Fund shall be so changed as to make it most useful to the churches. After mature deliberation, your Committee recommend the abandonment of the system of loans, and the adoption of that of donations, upon the following Plan, namely:

1. That the whole of the Fund now in the hands of the Board, together with such receipts as may return in fulfilment of pledges from the churches already aided by loans and donations, and together with whatever may be hereafter contributed to the Fund, be securely and permanently invested.

2. That the accruing interest be annually distributed by the Board, on proper conditions and in proper proportions, to churches applying therefor, in the form of donations without interest and without pledge of return, except in case the church or congregation thus assisted shall cease to be connected with the General Assembly, or their corporate existence shall cease, or their house of worship be alienated, except for the building or purchase of a better house of worship.

As supplementary to this, your Committee recommend that a collection be taken annually by all our churches, to be forwarded to the Treasurer of the Board, to be used by them in the same manner as the accruing interest of the Fund.

The necessary amendments of the Assembly's Plan, together with all essential details, are submitted herewith. It is believed that in these changes no legal principle is sacrificed, and that the utmost practical efficiency in the use of the Fund is secured.

Your Committee cannot but regard it as a providential indication of the wisdom of these proposed changes, that they have been suggested to several different minds without concert, and that they have been regarded with favor before this by those high in position in our Church, as will be seen by reference to the Report of the Special Committee, to whom this whole subject was referred by the Assembly of 1863.

Your Committee would also recommend to the Assembly to consider the expediency of appointing a General Secretary of the Board, whose duty it shall be to discharge the functions in this Board which are discharged in the Committee of Home Missions by its Secretary.

It becomes our duty to nominate three Trustees to fill the places of Rev. J. Few Smith, D.D., Rev. Samuel D. Burchard, D.D., and Mr. William A. Booth, whose term of office is soon to expire. We cordially recommend that the same gentlemen be reëlected.

A few overtures have been referred to the Committee, upon the consideration of which we ask further time.

PLAN FOR THE CUSTODY, CARE, AND MANAGEMENT OF THE CHURCH ERECTION FUND.

PREAMBLE.

THE General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America, now holding its sessions in the city of Philadelphia, in the State of Pennsylvania, having, through the liberality of the congregations connected with this body, established a Fund for the purpose of aiding feeble congregations in erecting houses of worship, do hereby adopt the following Plan, under which this Fund shall be held, administered, and used:

ARTICLE I.

This Fund having been committed to the General Assembly as a special trust, no part of it as now established, nor any additions which may hereafter be made to it, shall ever be used for any other purpose than that of aiding feeble congregations in connection with the General Assembly in erecting houses of worship; except so much as may be absolutely necessary to defray the expenses incident to the administration of this Plan.

ARTICLE II.

The custody, care, and management of this Fund, and of all securities of every kind belonging to it, or growing out of it, together with all claims, dues, and property that may at any time pertain to it, and all additions that may hereafter be made to it by donations, bequests, or otherwise, shall be committed to a Board of Trustees, to be called "The Trustees of the Church Erection Fund of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America." The Board shall consist of nine members, four of them being ministers and five of them elders, in connection with some Presbytery or Church under the care of the General Assembly, who shall reside in the city of New-York, or its immediate vicinity, and whom the General Assembly shall elect by ballot, on a nomination to be made at least one day before such election. The Trustees shall continue in office until the election and induction of their successors. The certificate of the Stated Clerk of the General Assembly shall be necessary to entitle a Trustee to take his seat as a member of the Board, which certificate it shall be his duty to furnish as soon as practicable after the election.

The Trustees first elected shall arrange themselves into three equal classes. The term of office of the first class shall expire in one year from their election; that of the second class in two years; and that of the third class in three years. After the first election, the General Assembly shall annually elect three Trustees, to supply the place of the class whose term is about to expire, to hold their office for three years, the same persons

always being reëligible; and each General Assembly shall also by election supply any vacancy in the Board, caused by death, resignation, or otherwise. If any Trustee shall, during the term for which he is elected, cease to be connected with a Presbytery or Church under the care of the General Assembly, he shall thereby cease to be a member of the Board; and the vacancy shall be reported to the next General Assembly.

ARTICLE III.

The first meeting of the Board shall be held on the second Tuesday of June next, in the city of New-York, at such place. and hour as the Stated Clerk of the General Assembly may appoint, who shall preside until the Board is organized by the choice of its President.

ARTICLE IV.

