I an UAL 
 
 MISSIONARIES AND SUPERINTENDENTS 
 
 OF MISSIONS 
 
 UNDER THE CARE OF THE 
 
 METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHUKCH, 
 
 
 Published by Order of the Board. 
 
 PHILADELPHIA: 
 
 T. K. AND P. G. COLLINS, PKINTERS, 
 
 1 LODGE ALLEY. 
 
 1852 . 
 
0 
 
 In the preparation of this Manual, the Secretary acknow¬ 
 ledges himself indebted, for several valuable provisions and 
 instructions, to the Manuals of the American Board of Com¬ 
 missioners for Foreign Missions, and of the Presbyterian 
 Board, and to the Instructions given to the Missionaries of 
 the Wesleyan Missionary Society. Each missionary and 
 superintendent of missions will keep this Manual by him, 
 and occasionally peruse it, that he may not write for infor¬ 
 mation expressly contained herein. 
 
 Index, see page of Cover. 
 
MANUAL 
 
 FOR 
 
 \ 
 
 MISSIONARIES AND SUPERINTENDENTS 
 
 OF MISSIONS 
 
 UNDER THE CARE OF THE 
 
 METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHUPCH. 
 
 Published by Order of the Board. 
 
 PHILADELPHIA: 
 
 T. K. AND P. G. COLLINS, PRINTERS, 
 
 1 LODGE ALLEY. 
 
 1852 . 
 

 
 
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 DREW THEOLOrilGAl 
 SEMINARY LiBRAHY. 
 
 
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MISSIONARY MANUAL. 
 
 OBJECTS. 
 
 The objects of the Missionary Society of the' Methodist 
 Episcopal Church are, to enable the several Annual Con¬ 
 ferences more effectually to extend their missionary labors 
 throughout the United States and elsewhere; and also to 
 assist in the support and promotion of missionary schools and 
 missions in our own and in foreign countries.’^ 
 
 VARIOUS MISSIONARY LABORERS. 
 
 1. In the Domestic Missions, under the care of the several 
 conferences, ministers and preachers of the Gospel are mainly 
 employed; and these, in conjunction with the official members 
 of the church within their missions respectively, employ, as 
 assistants, Sunday-school teachers, and occasionally day- 
 school teachers, as the interests of the mission require and 
 its ability will permit. 
 
 2. In the Foreign Missions are employed : 1st, ordained 
 ministers of the Gospel; 2d, occasionally unordained preach¬ 
 ers of the Gospel; 3, colporteurs; 4th, physicians; 6th, 
 school teachers; 6th, catechists; 7th, occasionally printers, 
 farmers, and mechanics; 8th, unmarried female teachers, 
 but these only where they can find a home in the family of 
 an intimate and reliable friend or relative within the mission. 
 The ordained ministers are considered missionaries proper, 
 and all others assistants in the great work, having more or 
 less intimate connection with the mission. The wives of 
 missionaries in Foreign Missions are justly considered as 
 assistant missionaries. 
 
4 
 
 MISSIONARY MANUAL. 
 
 Presiding elders, also, are superintendents of tlie Domestic 
 Missions within their bounds severally, and should report 
 accordingly. 
 
 QUALIFICATIONS OF MISSIONARIES. 
 
 1. Some qualifications are necessary to every missionary, 
 and every assistant missionary, such as decided, enlightened, 
 and uniform <piety ; in connection with right views of Christ¬ 
 ian doctrines and Christian duties, as acknowledged and 
 taught in the Methodist Episcopal Church; and it is neces¬ 
 sary that the spirit and practice of evangelical Christianity 
 be constantly exhibited in the public and private conduct of 
 each member of the mission. 
 
 2. Other qualifications are specially necessary to particular 
 members of the mission. 
 
 (1.) The ordained minister and the preacher of the Gos¬ 
 pel should each undertake his work as a special personal 
 duty laid on him hy Jesus Christ, the Head of the Church. 
 He must feel that the Saviour requires him to go to distant 
 lands or fields of labor, to preach the Gospel to those who 
 sit in darkness and in the region and shadow of death; and 
 he should look to the church, through her missionary organi¬ 
 zation, not so much to lay this duty on him as to assist and 
 sustain him in accomplishing his great work. This is the 
 true spirit of the missionary proper, and without it he cannot 
 well bear up under the dangers, toils, and discouragements 
 incident to the true missionary work. 
 
 (2.) The missionary should be a man of good common 
 sense, of sound judgment, of quick discernment, and good 
 knowledge of human nature; he should be of an amiable 
 disposition, frank, generous, forbearing, and constantly in¬ 
 clined to accommodate others, and to render them happy 
 and useful; he should be steady, firm, patient, persevering, 
 cheerful; he should have the habit of promptly and tho¬ 
 roughly accomplishing whatever he undertakes. 
 
 (3.) His health should be good, and his constitution and 
 habits such as give him promise of a fair share of health in 
 the field of labor upon which he is about to enter. He 
 
MISSIONARY MANUAL. 
 
 should be at least of medium stature; and it is desirable 
 that he should be^ not of forbidding, but rather of good ap¬ 
 pearance and pleasing manners. 
 
 (4.) He should be of good intellectual abilities; and have 
 a well-ordered active mind, and furnished, to a fair extent, 
 with useful knowledge, general and religious; and he should 
 have the desire and the habit of continual improvement in 
 knowledge and in piety. The greatness, sacredness, and 
 value of his work will give scope for all these and still more 
 qualifications. The world is to be enlightened and re¬ 
 deemed. 
 
