BUFFALO, N. Y., JULY i 8 , 19, 1906 U' . ' jlM’jJit ' : '< -• !., . »,* ■ rrh b; , , IIU'OV , t'f .^4^ ■t.l’H' .^ !■'- ■■ I'.M.rrix Oi ■‘'''' n hjs/l^A >r [jv.V' rA!- \un vvxvi'ft fv;,‘: , utr’ ^f;r;:;,vp'.< ■• .he ouiv Cv'.', '■ ■ '’' aVAlnrtj{v ^ ^ '■•>« ' ■' ■}*vii - > ■■ • *n ^ ■ "' ’ ■ ■' itU:. • ■'. iPv^f .^1.''«>V ■ .1:..- ,10 lK<|- :.■' •(iK4'.J»:n'0 lii.1':’ ■kno%v v »• ■ '■ ' " Ci'>ii, - ' '• ■ -iJ'" ‘'•■‘'* ■ ' ■ ■ ••'■ ’'I' ■'* Qxl;. L:' ^ . .tlx ■ *■ 'U ^'44 CU-’ - ‘ ‘•■•■‘ ' ■" * * ' '1 -iatTp.'. Gviti hiM 'VAc' /xi«tce^-rn4 ••■n.i vi '■li«^ ;;v »■■;•■'> •>, .i.'Vir« Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2017 with funding from Columbia University Libraries https://archive.org/details/basisofunionOOjoin Basis Agreed upon by the Joint Commission Representing the Methodist Episcopal Church, the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and the Methodist Church of Canada for the Union of these Chur- ches in Japan. HISTORICAL STATEMENT. True religion is the system of faith, doctrine, and duty that arises out of man’s moral and spiritual relations to the only living and true God, who is the Creator of all things, and upholdeth all things by the word of his power. This ever-living and true God has revealed himself in all ages, to all races of men, in the works of his hands as manifested in the heavens and the earth and in our own spiritual and moral nature : so that all men have had some knowledge of duty, some thought as to destiny, and some desire and feeling after God, if haply they might find him and know him though he be not far from every one of us. But because of the blindness of our hearts through sin against God, this light of nature has never alone been sufficient for our guidance and eternal salvation ; wherefore God the Father hath further revealed himself to us in Jesus Christ his beloved Son. This revelation of God and his will concerning us, and of our own nature, duty, and destiny in Jesus Christ, is I known as the Christian religion, or Christianity, and is conveyed to us and preserved among us in the Church and in the world by the Sacred Scriptures, as they were inspired by the Holy Spirit, who is one with the Father and the Son. The doctrine and spirit of primitive Christianity have existed at different times and in different degrees in all branches of the kingdom of Christ among men. They were embodied in a new form on this wise ; “ In 1729 two young men in England, reading the Bible, saw they could not be saved without holiness, followed after it and incited others to do so. In 1737 they saw, likewise, that men are justified before they are sanctified ; but still holiness was their object. God then thrust them out to raise a holy people.” This was the rise of Methodism, as given in the words of its founders, John and Charles Wesley, of Oxford University, and presbyters of the Church of England. Their evangelical labors were accompani- ed by an extraordinary divine influence ; other ministers and many lay preachers were raised up to aid them ; and throughout England and in Scotland and Ireland arose United Societies, which became the Wesleyan Churches of Great Britain. In the year 1776 Philip Embury, a Wesleyan local preacher, began to preach in New York City, and formed a society, and other local preachers followed. In 1769 Mr. Wesley sent to America two itinerant preachers, and in 1771 two others — Francis Asbury and Richard Wright. When the independence of the United States was acknowledged by the treaty of 1783, the American Methodists were without an ordained ministry and appealed to Mr. Wesley for advice and help. He responded by ordaining the Revs. Richard Whatcoat 2 and Thomas Vasey as presbyters (or elders) for America ; and also (since he preferred the Episcopal form of Church government) by setting apart, by prayer and the imposition of hands, the Rev. Thomas Coke, Doctor of Civil Law, and a presbyter of the Church of England, to be a superintendent, to preside over the flock of Christ” in America. He also commissioned Dr. Coke to ordain, as joint superintendent with himself, the Rev. Francis Asbury, then general assistant for the American Societies. At the “ Christmas Conference,” begun in Balti- more, Md., December 24, 1784, sixty preachers met Dr. Coke and his companions. The plan of Mr. Wesley was submitted to them, and was unanimously approved. Thereupon they organized the “ Method- ist Episcopal Church ; ” Dr. Coke and Francis Asbury were elected to the episcopal office, and Mr. Asbury was consecrated by Dr. Coke, assisted by several presbyters. Such was the origin of the Methodist Episcopal Church. In the course of time, by reason of changed social and other conditions, it seemed best to those con- cerned that the ministers and members of the Methodist Episcopal Church in the Southern States of the American Republic should be formed into a separate Church, and accordingly the “ Methodist Episcopal Church, South,” was organized in the month