£S^ L E 20? .4 .N61 Copy 1 ^^5 o-f fhcTC-Volvirioi-!. jc^vv '..ior i\ Sociefiy Constitution "5o95 ot the f^eVolLHior): lr7siituied 1555. ^ ^r-- Lav/5 ^5ociety.;^^- -Ipcoppopated 3d ot May. !054- COrVRIGHT BY James Moktiimer RIontgomef secretary of the society ok "Sons of the REvoLunoN, i88q. ^^^ r ^kiuhmmm e0NSTITUTI0N. PRgAM13Lg : SONS or THe RevoLurioN- HEREAS, it has become evident from the decHne of proper celebration of such National holidays as the Fourth of July, Washington's Birthday, and the like, that popular interest in the events and men of the War of the Revolution is less than in the earlier days of the Re- public ; And, whereas, this lack of interest is to be attributed, not so much to lapse of time and to the great flood of immigration from foreign countries, as to the neglect on the part of descendants of Revohitionary heroes to per- form their duty of keeping before the public mind the memory of the services of their ancestors, and of the times in which they lived, and of the principles for which they contended ; Therefore, the Institution of the "Sons of the Revolution " has been formed and established in the United States of America, to perpetuate the memory of the men who, in military, naval or civil service, by their acts or counsel, achieved American Independence ; to promote and assist in the proper celebration of the anniversaries of Washington's Birthday, the Battles of Lexington and Bunker Hill, the Fourth of July, the Capitulations of Saratoga and Yorktown, the formal Evacuation of New York by the British Army, on the 3d of December, 1783, as a relinquishment of territorial sovereignty, and other prominent events relating to or connected with the War of the Revolution ; to collect and secure for preservation the manuscript rolls, re- cords and other documents and memorials relating to that War ; to inspire among the members and their descendants the patriotic spirit of their forefathers ; to inculcate in the community in general sentiments o^ Nationality and respect for the principles for which the patriots of the Revolution contended ; to assist in the commemorative celebration of other great historical events of National importance, and to promote social intercourse and the feeling of fellowship among its members. ARTICLE I. The Institution shall be known by the name, style and title of ** Sons of the Revolution." ARTICLE II. The Institution shall be National and perpetual, and shall include all members wherever admitted. ARTICLE III. The purposes of the Institution are to cherish and en- courage among its members and their descendants, and among the people of the United States, the patriotic spirit of the men, who, in military, naval or civil service, by their acts or counsel, achieved American Independ- ence ; to perpetuate the memory of their deeds, and to maintain the immutable principles for which they contended ; to promote and assist in the proper com- memorative celebration of Washington's Birthday, and of prominent events relating to or connected with the War of the Revolution, and other great historical events ot National importance; to collect and secure for preser- vation the manuscript rolls, records and other documents- and memorials relating to the War of the Revolution, and to promote social intercourse and the feeling of fellowship among its members. ARTICLE IV. Any male person, above the age of twenty-one years, shall be eligible to membership in the ''Sons of the Revolution " who is descended from an ancestor who, either as a military or naval officer, soldier, sailor, or official in the service of any one of the thirteen original Colonies or States, or of the National Government repre- senting or composed of those Colonies or States, assisted in establishing American Independence during the War of the Revolution, between the 19th day of April, 1775, when hostilities commenced, and the 19th day of April, 1783, when they were ordered to cease; and no person other than such shall be eligible to membership in the ** Sons of the Revolution ;" Provided : That when the claim of eligibility is based on the service of an ancestor in the ''militia," it must be satisfactorily shown that such ancestor was actually called into the service of the State or United States, and performed garrison or field duty ; and Provided further : That when such claim is based on the service of an ancestor as a " sailor," it must in like manner be shown that such service was regularly per- formed in the Continental Navy, or the Navy of one of the original thirteen States, or on a vessel, other than a merchant ship, which sailed under letters of marque and reprisal, and that such ancestor of the applicant was duly enrolled in the ship's company, either as an officer, sea- man, or otherwise than as a passenger; and Provided further : That when such claim is based on the service of an ancestor as an official in the civil service of the United States, or of one of the thirteen original States, such service must have been sufficiently impor- tant in character to have rendered the official specially liable to arrest and imprisonment if captured by the enemy, and not the ordinary duties of a civil office, the performance of which did not particularly and effect- ively aid the American Cause. In the construction of this article, the civil officials and military forces of the State of Vermont, during the War of the Revolution, shall be comprehended in the same manner as if they had belonged to one of the thir- teen original States, No service of an ancestor shall be deemed as qualifying service for membership in the **Sons of the Revolu- tion " where such ancestor, after assisting in the cause of American Independence, shall have subsequently either adhered to the enemy, or failed to maintain an honorable record throughout the War of the Revolution, and no person shall be admitted unless he be judged worthy of becoming a member. 