SI- 



BRETHREN OR TUNKERS. 



BRITISH COLUMBIA. 



representatives hud already proposed leasing the 

 island and olVeml to give "it up conditionally, ac- 

 tions which amounted to an acknowledgment of 

 tin 1 sovereign rights of Brazil, the Brazilian Gov- 

 ernment eonld not accept the proposal of arbitra- 

 tion, which contradicted this acknowledgment, and 

 so replied, setting forth the reasons at length in a 

 note dated Jan. 7, 1896. A later proposal for me- 

 diation was in like manner rejected. Finally the 

 offer to accept t he good ollices of Portugal, which, 

 us the tra lit! mal ally of Great Britain, and as kin 

 in blood to Brazil, was naturally anxious to see 

 good relations preserved between these two coun- 

 tries, was made and found acceptable. Senhor So- 

 veral, the Portuguese Foreign Minister, after an his- 

 torical investigation, reported that Trinidad was by 

 right a Brazilian possession. The British Govern- 

 ment acknowledged the justice of the decision, and 

 on Aug. 25 sent a vessel to haul down the British 

 flag. This was followed a few days later by the 

 Brazilian cruiser " Tiradentes," which took posses- 

 sion of the island in the name of Brazil. The Bra- 

 zilian Government contemplates building a light- 

 house on one of the adjacent islets. Previous to 

 surrendering the island the British had discovered 

 that it was unsuitable for the landing place of a 

 cable, having no harbor and being liable to seismic 

 disturbances. 



Boundary Questions. The Brazilian authori- 

 ties have taken measures with a view of regulating 

 the undefined boundaries in Guiana. Maps have 

 been prepared outlining the boundary between Bra- 

 zil and the British possessions 'in Guiana at the 

 point of divergence formed by the Oyapak river. 

 Cabral, the self-constituted chief of the disputed 

 territory of Amapa, on the borders of French Gui- 

 ana, went to Rio de Janeiro in the spring of 1896 

 for a conference with the Government officials. 

 It has been proposed to have the President of the 

 Swiss Republic act as arbitrator in the dispute with 

 France over Amapa. When the commander of the 

 forces at Yquitos, in the Peruvian province of Lo- 

 reto, revolted in May and declared for federation 

 with Brazil, President Moraes assured the Peruvian 

 minister that Brazil would act as international law 

 directs. He refused to allow war material to be 

 transported on the Amazon river, and posted a 

 strong body of Brazilian troops in the frontier 

 town of Tabatinga, to prevent any violation of the 

 neutrality laws by the revolutionists. 



BRETHREN OR TUNKERS. The National 

 Conference. Imperfect but the most perfect that 

 have yet been gathered statistics of the Brethren 

 Church, collected by J. A. Miller, of the Theolog- 

 ical Department of Ashland University, in 1895, 

 give the following results : Number of congregations 

 reported, 138; of places where regular services are 

 held, 206; of houses owned, 116, with 14 houses- 

 owned in part; of parsonages owned, 7: of mem- 

 tiers, 10,031 ; of accessions during the year by bap- 

 tism. 1.:T>!); of Young People's Societies, 47, with 

 l..~>04 senior and ."U!) junior members; of Sisters' So- 

 cieties atid Sisters' Societies of ^Christian Endeavor, 

 1 Hi. with 1,301 members; of Sunday schools, 146, 

 with 1,4:50 ollicers ;i-id teachers and" 8,013 pupils 

 108 of the schools using Brethren literature; total 

 value of church property, s-j.Ki.lsO; amount paid 

 pa-tors, $2d.'.m with 1,600 paid for "other serv- 

 ices" and s.").:-:-j(j for current expenses; amount col- 

 lected l,\- Sunday schools. Young People's Societies, 

 and Sisters' Societies. *Uir>:> ; 7!) pastors were serving 

 U 7 congregations ; l'?:5 places were reported where 

 successful mission work could be done; and 77 

 preachers were reported not active in the ministry. 



The National Conference of the Brethren Church 



was held at Kagle Lake, Ind., 



at the end of August and beginning of September] 



J. C. Mackay was chosen moderator. The Book 

 and Tract Committee reported its total assets as 

 $2,131, and its liabilities as $1,591, with $5,105 of 

 business done. On its own recommendation it was 

 succeeded by the Brethren Publication Board of 5 

 members, of which the editors of the denominational 

 literature were constituted members ex officio one 

 member to- give way to a successor each year in 

 alternation. This board is directed to publish an- 

 nual reports. A convention of the King's Children 

 and Young People's Societies was instituted, to be 

 held separate from the General National Conven- 

 tion, but at the same time with it. A plan of co- 

 operation of the mission boards with the National 

 Board was decided upon. A board was appointed 

 to be the legal custodian of all funds raised or to be 

 raised for the purpose of establishing a children's 

 and an old folks' home. The Conference commit- 

 ted itself unequivocally to the principles of temper- 

 ance, and to opposition to the liquor traffic, and ab- 

 stinence from narcotic weeds, which it declared to be 

 godly duties of every Christian. The district con- 

 ferences were urged to take the necessary steps to a 

 better supervision of the weak churches within their 

 districts, and the question was submitted to them 

 whether they favor district or national supervision. 

 A national Sunday-school secretary was appointed 

 whose duty it is to collect statistics and in every 

 way further the Sunday-school cause. Steps were 

 taken to begin a mission in Chicago, A course of 

 missionary reading and the organization of circles 

 to promote it were provided for. Further measures 

 were adopted in the interest of the payment of the 

 indebtedness of Ashland College. 



The Society of the King's Children, then only 

 two years' old, as a national organization formally 

 recognized by the Church, had in 1895 doubled its 

 membership within a year, and had made a substan- 

 tial contribution from' its treasury to the Book and 

 Financial Committee. The Sisters' Society of Chris- 

 tian Endeavor had also in 1895 given substantial 

 aid to college and missionary works, and had prom- 

 ised more. It was represented to the National Con- 

 ference of 1895 that the Sunday-school literature 

 and the Tract Department were a little more than 

 self-sustaining. 



Old-Order Brethren. At the council of the 

 " Old Order," held at Covington, Ohio, the questions 

 were discussed : " Is it advisable to own and use a 

 bicycle?" decided in the negative; " Is it contrary 

 to the Gospel to hold communion with a member who 

 is on his deathbed after he has been anointed with 

 oil? "decided in the negative; and "Is it right to 

 have the teeth filled with gold? " in answer to which 

 the convention decided that tinfoil should be used. 



BRITISH COLUMBIA, the extreme western 

 province of Canada. This was an important year 

 for the province ; and if the strong evidences of gold 

 are borne out by the production of the future it 

 will have begun a great period in its history. 



Political. The new administration, formed 

 toward the close of 1895, was as follows: Premier, 

 Minister of Finance and Agriculture, Hon. J. H. 

 Turner ; President of the Cabinet, Hon. C. E. 

 Pooley; Attorney-General, Hon. D. M. Eberts ; 

 Provincial Secretary and Minister of Mines, Hon. 

 James Baker; Chief Commissioner of Lands and 

 Works, Hon. G. B. Martin. The second session of 

 the seventh Legislature of the province was opened 

 on Jan. 23, 1896, by Lieut.-Gov. Edgar Dewdney, 

 whose " speech from the throne " contained the fol- 

 lowing passages : 



" In consequence of the appointment of the Hon. 

 Theodore Davie to the distinguished position of 

 Chief Justice of this province, I called upon the 

 Hon. J. PI. Turner, Minister of Finance, to form a 

 new administration, which he has done to my satis- 