of May, 1845. The sending of ministers of the Methodist Epis- copal Church to Japan was authorized by the General Missionary Committee in November, 1872, and the first ministers appointed to this country were the Rev. R. S. Maclay, formerly missionary at Foochow, China; the Rev. John C. Davison, of the Newark Annual Conference ; the Rev. Julius Soper, 3 of the Baltimore Annual Conference ; and the Rev. Merriman C. Harris, of the Pittsburg Annual Con- ference. Dr. Maclay arrived at Yokohama Jime ii, 1873, and the others followed soon after. Later, the Rev. Irvin H. Correll was added to the list. The mission was formally organized by Bishop William L. Harris August 8, 1873, No. 60, Bluff, Yokohama, Revs. Maclay, Davison, Soper, and Correll being present. These, with Mr. Harris, who soon arrived, were assigned to their stations. Dr. Maclay being appointed superintendent of the mission, which has expanded into two Annual Conferences. At the General Conference of 1904 the Rev. Merriman C. Harris, D.D., was elected and con- secrated missionary bishop for Japan and Korea, and entered at once upon the work of supervision in these countries. The Methodist Episcopal Church, South, in May,. 1885, established a mission in Japan. Revs. J. W. I.ambuth, W. R. Lambuth, and O. A. Dukes, of the China Mission, and members respectively of the Mississippi, Tennessee, and South Carolina Annual Conferences, were appointed to this work. They landed in Kobe, Japan, in July, 1886. In the September following Bishop A. W. Wilson organized the mission, and appointed W. R. Lambuth superintendent. The work was rapidly extended eastward to Lake Biwa and westward to Shimono- seki, including the eastern coast of the Island of Kiushiu and the northern shore of Shikoku. In 1 892 Bishop Joseph S. Key organized the mission into an Annual Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. The beginnings of Methodism in Canada date back to the year 1772, when a small party of English Methodists reached Nova Scotia. In the next 4 thirteen years other groups, chiefly from the United States, located in various parts of Upper Canada (now Ontario) ; and some of these, being stirred in their hearts by the spiritual destitution of the people, began to exhort their neighbors to “repent and believe the gospel.’’ In 1790 William Lossee, an itinerant preacher from the United States, came into Canada and gathered many converts. Two years later he appealed to Bishop Asbury for an ordained minister, and Uarius Uunham was sent. For thirty- six years the work in Canada was under the jurisdic- tion of the bishops of the Methodist Episcopal Church in the United States, but in 1828 they relinquished their supervision, and the Societies in Canada became a separate and independent Church, under the name of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Canada. Five years later a union was formed with the British Wesleyan Conference, which had sent a number of niissionaries into Canada, and the name of the united body became the Wesleyan Methodist Church in Canada. Episcopacy was superseded by an annual presidency, and the polity of the Church was modeled after that of the parent body in England. In 1874 a union took place in Canada between the Wesleyan Methodist Church, the Methodist New Connection, and the Conference of Eastern British America. The name adopted was ■“ The Methodist Church in Canada,” and the union of the three Churches with their parent bodies in England was dissolved by mutual consent. Again in 1883 a wider union was brought about, embracing the Methodist Church in Canada, the Methodist Episcopal Church in Canada, the Primitive Methodist Church, and the Bible Christian Church, since which time the legal name of the body has been “ The Methodist Church.” 3 In 1873 the first foreign mission of Canadian Methodism was begun in Japan by the appointment of the Rev. George Cochrane, D.D., and the Rev. Davidson Macdonald, M.D., to that work, which has grown into an Annual Conference. In course of time a general conviction grew up that the cause of God would be promoted by the union of the Methodist Churches in Japan. When this fact was signified to the Churches in America,, several of their General Conferences approved the suggestion and appointed Commissioners to consider the matter, and effect the union, if deemed practic- able. As the result, the Commissioners representing the Methodist Episcopal Church, the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and the Methodist Church in Canada, at their final session in the city of Buffalo, N. Y., unanimously agreed upon a plan of union of the ministers and members of these three denominations in the Empire of Japan into the Nippon Methodist Kyokwai. In accordance with this agreement, a General Conference was convened in Tokyo, Japan, on the fourth Wednesday in May, 1907,. composed of delegates previously elected by the four Annual Conferences of the three uniting Churches in Japan, and the Nippon Methodist Kyokwai was formally organized in accordance with the plan here- inafter approved, and under the advice and with the approval of the authorized Commissioners of the three American Churches. This was the origin of the Methodist Church of Japan.