i a! n ■ i 1U L V M : !sy~ t // $ 3 iC a XXX B crnimu CHARTER tefe e ; 4- CONSTITUTION 1 " A r; r tJ 41 ! * BY-LAWS / ) V • jr fteuiJAi'i i 9’ i X X X X X X X • Board of Foreign Missions of the Methodist Episcopal Church 150 Fifth Avenue, New York X m nj* v* *y* >n* >ci* irV iU < ( Sjctla 4 CHARTER CONSTITUTION BY-LAWS CHARTER OF THE BOARD OF FOREIGN MISSIONS OF THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH As Amended April 4, 1873 The People of the State of New York, repre¬ sented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows: Section 1. The Act entitled “An Act to Amend the Charter of the Missionary So¬ ciety of the Methodist Episcopal Church,” passed April fourteenth, eighteen hundred and sixty-nine; also, the Act entitled “An Act to Consolidate the several Acts relating to the Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church into one Act, and to amend the same,” passed April eleventh, eighteen hundred and fifty-nine; and the Act en¬ titled “An Act to Incorporate the Mission¬ ary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church,” passed April ninth, eighteen hun¬ dred and thirty-nine, and the several Acts amendatory thereof, and relating to the said Society, are respectively hereby amended and consolidated into one Act; and the several provisions thereof, as thus amended and consolidated, are comprised in the following sections: Sec. 2. All persons associated, or who may become associated, together in the So¬ ciety above named are constituted a body corporate, by the name and style of “The 1 Missionary Society of the Methodist Episco¬ pal Church,” and are hereby declared to have been such body corporate since the passage of said Act of April ninth, eighteen hundred and thirty-nine; and such Corporation is and shall be capable of purchasing, holding, and conveying such real estate as the pur¬ poses of the said corporation shall require; but the annual income of the estate held by it at any one time, within the State of New York, shall not exceed the sum of seventy- five thousand dollars. Sec. 3. The objects of the said Corpora¬ tion are charitable and religious; designed to diffuse more generally the blessings of education and Christianity, and to promote and support missionary schools and Chris¬ tian Missions throughout the United States and Territories, and also in foreign countries. Sec. 4. The management and disposition of the affairs and property of the said Cor¬ poration shall be vested in a Board of Man¬ agers, composed of thirty-two laymen of the Methodist Episcopal Church and thirty-two traveling ministers of the Methodist Episco¬ pal Church, appointed by the General Con¬ ference of said Church at its quadrennial sessions, and of the Bishops of said Church, who shall be ex officio members of said Board. Such Managers as were appointed by said General Conference at its last ses¬ sion shall be entitled to act as such from and after the passage of this Act, until they or others appointed by the ensuing General Conference shall assume their duties. Any such Board of Managers may fill any va¬ cancy happening therein until the term shall commence of the Managers appointed by an ensuing General Conference; said Board of Managers shall have such power as may be necessary for the management and disposi¬ tion of the affairs and property of said Cor¬ poration, in conformity with the Constitu- 2 tion of said Society as it now exists, or as it may be from time to time amended by the General Conference, and to elect the officers of the Society, except as herein otherwise provided; and such Board of Managers shall be subordinate to any directions or regula¬ tions made, or to be made, by said General Conference. Sec. 5. Thirteen members of the said Board of Managers, at any meeting thereof, shall be a sufficient number for the transac¬ tion of business. The Corresponding Secre¬ taries, the Treasurer, and the Assistant Treasurer of said Society shall be elected by the General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and shall hold their office for four years, and until their successors are elected; and in case of a vacancy by resig¬ nation, death, or otherwise, the Bishops of the said Methodist Episcopal Church shall fill any vacancy in the office till the ensu¬ ing General Conference. And until the next session of the General Conference said Board of Managers may appoint and remove at pleasure the Treasurer and the Assistant Treasurer of said Corporation; and the lat¬ ter officer may exercise his duties, as the Board may direct, in any State. Sec. 6. The said Corporation shall be capable of taking, receiving, or holding any real estate, by virtue of any devise con¬ tained in any last will and testament of any person whomsoever; subject, however, to the limitation expressed in the second section of this Act as to the aggregate amount of such rearl estate, and also to the provisions of an Act entitled “An Act Relating to Wills,” passed April thirteen, eighteen hundred and sixty; and the said Corporation shall be also competent to act as a Trustee in respect to any devise or bequests pertaining to the objects of said Corporation, and devises and bequests of real or personal property may 3 be