The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1891-02-12
North PnMIIMI.

A Relic:-Daily on exhibition at
Thompson's store, bale of Cotton, -
marked sc. 5. A
This week has closed for 1891 the an
nual ''squabble' among the churches for
the ''loaves and fishes" consisting of
shares in what is called the ministerial
money" This fund arises from rents of
lands held in trust by the town decided
to the same in 1850 by Benjamin Gard
ncr, who claimed them under the char
ter in the right of the first "settled min
ister.' This Benjamin Gardner was not
an ordained preacher lie came early
to POwnal and began to hold meetings
and to preach in l772. The first or
dained minister who settled in town was
Rev. Caleb Nichols in l7SS. He de-
manded these lands by virtue of the
charter and the town espoused his
cause. Benjamin Gardner resisted this
claim. The controversy was carried to
the courts, but in 1889 compromise was
effected satisfactory to all parties CON
cerned, by virtue of which Gardner
decided the lands in question to the town
of Pownal in trust "for the use and bene-
fit of said town forever, the annual
rents and profits of which are to 90 and
to be disposed of to and for the use and
support of a gospel minister or minis
tiers i'll the eastern and western parts of
the own in proportion to the number of
inhabitants attending or inclined to
each resp, ctive meeting. excepting al
ways the Church of + roland, or society
of that order, in consequence of these
having heretofore right given them
through the town for similar purpose"
The town by vote accepted the deed and
Immediately appointed committee to
divide, and who did divide the land
decided by Gardner between Nichols and
Bennett, ministers of the two religious
societies which were the CeStuu Que
trust. Elder Nichols died in 1904, and he
has now no representative in town. Ell
der Bennett survived him a number of
years, and there vet remain several of
his descendants, but none of them ven
ture to take up his SIP ritual mantle and
preach the gospel" to those who dwell
on the ''borders." After the death of
these "wortmes" quite fund had ac-
cumulated in the treasury of the town
from the ''TGnts and profits" of the
ministerial lands" and when in 1899
several preachers, including two "varie-
ties of the Methodist persuation, de
their portion of the ministerial
the selectmen, David Gardner,
Blackman L. Brownell and Noel Barber,
not knowing in what manner the money
received by them for rents of said lands
ought legally to be distributed, filed in
Chancery a bill Of interpeader. The
court, after hearing, decided that any
preacher preaching "to some society
either purely, voluntarily or formed
agreeably to directions of the statute"
should have share, and the trustees
were directed "to divide the rents
among the several religious societies or
which are formed In the
town, excluding the Church of England,
and voters, not belonging to any such So
ciety may, if they please, direct to which
Of the societies their proportion shall be
distributed. BY this decision 1t will be
seen that the preacher of Catholic So
ciety in town will be entitled to what
ever share any voter or voters may di-
rect, So ever since 1919 the voters of
Pownal have annually been called out to
meet the selectmen and by their votes
designate to what society t ey shall pay
their several shares of the ministerial