748 



UNITED BRETHREN. 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



of mission work in India in Calcutta, Madras, and 

 among the Khasis under the supervision of an 

 able Unitarian minister, and co-operation with the 

 Brahmo Somaj. The establishment was resolved 

 upon of a special fund for the objects suggested 

 by .Mr. Sunderland, including the education of a 

 Hindu student at Oxford. 



The annual report showed that 59 of the 308 

 churches and missions in England and Wales were 

 aided by the association. A "wonderful develop- 

 ment " of religious liberality was spoken of as hav- 

 ing taken place in Scotland. The controversy over 

 the London School Board had led to an increased 

 inquiry into Unitarian principles, and public libra- 

 ries, which a few years ago would not have allowed 

 Unitarian books on their shelves, were now con- 

 stantly applying for them. The income of the 

 association liad been 5,692, and its expenditure 

 22 less, while 208,197 books had been issued dur- 

 ing the year. A resolution was passed expressing 

 sympathy with those in all kinds who were striving 

 for the emancipation of man from the thraldom of 

 creeds and priests. While recognizing that the edu- 

 cation bill then before Parliament contained a few 

 provisions which, if carried out, would tend to the 

 improvement of national education, the association 

 protested against certain other provisions which were 

 described as "reactionary and unjust." 



Free grants of books had been made by the Sun day- 

 school Association by means of the Special Gift 

 fund to ministers, students, teachers, and poor Sun- 

 day schools. The receipts of the association had 

 been 1,368, and the expenditures 1,341. A reso- 

 lution was adopted disapproving the introduction 

 into board schools of the dogmatic teaching of vari- 

 ous sects. 



UNITED BRETHREN CHURCH. The fol- 

 lowing are the statistics of this Church for 1895-'9G, 

 as published in the " Religious Telescope " in June, 

 1896: Number of appointments, 1,130 ; of organized 

 churches, 1,062; of members, 55,970; showing an 

 increase during the year of 2,645; of Sunday 

 schools, 919, with 10,173 teachers and officers and 

 71,377 pupils ; of Young People's societies, 312, with 

 14,524 members ; of junior societies, 53, with 2,207 

 members ; of church houses, 920, valued at $1,421,- 

 603; of new churches, 24, valued at $23,079; of 

 parsonages, 136, valued at $164,365 ; of new parson- 

 ages, 5, valued at $5,725; amount of contributions 

 for all purposes, $318,064; of which, for pastors 

 salaries, $127,406 ; for parsonage and local society 

 expenses, $107,937; for presiding elders' salaries, 

 $12,835; for the bishop's fund, $2,120; for preach- 

 ers' aid, $1,940; for local Sunday schools, $21,973; 

 total, for missions, $22,611 ; Sunday schools for 

 missions, $2,592 ; contributions to colleges, acade- 

 mies, and seminary, $5,365, etc. 



The total receipts for the year of the Board of 

 Missions were $56,895, and the expenditures $56,- 

 487. The debt of the society increased $1,571, and 

 is now $26,375. The permanent fund was increased 

 $8,000, making it now $92,048. The missions are 

 in Germany, Africa, China, and Japan. In the 

 course of an episcopal visitation the corner stone 

 of a sanitarium and .house of rest for invalid mis- 

 sionaries was laid by Bishop Mills at Bethany, near 

 Freetown, West Africa. Seven missionaries are 

 employed in Japan all natives, and four of them 

 educated in the United States. They return more 

 than 100 converts. In the home-missionary depart- 

 ment, in connection with the extension of the Church 

 in the Southern States, now prosecuted with in- 

 creased vigor, a new conference has been organized, 

 to embrace Middle and Western Tennessee, and to be 

 called the Tennessee River Conference. A ' quarter- 

 centennial fund" of 60.000 for the Union Biblical 

 Seminary, started in 1895, lias been completed. 



The year's receipts of the Woman's Missionary 

 Association were $18,877. The asocial ion supports 

 or aids missionary work among the Chinese in Port- 

 land, Ore,, and Canton, China, and in the Bompers 

 district, Africa, Two missionaries were sent to 

 Africa during the year, and 1 to China. The fol- 

 lowing return is made of the work and results of 

 the missions of the Church : Number of American 

 foreign missionaries in the field, 10 ; at home for 

 rest, 5 ; home missionaries, 21 American and 1 

 Chinese: pastor of home-mission church, 1; or- 

 dained preachers, 7; medical missionaries. 3: or- 

 ganized church appointments in foreign field, 123: 

 members and seekers, 1.415; number of foreign 

 Sunday schools, 4; attendance. 289; home Sunday 

 schools. 2; attendants, 147; foreign day schools, 

 14; attendance, 458 ; home day schools, 1; attend- 

 ance, 45; total valuation of foreign-mission prop- 

 erty, $16.400; total valuation of all property, $17,- 

 000: total valuation of all property, $33.400. 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, a federal 

 republic in North America. The legislative power 

 is vested in the Congress, consisting of the Senate 

 and the House of Representatives. There are 90 

 Senators, 2 from each State, elected by the State 

 Legislatures for the term of six years, one third 

 being renewed every two years. 'The House of 

 Representatives has 357 members, elected for two 

 years by the ballots of the adult male citizens in 

 separate districts. The executive power is exer- 

 cised by the President, who is commander in chief 

 of the army and navy, and has a suspensive veto 

 over acts of the Congress, which can be passed over 

 his veto by a two-thirds majority. The Vice- 

 President is ex-officio president of the Senate, and 

 the successor of the President for the remainder of 

 the term in case of the death, removal, or resigna- 

 tion of the latter. The Senate can try and remove 

 the President or other executive officers for uncon- 

 stitutional actions on articles of impeachment voted 

 by the House of Representatives. In case of the 

 death or disability of both the President and the 

 Vice-President the Secretary of State becomes acting 

 President, and after him other members of the 

 cabinet in their order. The members of the cabinet, 

 who are the heads of the eight administrative de- 

 partments, and other officials of the Government, 

 are nominated by the President and require the 

 confirmation of the Senate. All treaties made by 

 the President with foreign powers must be ratified 

 by a two-thirds majority of the Senate. The Presi- 

 dent and Vice-President are elected by the majority 

 of a college of electors chosen in each State as the 

 Legislature prescribes, and equal in each State to 

 the number of its Senators and Representatives in 

 Congress. It is the practice for each political party 

 that names electors to be voted for to select before- 

 hand in a national convention its candidates for 

 President and Vice-President. The electors are 

 now chosen in every State on a collective ticket by 

 popular suffrage, with the understanding that their 

 votes shall be cast solidly for the candidates of 

 their party, so that the election of the President 

 and Vice-President has come to be in fact, though 

 not in form, by direct universal male suffrage. 

 The presidential term of office is four years, and 

 elections are held every leap year on the first Tues- 

 day following the first Monday in November. The 

 President elect is sworn into office on the 4th of 

 March following. 



The President for the term ending March 4, 

 1897, was Grover Cleveland, of New York, and the 

 Vice-President Adlai Ewing Stevenson, of Illinois. 

 The following were members of the Cabinet at the 

 beginning of 1896: Secretary of State, Richard 

 Olney, of Massachusetts ; Secretary of the Treasury, 

 John G. Carlisle, of Kentucky ; Secretary of War, 



