"I just want to ask you, Mr.Furlong," said the lawyer, "a question or two as to the exact constitution, the form so to speak, of your church.

What is it?
Is it a single corporate body ?" "I suppose," said the rector thoughtfully, "one would define it as an indivisible spiritual unit manifesting itself on earth." "Quite so," interrupted Mr.Skinyer, "but I don't mean what it is in the religious sense: I mean, in the real sense." "I fail to understand," said Mr.
Furlong.
"Let me put it very clearly," said the lawyer.

"Where does it get its authority ?" "From above." said the rector reverently.
"Precisely," said Mr.Skinyer, "no doubt, but I mean its authority in the exact sense of the term." "It was enjoined on St.Peter," began the rector, but Mr.Skinyer interrupted him.
"That I am aware of," he said, "but what I mean is--where does your church get its power, for example, to hold property, to collect debts, to use distraint against the property of others, to foreclose its mortgages and to cause judgement to be executed against those who fail to pay their debts to it?
You will say at once that it has these powers direct from Heaven.

No doubt that is true and no religious person would deny it.

But we lawyers are compelled to take a narrower, a less elevating point of view.