and recommended by the said committee. The book committee consisting of five, shall be annually appointed by the NewYork Conference, who shall, previous to each annual sitting, examine into the accounts of the general book-steward, and report to the conference the state of the concern; and in case of the death or resignation of the editor and general-booksteward, the assistant, shall carry on the concern till the sitting of the next ensuing annual conference. No general-booksteward or editor in the book concern shall serve in that department for more than eight years successively.

2. There shall be a Book-Agent who shall reside in Cincinnati, and manage the concern in the Western Country, under the direction of the Editor at New-York; and who, by virtue of his appointment, shall be a member of the Ohio Annual Conference, under the same regulations by which the Agents at New-York are members of the New-York Annual Conference. And the Ohio Conference shall appoint a committee of three, whose duty it shall be to examine the accounts of said Agent and report to the said conference annually; and in case of the death or resignation of the Agent, the Ohio Conference shall have

authority to appoint a successor until the sitting of the ensuing General Conference.

3. It shall be the duty of every presiding elder, where no book-steward is appointed, to see that his district be fully supplied with books. He shall order such books as are wanted, and give direction to whose care the same are to be sent; and shall take the oversight of all our books sent into his district, and account with the general book-steward for the same. He shall have the books distributed among the several circuits in his district, keep an account with each preacher who receives or sells them, receive the money, and forward it to the general-book-steward.When a presiding elder is removed, he shall make a full settlement for all the books sold or remaining in his district; and also make a transfer to his successor, of all the books and accounts left with the preachers in the district, the amount of which shall go to his credit and pass to the debit of his successor.

4. It shall be the duty of all Presiding Elders having accounts open with the Concern, to pay over to the Agents annually, or oftener, all the money in their hands, or which may be due from them; rendering at the same time an account of

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all the books remaining in their districts unsold; and it shall be the duty of preachers in circuits and stations having accounts with the Presiding Elder, to make settlements and render payments in a similar way.

5. It shall be the duty of every preacher who has the charge of a circuit, to see that his circuit be duly supplied with books, and to take charge of all the books which are sent to him, from time to time, or which may be in his circuit, and to account with the presiding elder for the same. When a preacher leaves his circuit, he must settle with the presiding elder for all the books he has disposed of; he is also to make out an inventory of all that remain unsold, which shall be collected at one place: the amount of which shall go to his credit, and be transferred to his successor, who shall take charge of the same. If the preacher who has the charge of the circuit be negligent in dispersing the books, the presiding elder shall commit the charge of the books to another.

6. The book concern shall pay all the expenses of the conveyance of books to presiding elders, until they are within the bounds of their districts.

7. Every annual conference shall appoint a committee or committees to examine the accounts of the presiding elders, preachers, and book-stewards 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.

8. The profits arising from the bookconcern, 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 hands, and the drafts with the receipt of the conference thereon, shall be sent to the general-booksteward, and be placed to the credit of the person who paid the same.

9. Any travelling preacher who may publish any work or book of his own, shall be responsible to his conference for any obnoxious matter or doctrine therein contained.

SECTION VIII.

Local Preachers to have an allowance in given cases.

1. Whenever a local preacher fills the place of a travelling preacher by the approbation of the presiding elder, 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 circuit, he may apply to