made directly to said Corporation, or in trust, for any of the purposes comprehended in the general objects of said Society; and such trusts may continue for such time as may be necessary to accomplish the pur¬ poses for which they may be created. Sec. 7. The said Corporation shall also possess the general powers specified in and by the Third Title of Chapter Eighteen of the First Part of the Revised Statutes of the State of New York. Sec. 8. This Act shall take effect immedi¬ ately. II AN ACT to amend the Charter of the Mis¬ sionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Became a law April 6, 1906, with the approval of the Governor. Passed, three fifths being present. The people of the State of New York, repre¬ sented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows: Section 1. Sections two and three of chapter one hundred and seventy-five of the laws of eighteen hundred and seventy-three, entitled “An Act to amend the Charter of the Misisonary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church,” are hereby amended to read respectively as follows: Sec. 2. All persons associated, or who may become associated, together in the So¬ ciety above named, are constituted a body corporate by the name and style of the “Board of Foreign Missions of the Methodist Episcopal Church,” and are hereby declared to have been such body corporate since the passage of such Act April ninth, eighteen hundred and thirty-nine; and such corpora¬ tion is, and shall be, capable of purchasing, 4 holding, and conveying such real estate as the purposes of such corporation shall re¬ quire; but the annual income of the real estate held by it at any one time, within the State of New York, shall not exceed the sum of two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. Sec. 3. The objects of the said Corpora¬ tion are charitable and religious; designed to diffuse more generally the blessings of education and Christianity, and to promote and support missionary schools and Chris¬ tian Missions, in foreign countries and also in such other places, subject to the sover¬ eignty of the United States, which are not on the continent of North America or the islands adjacent thereto, as may be com¬ mitted to the care of said Corporation by the General Conference of the Methodist Episco¬ pal Church. Sec. 4. This act shall take effect on the first day of January, in the year nineteen hundred and seven. 5 CONSTITUTION OF THE BOARD OF FOREIGN MISSIONS OF THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH As Adopted by the General Conference in 1912 ARTICLE I NAME AND OBJECT The name of this organization shall he the Board of Foreign Missions of the Method¬ ist Episcopal Church. Its objects are reli¬ gious and philanthropic, designed to diffuse more generally the blessings of Christianity, by the promotion and support of Christian missions and educational institutions in foreign countries and also in such other places, subject to the sovereignty of the United States, but not on the continent of North America or the islands adjacent thereto, as may be committed to the care of said organization by the General Confer¬ ence of the Methodist Episcopal Church, un¬ der such rules and regulations as said Gen¬ eral Conference may from time to time prescribe. ARTICLE II LIFE MEMBERS, HONORARY MEMBERS, AND PATRONS All members of the Methodist Episcopal Church contributing to the funds of the 6 Board of Foreign Missions shall be nominally members of said Board. Any person con¬ tributing $20 at one time shall be a Life Member. Any person giving $200 at one time shall be an Honorary Life Member. Any person giving $500 at one time shall be an Honorary Manager for life, and any per¬ son giving $1,000 at one time shall be a Patron for life; and such Manager or Patron shall be entitled to a seat and the right of speaking but not of voting in the meetings of the Board of Managers. Honorary Managers, not to exceed twenty in number, may be elected by the General Conference, and, in case of vacancies, may be elected by the Board of Managers during the interval be¬ tween the sessions of the General Conference, said Honorary Managers being entitled to speak in the meetings of the Board of Man¬ agers, but not to vote. ARTICLE III GENERAL COMMITTEE OF FOREIGN MISSIONS There shall be a General Committee of Foreign Missions, composed of the General Superintendents, the Missionary Bishops, the Corresponding Secretaries, the Recording Secretary, the Treasurer, the Assistant Treasurer, two representatives, one lay and one ministerial, from each General Confer¬ ence District and as many representatives from the Board of Managers as there are General Conference Districts. The representatives of the Board of Man¬ agers shall be elected by the Board from its own members, and shall include as nearly as may be an equal number of ministers and laymen. The representatives of the General Confer¬ ence Districts shall be elected by the General Conference, on nomination of the delegates within the respective districts for a term of four years. 