* The sole object of the rules, regulations, and usages of the Nippon Methodist Kyokwai is that it * A summary of the statistics of the three uniting Churches to be inserted here in a paragraph when the six commissioners shall receive final returns on the field. — E d. 6 may fulfill to the end of time its divine vocation as a leader in evangelization, in all moral and religious reforms, and in the promotion of fraternal rela- tions among all branches of the Church of Jesus Christ. PREAMBLE. Whereas there exists a practically unanimous con- viction among the pastors and members of the Me- thodist Episcopal Church, the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and the Methodist Church of Canada, in Japan, as well as among the foreign missionaries, that a union of the three bodies is in the highest degree expedient and desirable in the interests of our common Christianity ; And whereas the General Conferences of the said Churches in the United States and Canada have ap- proved the principle of such a union, and have ap- pointed Commissioners with authority to arrange the necessary details and consummate the desired union if the same is found to be practicable ; And whereas agreement has been reached on the main points involved ; we, the aforesaid Com- missioners, in session assembled, July i8, 19, 1906, in the city of Buffalo, N. Y., United States of Ame- rica, do consent and agree to a union betw'een our respective Churches in Japan as set forth in this plan of organization. (Vide Declaration of Commissioners of Methodist Episcopal Church — Appendix.) Doctrines. The Nippon Methodist Kyokwai shall be perman- ently founded on the fundamental doctrines of Holy Scripture, as unfolded by Christ and his apostles, formally stated in the Articles of Religion embodied 7 in this plan of organization, and expounded in Mr. Wesley’s Notes on the New Testament and the first fifty-two sermons published by him during his lifetime. ARTICLES OF RELIGION. I. Of Faith in the Holy Trinity. There is but one living and true God, everlasting, without body or parts, of infinite power, rvisdom, and g'oodness ; Maker and Preserver of all things, visible and invisible. And in unity of this Godhead there are three persons, of one substance, power, and eternity : the Fatlier, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. 2. Of the Word, or Son of God, Who Was Made Very Man. The Son, who is the Word of the P'ather, the very and eternal God, of one substance with the Father, took man’s nature in the womb of the blessed Virgin ; so that two whole and perfect natures — that is to say, the Godhead and manhood — were joined toge- ther in one person, never to be divided ; whereof is one Christ, very God and very Man, who suffered, was crucified, dead and buried, to be a propitiation for the sins of the whole world. j. Of the Ressiirrection of Christ. Christ did truly rise again from the dead, and took again his body with all things pertaining to the per- fection of man’s nature, wherewith he ascended into heaven and there reigneth until he return to judge all men at the last day. 8 4- Of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit, proceeding from the Father and the Son, is of one substance, majesty and glory, with the Father and the Son, very and eternal God. 5 . Of the Sufficiency of the Holy Scriptures for Salvation. The Hoi}' Scriptures contain all things necessary to salvation, so that whatsoever is not read therein, nor may be proved thereby, is not to be required of any man, that it should be believed as an article of the faith, or be thought requisite or necessary to salvation. By the Holy Scriptures we do undenstand those canonical books of the Old and New Testa- ments, of whose authority was never any doubt in the Church. THE NAMES OF THE CANONICAL BOOKS. Genesis, Numbers, Exodus, Deuteronomy, Leviticus, Joshua, Judges, The Book of Nehemiah, Ruth, The First Book of Sa- muel, Sa- The Book of Job, The Book of Esther, The Second Book of Sa- muel, The Psalms, The First Book of Kings, The Proverbs, The Second Book of Kings, ; Ecclesiastes, or the Preach- er, The First Book of Chronic- les, ( Cantica, or Songs of Solo- mon, 9 The Second Book of Chronicles, The Book of Ezra, Four Prophets the Greater, Twelve Prophets the Less. All the books of the New Testament, as they are commonly received, we do receive and account can- onical. 6. Of the Old Testament. The Old Testament is not contrary to the New ; for both in the Old and New Testaments everlasting life is offered to mankind by Christ, who is the only Mediator between God and man, being both God and man. Wherefore they are not to be heard who teach that the fathers did look only for transitory promises. Although the law given from God by Moses, as touching ceremonies and rites, doth not bind Christians, nor ought the civil precepts thereof of necessity to be received in any commonwealth ; nevertheless, no Christian is free from the duty of obedience to the commandments which are called moral. 