8 ARTICLE V. The Society having been instituted for National pur- poses, and incorporated for convenience under the laws of the State of New York as the " Sons of the Revolu- tion," may nevertheless, for the sake of frequent com- munications, be supplemented, in the several States and Territories, by Societies co-ordinate and co-equal thereto, through which membership may be acquired and the purposes of the Institution in general more fully and more effectively promoted ; and each of such State Societies, when duly constituted, shall thereafter have exclusive jurisdiction in the particular State or Territory in which it may be organized. ARTICLE VI. Whenever fourteen or more persons ehgible for mem- bership, all residing in any one State or Territory of the United States, shall apply to the Society to be authorized to organize a State Society in such State or Territory, or having associated and combined themselves into a provisional organization in such State or Territory, shall apply for recognition and acceptance as such State So- ciety, the Society may, at a stated or special meeting, by a vote of three-fourths of the members present, grant such application : Provided, however, that only one State Society shall be authorized or accepted and thereupon duly constituted in any State or Territory. ARTICLE VII. Every State Society, when duly constituted, will regu- late everything respecting itself consistent with the purposes and maxims of the '' Sons' of the Revolution." 1. Its title shall be, "Sons of the Revolution in the State of . . . ." (or ''Territory of ....," or "District of Columbia"). 2. Its jurisdiction shall extend only to the State or Territory wherein it is constituted. ARTICLE VIII. The officers of every Organization of the "Sons of the Revolution," shall be a President, a Vice-President, a Secretary, and a Treasurer, to be chosen from among the members enrolled therein, and a Board of Managers, consisting of these officers, ex-officio^ and as many other members as may be designated by the By-Laws of each respectively; subject, however, to such limitations and requirements as to the number and composition of the Board as may be prescribed by any Statute applicable to the particular Organization. For com.mon record purposes and for the convenience of the several jurisdictions, the Society shall also have an officer known as Registrar, who shall receive, file and keep of record, in the City of New York, the names and residences of all officers and members, proofs upon which memberships have been granted, declarations of members on admission of adherence to the Constitution, circular letters, and the By-Laws and Standing Regulations adopted in any meeting, and also copies of all publications issued by any Organization, and the proceedings of all Councils, together with a list of all diplomas countersigned by him, which records shall always be open to the in- spection of any member. ARTICLE IX. Every Organization of the "Sons of the Revolution," respectively, may adopt By-Laws and Standing Rules and Regulations not inconsistent with this Constitution, or any Statute applicable thereto, and provide in the same for the imposition of dues, fees and penalties, and for the expulsion of any member enrolled therein who, by a conduct inconsistent with a gentleman and a man of honor, or by an opposition to the interests of the community in general or the Organization in particular wherein he is enrolled, or for other cause, may render himself unworthy to continue a member. The By-Laws, however, may provide for the restora- tion to membership of any person thus expelled, unless the cause of expulsion involved turpitude or moral unworthiness. No person thus expelled shall subsequently be admitted to membership in any other Organization of the ''Sons of the Revolution," without the consent first had and obtained of the Organization from which he was expelled; and no such consent shall be valid where the person thus expelled cannot, by reason of the cause of expulsion, be restored to membership in the. Organization from which he was expelled. ARTICLE X. Every Organization of the "Sons of the Revolution,"" respectively, shall judge of the qualifications of the members who may be proposed : Provided, however, that where a State Society is duly constituted in a State wherein the applicant permanently resides, he can ac- quire membership only in that jurisdiction, unless, how- ever, he be a descendant of a member or former member enrolled in another jurisdiction, in which case he may: apply to and be admitted in either one or the other. ARTICLE XL Every Organization of the " Sons of the Revolution "' shall write annually, or oftener if necessary, a circular letter to the other meetings, noting whatever they may think worthy of observation respecting the good of the- Institution in general or the purposes of its formation, and giving information of the officers chosen for the current year, and a list of the members enrolled therein, with their respective residences. / ARTICLE XIL The Secretary of every Organization of the "Sons of THE Revolution " shall transmit for record to the Regis- trar, immediately after the admission of any members, duplicates of the applications for membership, and of other proofs, if any, upon which such members were admitted ; and annually, on the third day of December, or within twenty days thereafter, shall transmit in like manner a list of officers and members and their respective residences, and the circular letters, By-Laws, Standing Rules and Regulations, and publications of such separ- ate meeting, and also any necrological list for the year then closing, with carefully prepared biographies of the deceased members. ARTICLE XIII. An annual meeting of every Organization of the ** Sons OF THE Revolution '' shall be held on the third day of December in every year, at which an election of officers shall take place for the ensuing year, except when such date shall fall on Sunday, in which case the meeting shall be held on the following day. At every meeting the purposes the Institution will of be fully considered and the best measures to promote them adopted. No question, however, involving the party politics of the Day within the United States shall 13 ever be discussed or considered in any meeting of the "Sons of the Revolution." The several Secretaries shall, when practicable, give published notice of the time and place of their respective annual meetings, and shall also notify the other Secre- taries thereof. Provided, however, that the annual meet- ing of the Society shall always be held in the City of New York. ARTICLE XIV. I. Any member, wherever admitted, shall, when attend- ing any meeting or celebration whatsoever of the "Sons OF THE Revolution," have all the privileges and rights of membership therein other than voting, which privilege shall be confined to the jurisdiction wherein he shall be duly enrolled. Provided, however, that any member, wherever admitted, who may attend any meeting of the Society for the election of President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer or Registrar, shall be privileged to vote for such officers ; and provided, further, that any member, wherever admitted, who may attend any meet- ing of the Society for action upon any application under Article VI. of this Constitution, shall be privileged to vote thereon. 2. Any member, wherever admitted, who may have permanently removed to a State or Territory wherein an Organization of the "Sons of the Revolution " may be 14 duly constituted, shall, if he so desires, be transferred thereto immediately upon filing, with the Secretary of that Organization, his formal letter of request accompanied by a certificate from the Secretary of the jurisdiction wherein he is enrolled that he is in good standing therein, and has satisfied his pecuniary obligations thereto. Provided^ however, that any member enrolled in any State Society may, on removal, permanently, to a State or Territory wherein there is no duly constituted State Society, be transferred in like manner to the Society. 3. A member shall not be exempt from his obligations to the jurisdiction wherein he is enrolled solely on account of absence therefrom, but shall continue in all privileges of membership therein. 4. Resignation or voluntary withdrawal from member- ship shall only become effective as a release from the obligations thereof, when consent has been given in the manner provided in the By-Laws of the jurisdiction wherein the member is enrolled. ARTICLE XV. Whenever a written complaint shall be formulated by any Organization of the "Sons of the Revolution," or by the Board of Managers thereof, to the effect that any provision of this Constitution has been infringed upon or transgressed by any other Organization of the same, or that any member (or members) enrolled in such other 15 Organization has rendered himself unworthy to continue a member by a conduct inconsistent with a gentleman and a man of honor, or by an opposition to the interests in general of the community or of the "Sons of the Revolution," the Organization wherein the complaint shall have been preferred may call a Council, to meet in the City of New York, on an appointed day and withm a reasonable time, which Council shall consist of the President (or Vice-President, in case of his death, resigna- tion or inability to attend), or a representative designated specially, as it may prefer, by every Organization of the * ' Sons of the Revolution " respectively. Twenty days' notice of the time and place of the con- vening of such Council shall be given to the party com- plained of, together with a copy of the complaint. Such Council shall be limited in its jurisdiction to the investigation, on due hearing, of such complaint and of any replication thereto, and it shall have full power to redress such complaint and to compel conformity to the Constitution in whatever way may be deemed necessary, and to rescind any act in violation thereof, and to expel any member (or members) complained of whom it may adjudge unworthy to continue a member for the cause stated. Such Council may also, in enforcement of its decision in such proceeding, summarily expel any member (or members) who shall, after notice thereof, fail or neglect to comply with its order thereunder, and no person ex- pelled under any provision of this Article shall be restored to membership unless with the express consent of every Organization of the ''Sons of the Revolution." The Council shall choose its Chairman pro