The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1883-09-22
MRS. MULLOY'S REQUEST.
The Supreme Court Finally Affirms
Judge Hills Decision
In the Celebrated Litigation Between war
ring Factions of the Society of Friends
The plaintiffs Successful.


the famous White Lick Quaker case was affirmed
yesterday by the Supreme Court. The case has
been q rather conspicuous one, and the decision
is of unusual Importance. The history OF the
matter extends back to 1868, when an organlza-
tion known as the White Lick Quarterly Meeting
of Friends began holding meetings in Morgan
county. One of the members of this society,
Catharine Mulloy, died in 1869 and
left will, hequeathiDg to the "White
Lick Quarterly Meeting of Friends"
the sum of 81 500, stpuating that $500 of the
amount should be devoted to the aid of suffering
humanity especially the freedmen Of the South,
and the remainder, of ST. 00 should be used Tor
the education of poor children In 1879 the
White Lick Friends appointed Benjamin Mem
denha, Evan Hadley and Nathan L. Hubbard
as trustees to receive the money, which was
then In the hands OF Allen Hadley, Who had been
appointed trustee of the funds in 1871. He
refused TO pay over the money in his hands, and
suit for It's recovety was entered in the Morgan
County Circuit Court
In answering the complaint in the case, the de-
PENDANT averred that there were two bodies of
the White Lick Quarterly Meeting of Friends,
and asked that both bodies should be required
to lnterplead. The title of the case was: The
White Lick Quarterly Meeting of Friends, by
Allen Hadey ct al, trustees, vs.. The White Lick
Quarterly Meeting of Friends by Benjamin
MeEdenhall ct al, trustees. 1t was represented
that the Indiana Yearly Meeting of Friends was
organized in 1881, and in 1858 it instituted the
Western Yearly Meeting at Painfeld. in Hen
bricks county, to which the White Lick Quarterly
Meeting was subordinate organization In
fundamental doctrines of the Friends by part
of the sect belonging TO the subordinate organ
15ations of the Western Yearly Meeting, and
ETY., which occurred after the death of Catherine
MullOy. The division which Allen Hadley rep
resented, in the cross complaint filed In court in
November, 1877, claimed that it was the only true
and lawful White Lick Quarterly Meeting of
Friends, and it was alleged that the plaintiffs
records and Westinghouse by force.
The plaintiffs answered the crosscom-
plant, giving IA synOptical description of the
Organization and internal poity of the Society
of Friends and the relations the different classes
sustained to each other averring that the society
of the cross-complanants had been set up in
violation OF the established rules and usages. Is
was cialmed III reply ny Tue TcrOss-colnpialnants
that the claim of religious society to belong to
the Society of Friends rests upon its faith, doc
itrines, practices and usaSes, and not upon the
continuity ofits organizations. In the meantime
the case was taken to the Marion Circuit Court
by change of venue. 1t was tried before Judge
Ralph Hill, as a special judge. without jury,
and JUDGMENT was rendered for the plaintiffs.
In affirming Judge Hills decision, Judge
Nibiaok SAYS that "cy courts in this country
have no ecclesiastical jurisdiction and can only
interfere in church controversies where civil
rights or the rights of property are concerned.
pertaining to ecclesiastical affairs the civil court
tries the civil right and nothing more taking the
ecclesiastioal decisions as it finds them as mat
ters adjndicated by another jurisdiction. (13
Wall, 679; Barr, POI; Speer's Ed, 80 Where
schism occurs in an ecclesiastical organization
which leads to a separation into distinct bodies,
the claims of such bodies to the use of the
property belonging to the organization must
be determined by the principles which underlie
the control of voluntary associations. If there
be within the organization officers or duly ap-
pointed persons in whom the powers of such
annf lara YAd fhOsa NUbO adh RI fha
iEnowledged organism by which the organization
Is governed are entitled to the use OF the prop
erty without reference TO whether they consti-
Jute majority of members. The title to prom.
erty of a divided church is in that part of the
organization which is acting in harmony with
Its own law and the laws, usages and practices
which were adopted by the church before the
division took place. al Pa. ST., g. 43 i'd. 244;
81 i'd, 1873; 60 i'd, 1927 When the Western
Yearly Meeting met in 1877, it assembled at the
time and place which was prescribed in its book
of discipline. The law of its creation and con-
tinued existence was based upon a theory that
it was one of group of Yearly Meetings, and
whose regularity of organization had been
recognized In principle by several noted
GASES. ts Cush.. $50; l saxtOns Rep,
SIT; "a Ohio ST.. 254) 1t proceeded
regularly to business and acted in a regular
way throughout all its proceedings, and when
the dissatisfied members withdrew and entered
q new and conflicting body, they aid so In viola
ton of the usages, traditions and discipline of
the meeting to which they had belonged, and
thereby severed their connection with it.. The
excluded evidence, of which complaint is made,
all had reference to the faith, doctrines or modes
of worship of the Society of Friends, and was of
fered as tending TO establish either the ortho-
d0xy of the cross-complainant or the hetero-
d0xy of the plaintiff Our laws have created no
standard by which either the orthodoxy or
heterodOxy OF religious body may be judged,
and will not impose any implied sectarian limi-
tRtions upon charities which have not been ex-
pressly so limited. The charity was not so limi-
ted in this case, and the evidence was rightly
excluded q B. Monroe, 481; is Wall. 131; "a
MO. 353 Cow, 457; 20 Johns IL; 81 ILL.,. 25;
S3 Id, 1851 Judgment affirmed
Notes of the Courts.
Adam Scott. administrator of the estate of