CONGREGATIONALISM'S. 



137 



to 15 churches. On parsonage account, $24,810 

 had been voted to 50 churches, and .$24,195 paid 

 to 43 churches. It was represented at the Na- 

 tional Council of Congregational Churches that 

 during its existence this society had bestowed aid 

 upon more than 3,200 churches and 700 parson- 

 ages, and only a very few such organizations had 

 passed out of existence without fulfilling the ob- 

 ligations created by such aid. Already $3,800 

 more had been contributed back by aided churches 

 than they had received. 



Home Missionary Society. The seventy-fifth 

 annual meeting of the Congregational Home Mis- 

 sionary Society was held in Boston, Mass., May 

 14, Gen. O. O. Howard presiding. The Executive 

 Committee reported that the total receipts for the 

 year by the national and auxiliary societies had 

 been $538,986, of which $203,701 were by the 

 auxiliary societies. A debt of $108,544 at the be- 

 ginning of the year had been reduced to $63,698. 

 Eighteen hundred and sixty-three missionaries 

 had been employed during the year in 46 States 

 and Territories, and reported 183 new Sunday- 

 schools organized, 147,274 pupils and Bible-class 

 scholars in organizations under the society's care, 

 and 5,113 additions on confession. The society 

 gave its assent to a measure for consolidating the 

 several Congregational missionary anniversaries 

 and the magazines of the societies. This measure 

 provides that two meetings of the benevolent 

 societies be held each year, one in the East 

 and one in the West, one for foreign and 

 one for home work, one in the spring and one in 

 the fall ; and that a single monthly magazine cov- 

 ering the work of all the societies be published. 

 A committee was appointed to cooperate with 

 similar committees from the other societies in 

 carrying out the measure. 



At an informal meeting of members of this so- 

 ciety at which representatives of the auxiliary 

 societies and of the National Society were present, 

 a committee of fifteen was constituted to con- 

 sider and report some plan for perfecting the rela- 

 tions between the auxiliaries and the national 

 society. Five members of this committee were 

 nominated by the auxiliary societies and five by 

 the Executive Committee, these ten after having 

 been elected by the national society to elect five 

 more; the entire subject of reconstruction to be 

 committed to this committee, to be reported upon 

 by them at the next annual meeting of the na- 

 tional society. These proceedings, on being re- 

 ported to the society, were approved by it, and 

 the ten committeemen, representing the auxiliaries 

 and the Executive Committee, were appointed. It 

 was agreed, in order to secure a modus Vivendi 

 between the national society and the auxiliary 

 societies pending the action of the Committee of 

 Fifteen, that the national convention for the pur- 

 pose of making estimates and apportionments 

 for the work should be continued; that such a 

 convention be called at an early date by the Ex- 

 ecutive Committee to make estimates and appor- 

 tionments for the rest of the fiscal year; that the 

 auxiliary societies, whether they have entered 

 into new relations with the national society or 

 not. be invited to participate in the convention; 

 that the question of rebates as provided in the 

 contract of 1898 be left to be adjusted between 

 the Executive Committee of the national society 

 and the several auxiliaries; and that all appeals 

 for funds by the national society within auxiliary 

 States be in harmony with the work of the auxil- 

 iaries. The object of the movement was intimated 

 to be the attainirtent of a close organic union be- 

 tween the auxiliary societies and the national so- 

 ciety. Gen. O. O. Howard resigning the presidency 



of the society, the Rev. Newell. Dwi^ln llillis was 

 elected to that ollice. 



The adjustment of the relations between the 

 national Home Missionary Society and its aux- 

 iliaries has been under discussion -inrc 1H93, 

 when a convention of the National (Join mitten of 

 the American Home Missionary Society and repre- 

 sentatives of the State societies was held, and a 

 compact was entered into concerning the col- 

 lection and distribution of funds. Under this com- 

 pact all contributions of funds for the home mis- 

 sionary cause in auxiliary States were sent 

 directly to the treasuries of those States. Esti- 

 mates, were to be submitted annually in conven- 

 tion by the auxiliaries of expected receipts and of 

 the need for funds for the work in each State, to 

 be passed upon by the convention after the esti- 

 mates of income and needs of the national society 

 for the same year had been presented; and a 

 scheme of apportioning the funds was arranged. 

 The working of this plan proved not satisfactory 

 to the national society, and, under a provision 

 permitting withdrawal on giving one year's no- 

 tice, such notice was submitted to the convention 

 in January, 1900, together with a statement of 

 the reasons for taking the step. A substitute 

 form of compact was drafted and submitted to 

 the several societies. Only a few of the auxiliary 

 societies responding favorably to the new propo- 

 sition, the national committee by resolution ex- 

 pressed its strengthened conviction that the old 

 compact was impracticable, and its desire to co- 

 operate in future with each auxiliary State sepa- 

 rately, " in respect to all matters of mutual in- 

 terest in procuring and appropriating funds and 

 in the prosecution of missionary labors gener- 

 ally." The committee also declared its judgment 

 to be that the change it proposed should "lead 

 to a more simple plan for direct appeals to the 

 churches in all States and largely increased con- 

 tributions to the treasuries, by which the work of 

 the auxiliary States need not be hindered in the 

 least, while the work will receive wider support 

 than ever hitherto." These resolutions having 

 been presented to a final convention, held in 

 January, 1901, the national committee at its 

 next meeting considered a plan for future co- 

 operation with auxiliary States, and sent to the 

 committees of those States a platform of propo- 

 sitions representing that " the Executive Com- 

 mittee of the national society recognizes that 

 there can be no separation of territory for its 

 field of service, and that it is bound, therefore, to 

 consider the needs for work within the limits of 

 the auxiliary States as carefully as elsewhere, and 

 to that end seeks the counsel and cooperation of 

 the several State societies. While the national 

 society is the direct representative of each and 

 every Congregational church in the country for 

 the administration of this great commission, and 

 as such must appeal to them severally for sup- 

 port, its committee recognizes, also, the demands 

 and needs of the State organizations for their in- 

 dependent work, and suggests that the responsi- 

 bility for a suitable application of contributions 

 may properly be left with each church to deter- 

 mine, and thus will the constituency in every 

 church become immediately and continue to be 

 always clearly familiar with its individual share 

 in the support of home missions, both locally 

 and over the wide field, which latter, however, 

 will to some extent include, at the discretion of 

 the national society, aid and service to some of 

 the auxiliary States." The maintenance of the an- 

 nual convention was agreed to, with the under- 

 standing that it should receive reports and esti- 

 mates of receipts and expenditures of the Congre- 