7 . Of Original Sin. By the voluntary disobedience of our first parents the nature of man was corrupted, so that he is very far gone from original righteousness, and continually inclined to evil. Wherefore he cannot turn and pre- pare himself by his natural strength and efforts to do good works acceptable to God. 8. Of fustification and Good Works. We are accounted righteous before God only for the merits of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, not 10 for our own works or deservings, but we are justified' by faith in him. Nevertheless, good works, which- are the fruits of the Holy Spirit, are pleasing and acceptable to God in Christ. p. Of Sin after fustification. Not every sin willingly committed after justifica- tion is the sin against the Holy Spirit, and unpardon- able. Wherefore the grant of repentance is not to such as fall into sin after justification. After we have .received the Holy Spirit it is possible to depart from grace given and fall into sin, and, by the grace of God, through repentance and faith, to rise again and amend our lives. Nevertheless, the peril of sinning against the light we have received is exceeding great,, because it leads to that hardness of heart for which there is no repentance ; therefore we ought to watch continually unto prayer against all temptation, and the erroneous teaching of those who say they can no- more sin as long as they live here. JO. Of the Church. The visible Church of Christ is a company of faith- ful people in which the pure word of God is preach- ed, and the sacraments are duly administered accord- ing to Christ’s ordinance ; and whose mission it is to evangelize the world in obedience to our Lord’s command to “ go into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” II. Of Purgatory and Other Errors, Certain well-known doctrines concerning purga- tory, pardons, indulgences, images and other relics,, the invocation of saints, and merit acquired by works of supererogation, by whomsoever taught, are not only without warrant of Scripture, but are repugnant to the Word of God. 12. Of the Sacraments. Sacraments ordained of Christ are not only badges or tokens of Christian profession, but they are symbols of grace and of God’s good-will toward us, by the which he doth work invisibly in us, and doth not only quicken but also strengthen and confirm our faith in him. There are only two sacraments ordained of Christ our Lord in the gospel — that is to say. Baptism and the Supper of the Lord. Bapti.sm is not only a sign of profession and mark of difference whereby Christians are distinguished form others that are not baptized, but it is also a symbol of regeneration or the new birth. And in- asmuch as our Saviour has said, “ Of such is the kingdom of heaven,” the baptism of young children is to be retained in the Church. The Supper of the Lord is not only a sign of the love that Christians ought to have among themselves one to another, but is also a memorial and a sacra- ment of our redemption by Christ’s death ; insomuch that to such as rightly, worthily, and with faith receive the same, the bread which we break is, as the apostle saith, a partaking of the body of Christ ; and likewise tlie cup of blessing is the partaking of the blood of Christ. But transubstantiation, or the change of the substance of bread and wine in the Supper of our I.ord, is repugnant to the plain words of Scripture, overthroweth the nature of a sacra- ment, and hath given occasion to many superstitions. The sacrament of the Lord’s Supper was not by Christ’s ordinance reserved, carried about, lifted up, -or worshiped. The cup of the Lord is not to be denied to the lay people ; for both the parts of the Lord’s Supper, by Christ’s ordinance and commandment, ought to be administered to all Christians alike, 13. Of the One Oblation of Christ, Finished upon the Cross. The offering of Christ, once made, is that perfect redemption, propitiation and satisfaction for the sins of the whole world, and there is none other satisfac- tion for sin but that alone. Wherefore the sacrifice of masses, in which it is commonly said that the priest doth offer Christ for the quick and the dead, to have remission of pain or guilt, is a dangerous- error. 14. Of the Marriage of Ministers. The ministers of Christ are not commanded by God’s law either to marry or to abstain from marriage ; therefore it is lawful for them, as for all other Christians, to marry at their own discretion, as they shall judge the same to serve best to goldli- ness. ig. Of the Rites and Ceremonies of Churches. It is not necessary that rites and ceremonies should in all places be the same. As they have varied in the past, so they may be changed accord- ing to the diversity of countries, times, and customs, only so that nothing be ordained against God’s Word. But no member, in the right of his private judgment, may violate the rites and ceremonies of the Church to which he belongs. 