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Meetings of subscribers to churches, chapels, &c.
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14. All consuls general and consuls appointed by his Majesty to reside, and being resident at any foreign port or place wherein any such church or chapel or other place appropriated for the celebration of divine worship, or hospital, or any such burial ground as aforesaid, hath heretofore been or shall hereafter be erected, purchased, or hired, by the aid of any voluntary subscription or rates collected by or imposed upon his Majesty’s subjects, or some person or persons for that purpose duly authorized by any writing under the hand and seal of any such consul general or consul, shall, once at the least in every year, and more frequently if occasion shall require, by public advertisement, or in such other manner as may be best adapted for insuring publicity, convene and summon a meeting of all his Majesty’s subjects residing at such foreign port or place as aforesaid, to be holden at the public office of such consul general or consul, at some time not more than fourteen days nor less than seven days next after the publication of any such summons; and it shall and may be lawful for all his Majesty’s subjects residing or being at any such foreign port or place as aforesaid at the time of any such meeting, and who shall have subscribed any sum or sums of money not less than twenty pounds in the whole, nor less than three pounds by the year, for or towards the purposes before mentioned, or any of them, and have paid up the amount of such their subscriptions, to be present and up the amount of such their subscriptions, to be present and vote at any such meetings; and such consuls general or consuls shall preside at all such meetings; and in the event of the absence of any such consuls general or consuls, the subscribers present at any such meeting shall, before proceeding to the dispatch of business, nominate one of their number to preside at such meeting; and all questions proposed by the consul general, consul, or person so nominated as aforesaid to preside in his absence, to any such meeting, shall be decided by the votes of the majority in number of the persons attending and being present thereat; and, in the event of the number of such votes being equally divided, the consul general, consul, or person so presiding in his absence, shall give a casting vote.
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