tempore from among its own members, and may designate any member whomsoever to act as Secretary pro tempore and to record its proceedings and communicate its resolves and orders, and to perform such other appropriate duties as may be required. At such Council a majority of the members entitled to be present shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. It may adjourn from time to time, as the circumstances of the particular case may require, and at the final con- clusion of the business for which it was convened it shall become functus officio, but may be reassembled, in like manner, to investigate any other complaint under this Article preferred by any Organization of the ''Sons of THE Revolution " or by the Board of Managers thereof. ARTICLE XVI. The seal of the "Sons of the Revolution" shall be one and seven-eighths of an inch in diameter, and shall consist of the figure of a minute-man in Continental uniform, standing on a ladder leading to a belfry, and holding in his left hand a musket and an olive branch. 17 and grasping in his right hand a bell-rope. Above^ the cracked "Liberty bell"; issuing therefrom a ribbon, bearing the motto of the "Sons of the Revolution'': ^' Exegi Monumenlum ^re Peren7iius." Across the top of the ladder, on a ribbon, the figures '"I'j'jb," and at the left of the minute-man, and also on a ribbon, the figures " 1883," the year of their institution ; the whole encircled by a band three-eighths of an inch wide ; thereon at the top thirteen stars of five points each, and at the bottom the legend, "Sons of the Revolution;" the following being a fac-simile thereof: i8 The Secretary of every Organization of the "Sons of THE Revolution/' respectively, shall be the custodian of the seal thereof, which seal shall be identical in every particular with this description. ARTICLE XVIL The insignia of the *' Sons of the Revolution " shall consist of the badge pendant from the ribbon by a ring of gold. The badge shall be elliptical in form, with escaloped edges, one and one-quarter inches in length, and one and one-eighth inches in width ; the whole surmounted by a gold eagle, with wings displayed, inverted. On the obverse side a medallion of gold in the centre, elliptical in form, bearing on its face the figure of a soldier in Continental uniform, with musket slung. Beneath, the figures *' 1775 ; " ^^^ medallion surrounded by thirteen raised gold stars of five points each upon a border of dark blue enamel. On the reverse side, in the centre, a medallion, corre- sponding in form to that on the obverse, and also in gold, bearing on its face Houdon's portrait of Washing- ton in bas-relief, encircled by the legend, ''Sons of the Revolution." Beneath the figures "1883," and upon the reverse of the eagle the number of the particular badge engraved, the medallion surrounded by a plain gold border conforming in dimensions to the obverse, upon which members may have their names engraved in script. The ribbon shall be dark blue, ribbed and watered, edged with buff, one and one-quarter inches wide and one and one-half inches in displayed length. The insignia shall be worn by the members conspicu- ously and only on the left breast on all occasions when they shall assemble as such for any stated purpose or celebration. The badge shall never be worn as an article of jewelry. For the purpose of securing uniformity in design and proper fabrication, the Treasurer of the Society shall have under his sole control the insignia and the die from which the badge is made ; shall alone issue the insignia to the members wherever admitted, at the net cost price, and shall keep a record of all issued by him, and such record shall always be open to the inspection of any member. Such insignia shall be returned to the Treasurer of the Society by any member who may formally withdraw or resign or be expelled, but otherwise it shall be deemed an heirloom. No member shall receive more than one badge, unless to replace one, the loss or destruction of which shall first i^e satisfactorily established. 20 The following being a fac-simile of such insignia REVERSE. 21 On occasions other than the meetings for any stated purpose or celebration, members may wear a rosette of the prescribed ribbon and pattern in the upper but- ton-hole of the left lapel of the coat. The respective Treasurers shall alone issue the rosettes to members. The following being a facsimile of the same, which shall not exceed fifteen millimetres in diameter; ARTICLE XVIII. Every member, wherever admitted, shall be entided to receive a certificate of membership, which shall be authen- ticated by the President and Secretary of the jurisdiction wherein the member may be enrolled, and countersigned by the Registrar of the Society, and the seal of the ''Sons of the Revolution " affixed. It shall be in form following : — ©one of tbe IRevolutiom Be it known that has been duly admitted a member of this Institution in right of the services of in the cause of American Independence during the War of the Revo- lution. In testimony whereof, the names of the proper officers and the seal of the Society are hereunto affixed. Dated this day of . , in the year of our Lord .... thousand .... hundred and . . . ., and of the Independence of the United States of America the ... . I L.s. I President of the Society ^**^^ [In the State of ] Secretary of the Society [In the State of ] Registrar. ARTICLE XIX. It shall be a standing Rule that the members shall, when practicable, hold a commemorative celebration and dine together, at least once every year, in their respective territorial localities. 