7 If a vacancy should occur in the General Committee by the death, resignation or re¬ moval of a district representative from the district of his Conference or church mem¬ bership, or otherwise, the Board of Bishops shall fill such vacancy by the appointment of a successor from the Annual Conference to which such representative belonged; or if a layman, from within the bounds of the Annual Conference within which he resided; such appointee to hold office until 'the end of the quadrennium. The General Committee of Foreign Mis¬ sions shall meet annually at such place in the United States as the General Committee, from year to year, may determine and at such time in the month of November as shall be determined by the Corresponding Secre¬ taries and Treasurers, due notice of which shall be given to each member. But the an¬ nual meeting of the said committee shall not be held in the same General Conference Dis¬ trict more frequently than once in four years. The Bishops shall preside over said annual meeting. The General Committee of Foreign Mis¬ sions shall determine what fields shall be occupied as Foreign Missions and the amount necessary for the support of each and shall make appropriations for the same, including an Emergency Fund of Fifty Thousand Dol¬ lars ($50,000); provided, that the General Committee of Foreign Missions shall not appropriate for a given year, including the emergency appropriation of Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000) more than the total income for the year immediately preceding. In intervals between the meetings of the Gen¬ eral Committee of Foreign Missions, the Board of Managers may provide, from the Emergency Fund, for any unforeseen emer¬ gency that may arise in any of our Foreign Missions. The General Committee of Foreign Mis- 8 sions shall be amenable to the General Con¬ ference, to which it shall make a full report of its doings. Any expense incurred in the discharge of its duties shall be paid from the treasury of the Board of Foreign Missions. ARTICLE IV BOARD OF MANAGERS The management and disposition of the affairs and property of the Board of Foreign Missions and the administration of the ap¬ propriations and all other funds shall be vested in a Board of Managers, consisting of the General Superintendents and the Mis¬ sionary Bishops, who shall be ex officio mem¬ bers of said Board, thirty-two laymen and thirty-two traveling ministers of the Meth¬ odist Episcopal Church, elected by the General Conference, according to the re¬ quirements of the existing Charter of said Board of Foreign Missions. Vacancies in the Board shall be filled as the Charter pro¬ vides; and the absence, without reasonable excuse, of any member from six consecutive meetings of the Board shall create a va¬ cancy. The Board shall also have authority to make by-laws not inconsistent with this Constitution or the Charter; to print books, periodicals, and tracts for foreign missions; to elect a President, Vice-Presidents, a Re¬ cording Secretary, and such assistant sec¬ retaries as may be necessary; to fill vacan¬ cies that may occur among the officers elected by the Board. It shall present a statement of its transactions and funds to the Church in its Annual Report and shall lay before the General Conference a report of its transactions for the preceding four years and the state of its funds. The Board of Foreign Missions shall have power to suspend a Corresponding Secretary, Treasurer, Assistant Treasurer, or any elected member of the said Board of Managers, for 9 cause to it sufficient, and a time and place shall be fixed, by the Board of Managers at as early a day as practicable for the investi¬ gation of the official conduct of the person against whom complaint shall have been made. Due notice shall be given by the Board to the Bishops, who shall select one of their number to preside at the investiga¬ tion, which shall be before a Committee of twelve persons, six ministers and six lay¬ men, none of whom shall be members of the Board of Managers. Said Committee shall be appointed by the Bishop selected to pre¬ side at the investigation. Two-thirds of said Committee shall have power of removal from office in the interval of General Conference, of the official against whom complaint has been made. In case a vacancy shall occur in the office of Corresponding Secretary, Treasurer or Assistant Treasurer, the Bishops shall have power to fill the vacancy; and, until they do so, the Board of Managers shall provide for the duties of the office. Thirteen members present at any meeting- of the Board of Managers shall be a quorum. The Board shall have authority to solicit and receive funds for the publication and distribution of tracts. ARTICLE V CORRESPONDING SECRETARIES There shall be three Corresponding Secre¬ taries, having coordinate power, who shall be the executive officers of the Board of For¬ eign Missions, all of whom shall be elected by the General Conference quadrennially. They shall be subject to the direction of the Board of Managers, and their salaries, which shall be fixed by the Board of Man¬ agers, shall be paid out of the treasury. They shall be employed exclusively in con¬ ducting the correspondence of the Board, in 10 furnishing the church with missionary intel¬ ligence, in supervising the foreign mission¬ ary work of the church, and by correspond¬ ence, traveling, and otherwise shall promote the general interests of the cause. ARTICLE VI ELECTION OF OFFICERS The officers to be elected by the Board shall be chosen and hold their office for the term of one year, or until their successors shall be elected; or, if a vacancy should occur during the year by death, resignation, or otherwise, it may be filled at any regular meeting of the Board. The first election of each quadrennium shall be held at the regu¬ lar meeting of the Board next succeeding the General Conference. ARTICLE VII PRESIDING OFFICER At the meetings of the Board, the President shall preside. But if he should be absent, one of the Vice-Presidents shall take his place. In the absence of the President and of all the Vice-Presidents a member ap¬ pointed by the meeting for the purpose shall preside. The minutes of each meeting shall be signed by the Chairman of the meeting at which the same are read and approved and by the Recording Secretary. ARTICLE VIII SPECIAL GIFTS Credit shall be given for special gifts from any charge when said charge, including the Sunday school, shall have raised its full apportionment for the Board of Foreign Mis¬ sions and such special donation shall be re¬ ceived by the Board for the specified purpose. Special donations shall be applied in full ll to the purposes designated by the donors, but shall be included in estimating the cost of collection and administration. Neverthe¬ less, whenever a charge or an individual or group of individuals in any charge shall support entirely one of our missionaries in the foreign field, who is a regularly ap¬ pointed missionary of the Board and assigned to the charge, the entire amount may be credited irrespective of apportion¬ ments. The General Committee shall make sup¬ plemental appropriations for the work to the several missions of the average amount of special gifts received and applied in the previous three years, such supplemental ap¬ propriations not to be paid except as special gifts are received for the missions. Obli¬ gations beyond the amount of the money thus appropriated shall not be assumed in the missions, except as the necessary funds are received. All special gifts received for the fields shall be paid through the office of the Board of Foreign Missions, though the total thereof shall exceed the appropria¬ tion. The Board shall exercise general super¬ vision over appeals for special gifts. ARTICLE IX SUPPORT OF RETIRED AND OTHER MISSIONARIES The Board may provide for the support of retired missionaries and of the widows and orphans of missionaries who may not he provided for by their Annual Conferences respectively; provided they shall not receive more than is usually allowed retired min¬ isters, their widows and orphans in home Conferences. No one shall be acknowledged as a mis¬ sionary or receive support as such from the funds of the Board of Foreign Missions who has not been approved by the Board of Man- • 12 j agers and been assigned to some definite field, except as above provided. Ministerial missionaries shall be constituted by the joint action of a General Superintendent and the Board. Lay missionaries shall be ap¬ pointed by the Board of Managers. ARTICLE X • AMENDMENTS This Constitution shall be subject to amendment or alteration only by the General Conference. BY-LAWS OF THE BOARD OF FOREIGN MISSIONS I DUTIES OF THE OFFICERS 1. President and Vice-Presidents The President or one of the Vice-Presi¬ dents shall preside at all meetings of the Board, and they shall hold their respective offices during the year for which they have been elected, unless the Board of Managers otherwise determine. If the President and all of the Vice-Presidents be absent, the Board may elect a President pro tern. 2. Corresponding Secretaries The Corresponding Secretaries, under the direction of the Board of Managers, shall have charge of the correspondence of the Board with its missions and shall be ex¬ clusively employed in promoting its general interests. They shall advocate the cause of foreign missions at such Annual Confer¬ ences and in such churches and conventions as their judgment may dictate and the Board approve. They shall keep a vigilant eye upon all the affairs of the Board, and especially upon all its missions, and promptly con¬ vey to the Bishops in charge of the missions respectively, to the Board, or to the stand¬ ing committees, all such communications from and all information concerning our foreign missions as the circumstances of the case may require. 14 They shall give to such missionaries as may be sent out by the Board a copy of the Manual of Instructions authorized by the Board, with such other instructions and ex¬ planations as the case may call for; and they shall explicitly inform all missionaries that they are in no case to depart from such in¬ structions. The accounts of outgoing and returning missionaries shall also be audited by a Corresponding Secretary before final settlement of the same; and all bills for office and incidental expenses before they are presented to the Treasurer for payment. The Corresponding Secretaries shall also superintend all the property interests of the Board exclusive of its current receipts, per¬ manent or special funds and fixed property, subject to instructions from the Board of Managers. 