THE 
 
 CONSTITUTION 
 
 OS THE 
 
 NEW-HAMFSHIRE 
 
 MISSIONARY SOCIETY 
 
 V 
 
 s 
 
 WIT« AN 
 
 
 ADDRESS TO THE PUBLIC: 
 
 AND THB 
 
 LETTER OF CREDENCE AND INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 «IVEN TO MISSIONARIES. 
 
 < . 
 
 CONCORD: 
 
 PRINTED BY GEORGE HOUGH. 
 
 A . . . 
 
 For the New-Iiampshirc Missionary Society. 
 
 Nov....I 81 «» 
 
 » » 
 

 
Constitution, 
 
 HE experience of ages has proved, that in order 
 
 X to accomplish any important object of public utility, 
 men must combine their counsels and exertions. To 
 promote the spiritual and eternal well being of mankind, 
 the friends of Zion must act in concert. Their prayers, 
 and means, and efforts, must be united. From a con¬ 
 sideration of the deplorable condition of many millions 
 of our fellow men, who are perishing through lack of 
 knowledge of the way of salvation by Christ ; from a 
 sense of voluntary and solemn obligation to promote the 
 interest of the Redeemer’s kingdom in all possible prop¬ 
 er ways; and from the pious example of many friends 
 of Christ, both in Europe and America; a number of 
 Ministers, and servants of Christ, were convened at 
 Hopkinton, on Wednesday the 2d day of September, in 
 the year of our Lord 1801, for the purpose of consult¬ 
 ing upon the most suitable means to promote a cause so 
 desirable as the enlargement of God’s kingdom, and the 
 salvation of perishing souls; and did form themselves 
 into a Society, in order to unite their exertions to spread 
 abroad the glad tidings of salvation among the heathen, 
 and others in our frontier and infant settlements, who 
 are destitute of Gospel privileges. 
 
 At the time and place above mentioned, they did 
 agree to adopt the following Constitution:— 
 
 Article I. The Society shall be known by the name 
 of the “New-Hampshire Missionary Society;” the 
 sole object of which, is the propagation of the Gospel 
 among those who are destitute of its precious privi¬ 
 leges. 
 
 Art. II. The officers of the Society shall consist of a 
 President, a Secretary, a Treasurer, and nine Trustees, 
 to be chosen annually, by ballot, exclusive ot the Presi¬ 
 dent and Secretary, who shall be Trustees ex officiis. 
 
 Art. III. The duty of the President shall be, to reg¬ 
 ulate the meetings of the Society; and to act as the Mod¬ 
 erator of the Board of Trustees, any six of whom shall 
 constitute a quorum. 
 
 Art. IV. The duty of the Secretary, besides acting 
 as a Trustee, shall be, to keep a Record of the transac¬ 
 tions of the Society, and perforin all the services which 
 usually appertain to said office. 
 
4 
 
 Art. V . The duty ©f the Treasurer shall be, to re¬ 
 ceive, ana be accountable for, all the property of the So¬ 
 ciety, in whatever way it may arise; to answer the or¬ 
 ders of the Trustees, and to exhibit a fair account of all 
 his proceedings, to the Society, annually; and oftener to 
 the Trustees, if required. 
 
 Art. VI. It shall be the duty of the Trustees, to ex¬ 
 amine candidates for missions; to employ and direct 
 Missionaries; furnish them with proper credentials; re¬ 
 call or dismiss them, if necessary; and in a word, to su¬ 
 perintend the affairs of the Society, between their annu¬ 
 al meetings; when it will be expected that they make 
 report of their proceedings, and also pt the services and 
 success of their Missionaries. 
 
 Art. VII. That the Society may reap the benefit of 
 the united exertions of their Board of Trustees, it shall 
 be the duty of said Board to hold, statedly, semi-an¬ 
 nual meetings; and to meet oftener, if it should be ne¬ 
 cessary. 
 
 VIII. The Society shall meet annually, on the Thurs¬ 
 day next after the 3d Tuesday of September, at 9 o’clock 
 A. M.; unless for special reasons they shall agree at 
 one meeting to have their next holden at a different time. 
 On the day of their annual meeting, a Sermon shall be 
 delivered at 3 o’clock, P. M. And at each meeting the 
 Preacher, a first and second, shall be chosen; and also 
 the place shall be appointed for the next meeting. 
 
 IX- All questions before the Society, shall be 
 determined by a majority of the members present, ex¬ 
 cepting amendments of the Constitution : these shall re¬ 
 quire the concurrence of two thirds of the members 
 present, and shall be proposed one year beforehand for 
 consideration. 
 
