58 



BAPTISTS. 



BAVARIA. 



ble by law, arising within or respecting any 

 church in the Baptist Union, which shall be 

 duly submitted to it by the parties." It is 

 further declared that the award of the Board 

 shall be final. It is, however, provided that 

 the reference of disputes to the arbitrative 

 committee shall be " wholly voluntary." 



Seventh-Day Baptists. The General Con- 

 ference of the Seventh-Day Baptists met at 

 Southampton, Peoria County, 111., September 

 llth. The letters of 62 churches were read. 

 Four churches were admitted to the confer- 

 ence. The committee appointed by the pre- 

 vious General Conference to procure and pub- 

 lish essays, discussing the subject of commu- 

 nion, reported that they had essentially failed 

 of the object of their appointment. They had 

 invited articles on both sides of the question, 

 as involved in the doctrines of " close " and 

 " open " communion. Only two papers had been 

 formally submitted to them, although a few 

 others had been published in the Sabbath Re- 

 corder. A new committee was appointed to 

 present a paper to the next conference. 

 The year 1872 being the bi-centennial year of 

 the foundation of the denomination, provision 

 was made for the publication in book-form of 

 the essays, which the previous conference had 

 ordered, prepared in reference to that event, 

 together with a concise account of the bi-cen- 

 tennial celebration, its origin, and its purpose. 

 Provisions were made for raising a memorial 

 fund of $100,000, for educational and other 

 denominational purposes. A Sabbath-school 

 department was formed. A committee was ap- 

 pointed to obtain from the Legislature of Illi- 

 nois legislation more favorable to "sabbath 

 keepers " in the care of common-school meet- 

 ings. The Tract Society reported its receipts 

 to have been $4.028.07. The Missionary Soci- 

 ety had 16 missionaries at work in the home- 

 field on the Western frontiers. 



Albion Academy, Albion, Wis., has property 

 worth $50,000, upon which is some indebted- 

 ness, and an endowment of $4,075 and lands. 

 Milton College, Milton, Wis., reported its in- 

 come less than its expenses. Alfred Univer- 

 sity, K Y., reported receipts at $9,641.50, and 

 expenses at the same amount. 



The Board of Missions reported that they 

 had employed seventeen missionaries in the 

 home-field, through whose agency two hun- 

 dred or more persons had been baptized, and 

 not less than fifty had been " converted to the 

 sabbath." The Board has under its care a 

 mission at Shanghai, China, with which a na- 

 tive pastor is connected. The receipts of the 

 Board for 1872 promised to be less than usual, 

 on account of the greater attention given by 

 the churches to other objects. 



III. SIX-PRINCIPLE BAPTISTS." The Rhode 

 Island and Massachusetts General Baptist Year- 

 ly Meeting of the Ancient Order of the Six Prin- 

 ciples of the Doctrine of Christ and his Apos- 

 tles " is now divided into two bodies. