“Having undertaken this great concern, we are obliged, for our own security, and in order to prevent, if possible, all further inconveniences to our ministers, to use our utmost diligence, that, for the future, the book accounts in the country societies be kept with great exactness, and returns made with greater regularity than in times past. And, after seriously weighing various methods, we have come to this agreement,—to beg the stewards of each society, in the country, to take upon themselves the care of the book accounts; and we do hereby beseech you, dear brethren, for the love of Christ and His ministers, that you would be pleased to take upon yourselves the care of this article, and to observe the following regulations with the nicest punctuality:— “1. Look upon yourselves, for the future, as the stewards of the _books_, as well as of the _other_ temporal affairs of the society. “2. Appoint one among yourselves, or see that a _proper_ person be appointed, to take charge, and dispose, of the books under your direction. “3. Be very careful, that he keeps an exact account of all things relating to the books; and that he keeps all the books in a clean, convenient place, and in good order. “4. Let exact accounts be kept with all the country societies round about you, that have their books from your stock; and desire the stewards of those societies to take the care of those books they receive from you upon themselves, and to engage for punctual returns of money, or an account of the books unsold being safe in their hands. “5. We here beg leave to intreat you, that the produce of the books, from the societies about you, may be brought into your hands, at least, _once a quarter_, and also, that you would send that, and the produce of your own stock, to us _once a quarter_, by a bill from some trader near you, who can draw on his correspondent here, or by some other safe method; and, with the money, we would beg of you to send up clear accounts of the state of your stock, at the time of your sending, that is, what books you have any call for, and what books you have not, or are wanting. “6. Be pleased to note this well, that not one penny of the _book money_ is, for the future, to be laid out in anything but with our knowledge and consent; and, that none of it, at any time or upon any occasion whatever, is to be given to the preachers, or any one else, but to _us only_, who have a power of attorney to receive it, and who are absolutely accountable for all the books we let go out of our hands.