PRESBYTERIANS. 



osa 



Afiasiont to Freedmen. Stations, 4; mission- 

 aries and ti-ucliers, 21 ; pupils in Sunday and 

 <>t)i<r schools, 2,420; communicants, 122; ap- 

 propriations for 1870-'71, $18,500. Foreign 

 Muttons. General missions, 5 ; mission sta- 

 tions, 19; missionaries and helpers in activo 

 MT\ ice, 20 ; in this country, 20 ; churches, 12; 

 communicants, 281; mission-schools, I'.i; pu- 

 pils, l,i;i:t; native teachers and catechists, 03; 

 native ordained ministers, 2; native licentiates, 

 2; preparing for the ministry, 13; appropria- 

 tions for tho year, $03,500. Tlieological Sem- 

 iimrtet, 5; students, 85; colleges, 2; students, 

 625 ; value of theological seminaries and col- 

 leges, $420,000 ; presbyterial schools or acade- 

 mics, 2. 



IV. SYNOD OF THE REFORMED PRESBYTE- 

 RIAN CUUROU. The annual meeting of this 

 body was hold at New York, and closed on tho 

 4th of June. The Synod appointed a commit- 

 tee to attend the Anti-secret Society Conven- 

 tion at Cincinnati. The following are the sta- 

 ti>tics of the Synod : 



The number of baptisms was 479. The con- 

 tributions were: for foreign missions, $7,965.- 

 10; home missions, $4,140.09; freedmen's 

 mission, $2,359.21 ; theological seminary, $3,- 

 062.80 ; church buildings, $28,355.09 ; pastors' 

 salaries, $59,442.66 ; all other purposes, $40,- 

 311.61. 



V. GENERAL SYNOD OF THE REFORMED 

 PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. This body met at 

 Cincinnati in May. On the 25th of that month 

 it resolved that union with the United Presby- 

 terian Church is not desirable, and rejected tho 

 terms agreed upon by the committees appoint- 

 ed to confer on the subject. The vote was 27 

 for rejection, 10 for the report. The list of 

 ministers and licentiates of this Church num- 

 bers 41. 



VI. ASSOCIATE REFORMED SYNOD OF THE 

 SOUTH. Tho organ of this body (the Associate 

 Reformed Presbyterian, Due West, South Car- 

 olina) reports, for 1870, 57 ministers, 7 proba- 

 tioners, and 6 theological students. It shows 

 by comparative tables that the period of great- 

 est and most regular increase in tho number 

 of ministers -was from 1842 to 1852. Since 

 1863 (when there were 67 ministers, 6 proba- 

 tioners, and 4 students) there has been a 

 decided falling off. Since 1342, 17 of the min- 

 isters have died, and 26 have left this church 

 to join other churches, of whom 22 became 

 connected with the Old School (probably 

 Southern) Presbyterians, and 4 joined the Uni- 



ted Piv.-l;. Vortli. Except tho mem- 



bers of tho Kentucky Presbytery, only one of 

 the 26 ministers who led this church took bis 

 congregation with him. 



V II. CUMBERLAND PRESBYTERIAN Cnuitcn. 

 The 100 presbyteries of thin Church report 

 1,116 ministers, 195 licentiates, and 222 candi- 

 dates are reported from about two-thirds of 

 the presbyteries. Fifty-five presbyteries re- 

 port 43,414 communicants, 21 presbyteries re- 

 port 451 congregations. It is believed that 

 full returns from all the presbyteries would 

 show the number of communicants to be about 

 80,000. There are 25 synods. The number 

 of churches is about 2,000. The year ending 

 with the meeting of the General Assembly of 

 1870 was one of great prosperity with this de- 

 nomination. It is estimated that about 10,000 

 communicants were added. 



VIII. PRESBYTERIANS IN CANADA. A com- 

 mittee of conference of tho Presbyterian 

 Churches of British America met at Montreal, 

 Canada, September 28th, to consider the expe- 

 diency and practicability of union. The Synod 

 of the Church of Scotland in Ontario and 

 Quebec, the Synod of tho same church in No- 

 va Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward's 

 Island, and Newfoundland, the General As- 

 sembly of the Canada Presbyterian Church, 

 and the Synod of the Presbyterian Church of 

 the lower Provinces, were represented by 

 delegates. The committees of the various 

 churches first conferred separately, and each 

 came to the conclusion that there is no obsta- 

 cle to nnion in principle, and that union is 

 expedient and practicable. The discussions 

 afterward in joint committee were cordial and 

 pleasant. A paper recommending union, with 

 a proposed basis, was adopted for circulation 

 among the churches. The two most important 

 articles of the basis were: 1. That the Holy 

 Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, 

 being the infallible word of God, are the su- 

 preme standard of faith and manners. 2. That 

 tho Westminster Confession of Faith shall be 

 the subordinate standard of this Church, it be- 

 ing understood 1. That full liberty of opin- 

 ion in regard to tho power and duty of the 

 civil magistrate in matters of religion, as set 

 forth in said Confession, be allowed ; and 2. 

 That the use of tho Shorter Catechism be en- 

 joined as an authoritative exposition of doc- 

 trine for the instruction of the people. 



IX. SCOTCH PRESBYTERIANS. The Presbyte- 

 rian Churches of Scotland have been agitated 

 on the subject of union. A proposition by 

 Dr. Candlish, that the union of unestablished 

 bodies should bo effected on the basis of the 

 standard, leaving the dogma about the relation 

 of tho civil magistrate to religion an open 

 question, excited alarm on the part of the free 

 church opposed to union, and led to the or- 

 ganization of a defensive association. The 

 opposition to the union was active and ener- 

 getic, and has succeeded in interposing obsta- 

 cles which as yet prove effectual. The various 