13 Of the Civil Government. [The Joint Commission decided to leave the ailicle on Civil Government to be prepared and adopted by the General Conference to be convened in Tokyo. — Ed.] ij. Of Christian Men s Goods. The riches and goods of Christians are not com- mon as touching the right, title, and possession of the same, as some do erroneously teach. Yet every Christian should hold his possessions as a providen- tial trust to be administered, as the Word of God and an enlightened conscience may direct, in pro- moting the welfare of his fellow-men and extending Christ’s kingdom in the earth. t8. Of a Christian Man s Oath. An oath in confirmation of testimony, when re- quired by proper civil authority, is not to be refused by a Christian man, but is to be regarded as a solemn appeal to the Judge of all men as to the truth of the evidence given. The General Rules. The general rules shall be those found in the books of Discipline of the uniting bodies, with such emendations, in the details under the three general rules, as may be agreed upon by the representatives of the Commissions of the uniting bodies who shall visit Japan to assist in the organization of the Methodist Church of Japan. PLAN OF ORGAN IZ A TION. Article I. Name. The name of the united Church shall be Nippon Methodist Kyokwai (the Methodist Church of Japan). 14 Article II. Membership. The terms of membership in the communion shall be the acceptance of the general rules of the uniting Churches, and the confession of doctrinal beliefs contained in the ritual for the baptism of adults and for the reception of members. Article III. General Conference. 1 . The government of the Church shall be vested in a delegated body to be known as the General Conference (Sokwai), which shall meet quadrennially, and shall be composed of ministerial and lay dele- gates to be chosen as hereinafter provided. 2. The first General Conference shall consist of one ministerial delegate for every five ministerial members of an Annual Conference ; but a fraction of three-fifths or more of the ratio described shall entitle an Annual Conference to an additional delegate. Ministerial Delegates. 3. The ministerial delegates shall be elected by ballot, without debate, by the ministerial members of the Annual Conference at its session immediately preceding the General Conference. Such delegates shall be elders, at least twenty-five years of age, and shall have been members of an Annual Con- ference four successive years, and at the time of the session of the General Conference shall be members of the Annual Conference which elected them. An Annual Conference may elect reserve delegates not exceeding there in number, and not exceeding the number of its regular delegates. 4- No minister shall be counted twice in the same year in the basis for the election of delegates to the General Conference, nor vote in such election where he is not counted, nor vote in two Con- ferences in the same year on a constitutional question. Lay Delegates. 1 . Lay members of each Annual Conference shall be entitled to elect as many lay delegates to the General Conference as there are ministerial delegates from the same Annual Conference, and they may also elect reserve delegates, not exceeding two in num- ber, and not exceeding the number of regular dele- gates. These elections shall be by ballot without nomination or debate. 2. Lay members, twenty-five years of age or over, holding membership in pastoral charges within the bounds of the Annual Conference, and having been lay members of the Church four years next preced- ing, shall be eligible for election to the General Conference. Delegates elected, who cease to be members of the Church within the bounds of the Annual Conference by which they were elected, shall not be entitled to seats in the General Confer- ence. *3. Any Annual Conference of any Church having no lay representatives in its Annual Conference shall be authorized to elect to the first General Conference its quota of lay delegates in such manner as it may deem best under the above general regulations as to age and qualification. * This paragraph relates only to the first General Confer- ence, and is not to be inserted in the Discipline. 16 Presiding Officers. 1 . The General Conference shall elect from among the traveling elders as many General Superinten- dents (Kantoku) as^ it may deem necessary. 2. The Kantoku shall be elected by the General Conference for eight years, by ballot, without nomination or debate, and shall he eligible for reelection. 3. The General Superintendents shall preside in the General Conference in such order as they i may determine ; but if no Kantoku be present, cthe General Conference shall elect one of its elders to preside pro tempore. 