 X. Any person may become a member of the Soci¬ 
 ety, by subscribing the Constitution, and advancing two 
 Dollars for the promotion of the object ef the Society ; 
 which sum shall be advanced at every annual meeting : 
 and every person thus united shall be considered as re¬ 
 taining his membership, unless he shall present to the 
 Secretary a written request to withdraw; in which case, 
 the Secretary shall enter his name on the Records as dis¬ 
 missed. 
 
 XI. Every settled Minister belonging to the Soci¬ 
 ety, and dther suitable persons, shall have a copy of the 
 Constitution for the purpose of admitting members, and, 
 shall take p^ins to afford opportunity to ail who may be 
 
.disposed to become members, who shall subscribe the 
 Constitution, advance their entrance money to him, and 
 shall receive his receipt for the same; which they shall 
 convey to the I reasurer, to whom the money is to be 
 conveyed as soon as convenient; and the names ol all 
 thus uniting, shall be transmitted by the Minister, or 
 person who receives them, to the Secretary, for enrol¬ 
 ment. 
 
 XII. It is recommended, that every settled Minis¬ 
 ter in the Society lead his people, at least once in a year, 
 to the consideration of the duty of contributing for the 
 propagation of theGospel,and to aftjrd them opportunity 
 for doing the same b\ appointing some Sabbath or sea¬ 
 son for the purpose; or he shall assign a reason for his 
 neglect. And the Deacons of his Church are desired 
 by the Society to deliver to him the avails of such con¬ 
 tribute s,to take his receipt for the same, & to transmit 
 the receipt to the Treasurer, to whom th# money shall 
 be sent ; and tne Minister or person shall also transmit 
 a statement of the sum thus received, to the Secretary, 
 to be recorded. 
 
 XIII. When any one shall be disposed to make do¬ 
 nations to the Society, for the propagation of the Gospel, 
 foe shall receive a receipt for the same from the Treasur¬ 
 er, President, or one of the Trustees, to whom the do¬ 
 nation may be committed : and the donor is requested 
 to transmit said receipt to the Secretary, who shall keep 
 Kecords of all such donations, and shall present such re¬ 
 ceipts to the Society at their annual meeting : arid if any 
 one should wish to make piivate donations, his name in 
 the receipt may be concealed, provided the person by 
 whom they are conveyed be recognized therein. 
 
 XIV. It will be expected, that the Trustees use great 
 precaution in the appointment of Missionaries ; that 
 none be employed but persons of good report, of known 
 prudence and integrity, as well as of good abilities and 
 information, and who, in a judgment of charity, are 
 subjects of regenerating grace, and possess true zeal and 
 fortitude in the cause of our Lord. 
 
 Ste&tess to tfje public. 
 
 After twelve years experience, the New-Hampshire 
 Missionary Society may with confidence appeal to the 
 community touching the utility of their Institution. It 
 
6 
 
 Is believed, that the prayers arid exertions, and the Iib» 
 erality of its friends, have not been in vain; but that the 
 blessing of some who were ready to perish have come 
 upon them. So incalculably great is the worth ©f souls, 
 and so great is the price Which has been paid to provide 
 their ransom, that if only one sinner has been brought to 
 repentance, and saved from eternal reprobation, by the 
 instrumentality of this Society, that would be an abun¬ 
 dant reward for- the combined labors and sacrifices of all 
 its members and friends. But it is believed, that many 
 souls have been savingly benefited by these exertions. 
 In instances where some assistance has been afforded to 
 small and destitute settlements, it has excited among 
 them a zeal to exert themselves to support Gospel insti¬ 
 tutions. In this respect the charitable aids of the Soci¬ 
 ety have had a tendency not only to keep alive a sense of 
 the importance of the Gospel among the new settlements, 
 but have furnished inducements to them to help them¬ 
 selves. 
 
 Experience has furnished ground for the hope that 
 God does own this Institution; that its object coincides 
 with his designs of mercy respecting Zion; and that he 
 takes its efforts under his peculiar direction. 
 
 The Society,in presenting this revised copy of its Con¬ 
 stitution to the community, would put in its claim to 
 public patronage, not only on account of the immense 
 importance of the object which it proposes, but from a 
 consideration that it is the first Institution of the kind, 
 and pet haps the first Association for purely charitable 
 purposes, which was ever in our State. It constitutes a 
 new era in the history of New-Hampshire—-an era of 
 public charity; and, as the first effort of the kind, it has 
 an indubitable claim on the liberal aid of all who wish 
 for the order,stability, and well being of society, as well 
 as of those who desire the prosperity and enlargement of 
 the Redeemer’s kingdom. 
 
