PROPOSED CONSTITUTION OF THE AMERICAN MISSIONARY ASSOCIATION.
Art. I. This society to be called the American Missionary Association.
Art. II. The object of this Association shall be to conduct Christian missionary and educational operations and diffuse a knowledge of the Holy Scriptures in our own and other countries which are destitute of them, or which present open and urgent fields of effort.
Art. III. Members may be constituted for life by the payment of thirty dollars into the treasury of the Association, with the written declaration at the time or times of payment that the sum is to be applied to constitute a designated person a life member; and such membership shall begin sixty days after the payment shall have been completed.
Every church which has within a year contributed to the funds of the Association and every State Conference or Association of such churches may appoint two delegates to the Annual Meeting of the Association; such delegates, duly attested by credentials, shall be members of the Association for the year for which they were thus appointed.
Art. IV. The Annual Meeting of the Association shall be held in the month of October or November, at such time and place as may be designated by the Executive Committee, by notice printed in the official publication of the Association for the preceding month.
Art. V. The officers of the Association shall be a President, five Vice-Presidents, a Corresponding Secretary or Secretaries, a Recording Secretary, a Treasurer, Auditors, and an Executive Committee of fifteen members, all of whom shall be elected by ballot.
At the first Annual Meeting after the adoption of this Constitution, five members of the Executive Committee shall be elected for the term of one year, five for two years and five for three years, and at each subsequent Annual Meeting, five members shall be elected for the full term of three years, and such others as shall be required to fill vacancies.
Art. VI. To the Executive Committee shall belong the collecting and disbursing of funds, the appointing, counseling, sustaining and dismissing of missionaries and agents, and the selection of missionary fields. They shall have authority to fill all vacancies in office occurring between the Annual Meetings; to apply to any Legislature for acts of incorporation, or conferring corporate powers; to make provision when necessary for disabled missionaries and for the widows and children of deceased missionaries, and in general to transact all such business as usually appertains to the Executive Committees of missionary and other benevolent societies. The acts of the Committee shall be subject to the revision of the Annual Meeting.