193 Pa. 120 | Pa. | 1899
Opinion by
The plaintiffs filed the bill in this case, averring: 1. That in 1853, one Robert McCray donated to them land in Concord township whereon to build a Wesleyan Methodist church, which
Defendants answered, not denying plaintiffs’ right to the use of the church, but averring: 1. That the church property is the common property of the Protestant Christian sects of the township; that it was built and repaired by money subscribed by all of them, on the agreement and understanding that all denominations, Wesleyans, Congregationalists, Methodists, Presbyterians and Episcopalians, should use it, without either interfering with the other. 2. That the gift of the land was made by the owner, with the condition that the church built thereon. was not to be that of any particular denomination, but was to be used by all in harmony. 3. That since it was erected, it has been used without hindrance by the different denominations, down until April 16, 1893, when plaintiffs sought to exclude defendants from the use of the same, although such use in no manner interfered with plaintiffs’ occupation, and that while they, defendants, insisted on their right, as contributors, to worship in the church, they used no violence, nor do they intend to do so. 4. That defendants have title to the land by a conveyance from the heirs of the original donor, Robert McCray. 5. That equity has no jurisdiction, because plaintiffs have an adequate remedy at law.
It will be noticed, except as to the denial of jurisdiction, the single question" raised by the issue is one of fact. Is the plaintiffs’ right an exclusive one ?
Manley Crosby, Esq., was appointed master, to take testimony, find facts and law, and suggest decree. He held many hearings ; a very large number of witnesses were sworn, whose testimony is embodied in 437 pages of printed testimony now before us. He finds, in substance, that at the time the church was built, in 1853, the neighborhood was far more thinly pop
On the facts found, the master concludes that plaintiffs have the right to control and manage the property, and in good faith use the same for religious worship; that defendants, when the church is not so in use by plaintiffs, have the right to use and occupy it for public worship, without interference by plaintiffs. He suggested a decree in accord with his conclusions, and so reported to the court. Plaintiffs filed exceptions to nearly all the master’s findings of fact. On hearing, the learned judge of the court below set aside the report of the master and awarded a perpetual injunction, restraining defendants from going upon the premises for purpose of hearing preaching or engaging in other forms of worship, without consent of plaintiffs first had and obtained.; that is, he gave the exclusive use and occupation of the property to the plaintiffs, notwithstanding the facts found by the master.
If the findings of fact by the master are right, the decree of the court is manifestly wrong; wrong, because defendants were as much entitled to their qualified possession as plaintiffs to theirs. If they had paid their money as a consideration for the
A most thorough perusal of all the testimony satisfies us that it amply sustains the findings of the master. This labor ought not to have been imposed upon us. The language of the court in Morgan’s Appeal, 125 Pa. 561, ought to have prompted the learned judge of the court below to something more than a mere pro forma decree. It was there said, on a similar record to this one: “To reverse a master’s findings without assigning any reasons is simply an act of arbitrary power, and practically leaves the findings in full force. . . . Every such case is entitled to the careful consideration of the court of common pleas in which it is heard, and we should have the views of the learned judge upon the facts and the law.” Precisely the same ruling was made, for the same reasons, in Scheppers’s Appeal, 125 Pa. 598, the only difference being that in the latter case the court, without reasons given, reversed the finding of fact by an auditor instead of by a master. Therefore, on the merits, the appeal is sustained.
As to the question of jurisdiction, although formally pleaded in the answer, it was not pressed before the master or the court, and was not passed upon by them. We doubt whether the remedy at law, if plaintiffs’ averments had been sustained by the evidence, would have been an adequate one; but, however this may be, defendants chose not to press the plea to the jurisdiction until they reached this Court; in the mean time, a long and expensive hearing has been had; they took the chances of a favorable decree before the master and the court. We will not, at this late day, dismiss the bill for want of jurisdiction, which at most'is only doubtful: Fidelity Co. v. Weitzel, 152 Pa. 498; Drake v. Lacoe, 157 Pa. 17; Searight v. Bank, 162 Pa. 504.
But, as already indicated, on the merits, we reverse the decree of the court below, and adopt the findings of fact and conclusions of law reported by the master. We approve the decree of the court fixing the master’s fees. We have no power,