The New Orleans crescent. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1866-1869, 1869-02-06

Soon after the conclusion of the war, the
Virginia Legislature passed an act with which
to settle the conflicting claims of the two
branches of the Methodist Church to the
property which had formerly belonged to the
united communion. This act "yested all
church property ia the several congregations.
The effect of the statute was such that in
cases In which the congregation was in COM
munion with the NJ. Episcopal Church
North, the property went, practically, to that
body, and in those in which the congregation
was in communion with the NJ. E. Church
South, the property went to the Southern or
ganization. This seemed to be fair settle
ment of the difficulty; although, in some in
stances, it gave Southern church property to
Northern congregations which had taken pos
session OF Southern churches Soon afterwards
civil government was overturned in Virginia
by the military reconstruction revolution. and
the carpetoaggers and negroes got possession
OF the ways and means of making Constitr-
ton to suit their own purposes. They deter
mined, among other things, to undo the set
tlement which had been effected by the Legis-
iature' to steal the church property from its
real owners, and to turn it over to the "trooly
loF' scamps whose fingers itched to get pos
session of it. With this view they inserted
In their Constitution the following provision:
The rights of ecclesiastical bodies in and to
church property conveyed to them by regular deed
OF conveyance. shall not be affected BY the late
civil war, nor ey any Gntecedent or subsequent
ecent, Dorby any act Of the Legislature purport.
ng TO govern the same ; but all such property
shall pass to and be held by the parties set forth
10 the original deeds OF conveyance, or the legal
sssgnees OF such original parties holding through
or by conveyance aud any act or acts of the
Legislature In opposition thereto shall be null and
void.
In plain terms this means that five per cent.
of the members of the Virginia Methodist con-
gregations are to have the title to and the ad-
ministration of the Church property to the ex-
clusion of the other ninety-fve per cent.
When, few days ago, Mr.. Beck, member of
Congress from Kentucky, asked the solicitor
of the Methodist Church, North, whether there
were any congregations to take possession of
these churches, the answer was that "they
had no congregations at present. but if they |
could get possession of the churches they had |
strong hopes of being able to build up con- |
No doubt! Wherever there is
a chance OF plumber the harpies of carpet-bag-
gerry Will be sure to swoop upon it. Just let |
them have chance at Church or State. and |
they will pick the bones so dry that mosqui-
to could not get a living from them after
wards. The Virginia suffrage-amnesty COM
mission, now in Washington, heve presented
his point as one of the grievances of which
he people complain, but it is not probable
hat the Radical majority will view the steal
ng of the Methodist Church property other
wise than as natural right of trooly loil"
arpet-baggers to appropriate everything on
which they can lay their patriotic hands.