23 ARTICLE XX. Every member, wherever admitted, shall declare upon honor that he will conform to this Constitution, and observe the By-Laws, Rules and Regulations made in pursuance thereof, and endeavor to promote the pur- poses of this Institution. Such formal declaration shall be subscribed in dupli- cate, and one original thereof transmitted to the Regis- trar for record. ARTICLE XXI. Every Organization of the ''Sons of the Revolution" shall be subject to and bound by all the provisions of this Constitution, and no alteration, addition, or amend- ment shall be made to the same, unless agreed to by all such Organizations. soaeTY SONS or THe RevoLurioN- INCORPORATED THE 3d DAY OF MAY, 1884. BY-LAWS, SECTION I. EMBERS shall be elected as follows : Candidates shall send their respec- tive applications and documents, or other proofs of qualification for membership, to the Board of Man- agers ; and, upon a favorable de- cision by said Board, and upon payment of the initiation fee and subscription to the declaration required by the Constitution, shall thereupon become members of the Society. 25 No person shall be admitted to membership unless he shall have first made written application, in duplicate, therefor, approved by two members over their signa- tures. SECTION II. The initiation fee shall be five dollars ; the annual dues, three dollars ; or the payment at one time of seventy-five dollars shall constitute a life member, and the member so paying shall thenceforth be exempt from the payment of annual dues. Any member who may contribute one hundred and fifty dollars to the permanent use of the Society, shall be exempt from the payment of annual dues, and this exemption shall extend in perpetuity to his lineal succes- sors in membership, one at a time, who may be selected for such exemption by the Society. SECTION III. In order to form funds which may be respectable, and assist the unfortunate, all life-membership fees or dona- tions for the purpose which shall hereafter be paid the Society, shall remain for ever to the use of the Society ; the interest only of which, if necessary, to be appropriated to the relief of the unlortunate. 26 SECTION IV. The Society shall hold an annual meeting on the third day of December, in every year, at which a general elec- tion of officers by ballot shall take place, except when such date shall fall on Sunday, in which case the meeting shall be held on the following day. In such election, a majority of the ballots given for any office shall constitute a choice ; but if, on the first ballot, no person shall receive such majority, then a further ballot- ing shall take place in which a plurality of votes given for any office shall determine the choice therefor. SECTION V. At all meetings of the Society thirty members shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. SECTION VI. The President, or in his absence the Vice-President, or in his absence a Chairman /r^? tempore, shall preside at all meetings of the Society and of the Board of Man- agers, and shall exercise the usual functions of a presid- ing officer, under general parliamentary rules, subject to an appeal to the Society, in proper cases under those rules. The President shall be, ex officio, a member of all committees. He shall represent the Society in every Council for which the Society shall not have chosen a representative either specially for such Council or for a definite period during which such Council may be called. He shall also perform such other representative duties on behalf of the Society, either personally or by corres- pondence, as it or the Board of Managers may find desirable or necessary, or as customarily appertain to his office, and he shall enforce a strict observance of the Constitution, By-Laws and Standing Regulations. In case of his decease, resignation, neglect to serve, or inability from any cause to act as President, the duties of the office shall devolve on the Vice-President, until the vacancy caused by such decease, resignation, or neglect to serve, shall be filled, or until the inability shall cease. SECTION VII, The Secretary shall conduct the general correspond- ence of the Society and keep a record thereof. He shall notify all qualified and accepted candidates of their admission, and perform such other duties as the Society, or Board of Managers, or his office, may require of him. He shall have charge of the seal, certificates of incorporation, by-laws, historical and other documents and records of the Society other than 28 those required to be deposited with the Registrar, and shall affix the seal to all properly authenticated certifi- cates of membership, and transmit the same without delay to the member for whom it is issued or to his proper representative. He, together with the presiding officer, shall certify all acts of the Society, and, in proper cases, authenticate them under seal. He shall have charge of all printing and publications directed by the Society or by the Board of Managers. He shall give due notice of the time and place of all meetings of the Society, and of the Board of Managers, and shall attend the same. He shall keep fair and accurate records of all the proceedings and orders of the Society, and of the Board of Managers, and shall give notice to the several officers of all votes, orders, resolves, and proceedings of the Society or of the Board of Managers, affecting them or appertaining to their respective duties; and, at the annual meeting, and oftener, if required, shall report to the Society the names of those candidates who have been admitted to membership, and also the names of those members whose resignations or voluntary withdrawals have been consented to and accepted, and also the names of those members who have been expelled, or dropped for non-payment of dues, or who have been received or dropped from the roll by transfer since the last report. In his absence from any meeting, a Secretary pro tempore may be designated therefor. 