PRESBYTERIANS. 



631 



was given that this can be done only in case 

 the elder is unacceptable to the people. 



III. UNITED PRESBYTERIAN CHUEOII OF NORTH 

 AMERICA. The following is a summary of the 

 statistics of this Church for the year ending in 

 May, 1880: Number of synods, 9; of presby- 

 teries, 59 ; of pastors and stated supplies, 504 ; 

 of licentiates, 50 ; of students of theology, 66 ; 

 of congregations, 813 ; of mission stations, 82 ; 

 of members, 82,119; of Sunday-schools, 760; 

 with 8,327 officers and teachers, and 83,126 

 scholars ; contributions for the salaries of min- 

 isters, $439,933 ; for congregational expenses, 

 $221,497; to the boards, $118,189; general 

 contributions, $44,175; total of contributions, 

 $826,794; average of contributions per mem- 

 ber, $10.43; average salary of pastors, $896. 



The Board of Foreign Missions reported to 

 the General Assembly that its available re- 

 sources during the year had amounted to $69,- 

 089. The missions were in India and Egypt. 

 The Egyptian mission included 41 stations, 8 

 foreign missionaries, 14 teachers, 6 ordained 

 native ministers, 11 churches, 985 communi- 

 cants, 6 licentiates, and 10 theological students. 

 The training college at Osiout had proved to 

 be very useful, and had given to the mission 

 the majority of its native laborers. Churches 

 were being organized, and native pastors were 

 being settled in the older stations, and new 

 stations were constantly opening up. The 

 growing influence of Christianity was shown 

 in the fact that the public markets in several 

 of the large towns were now closed on Sun- 

 day. Less and less objection was made to the 

 use of the Bible in the schools and daily in- 

 struction in it. The schools of the mission 

 were multiplying, and the numbers attending 

 on them were increasing. A growing interest 

 was manifested in the education of women. 

 The girls' boarding-schools at Osiout and Cairo 

 were well attended, and had largely paid their 

 own expenses. The mission in India included 

 seventeen stations, five foreign missionaries, 

 two native ordained ministers, ten theological 

 students, four teachers, six churches, and 304 

 communicants. The native members in the 

 two missions had contributed $9,391. 



The General Assembly of the United Presby- 

 terian Church of North America met at Xenia, 

 Ohio, May 26th. The Rev. E. T. Jeffers, D. D., 

 President of Westminster College, was chosen 

 moderator. The most prominent subject con- 

 sidered by the body was one involving the 

 question whether the pOAver to appoint com- 

 missions was possessed by all the courts of the 

 Church or was confined to the General Assem- 

 bly. An overture on the subject was adopted 

 to be sent down to the Presbyteries for their 

 action, which proposed the addition to the 

 Book of Government and Discipline of a chap- 

 ter providing for and regulating the appoint- 

 ment of commissions by sessions, presbyteries, 

 and synods. The Presbytery of Sealkote, rep- 

 resenting the mission in India, had been ques- 

 tioned by the previous General Assembly re- 



specting its action in permitting baptism to be 

 administered to a heathen convert who was at 

 the time married to two women. The Presby- 

 tery replied that it had admitted to baptism a 

 man who was thus married and living in u 

 condition which was recognized in the civil 

 and ecclesiastical codes of the country as one 

 of lawful wedlock, but with a proviso that he 

 should not be eligible to office in the Church. 

 To determine the mind of the Assembly re- 

 garding the distinction which it hud drawn 

 concerning the conditions required in the S. -rip- 

 tares from private members and those holding 

 spiritual offices, the Presbytery asked the <ju. s- 

 tion : " What is the meaning of the expression 

 in 1 Timothy, iii, 2, that a bishop must be 

 the husband of one wife? Does it permit us 

 to receive a polygamist as a private member? " 

 The committee to whom the subject was re- 

 ferred made two reports. The minority report 

 recognized that polygamy is contrary to the 

 plain teachings of the Word of God, and that 

 it would be an act of inconsistency for any 

 true Christian to desire to continue in a polyg- 

 amous state, but suggested that there appeared 

 to be Scripture authority for a temporary de- 

 parture from a literal observance of a specific 

 law, and advised the reversion of the subject 

 to the Presbytery. The majority report de- 

 clined to give a definite interpretation to the 

 passage of Scripture which was referred to, stat- 

 ing that the question really brought before it 

 was " Can a polygamist be received into the 

 Church during its transition state in a polyg- 

 amous country, with the express understand- 

 ing that this polygamy is only tolerated, and 

 that while in this state he can never be admit- 

 ted to any official position in the Church ? " and 

 said, " On the question here presented the ma- 

 jority answer in the negative, and declare that 

 it is not proper to admit a polygamist to mem- 

 bership in the Church, even under the circum- 

 stances specified." The report of the major- 

 ity was adopted. Woman's Missionary Socie- 

 ties were commended, and the general forma- 

 tion of them throughout the Church was up- 

 proved. The formation of a United Presby- 

 terian Historical Society was advised. The 

 Board of Publication was directed to purchase 

 certain Sunday-school papers published by pri- 

 vate parties, and to publish a monthly paper 

 devoted to Christian beneficence for gratuitous 

 distribution. 



IV. CUMBERLAND PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

 The following is a summary of the statistics 

 of this Church as they were reported to the 

 General Assembly in May, 1880: The Statis- 

 tical Committee remarked that they had re- 

 ceived returns from a larger proportion of pres- 

 byteries than ever before : number of ordained 

 ministers, 1,391; of licentiates, 260 ; of can- 

 didates for the ministry, 173; of congrega- 

 tions, 2,451; of members in communion, 111,- 

 969 ; of officers and teachers in Sunday-school;?, 

 7,075; of scholars in Sunday-schools, 54,301; 

 of baptisms during the year, 5,767 of adults, 



