South Congregational Church history and catalogue, 1852–1865 · scan page 155

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THE    EX-PARTE    COUNCIL.  145
4.  And  admitting  that  they  were,  it  would  amount  to
nothing  in  a  Churcli  where  there  is  no  caste,  but  where
ALi,  the  members,  150  to  160  in  number,  are  by  covenant
and  usage  entitled  to  vote ;  and  where,  since  the  last
"secession"  of  disaffected  members,  31st  of  July  last,
there  has  been  almost  perfect  unanimity  ;  not  five  votes
having  been  given  at  any  Church  meeting,  since  that  date,
in  opposition  to  the  views  of  Mr.  Carroll  and  his  friends.
In  one  of  those  meetings  the  number  of  votes  was  between
GO  and  70.
GOSSIP.
The  conversation  alleged  in  the  Rejoinder  to  have  taken
place  between  one  of  the  petitioners  and  a  member  of  the
Standing  Committee  of  the  South  Church,  is  not  recognized
by  an]i  member  of  that  Committee  as  an  actual  occurrence.
One  of  them  remembers  the  conversation  which  he  supposes
is  alluded  to,  but  denies  that  it  is  correctly  reported,  even
"  in  substance."  He  is  represented  to  have  said,  in  sub-
stance :
"  It  would  make  no  difference  if  even  three-fourths  of  the  members
were  in  favor  of  the  motion ;  so  long  as  Mr.  Hallock  wished  Mr.  Carroll
to  staj',  ho  would  stay,  and  they  could  not  help  themselves.  It  has
been  often  admitted  by  members  of  the  Committee  and  others,  that
while  the  Church  is  sustained  as  it  now  is,  almost  entirely  by  the  con-
tributions of  one  man,  his  wishes  would  have  paramount  weight,  and
the  self-governing  power  of  the  Church  be  virtually  abrogated."
The  smallest  proportionate  majority  ever  given  for  Mr.
Carroll,  by  the  South  Church,  was  on  the  18th  of  February
last,  when  there  were  51  votes  in  his  favor,  and  22  against
him,  as  announced  at  the  time  by  the  chairman,  Dea.  Minor.
The  way  to  test  the  truth  of  the  «'  three-fourths  "  statement,
is,  to  get  such  a  majority,  or  any  majority  at  all.  There  is
no  chance  to  test  it,  so  long  as  the  petitioners  and  their
sympathizers  can  muster  only  2^  votes  against  51.  They
will  not  pretend  that  a  majority  vote  of  the  Church  was  ever
overruled,  or  attempted  to  be  overruled,  by  Mr.  Hallock.
Perhaps  their  meaning  is,  that  a  majority  vote  is  sure  to  be
given  in  accordance  with  his  wishes.    But  how  arc  his  wishes

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Silent Grounds Collective, Church Burial & Death Records, CH-P004-0155. South Congregational Church history and catalogue, 1852–1865, printed page not verified, PDF page 155. Hallock, Gerard, 1800-1866; digitized copy contributed by University of California Libraries https://archive.org/details/historyofsouthco00hall/page/n159/mode/1up Accessed September 8, 2026.

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