 Although, in some respects, the spirit of the age is 
 alarming, and the prospect is distressing, yet in other 
 respects we may consider it a privilege that we live in 
 such an age, because it furnishes an opportunity and a 
 motive for all to do something for the precious cause of 
 Jesus. It opens channels for the smallest contributions 
 for the propagation of the Gospel. Never were the ne¬ 
 cessities of the destitute more urgent; never was the ad¬ 
 versary more busily employed in projecting schemes to 
 counteract the Gospel; never were rehgious institutions 
 
more boldly assailed by a spirit of infidelity; and ne’ er 
 before bad we such examples of exertion for the exten¬ 
 sive diffusion of Gospel knowledge. Shall we remain 
 indifferent and inactive, and do nothing to prevent the 
 triumphs of the grand adversary ? Shall we have no 
 participation in the final triumph of truth and holiness 
 over error and sin ? Do we not reproach ourselves that 
 we so long neglected this great undertaking ? How can 
 we answer it to our consciences ? How shall we answer 
 it at the bar of our Judge, should we continue to neglect 
 this deeply interesting duty? Are you not ready, and 
 have you not encouragement still, to continue your aid to 
 the Missionary Society ? How pleasing the considera¬ 
 tion, that your liberality may be an occasion of the con¬ 
 version and salvation of many precious aad immortal 
 souls ; and that the happy effects of it may be realized 
 by generations yet unborn ! 
 
 Should you contribute a small portion of that worldly 
 substance which the great Author of the Gospel has kind¬ 
 ly committed to your care, it will be considered as lent 
 to the Lord: and he who is able to make all grace abound 
 toward you, will see that you are not impoverished by 
 the sacrifices which you make in his cause. You have 
 his promise, that you shall not ultimately suffer loss by 
 what you do for him. “ The liberal soul shall be made 
 fat, and he that watereth shall be watered also himself.” 
 
 The Missionary Society again solicit your pious and 
 charitable co-operation. Can you refuse your attention, 
 your influence, your prayers, or a share of your worldly 
 substance, for the promotion of an object so vastly impor¬ 
 tant, and so deeply interesting ? 
 
 May the God of all grace inspire all our hearts with 
 wisdom and zeal to seek his glory and the prosperity of 
 Zion, and prepare us to join the general assembly and 
 church of the First born in Heaven, 
 
 Letter of Credence and Instructions given to 
 
 Missionaries . 
 
 To Missionary 
 
 of the Kezv-Hampshire Missionary Society. 
 
 Reverend Sir, 
 
 THIS certifies, that you are appointed, by the 
 New-Hampshire Missionary Society, to perform Mis¬ 
 sionary service* for the term of months. 
 
8 " 
 
 The Society place confidence in you, that you will, 
 during your Mission, attend to the following Instruc¬ 
 tions, given to all their Missionaries 
 
 I. You will devote the term of your Mission to the 
 sole purpose of inculcating the principles of genuine 
 Christianity, bmh publicly and privately, upon the ob¬ 
 jects of your Mission. 
 
 II. You will spend your time, as much as possble, 
 in those places which are most destitute, and which pos¬ 
 sess the least means of providing religious instruction 
 for themselves. 
 
 III. You will accept of no reward from those to 
 whom you minister, excepting v>ur daily bread; unless 
 donations to the Society; for w hich you will he account¬ 
 able. 
 
 IV. You will not, during your Mission, purchase 
 lands, or engage in any secular business whatever. 
 
 V. It is expected, thai you will not enter into the 
 political disputes of our countrv, as tending to pre judice 
 the mind, and to defeat the gre at object if your Mission. 
 
 VI. You will keep a daily Journal of your proceed¬ 
 ings, while in the Society’s service; and a particu’ar ac¬ 
 count of the manner in which you distribute books com¬ 
 mitted to your care. 
 
 VII. You will note particularly, in your Journal, 
 special incidents that mar occur within the circuit of your 
 labors, during your mission, which may be interesting 
 and instructive relative to religion. 
 
 VIII. You will make all due exertions to induce the 
 people, in the towns where you labor, who are destitute 
 of regular preaching, to set up and constantly maintain 
 the public worship ot God, on Loid’s days. 
 
 IX. You will endeavor to promote, so far as may be 
 in your power, the object adopted by the General Asso¬ 
 ciations and ethers, oflaboring to dissuade people from 
 the undue use of ardent spirit*. 
 
 The Society wish you the presence of God, ar.d his 
 blessing upon your labors : And in their name, we sub¬ 
 scribe ourselves, 
 
 Your Brethren in the faith and fellowship 
 of the Gospel. 
 
 Fr evident. 
 
 
 Secretary.