REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON INCORPORATION. TO THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF THE CONGREGATIONAL CHURCHES OF THE UNITED STATES: The special Committee on Incorporation appointed at the Cleveland Council submits the following report: The National Council at its Cleveland meeting voted that "there should be a corporate body, subject to the direction of the Council, which can hold property for its purposes and for the purposes of the denomination at large, and possibly act in cases where Congregational property is in danger of being diverted from legitimate or originally intended uses"; and appointed Simeon E. Baldwin, Charles E. Mitchell, Verrenice Munger, Rev. Joel S. Ives, and Rev. Asher Anderson a committee which should, "in connection with and subject to the approval of the Provisional Committee, procure the incorporation of such a body, and report to the next National Council." It will be recollected that this action was deemed expedient in view of the fact that the name of a corporation of a somewhat similar kind, "The Trustees of the National Council of the Congregational Churches of the United States," which had been specially chartered by the state of Connecticut in 1885,had been changed in 1907 to "The Congregational Board of Ministerial Relief." Your committee accordingly prepared the draft of an appropriate charter, for presentation to the General Assembly of Connecticut at its session in 1909, which draft was approved by the Provisional Committee; and in connection with that committee appeared before the Assembly and procured the enactment of the charter as so drawn. It reads as follows: INCORPORATING THE CORPORATION FOR THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF THE CONGREGATIONAL CHURCHES OF THE UNITED STATES. Resolved by this Assembly: SECTION 1. That Charles A. Hopkins, Thomas C. McMillan, Charles L. Kloss, Dan F. Bradley, Charles L. Noyes, Francis L. Hayes, William H. Day, Charles W. Osgood, Alexander Lewis, Asher Anderson, Joel S. Ives, and such other persons as may be associated with them, and their successors, are hereby constituted a body politic and corporate, by the name of The Corporation for the National Council of the Congregational Churches of the United States. SECT. 2. The object of said corporation is to do and promote charitable and Christian work for the advancement of the general interests and purposes of the Congregational churches of this country, and to receive, hold, and administer, in trust or otherwise, funds and property for the uses of said National Council, or of churches of the Congregational order, or of any particular church of said order, and all in accordance with resolutions and declarations made from time to time by the National Council of the Congregational Churches of the United States, or by any body which may succeed to the functions of said council; and said corporation may coöperate with any other corporation or body which is under the charge and control of churches of the Congregational order in the United States, or churches at the time affiliated with said order. SECT. 3. Said corporation may acquire by purchase, gift, devise, or otherwise, and hold and dispose of real and personal property for the purposes of its creation, and may make any contracts for promoting its objects and purposes not inconsistent with law. SECT. 4. Said council, or its successor as aforesaid, may, from time to time, make and alter rules, orders, and regulations for the government of said corporation, and said corporation shall at all times be subject to its direction and control; and said National Council or such successor thereof may, from time to time, determine who shall be members of said corporation, provide for filling vacancies in their number, and appoint and remove members thereof. Said corporation may hold its meetings, from time to time, in any part of the United States, agreeably to such rules and regulations. SECT. 5. The persons named in the first section of this resolution shall be the corporators under this charter until said National Council, or any body succeeding to its functions, shall otherwise order, and between the meetings of said council, or of its successor, they or their successors may fill any vacancies occurring in their own number unless or until said council, or such successor, shall otherwise order. SECT. 6. This resolution shall not be operative unless the same shall be approved by said National Council at a regular meeting thereof, due notice of which acceptance shall be filed with the secretary of the state. Approved, April 21, 1909. It will be observed that this charter does not incorporate the National Council, but a corporation for the uses of the National Council. It will now be necessary, to secure the benefit of the desired incorporation, for the Council to take the action contemplated in Section 6 of the Act. For this purpose your committee have drawn the accompanying votes, and recommend their adoption. All of which is respectfully submitted. NEW HAVEN, March 8, 1910. 66 SIMEON E. BALDWIN, ASHER ANDERSON, Committee. Whereas, it was one of the designated purposes of this meeting of the National Council of the Congregational Churches of the United States to consider and act upon the report of the special committee appointed at its meeting in 1907 to procure the incorporation of a corporation for the uses of this National Council, and such report with an accompanying charter from the State of Connecticut is now before the National Council for consideration; "Voted, that said report is approved, and said charter, being a Resolution of the General Assembly of the State of Connecticut, entitled as 'Incorporating The Corporation for the National Council of the Congregational Churches of the United States,' and approved by the governor of Connecticut on April 21, 1909, is also approved and accepted by the National Council of the Congregational Churches of the United States; Voted, that a due notice of this action and a copy of these votes be filed, as soon as may be, by the Secretary of this National Council with the Secretary of Connecticut." REPORT OF THE COMMISSION OF FIFTEEN ON THE RELATION OF THE NATIONAL COUNCIL TO THE BENEVOLENT SOCIETIES. The Commission of Fifteen, appointed to consider the relation of the National Council to the benevolent societies, have held two sessions, both in the city of Boston, January 21, 1910, and September 2, 1910. There has also been extensive correspondence between the several members of the commission, and as a result of our deliberation, we respectfully submit the following report. The action of the National Council at Cleveland, Ohio, in October, 1907, in adopting the report of the Committee on Polity, was inclusive of the eleventh recommendation of that committee, which was as follows: "XI. That the administration of the benevolent interests of our churches be directed by the representatives of the churches in national organization, and that this Council appoint a commission of fifteen, including a representative from each of our benevolent societies, who shall report at its next regular meeting such an adjustment of these societies to the body of the churches represented in this Council as shall secure such direction, care being taken to safeguard existing constitutional provisions of these societies and the present membership of their boards of control, but also to lodge, hereafter, the creation and continuance of these administrative boards in the suffrage of the representatives of the churches." (See National Council Minutes, page 346.) The Council subsequently adopted the following resolution: "That this Council appoint a commission of fifteen, including a representation from each of our benevolent societies, who shall report at its next regular meeting, to consider the wisdom and possibility of the administration of the benevolent interests of our churches through representatives chosen in the national organization, care being taken to safeguard existing constitutional provisions of these societies, and the present membership of their boards of control." (See National Council Minutes, page 413.) The latter resolution gives discretionary powers to the commission which were not expressed in the recommendation of the Committee on Polity, as adopted by the Council, and the commission felt some doubt as to the wish of the Council, whether it desired us to outline and report a program to put into effect the provisions of the recommendation, or to carefully consider the wisdom and practicability of such action. The commission felt constrained to abide by the record of the Council, and have therefore interpreted their charter as vesting them with a generous liberty in the expression of their judgment. At the same time the commission recognize the full significance of the intent of the eleventh recommendation of the Committee on Polity as adopted by the Council. We also recognize the large and growing sentiment within the denomination in favor of the direction and control of our benevolent societies by the churches represented in National Council. We have carefully and conscientiously considered the reasons urged for and against the direct control of our missionary interests, and such legal and practical obstacles have been presented to our consideration as to cause us to hesitate to recommend, without further discussion and expression of judgment by the Council, such radical changes as are involved in the eleventh recommendation of the Committee on Polity. Should this Council make effective the recommendation under consideration, it would then devolve upon the benevolent societies either to approve or reject its action. It is our judgment that this lays upon the several benevolent societies an unfair responsibility, and that before submitting the questions involved for their consideration the Council should first carefully consider and determine its own program. Certain fundamental questions have been widely discussed in our state and local bodies and by our religious press, but have not been deliberately considered by the Council. The time has |