The Board shall make their own By-Laws. They shall annually, at their first meeting after the adjournment of the General Assembly, elect one of their number President of the Board; and shall appoint a Secretary, and a Treasurer who shall give security to the Board for the faithful performance of his duties. They shall keep complete books of record and account, in which shall be recorded all their proceedings, and the true state at all times of all matters relating to this Fund; which records and accounts, or any part of them, shall at all times be open to the inspection of any committee appointed by the General Assembly for this purpose. They shall also keep full and correct copies and files of all the correspondence which may be conducted or received by them, or in their name; and shall annually present to the General Assembly, not later than the third day of its sessions, a full written report of their proceedings and of the state of the Fund, together with any suggestions or recommendations which they may deem necessary or suitable. The General Assembly shall annually appoint a Committee of three, to audit the accounts and to examine the securities of the Board, and to report at the next General Assembly.

ARTICLE V.

The Board are hereby directed, either by procuring a special act of the Legislature of the State of New-York, or in accordance with the existing statutes of said State, to incorporate themselves, and their successors in office, always to be elected as aforesaid, into a body corporate and politic, invested with all such legal powers as may be necessary to enable them to hold and administer this Fund, in conformity with the provisions of

this Plan:

ARTICLE VI.

The Board is directed to invest and to keep at interest on suf

ficient security the Fund as now established, and as the same shall hereafter be increased by gift, bequest, or otherwise.

ARTICLE VII.

The accruing interest of the Fund thus established shall be apportioned by the Board among the Synods, as their exigencies may require, and be distributed, by said Board, at their discretion, to such congregations as make applications therefor, on the conditions, and subject to the limitations, hereinafter prescribed.

ARTICLE VIII.

The Board shall prepare blank forms of all such legal and other papers as may be required for the proper distribution and management of the Fund and accruing interest; and they shall furnish a sufficient quantity of such forms to the Committee on Church Extension of each Synod; the forms so prepared and furnished, and none others, shall be used in all matters and transactions relating to the Fund, to which they may be applicable. They shall designate such legal advisers within the bounds of each Synod, as by a correspondence with the Church Extension Committees of the Synods may be found desirable, to examine all certificates of title, and all conveyances and other documents connected with the donation of any part of the accruing interest, including a careful investigation in regard to the legal incorporation of the Board of Trustees of the congregations concerned; and they shall further have power to appoint an agent in each Synod, and to require that all payments of money that may become due to this Fund shall be made to such agent.

ARTICLE IX.

In order to be entitled to the use of any portion of the accruing interest, each Synod connected with the General Assembly shall annually elect a Committee on Church Extension, consisting of at least five members. The Stated Clerk of the Synod shall, immediately after the election of the said Committee, transmit to the President or Secretary of the Board his certificate of such election, giving the name and residence of each member.

ARTICLE X.

All applications for aid from the accruing interest shall be made, in the first instance, to the Committee on Church Extension of the Synod to which the applicants belong, or within whose bounds they are situated. Every such application shall be in writing, and shall particularly state: The location of the house or site for its erection; the number of families or persons attached to the congregation, or that propose to unite in building a house of worship; the description of the house which they

propose to build, with its estimated and probable cost, or the description and cost of the house and lot owned by the congregation; the amount of reliable subscriptions which have been obtained, and how much has been paid thereon; the amount of available means possessed by the congregation, if any; whether the congregation is in debt, and if so, to what amount, and when the same becomes due; and also any other facts which may aid the Committee of the Synod in judging of the application. This application shall be accompanied by the certificate of one of the legal advisers of the Board, that the title to the lot on which the house is built or to be built, is vested in said congregation, and is free from all legal incumbrance and liability.

ARTICLE XI.

If the Committee of the Synod, to whom application for aid has been made as above provided, shall, after a careful examination into the condition and prospects of the congregation so applying, be satisfied that such congregation have done all that should reasonably be expected of them, and that, with the aid which can be afforded from the accruing interest and the voluntary contributions hereinafter mentioned, they can build or possess a house of worship adapted to their wants, and be free from indebtedness; then the Committee shall sign a certificate addressed to the Board, stating the application, and that they have examined and approve of it; and also stating the amount which it is proper to donate to the congregation. This certificate, together with the application made to the Committee of the Synod, shall be transmitted to the Board. On the receipt thereof in due form, the Board shall, as soon as practicable, if the application is granted, forward the necessary papers, to be executed by the Trustees of the congregation, and to be approved by their legal adviser, or some other attorney proposed by the congregation and accepted by the Board. When the papers, so executed, approved, and properly recorded, are returned to the Board, they shall authorize the Treasurer of the Trustees of the congregation, or any other person duly appointed by them for this purpose, to draw on the Treasurer of the Board for the amount thus applied for and donated.

ARTICLE XII.

The Board shall not in any case donate any portion of the accruing interest to any congregation, unless such congregation own, in fee simple and free from all legal incumbrance, the lot on which their house of worship is situated, or on which they propose to build; nor shall any donation be made for the payment of any debt, except that which may have been contracted within one year previous in erecting a house of worship.

The sum donated to any congregation shall never be more than one half of the amount contributed and secured by them for the house and lot.