UNITAKIANS. 



693 



the centre of the well to the depth of a quarter 

 of a mile, in expectation of finding water in 

 abundance in the lower greensand. The 

 Waterworks Company, 1853, reached the depth 

 of 1,302 ft., sunk nearly 8,000 in two years, 

 found no lower greensand, unfortunately, no 

 water, and became ruined. The property 

 passed eventually into the hands of the new 

 Kiver Company, who accorded to Mr. Symons 

 the permission he sought to conduct a series 

 of thermometric experiments on the aban- 

 doned site. Mr. Symons erected a hut over 

 the well, and fitted up a little observing-house. 

 At the British Association meeting at Dundee 

 a committee was appointed to investigate the 

 temperature of the earth at great depths. Mr. 

 Symons is a member of that committee, also 

 Sir W. Thompson, who moved for its appoint- 

 ment. Upon the solution hang certain matters 

 of contention between Sir William and Prof. 

 Huxley, as to how far underground tem- 

 perature may be made to test the age of the 

 world. Mr. Symons's experiments are not yet 

 concluded. The results so far he regards as 

 decisive. He has made gradual observations 

 down to a depth of 1,100 ft., and has ascer- 

 tained that the temperature there is 20 higher 

 than aboveground : that is to say, the thermom- 

 eter showed 70, whereas the mean tempera- 

 ture of London is 50. If this rate of increase 

 continues, as there seems no reason to doubt 

 would be the case, boiling-point (212) would 

 be reached about a mile and a half down. At 

 present, however, Mr. Symons is at a stand- 

 still ; he has literally stuck in the mud. About 

 200 ft. of blue-black deposit has accumulated 

 at the bottom of the tube, and into this the 

 thermometers cannot penetrate. 



UNITARIANS. The Year-look of the Uni- 

 tarian Congregational Churches for 1870 gives 

 lists of 334 societies in the United States 

 (against 315 in the preceding year), and 396 

 ministers, of whom, however, a large number 

 (157) are not settled. In 1869, five periodicals 

 were published by the denomination ; two 

 monthlies (Old and New), established in Janu- 

 ary, 1870, with which the Christian Examiner 

 and the Monthly Journal were consolidated, 

 and the Monthly Religious Magazine, semi- 

 monthly Sunday-School Gazette, two week- 

 lies, the Christian Register, Boston, and the 

 Liberal Christian, New York. 



The National Conference of the Unitarian 

 Churches meets biennially. The third con- 

 ference was held in 1868, and the fourth will 

 meet in 1870. 



The number of Unitarian associations was 

 increased in 1869 by the establishment of the 

 Western Illinois Conference of Unitarian and 

 other Christian Churches, which was organized 

 at Sheffield 111., January 28, 1869; and the 

 Liberal Christian Conference of Michigan, or- 

 ganized at Kalamazoo, November 3, 1869. 



The Conference of the Western Unitarian 

 Churches held its sixteenth annual session at 

 Quincy, 111., commencing on Wednesday, Octo- 



ber 20th. Artemas Carter, of Chicago, was 

 chosen president for the coming year. A 

 prominent feature of the session was the 

 almost unanimous determination to unify the 

 action of the denomination. 



In Great Britain and Ireland there are, ac- 

 cording to the English Unitarian Almanac, 395 

 Unitarian places of worship (against 382 in the 

 previous year), and 311 ministers, of whom 

 274 are settled. The Almanac also mentions 

 the names of 15 Unitarian societies and asso- 

 ciations, the most important of which is the 

 British and Foreign Unitarian Association, es- 

 tablished in 1825. The number of Unitarian 

 periodicals is seven, of which one is published 

 in the Welsh language. 



The Unitarians in Hungary* number 106 

 congregations, with 50,000 worshippers. The 

 congregations are under the care of a bishop, 

 J. Kriza, who resides at Clausenburg. 



The following letter from the Unitarians in 

 Hungary was submitted, and was recommend- 

 ed for publication, along with the proceedings 

 of this meeting : 



From the Consistory of the Hungarian Unitarians to the 

 Unitarian Christians of the United States of America, 

 through the American Unitarian Association. 



DEAR BRETHREN IN CHRIST : Our bishop, the Et. 

 Rev. John Kriza, communicated to our Consistory a 

 letter which lie had some days ago the pleasure of 

 receiving from the secretary of your Association, and 

 in having read it we found a great delight in being 

 convinced and assured of your cordial sympathy and 

 interest in us and in our common faith. 



Your secretary relates us in this letter that, on the 

 one hand, a letter from our friend, the Kev. 

 Dominik Simen, convinced you that German tracts 

 would not well answer the purpose here ; and that, 

 on the other hand, as you have lound much difficulty 

 in having your works translated and printed in Hun- 

 garian, therefore your Association oners to our Con- 

 sistory the sum of five hundred dollars, in order 

 to cause to be translated and printed a selection 

 from the writings of the most celebrated Ameri- 

 can Unitarian authors as would best answer our pur- 

 pose. He tells us at the same time that you were 

 ready to send us the money as soon as you hear from 

 us. 



Our Consistory accepts this offer with the greatest 

 pleasure, and takes it as a token of your love in our 

 common cause, the Unitarian Christianity, and of 

 your sympathy and interest in us. 



We confess that now, when the minds of men in 

 our own country are more and more directed to re- 

 ligious matters, so that people of different denomi- 

 nations, from every quarter, make inquiries about 

 our religious writings and publications, nay, in fact, 

 freely declare their love toward Unitarianism, and we 

 have good prospects that in a short time Unitarian 

 congregations will be formed in Hungary itself now, 

 under such aspects, your kind offer seems to our 

 Consistory to be the best Christmas-present ; for this 

 will enable us to excite at this time a greater interest 

 toward Unitarianism, and to make an important 

 turning in the views of our countrymen by the pub- 

 lication of the writings of such eminent American 

 Unitarians as Dr. Chanuing, whose single sermons, 

 already published, have convinced many individuals 

 of the truthfulness of Unitarian Christianity. 



We, dear brethren, will, as soon as the money you 

 so kindly offered in the aid of our common cause ar- 

 rives, commence the publication of the writings of 



* For fuller statistics, see AMERICAN ANNUAL CTCLOP^:- 

 DIA for 1868. 