29 SECTION VIII. The Treasurer shall collect and keep the funds and securities of the Society ; and as often as those funds shall amount to one hundred dollars they shall be de- posited in some bank in the City of New York to the ■credit of the Society of the "Sons of the Revolution," and shall be drawn thence on the check of the Treasurer for the purposes of the Society only. Out of these funds he shall pay such sums only as may be ordered by the Society, or by the Board of Managers, and shall perform such other duties as the Society, or Board of Managers, or his office, may require of him. He shall keep a true account of his receipts and payments, and, at each annual meeting, render the same to the Society, when a committee shall be appointed to audit his accounts. For the faithful performance of his duty, he shall give such security as the Society, or Board of Managers in lieu of its action thereon, may from time to time require. SECTION IX. At every annual meeting the President may designate a Chaplain and a Historian for the ensuing year, from among the members, and, in case of the happening of a vacancy in either of these offices, the President may. 30 in like manner, fill such vacancy for the unexpired term. The Chaplain shall be a regularly ordained minister of a Christian denomination, and it shall be his duty to open and close all meetings with customary chaplaincy services, and perform such other duties as ordinarily pertain to such office. The Historian shall keep a detailed record, to be deposited with the Secretary, of all the historical and commemorative celebrations of the Society ; and he shall edit and prepare for publication such historical addresses, essays, papers and other documents of an historical character, other than a Register of Members, as the Secretary may be required to publish ; and at every annual meeting, if there shall be a necrological list for the year then closing, he shall submit the same, with carefully prepared biographies of the deceased members. SECTION X. The Board of Managers shall be fifteen, namely : The President, Vice-President, Secretary, and Treasurer, ex- officio, and eleven other members, who shall be elected at the annual meeting in every year, in the same manner as the officers of the Society. They shall judge of the qualifications of every candi- date who shall make proper application for admission to- 31 the Society, and shall have power to admit him to mem- bership therein, if found eligible under the Constitution. They shall, through the Secretary, call special meet- ings of the Society at any time, upon the written request of fifteen members of the Society, and at such other times as they themselves may see fit ; and they may arrange for commemorative celebrations by the Society. They shall recommend plans to the Society for pro- moting its purposes, and, when practicable, may digest and prepare business for its meetings. They shall generally superintend the interests and shall have the control and management of the affairs and funds of the Society, as authorized by law. They shall also perform such duties as may be prescribed by the Constitution or By-Laws, or required by any Stand- ing Regulation or resolve of the Society. They shall be competent to consent to and to accept the resignation or voluntary withdrawal from membership of any en- rolled member of the Society. They shall supervise all publications issued in its name, and they may require the attendance of any Member of the Society enrolled therein, or any Com- mittee thereof, at any meeting, for consultation and advice. The Board of Managers shall meet as often as they may desire, or at the call of the President, or upon the written request of any three members of the same. A majority of the Board of Managers shall be a quorum for the transaction of business. At every annual meeting they shall submit to the Society a general report of their proceedings during the year then closing. SECTION XI. The Registrar shall perform the duties enjoined upon such officer in the Constitution. SECTION XII. Upon the demand of five members at any meeting of the Society, the ayes and nays shall be called on any pend- ing motion or resolve which may be voted upon and duly entered on the minutes. SECTION XIII. No person who may be enrolled as a member in this Society shall be permitted to continue in membership where the proofs of claim of qualification by descent are found to be defective and insufficient to substantiate such claim, or not properly authenticated. The Society, or the Board of Managers, may, at any time after thirty days' notice to such person to properly substantiate or authen- ticate his claim, require the Secretary to erase his name from the list of members, and such person shall there- 33 upon cease to be a member: Provided, he shall have failed or neglected to comply satisfactorily with such notice. Where the