The meeting convened in the year following, in accordance with the above resolution. Many of the duties performed by the General Meeting of Ministers were transferred to the representatives of the various meetings. The ministers, though in fact subject to the approval or disapproval of monthly meetings, did not relinquish their oversight of each other. [Sidenote: The preparative meeting the smallest unit] The smallest unit in the organization was the _particular_ or _preparative_ meeting. This meeting is not mentioned in all localities, though it is clear from Fox’s statements that he recognized this as a part of the organization, for in a letter of 1669 he writes concerning the representatives of the quarterly meetings that, none that are raw or weak and are not able to give a testimony of the affairs of the church and Truth, may go on behalf of the particular meetings to the quarterly meetings, but may be nursed up in your monthly meetings.[49] [Sidenote: Details of organization worked out by Fox] This statement is given here merely for the purpose of pointing out how completely the ideas of Fox were embodied in even the smallest unit of church organization. There is adequate proof of their existence in all sections occupied by the Quakers in Pennsylvania, and of their great importance in carrying out the details both of relief work for the poor, and in the establishment of schools.[50] There have been noted different phases of the development of the meeting organization. When finally it was complete in all its parts, there existed a hierarchy of meetings, the lower and smaller units of which were subject to and under the direction of the higher. This resultant organization may be made somewhat clearer by means of a diagrammatical representation. [Illustration] [Sidenote: Functions of yearly meeting]