 (5.) The missionary physician should have a competent 
 medical education, according to the standard of this country; 
 and he should go on his mission with the express and firm 
 intention to make the practice of his profession directly sub¬ 
 servient to the furtherance of the Grospel. To his medical 
 knowledge he should add a competent religious and theolo¬ 
 gical knowledge; that with the advantages of his medical 
 skill he may the more readily impart the knowledge of Jesus 
 Christ our Lord to those with whom he may have inter¬ 
 course. In no case, without permission of the Board, may 
 he receive compensation for medical services. It would be 
 well if the physician were a minister of the Gospel. 
 
 (6.) Teachers should be well qualified for the work com¬ 
 mitted to them; and they should enter upon it, and pursue 
 it from a sense of duty to God; a duty which they may not 
 perform listlessly, but as for God, and in his sight. Theirs 
 is a very important part of the missionary work. 
 
 (7.) and/armers should be masters of the busi¬ 
 
 ness of their respective departments, and resolved to make 
 their labors subservient to the great designs of the mission. 
 These are wanted in but few missions; but when they are 
 wanted, they should be godly men, recommending the mis¬ 
 sion by their private and public conduct. 
 
 (8.) Debts. Every missionary must be out of debt, accord¬ 
 ing to the requisition and administration of our discipline. 
 But especially does the Board of Managers require that every 
 missionary on a foreign station shall keep out of debt. He 
 shall in no case engage in trade or business. He must re- 
 
 1 -^ 
 
6 
 
 MISSIONARY MANUAL. 
 
 member the declaration of St. Paul: ^^No man that warreth 
 entangleth himself with the affairs of this life, that he may 
 please him who hath chosen him to be a soldierall his 
 time and talents must be given to his work in the mission; 
 and that he may the more readily do this, the Board will 
 have affectionate consideration of all his proper wants, and 
 will faithfully endeavor to satisfy them. And there is not 
 much doubt but that the church will enable the Board to do 
 this so long as the missionary shall regulate his expenses by 
 such a due regard to economy as may be found to consist with 
 his health and comfort, and with the real demands of the 
 work of God. 
 
 BY WHOM APPOINTED. 
 
 1. All ministers or preachers of the Gospel in the Do¬ 
 mestic Missions are appointed annually by the bishop presid¬ 
 ing in the conference, within whose bounds their work lies; 
 and each presiding elder is superintendent of the missions in 
 his district. 
 
 2. Every minister or preacher of the Gospel, sent to a 
 Foreign Mission, is appointed by the bishop having, for the 
 time being, the superintendence of the Foreign Missions. 
 When he arrives in his mission he is subject to the special 
 superintendent of his mission, under the instructions contained 
 in his commission, or given by the Board; and, if no special 
 instructions be contained in the commission or given by the 
 Board, then he is subject to the special superintendent of the 
 mission according to the Discipline, as the ministers and 
 preachers in a district, within an annual conference, are sub¬ 
 ject to the presiding elder. 
 
 3. All other appointments in the Foreign Missions are 
 made by the Board,-or with their express consent and sanc¬ 
 tion, under previous orders of the General Missionary Com¬ 
 mittee ; application should be made to the Board through 
 the corresponding secretary, accompanied by satisfactory tes¬ 
 timonials. 
 
 4. Application for an appointment to go to a Foreign Mis¬ 
 sion to preach the Gospel as a missionary, should be made 
 directly to the bishop having, at the time, the superintend- 
 
MISSIONARY MANUAL. 
 
 7 
 
 ence of our Foreign Missions. If tlie candidate have special 
 reasons, he may apply to the bishop through the correspond¬ 
 ing secretary. 
 
 5. It is understood, unless expressly stated to the con¬ 
 trary, that the missionary, going to a Foreign Mission, makes 
 his work the work of his life; and he may not relinquish it, 
 or return home, without express and proper authority given 
 him so to do. In case of a providential personal emergency, a 
 missionary, or superintendent of the mission, may return or 
 be absent from his mission with the consent and sanction of 
 the mission, provided the exigency be so pressing, in the 
 judgment of the mission, that there is not time to obtain the 
 proper authority from the bishop or the Board, and in such 
 cases only. 
 
 TESTIMONIALS. 
 
 In case of application, as a missionary to preach the Grospel 
 in a Foreign Mission, testimonials are expected to be fur¬ 
 nished to the bishop having the authority to appoint, on the 
 following particulars:— 
 
 1. Character of the applicant’s piety. 
 
 2. Manner and effectiveness of his preaching. 
 
 3. His natural talents and temper, and the probability of 
 his working happily with others. 
 
 4. His judgment, discretion, and common sense. 
 
 5. The extent and qualities of his education. 
 
 6. His habits of improving time, and of seizing opportu¬ 
 nities of usefulness. 
 
 7. The habits of economy, of himself and his family. 
 
 8. His facility for acquiring influence over others. 
 
 9. His aptness in acquiring languages. 
 
 10. His personal appearance, manners, and address. 
 
 11. His character, habits, health, and constitution in view 
 of his particular field of labor. 
 
 These testimonials should be furnished by the presiding 
 elder of the applicant, and by those brethren who have la¬ 
 bored with him in the conference work, and by any pious 
 and judicious brethren who know him well. And if he be 
 
8 
 
 MISSIONARY MANUAL. 
 
 a graduate of any of our colleges, or have been a student in 
 any of our ^academies, the testimonials of his instructors 
 should be produced. 
 
 APPROPRIATIONS FOR SUPPORT. 
 
 In Domestic Missions the appropriations are fixed by the 
 authorities in each mission, and paid according to the regu¬ 
 lations of the Discipline. An appropriation, of a greater or 
 less amount, is usually made to each mission towards paying 
 the allowance, by the mission committee of the conference 
 within whose bounds the mission lies, out of moneys placed 
 at the disposal of the conference by the joint annual meeting 
 of the Greneral Missionary Committee and Board of Managers. 
 The Board is no further responsible for the support of mis¬ 
 sionaries employed in our Domestic Missions. 
 
 In Foreign Missions the quarterage, according to discipline, 
 is payable by the Board from the date of the missionary’s 
 commission, unless a specific date is mentioned in the com¬ 
 mission ; the appropriation commences upon his arriving on 
 the field of labor, when his quarterage ceases, being merged 
 in the aggregate appropriation. It is the policy of the Board 
 to give a specific and fixed appropriation; and to allow a 
 specific and fixed sum for rent of dwelling, varying according 
 to the size of the family, and the circumstances under which 
 the missionary labors. A reasonable portion of this appro¬ 
 priation for the year may be paid in advance, and the re¬ 
 mainder for the first year, and the appropriation for each 
 succeeding year shall be drawn for by the superintendent of 
 the mission, quarterly^ unless special instructions are given 
 to the mission that the salaries will be paid in some other 
 way. 
 
 In any mission where the Board find themselves unpre¬ 
 pared to assign specific appropriations, or to make specific 
 arrangements in the case, the actual expenses of the mission¬ 
 ary or missionaries will be paid quarterly, of which a parti¬ 
 cular quarterly account must be rendered to the Treasurer 
 of the Board, at New York, by the superintendent of the 
 mission, if there be one, and if not by the missionary him¬ 
 self. 
 
MISSIONARY MANUAL. 
 
 9 
 
 SUPERANNUATED MISSIONARIES, THEIR WIDOWS AND 
 
 ORPHANS. 
 
 The Board, by the Constitution (Art. 5), has authority 
 ^^to provide for the support of superannuated missionaries, 
 widows, and orphans of missionaries, who may not he pro¬ 
 vided for by their annual conferences respectively, it being 
 understood that they shall not receive more than is allowed 
 by the Discipline to other superannuated ministers, their 
 widows and orphans.^^ 
 
 EXPENSES. 
 
 The Board will not be responsible for any expenses incur¬ 
 red before the missionary is acting, in view of his mission, 
 under the direction of the bishop superintendent of Foreign 
 Missions, or of the Board; and each missionary is considered 
 under such direction from the date of his commission, or from 
 a specific date mentioned in the commission, if such specific 
 date be mentioned. 
 
 The expenses for which the Board will be responsible are: 
 the travelling and incidental expenses of the missionary and 
 his family, if he have one (which include the boarding or 
 subsistence of his family), arising expressly in pursuance of 
 his commission; and also the freight of his goods, and any 
 other expenses expressly authorized by the Board or the 
 bishop appointing. The extra travelling and incidental ex¬ 
 penses, arising in his field of labor in pursuance of his work, 
 must be reported to the Board quarterly for their decision. 
 
 MARRIAGE. 
 
 As a general rule, every missionary in a foreign mission 
 should be a married man; and his wife should be of one 
 heart and one mind with him. It is almost indispensable 
 that she should have good health; and it is very desirable 
 that she be intelligent, and of pleasing manners and conver¬ 
 sation, and having practical knowledge of domestic affairs. 
 The wife ought to be truly an assistant missionary. 
 
10 
 
 MISSIONARY MANUAL. 
 
 Pious young men in colleges, and those who have just en¬ 
 tered upon the work of the ministry, should carefully ponder 
 the question, whether they be not called to the missionary 
 work; and if, in their judgment and conscience, they be, and 
 the way is opened to them, they ought not to be in haste to 
 contract marriage, that they may do it the more judiciously 
 and with advice, as their departure for their distant field 
 draws nigh. 
 
 OUTFIT. 
 
 The outfit of a missionary includes such clothing, bedding 
 (when the ship does not furnish it), and other articles neces¬ 
 sary for comfort during the voyage or journey, and imme¬ 
 diately on arriving at the field of labor, as would not be re¬ 
 quired were the missionary and his family to remain in the 
 work at home; also the books necessary in his special field 
 of labor. The amount will vary according to the circum¬ 
 stances of the appointment, the length and nature of the 
 voyage or journey, and the condition of things at the time 
 in the field of labor. The outfit in each particular case will, 
 therefore, be determined by the Board, and is payable to the 
 missionary at his pleasure, after notice given him of the 
 same. But our experience leads us to advise that it should 
 not all be expended before setting out for the mission : re¬ 
 serve a little for exigency there. 
 
 Each missionary about to depart to the foreign missionary 
 work, upon application at the office in New York, 199 Mul¬ 
 berry Street, by letter or in person, shall receive such infor¬ 
 mation as the office can give, touching the articles requisite 
 in his particular case. 
 
 FURNITURE. 
 
 As a general rule, not much furniture should be sent out 
 to distant missions; only such as cannot be conveniently ob¬ 
 tained in the country whither the missionary goes. The 
 transportation of furniture is a heavy item in the expendi¬ 
 ture of the Board. 
 
 Any furniture in any foreign mission, purchased with 
 money appropriated by the board for the same, is the pro- 
 
MISSIONARY MANUAL, 
 
 11 
 
 perty of tlie Board, and must be carefully preserved, and an 
 inventory thereof made and kept in the records of the mis¬ 
 sion ; and a copy of the same sent to the office of the Board 
 in New York. 
 
 BOXES OR CASKS. 
 
 Strong and well-made boxes of medium size, or in case of 
 long and damp voyages, strong water-tight casks, are neces¬ 
 sary for the safe conveyance of goods. If they are to be 
 carried by horses or mules any considerable distance, boxes 
 are preferable, and should be about three feet long, eighteen 
 inches deep, fourteen inches wide, and gross weight, not ex¬ 
 ceeding one hundred and fifty pounds. It would be well, 
 indeed, almost necessary, to mark each box or cask with a 
 letter or number, and make and keep a memorandum of the 
 contents of each. 
 
 Each box, cask, or package should be plainly and strongly 
 marked with the name of the owner and place of destination; 
 and forwarded to the care of Mission Booms, 199 Mulberry 
 St,, N. Y. (unless otherwise expressly advised); and should 
 reach New York a week or ten days before the sailing of the 
 vessel in which the shipment is to be made. 
 
 PASSPORT. 
 
 A passport, obtained from the Secretary of State at Wash¬ 
 ington, is indispensable to missionaries going to foreign 
 countries. The following notice relative to the giving of 
 passports to citizens of the United States designing to visit 
 foreign countries, was issued from the Department of State 
 at Washington, April 4, 1835; viz.:— 
 
 “As citizens of the United States, going to foreign countries, 
 may he subjected to inconvenience for the want of sufficient evidence 
 of their national character, the Secretary of State deems it proper 
 to give notice, that Passports will be granted by him, gratis, to such 
 citizens, on his being satisfied that they are entitled to receive 
 them, 
 
 “ To prevent delay in obtaining a passport, the application should 
 be accompanied by such evidence as may show the applicant to be 
 a citizen of the United States, where that fact is not already known 
 
12 
 
 MISSIONARY MANUAL. 
 
 to the Department of State, and with a description of his person, 
 embracing the following particulars, viz.:— 
 
 ‘‘Age, — years; stature, — feet, — inches; forehead, —; eyes, 
 —; nose, —; mouth, —; chin, —; hair,—; complexion,—; 
 face, —. 
 
 “Where the applicant is to be accompanied by his wife, children, 
 or servants, or females under his protection, it will be sufficient to 
 state the names and ages of such persons, and their relationship to 
 the applicant; as one passport may serve for the whole. 
 
 “ Certificates of citizenship, or passports, granted by the different 
 States and municipal authorities in the United States, are not recog¬ 
 nized by the officers of foreign governments; and, for the want of 
 necessary official information as to those authorities, the ministers 
 and consuls of the United States in foreign countries cannot authen¬ 
 ticate such documents.” 
 
 The description must he carefully filled up, and the appli¬ 
 cation attested by a notary public. If no notary be at hand, 
 take advice and give the best legal attestation you can ob¬ 
 tain, and send the application so attested directly to the Se¬ 
 cretary of State at Washington, explaining to him that you 
 have obtained the best attestation in your power; and naming 
 the place to which he will be pleased to send it; and to 
 whose care. This you should do immediately upon receiv¬ 
 ing your appointment. No one can do it for you, unless 
 you be present to be described as required. 
 
 YOUR ADDRESS. 
 
 It is absolutely necessary that each superintendent of 
 missions, and each missionary in the Foreign Missions, and 
 in the Indian Missions should keep the Corresponding Secre¬ 
 tary informed of his post-ojB&ce address. Grive the name of 
 the post-office, the County and State, or Territory. This 
 applies also to presiding elders having missions within their 
 districts. 
 
 DEPARTURE FOR THE FIELD. 
 
 In almost every case the board engages the passage of the 
 missionary and his family; and it is our policy to make the 
 voyage or journey as safe and comfortable as possible. If 
 the departure is from New York, the missionary should be 
 
MISSIONARY MANUAL. 
 
 13 
 
 in the city about one week before the day of departure, not 
 longer, except for special reasons; he should give notice of 
 the day he and his family may be expected, that suitable 
 lodgings may be provided. He should keep us informed 
 where letters will reach him from time to time. 
 
 Upon his arrival he will be assisted^ to the best of our 
 ability, in making his preparations, and in embarking; but 
 he must be principal in these matters, and give himself to 
 them. He must remember that we are assisting him to ac¬ 
 complish the great work God hath required him to do. 
 
 In his preparations to embark, or to depart, he should 
 separate those articles which he will need on his voyage or 
 journey, from those which he will not need until he reaches 
 his field of labor; and he should put them in strong and fair 
 sized trunks, and in satchels, that they may be easily acces¬ 
 sible. Generally, one such trunk will contain what is needed 
 for one adult person. But judgment should be exercised 
 under the conditions of the case; and care should be taken 
 not to have an excess of baggage at hand. 
 
 THE VOYAGE. 
 
 It commonly happens that two or more missionaries and 
 mission families sail in the same ship; they are, probably, 
 brought together for the first time. It is very important, 
 both for their own comfort and for the honor and influence 
 of the holy cause of missions, that they should really feel and 
 act as brethren in Christ, as one family. Let them earnestly 
 watch and pray that God may enable them to cultivate with 
 each other a spirit of love and charity, which is the bond of 
 perfectness. 
 
 When their friends have left the vessel, they should com¬ 
 mence at once to adjust their berths, and arrange their bag¬ 
 gage. If practieable, this should be done before the vessel 
 sails. It will be found necessary to attend to many small 
 matters, which, if omitted at first, may occasion much incon¬ 
 venience, if sea-sickness finds them unprepared. 
 
 The arrangement of the religious exercises on board the 
 vessel is sometimes a subject of delicacy. Whenever it is 
 2 
 
14 
 
 MISSIONARY MANUAL, 
 
 practicable and expedient^, one of tbe officers of tbe Board 
 will converse with the captain on the subject before the sail¬ 
 ing of the vessel. Where this cannot be done^ one of the 
 missionary company, appointed by the others for that pur¬ 
 pose, should have an interview with him, at a suitable time, 
 and when he is alone. Whatever has been previously agreed 
 upon should be requested as a favor, not demanded as a 
 right. 
 
 The intercourse with the sailors should be with the appro¬ 
 bation O'f the captain, and in strict accordance with the rules 
 of the ship. It will be best to postpone all efforts for their 
 benefit till the ship is fairly at sea. 
 
 The windward side of the quarter-deck is properly the cap- 
 taints place, and should be occupied by no one when he is on 
 deck. He is entitled to respect as the commander of the 
 ship, and as the master of the family. In conversation at 
 the table, subjects unpleasant to him, or in which for want 
 of knowledge he cannot take a part, should be avoided. 
 
 When the weather is rough, passengers for the most part 
 should remain below; and at all times they should be careful 
 not to be in the way of the officers or sailors, when engaged 
 in their respective duties. 
 
 All complaints of the food at table, of the accommodations, 
 or of the ship itself, are to be most carefully guarded against. 
 
 When the voyage is completed, a plain statement of the 
 principal occurrences on board should be communicated to 
 the Corresponding Secretary. If disappointment has been 
 experienced in any part of the treatment received, it is not 
 generally expedient to send complaints to relatives and 
 friends. Such letters sometimes get into the newspapers, 
 and the Christian community are surprised to see so much 
 account made respecting matters, some of them small, and all 
 of them of short eontinuance. 
 
 CONDUCT IN YOUR MISSION. 
 
 I. If missionaries of sister churches be in your vicinity, 
 manifest to them, in all suitable ways, a disposition to culti¬ 
 vate fraternal feelings and relations. 
 
MISSIONARY MANUAL. 
 
 15 
 
 2. Be careful neither to do or say anything that may bring 
 you into collision with the lawful government, within whose 
 jurisdiction your mission lies. Take no part in the merely 
 civil disputes or local politics of the country, either verbally 
 or by correspondence with any person at home. You are 
 not to become a party in any civil quarrel, but are to please 
 all men for their good to edification intent upon the solemn 
 work of your office. 
 
 3. You are to observe cheerfully the rules for the govern¬ 
 ment and administration of your mission, as contained in 
 the Discipline, the Constitution of the Missionary Society of 
 the Methodist Episcopal Church, and in the instructions 
 given to you or the superintendent of your mission by the 
 bishop having charge of Foreign Missions, and by the Board 
 through the Corresponding Secretary 
 
 4. The Board and the bishop superintending look to the 
 superintendent of each mission for its just and faithful ad¬ 
 ministration in all respects. The superintendent is the 
 responsible head of the mission; the acts of the mission, as 
 a mission, and the administration of its affairs, must have 
 the sanction of the superintendent. 
 
 It is not intended by this, that the other members of the 
 mission shall not have a voice in its affairs, both general and 
 particular, and more especially in any matter concerning 
 themselves severally, they are to have a voice j they are to 
 be consulted. They may propose such measures as they 
 judge good for the mission; but then to give them effect the 
 superintendent must concur; because the superintendent is 
 the person responsible to the Board and to the bishop hav¬ 
 ing the superintendence of our Foreign Missions. His 
 authority and relation in the mission are the same as those 
 of a presiding elder in the district, within the particular in¬ 
 structions given him by the superintending bishop, and by 
 the Board through the Corresponding Secretary. 
 
 All official communications to the superintendent, involv¬ 
 ing directly or indirectly the interest or action of any other 
 members of the mission, should be frankly communicated to 
 him. This course is necessary for preserving harmony and 
 mutual confidence among the members of the mission. 
 
16 
 
 MISSIONARY MANUAL. 
 
 Eacla branch of the mission which is in charge of any par¬ 
 ticular member of the mission, should be carefully repre¬ 
 sented to the superintendent in his conferences or conver¬ 
 sations with the missionaries; and the opinion and advice 
 of the missionary in charge of any particular part of the 
 work should have due weight in reference to that part of the 
 work. Thus the particular parts of the mission will be 
 under the direct administration of the missionaries in charge 
 severally, and yet under the general supervision of the 
 superintendent, who is the responsible head of the mission. 
 
