formal trial. A committee of trial heard the case, and decided that the accused was not guilty.

The following questions were presented for decision: 1. Does acquittal terminate the suspension and restore to membership in the Annual Conference the preacher who had withdrawn?

2. Was the preacher a member of the Conference during his trial? If not a member, could he be expelled from the Conference, if found guilty? If a member during the trial, at what time, in law, did that connection cease?

3. A series of hypothetical questions.

The bishop answered, and the College of Bishops approved:

1. Acquittal does not in itself restore to membership a preacher who has withdrawn from the ministry of the Church after a formal charge of immorality has been presented against him by a committee of investigation.

2. During the trial the accused was answerable to the Church for his life and official administration up to the time of his withdrawal from the ministry.

3. By our law a bishop has no authority to give a legal | decision on hypothetical questions. (1910.) (¶¶129, 130, 139, 259, 260, 266, 267, 271-275, 281-284, 286-288, 291-294, 296-302, 317, 320, 325.)

¶753. Bishop to Inspect Report of Committee.— Before a committee of trial presents its report to an Annual Conference, the bishop presiding should inspect it to determine its legality. (1886.) (¶¶129, 130, 281284, 288, 291, 293, 294, 317, 320, 325.)

¶754. To Whom a Preacher Tried Ad Interim Can Appeal.-Not to the bishop in charge who appointed the committee and its chairman, but to the Committee of Appeals. ¶753 refers to trials conducted during the session of the Annual Conference. (1920.) (¶¶266, 281-284, 288, 291, 293, 317, 320, 325.)

¶755. Action of a Committee of Trial the Action of the Conference.-Members of a Conference who are dissatisfied with the decision of a committee of trial cannot take the case before the Conference, nor can they appeal. The committee represents the Conference, and its action is the action of the Conference and the Church. The accused may appeal, but the Church cannot appeal from its own committee. The report of the committee is final, save the right of appeal by the accused. (1867.) (¶¶259, 260, 281-288, 291, 303, 320, 325.)

¶756. Limit of a Sentence of Suspension.—A preacher cannot be suspended for a period beyond the next session of his Conference. (1921.) (¶¶260, 263, 281-288, 291, 293, 317, 320, 325.)

¶757. Expelled Member Cannot Be Restored Pending Appeal.—An expelled member who has given proper notice of appeal to the Quarterly Conference cannot be restored to membership pending his appeal. One who has taken an appeal is at liberty to abandon it, but in that case his status is the same as if the Quarterly Conference had affirmed the decision. (1876.) (¶¶281-284, 286, 291, 293, 301, 317, 320, 325.)

¶758. Maladministration Nullifies a Trial.—When a presiding elder has been pronounced guilty of maladministration “in all and singular" of the proceedings against a local preacher, the effect is to nullify those proceedings, and to leave the accused in the position he occupied before his character was arrested. (1861.) (¶¶259, 279, 281-284, 286, 290, 291, 293, 317, 320.)

¶759. When a Traveling Preacher May Not Represent the Church in a Trial.-A traveling preacher may not represent the Church in the trial of a local preacher or of a member of the Church. (1897.) (¶¶281-284, 286, 291,

¶760. Change of Place of Trial. For sufficient cause

a pastor may conduct the trial of a member at some other place than that at which his membership is held. (1879.) (¶¶282-284, 286, 291, 317.)

4761. Disqualification by Arrest of Character.-Members of a Quarterly Conference against whom charges are pending cannot sit in the Conference, though the trial has not yet been had. They are under arrest of character. (1879.) (¶¶280, 286, 317, 326.)

4762. Intoxicating Liquors.-On his trial the accused admitted that he was engaged in the sale of intoxicating liquors by the quantity and by the drink with the reasonable knowledge that it was bought to be used as a beverage, but his defense was that there was no law violated. From the decision of the committee of trial expelling him he appealed to the Quarterly Conference, which affirmed the decision of the committee. The accused desired that the case might come before the bishop presiding at the Annual Conference; and to give his wish effect, the Quarterly Conference, although deeming the decision just, under the construction of the law rendered, appealed from the decision of the presiding elder to the bishop on the question of law: "Does the sale of intoxicating liquors, by the large or small quantities, to be used as a beverage, constitute an actionable offense under Methodist law, as found in the General Rules requiring the avoidance of evil of every kind, and the doing of no harm-these General Rules themselves being based upon the written word of God?" The plea of the absence of specific law was relied on by the accused in the case referred to. The preacher in charge decided that the case was actionable under the General Rules; and this ruling was sustained by the presiding elder.

Decided, That both were correct. (1874.) (¶¶274, 286, 287.)

9763. Dancing. It is contrary to the spirit of the

Discipline and of the New Testament to teach modern dancing or to practice promiscuous dancing, and such a case comes under the rule of the Discipline forbidding "improper tempers, words, or actions." (1858.) (¶¶274, 286, 287.)

SECTION XIV.

RELATING TO APPEALS.

1764. The Church Cannot Appeal.-The Church cannot appeal from the decision of its own committee. (1877.) (¶¶112 [31], 259, 266, 279, 281-284, 286-291, 293, 317, 325.)

¶765. When Expelled Preacher Forfeits Rights.—When a member of an Annual Conference under sentence of expulsion unites with another Christian denomination, and thus rejects the jurisdiction of the Church under whose sentence he lies, and refuses submission to its penalty, he is not entitled to any benefit accruing from his former relation to it. (1888.) (¶¶279, 281-284, 286, 290, 291, 303, 317.)

4766. Informality in a Trial Remands the Case.-A charge of immorality against a member of the Church was supported by two specifications. The accused was found guilty and expelled. He appealed to the Quarterly Conference, and urged this plea: "The specification on which he was convicted belonged to a grade of offense less than immorality-viz., improper conduct." The presiding elder ruled that the charge belonged to one class of offenses and the first specification to another. Without considering the testimony the Quarterly Conference reversed the decision of the committee. The presiding bishop decided: Except on the merits of the case, a Quarterly Conference cannot reverse the decision of a committee of trial. For irregularities or illegalities the proper course is to remand the case for a

new trial. A reversal of the decision ends the case. (1876.) (¶¶112 [31], 259, 260, 272, 274, 275, 279, 287, 288, 296-303, 317, 325.)

SECTION XV.

RELATING TO CREDENTIALS.

¶767. Surrender of Credentials.-An Annual Conference to which a traveling preacher offers to surrender his credentials has the option to receive or reject them. (1907.) (¶¶330, 332.)

¶768. Deprivation of Credentials.-A Conference has no right to deprive a preacher of his credentials without a trial. (1859.) (¶¶329, 330, 332.)

¶769. Restoration of Surrendered Credentials. — A local elder under charges surrendered his credentials to the presiding elder, whereupon proceedings against him were stopped. Rumor exaggerated his offense, and he demanded the return of his credentials and that he be reinstated for a trial. As the custodian of his credentials, the presiding elder declined to return them and filed them with the Annual Conference. His action was legal. The applicant must first be licensed before the restoration, and the latter can be done only by an Annual Conference. (1879.) (¶¶329, 330, 332.)

¶770. Restoration of an Elder's Credentials.—Credentials of an expelled elder cannot be restored until a previous restoration to membership in accordance with the provisions of the Discipline. (1888.) (¶¶329-333.)

¶771. Restoration of Credentials.-The recommendation for the restoration of the credentials of a deposed preacher must be from the Quarterly Conference of the charge in which he lives. (1899.) (¶¶329-333.)

¶772. When a Conference May Restore the Credentials of a Preacher Who Has Withdrawn.-A traveling preacher withdrew from the ministry and membership of the