3. Assistant Secretaries Assistant Secretaries shall be chosen and assigned to their respective duties by the Board of Managers. Such Assistant Secretaries as are chosen for field work shall devote their time ex¬ clusively to promoting the interests of for¬ eign missions among the churches at Annual Conferences, and at conventions under the direction of the Board and of the Corres¬ ponding Secretaries, to whom they shall make monthly reports of the service ren¬ dered. 4. Treasurer The Treasurer shall keep proper books of accounts, showing the receipts and disburse¬ ments and all other financial transactions connected with the treasury of the Board, except such transactions as are committed to the care of the Corresponding Secretaries. He shall, under advice of the Finance Com¬ mittee, keep all uninvested moneys of the Board on deposit in some safe bank or banks 15 in the name of the Board of Foreign Mis¬ sions, subject to the order of its Treasurer. He shall honor all orders of the Board upon the treasury and within the several appro¬ priations made by the General Committee and the Board, shall pay all drafts and fur¬ nish the Corresponding Secretaries with bills of exchange or drafts for the support of foreign missions; and he shall, on warrant of a Corresponding Secretary, pay the out¬ going and return expenses of missionaries; and shall pay all bills for office and inci¬ dental expenses when properly audited. He shall be subject to the direction of the Fi¬ nance Committee and of the Board in respect to all investments, loans and other financial transactions of the Board. He shall report the state of the funds and whenever required shall exhibit his books, vouchers, and se¬ curities at meetings of the Finance Commit¬ tee and of the Auditing Committee; and shall report monthly to the Board the state of the treasury. He shall keep an account of all receipts by Conferences and all ex¬ penditures by missions and particular appropriations. The Treasurer is authorized to receive and give receipts for all moneys due and pay¬ able to the Board from any source whatever and to indorse checks and warrants in its name and on its behalf to give full discharge for the same. He shall keep the seal of the Board of Foreign Missions and affix the same to such documents, contracts and conveyances of real estate as may be ordered by the Board and shall execute conveyances of real estate whenever ordered by the Board. 5. Assistant Treasurer The Assistant Treasurer shall reside at Cincinnati, Ohio, and shall be subject to the direction of the Board of Managers and of 16 the Treasurer. He shall forward to the Treasurer a monthly statement of his ac¬ counts to the first of each month in order that the same may he presented to the Board at its regular meetings. He shall exhibit his books and accounts, vouchers and securi¬ ties to such auditors as may be appointed by the Board. 6. Recording Secretary The Recording Secretary shall hold his office during the year for which he may have been elected, unless the Board shall other¬ wise determine. It shall be his duty to give notice of all meetings of the Board and to record the minutes of their proceedings; also to give notice of all meetings of committees as ordered and to record the proceedings of the Executive Committee and the several standing Committees in separate books. He shall notify the Treasurer or the Auditing Committee, as the case may require, of all grants or expenditures, authorized by action of the Board of Managers. He shall forward to all the members of the Board, as soon as practicable after each regular meeting, a copy of the Minutes of the same. These copies, however, shall not in¬ clude the text of reports or other documents. He shall, under the direction of the Cor¬ responding Secretaries, make appropriate record of all wills under which the Board of Foreign Missions may be interested and of all actions of the Board and any other in¬ formation relating thereto. He shall, under like direction, record a statement of all the property of the Society and of any conveyances thereof, or other proceedings touching the same. He shall supervise the preparation of the Annual Report of the Board of Foreign Mis¬ sions; and shall keep the roll of the officers 17 and managers and of the members of the several standing committees in the proper order according to seniority of their consecu¬ tive service, respectively, except that the chairman of each committee shall be first named, and shall see that such lists are printed in such order in the Annual Reports. He shall facilitate the outgoing and home¬ coming of missionaries and their families, by securing transportation and by supervis¬ ing the shipment of their effects, and such supplies as may be purchased in America for personal or family use. II FINANCIAL REGULATIONS Appropriations made by the General Com¬ mittee of Foreign Missions for the payment of salaries of missionaries, where a schedule of salaries has been fixed by the Board of Managers for any foreign mission or by the Board for the expenses of outgoing and re¬ turning missionaries, and all special appro¬ priations of the Board or of the General Committee, except for the purchase or im¬ provement of property, shall be paid by the Treasurer upon the requisition of the Cor¬ responding Secretaries, without further ac¬ tion of the Board. Except when otherwise ordered by the Board, payments made in foreign countries are to be by drafts on the Treasurer to the order of the Superintendent or Treasurer of the mission; and payments made in this country on account of foreign missions may be made by draft of a Cor¬ responding Secretary upon the Treasurer, payable to the order of the person entitled to receive the same, and the Treasurer shall not he authorized to pay any other. But where the appropriation is general and for a mission not yet occupied, and where the Bishop in charge shall have ap- 18 pointed a missionary, the Board has power to determine what portion of such appropria¬ tion shall be applied to particular objects and what amount may be placed at the dis¬ cretion of the Superintendent or the Finance Committee (where such committee exists) for general purposes; and when the Board has so determined the Corresponding Secre¬ taries may make requisition for payment of such sums in manner and form as above stated. Office and incidental expenses shall be audited by a Corresponding Secretary and paid on his order on the face of the original bills. No missionary or person other than a Corresponding Secretary shall be allowed to make drafts on the Treasurer for foreign missions, except on letters of credit duly issued. Real estate may be purchased for the Board and improvements made on real estate by the erection of buildings or other¬ wise, only by direction of the Board of Managers and by persons specifically au¬ thorized and appointed to make such pur¬ chases or improvements. Where the General Committee makes a special appropriation for the purchase or improvement of real estate in any foreign mission, as the administration of the appro¬ priation and the management of the property of the Board rest with the Board of Man¬ agers, the Board shall determine the time and manner of payment and designate the person by whom such appropriation shall be expended, before the Corresponding Secre¬ taries are authorized to make requisition therefor. Appropriations and balances of appropria¬ tions of any mission, unexpended at the close of the calendar year, whether in the hands of the Treasurer of the Board or any of its agents, shall lapse into the treasury and may not be thereafter used for the pur- 19 pose for which they were appropriated, ex¬ cept to discharge preexisting obligations. Ill THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE There shall be an Executive Committee, consisting of not less than twenty-one mem¬ bers of the Board. The President of the Board shall be ex officio a member of the Executive Committee. The Corresponding Secretaries, the Recording Secretary and the Treasurer shall be advisory members of the same. The Executive Committee shall meet at such stated time as it may determine or at the call of the Corresponding Secretaries, and a statement of all actions of the Execu¬ tive Committee shall be sent to each member of the Board at least two days in advance of the ensuing regular meeting of the Board. Nine members of the Executive Committee shall constitute a quorum for the transac¬ tion of business. The President of the Board shall ( be ex- officio chairman of the Executive Committee and the Recording Secretary shall be its secretary. The Executive Committee shall have au¬ thority to pass upon the following classes of items, subject to the approval of the Board at its next meeting; nevertheless, whenever the Corresponding Secretaries deem it pref¬ erable to do so, they may refer items in¬ cluded in any of these classes to a standing committee or bring them directly to the Board: 1. Matters specifically * referred by the Board to the Executive Committee. 2. The appointment of treasurers and finance committees in the missions. 20 3. Redistributions by the Finance Com¬ mittees of the Missions. 4. Allowances for retired missionaries and for the widows and orphans of missionaries. 5. School allowances for children of mis¬ sionaries. 6. The assignment of missionaries under the “Parish Abroad Plan.” 7. Provision for transit expenses. 8. The granting of furloughs when recom¬ mended by Finance Committees on the field and in emergent conditions upon medical certificate; also the extension of furloughs. 9. Grants from the Emergency and Inci¬ dental Funds of amounts not exceeding $250. 10. Matters 4o be referred or calling for further correspondence before specific action. 11. Any other matters of a formal or routine character. 12. With the approval of the Correspond¬ ing Secretaries, the Executive Committee shall be authorized also to consider and act upon any matters of an emergent character which may arise in the interim between the regular meetings of the Board; provided, however, that no financial obligation shall be incurred beyond that which is indicated in Item 9. IV STANDING COMMITTEES AND THEIR DUTIES At the regular meeting of the Board, in June of each year, the following standing committees shall be appointed: 1. Foreign Administration: It shall be the duty of the Committee on Foreign Adminis¬ tration to consider and report upon all mat¬ ters relating to the Missions which may be referred to it by the Board or by the Cor¬ responding Secretaries. 