METHODISTS. 



543 



to 1,716, and their contributions from $903 to 

 $5,588 ; and the church property in Japan was 

 valued at $65,000. A conference had been formed 

 in Japan in 1889, and hopes were entertained 

 that Methodist union would be shortly accom- 

 plished in that country. The work among the 

 Indians in the Northwest, of which a good re- 

 port was given, absorbed about 22 per cent, of 

 the income for missions. Missions were carried 

 on also among the French in the Province of 

 Quebec and the Chinese in British Columbia. 

 The Board of Missions, at its annual meeting for 

 1890, made appropriations of $224,426, of which 

 $91,680 were for home work, $45,966 for Indian 

 missions, $28,659 for Japan, $4,106 for missions 

 among the Chinese, $9,555 for the French work, 

 and the rest for various purposes. 



The General Conference met in Montreal, Sept. 

 16. The question that elicited most interest 

 was that concerning the federation of Victoria 

 University with the University of Toronto. This - 

 measure, by which the former institution would 

 surrender its independent privileges and become 

 a part of a General Provincial University, had 

 been referred by the previous General Conference 

 to an advisory committee acting with the board of 

 regents of the university for executive action. 

 Its consummation had been delayed by lawsuits, 

 some of which had been concluded favorably to 

 it. and others would be on the completion of 

 certain steps. The principle of federation was 

 again approved. The report of the Committee 

 on Church Union expressed thankfulness for 

 the increasing indications of a spirit of unity 

 among the churches of the country, and ap- 

 proved the action of the committee* appointed 

 four years before, as presented in its report of 

 the meeting held by the representatives of the 

 Anglican and Presbyterian churches in Toronto. 

 The Conference, it said, would be gratified if an 

 organic union of the Protestant churches could 

 be effected, and regarded the first three resolu- 

 tions of the Lambeth Conference referring to 

 negotiations for union as being fairly satisfac- 

 tory. But the resolution of that body relating 

 to the historic episcopacy must be defined in 

 harmony with the identity and equality of the 

 office of the presbyter and the bishop. It was 

 recommended that an open letter to all the 

 churches in favor of union be published ; and as 

 a further tentative and educational measure to- 

 ward the accomplishment of union, that there 

 be an interchange of pulpits and the recognition 

 of a common brotherhood at the Lord's Table 

 among those who seriously aim at this object. 

 A standing committee of privileges was ap- 

 pointed to watch parliamentary legislation and 

 the action of the Government during the ensu- 

 ing quadrennium, and, if necessary in any emer- 

 gency, to co-operate with other Protestant bodies 

 for the maintenance of civil and religious rights 

 and privileges. In the report on this subject the 

 committee of the Conference said : " On the one 

 hand we claim no rights for ourselves which we do 

 not cheerfully accord to our fellow-subjects, and 

 on the other we will not submit to any stealthy 

 or open encroachment upon this invaluable pos- 

 session without the most vigorous protest and 

 employment of all rightful means of resist- 

 ance." The report on Indian affairs recommended 

 that the Government should establish and main- 



tain as many Indian schools as possible, under 

 the management of such churches as will under- 

 take the care of them, and asked that some of 

 the new schools be placed under the control of 

 the Methodist Church. The continued and united 

 support and co-agency of the Church were pledged 

 for the total suppression of the liquor traffic. 

 Unalterable opposition was declared to all efforts 

 to regulate the traffic by taxation or license, high 

 or low, and complete and immediate prohibition 

 was pronounced the duty of the government. 

 A proposal to secure the election to the House 

 of Commons of a number of Prohibitionists to 

 sustain and urge such measure was approved. 

 A measure was enacted under which all who 

 repeatedly absent themselves from the means 

 of grace, including class meetings, the Lord's 

 Supper, and the public 'ordinances of worship, 

 without cause shall be admonished, and if that 

 is not efficacious excluded from the Church. The 

 official boards of local churches were given the 

 right to be represented before the stationing 

 committee in reference to the appointment of 

 ministers. Laymen were given a position on the 

 boards of examination of ministerial candidates, 

 on literary subjects. The annual conferences 

 were authorized to make provision for 



such a systematic organization of consecrated Chris- 

 tian women as will give them an official relation to the 

 Church, similar to the order of deaconnesses in primi- 

 tive Christianity. Such women being duly qualified, 

 shall be employed as aids to the pastor. jNo vow 

 shall be exacted from them, nor uniform dress re- 

 quired. Neither shall life-long service or separate 

 residence be necessary. 



A resolution was adopted disapproving the use 

 of tobacco by members, and requiring official 

 members to abstain from it. A proposal to ex- 

 tend the pastoral term to four years (it is now 

 three year's) was negatived. The Committee on 

 the Centennial of Canadian Methodism reported 

 upon the plans for celebrations, to include pub- 

 lic meetings, the raising of funds for sustenta- 

 tion, church relief, and a special church exten- 

 sion fund, and the publication of a memorial 

 volume. Measures were taken to secure the 

 representation of the Church in the (Ecumenical 

 Conference of Methodism, to be held in the 

 United States in 1891. 



Y. Wesleyan Methodist Connection. The 

 following is a summary of the statistics of this 

 body as they were reported to the Conference 

 in July, 1890 : Number of members in Great 

 Britain, Ireland, the mission fields, etc., 559,382 ; 

 number on trial, 46,045 ; of ministers, including 

 supernumeraries, 2.897; of Sunday-schools, 6,- 

 926, with 129,285 teachers and 932,888 pupils; 

 of day-school pupils, 180,840; annual cost of 

 Sunday-schools, 91,801 ; annual cost of day 

 schools, 253,609 ; amount expended during the 

 year for building and debts, 296,179; total 

 amount of church, etc.. debts discharged since - 

 1854, 2,043,390; number of Bands of Hope 

 (temperance societies), 3,569, with 370,681 mem- 

 bers. The income of the Home Mission fund had 

 been 37,490, while the expenditure was slight- 

 ly within that figure. The Chapel Committee 

 returned the amount expended in new erections 

 and the reduction of debt as 296,180. An in- 

 creased accommodation had been provided of 

 26,600 sittings. 



