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Free Church of Scotland.

REPORT

OF

COMMITTEE ON MISSIONARY PUBLICATIONS.

YOUR Committee, in submitting their Annual Report, have little to do except to state to the General Assembly the extent of the circulation of the Records and Monthly Statement. They stand at present as follows:-Communication, 33,750; Record, 18,000; Child's Record, 38,750. They regret that they cannot make a more encouraging Report, especially in regard to the Communication and Record. The circulation named is undoubtedly much below what is desirable for the interests of the Church, and of our various Schemes. It is also decidedly below the circulation attained by the missionary publications of other denominations, not more numerous or influential than ours. While the Committee feel deeply the disadvantageous results of this state of things, they feel also that they cannot at present make any specific recommendations to the Assembly. They have, on former occasions, taken much pains to ascertain how far arrangements of a different kind from those which now regulate the supply of the Records to our Congregations could be made, and how far, if made, they would be acceptable to the Church. It was not found practicable to make any alterations which the

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Church generally seemed prepared to approve. Your Committee, therefore, make no suggestion for the present. They would only ask such a recommendation from the General Assembly as may enable them as much as possible, under the actual arrangements, to stimulate an interest in these important periodicals.

ROBERT RAINY, Convener.

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Free Church of Scotland.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY, 1860.

REPORT of the COMMITTEE on STANDING ORDERS.

THE Committee recommend that, in accordance with the proceedings of last Assembly, the following orders as to taking the vote be adopted by the ensuing Assembly, and thereafter inserted under Head V, as Article 6, in the following manner :--

MODE OF TAKING THE VOTE.

(1.) That on a division being called for, a bell shall be rung for two minutes, during which time the Reporters' seat shall be closed, and all parties who are not Members, but have the privilege of entering the house, shall withdraw.

(2.) That the division doors shall be placed in their position, and one side of each folding entrance door be closed, so that the Members may be able to go out only one at a time.

(3.) That when the bell shall have been rung, the doors leading from the east and west galleries to the corridor shall be locked, and no one permitted to enter the house.

(4.) That eight Tellers shall be appointed by the Moderator, four from the supporters of each of the motions before the house. These Tellers shall take their place in pairs, one on each side, at the four doors of the house, and shall count the numbers passing out at their

respective doors.

(5.) That when the Tellers shall have taken their places, the Moderator shall direct the Members to vote by leaving the house at

Reid & Reynolds, Printers, Thistle Street.

separate doors, those who support the first motion going out at the right hand, and the supporters of the amendment or second motion, at the left hand of the chair.

(6.) That the Clerks of Assembly shall prepare printed Alphabetical Lists of Members, and shall appoint Clerks to mark at each door the votes of Members.

(7.) That Members as they pass the door shall give their christian names and surnames in a distinct voice to the Clerks.

(8.) That as soon as the vote shall thus have been taken, the Tellers shall report the state of vote to one of the Clerks of Assembly, who shall write it down, and read it to the house.

(9.) That when Members return to the house after the division, they shall be understood as having right to the seats which they occupied before leaving the house to vote.

The Committee farther recommend that Head IV. be altered as follows:

IV. AS TO PRINTING OF PAPERS in Cases coming up to the

GENERAL ASSEMBLY.

(1.) That all papers passing through the Committee of Bills, viz., Memorials, Petitions, Applications, References, Complaints, and Appeals, with Extracts of Minutes of Inferior Courts relative thereto, as also Reasons of Complaint or Appeal; and in cases of Libel,-the Libel, with the Defences and Evidence adduced, shall be printed in sufficient numbers for the use of the Members of Assembly (the number required to be annually advertised by the Clerks), and be transmitted in manuscript to the Clerks of Assembly not later than ten days before the meeting of Assembly.

(2.) That all such papers be printed by the Clerks. That in causes, the expense of printing shall be borne by the Complainer or Appellant, when there is one. When the Inferior Court shall refer a cause to the Assembly, without pronouncing judgment, the expense shall be borne by the parties mutually, under the certification that the party refusing to pay his share thereof, before the time appointed for laying the same on the table, shall be considered as having deserted the cause, and shall not be entitled to be heard. That

in all other cases, such as petitions, references not in causes, memorials;

&c., the

same, or

shall be borne by the party having interest in the desiring a deliverance from the Assembly.

expense

(3.) That all such papers be printed in the octavo form, corresponding to pages of the volume of Proceedings.

(4.) That all such papers shall be stitched together, and paged and provided with an alphabetical index for reference; and that a copy shall be given to each Member along with his ticket.

(5.) That a copy of every printed paper shall be kept by the Clerks of Assembly, to be bound up and kept among the records of Assembly, with a copy of the judgment annexed.

H. WELLWOOD MONCREIFF,

Convener.

EDINBURGH, May 1860.

REPORT of the COMMITTEE on the FORM of PROCESS.

THE Committee on the Form of Process cannot report any decided advance in the prosecution of the matters remitted to them. With the exception of one subject, it does not appear to them that there is any urgent occasion for additional recommendations on their part. That subject is the adoption of a Manual on the Forms of Procedure in Church Courts. The Committee were instructed to prepare such a Manual. They regret that particuIar circumstances have delayed their progress in this work. But they feel that the time has now come when they might set themselves vigorously and without delay to the performance of what is required, if it shall seem meet to the Assembly to reappoint them, with an instruction to that effect.

H. WELLWOOD MONCREIFF,

Convener.

EDINBURGH, May 1860.

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