South Congregational Church history and catalogue, 1852–1865 · scan page 115

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THE    EX-PARTE    COUNCIL.  105
plaining  that  they  "  have  been  deprived  of  the  rights  which
belong  to  brethren  in  a  Congregational  Church."  AVhether
they  are,  or  are  not,  entitled  to  the  rights  of  a  majority,  is
a  question  upon  which  we  are  not  called  to  express  an
opinion,  for  it  is  not  material  to  any  of  the  issues  involved
in  their  complaint.  These  brethren,  twenty  or  more  in
number,  have  addressed  the  Chuix-h  in  a  memorial  asking
for  a  mutual  council  to  consider  certain  matters  by  which
they  are  aggrieved,  and  their  request  has  been  denied.
Their  right,  therefore,  of  obtaining  advice  from  neighbor
Churchps  through  an  cx-parte  council,  in  conformity  with  a
reasonable  and  long  established  usage  of  the  New  England
Churches,  cannot  be  disputed.
First  of  all,  tliis  Council  has  made  a  communication  to
the  Church  through  its  Clerk  and  Standing  Committee,
and  also  to  the  Rev.  J.  Halsted  Carroll,  as  another  party
interested  in  the  matters  referred  to  us,  inviting  them  to
appear  and  offer  any  explauatidus  which  they  may  desire
to  make  concerning  the  transactions  complained  of.  But
these  invitations  have  been  explicitly  declined.  We  are
sorry  to  add,  that  we  have  been  denied  all  access  to  the
records  of  the  Church,  and  that  the  complainants  have  not
been  able  to  obtain  authenticated  copies  of  the  records,
which  they  desired  to  present  for  our  consideration.
Having  carefully  considered  the  documents  sulmiitted  to
us  in  l)ehalf  of  the  complainants  by  their  committee,  and
having  heard  such  testhnony  as  they,  in  the  disadvantageous
circumstances  in  which  they  are  placed,  have  been  able  to
adduce,  we  find  tlie  following  matters  of  fact :
I.  The  Church  in  question  was  instituted  as  a  Congrega-
tional Church,  with  the  advice  and  approbation  of  a  council
of  Congregational  Churches,  and  the  complainants  became
members  of  it,  in  the  warranted  expectation  (hat  tliey  were
to  enjoy  all  the  rights  belonging  to  the  brethren  of  a  Con-
gregational Church,  according  to  the  principles  and  usages
of  the  New  England  Churches.
II.  The  Rev.  J.  Halsted  Carroll  commenced  his  labors
at  the  South  Church  in  December,  1861,  being  invited  by
the  Society's  Commit (ee  to  officiate  as  a  candidate.  Ho
was  soon  afterwards  employed  by  concurrent  votes  of  the
9*

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Silent Grounds Collective, Church Burial & Death Records, CH-P004-0115. South Congregational Church history and catalogue, 1852–1865, printed page not verified, PDF page 115. Hallock, Gerard, 1800-1866; digitized copy contributed by University of California Libraries https://archive.org/details/historyofsouthco00hall/page/n119/mode/1up Accessed September 8, 2026.

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