FRIENDS. 



331 



a few years that the yearly meetings havetaken 

 the annual census of their members. But full 

 particulars have always been collected of the 

 number of children between five and twenty-one 

 years old, from which an estimate of the entire 

 numbers at any time may be computed by the 

 application of a ratio between the whole num- 

 ber and the number of children as obtained 

 from a census in which both are reported. 

 William H. S. Wood, of New York, has care- 

 fully compiled the reports of the yearly meet- 

 ings of the Orthodox Friends, which he has 

 compared with estimates of the numbers in 

 past years. His computations give the follow- 

 ing exhibit of the present state of the society : 



The losses shown in this table are for a 

 great part only apparent, many of them hav- 

 ing been occasioned by the setting off of new 

 meetings. The Eastern meetings have been 

 depleted by the emigration of their members 

 westward into the newer meetings. The 

 North Carolina meeting especially has lost 

 thousands of members from this cause, yet it 

 has held its own. The ratio of adults to chil- 

 dren is, in New York, 7.05 ; in New England, 

 4.98 ; in Philadelphia, 5.15 ; in Ohio, 3.56 ; in 

 Indiana, 3.65 ; in Iowa, 3.93. 



The statistics of the Unitarian Friends have 

 not been reported. 



A religious awakening has taken place dur- 

 ing the year among the Orthodox Friends. At 

 the National Yearly Meeting, which was held 

 in New York City, in June, a communication 

 was received from the Farmington (N. Y.) 

 Quarterly Meeting, expressing the desire that 

 the Friends, to regain the zeal of their fore- 

 fathers of 200 years ago, should hold public 

 meetings. The suggestion was approved, and 

 a committee was appointed, who prepared a 

 plan for holding a series of such meetings in vari- 

 ous parts of the United States. At Farming- 

 ton, where one of the first meetings was held, 

 the attendance was so large that it was divided 

 into three congregations. The Friends were 

 invited to preach during the meeting in the 

 churches of the surrounding villages. At 

 Brooklyn the meetings attracted general at- 

 tention. Ministers and people of other de- 

 nominations participated in them ; several 

 churches were gladly opened to the Friend 

 speakers. The object of the meetings was not 

 to make proselytes to the society, so much as 

 to infuse greater spiritual activity into it. 



A proposition was presented to the National 

 Yearly Meeting, for holding a general confer- 

 ence, to which all the ten yearly meetings in 

 America should send delegates; the confer- 

 ence was not to have power over the yearly 

 meetings, but to be simply an advisory body. 

 This proposition was referred to a committee. 

 A day's session of the National Yearly Meeting 

 was devoted to the interests of First-day 

 schools, the importance of which has been rec- 

 ognized by the society only within a few years. 



A more thorough consideration of the sub- 

 ject of Sunday (or First-day) schools was given 

 at the sixth biennial conference of teachers 

 and delegates from the Friends' First-day 

 schools in the United States and Canada, which 

 met at Wilmington, Ohio, on the 22d of No- 

 vember. The proceedings show that the in- 

 terest in these schools has increased. 



In October, 1870, the society had twenty- 

 four freedrnen's schools in operation. 



The Orthodox Friends have the care of the 

 uncivilized Indians of the Central Superinten- 

 dency, embracing Kansas and the Indian Ter- 

 ritory. The number of Indians is estimated 

 at 20,000. About forty Friends are connected 

 with this work. They have established Sunday 

 and day schools, upon which two hundred and 

 ninety-seven children attend. The report of 

 the Executive Committee of Indian Affairs 

 speaks encouragingly of the success of their 

 efforts to control the savages by peaceful meas- 

 ures. A number of children in the schools 

 have learned to read the English version of tho 

 New Testament. 



The Unitarian Friends also make favorable 

 reports of their management of the Indians 

 in Nebraska. The children in the schools im- 

 prove fairly ; many adults are settling down 

 to agricultural life and building houses. The 

 Winnebagoes have removed their old chiefs, 

 who are opposed to civilization, and have 

 adopted a code of rules to aid them in cul- 

 tivating civilized habits. 



The First-day school movement also is mak- 

 ing progress among the Unitarian Friends. 

 Meetings are held quarterly in the interest of 

 this cause. 



The English Friends, as well as those of the 

 society in the United States, are giving in- 

 creased attention to First-day or Sunday 

 schools. 



The Friends' (English) Foreign Missionary 

 Society was formed in 1868, and held in 1871 

 its fourth meeting. The work of the Associa- 

 tion is as yet confined to India and Madagas- 

 car. During the year the Friends in India 

 had left Benares, and settled at Jubbulpoor. 

 In Madagascar the Friends still remain in or 

 near the capital, on terms of mutual support 

 and close cooperation with the missionaries of 

 the London Missionary Society. Mr. Sewell, 

 one of the missionaries in Madagascar, has 

 prepared a series of school-lessons and a gram- 

 mar of the Madagascar language. The Asso- 

 ciation has ten missionaries under its charge ; 