4. In the event ot the election of a foreign mis- sionary to the office of Kantoku, his support should be provided by the Mission Board of the Church by which he was sent out ; a native Kantoku s>halb be supported by the native Church. 5 . The presiding officer of the General Conference shall decide questions of order, subject to an appeal to the General Conference, .which appeal shall be taken without debate. He shall also decide ques- tions of law, subject to an appeal* to .the , Judiciary Committee hereinafter to be provided for. 1 Powers of theyGenerah^Conference. The General Conference shall have, full spower to make rules and regulations for. the Church subject . to the following limitations and restrictions ; I . The General Conference shall not revoke, alter, nor change our , Articles of ^ Religion, nor i establish any new standards i or rules v. of doctrine contrary .to our present existing ^and j established staridards .of doctrine. 17 2. The General Conference shall not change or alter any part or rule of the government of the Church so as to do away with the itinerant system or the plan and powers of the itinerant General Super- intendency as provided for by this constitution and basis of union. 3. The General Conference shall not deprive our ministers of the right of trial by the Annual Con- ference, or by a select number thereof, nor of an appeal ; nor shall it deprive our members of the right of trial by a committee of members of the Church, nor of an appeal. AMENDMENTS. Upon the concurrent recommendation of three- fourths of all the members of the several Annual Conferences who shall be pi'esent and vote on such recommendation, then a majority of two-thirds of the General Conference succeeding shall suffice to alter any of the above restrictions, excepting the first article ; and also whenever such alteration or alterations shall have been first recommended by two-thirds of the General Conference, so soon as three-fourths of the members of all the Annual Con- ferences present and voting shall have concurred, such alteration or alterations shall take effect : pro- vided, that when any rule or regulation is adopted by the General Conference, which, in the opinion of the Kantoku, is unconstitutional, the Kantoku may present to the Conference which passed said rule or regulation their objections thereto, with their reasons in writing ; and if then the General Conference shall, by a two-thirds vote, adhere to its action on said rule or regulation, it shall then take the course prescribed for altering a restrictive rule ; and if thus 18 passed upon affirmatively, the Kantoku shall an- nounce that such rule or regulation takes effect from that time. Judiciary Committee. The General Conference shall have authority to appoint a Judiciary Committee, composed of three foreign missionaries,* three native elders, and three laymen, to whom shall be referred all questions of law arising out of appeals from the rulings of a General Superintendent (Kantoku), or the action of any Annual Conference or court of the Church from which an appeal has been taken. The decisions of the Judiciary Committee shall be final. Article IV. Annual Conference. 1. The territory occupied by the Church shall be divided into Annual Conferences (Nenkwai) as the General Conference may from time to time direct. 2. The Annual Conference shall be composed of all ministers in full connection within its bounds, and one lay representative from each self-supporting charge ; but pastoral charges including two or more societies shall be entitled to but one lay repre- sentative. 3. Every minister who at the time the union is effected is a full member of an Annual Conference of either of the uniting bodies shall be a member of the Annual Conference within whose bounds he is stationed when the union takes place. This rule * This representation by missionaries shall continue so long as the Boards entering this union shall be so represented on the field. 19 shall not apply to foreign missionaries who elect to hold their membership only in the home Con- ferences. 4. Lay members of the Annual Conference shall have the right to speak and vote on all questions except those affecting ministerial character and re- lations. 5. Each Annual Conference shall have power to elect to order of deacon any probationer of not- less than two years’ standing who has passed an approved examination! on the course of study ; and also to admitdnto full connection and elect to order of elder any probationer who has . traveled . four yeai s and fulfilled all discliplinary requirements. 