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Preachers to enforce faithfully upon parents and Sunday-school teachers the great importance of instructing children in the doctrines and duties of our holy religion; to see that our Catechisms be used as extensively as possible in our Sunday-schools and families; to preach to the children and catechise them publicly in the Sunday-schools and at public meetings appointed for that purpose.

1 253. It shall be the duty of every Preacher, in his pastoral visits, to pay special attention to the children; to speak to them personally and kindly on the subject of experimental and practical godliness, according to their capacity; to pray earnestly for them; and diligently instruct and exhort all parents to dedicate their children to the Lord in baptism as early as convenient.

1 254. Each Preacher in Charge shall lay before the Quarterly Conference, to be entered on its journal, the number, state, and average attendance of the Sundayschools in his charge, and the extent to which he has preached to the children and catechised them, and make the required report on Sunday-schools to his Annual Conference.

Missions and Missionary Societies. T255. For the better prosecution of Missionary work in the United States and foreign countries, there shall be a Missionary Society, duly incorporated according to law, and having its office in the city of New York, said Society being subject to such rules and regulations as the General Conference may from time to time prescribe.

↑ 256. It shall be the duty of each Annual Conference to form within its bounds a Conference Missionary Society, which shall appoint its own officers, fix the terms of membership, and otherwise regulate its own administration. But it shall pay all its funds into the treasury of the Parent Society.

1257. Any Annual Conference may, at its option, by a vote of two thirds of its members, assume the responsibility of supporting such Missions, already established within its own limits, as have hitherto been reported under the head of "Missions in the Destitute Portions of the Regular Work;" and for this purpose it shall be at liberty to organize a Conference Domestic Missionary Society, with branches. provided, such organization shall not interfere with the collections for the Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church, as required by the Discipline. Provided, also, that in case more funds shall be raised for such Missions than are needed, the surplus shall be paid over to the Treasurer of the Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church, at New York, to be appropriated to such Mission or Missions, under the care of the Society, as may be designated by such Conference.

1258. It shall be the duty of the Preacher in Charge to see that each Sunday-school in our Churches and congregations be organized into a Missionary Society, under such rules and regulations as the Pastor, the Superintendent, and the Teachers may prescribe. And the Missionary contributions of the Sundayschools shall be reported in a separate column in the benevolent contributions of the Annual and General Minutes.

1259. When a Mission is established in a foreign country, the Bishop having episcopal supervision of the same shall appoint a member of the mission as Superintendent, said Superintendent holding the relation in all ecclesiastical matters of a Presiding Elder in a District, It shall also be the duty of the Superintendent to represent the state of the Mission and its needs to the Bishop in charge and to the Corresponding Secretaries.

1260. It shall be the duty of the Superintendent annually to call together all the members of the Mission, and also native preachers, of whatever grade, employed in the Mission, for the purpose of holding an annual meeting, said meeting possessing, in all ecclesiastical matters, the prerogatives and privileges of a District Conference, and also transacting such other business as may be assigned by the Board, or grow out of the local interests of the work.

261. When a Mission in a foreign country shall be organized into an Annual Conference, the administration of the Missionary Society is not thereby disturbed, but shall be continued as in the case of other Foreign Missions.

1262. It shall be the duty of each Aunual Conference within the bounds of the United States, where Missions have been, or are to be, established, to appoint a Standing Committee, (which shall keep a record of its doings and report the same to its Conference,) whose duty it shall be, with the concurrence of the President of the Conference, to make an estimate of the amount necessary for the support of each Mission and Missionschool, in full, or supplementary to the amount raised by the Society or Congregation thus aided; for which amount the President of the Conference for the time being shall draw on the Treasurer of the Society in quarterly installments.

T 263. The support of Missions is com mitted to the Churches, Congregations, and Societies as such.

1 264. It shall be the duty of each Presiding Elder to bring the subject of our Missions before the Quarterly Conference of each Circuit and Station within the District at the last Quarterly Conference in each year; and said Conference shall proceed to appoint a committee of not less than three nor more than nine, (of which the Preacher in Charge shall be chairman,) to be called the Committee on Missions, whose duty it shall be to aid the Preacher in Charge in carrying into effect the Disciplinary measures for the support of our Missions.

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