2. Home Base: It shall be the duty of the Committee oh Home Base to consider and 21 report on all matters relating to income, ap¬ portionments, education, field work, records, office supervision, investigation of methods and details of administration and Christian stewardship, as shall be referred to it by the Board or by the Corresponding Secre¬ taries. It shall also make and recommend to the Board estimates for the salaries to be paid to any persons employed in the service of the Board, except missionaries on the for¬ eign field and the Corresponding and Record¬ ing Secretaries; also estimates for other office and administrative expenses. 3. Finance: It shall be the duty of this Committee to aid the Treasurer to provide ways and means. It shall have authority to advise the Treasurer as to the deposit of all uninvested moneys of the Board, and in the intervals between the sessions of the Board to direct him in respect to all in¬ vestments, loans and other financial trans¬ actions of the Board. It shall have the man¬ agement, care, and supervision of the inter¬ ests of the Board in the building known as the Methodist Episcopal Publishing and Mis¬ sion Building, 150 Fifth Avenue, New York City, subject to the orders of the Board. This Committee shall consider and re¬ port on all applications for loans to the Mis¬ sions or to institutions connected with the Missions and on all questions arising under wills or concerning lands temporarily held by the Board, which may be referred to it by the Board or by the Corresponding Sec¬ retaries. It shall be its duty also to make estimates for the salaries to be paid to the Correspond¬ ing Secretaries and the Recording Secre¬ tary and to report the same for the action of the Board. 4. Candidates: It shall be the duty of this committee to consider and report upon all 22 matters pertaining to the selection, cultiva¬ tion, and training of candidates which may be referred to it by the Board or by the Corresponding Secretaries. It shall also ex¬ amine candidates for appointment as mis¬ sionaries under this Board and the creden¬ tials of candidates for appointment under the Woman’s Foreign Missionary Society and shall report to the Board its recommen¬ dations. 5. Nominations: This committee shall con¬ sist of the chairmen of the several stand¬ ing committees and six other members to be chosen in such manner as the Board may determine. Its duty shall be to nominate the officers of the Board, the members of the Executive Committee and of the stand¬ ing committees and suitable persons to fill any vacancies that may occur in the list of officers or in the membership of the Board of Managers. The vote of the Board on all such nominations shall be by ballot. 6. Comity and Cooperation: It shall be the duty of this committee to consider and re¬ port upon all matters referred to it by the Corresponding Secretaries or by the Board, pertaining to the relations of this Board to other benevolent organizations of the Meth¬ odist Episcopal Church, to Mission Boards of other religious denominations, to the Federal Council of the Churches .of Christ in America and any other denominational or interdenominational movements and organi¬ zations. 7. Audits: There shall be two committees on Audits, one in New York and one in Cin¬ cinnati, Ohio. The former shall audit the accounts of the Treasurer and the latter the accounts of the Assistant Treasurer, annually or oftener if deemed necessary and ordered by the Board. They shall also audit such other accounts as may be referred to them by the Board. The meetings of the Committee on Foreign 23 Administration shall be held at ten o’clock a. m. of the day upon which the Board regularly meets; and the meetings of the Committee on Home Base shall be held at 1:30 p. m. of the same day, or at such days and hours as shall be designated by the Corresponding Secretaries. V GENERAL RULES 1. Each standing committee shall, at its first meeting after election, select its own chairman, who, however, shall not be chair¬ man of any other standing committee, ex¬ cept that he may be the chairman of the Committee on Nominations; and if he be absent at any meeting, it shall choose a chairman pro tern. Each committee shall cause to be recorded a correct minute of all its proceedings in regard to business brought before it and deposit the same in a book for that purpose; and said committee may hold a regular meeting once a month or meet at the call of the chairman, the Corresponding Secretaries, or the Treasurer. 