Board of Managers shall direct the erasure of a person's name for a cause comprehended under this section, such person shall have a right of appeal to the next annual meeting ; but he shall not be restored to membership unless by a majority vote on that occasion, or at a subsequent meeting to which the consideration of the appeal may have been specifically postponed. SECTION XIV. The Board of Managers shall have power to expel any enrolled member of this Society who, by a conduct inconsistent with a gentleman and a man of honor, or by an opposition to the interests of the community in general or of this Society in particular, may render him- self unworthy to continue a member, or who shall per- sistently transgress, or, without good excuse, wilfully neglect the performance of any obligation enjoined by the Constitution, or by these By-Laws, or by any Stand- ing Regulation of this Society. Pi-ovided, that he shall have received at least ten days' notice of the complaint preferred against him, and of the time and place for hearing the same, and have been thereby afforded an opportunity to be heard in person or by counsel. Whenever the cause of expulsion shall not have in- 34 volved turpitude nor moral unworthiness, any mem- ber thus expelled may, upon the recommendation of the Board of Managers, but not otherwise, be restored to membership by the Society at any meeting. The Board of Managers shall also have power to drop from the Roll the name of any enrolled member of the Society who shall be at least two years in arrears in the payment of dues, and who, on notice to pay the same, shall fail and neglect to do so within ten days thereafter, and, upon being thus dropped, his membership shall cease and determine, but he may be restored to member- ship at any time by the Board of Managers, on his application therefor, and upon his payment of all such arrears and of the annual dues from the date when he was dropped to the date of his restoration. The Board of Managers may also suspend any officer from the per- formance of his duties, for cause ; which proceeding must be reported to the Society and acted upon by it within thirty days, either by rescision of the suspension or removal of the suspended officer from office, or other- wise the suspension shall cease. SECTION XV. Whenever an officer of this Society shall die, resign, or neglect to serve, or be unable to properly perform the duties of his office bv reason of absence, sickness, or 35 other cause, the Board of Managers shall have power to appoint a member to such office pro /e??ipore, who shall act in such capacity until the Society shall elect a suc- cessor, or until the inability due to "absence, sickness or other cause" shall cease. Provided, however, that the office of President shall not thus be filled by the Board of Managers, when there shall be a Vice-President to enter upon its duties. In like manner, the Board of Managers may supply vacancies among its members, under the same con- ditions and limitations, and in case any member thereof, other than an officer, shall be absent from three con- secutive meetings of the same, his place therein may be declared vacant by the Board of Managers and filled by an appointment which shall continue in full effect until the Society shall elect a successor. Subject to these provisions, all officers of the Society, and the members of the Board of Managers, shall, from the time of their election or appointment, continue in their respective offices until the next annual meeting, and until their respective successors shall be duly chosen. SECTION XVI. No resignation or voluntary withdrawal from member- ship of any member enrolled in this Society shall become effective as a release from the obligations thereof, unless consented to and accepted by the Board of Managers. 36 SECTION XVII. It shall be a Standing Rule that, upon the decease of any niember residing within the territorial jurisdiction of the Society, notice thereof and of the time and place of the funeral, shall be given by the Secretary by publica- tion, and It shall thereupon become the duty of the members, when practicable, to attend the obsequies. Any member, upon being informed of the decease of a member, resident as stated, shall make it his business to see that the Secretary is promptly notified of the fact. SECTION XVIIl. No alteration of the By-Laws of this Society shall be made unless such alteration shall have been openly pro- posed at a previous meeting and entered in the minutes, with the name of the member proposing the same, and shall be adopted by a majority of the members present at an annual or specially called meeting of the Society. SECTION XIX. No alteration nor amendment to the Constitution shall be agreed to except by a vote of three-fourths of a quo- rum present at any annual or specially called meeting, after thirty days' notice shall have been given of such proposed alteration or amendment. 37 SFXTION XX. It shall be the duty of every member to inform the Secretary, by written communication, of his place of residence and of any change thereof, and of his post- office address. Service of any notice under the Constitution or under these By-Laws upon any member of the Society, ad- dressed to him at his last recorded place of residence or post-office address, and forwarded by mail, shall be deemed sufficient service of such notice. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS I 011 699 112 3 I 011699 112 3 t HoUingpr pH 8.5 MiU Run F03-2193