68 



BAPTISTS. 



es, 18 ; members, 400. North Carolina Con- 

 ference : churches, 58 ; members, 3,898. 

 Alabama Association: churches, 7; members, 

 244. Western Virginia Free Salvation Bap- 

 tist Association : churches, 7 ; members, 352. 

 Arkansas Association of Baptists : churches, 

 7; members, 152. 



The following are the statistics for the 

 United States, as given in the Free-will Bap- 

 tist Register for 1872 : 



The number of ordained preachers is 1,145 ; 

 of licensed preachers, 158. An increase is 

 shown of 27 churches and 2,677 members, and 

 a decrease of 6 ministers. The total amount 

 of contributions for foreign missions was 

 $6,095.60 ; of bequests, for the same purpose, 

 $2,942.26. The total receipts of the Homo 

 Mission Society were $8,243.41. 



The General Conference of the Free-will 

 Baptist Churches in the United States was 

 held at Hillsdale, Michigan, beginning on the 

 4th of October. The new yearly meetings of 

 Minnesota, Southern Virginia, and Southern 

 Illinois, were admitted to representation. The 

 Southern Illinois yearly meeting is composed 

 principally of colored churches, organized as 

 the result of the missionary operations in the 

 neighborhood of Cairo. A yearly meeting was 

 reported partially organized in Kansas, and 

 was represented, but without a vote. The 

 Association of Separate Baptists of Illinois, 



with 15 churches and 600 members, was also 

 admitted, the churches being accorded the 

 privilege of retaining their old name. This 

 association has no denominational literature 

 or educational institutions, but agrees in doc- 

 trinal views with the Free-Will Baptists. A 

 corresponding messenger was present from the 

 Free Christian Baptists of New Brunswick. 

 Fraternal feeling has been developed by corre- 

 spondence with the General Baptists of Eng- 

 land. The Sunday-school Union reported as- 

 sets $890.97; expenses, $245.94. The Mission- 

 ary Society reported a prosperous work. Its 

 total receipts were $11,167.86; expenditures, 

 $12,029.05; the permanent fund is $6,540.02, 

 of which $5,850 are invested; outstanding 

 debt, $2,790. During the year $5,000 were 

 raised in India for mission-work. The Homo 

 Mission Society have organized two yearly 

 meetings, and assisted 38 churches and 7 quar- 

 terly meetings in 15 different States. Its re- 

 sources for the year were $14,724.48 ; its debt 

 $6,583.13, of which $5,000 are lent and se- 

 cured by mortgage. Its permanent fund, the in- 

 terest of which only can be used, is $3,255.80. 

 A proposition to unite the Home and Foreign 

 Missionary Societies was considered, and was 

 indefinitely postponed. An effort was decided 

 upon, to raise 50 cents annually per member 

 for benevolent purposes, of which 20 cents 

 should be applied to the cause of foreign mis- 

 sions, 20 cents to home missions, and the re- 

 mainder to education. To the ordinary testi- 

 mony of doctrine the General Conference 

 added a declaration against Darwinism, and 

 a congratulation that other churches are verg- 

 ing toward the doctrinal stand-point of the 

 denomination, by advocating a larger liberty 

 of thought and investigation, etc. Bates Col- 

 lege, Lewiston, Maine, and Hillsdale College, 

 Michigan, under the care of this denomination, 

 are flourishing institutions. The Free Chris- 

 tian Baptists of New Brunswick support the 

 Rev. J. Phillips as a missionary in India. The 

 home-mission field is large, and many of the 

 churches are without pastors, they have 120 

 churches, and only 33 preachers, with 9 or 10 

 licentiates. The salaries of the ministers av- 

 erage less than $400. The people are repre- 

 sented as prejudiced against salaried minis- 

 ters. The yearly Conference of Nova Scotia, 

 embracing all the Free Baptist churches in the 

 province, reports about 3,000 communicants. 

 The number of Sunday-school scholars is rep- 

 resented as relatively large. At the ^meeting 

 held in Argyle, in September, a solid peck, 

 by measure, of silver coin, was collected for 

 foreign missions. 



III. SEVENTH-DAT BAPTISTS. The Seventh- 

 day Baptists have 75 churches, 82 ministers, 

 and 7,336 members. 



The fifty-seventh General Conference of the 

 Seventh-day Baptists was held at Adams 

 Centre, Jefferson County, New York, on the 

 6th of September. Letters were read from 

 about 50 churches. At a preceding session 



