appoint a committee or committees to examine the accounts of the presiding elders, preachers, and bookstewards in their respective districts or circuits. Every presiding elder, minister, and preacher, shall do every thing in their power to recover all debts due to the concern, and also all the books belonging to the concern, which may remain in the hands of any person within their districts or circuits. If any preacher or member be indebted to the book concern, and refuses to make payment, or to come to a just settlement, let him be dealt with for a breach of trust, and such effectual measures be adopted for the recovery of such debts as shall be agreeable to the direction of the annual conferences respectively.

6. The profits arising from the book concern, after a sufficient capital to carry on the business is retained, shall be regularly applied to the support of the distressed travelling preachers and their families, the widows and orphans of preachers, &c. The general book-steward shall

every year send forward to each annual conference, an account of the dividend which the several annual conferences may draw that year; and each conference may draw for their proportionate part, on any person who has book-money in hand, and the drafts with the receipt of the conference thereon, shall be sent to the general book-steward, and be placed to the credit of the person who paid the same.

7. In case of the death, dismission, or resignation of the general booksteward, during the recess of the general conference, the New-York conference shall have power to appoint another general book-steward, till the next general conference, But no general book-steward or edi. tor in the book-concern, shall serve in that department for more than eight years successively.

8. No travelling preacher is permitted to publish any book or pamphlet, without the approbation of the annual conference to which he belongs, or of a committee chosen by them. It is recommended to the an

nual conferences to caution and restrict our preachers from improper publications.

SECTION VII.

Local Preachers to have an allow ance in given cases.

1. Whenever a local preacher fills the place of a travelling preacher, he shall be paid for his time, a sum proportional to the allowance of a travelling preacher; which sum shall be paid by the circuit at the next quarterly meeting, if the travelling preacher, whose place he filled up, were either sick or necessarily absent; or, in other cases, out of the allowance of the travelling preacher.

2. If a local preacher be distressed in his temporal circumstances, on account of his service in the cir cuit, he may apply to the quarterlymeeting, who may give him what relief they judge proper, after the allowance of the travelling preachers, and of their wives, and all other regular allowances are discharged,

SECTION IX.

Of Slavery.

Quest. What shall be done for the extirpation of the evil of slavery? Answ. 1. We declare that we are as much as ever convinced of the great evil of slavery; and do most earnestly recommend to the yearly conferences, quarterly-meeting conferences, and to those who have the oversight of the districts, circuits and stations, to be exceedingly cautious what persons they admit to of ficial stations in our church; and in the case of future admission to official stations, to require such security of those who hold slaves, for the emancipation of them, immediately or gradually, as the laws of the states respectively, and the circumstances of the case will admit; and we do fully authorise all the yearly confer ences to make whatever regulations they judge proper, in the present case, respecting the admission of persons to official stations in our church.

2. When any travelling preacher becomes an owner of a slave or slaves, by any means, he shall forfeit his ministerial character in our church, unless he execute, if it be practicable, a legal emancipation of such slaves, conformably to the laws of the state in which he lives.

3. Whereas the laws of some of the states do not admit of emancipa ting of slaves, without a special act of the legislature; the general conference authorises each annual conference to form their own regula tions, relative to buying and selling slaves.

FINIS.