 If practicable, there should be a monthly, or at least a 
 quarterly meeting of the mission, for the purpose of devising 
 the best plans for prosecuting the work, for auditing the ac¬ 
 counts of the mission, and for enabling the superintendent 
 to make out an accurate quarterly report. This applies 
 particularly to Foreign Missions not yet organized into an¬ 
 nual conferences. Where they are so organized, then each 
 presiding elder is required to make a quarterly report of the 
 work under his superintendence. And if he cannot visit 
 each part of his mission personally, the missionary must re¬ 
 port to him quarterly in writing, by mail. 
 
 YOUR CORRESPONDENCE. 
 
 1. Your correspondence as a missionary is due to the 
 Board and bishop superintending. 
 
 2. Private correspondence to friends, or correspondence 
 to other parties, has frequently been published to the detri¬ 
 ment of the missionary cause at home and abroad. You 
 should be exceedingly careful with respect to the facts you 
 communicate to us for publication, and to the manner of 
 communicating them. Never write anything, or in any 
 manner, which you would not be willing to see returned and 
 published over your own name, where you are at work. 
 
 3. Form of your correspondence. 1. Let everything be 
 written in a plain bold hand, and with margin of half an 
 inch on each side of the page, and not crowded. It is ex¬ 
 ceedingly vexatious to receive from a missionary a letter 
 that can scarcely be read at all; frequently the Board refuses 
 
MISSIONARY MANUAL. 
 
 17 
 
 to hear it read, because it is so dijfficult to read. 2. Be 
 careful to write by itself on one piece of paper what you are 
 willing should be published; on another, what you wish to 
 be submitted to the Board; on another, what is intended for 
 the secretary only; and on another, what for the treasurer; 
 or, if written on one sheet, let the matter be so written that 
 each part can be separated from the other. If on separate 
 pieces of paper, all should be put in one envelope, and ad¬ 
 dressed to the Corresponding Secretary. Proper names 
 should be written very plainly. 3. All remittances of money, 
 all drafts or reports of expenditures in pursuance of the 
 action of the Board or bishop superintending, or arising out 
 of the legitimate action of the mission, must be addressed to 
 the treasurer. 
 
 SUBJECTS FOR CORRESPONDENCE. 
 
 These are intimated in the general and special instructions 
 found on subsequent pages; but, for convenience of reference, 
 they are enumerated here, especially with reference to Foreign 
 Missions and Missions among the Indians. 
 
 1. The peculiar customs of the people among whom you 
 labor. 
 
 2. Their language, habits, laws, and government. 
 
 3. Their religious views and worship. 
 
 4. The degree and character of their civilization. 
 
 5. Their views and feelings with respect to Christianity, 
 and its progress among them, if it have made any. 
 
 6. Accounts of particular conversions and experiences. 
 
 With respect to the subjects enumerated in numbers five 
 
 and six particularly, you should not allow yourselves, under 
 the influence of religious hope or joy, to give any high co¬ 
 loring of facts, but just and sober views of things as, upon 
 careful observation and mature reflection, you judge them 
 to be. 
 
 Other things may be included in your correspondence 
 which, in your judgment, tend to illustrate and advance the 
 interests of missions. 
 
 2 * 
 
18 
 
 MISSIONARY MANUAL. 
 
 YOUR JOURNAL. 
 
 It is positively required of every missionary in the foreign 
 work, to keep a regular journal, and to send to the corre¬ 
 sponding secretary monthly, or at least quarterly, such ex¬ 
 tracts as may give a fair account of his particular labors, 
 success, and prospects. This is necessary for the informa¬ 
 tion of the Board; and will afford information and satisfac¬ 
 tion to the church, should we deem it suitable to be published 
 in whole or in part. 
 
 Such abstracts may be sent without the attention or in¬ 
 spection of the special superintendent of the mission. 
 
 But the official quarterly report of each missionary should 
 be made to his superintendent, if he have one; that it may 
 be by the superintendent combined with the other quarterly 
 reports from other parts of the mission, and forwarded to the 
 Corresponding Secretary. So also should the annual report 
 be made through the superintendent. 
 
 OFFICIAL COMMUNICATIONS. 
 
 All propositions for further expenditures in the emplo}’-- 
 ment of additional missionaries or assistants, or for publica¬ 
 tions, rents, salaries, &c., should be made Iby the superin¬ 
 tendent through the Corresponding Secretary to the Board. 
 In spiritual matters simply, such as the plan of the work, 
 expansion or contraction of the same, or advice in matters of 
 discipline, or application to send out more missionaries to 
 preach the Gospel, or for permission to leave the work, the 
 superintendent should address the bishop having charge of 
 Foreign Missions. If he have special reasons for it, his com¬ 
 munications can be made to the bishop through the Corre¬ 
 sponding secretary. 
 
 DRAFTS. 
 
 Every superintendent of a mission, and every missionary 
 is prohibited from drawing any draft without proper author¬ 
 ity given him, or from drawing for a greater amount than is 
 properly authorized; and notice of each draft should be given 
 always in advance. 
 
MISSIONARY MANUAL. 
 
 19 
 
 GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS TO 
 MISSIONARIES.* 
 
 Dear Brother : Your appointment as a missionary indicates 
 the confidence which the appointing power has in your wisdom 
 and integrity, as well as the great necessity of a faithful ap¬ 
 plication of yourself to all those duties which grow out of 
 your relation to the church and to the ’world. To some of 
 these duties permit me to call your attention. 
 
