The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-01-30
IN FAVOR OF SELLING.
CHRIST CHURCH WILLING TO DIS
POSE OF ITS PRESENT SITE.

NOted-Ihe Rector SeTLuON'
The congregation Of Christ church IS
stirred up over the proposition to offer the
church to the government as site for the
new public building. a paper favorlng the
sale was circulated in the parish last week,
and it was pretty generally signed.
Yesterday parish meeting was held
and hy vote of 63 TO -
resolutions were adopted recommending
that the property be offered for $40 800
the price which the government was TO pay
for the Ogletholpe Barracks.
AT THE MEETING.
The meeting was held Immediately after
the morning service Senior Warden Capt.
John R. +. Tattnall read the call, which
was published in Yesterdays MORNING
News. He stated that the meeting was for
the purpose of considering the proposition
to offer The church 10 the government as a
site for the public building.
The congregation was well represented,
and II was evident from the deep feeling
that was manifested on all sides that what
ever might Re doue, the interests Of the
church would be zealously guarded. More
than half of those present were women, and
from the earnest whisperings that went
from pew to pew it was not difficult 10
guess that they were the strongest oppo-
nents to tie movement which the conglega
ton was asked to approve The rector re-
manned in the chance during the meeting.
IN FAVOR OF SELLING.
Capt Tattnall, rs senior warden was made
chairman and A. 4. Lawton, Jr., was
elected secretary. As soon as the meeting
offered the following resolutions and moved
their adoption:
WHEREAS, Many members Of this congrega
ton have removed from the neighborhood OF
this church building and each year larger
number make their homes at distance from
1t; and
WHEREAS. The interests and future welfare Of
the parish require that more appropriate 10
cation be secured and church erected thereon;
and
WHEREAS, The United States government is
willing to pay $i9.5O0 for a site for a public
building, therefore be IL
Resolued That it is in the opinion Of this
congregation, desirable that the wardens and
vestry take, without delay. the necessary steps
for making formal offer Of sale to the United
States government of the lot OF land upon
which Christ church now stands for the sum Of
Si9,500.
OPPOSITION TO THE SALE.
This set the ball in motion. Capt. H. c.
Cunningham was the first to oppose the
resolutions. III the first place, he said
$49, 800 is altogether too low a price at
which to offer the property. TorcplaCe the
present editice, he said, would cost at least
100000, and if the property is sold at all
it ought not TO be for less than that amount,
Another objection which Capt. Cunning
ham raised was that in event the property be-
ing disposed of, which must be Immediately,
if at all. as the government wants site at
once, the congregation would be without a
church building unit a new site could be
secured and a new church could be built,
and that would require time-some years
perhaps.
EFFECT OF BEING WITHOUT A CHURCH.
Meanwhile the congregation is dwindling
in members, and by the time a new edfice
Is built, instead of being congregation
without church, it would be Il church
without a congregation. Another point
which he made was that every communi-
cant of the church, as well as every pew
holder, has the right to vote upon the ques-
ton in which SO important an issue is in
volved
Capt. W W. Gordon, who is interested
in the movement having circulated the pc
tition for the meeting, favored the adoption
of the resolutions. he asI eed with Capt.
Cunningham in that every member of the
church has the right TO vote upon the ques-
ton. 1t is Il congre Sational matter, he said
but after all tho congregation can only ad-
wise the wardens and vestry. They only
have the right to pose Of the property
One of the points of issue upon which
Capt. Gordon touched, was whether the
spiritual needs of the church demand that a
new location be secured He believed
that they do. As TO the price at which it
is proposed to offer the property, he thought
IT all that the property is WORTH and more
than 1t could probably be sold for, for any
other purpose than that proposed
lie would be glad if it could be sold for
a l.,A bx,,g IL - 4 ~
that it can be sold for that figure AS for
500 900, the price named by Capt. Cunning
ham.
THE QUESTION or SENTIMENT.
Col Mercer, in urging the adoption of
the resolutions, dwelt upon the sentiment
that exists in opposition TO the proposed
sale and 10 the occupation of the site for
any other purpose than that for W hich il is
now used. He was we'll aware of the sacred
memories that cluster about the mother
church of Georgia Epscopalans, but that
sentiment, he said, ought to be with tho
church as an organization and not as an
edifice.
Col William Garrard urged that the
property he offered to the government
because it is an opportunity that may not
come again in years He did not think
that it could be sold for any other
purpose for anywhere near the amount
tbttO J+C SONCl II Wiling 10
pay for public building site and which il
may be willing to give for the church prop
erty He is in favor of building a church
further south and nearer the centre of the
residence portion of the city.
ANOTHER VIEW OF THE MATTER
W. 6. Charlton, Esq, is one of the vestl'y,
and he opposed the resolutions on the
ground that it would be an unwise move to
sell the present church and incur a
hurdensome debt witch must he Incurred
in order to build a new church adequate To
the needs Of the parish. Leaving sentiment
out OF the question altogether he opposed
the sale Of the property because it would
necessarily involve tue parish in debt of at
least SIS, 900 and probably a good deal
more. and the church is not in a
condition for such an undertaking. 1t
has recently hecu compelled, for want
Of funds TO reduce the sal ny Of its rector
and the pay Of its choir and
it certainly is not prepared, he
said, 20 build new ediire. Further
than that, he didn't want the church To tag
on to the end Of the hotel scheme, tho sue
cess of which, it had been urged, was de.
pendent upon the securing Of a site for the
public building.
Mr.. X. ID. Guerard was another who
favored the proposition TO sell
A MOTION TO REFER
Mr.. J. D. Weed, junior warden OF the
church, moved TO refer the resolutions to
fha Vagtry