adopted as a General Conference paper, and given in charge to Rev. N. Rounds, of the Oneida Conference, who was succeeded in 1848 by the present talented editor, Rev. William Hosmer, of the Genesee Conference.

; an

2. The present state of the Book Concern is as follows :-Iu New York, there is one agent, and one assistant agent; an editor of the Quarterly Review, and books of the General Catalogue; an editor of the Christian Advocate and Journal editor of Sunday-school books and tracts, all of whom are under the supervision of a book committee of seven, appointed by the General Conference. A large number of clerks, salesmen, porters, printers, binders, &c. &c., are employed at this concern, which is located at 200 Mulberry-street.

At Cincinnati there are two agents, and three editors, with the necessary number of employees, and an editor for each of the General Conference papers. Depositories of books are found in Pittsburgh, and Boston, and Methodist book-stores are found in Auburn, Buffalo, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and other places. The number of distinct works published at New York and Cincinnati, from the ponderous imperial octavo of 5,528 pages, down to the lilliputian 48mo. of but a few pages, amounts to about two thousand in round numbers. These works may be classified as follows:

On Biblical Literature,

On Doctrinal and Controversial Theology,
On Experimental and Practical Religion,

On Biography and History,

On Ecclesiastical Polity and History,

On Homiletics and Pastoral Duties,

On Methodist Usages, Church Polity, &c.,

On Missions, &c.,

The publication of these books by thousands of copies annually, together with the printing of love-feast tickets, Sundayschool tickets, certificates of membership in the church, and Missionary Societies, Sunday School Union, &c. &c., and the printing of portraits, engravings, &c., will show to some extent the amount of capital required, and the labor to be performed, in that vast establishment in New York, and its sister establishment in the west.

The preparation of books, however, is but one part of the business performed at these establishments. About thirty thousand copies of the Christian Advocate and Journal are weekly printed in New York; about one hundred thousand copies of the Sunday School Advocate-a paper as large as the former-are published monthly at the same place; about fifty thousand copies of the Missionary Advocate are also published monthly, besides between two and three thousand copies of the Quarterly Review. At Cincinnati, besides the publication of books, the Western Christian Advocate, the Christian Apologist, and the Ladies' Monthly Repository, are published weekly and monthly by thousands.

3. The following table exhibits the present financial condition of the book concerns at New York and Cincinnati, as reported to the annual conferences at their sessions in 1851.

BOOK-ROOM AT NEW YORK.

Real Estate in New York city, consisting of build

ings, &c.

Cash in hand, and in bank, with State Stocks

Books on hand, bound and unbound, &c. &c. Printing-office, including presses, type, stereotype plates, &c.

$115,573

66,605

191,681

92,907

Deduct $14,819, due by the concern, leaves

$626,225

Deduct $26,502, due by the concern, leaves

$202,637

Profits of the year 1850–1 .

15,095

Present value of both concerns

$828,862

Both concerns are incorporated by the Legislatures of the

States wherein they are located.

MISSIONARY SOCIETY.

335

SECTION II.

CHARTERED FUND.

year

1. THIS fund was instituted in the 1796. The design of its institution was to relieve the distressed travelling preachers, the worn-out preachers, and the widows and orphans of preachers. It was raised by the voluntary contributions of the friends of Methodism, and from the first, has been located in Philadelphia, where the board of trustees are incorporated, and the fund chartered by the State of Pennsylvania. The trustees are chosen by the General Conference, and hold the funds in trust, for the purposes above specified. The interest only of the fund can be applied for such purposes, the principal remaining untouched. The amount thus funded is about $36,000, and yields an annual interest of about $2,500, which is equally divided among all the conferences in the connection, for the benefits of the claimants. The discipline requires the interest to be divided into thirty-nine equal parts, while there are but twenty-nine conferences-exclusive of mission conferences-in the connection. The reason for this apparent discrepancy, is found in the fact that the number of conferences in 1844, and before the separation of the Southern Church from the Methodist Episcopal Church, was thirty-nine, and as the South, since the separation, claims a portion of the said fund, it has been thought best to allow the discipline to remain as it is, till after the settlement of this question by competent authority.

SECTION III.

MISSIONARY SOCIETY OF THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH.

1. THE Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church was organized in the city of New York, in the year 1819.

The Constitution of the Society has several times undergone alteration and revision, the last revision being by the General Conference of 1844.

2. The object of the Society is for the purpose of supporting missions and schools in our own, and in foreign countries.

3. The payment of two dollars annually constitutes a member, and the payment of twenty dollars at one time, a member for life. The payment of one hundred and fifty dollars constitutes a manager for life, and the payment of five hundred dollars a patron for life.

4. The officers of the Society consist of a president, vice-presidents, corresponding secretary, recording secretary, treasurer, assistant treasurer, and thirty-two managers.

5. The senior bishop of the church is president, and the other bishops are vice-presidents, according to seniority. These with the other officers-excepting the corresponding secretary -are all appointed by the Society at its annual meeting in April of each year. The corresponding Secretary is appointed by the General Conference, and is required to reside in New York, and conduct the correspondence of the Society, at home and abroad.

6. The receipts of the Society have gradually increased from the time of its organization. The receipts for 1849–50 were $107,835 73, and the disbursements for the same period were $100,989 63. The receipts for the year ending May 1st, 1851, were $133,317 41, and the disbursements for the same year amounted to $131,663 40. The appropriation for the present year-1851-2-by the missionary board for the support of the various Methodist Missions, is $167,000.

7. There are eight patrons of the Society, having paid each $500 or more at one time; thirteen life managers, having paid each $150 or more at one time, and about seven thousand lifemembers, who have paid each twenty dollars or more at one time.

8. The following table will exhibit at a single glance the