 I. As a Methodist it is expected that you will attend 
 
 to all those duties, so far as they are applicable to the state of 
 your mission, which are prescribed in our Discipline for those 
 who have the charge of circuits. On this head, therefore, it 
 is only necessary to refer you to those sections of the Dis¬ 
 cipline which treat of the duties of a Methodist preacher to 
 God, to his brethren, and to those who are more immediately 
 committed to his charge. 
 
 II. As a Methodist missionary, it is expected that you will 
 faithfully attend to the following directions :— 
 
 1. It is made your duty to form your circuit, unless you 
 labor among the slaves, into an auxiliary missionary society, 
 and to make regular class and quarterly collections, and to 
 transmit the amount so raised to the treasurer of the Parent 
 Society, either by indorsing it on your draft, or by sending 
 the money. The reason of this requirement is founded on 
 the very obvious principle, that it is the duty of all men to 
 help themselves according to their several ability, and to con¬ 
 tribute their quota toward defraying the expenses attendant 
 upon the worship of God, building houses, supporting minis¬ 
 ters, &c. And this plain Scriptural duty should be inculcated 
 
 * The general and special instructions which follow, were published, 
 some years since, by order of the Board. 
 
20 
 
 MISSIONARY MANUAL. 
 
 upon all who hear the Gospel, that they may he early trained to 
 its performance, that thereby the Missionary Society may be 
 aided in its benevolent efforts to diffuse abroad the Gospel of 
 the grace of God. It is hence expected that you will punctu¬ 
 ally attend to this part of your duty in all cases where it is 
 practicable, let the amount collected be ever so small. 
 
 2. Another duty enjoined upon all our missionaries is to 
 send regular quarterly reports to the Corresponding Secretary. 
 By referring to the Constitution of the Society, you will per¬ 
 ceive that the spirit of this rule is complied with when the 
 superintendent of a missionary district, which may include a 
 number of circuits or stations, sends his report of the whole 
 work, and therefore, in such cases, it is not necessary for each 
 missionary to send a separate report. By attending to this 
 requirement in this way, much time and expense may be saved. 
 In general, these reports should be short, embracing the prin¬ 
 cipal facts ; or, if lengthened out, be filled with those incidents 
 or historical details which alone can make them interesting 
 and profitable. If you are on ^foreign station, or among the 
 aborigines of our country, those facts respecting the peculiar 
 customs, language, and habits of the people—their laws and 
 government—their individual conversions and progress in 
 Christianity, will always render your reports entertaining and 
 instructive. But mere common-place observations on topics 
 which come under the eye of every one in any place, or specu¬ 
 lations on abstract truths, unless needful to illustrate the 
 grace of God in Christ Jesus, are dull and monotonous to the 
 reader, and convey not the information which is expected 
 from the report of a missionary. 
 
 You will also recollect that these reports, if published, as it 
 is desirable they should be, will return to the people about 
 whom you speak: and hence the necessity of saying nothing 
 that will give just cause of offence, or which you would not 
 be willing to express to their face. Much injury has been 
 done to the cause of missions, in some instances, by exagge¬ 
 rated accounts of the wickedness and miseries of the people, 
 made apparently with a view to awaken sympathy, and to en¬ 
 list the benevolence of the community in their behalf. These 
 errors should be scrupulously avoided, lest “ your good be evil 
 spoken of.^^ 
 
 In the report which you may transmit toward the close of 
 the missionary year, that is, the one which will reach the 
 Secretary by thej^r^^ of April in each year, you are requested 
 not to forget the follovv^ing items of information: 1. The num- 
 
MISSIONARY MANUAL. 
 
 21 
 
 ber of church members, distinguishing between the Indian, 
 white, and colored members. 2. Number of missionaries 
 employed, whites and natives. 3. Of schools, teachers, and 
 scholars. These items of information are essential to make 
 out an. accurate statement of the condition of the several 
 missions for the Annual Report. And facts of this character 
 are worth a hundred general remarks, and for the want of 
 which our Annual Reports are often very imperfect and un¬ 
 satisfactory. 
 
 III. The mere fact of your being a missionary throws you 
 into the midst of a people of strange habits, of different 
 modes of thinking, and who, in many instances, are of vari¬ 
 ous sects of religion. These circumstances necessarily render 
 your task difficult; and make it needful to use great caution 
 and prudence, lest you excite such a prejudice against you as 
 to obstruct your usefulness and prevent your success. All 
 these habits and prejudices, not in themselves sinful, should 
 be respected, or, at least, so far tolerated as not to make them 
 matters of conscience and controversy. Surrounded as you 
 are by these circumstances, while you strenuously maintain 
 “ the truth as it is in Jesus,^^ and “ contend earnestly for the 
 faith once delivered to the saints,^^ it is highly important that 
 you should cultivate with other Christian denominations, with 
 whom you may come in contact, a spirit of Christian love and 
 union, and thus endeavor to strengthen each other’s hands in 
 the great work in which you are mutually engaged. While 
 contending against the superstitions of paganism in its vari¬ 
 ous forms, and condemning those vices which corrupt the soul, 
 it should be made manifest, by the manner in which you do 
 these things, that you are actuated solely by a love to perish¬ 
 ing souls, and by an ardent thirst for their salvation. Thus 
 shielded by the purity of your motives, and the exemplariness 
 of your conduct, you will be able to pass through the fire of 
 opposition unhurt; and should you even fail in the accom¬ 
 plishment of your object, you will have the consoling satisfac¬ 
 tion of having done all lihings for the glory of God in Christ 
 Jesus, and the salvation of the souls committed to your trust. 
 
