The Hillsborough recorder. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1820-1879, 1839-05-23
From tie Presbyterian.
PRESBYTERIN CHURCH CASE.
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OPINION or THE corRr.
/ GIBSON, G. ]. delivered lie opinion Of
ihe Court. en- Wednesday morning.
May sIh. a. follows:
/ To extriesle the question from the
mullifarious mass Of irrelevant matter in
which il il enclosed. we must. in the iirsi
plaee. ascertain lie specific character Of
The General Assembly. aud The relation
II bears To The corporation which is The
Immediate subject Of our cognizance.-
This Assembly has been called 4 quasi
corporation; of which il has not Tea.
iure. A quasi corporation has capacity
To sue and be sued as an artificial person
which the Assembly has not. II is
also established by law; which the As
sembly il not. Neither is the Assembly
a particular order ar rank in Inc eorpo.
ration. though the latter was created for
its convenience; such, for instance, as
the shareholders Of bank OF joint
sinrk company. who are an iniegrant part
ri The body. IL is segregated association
which. though il is the reproductive or
gan of corporate succession, is not itself
a member Of The body and in that re-
speci il is anomalous. Having no cor
pora,e quality in itself. /, is no, a sub
iect Of our corrective jurisdiction, or Of
our scrutiny. further Than 10 ascertain
how far its organic structure may bear
on the question OF iIs personal identity or
individuality. BY the charter Of the cor
poraiion. Of which il is the handmsid and
nurse. il has limited capacity TO create
vacancies in il. and an unlimited power
over the form aud manner Of choice in
filling them. II would be sufficient for
the civil tribunals, therefore, that the as
sembled commissioners had constituted an
actual body; and that il had made IFS ap
pnintment in its own way, without re-
! gard TO i,s fairness in respect to its mem.
bers; with this limitation, however. that
il had the assent of the constitutional
, majority. of which the official act Of au-
identification would be, at least, prina ia.
|, RE evidence. II would be immaterisl 10
the legality OF the choice tina, the maio.
riiy had expelled The minority. provided
a majority Of the Whole body concurrei
in the choice. This may be safely pre-
, dica,ed Of an undivided Assembly. and i
would be an unerring test in The case o.
n a divisinn could quorum not be consii'
= tu,ed Of less than such a majority; bu
' unfortunately, quorum Of the Genera
Assembly may be constituted Of very
= small minority, so iha, two. or ever
!. more, distinct parts may have all the ex
}. ternal organs of legitimate existence
+ Hence, where, as in this instance, lh
! members have formed themselves int
n separate bodies, numerically sufiicien, 70
Y corporate capacity and organic action
/. il becomes necessary to ascertain hov
;. far either Of them was formed in ohedi
- ence to the conventional law of the asso
e citation. which, for that purpose only, |
. to be treated as rule Of civil obligation
The division which. for purposes 3
J. designation. i, is convenient, 10 call III
i Oldschool party, was certainly organic
i ed in obedience to The established OF
der: and. TO legitimate The separate orgs
IN nization of its rival, in con,rayention. a
;e il certainly was of every thing like pre-
A. ceden,. would require the presentation q
=. a very urgent emergency. AT the stale
time and place for The opening OF III
session. the parties assembled, withoi
e. any ostensihle division: and. when III
q. organization Of the whole had proceede
!. to a certain point. by the ins,rumentalit
Y of The Moderator of the preceding Sc:
). sion, who. for tina, purpose. was the cor
Of stitutional organ, provisional Moders
st tor was suddenly chosen. by minori,
in of those who could be entitled 10 vote
n including The exscinded commissioners
Il The question on The motion to elect, wa
D, put. not BY the chair, bu. by the move
N himself: after which, the seeding par,
,e elected permanen, Moderator. and i'm
Of ncdiaiely Withdrew, leaving the othe
parry TO finish its process Of organization
BY The choice of its Moderator for tn
T. session.
N In justification Of this apparen. irreg
IN ulariry, i, is urged that the constitution;
ID Moderator had refused an appeal 10 III
in commissioners in attendance. from hi
,r decision. which had excluded from III
y roll, the names Of certain commissioner
who had been uncons,ituiionally severe(
as is alleged, from the Presbyterian cor
i. nexion By vote of the preceding SCI
=, sion. 1t is conceded BY the argumen
j. that il the Synods with the depender
L, Presbyteries by which those commission
ee ers we're sent. had been constitutional
te dissolved, the motion was one which III
a Moderator was not bound 10 put, or III
n com missioners 10 notice; and that wha
r. ever implication of assent TO the deci
n. sion which ensued, might otherwise
}. ,ieduced from the silence Of those VII
refused to speak out, abou. which il wi
in be necessary to say something in the ;
Id quel: there was no room for any sue
) ;.,rl;ca,;nn in the narficntar iosfancp