Chapter XLIX. *to incorporate the Sisters of Mercy in the District of Columbia.* Feb. 23, 1865. *Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,* That Isabel Atkinson, Elizabeth “Sisters of Mercy” in the District of Columbia incorporated
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Chap. XLIX.— An Act *to incorporate the Sisters of Mercy in the District of Columbia.* Feb. 23, 1865. *Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,* That Isabel Atkinson, Elizabeth “Sisters of Mercy” in the District of Columbia incorporated.Medcalf, Teresa Byrne, Ellen Matthews, Mary Duffy, Teresa Moran, and Ellen Wynne, and their successors, hereafter to become Sisters of Mercy, and to be appointed according to the rules and regulations that have been or may hereafter be established by their association, be, and they are hereby, made, declared, and constituted a corporation or body politic, in law and in fact, to have continuance forever, by the name, style, and title of the “Sisters of Mercy in the District of Columbia.
” Sec. 2. *And be it further enacted,* That all and singular the lands, Property heretofore given to become vested in the corporationhouses, tenements, rents, legacies, annuities, rights, property, privileges, goods, and chattels, heretofore given, granted, devised or bequeathed to the said Sisters of Mercy, in the District of Columbia, or to any individual of the said corporation, or to any person or persons for the use of said corporation, or that hare been purchased for or on account of the same be, and they are hereby, vested in, and confirmed to, the said cor poration; and that the said corporation may purchase, take, receive, hold, Corporation may hold, &c., property.and apply to the uses and purposes of the same, according to the rules, regulations, and by-laws that they may establish from time to time, for the management of the concerns of the said society or corporation, any lands, tenements, rents, legacies, annuities, rights, property, and privileges, or any goods, chattels, or other effects of what kind or nature soever, which shall or may have been or may hereafter be given, granted, sold, bequeathed or devised unto the said association or corporation by any person or persons, bodies politic or corporate, capable of making such grants, sale, or bequest, and that the said association or corporation of the Sisters of Mercy, in the District of Columbia, may dispose of and convey the same as they may deem proper: *Provided,* That the said association or corporation Limit to land and property.shall not, at any one time, hold, use, possess, and enjoy, within the District of Columbia, either by legal seizure, or trust, for its use and benefit, more than three hundred and twenty acres of land, nor shall the said association or corporation hold, in its own right, or by any other per son in trust, or for its benefit, real estate the annual net income of which, after discharging all its expenses, debts, and liabilities, shall exceed the sum of fifty thousand dollars.
Sec. 3. *And be it further enacted,* That the said corporation, by the Suits.name of the Sisters of Mercy, in the District of Columbia, be, and shall be hereafter, capable in law and in equity to sue and be sued, within the 436 THIRTY-EIGHTH CONGRESS. Sess. II. Ch. 49, 50. 1865. Suits.District of Columbia and elsewhere, in as effectual a manner as other persons or corporations can sue or be sued, and that the said corporation, or a majority of the persons composing the same, shall adopt and use a Seal.
By-laws.common seal, and the same to use, alter, or change at pleasure, and from time to time make such by-laws, not inconsistent with the Constitution of the United States or any law of congress, as they may deem expedient Objects of association.and proper for carrying into effect the objects of the said association or corporation, including the care, control, and education of children; the care, protection, instruction, and employment of destitute females; the care, nursing, and alleviation of the sufferings of sick or wounded persons, and such other objects of literature and charity as may be determined upon by their by-laws, as aforesaid, and which their means and net income may enable them to effect and support.
Persons named herein as corporators, and others. when to have no control, &c. Sec. 4. *And be it further enacted,* That if, at any time hereafter, any of the persons hereinbefore named, or any of their successors, as Sisters of Mercy, in the District of Columbia, shall cease to belong to the said association or corporation, according to the said by-laws, such persons shall thereafter have no part or control in the proceedings of the said associa tion or corporation under or in pursuance of the provisions of this act.
Officers, agents, &c. Sec. 5. *And be it further enacted,* That the said association or corporation shall have power to appoint such officers, agents, and persons as may be necessary, and to construct or purchase such buildings or to create such establishments as may be required to effect and carry out the humane and charitable objects of its institution, in accordance with its by-laws and regulations, as aforesaid, under this act. Sec. 6. *And be it further enacted,* That the schools and all other in stitutions of instruction, education, or employment, established by the Sisters of Mercy in the District of Columbia, shall at all times be subject Visitation and inspection.to the visitation and inspection of the justices of the supreme court of the District of Columbia, or any one of them, or the committees on the District of Columbia in either house of congress, or any other committee of congress that either house may appoint, and the books, records, and proceed ings of said-Sisters of Mercy shall at all times be subject to the exami nation and inspection of said justices or any such committee.
Act may be amended, &c. Sec. 7. *And be it further enacted,* That this act may, at any time hereafter, be amended, altered, or repealed, in whole or in part, according to the pleasure of congress. Approved, February 23, 1865.