"The Toleration Act"
An Act for Regulating Towns and the Choice of Town Officers 1819
[Chapter 69.]
An Act, in amendment of an Act entitled an Act, for Regulating Towns and
the Choice of Town Officers, passed February 8th, Anno Domini 1791,--
[Approved July 1, 1819.]
Section 1st Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in
General Court convened, That the inhabitants of each town in this State,
qualified to vote at any meeting duly and legally warned and holden in
such town may grant and vote such sum or sums of money as
they shall
judge necessary for the support of schools, school houses,
the
maintenance of the poor, for laying out and repairing highways, for
building and repairing bridges, and for all the necessary charges
arising within said town, to be assessed on the polls and estates in
said town as the law directs.
Sec. 2nd And be it further enacted, That the tenth section of the Act,
to which this is an amendment, be and the same is hereby repealed.
Provided that towns between which and any settled minister there is
prior to, or at the passing of this act a subsisting contract, shall
have a right from time to time to vote, assess, collect and appropriate
such sum or sums of money as may be necessary for the fulfilment of such
contract and for repairing meetinghouses now owned by such town so far
as may be necessary to render them usefull for town purposes--Provided
that no person shall be liable to taxation for the purpose of fulfilling
any contract between any town and settled minister who shall prior to
such assessment file with the town clerk of the town where he may reside
a certificate declaring that he is not of the religious persuasion or
opinion of the minister settled in such town.
Sec. 3d And be it further enacted, that each religious sect or
denomination of Christians in this State may associate and form
societies, may admit members, may establish rules and byelaws for their
regulation and government, and shall have all the corporate powers which
may be necessary to assess and raise money by taxes upon the polls and
rateable estate of the members of such associations, and to collect and
appropriate the same for the purpose of building and repairing houses of
public worship, and for the support of the ministry; and the assessors
and collectors of such associations shall have the same powers in
assessing and collecting, and shall be liable to the same penalties as
similar town officers have and are liable to--Provided that no person
shall be compelled to join or support, or be classed with, or associated
to any congregation, church or religious society without his express
consent first had and obtain--Provided also, if any person shall chooose
to separate himself from such society, or association to which he may
belong, and shall leave a written notice thereof with the clerk of such
society or association, he shall thereupon be no longer liable for any
future expenses which may be incurred by said society or
assocation--Provided also, that no association or society shall exercise
the powers herein granted until it shall have assumed a name and stile
by which such society may be known and distinguished in law, and shall
have recorded the same in a book of records to be kept by the clerk of
said Society, and shall have published the same in some newspaper in the
County where such society may be formed if any be printed therein, and
if not then in some paper published in some adjoining County.--
New Hampshire Politics
P.O. Box 1120
Merrimack, NH 03054
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