CONSTITUTION OF THE NEW-HAMPSHIRE HOME

MISSIONARY SOCIETY.

ARTICLE 1. This society shall be styled the NEW-HAMPSHIRE MISSIONARY SOCIETY.

ART. 2. The object of this society shall be to assist churches and congregations that are unable to support the gospel ministry, and to send missionaries to destitute towns and places in New Hampshire, and also to co-operate with and aid the American Home Missionary Society in the work of home missions throughout the United States.

ART. 3. .There shall be annually chosen, of the members of the society, a President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, Auditor, and nine Trustees, one-third of whom to be chosen triennially, at least one-third of whom shall be laymen, the seats of one-third of whom to be vacated each year and filled by a new election. All elections shall be made by ballot, and the President, Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer, shall be trustees ex-officiis.

ART. 4. It shall be the duty of the President, and, in his absence, the Vice-President, and in the absence of the VicePresident, the oldest man of the trustees present, to preside at all meetings of the society and the trustees, five of whom shall constitute a quorum.

ART. 5. It shall be the duty of the Secretary to conduct the correspondence of the society and of the trustees; to keep a true record of the transactions of the society and of the trustees; to fill out commissions for missionaries and certificates of life members; to draw orders upon the Treasurer for all moneys appropriated by the trustees, and to make an annual report to the society of the proceedings of the trustees, and of their executive committee.

ART. 6. It shall be the duty of the Treasurer to receive and hold the property of the society; to lease and convey by deed any real estate belonging to the society, when directed by the trustees or their executive committee, and to exhibit annually an audited account of the state of the treasury, and also to exhibit his books at other times, when requested by any member of the society or contributor to its funds. He shall give bonds to such an amount as the trustees or their committee may re

ART. 7. It shall be the duty of the trustees to hold annual and semi-annual meetings, and also special meetings when called by the executive committee; to make appropriations of money; to appoint missionaries-sound, pious, able and discreet men; to adopt such measures as they may judge important to promote the financial and general interests of the society, and to make, through the Secretary, an annual report of their doings to the society. Immediately after the annual meeting of the society they shall appoint an executive committee of their number, consisting of five, including the Secretary. This committee shall have power to appoint its own meetings; to fill its own vacancies from the trustees, or vacancies in the board of officers which may occur between the annual meetings of the society; to appoint missionaries, make appropriations, and to transact all other business which may be necessary during the intervals of the annual and semi-annual meetings of the trustees.

ART. 8. The society shall meet annually, on Thursday, the third day of the meeting of the General Association, at 10 o'clock A. M., or at such time and at such place as the society may have appointed at the preceding annual meeting. The society shall meet annually for business, at some day and hour previous to the time of public exercises, appointed and duly notified by the executive committee.

ART. 9. Any person may become a member of the society by paying two dollars as an annual subscriber, or a life member by paying thirty dollars; and every member, except life members, shall pay two dollars annually, until he or she shall signify, in writing, a desire to withdraw. All ministers, whose churches contribute annually to the funds of the society, shall be members for the time being. No member who shall neglect to pay his annual subscription shall be authorized to vote in the meetings of the society. All life male members shall have the right to vote in the meetings of the society.

ART. 10. Every minister of the gospel, statedly laboring in this State, and in regular standing with the Congregational or Presbyterian churches, shall be considered as an agent of this society, to invite the attention of his hearers, at least once a year, to its objects, and to receive donations, subscriptions and contributions to its funds, and transmit them to its treasurer, or its authorized agents.

ART. 11. All questions before the society shall be determined by a majority of the members present, excepting amendments of the constitution, which shall require the concurrence of twothirds of the members present, beside having been proposed a year beforehand for consideration, or recommended by the

trustees.

RULES OF THE SOCIETY,

AS REVISED BY THE TRUSTEES, AUGUST 23, 1843.

Every feeble church, soliciting aid of the NEW-HAMPSHIRE MISSIONARY SOCIETY, should make application to the trustees by a committee (not by a minister) duly authorized. The application should be made as near as possible to the time when the contract for ministerial labor commences; should be certified by two or three neighboring ministers, and should answer the following questions:

1. What is the name of the minister you wish to employ, and when does your contract with him commence?

2. What is the amount of ratable property held by the church, and what held by others, not members of the church, who contribute to the support of the ministry?*

3. What is the income of the ministerial fund, if any, and is the parsonage, if any, included in the sum you raise for your minister's support?

