Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-06-25

|
been informed by said rector, to enabl
| them to vote.
mot one of the persons so indicated hat
been entered upon the enrolment book o
the parish kept as aforesaid by the regis
trar; nor had any one Of them owned
leased chosen or been allotted any pew o.
part of any pew in said parish church
nevertheless at the parish meeting on tn,
next day, for election of vestrymen, here
matter set forth, the votes of said seven
teen were cast, received and counted IL
favor of the defendants herein.
''Under these precedent circumstances
governing the situation in law, and more OF
less shaping the minds and purposes Of
the participants. the parish meeting of st
Marks parish convened at the parish
church on last Easter Monday for the an
nual election of vestrymen, and was called
to order at about 1:30 O'clock pm. by thu
| rector as presiding officer of the meeting
of ITO persons. and among them members
of the vestry of the year 1S94-1S95 as par.
| Elephants in such meeting.
Declared Elected.
'Thereupon all persons present whose
names appeared in the list presented by
the rector as aforesaid and in his canonical
Parish Register SO made up as aforesaid,
| were by a majority Of voices Of such as
sembly allowed to vote at said election.
and on count of che ballots so cast the
said rector, as presiding officer. thereupon
|
elected warden by vote Of So as against
| 81 votes cast for William T. Kent, and
| Joseph B. Bennett elected warden by a
| vote of SO against 40 for John 2. Tor
| bert.
I'm like manner on call of the names
| aforesaid ballot was then taken to vote
out four vestrymen. upon the count of
| which it was declared by said rector that
| S. B. Roane had received 81 votes, H. ].
Wylie 80 votes, w. r. Hillyer 81 votes. E.
K. >Lundy 40 votes. c. b. Fonda AZ votes,
| W. H. NARROW 4S votes and r. ]. Earnshaw
| 40 votes, whereunon the said rector further
declared that Messrs. Roane, Wylle, Hill
yer and Lundy had been voted out
IA ballot was then taken In like manner
| as before, to vote in four new vestrymen
| upon the count of which it was stated that
| besides some scattering votes not affecting
! the result, Ira H. Johannez had received
| 3S votes, John r. Keech, 81 votes; r. ].
| Walker, 43 votes; Frederick r. Wallace, n
| votes; L. X. Lundy, 40 votes: w. S. Nichol-
son, 81 votes; A. H. Gaddis, 81 votes; w. r.
| Hillyer. 81 votes. Whereupon the rector
declared that Messrs. Hillyer. Gaddis,
and thereupon forthwith the said parish
! meeting was declared adjourned.
But your complainants. on information
| and belief. declare and aver that of the
| votes of the qualified and legal voters. to
| wit, of the votes cast at said parish meet
| ing by those who had right of suffrage
in the election of vestrymen or of wardens
| for such parish, they severally received
| clear majority. and were then and there
| legally elected, that is to say, your COM
| plainants. John P. Torbert and William T.
Kent, were so elected to be the wardens;
your compliments. John R. Keech, Fred
er.ck R. Wallace, Robert J. Walker and Ira
FL. Johannes, were elected to be Eestry-
| men: and that also by a clear majority of
| the like votes Samuel B. Roane, Edwin K.
| Lundy, Charles B. Fonda and Richard ].
Earnshaw, members of the old vestry, were
voted out leaving your complainants, the
| said Walter H. NARROW William R. Hill
Henry i A
| members of said vestry holding over"
The bill then makes a somewhat minute
| analysis of the vote to show on what is
| based the claim that the de jure vestry-
men We're legally elected. 1t recites the
| fact that the complainants, April p. last.
| had met to subscribe to the required oath
and orsanize as vestry, electing William
II. Marrow as treasurer and John P. Tor
| bert as register, and that they have met
| regularly since then for the purpose of
transacting the business of the parish.
Said to BE n Methodist.
In reference to the defendant, William
| S. Nicholson, the bill says:
| Moreover. as your compliments are in
formed, and verify believing, charge the
said William S. Nicholson was not on Eas-
| ter Monday last, nor ever before, legally
| qualified to vote in said st. Marks parish.
nor competent in law to be a vestryman of
said parish, nor then. or ever before a
|
| Church, but on the contrary, at the time
| of the election in question, he was con-
nected with Waugh Chapel CMethodisD, in
| this city, as member and officer, which
| fact was publicly well known at the time
of the election in question, and by reason
| whereof all the votes then cast for said
Nicholson were void: and had all votes in
other respects been valid, and cast by
| legally qualified voters, your complainant
| Frederick r. Wallace. would still have
been elected yestryman.
| 1.-The compliments assert that wholly
without right or authority the said de-
ferdants (a) have asserted that they con-
stitute the vestry of st. Marks parish
afo resaid (b) they have proceeded to de-
clare one of their number. viz. the said c.
| B. Fonda, registrar of said parish; (c) thew
Walter H. NARROW, William r. Hillyer and
Lexious A. Wood, no longer members of
the Vestry of said parish. and their offices
| vacated solely because they have declined
to recognize the validity of notices of spe-
cial meetings sent them by the said Fonda
as registrar of the parish; Id they have
instructed the said Fonda to receive from
the rector the moneys paid in by the men,
bers of the congregation for the expenses
| Of the parish, which moneys by long stand
ing rule and order Of the vestry, to wit
the bylaw aforesaid, have been, and now
| should be. handed over to your complain
ant, NARROW, as treasurer, and said Fonda
has accordingly taken and kept for several
weeks past the moneys of the parish a
compliments do not know and cannot as
certain without discovery and accounting,
and he holds such money, either himself
solely or with one of his confederate de-
feI dants in direct violation of. and denying
your complainant's right to have, receive
and dispose of all such moneys, and the
said Fonda and his codefendants propose
and declare their purpose to continue to
take, withhold and dispose of all such
| moneys.
THE said defendants have also recently
| first barricaded and then put bolts and
OTHER new fastenings upon the doors of the
parish church aforesaid, and taken the
| keys of said church and other property
fiom the former and customary custodian
thereof, and thus prevented your COM
plainants from entering therein and from
exercising their legal right and duty to
er ter upon, supervise, care for and control
the property of said parish"
A Restraining Order Asked.
They ask that the defendants be required
to answer the averments of the bill, and
that during the tendency of the suit they
be restrained from
First. From asking, demanding, taking OF
receiving any offering, rents or moneys in
the parish church of the ST. Marks parish
aforesaid, presented. given or contributed
Por v.rI,a 0f ;c1,