The Republican journal., 1881-02-03
Maine Miscellany.

| in Maine rendered in recent law term of the
| Supreme Court IN that State. The case in which
| the decision was made was appeal from the yer
| diet rendered in lower court in favor of the
| palntif in the suit OF Bailey against the Trustees
| OF the Methodist Episcopal Church in FreepOrt
The action was brought to recover the amount Of
debt contracted by the defendants in their off
| clal capacity and the decision of the Supreme
Court overrules the verdict given for the plaintiff
IN the lower court. The ground which this
decision is based is that the defendants not
| corporation in law empowered to contract debts
By chapter II, section 49, of the Revised Statutes
OF Maine it is provided that the Church Wardens
of Episcopal churches, the Trustees of Methodist
| Episcopal churches and the Deacons of all other
Protestant churches shall be considered corpora
tlons so far as to take III succession all grants of
real and personal estate made to their churches or
| to them and their successors The Supreme Court
| holds, however. that such a corporation has no
authority to create debt for the erection Of a
meeting house, and that any contract made by
such corporation tor materials which entered in
| to the construction of meeting house cannot be
| enforced against it The declsion may lead to
| good results, and placing very decided business
obstacle IN the way of the creation Of church debts
may cause religious societies in erecting houses of
worship to count the cost well before beginning
operations and to keep the expense absolutely
| within the means at command for the purpose. Of
course persons composing the corporations can, if
they choose to do so, create and assume debts for
the erection of church buildings but for such
debts they will be personally liable, while the
| property, once vested IN them as corporations
would be aeuated from the debts so created A
| question which might arise would be as to wheth
er the property being subject to lien or mortgage
before being transferred to the corporation could
be legally transferred, and thus alienaed from the
| claim upon it. If it could, the corporations in
| question would find it difficult If not impossible
| to raise funds for the purpose of building On the
whole it appears though in the light Of this de
| cislOn churches cannot be built on credit except
| when the persons constituting the corporaton or
any portion of them, are willing personally to as
| sumo and secure the debt created. Boston Jour
| THE DIVORCE LAWS OF MAINE.
| Last summer the Congregational State Confer
ence adopted resolution calling attention to the
! looseneSs of our divorce laws, and the alarming
increase of divorces in Maine, and appointed a
committee TO take the subject into consideration
Subsequently the Cumberland Congregational Min
sterial Association, appointed a committee con
sisting of Rev. Messrs Dickerman of Lewiston
| lllnks of Portland and rorrey of larmouth to pre-
pare memorial to the Legislature and distribute
| it for signature. The memorial is being largely
| signed and will be presented at an early day to
| the Legislature. The memorial reads as follows :
The undersigned would respectfully represent
| to your honorable bodies that the granting OF d-
| vorces in this state is becoming so frequent Sc
riously to threaten the stability of the family and
! to be preludlcial to public morals and the welfare
| OF the community to such al extent as TO awaken
alarm and call for immediate action Believing
that the evil Is due largely to the present state Of
our laws and that those laws are therefore antag
Onistic to the Christian law of morals subyersiye
of high purposes and legitimate ends OF domestic
| life and opposed to the best interests of society,
we respectfully invite your attention to this I'M
| portant subject, and pray that you may take such
action as shall tend to mitigate all evil of great
magnitude. Especially do we ask you to consider
| the prOpriety
First-Of requiring the attorney of each connty
to appear in behalf Of the State and society at the
hearing of each divorce case in order that all the
| facts may be brought out before the justice pre-
| siding.
Second-Of providing that all DEGREES Of divorce
| shall be interlocutOry, and shall not become abso-
| Lutte until one year has elapsed
| Third-Of renewing the distinction between di
| vorce from the bond of matrimony and divorce
from bed and board; :; and limiting the former to
| the grounds permissible by the nature of marriage
and the welfare of society.
| Fourth-0f providing for criminal proceedings
| against all parties from whom divorce is granted
on the ground OF adultery
| Fitth-Of forbdding the marriage Of parties
against whom libel for divorce from the bond Of
matrimony is granted within a term of years after
the granting OF the libel.
SiXth=-Of revising our marriage laws to
guard more etfectually against hasty and criminal
marriages
Seventh OF such legislation as will deter citi-
zens of this State from sueng for divorce in other
States where the laws are less stringent than our
own.
TAXATION OF RAILROADS.
The mode of taxing railroads, provided by the
last legislature, is open to some objections. The
Governor and Council are instructed by the act of
1880, to make an annual valuation Of the fran
chises rolling stock and fixtures OF the railroads
in the State, and upon this valuation TO levy q tax
OF per cent This method reaches the tax pay
ing capacity of the roads indirectly and made
quately The capacity of a railroad to pay taxes
depends upon its income, and the bill offered to
| bp larlS at tnra nnin
Instead of a tax upon the arbitrary valuation of
the Governor and Council it is proposed to levy a
tax upon the gross receipts of the roads for trans
portatOn. If the gross receipts are not over s.,
$50 per mile, the tax is to be per cent upon the
whole amount it not over 50 900 per cent and
on, adding per cent to the tax for each addi-
uonal 800 OF gross receipts per mile, This meth
cd OF assessing the tax is perfectly equitable.
Whether the proposed rata Of taxation is just is
question for the committee on railroads to exam
inc and report upon Portland Advertiser.
BATHS CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY
The Sagadahoc Historical Society has perfected
a programme for celebration on the 10th Of
March Of the hundredth anniversary Of the first
town meeting az Bath. The town was incorporat
ed Feb Il, l7Sl, but after the news had come
from Boston and proper notice had been given for
the first meeting month had elapsed.
The city will be decorated for the occasion
business will be suspended the bells will be rung
and national salute fired. The act of incorpora-
ton and record of the organization will be read at
one of the churches, and an Grafton will be deliv-
cred by some person not yet named Then pro
cession with music will march to City Hall, where
a collation. will be served
The following committee of arrangements has
been appointed
Thomas W Hyde, Samuel d Bailey VIM R.
Shaw John G. Richardson, Joseph M Hayes,
Henry W. Swanton, James W. Wakefield, Hora
ito A. Duncan Randall d. Bbber David Foye
George Z Newman David T. Percy, James d.
Robinson James E. Ledyard, William Rogers AL
bert q. Page, Elijah Upton, John S. Elliott.
JANE P. THURsToN.
One of the most curious visitors at the White
House is an old woman who comes to W ashing-
ton once year regularly from Maine She has
the idea in her head that she owns the whole
United States. The deluded creature brings an
arnful of papers, old deeds, and takes seat in
the waiting room Here she goes over the doeu-
ments, and prepares them so the President can
sign them. She declares that she has been cheat
ed out of her rights and that soon as his Excel
lency places his signature and seal the papers
she will recover all that has been stolen from her.
This is carried on for about week, when the at
tacheS learn that her funds have run low. Then
they hand her over to the district authorities, who
kindly send her back to her home. For twelve
or fifteen years this woman has made these singu-
lar pilgrimages, and all who know her treat her
With consideration Washington Letter
1t Is suggested that there be a meeting of the
sons of Maine resident in Massachusetts, for the
purpose of declaring war against Governor Pais
ted at least to the extent of giving him piece of
their mind. The brilliant statesman who now
presdes the destiny of their native State, has
lnsulted them by declaring that the law for the
imprisonment of debtors is the chief cause of the
emigration from the State. The implication is
that most of the people who have left Maine to re
side elsewhere ran away from their creditors.
Rouse ye sons of Maine, and let gore flow lBos