6. In the absence ofi a General Superintendent (Kantoku) the Conference shall elect by ballot, without discussion, from among its .elders a president pro tein. 7. In the appointing of the presiding elders (Bucho) ; each Annual Conference shall nominate, byballot, without debate, two for each vacant dis- trict, or more if requested by the presiding Kantoku ; and from among those thus nominated the Kantoku shall appoint the necessary number. Presiding eiders shall be. eligible to reappointment from year to year for four successive years.. Then having served four years in other; departments of Church work, they are again eligible to renomination and reappointment. Ini case the presiding elder shall be assigned , to other duty by the Kantoku between sessions of the Annual l Conference, the vacancy thus created shall be filled’ fromithe list, of elders previously nominatediby the Annual Conference.. 8. The appointments of the- preachers to their respective charges shall be fixed' by the Kantoku, after consultation with the Bucho in annual session. . 20 Vacancies occuring during the year shall be filled and necessary changes may be made by the Kan- toku, after consultation with the presiding elders of the districts concerned. Article V. District Conferences. 1 . The territory occupied by each Annual Con- ference shalb be divided into districts (Bu), by the Kantoku, in' consultation with the presiding elders. 2. A District' Conference shall be organized in each district. It shall be composed, of all the preachers in the district, traveling and local, includ- ing superannuated preachers (whether resident with- out or within the limits of the Annual Conferences to which they belong) ; of the regularly authorized and ' employed evangelists and helpers ; and of laymen, the^ number of whom and their mode of appointment shall' be determined by the General Conference. 3. The district Conference (Bukwai) shall meet semiannually in the spring and autumn of each year, one meeting to be within one month preceding, the assembling of the Annual Conference. The duties of the Bukwai shall be ; (a) To pi'omote religious life among ministers and people throughout the district. (d) To consider the state of the work and plan for its improvement. (i,is for.v/ofk in. Japan shall bq jegarded a» a'u.xUiaiy ta-.-tlie ; Work' of the Methodist iChurch .of Japan (Nippon Methodist KyokwaiJ^t and be radmH nistered accordingly. 2. The Japanese Methodist Church j siiall not be organized in the territory of the United States nor of Canada ; nor shall there remain any: oi'ganizatioiv of either of the three ; uniting churches' in Japan,' except (f ) such auxiliary agencies and legal ' persons or corporations as may be needed to hold the properties and maintain schools or benevolent -institutions established by tHeir respective Missionary Societies-; and (2)’ such new associations as may be found necessary in’ the work of co-operative evangelism for the upbuilding of the Methodist Church of Japan. but this rule shall never be so construed as to exclude or embarrass the operations of either of the uniting churches in what is now' the territory of Korea, . ' ■ . . 3. The Commissioners will recommend to their respective General Conferences, at tlie next ensuing session of each, such legislation as will allow to Japanese preachers doing missionary work among their fellow-countrymen in co-operation with our churches in the territory of the United States or Canada, corresponding privileges to those granted to foreign missionaries in the Annual Conferences of the Methodist Church of Japan, under the terms of this Basis of Union. Further they will recommenced the adoption of a reciprocal arrangement under which transfers of ministers and members may be effected betweei; the church of Japan and the American Churches ^4 which are parties to this union, under such condi- tions and terms as may be agreed upon by the several General Conferences. The Relation of Foreign Missionaries to the Nippon Methodist Kyokwai. 1. The supreme and only reason for the presence of Methodist Missionaries in Japan, is to aid in bringing Japan to Christ at the earliest possible day. In order to carry out this purpose, the Methodist Churches of the United States and of Canada must continue to bear their part of the burden which rests upon the Methodist Church of Japan, and continue to send foreign missionaries to Japan, under the three Boards of Missions taking part in this Union, in such numbers and for such periods as may by these Boards be deemed necessary for the ac- complishment of the object above stated. These missionaries shall hold their Conference relation in their home conferences and shall be supported wholly by their respective Boards of Missions until recalled. 2. In recognition of this aid from the American Churches, and of his services to the Church in Japan, every such missionary shall be entitled to all the rights and privileges of membership in the Annual Conference to which his work for the preceding year has been related, e.xcept on questions in which the character or Conference relation of Japanese preachers are involved. 3. All foreign missionaries shall continue their present assignments until otherwise appointed by arrangement of the missionary authorities of their respective churches. 