 IV. It need hardly be added, that your success in your 
 mission mainly depends upon the uprightness of your con¬ 
 duct among the people. The pious and holy deportment of a 
 missionary is a living comment upon the doctrine he preaches, 
 and a lively exhibition of those Christian virtues which he 
 
22 
 
 MISSIONARY MANUAL. 
 
 recommends. Everything, therefore, which would cause your 
 motives to he suspected, and render you in any way an object 
 of contempt by the sober and thinking part of the community, 
 should be scrupulously avoided. So to behave on all occasions 
 as to let “ no man despise you,^^ on account of inconsistencies 
 of conduct, frivolity of speech or manners, or of loving “this 
 present world^^ more than the cause of God, is essential to 
 enable you to gain the confidence and afiection of the people 
 to whom you are sent, and without which all your labor will 
 be in vain. 
 
 But much more especially is your “sufficiency of God.^^ 
 Not by human might, wisdom, or prudence,, but by God’s 
 Spirit, must we look for success in the great work of “ convert¬ 
 ing sinners from the error of their ways.^^ To maintain, there¬ 
 fore, constant communion with Him from whom cometh every 
 good and perfect gift, by the constant exercise of prayer and 
 faith, and a life of self-denial, is above all other things most 
 essential for a successful issue of your labors. To his grace, 
 then, you are recommended, in the hope that he will guide 
 and sanctify all your words and actions, and make you instru¬ 
 mental in enlarging the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ in 
 the world. 
 
MISSIONARY MANUAL, 
 
 23 
 
 SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS TO FOREIGN 
 MISSIONARIES. 
 
 Dear Brother: You are hereby instructed by the Board of 
 Managers of the Missionary Society of the Methodist Episco¬ 
 pal Church 
 
 I. To give your entire attention to the great business in 
 which you have engaged, and to undertake no business or en¬ 
 terprise which will in the least interfere with your appropri¬ 
 ate work; and you are also to see that the missionaries, 
 teachers, and all others under your supervision, shall do the 
 same. 
 
 II. You are to report directly to the Board, through the Cor¬ 
 responding Secretary, all matters which relate to the state of 
 the mission, and to consider no instructions as legitimate 
 which do not come from the official organ of the Board. 
 
 III. You are to make a detailed report at least once in each 
 year, and oftener if practicable, embracing the following par¬ 
 ticulars, with any other matters of which you may judge it 
 important that the Board should be advised, namely :— 
 
 As to the persons employed in the mission—missionaries, 
 teachers, physicians, artisans, &c. &c.; and in relation to each 
 of these, whether they have families, and if so, of what num¬ 
 ber, what labor they perform, and what salary they receive. 
 Also how many pupils in the schools, and what number of 
 each sex. 
 
 As to the fiscal state of the mission—^what amounts have 
 been received from the Board, distinguishing between cash 
 and merchandise. What amounts from the mission, distin¬ 
 guishing between contributions, produce, meat, or receipts for 
 services rendered by the mission physician or artisans to those 
 who are not connected with the mission. 
 
24 
 
 MISSIONARY MANUAL. 
 
 As to the estimated value of the mission property, distin¬ 
 guishing between real estate, stock, goods in store, produce, 
 furniture, farming utensils, mechanics^ tools, &c. &c. 
 
 IV. The superintendents of our Foreign Missions are hereby 
 directed to keep a diary of all their proceedings, as well as 
 of the operations of the missions generally; and to require 
 all the missionaries under their supervision, as far as it may 
 be practicable, to do the same. These diaries should contain 
 not only the operations of the ministers, but of the secular 
 members of the mission. And it will be expected that these 
 diaries will be transmitted to the Corresponding Secretary by 
 every opportunity, up to the time such opportunities may 
 occur. 
 
 V. You are particularly instructed on no account to exceed 
 in your expenditures the amount appropriated for the support 
 of the mission, which amount will be annually communicated 
 by the Corresponding Secretary. 
 
Wido 
 
 Various Missionary Laborers 
 Qualifications of Missionaries 
 By whom Appointed 
 Testimonials . . . 
 
 Appropriations for Support . 
 Superannuated Missionaries, their 
 Expenses . . . . ' 
 
 Marriage . . 
 
 Outfit . . . . . 
 
 Furniture . . 
 
 Boxes or casks s . 
 
 Passport 
 
 Your Address . . . 
 
 Departure for the Field . 
 
 The Voyage . . . 
 
 Conduct in your Mission 
 Your Correspondence . 
 
 Subjects for Correspondence . 
 
 Your Journal 
 Official Communications 
 Drafts . . 
 
 General Instructions to Missionaries 
 Special Instructions to Foreign Missionaries 
 Presiding Elders . ... 
 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 - ■■ ■■■■ -j'A 
 
 5 
 
 6 
 
 ■■ 
 
 •• :V-' 
 
 ws and Orphans 9 s 
 
 9 
 
 . 10 
 . 10 
 . 11 
 . 11 
 . 12 
 . 12 
 . 13 
 
 . 14 
 
 . , 16 
 . 17 
 
 . 18 
 . 18 
 . 18 
 . 19 
 
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 4 — 12,16