UNIVERSALISTS. 



705 



and operations, see FINANCES ; for matters of 

 domestic policy and internal affairs, see CON- 

 GRESS, PUBLIC DOCUMENTS, and the several 

 States under their respective names.) 



UNI VEKSALISTS. The Board of Trustees 

 reported to the General Convention in October, 

 1880, that the statistical returns they had re- 

 ceived were more nearly full than ever before ; 

 those from New Hampshire, Vermont, Massa- 

 chusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Illinois, 

 Wisconsin, and Minnesota were complete, and 

 those from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, 

 and Kentucky substantially so. No returns 

 had been received from Missouri or Georgia. 

 The following is the summary of the statistics, 

 the numbers in parishes not reporting being 

 estimated : 



The total amount of property owned by the 

 churches above the amount of indebtedness 

 was $6,752,100 ; the total amount of expendi- 

 tures for church purposes was $1,180,997". The 

 receipts of the Board of Trustees had been $15,- 

 275. The Murray Centenary Fund amounted 

 to $121,757. The indebtedness of the Conven- 

 tion had been reduced from $15,120 to $11,631. 

 The J. G. Gunn Ministerial Fund amounted to 

 $8,152. The Woman's Centenary Association 

 had received during the year $1,329, and had 

 a permanent fund of $2,150. The Publication 

 and Tract Committee had distributed 587,000 

 pages of tracts and large numbers of denomina- 

 tional papers and books throughout the United 

 States, and in Scotland, Mexico. Central Amer- 

 ica, and Australia. The Trustees had obtained 

 a charter under the laws of Massachusetts in 

 VOL. xx. 45 A 



order to gain greater freedom in investments 

 than they enjoyed under their charter from 

 New York. A number of local missions were 

 supported, including one among the Indians. 

 A communication had been received from the 

 Universalist Convention in Scotland asking for 

 the fellowship of the General Convention. The 

 Convention did not contemplate extending for- 

 mal fellowship to ecclesiastical bodies beyond 

 the limits of America, but made an expression 

 of sympathy and fraternal interest toward the 

 Scottish Convention. The special scholarship 

 fund amounted to $7,215 ; forty students had 

 been aided from it. 



The General Convention of Universalists met 

 at Hudson, N. Y., October 20th. Mr. J. D. W. 

 Joy, of Massachusetts, was reflected President. 

 A report of the Board of Trustees on pastoral set- 

 tlements showed that a large number of the par- 

 ishes were idle ; that the average length of pas- 

 toral terms was short; and that a large amount 

 of church property was suffering through neg- 

 lect. The action of the Trustees in withholding 

 beneficiary aid from students who use tobacco 

 was approved. A committee appointed by the 

 previous General Convention on the subject 

 of the International Sunday-school Lessons re- 

 ported that these Lessons were generally ap- 

 proved in Universalist Sunday-schools, that 

 they were received with favor and taught with 

 good results. A minority report, signed by 

 one member, urged that the Lessons were sub- 

 ject to the objection that they were selected by 

 a body in which Universalists were not rep- 

 resented, and that Universalists might make a 

 selection more suitable to themselves. Both 

 reports were accepted. An earnest debate 

 took place over a proposition to modify the 

 Confession of Faith by substituting, instead of 

 the present form, for the words, " will finally 

 restore the whole family," in Article II, words 

 which shall make the sentence read: "We be- 

 lieve there is one God, whose nature is Love, 

 revealed by one Holy Spirit of Grace in one 

 Lord Jesus Christ, through whom the whole 

 family of mankind will finally attain holiness 

 and happiness." The proposition was indefi- 

 nitely postponed. It was ordered that pro- 

 ceedings for the restoration of clergymen who 

 have been disfellowshiped shall take place on 

 the application of the party himself, but not 

 until after the lapse of three years. Restora- 

 tion may take place on the concurrence of two 

 thirds of the Board of Trustees of the General 

 Convention with the favorable action of the 

 Committee of Fellowship. It was decided that 

 ordination shall not be conferred within one 

 week of the meeting of the Council ordering 

 it ; that the authority to ordain be confined to 

 judicial bodies duly appointed ; and that one of 

 the Committee of Fellowship shall at the ordi- 

 nation give fellowship in due form. 



