present the topics referred to them for discussion or action.

(3) The benevolent societies and theological seminaries, when each society and seminary may be heard for a specified time, not exceeding twenty minutes, by its delegate to the Council.

All other business shall be set for other specified hours, and shall not displace the regular order, except by special vote of the Council.

VI. The sessions shall ordinarily be held in the latter part of October or the early part of November. VII. The call for any session shall be signed by the chairman of the provisional committee and the secretary of the Council, and it shall contain a list of topics proposed by the committee; and the secretary shall seasonably furnish blank credentials and other needful papers to the scribes of the several local organizations of churches.

VIII. Immediately after the organization of the Council the committee of nominations shall name to the body the following committees:

1. A committee, including the secretary, on credentials, who shall prepare a roll of members.

2. And at their convenience they shall name to the Council a publishing committee of five, including the secretary, registrar, and treasurer, who shall seek bids, contract for, and distribute all publications ordered by the Council.

3. A business committee, to propose a docket for the use of the members. Except by special vote of the Council, no business shall be introduced which has not thus passed through the hands of this committee. 4. A finance committee.

Committees shall be composed of three persons each, except otherwise ordered. The first named member of each standing or ad interim committee shall be chairman thereof, and shall so continue unless the committee shall otherwise provide at a meeting of which every member shall have been especially informed. Honorary members shall be eligible to serve on special committees at the session; and any member of any Congregational church connected with the Council shall be eligible to appointment upon any committee to serve after the close of the session.

IX. In the sessions of the National Council half an

hour every morning shall be given to devotional services, and the daily sessions shall be opened with prayer and closed with prayer or singing. Every morning and evening shall be given to meetings of a specially religious rather than business character.

X. No person shall occupy more than three-quarters of an hour in reading any paper or report, and no speaker upon any motion or resolution, or any paper read, shall occupy more than ten minutes, without the unanimous consent of the Council.

XI. An auditor of accounts shall be appointed at every session.

XII. The Council approves of an annual compilation of the statistics of the churches, and of a list of such ministers as are reported by the several state organizations. And the secretary is directed to present at each triennial session comprehensive and comparative summaries for the three years preceding.

XIII. The Council, as occasion may arise, will hold communication with the general Congregational bodies of other lands, and with the general ecclesiastical organizations of other churches of evangelical faith in our own land, by delegates appointed by the Council or by the provisional committee.

XIV. The presiding officers shall retain their offices until their successors are chosen, and the presiding moderator at the opening of the session shall take the chair, and the secretary shall at once collect the credentials of delegates present and shall report the names of persons representing bodies already in affiliation with the Council, who shall be, prima facie, the constituency of the same for immediate organization and business. The moderator shall then name the committee of nominations, subject to the approval of the Council, which shall at once proceed to the election of its presiding officers. In the absence of the moderator and the assistant moderators, the provisional committee is authorized to appoint some person to act as moderator of the opening session of the Council.

XV. Such reports from committees, and statements from societies or theological seminaries, as may be furnished to the secretary seasonably in advance of the session may be printed at the discretion of the publishing committee and sent to the members elect, together with the program prepared by the provisional

committee. Not more than ten minutes shall be given to the reading of any such report.

XVI. Reports and statements shall not be referred to committees except by vote of the Council.

Rules of Order.

The rules of order shall be those found in common parliamentary use, not modified by local legislative practice, with the following explicit modifications:

1. When a question is under debate no motion shall be received, except the following, namely: to amend, to commit, to postpone to a time certain, to postpone indefinitely, to lay on the table, and to adjourn-which shall have precedence in the reverse order of this list, the motions to lay on the table and to adjourn alone being not debatable. But the Council at any time, on the motion of one member, seconded by five other members and by a two-thirds vote of those present and voting, may order a vote to be taken upon the pending question; after this is so ordered, the debate shall not be cut off for one half hour, provided any member desires to speak; but during that time no speaker shall speak more than five minutes.

2. No member shall speak more than twice to the merits of any question in debate, except by special permission of the body; nor more than once, until every member desiring to speak shall have spoken.

3. Ordinarily voting shall be viva voce, or by show of hands; but any member may call for a division, in which case the number voting on each side shall be counted, announced by the chair, entered in the Minutes, and published in the printed reports of the proceedings.

4. If the report of committee contains nothing more than matters of fact for information, or matters of argument for the consideration of the Council, the question is, Shall the report be accepted? and that question, unless superseded by a motion to reject, to recommit, to postpone, or to lay upon the table, shall be taken without debate. Such a report, if accepted, is placed upon the files of the Council, but, not being an act of the Council, is not entered on the Minutes.

(a) If the report is in the form of a vote or resolution, or of a declaration expressing the judgment or testimony of the Council, the additional question arises,

Shall the report be adopted? and motions for amendment are in order. Such a report, if adopted, with or without amendment, is the act of the Council and is entered on the Minutes.

(b) If a report gives the views of the committee on the matter referred to them, and terminates with the form of a resolution or declaration in the name of the Council, the questions are: Shall the report be accepted? and Shall the resolution or declaration be adopted? and while the report at large, if accepted, is placed on file, that part of it which has become the act of the Council is entered on the Minutes.

XIII.

THE INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL.

Past Councils. The Congregational churches of the world have been coming into closer fellowship with the progress of the years. The reasonable demand for an expression of this fellowship caused the organization of an International Congregational Council which now has been held three times. The first of these was in London in 1891, the second in Boston in 1899, and the third in Edinburgh in 1908.

Future Councils. At the meeting in Edinburgh a constitution was adopted providing that future councils shall consist of 400 members, 150 from the United States, 150 from the British Isles, 20 from Canada and Nova Scotia, 32 from Australasia, 10 from South Africa, and 38 from the rest of the world, and that foreign missionaries shall be members of the Council. The members of the International Council are elected by the National Councils and in countries where no national association exists, representatives of such bodies as are organized by the churches to express their fellowship.

Membership. The International Council meets about once in eight years, and consists of 400 members, 150 of whom are from the United States. At present these members are chosen by the National Council through the committee which has power to fill vacancies. This probably must continue to be the method of choosing a considerable part of the Council, or at least of filling of its vacancies, but it is eminently desirable that the National Council devise a plan for the distribution of delegates among the States, and offer to each State the right of electing its own delegation while reserving