BAPTISTS. 



67 



members and a number of visitors were pres- 

 ent, among whom was a representative of the 

 Free Christian Baptists of New Brunswick, 

 who reported that his denomination had adopt- 

 ed the Free - Will Baptist Articles of Faith, 

 and that they had received six hundred mem- 

 bers, by baptism, during the past year. A 

 prominent feature of the business was the 

 adoption of articles under which the society 

 should be incorporated. The subject of chang- 

 ing the name, by adopting that of Baptist or 

 Free Baptist or Union Baptist, was agitat- 

 ed; but the Conference resolved to adhere 

 to the name of "Free-Will Baptist." The 

 Liberty Association of Free - Will (hereto- 

 fore General) Baptists of Indiana, numbering 

 25 churches and 1,653 members, and the Ohio 

 Association of Free-Will (heretofore General) 

 Baptists, numbering about 12 churches and 500 

 members, were received by delegates into the 

 Conference. A net increase of members was 

 reported of 9,420, the present membership being 

 63,440. The Home Mission Society, now in 

 the thirty-second year of its existence, reported 

 its receipts to be ten times as great as during 

 its first years. The American Missionary As- 

 sociation states that this denomination has done 

 more, according to its numbers, for the freedmen 

 than any other people. Over thirty-five thou- 

 sand dollars have been raised, in a little over a 

 year, for the various departments of mission 

 work. Taking the Eastern and Western work 

 together among the freedmen, this society has 

 sustained 3T laborers and 1,800 scholars ; has 

 established ten new churches and one quarterly 

 meeting, containing 1,300 members, and is 

 supporting two normal schools. In the de- 

 partment of Home Missions proper, there are 

 24 ministers, making altogether 60 Home Mis- 

 sionary laborers. -Several associations are re- 

 ported 'in Alabama as agreeing with the Free- 

 Will Baptists, with whom the Society hopes to 

 arrange for a Union. 



This Church has had for many years flour- 

 ishing missions in India. The last annual re- 

 port again shows favorable progress. The re- 

 port recommended the policy for the future of 

 keeping a sufficient force only in the field to 

 superintend native preachers and teachers. In 

 Turkey the field seems to be open. The re- 

 ceipts for the year have been about $10,500. 

 A resolution was adopted looking to the open- 

 ing of additional missions in China and Turkey. 

 The members of the Church were advised to 

 give this Society the preference in their con- 

 tributions over those not of their denomination. 

 The Home and Foreign Mission Society are to 

 be united into one after 1871. 

 m The "Liberal Baptists" or " General Bap- 

 tists," two associations of which, as reported 

 above, joined the " Free-Will Baptists " at their 

 General Conference in November, had previ- 

 ously (May 28th) held a convention at Fort 

 Branch, Indiana, for the purpose of promoting 

 a union of all Baptists believing in " free salva- 

 tion and free communion." It appeared that 



there were two associations in Indiana, three 

 in Kentucky, three in Illinois, three in Geor- 

 gia, one in Alabama, one Separatist Baptist in 

 Illinois, one Free-Will Baptist in Tennessee. 

 The total number of members was estimated 

 at 8,000 or 10,000. Six of the associations re- 

 ported as follows : 



III. OTHEE BAPTIST DENOMINATIONS IN 

 AMEEIOA. The statistics of other American 

 denominations practising immersion are as fol- 

 lows: 



These denominations have 5,022 members. 



The fifty-fourth General Conference of the 

 Seventh-Day Baptists was held at Albion, Wis- 

 consin, September 10th. A prominent subject 

 of discussion was the expediency of creating a 

 denominational literature, particularly in the 

 matter of Sabbath-school libraries, and of a 

 Hymn-book. Measures were taken to publish 

 a Sabbath-school paper. The organization of 

 the General Conference was perfected by the 

 adoption of a constitution. The state of -the 

 churches and missionary interests of the So- 

 ciety was reported as hopeful. 



The annual meeting of the German Bap- 

 tists or Tunkers was held at Millersburg, In- 

 diana, on the 2d of June, and was attended by 

 about 5,000 persons. Among the questions 

 discussed were: the nature of Scriptural di- 

 vorces, which has been under discussion for 

 the last ten years; taxation for church pur- 

 poses, which was decided to be not unscrip- 

 tural, but inexpedient; lyceums, which were 

 not indorsed ; whether voting for persons in the 

 ministry is more in accord with the gospel order 

 than casting lots decided in the affirmative ; 

 the reception of ministers of other orders ; feet 

 washing, the Sunday- school system; the stand 

 of ministers; support of evangelists. The ques- 

 tion of adherence to the name of German Bap- 

 tists was decided in favor of adherence. 



IV. BAPTISTS IN GREAT BEITAIN. The 

 largest body of Baptists in England are the 

 "Particular Baptists" or "Calvinistic Bap- 

 tists." Most of the churches of this class are 

 connected with the "Baptist Union." In 1868 



