination to which such corporation shall belong.

[Section 5 of revision, without change of substance.]

§ 2. Each and every of the corporations aforesaid may receive, use and apply all rents and income derived from pews of their respective churches, in addition to the annual income limited by any statute now in force relating thereto.

[Omitted as superseded by General Corporation Law, sec tion 12.1

§ 3. Any two or more of the corporations, aforesaid, are hereby authorized to unite and consolidate themselves into a single cor poration of the denomination to which at least one of such corporations shall belong, in the manner following: The said corporations may enter into an agreement under their respective corporate seals, for the union and consolidation of the said corporations, setting forth the terms and conditions thereof, the name of the proposed new corporation, the church or denomination to which it shall belong, the names of the persons who shall be the church wardens and vestrymen, or elders and deacons or trustees, or other officers as the case may be, until the first annual election of the proposed new corporation, and fixing the day of such election. But in the case of the Protestant Episcopal churches, no such agreement shall be valid unless approved by the bishop and standing committee of the diocese in which such churches are situated; and in case of Presbyterian churches a union under this act shall not be valid unelss approved by the presbytery with which such churches are connected. Each of

the said corporations may make its separate petition to the supreme court in the judicial district in which such corporations are situated, for an order for such union and consolidation; setting forth in such petition the reason for such union and consolidation, the agreement made as hereinbefore provided, and a statement of all its property, real and personal; all its debts and liabilities, and the amount and sources of its annual income. Upon such petition from each of such corporations so proposing to be united and consolidated, and upon the said agreement satis factorily proved or certified, the supreme court may, in case it shall deem it proper, make an order for the union and consolidation of such corporations, determining all the terms and condi tions and provisions thereof. All parties interested therein may be heard on such petition. When such order is made and entered according to the practice of the court, the said corporations shall be united and consolidated into one corporation by the name designated in the order, and it shall have all the rights and powers, and be subject to all the obligations of religious corporations under the act to which this is supplementary, and the acts amendatory thereof and supplementary thereto. (Thus amended by L. 1880, chap. 167.)

§ 4. And thereupon all the estate, rights and property, of whatsoever nature, belonging to either of said corporations, shall, without further act or deed, be vested in and transferred to the new corporation as effectually as they were vested in or belonged to the former corporations, and the said new corporation shall Le liable for all the debts and liabilities of the former corporations, in the same manner and as effectually as if said debts or liabilities had been contracted or incurred by it.

[Section 12 of revision, without material change. See note to that section.

(Laws 1876, ch. 329; R. S., 8th ed., 1910.)

Section 1. It shall be lawful for any Baptist church now organized, or that may hereafter be organized in this State, to secure the benefits of incorporation according to the provisions of this act.

[Section 80 of revision.]

§ 2. The members of any such church, of full age, and every person of full age who shall, for one year preceding, have been a paying pewholder or seatholder in the place of worship of said church, or shall have been during said year a yearly paying subscriber for the support of said church, may assemble at the

place of worship of said church, and by a majority of the votes of such persons elect three, six or nine of said qualified voters as a board of trustees, and such trustees and their successors shall be a body corporate by the title expressed in the certificate hereinafter required to be filed.

[Section 82 of revision. Section 83 of revision provides that the members and not the trustees become the corporation. See notes to §§ 82 and 83.]

§ 3. Public notice shall be given of the meeting for the first election of trustees under this act, and also of all subsequent meetings for the election of trustees, at one regular service of the church on each of the two Sundays next preceding such elections, the object, time and place of such meetings to be distinctly stated in such notices.

[Section 81 of revision, without change of substance.]

4. The trustees thus elected shall be so divided by lot at the first election that one-third of them shall go out of office at the expiration of one year, one-third at the end of two years, and one-third at the end of three years; and thereafter the term of service of one-third of their number shall expire annually, and their place or places shall be filled by a new election, as provided in section third.

[Section 82 of revision provides for original election of trustees for one, two and three years, instead of a determination of terms by lot.]

§ 5. The trustees first elected shall file in the office of the clerk of the register of the county in which the church is located, a certificate of their election, duly signed by the chairman and secretary of the meeting at which said election took place, and thenceforth the board of trustees so organized shall be a body corporate by the name expressed in the certificate so filed. Such trustees shall hold regular meetings for business at such time and place as they may appoint, and special meetings may be called by any three of them; a majority of the whole number shall be a quorum for the transaction of business, and a majority of the votes cast on any question shall decide such question.

[The first sentence is covered by section 83 of revision, which makes the members, instead of the trustees, the corporation. See note to that section. Section 868 of revision authorizes two

trustees to call meeting. For quorum clause, see General Corporation Law, section 29.]

§ 6. Such trustees shall have and use a common seal, and may renew and alter the same at their pleasure, and shall take charge of the property of said church, both real and personal; transact all business relating to the renting of pews, the payment of the pastor's salary, and all the other temporalities of said church; but such trustees shall have no right to divert the property of said church from uses appointed by the church, or to settle or remove any pastor or minister of said church, or to change or determine his salary or compensation; or to fix or change the times, nature or order of the public or social worship of said church; or to alienate, sell or encumber the property of said church, or to incur debts beyond what may be necessary for the proper care, repairs and preservation of the property of said church, unless such authority is specially conferred by said church upon such trustees; and such authority to alienate, sell or incumber shall be valid only when approved by a majority present at a meeting of the persons qualified to vote for trustees, such meeting to be called as provided in section third of this act. In other respects the trustees shall have all the rights, powers and duties granted by law to trustees of religious corporations.

[Section 11 of General Corporation Law authorizes all corporations to have a seal. The remainder of the section is covered by the general terms of section 5 of revision. See note to that section.]

§ 7. Whenever a person elected trustee shall, for a term of six consecutive months, cease to attend and to support the worship of said church, his place may be declared vacant by an official notice of the board of trustees to the church, and a new election shall be ordered to fill such vacancy, as provided in section third of this act.

[Section 89 of revision, without change of substance.]

§ 8. In case any church previously enjoying the benefits of incorporation may have already reorganized under the provisions of the act hereby amended, or shall hereafter reorganize thereunder, the trustees elected at such reorganization shall be the legal successors of those elected under any previous law; and the latter shall at once convey to the former all the property