24-A 'if,!.) I r \>z ■ vV.'u:v. >; -v.ViiA'o!A >{;v .i.' • ^ 'r:>\ ■:± -- vV-. - •:r , ’' vi'i;.' ^ •■.'• ■■ f' ■ '■' ''j'-'''' ■'■’I/:.'" ;■ j ; ^ -ii;j!;.r.'v'' '.r ■ ■■•■.•' 'T‘ \ <■• ' ■ i '•. ,. ■;;■■ J'.'if , ■; -ri'^ {yf I, ,: ■■ ;'c. i..?: ij-r ■.■;-,i.-.. ■•;■ .'• ' : ••• ./• i;, , ^ ■ r- - ■ 11 ■■ •!^:v . ■ (yf’- I ■: ■ - • ! ■' i.. ..-'i- i-r. . -v, :. J;,. !->>: I SUPPLEMENTARY DISCIPLINARY PROVISION. The powers and duties of various Conferences, Quarterly, District, and Annual,, in so far as not already fixed by the Joint Commission ; of the ministry in its orders, relations, and numbers ; all officers of the' Gerteral Conference and all Boards and Societies; pro'vision for judicial proceedings ; and the ritual for the several services of the Church — shall be determined in accord with the provisions for the same in the Disciplines of the uniting Chur- ches ; provided ‘that where these Disciplines differ the Japanese Methodist General Conference shall determine which form shall be adopted. Relation of Commissioners- to First General Conference. 1. The Commission of Six now in Japan, made up of two representatives each from the Methodist Episcopal Church, the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and the Methodist Church of Canada, being invested with full authority by the Commissioners representing the three aforesaid Churches, in the United States and in Canada, in addition to the determination of a Basis of Union which shall be final, shall hold an advisory relation to the General Conference of the Methodist Church of Japan thro its entire session, beginning May 22, 1907. 2. Until the adoption of the Book of Discipline and the election of the first Kantoku, the Chairman of the respective Commissions of the unitihg Chur- ches in the United States and in Canada, who are also members of the Cortlmissioii of Six, shall preside over the se'SBions of the General Conferenc'e m rotation in such iwdef 'asthe Chairmen shalf themselves deterMine. Questions not Covered by Basis of Union. Any question that may arise not covered by the Basis of Union shall be referred to and determined by the Commissioners, and their decision become a part of this Basis of Union. APPENDIX. Joint Commission on Union of Methodisms in Japan. A Joint Commission of fifteen Commissioners with full authority to act, was appointed by the three General Conferences of the uniting Churches in the United States and in Canada, to prepare a Basis and effect a Union in Japan of the Methodist Episcopal Church, the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and the Methodist Church of Canada. The following are the names of the Commissioners : Methodist Episcopal Church. Bishop Earl Cranston, D. D. Rev. A. B. Leonard, D. D. Rev. C. VV. Smith, D. D. Hon. Lemuel Skidmore. Mr. C. Z. Lincoln. Methodist Episcopal Church, South. Bishop A. W. Wilson, D. D. Bishop C. B. Galloway, D. D. Bishop James Atkins, U. D. Rev. T. T. Fishburne. Rev. W. R. Lambuth, D. D. Methodist Church of Canada. Rev. A. Carman, D. D. Rev. Alexander Sutherland, D. D. Rev. Wm. Briggs, D. D. Hon. H. H. Fudger. Hon. Justice J. J. Maclaren. The six Commissioners appointed to represent the three Methodist Churches and the Joint Commission, 26 at the General Conference in Tokyo, May 22, 1907, are as follows : Bishop Earl Cranston, Dr. A. B. Leonard, Bishop A. W. Wilson, Dr. W. R. Lambuth, Dr. A. Carman, and Dr. Alexander Sutherland. Declaration of Commissioners of the Methodist Episcopal Church. In the present renewal of negotiations for the union of the several Methodist bodies in Japan, it is hereby distinctly set forth by the representatives of the Methodist Episcopal Church : 1 . That they are coinpelled to regard Missionary Bishop M. C. Harris as an integral part of the said Church in Japan and Korea by virtue of his election to that office by the General Conference of 1 904 ; 2. That they, the said representatives, have no power to change the relation of Bishop Harris, nor to modify his powers or limit his incumbency, as the same were understood by himself and the General Conference that elected him ; 3. That, consequently, any concession that may be made in the pending negotiations by the said representatives of the Methodist Episcopal Church, with reference to the form, powers, or period of service of the General Superintendency proposed for the United Methodist Church of Japan, is not to be understood either as affecting the episcopal relations of Bishop Harris to the Methodist Episcopal Church in Japan, or determining his status in the United Church, but simply as the expression and following of an earnest desire to reach, if possible, some basis of permanent organization and union satisfactory to all the negotiating bodies, leaving the future relation of Bishop Harris for special consideration and satis- factory adjustment in the final deliberations. 27 \ 'I-. ■ X' ■ • • .. ^ _ .if ..'\. .nt 1 ,,^- .(loJr'fj;! 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