Case Name: The Hawes Place Congregational Society vs. The Trustees of the Hawes Fund
Court: Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
Jurisdiction: Massachusetts
Decision Date: 1850-03
Citations: 5 Cush. 454
Docket Number: 
Parties: The Hawes Place Congregational Society vs. The Trustees of the Hawes Fund.
Judges: 
Reporter: Massachusetts Reports
Volume: 59
Pages: 454–458

Head Matter:
The Hawes Place Congregational Society vs. The Trustees of the Hawes Fund.
A testator devised certain estates to trustees, in trust, to appropriate the income and proceeds thereof forever, to the support of the gospel ministry of the congregational denomination in and over the first church at S. B., until the income should be so increased and accumulated, as in the opinion of the'trustees, to answer all the purposes intended by the testator; after which period, he directed that the surplus of the income should be appropriated to the establishment of a second congregational society in S. B.: And the testator left the residue of his estate, of every description, to the trustees, for the purpose of erecting a meet ing-house for religious worship on land previously given by him for that purpose ; or if the house should be built before his decease, then to apply the residue of his personal estate for the support and maintenance of such gospel minister of the congregational denomination, as should be settled over the church and society that should worship in said house. It was held, that the church and society worshipping in such house were not entitled to have the entire amount of their expenses for the support of public worship paid by the trustees out of the funds held by them under the will; and that the amount to be allowed them was to be determined by the trustees at their discretion; and if such determination was made in good faith, and according to the best judgment of the trustees, it was not subject to the revision of this court. ■
This was a bill in equity for the enforcement of a trust in favor of the plaintiffs, created by the will of John Hawes, deceased, and was submitted to the court upon the following agreed statement of facts : —
In the twenty-second clause of the will of John Hawes, which was proved in March, 1829, the testator devised to the defendants a lot of land at South Boston, with a dwelling-house thereon, “ to hold for the use of all such persons as shall hereafter reside at said South Boston, in manner following, that is to say, one half or moiety of the income and proceeds of said lot of land to be appropriated and applied forever by said trustees, to the support of the gospel ministry of the congregational denomination, in and over the first church at South Boston, and the other half of such income and proceeds to the support of schools at said South Boston.”
In the twenty-third clause of the will, the testator devised another estate, called the Fisk estate, to the defendants, in trust, after payment of his debts, “ to appropriate the proceeds to the uses and purposes enumerated in the twenty-second clause, until the income of the same, and the income and proceeds of the estate in said twenty-second clause devised, shall have so increased and accumulated, as in the opinion of said devisees, to answer all the purposes by me intended as before described; ” after which period, he directed that the surplus of the income should be appropriated to the establishment of a second congregational society in South Boston. The rent of the Fisk estate, at the time of the filing of the bill, was stated in the answer to be about $650.
In the twenty-fourth clause, the testator gave the residue and remainder of his estate of every description to the trustees, for the purpose of erecting a meeti ng-house for religious worship on the land previously given by the testator for that purpose ; but in case a meeting-house should be brailt on the land before his decease, then the trustees were to apply the residue of his personal estate, for the support and maintenance of such gospel minister or ministers of the congregational denomination, as might be settled in and over the church and society that should worship in said house.
The Hawes Place congregational society have maintained public worship in the church erected by the trustees, in pursuance of the above bequest, for several years past, and have been supplied from time to time with funds from the trust estate. The testator left a large property, and the income of the estate applicable to the support of public worship at South Boston considerably exceeds the ordinary expenses of the society, who claim that the whole of their necessary expenses should be paid by the trustees; but the trustees, being desirous of founding and maintaining a second religious society at South Boston, have, for several years past, refused to pay the full amount of the actual expenses incurred by the society in maintaining public worship.
On the 28th of April, 1848, the trustees adopted the following preamble and vote: —
“ Whereas, it is provided by the twenty-third clause of the will of the late John Hawes, that the trustees appointed under the provisions of said will may do certain things, when the income of the estate devised by said twenty-third clause, and the income and proceeds of the estate devised by the twenty-second clause of said will, shall have so increased and accumulated, as in the opinion of said trustees, to answer all the purposes intended by said Hawes, as expressed in said twenty-third clause, and believing that said income and proceeds have so increased and accumulated as to answer the purposes so intended : Therefore, voted, that half the net income of the estate devised in said twenty-third clause be no longer applied as heretofore to the support and maintenance of the gospel ministry in and over the first church and society, as set forth in said twenty-second clause of said will, but that the same be set apart to be hereafter appropriated and applied to the other purposes specified in said twenty-third clajasej'affiif in the way and manner therein set forth.” y
The actual expenses of the Hawes Place congregational society, for the year 1848, were $1887, of which l»he trustees paid only the sum of $1500, and refused to pa„y the residue, alleging that, according to their best judgment, the latter sum was a sufficient endowment, and that it ivas a larger sum than had been annually expended by any other religious society in South Boston for the support of public worship. Besides the sum so paid by the trastees, they paid the taxes, and the cost of repairs upon the meeting-house, for the year 1848.
The prayer of the bill was, that the trustees might be decreed to appropriate annually a sufficient amount of the income of the fund, for an adequate and respectable support of public worship by the Hawes Place congregational society, and for the repair and preservation of their meeting-house. The plaintiffs also prayed that the defendants might be decreed to make up the deficiencies of former years.
The case was submitted without argument by W. Minot, foi the plaintiffs, and M, Montgomery, for the defendants.

Opinion:
Wilde, J.
This case appears to the court to be a very clear case. The plaintiffs claim the unpaid balance of their actual expenses; but we are of opinion, that there is no ground on which the claim can be supported. It is manifest, from the language of the will, that the testator intended that the amount of the allowance to be paid to the plaintiffs, for the support of the gospel ministry, should be determined by the trustees; and in such cases, where the determination is made in good faith by the trustees, according to their best judgment, as the trustees allege in their answer it was made in this case, and of which there appears to be no doubt, the court will not interfere, although they may be of opinion, that a largei allowance might have been made. We are however of opi nion, that the allowance made by the trustees is amply sufficient.
The rent of the Fisk estate, as stated by the trustees, in tfieir'SKiswer, amounts only to $650, which must be allowed to accumulate for a long time, before it will be sufficient to support a rbinister in a second congregational society, and to erect a hou^e of public worship, and to fulfil the intention of the testator as to other uses and purposes provided for in the said twenty-third clause of the will. Considering their circumstances, we think 'a larger sum than was allowed to the plaintiffs could not have been reasonably demanded.
Bill dismissed.