4. What is the amount supposed necessary for the support of your minister?

5. What sum have you raised for the support of your minister? What part has been raised by the church? How have you raised it?

6. What is the least amount of aid needed?

7. Do the members of the church generally favor the cause of temperance?

8. Are you, as a church, or religious society, in debt? If so, for what purpose, and to what amount?

9.

Do you receive aid from any other source, and if so, to what amount?

The trustees will not be expected to continue aid to any feeble church or religious society that does not promptly discharge all pecuniary liabilities for the support of the ministry. No church or minister can enjoy the patronage of this society that is not essentially sound in the doctrines and ordinances of the

*The answer to this question should include bank, railroad, United States, and all other stocks, so far as can be ascertained.

gospel, as held and practiced by the Orthodox Congregational and Presbyterian churches in New England, or does not practically favor the cause of temperance. No appropriation will be made retrospectively to feeble churches, to defray the expenses of ministers not in commission, nor for the support of ministers who do not devote their whole time to the work of the ministry, for the benefit of the people to whom they minister. No missionary can receive his order on the treasurer until he makes a return of service for the full time of labor specified in his commission. Every missionary who shall neglect to make his annual statistical report by the first of July, without satisfactory reasons, shall forfeit his appropriation.

Every feeble church must renew its application for aid according to the above rules, so long as aid shall be needed.

It is very desirable that all churches receiving aid should so arrange their ministerial contracts that the year may commence with the year of the Missionary Society, which is the 15th day of August, so that all applications for renewals of grants may be made at that time, as the trustees can then act on all such applications at their annual meeting, which occurs the last week in August.

Every renewed application for aid must report every particular above required, and not make any such references as, "the same as last year," &c. The failure to state all required particulars occasions great inconvenience, and often expense and delay.

No church shall receive aid that does not pay at least one and one quarter per cent on the dollar of its ratable property, that is, $12 50 on $1000. The trustees, however, will exercise discretionary power to vary this, where circumstances shall seem to demand it. As the salaries of our missionaries are inadequate to their support, the trustees will co-operate with those churches in increasing their ministers' salaries, which will increase their own subscription for his support to 1 1-2 per cent on their ratable property.

As the Missionary Society is a party concerned, no church under its patronage shall dismiss its pastor without the knowledge and consent of the trustees or the executive committee.

The trustees, at their annual meeting in Manchester, in 1864, raised the percentage rule from one per cent to one and one quarter per cent on the dollar of ratable property. They also added, as a standing rule to the above, not to appropriate aid separately to churches so situated that they might conveniently unite in the support of one minister.

RULES FOR MISSIONARY RETURNS.

Missionaries to transmit their statistical returns to the Secretary annually, by the first of July. Those who report quarterly shall be entitled to quarterly drafts on the treasurer. Semi-annual reports shall have semi-annual drafts. Those who fail to render an annual report on or before the first of July, shall thereby forfeit the patronage of the society, unless sufficient excuse can be rendered.

In the annual report, definite answers to the following questions are required: namely,

1.

society?

What the number of ratable polls; also, families in your

2. What is the amount of your society's valuation in the town assessor's books?

8. What proportion of it belongs to church members? 4. What aid from persons in your congregation not connected with your society?

5. What productive funds has your society?

6. What your stipulated salary?

7. How raised-by tax or subscription?

8.

9.

Is it promptly paid?

What the average number of your congregation? 10. What the population of your town?

11. What the number of hopeful conversions in your congregation?

12. What the number of your church members-male and female?

13. What additions during the year ending July 1-by profession? by letter?

14. What the number of baptisms-infant and adult?

15. What the number of removals during the year-by death, dismission, or exclusion?

16.

What the number in your Sabbath School?

17. What progress made in the temperance cause?

18. What the amount of contribution to the New-Hampshire Missionary Society?

19. What the amount to all other religious charities?

20. What special encouragement or discouragement in your labors?

[In replying to these inquiries you need refer only to their numerical designation, without transcribing them.]