2. The Corresponding Secretaries, the Re¬ cording Secretary, and the Treasurer shall constitute a committee to consider carefully the estimates prepared by the Finance Com¬ mittees of the missions and report recom¬ mendations on the same to the General Com¬ mittee at its annual meeting, for its guidance in making its appropriations for the ensuing year. 3. The President of the Board shall be, ex- officio, a member of all the standing com¬ mittees. The Treasurer shall be, ex-officio, a mem¬ ber and the Corresponding Secretaries advisory members, without a vote, of each of the standing committees, except the Com¬ mittee on Audits; and the Bishop having 24 charge of a foreign mission shall be ex- officio a member of the respective committees having charge of the same. 4. When any matter is referred to a com¬ mittee with power, it shall be the duty of that committee to report to the Board its final action in the case for record in the Minutes of its proceedings. VI MEETINGS OF THE BOARD, ORDER OF BUSINESS AND RULES OF DEBATE 1. Meetings of the Board 1. The Board shall hold its regular meet¬ ings on the third Tuesday of each month, at 2:30 o’clock p. m., at the Mission Rooms of the Board, but the meeting for August may be omitted at the discretion of the Corresponding Secretaries. 2. The presiding officer shall preserve order, keep the speaker to the point under consideration, and appoint committees not otherwise provided for. He shall not take part in debate, nor propose any new meas¬ ure, unless he first leave the chair, but he may vote as any other member. 3. All meetings of the Board shall open with reading the Scriptures and prayer and close with prayer or the benediction under the direction of the chairman. 4. The Corresponding Secretaries, the Treasurer, or any five managers may call a special meeting of the Board. 2. Order of Business 1. Reading of Scriptures and Prayer. 2. Approval of the Minutes of the previous meeting. At each regular meeting the Chairman 25 shall inquire if there are any corrections to the Minutes as printed, and, if not, the Minutes shall stand approved. 3. Communications from the Correspond¬ ing Secretaries. 4. Reports of Committees in the following order: Executive Committee, Foreign Ad¬ ministration, Home Base, Candidates, Fi¬ nance, Nominations, Comity and Coopera¬ tion, Audits and special committees. The report of each committee shall be made by simply reading the Minutes of its proceedings upon which the Board shall take such action as the case may require. When any one of the standing committees may be called in the regular proceedings of the Board, it shall be in order to present any miscellaneous business pertaining to the particular matters of which that committee has charge as well as to receive and consider any report from that committee. 5. Treasurer’s Monthly Statement. 6. Unfinished business. 7. Miscellaneous business. 8. Adjournment and benediction. The Board shall elect, in the month of October of each year, the members of the General Committee of Foreign Missions to which it is entitled, according to the pro¬ visions of Article III of the Constitution of the Board of Foreign Missions. 3. Rules for the Transaction of Business 1. A motion having been made, seconded and stated from the Chair, shall be con¬ sidered in possession of the Board, but may be withdrawn by the mover before any ac¬ tion is taken on it. Every motion shall be reduced to writing, if the presiding officer or any other member require it; and, when the question contains several distinct propo¬ sitions, any member may have the same divided. 26 2. A motion to amend shall be considered first in order, and shall be decided before the original motion; and a substitute for any pending motion or amendment may be offered, and shall, if it prevail, supersede the original motion or proposed amendment, and may itself be amended. 3. Every member wishing to speak shall arise and address the Chair, and no one shall speak more than once on one question, until every member desiring to speak shall have spoken; and no member shall speak over ten minutes without the permission of the Board. 4. Motions to lay on the table and motions that the previous question be put shall be taken without debate. 5. When a report is presented by a com¬ mittee, it shall be considered in possession of the Board, and may be adopted, amended, recommitted, laid on the table, or otherwise disposed of, as the Board may judge proper. 6. It shall be deemed out of order to use personal reflections in debate, or to inter¬ rupt a speaker, except to explain or call him to order. 7. It shall be deemed out of order for any member to leave the meeting without per¬ mission of the Chair or the Board. 8. A motion to adjourn shall always be considered in order, and shall be taken with¬ out debate. 9. A call for ayes and noes shall be or¬ dered on the demand of any five members present. 10. Any decision of the presiding officer shall be subject to an appeal to the Board, and such appeal shall be decided without debate, but the presiding officer may assign his reasons for his decision. 11. When a question has been once put and decided, it shall be in order for any member who voted in the majority to move 27 for the reconsideration thereof, hut no mo¬ tion for reconsideration shall be taken more than once. VII PUBLICATION AND AMENDMENT OF BY-LAWS 1. The Charter, the Constitution of the Board, and the By-Laws shall be published with each Annual Report. 2. The Board of Managers shall not make, alter, or amend any By-Law except at the regular monthly meeting thereof, nor at the same meeting at which such By-Law, alteration, or amendment may be proposed.