ient.

If a society requires a ceremony of initiation, is the election of a
member so complete that he is entitled to benefits without proper
initiation? In one of the cases the court said: "The entire system,
its existence and objects, are based upon initiation. We think, there
can be no membership without it, and no benefit, pecuniary or
otherwise, without it."

Controversies concerning property rights of religious societies are
generally decided by one of three rules: (1) "was the property a fund
which is in question devoted to the express terms of the gift, grant
or sale by which it was acquired, to the support of any specific
religious doctrine or belief or was it acquired for the general use of
the society for religious purposes with no other limitation; (2) is
the society which owned it of the strictly independent or
congregational form of church government, owing no submission to any
organization outside of the congregation; (3) or is it one of a number
of such societies, united to form a more general body of churches,
with ecclesiastical control in the general association over the
members and societies of which it is composed."

Many benefit societies provide for the payment of money to their sick
members. The rules providing for the payment of these may be changed
at any time as the constitution or articles of association of a
society may prescribe. Consequently an amendment may be made
diminishing the weekly allowance to a member who is sick, and also the
time of allowing it. Of course in applying for the benefits a member
must follow the modes prescribed.

The power to expel members is incident to every society or association
unless organized primarily for gain. Gainful corporations have no such
power unless it has been granted by their charter or by statute. The
revision of the list of members by dropping names is equivalent to the
expulsion of those whose names are dropped, and by a majority vote or
larger one as the rules of the society may require. Nor can the power
of expulsion be transferred from the general body to a committee or
officer. The power to expel must be exercised in good faith, not
arbitrarily or maliciously, and its sentence is conclusive like that
of a judicial tribunal. Nor will a court interfere with the decision
of a society except: first, when the decision was contrary to natural
justice and the member had no opportunity to explain the charge
against him; secondly, when the rule