BAPTISTS. 



65 



The work of the American Baptist Home 

 Mission Society is now divided into three de- 

 partments : the Northern, the Southern, and 

 the Church Edifice. The Northern Depart- 

 ment embraces all north of Virginia, Kentucky, 

 and Arkansas, including the Indian Territory, 

 and the Pacific coast. The Southern Depart- 

 ment embraces the States and Territories south 

 of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Missouri, and the Indian 

 Territory, including the Republic of Mexico. 

 The Church Edifice Department is distinct 

 from each of the others, and includes the cor- 

 respondence and labor of obtaining and of 

 appropriating all church-edifice funds. Each 

 department has its secretary. More than three 

 hundred and sixty missionaries were employed 

 during the year 1870-'71, of whom one hundred 

 were in the South. The missionaries preach 

 to people of more than eleven nationalities, in 

 eleven different languages. The receipts of 

 the freedman's fund were upward of $55,000. 

 The week-day schools and classes were at- 

 tended by 2,768 persons. A special interest 

 has been awakened in behalf of the work 

 among the Chinese. In the Church-Edifice 

 Department more than sixty houses of wor- 

 ship were erected. A sharp discussion took 

 place during the annual meeting, between 

 Northern and Southern delegates, in refer- 

 ence to the character of the work among 

 the freedmen. A resolution was passed de- 

 claring that " the Baptists of America must 

 now, as never before, bare their shoulders to 

 the burdens of educating and Christianizing 

 the freedmen of the South." Resolutions were 

 subsequently passed deprecating the agitation, 

 at religious anniversaries, North or South, of 

 questions which have formerly divided senti- 

 ment, " while the great cause of division has 

 ceased to exist." 



The receipts of the American Baptist Mis- 

 sionary Union for the year were $217,510.56. 

 The total receipts during the twenty-five years 

 from 1846 to 1871 were $3,439,830.20. Dur- 

 ing this period, the fiscal year was closed with 

 a credit balance five times, and with a debit 

 balance twenty times. The largest gross in- 

 come was for the last year. The missions of 

 this society in Burmah are among the most 

 important and most successful in the whole 

 list of Protestant missionary enterprises. In 

 the fall of 1870 the Karen missionaries, in 

 Burmah, made an appeal to the Executive 

 Committee to furnish the Karen young men 

 with the means of obtaining a higher educa- 

 tion. Accordingly, it has been determined to 

 establish a college at Rangoon. Six pupils 

 were graduated by the theological seminary at 

 Rangoon. Besides that in Burmah, this society 

 sustains missions in Southern India ; at Bang- 

 kok, in Siam ; in the south and east of China ; 

 in France, Germany, Sweden, Spain, Greece, 

 and Africa. The following general summary 

 of the missions is given in the last annual 

 report (May, 1871) : 



The missions of the Union are 14 in Asia, 8 ; in 

 VOL xi. 5 A 



Europe, 5 ; in Africa, 1. In the Asiatic missions 

 there are 20 stations where American missiona- 

 ries reside, more than 400 out-stations, and 435 

 churches. The number baptized last year is 1,739 ; 

 the whole number of members in the churches is 

 21,763. If we add to these the members of churches 

 in Burmah not under the immediate supervision of 

 the Union, the number reaches not less than 24,000. 

 Number of American laborers connected with the 

 missions in Asia, 94; of whom 43 are males and 

 51 are females. There are nearly 500 native assist- 

 ants, of whom about 80 are ordained ministers. The 

 statistics of the German mission have not yet reached 

 this country, and those of the French mission are 

 imperfect. Using the statistics of the preceding 

 year, so far as is needful, we number five missions 

 in Europe, and one in Africa, with a total of 1,244 

 stations and out-stations, 331 churches, 394 preachers 

 and colporteurs, 2,723 baptisms, and not less than 

 27,000 members. Combining the statistics of the 

 missions in Asia, Europe, and Africa, we have an 

 aggregate of 1.664 stations and out-stations ? 766 

 churches, 988 laborers of all classes, 4,452 baptisms, 

 and 48,763 members. 



Two Women's Missionary Societies one in 

 the East, and one in the West have been or- 

 ganized to operate conjointly in aid of the 

 Missionary Union. They contemplate espe- 

 cially the enlargement of the operations of 

 the missions, and the promotion of their greater 

 success among the women of the Eastern coun- 

 tries in which the custom of seclusion is ob- 

 served. 



The Baptist Historical Society, which was 

 organized within the last five years, has ac- 

 cumulated a library of more than 5,000 vol- 

 umes, 15,000 pamphlets, several hundred por- 

 traits, autographs, manuscripts, and a large 

 quantity of minutes of associations. Its object 

 is to gather up and preserve all matters in 

 relation to Baptist history, ancient and con- 

 temporary. 



Several general educational conventions 

 were held by the Baptists during the year. 

 The Southern Baptist Educational Convention 

 was held at Marion, Alabama, April 12th. 

 An educational convention from the New 

 England States was held at Worcester, Massa- 

 chusetts, April 26th and 27th. One for the 

 Western States was held in Chicago, May 24th 

 and 25th. One for the Southern States was 

 held in Richmond, Virginia, July 4th and 5th. 

 All of these, except the first, were held under 

 the auspices of the Baptist Educational Com- 

 mission, which was formed at the New York 

 State Convention of 1867. They were attend- 

 ed by the boards and faculties, and friends of 

 the Baptist colleges and theological semina- 

 ries, with the object of setting forward the 

 movement in behalf of a higher education.. 

 The discussions, and the papers read, related: 

 to a large scope of topics in harmony with' 

 this object. No specific, practical object was 

 sought or reached in any of them ; but good 

 effects were looked for in awakening a more 

 general interest, and securing a more intelli- 

 gent and effective degree of cooperation and' 

 harmony. The Northwestern Baptist Edu- 

 ca&on Society was organized in Chicago in 

 September by delegations representing ten. 



