It

T 396. The General Committee shall also have authority to counsel and direct the Board in the general administration of the trust committed to its care. shall also have authority to revise the list of members of the Board, and for inattention to the duties of the office, or for other cause, to declare the seat of any member vacant, and to fill any existing vacancy on the Board.

¶ 397. If a vacancy should occur in the Committee by death, resignation, removal from the District, or otherwise, the Bishop having charge of the Conference within which such vacancy occurs shall fill it.

T398. Expenses incurred by the Committee in the discharge of its duties may be paid by the Treasurer of the Board.

IV. Applications for Aid.

T 399. All applications for aid shall be made in accordance with blank forms to be furnished by the Parent Board, and shall set forth, 1. The number of Church Members, of Sunday School children, and of the Congregation to be accommodated, the population of the place, and prospects of growth. 2. The legal incorporation of the Church or Board of Trustees. 3. The location, size, present and prospective value of the site, the validity of the title thereto, and whether held in trust for the Methodist Episcopal Church. 4. A description of the building to which aid, if granted, will be applied; and, if required, a copy of the plans and specifications of the architect shall be submitted, and, if deemed necessary by the Parent or Conference Board, modified as may be suggested. 5. The estimated and probable cost when completed. 6. The available resources and amount of reliable subscriptions; and that those immediately interested have done or are doing all that could be

reasonably expected. 7. What amount of debt, if any, may be allowed to remain against the property, and how soon the Trustees or others will agree to remove it. 8. Is the property insured? Will it be? In what company? To what amount? 9. Whether the Church, if aided, will probably become self-supporting, and how soon, and to what extent it may be expected to aid in the general work of the Church. 10. Any additional facts and circumstances that will assist the Board to a proper decision on the application.

¶ 400. Every such application for aid shall be first submitted to the Conference Board of Church Extension, and said Board shall certify its action thereon to the Parent Board; and aid shall be granted only by the concurrent action of both the Conference Board and of the Parent Board, and, except in cases of great emergency, within the amount authorized by the General Committee; provided, however, that for the procurement of property in Mission territory the Parent Board may appropriate funds specially authorized by the General Committee without such application or recommendation by a Conference Board; but in all such cases the title to such property should vest in the Board of Church Extension.

V. Duties of Presiding Elders and Pastors.

¶ 401. It shall be the duty of each Presiding Elder to bring the subject of Church Extension before the Quarterly Conference of each Charge within his District at the last Quarterly Conference in each year; and said Quarterly Conference shall appoint a Committee of not less than three nor more than five, of which the Pastor shall be Chairman, to be called the Committee on Church Extension, whose duty it shall be to aid the

Pastor in carrying into effect the provisions of the Discipline and plans of the Boards for the support of this cause, and in securing at least the amount asked of the Circuit or Station for its aid; and the Presiding Elder shall inquire, in the Third Quarterly Conference of each year, what has been done for this cause, and whether the amount asked has been received; and if not, he shall urgently request the Pastor and the Quarterly Conference to take such measures as will secure the amount before the close of the year.

¶ 402. It shall be the duty of the Pastor, aided by the Committee on Church Extension, to provide for the diffusion of information concerning the work and wants of the Board of Church Extension; he shall preach, or cause to be preached, a sermon on this subject in each Congregation in every year, and solicit contributions from each, endeavoring to secure at least the amount asked as above provided; and he shall, at each Conference, report the amount asked and the amount received for Church Extension. He shall also invite special contributions and bequests to the Loan Fund.

CHAPTER VI.

FREEDMEN'S AID AND SOUTHERN EDUCATION SOCIETY.

I. General Object.

¶ 403. The work of the Freedmen's Aid and Southern Education Society shall be the establishment and maintenance of institutions for Christian education in the Southern States among both colored and white

people. The instruction in these institutions shall include such literary, professional, and industrial courses of study as will tend to the development of the highest Christian character. The location of these institutions shall be with reference to the formation of an educational system with collegiate centers and cooperative preparatory academies, so that with the greatest economy the needs of the people will be most fully met. The schools shall be made self-supporting as rapidly as the financial condition of the people will admit. Special efforts shall be made to secure permanent endowments for the various institutions, and the control of said schools by local Boards of Trustees shall be in proportion to their local support.

II. Board of Managers.

¶ 404. There shall be a` Board of Managers consisting of eighteen Ministers and twelve Laymen, to be elected quadrennially by the General Conference, and the term of service of the members of this Board shall begin on the second Wednesday in June following their appointment, and continue during the ensuing four years and until their successors shall be chosen and have entered upon their duties. Said Board of Managers being duly incorporated according to law, and having such powers and prerogatives as are needful for conducting the work of the Society, except such authority as is given to the General Committee, shall be subject to the control of the General Conference. Thirteen members shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of all business except the appropriation of funds authorized by the General Committee, and the purchase or sale of real estate, in which cases a majority of the

members shall be a quorum. The Board shall make a quadrennial report of its work to the General Conference, and shall publish quarterly or oftener full information concerning its work.

III. Officers.

¶ 405, § 1. The Officers of this Board shall be a President, three Vice Presidents, two Corresponding Secretaries, such Assistant Secretaries as the General Committee may appoint; a Recording Secretary, a Treasurer, and an Assistant Treasurer, all of whom except the Corresponding Secretaries and the Assistant Secretaries shall be elected by the Board at its annual meeting each year.

§ 2. The Corresponding Secretaries shall be elected by the General Conference, and shall, under the provision of the Discipline and the direction of the General Committee and of the Board of Managers, conduct the correspondence, and shall be in all official acts subject to the authority and control of the Board, by whom their salaries shall be fixed and paid. Their time shall be devoted to the affairs of the Society under the direction of the Board in promoting its interest by traveling at large through the Church, conducting the office work, superintending the institutions of learning under the care of the Society, or otherwise. Any vacancy by death, resignation, or otherwise shall be filled by the Board, until the Bishops or a majority of them shall fill the vacancy. One or more Assistant Corresponding Secretaries or Field Agents may be appointed at any time by the General Committee, and they shall receive such salary and render such service as the Board may determine.