K VENTS OF 1896. 



2G3 



oo-operation among the evangelical free churches; 

 to assist ill the orpin i/at ion of local councils; to 

 encourage devotional fellowship and mutual counsel 

 concerning the spiritual life and religious activities 

 of ihf churches: to advocate the New Testament 

 doctrine of the Church and defend the rights of the 

 iated churches ; and to promote the application 

 of the law of Christ in every relation of human life. 



The Federation of the Evangelical Free Churches 

 has grown up since 1S90. though a few local councils 

 not entirely resembling the present bodies were al- 

 ready in existence at that time. It now comprises 

 209 councils, scattered over the whole of England 

 and Wales. The movement is at work in the rural 

 districts as well as the towns, the villages of a dis- 

 trict being grouped around the nearest town. The 

 councils have associated with them at least 7,500 

 churches, representing, in round numbers, a mem- 

 bership of about 1,000,000. Counting all the Meth- 

 odist bodies as one. the federation includes nine 

 denominations. Under it, house-to-house visitation 

 has been undertaken in many towns : a noncon- 

 formist parochial system has been developed : great 

 united missions have been held; interdenominational 

 missions have been established in villages where no 

 free-church cause existed: and in the towns ex- 

 change of pulpits, religious conferences, etc., are 

 bringing Christians of different denominations into 

 closer fellowship. The literature which has been 

 created under the auspices of the Federation is 

 mentioned as constituting one of the significant 

 features of its growth. A catechism is in prepara- 

 tion dealing with the history and principles of the 

 free churches, and a monthly organ and a series 

 of shilling handbooks on nonconformist principles 

 are projected. 



EVENTS OF 1S06. Hardly within a genera- 

 tion has a year opened with such threatening con- 

 ditions. Within a few days came the news of the 

 President's message regarding the Venezuelan 

 boundary dispute; of the attempted seizure of Jo- 

 hannesburg by a party of British raiders, and with 

 the connivance, as has since been ascertained, of 

 officials very near the Government. Close upon 

 this came the German Emperor's friendly message 

 to President Kriiger. and for a time, apparently, it 

 required but a trifle to precipitate a war that would 

 surely have involved the United States. The year 

 ended, however, with peace in Europe and an in- 

 ternational treaty for arbitration, ready for signa- 

 ture, by representatives of the two great English- 

 speaking nations. 



Italy has been in effect forced by an able native 

 monarch to abandon her colonies "in East Africa. 

 Spain appears to be making no sensible progress 

 toward suppressing the insurrection in Cuba, and, 

 aside from minor wars that England has on her hands 

 for the preservation of order in Africa, the world is 

 at peace. 



In the pages that follow, nearly all the events that 

 may be supposed to interest ten thousand or more 

 people are briefly recorded. Some of them may seem 

 trivial, as, for instance, the annual meetiifgs of cer- 

 tain societies and associations ; but it is believed that 

 i:i every case the membership of the society in ques- 

 tion is large enough, or its importance" is great 

 enough to justify its mention. 



January 1. Washington : The President appoints 

 a commission to determine the true boundary of 

 Venezuela. England : Alfred Austin appointed 

 Poet Laureate by command of the Queen. Cincin- 

 nati. Ohio: An area of 12 square miles is annexed 

 to the city. South Africa: Dr. Jameson with about 

 500 raiders, mainly English, engages a force of 2,000 

 Boers near Krugersdorp. in the Transvaal. Pasa- 

 dena. Cal. : Annual "Tournament of Roses." 10,000 

 spectators. Leadville, Col. : Opening of ice palace. 



2. South Africa: Dr. Jameson and his men sur- 

 render to the lioers. 



3. Washington: L. M. P. .Myers, of Richmond, 

 Va., appointed assistant general superintendent of 

 the railway mail service. Cuba: .Marl ial law pro- 

 claimed in the provinces of Havana and Pina del 

 Rio. Germany: The Kaiser in a published dis- 

 patch congratulates President Kriiger on his victory 

 over Dr. Jameson's raiders. Great war excitement 

 follows in England. 



4. Washington: By proclamation of the Presi- 

 dent, Utah becomes a State. Canada : Seven Cabi- 

 net ministers resign, favoring Sir Charles Tupper 

 for Premier in place of Sir Mackenzie Bowell. 



5. South Africa: Cecil Rhodes resigns the pre- 

 miership of Cape Colony; Sir J. Gordon Sprigg 

 succeeds him. Baltimore: The cardinal's herretta 

 i- conferred on Mgr. Satolli in the Roman Catholic 

 cathedral. Germany: Prof. Wilhelm Konrad lloent- 

 gen publishes his discovery of the "X ray." 



6. Washington: Call issued for a Government 

 loan of $100.000.000. Utah : State officers inaugu- 

 rated. New York city: Opening of the new ap- 

 pellate branch of the Supreme Court. Chicago : 

 Strike of stone cutters. 



7. Ohio: The State Senate adopts resolutions 

 recognizing the Cuban insurgents as belligerents. 

 The German Kaiser announces that he will not 

 recognize any claim of British suzerainty in the 

 Transvaal. Kentucky and Mississippi: Meeting of 

 the State Legislatures. Missouri: Lloyd Lownes 

 inaugurated Governor. Great Britain and the 

 United States : The Evangelical Alliances of, order a 

 week of prayer for peace. Xew York city : Report 

 of the American Cup Committee on the Defender- 

 Valkyrie races made public. 



8. London : A movement inaugurated favoring a 

 permanent court of arbitration. Oklahoma: State- 

 hood convention breaks up in a fight about a loca- 

 tion for the capital. 



9. England : Denial by the Colonial Office that 

 Venezuela has been trespassed upon. Germany: 

 Meeting of the Reichstag. 



10. England: Great activity in the navy yards 

 and excitement over the Transvaal question. South 

 Africa : Arrest of 22 persons in the Transvaal 

 charged with treason. 



11. Canada agrees to arbitration of the Bering 

 Sea seizure claims. England: Appointment of Sir 

 Claude Mac-Donald British minister to China. Cuba: 

 Insurgents capture San Christobal and Bahia Honda. 

 Italy : Adjournment of the Parliament. 



12. Washington: The President recommends a 

 commission on the Venezuelan question and warns 

 that country against excesses toward Englishmen. 

 Xew York: A steamer chartered by the Central 

 Labor Union to carry 400 negroes to Liberia. 

 England: Mr. Gladstone reaffirms his opinion in 

 favor of arbitration between Great Britain and the 

 United States. Germany again insists on the 

 status quo in the Transvaal. 



13. Ohio: Asa S. Bushnell inaugurated Governor. 

 Cuba: An insurgent force appears within sight of 

 Havana. Abyssinia: An attack of natives repulsed 

 by the Italians at Makalla. Turkey: Exclusion of 

 the Red Cross Society by a decree of the Sultan. 



14. Chicago: The Board of Trade demands the 

 retirement of greenbacks and Treasury notes. Ger- 

 many: Prince Leopold resigns his commission in 

 the army as the result of a quarrel with the Kaiser. 

 Recall to England of Commissioner Booth of the 

 Salvation Army. South Africa: The Transvaal 

 Legislature authorizes an increase of the army. The 

 British representative at Cape Colony is directed to 

 look out for American prisoners. It is announced 

 that Dr. Jameson and his followers will be sent to 

 London for trial. England: The British flying 



