The Saint George's Cathedral Ordinance

r• St. George's Cathedral [Cap. 277 3241 CHAPTER 277. ST. GEORGE'S CATHEDRAL. WHEREAS Her Majesty has been pleased by Letters Patent Preamble. dated November 29th, 1897, to revoke Letters Patent dated May 22nd, 1852, under which said Letters Patent the prior Bishops of Sierra Leone were appointed: AND WHEREAS the Cathedral Church of Saint George is at present vested in, and the property of, the Crown: ANn WHEREAS it is expedient that the Colonial Government should transfer the said Cathedral to a Cathedral Chapter: ANn WHEREAS the Bishop of Sierra Leone has, with the approval of His Grace the Lord Archbishop of Canterbury, duly constituted a Chapter for the said Cathedral Church: Short title. Incorporation of the Chapter. Transfer of Cathedral and property. Cap. 277] St. George's Cathedral AND WHEREAS it is expedient to constitute the said Chapter a corporation and otherwise to make provisions in connection therewith:

Cathedral Ordinance.

The Chapter of the Cathedral Church of Saint George, asconstituted by the Right Reverend John Taylor, Bishop of the Diocese of Sierra Leone, by a deed under his hand, and episcopal seal, and dated the twenty-second day of June, one thousand eight hundred and ninety-eight, shall be, and is hereby declared, a body corporate, hereinafter in this Ordinance referred to as "the Chapter," and by that name shall have perpetual succession, and shall, and may, sue, and be sued, in all Courts of Justice, and before all Magistrates in this Colony, and shall have, and may have, and use, a common seal; and the Chapter shall have full power to acquire, accept leases of, purchase, take, hold, and enjoy any land, buildings, messuages, or tenements, of what nature or kind soever and wheresoever situate, for the purposes of this Ordinance, or of the Chapter, and to invest moneys on mortgage of any land, buildings, messuages, or tenements, or upon the mortgages or debentures, stocks, funds, shares, or securities of any corporation or company, and also to purchase, and acquire, all manner of goods and chattels whatsoever; and the Chapter is hereby further empowered, from time to time, by deeds under its seal to grant, sell, convey, assign, surrender, and yield up, mortgage, demise, re-assign, transfer, or otherwise dispose of, any such lands, buildings, messuages and tenements, mortgages, debentures, stocks and securities, goods and chattels, or any that may hereafter be acquired by, or invested in, the Chapter, upon such terms as to the Chapter may seem fit: Provided always that the power of sale hereinbefore granted shall not extend to the said Cathedral and precincts thereof.

The said Cathedral and the precincts thereof (a plan ofwhich, signed by the Director of Public Works, and sealed with the seal of the Colony, was deposited at the Registrar General's Office of this Colony on the seventeenth day of October, one thousand eight hundred and ninety-eight), together with all the rights, easements, and appurtenances thereunto belonging, and together with all the estate, right, title, and interest of the Colonial Government therein, are hereby transferred to, and vested in, the Chapter for the sole and express purpose of ' I ~ St. George's Cathedral [Cap. 277 a Cathedral Church, and to the intent that Divine Worship, according to the use of the Church of England, shall be therein performed, and carried on, in accordance with the rites and ceremonies of the Church of England: Provided always that, if at any time, the said Cathedral shall cease to be used as a Church, or Divine Worship, and the Services usual in the Church of England, shall cease to be performed and carried on therein, the said Cathedral, and the precincts thereof Ehall revert to, and become, the absolute property of the Crown.

Upon the coming into operation of this Ordinance, allbooks, deeds, papers, and other documents hitherto kept at the said Cathedral, or belonging and appertaining thereto, and all moneys belonging to, or due, or owing, to the said Cathedral, shall be handed over, and become the property of the Chapter for the purposes aforesaid; and all monuments, tablets, and memorials in or about the said Cathedral shall be placed under the custody of the said Chapter. Other properties.

The temporal affairs of the said Cathedral shall be managed, Control ofdirected, and governed by the Chapter, as in the deed constitu- tChapterloverempora ting the Chapter it is provided. affairs.

The fees to be taken for marriages, baptisms, burials andother services in the said Cathedral shall be such as by the said Chapter shall be directed. Such fees shall be payable to the Bishop, or to such other person or persons as the Chapter shall direct. Fees for marriages and other services.

The erection of monuments, tablets, or memorials in the Erection ofsaid Cathedral, or the precincts thereof, shall be under the :~~~~~! 8 ' direction and control of the Chapter; and the fees to be paid Cathedral. for the erection of any monument, tablet, or memorial in the said Cathedral, or in the precincts thereof, shall be such as shall be prescribed by the said Chapter, and such fees shall be paid to the Bishop, or such other person or persons as the Chapter shall direct.

The Chapter shall have power to sue for all rents, subscrip- Power to suetions, fees, or other moneys due to, or owing under any rules ~~e~~~~s made by the Chapter, or under this Ordinance. Chapter.

Every person who shall wilfully and maliciously, either P~nalt~ forwithin or from without the said Cathedral, disturb the perform- :~;;:~~~on. ance of Divine Worship, or the Services therein, or in any way Burials prohibited. Removal of monuments. Crown rights. Cap. 277] St. Gemy;e' s Cathedral during such time molest any of the congregation, shall be guilty of a misdemeanour, and be liable, on summary conviction before a Police Magistrate, to a fine not exceeding five pounds, and, in default of payment, to imprisonment, with or without hard labour, for any period not exceeding three months.

No burial shall take place within the said Cathedral, orthe precincts thereof, unless by written permission of the Governor, and subject to such rules as he may prescribe.

The Chapter may order the removal of any monumentwhich shall have become ruinous, dilapidated, or unsightly, if the owner cannot be found, or refuses to properly repair and maintain such monument to the satisfaction of the Chapter: Provided always that three months' notice of such intention to remove shall be given, in writing, to the owner, if he can be found; if the owner cannot be found, or is not known, it shall be sufficient if notice shall be posted for three months on a notice board of the said Cathedral.

Nothing hereinbefore contained shall affect, or be deemedto affect, the rights of Her Majesty the Queen, Her heirs or successors, except such as are mentioned in this Ordinance.