SPIRO T. AGNEW, Governor                      1365

heading "III. Particular Classes of Corporations," subtitle "Religious
Corporations," be and the same are hereby repealed and re-enacted
with amendments, to read as follows:

256.    Number of trustees; trustees constitute body politic.

In every church, religious society or congregation, of whatever
sect, order or denomination, or which shall at any time hereafter
be known and acknowledged in the State, and protected in the free
and full exercise of its religion by the Constitution and the laws
thereof, there shall be sufficient power and authority in all persons
above twenty-one years of age belonging to any such church,
society or congregation, to elect, at their discretion, certain sober
and discreet persons, not less than four, [nor more than twenty-
five,] which persons so elected, upon being registered, as herein-
after directed, shall be constituted a body politic or corporate to
act as trustees in the name and behalf of the particular church,
society or congregation for which they are respectively chosen, and
manage the estate, property, interest and inheritance of the same.

257.    Powers of trustees in general.

The trustees so elected shall have perpetual succession by their
name of incorporation, and shall be capable in law to purchase,
take and hold to them and their successors in fee, or for a less
estate, any lands, tenements or hereditaments, rents or annuities,
goods or chattels within this State, by the gift, bargain, sale or
devise of any person, body politic or corporate, capable of making
the same, and to use or lease, mortgage or sell and convey the same
in such manner as they may judge most conducive to the interest
of their respective churches, societies or congregations; provided,
that nothing herein shall authorize any sale, mortgage or other
disposition of any property held by such corporation under any
instrument prohibiting such sale[; and provided, the clear yearly
income from the estate of any church, society or congregation,
exclusive of the rents of pews, collections in churches, funeral
charges and the like, shall not exceed the sum of fifty thousand
dollars]. Any member or members of the trustees authorized by
resolution of the trustees shall have full power and authority to
execute on behalf of the trustees any deed, mortgage or other
conveyance of property, real or personal, to be sold, transferred or
encumbered, or any other instrument requiring execution by the
trustees for any purpose. The corporate seal, if any, of the trustees
may be affixed to any suck deed, mortgage, conveyance or other
instrument, and duly attested, by any member or members of the
trustees authorized to do so by resolution of the trustees.

261. Plan specifying time and manner of election of trustees,
perpetuation of succession and name of church, society or
congregation—In general.

At the first election or appointment of every body politic or corpo-
rate aforesaid, every church, society or corporation assembled as
already directed, shall determine on their plan, agreement or regu-
lation, specifying distinctly the purpose or purposes for which said
body politic or corporate is formed, the time and manner of electing
trustees, and the manner in which the succession shall be perpetu-
ated, and containing an exact description of the qualifications of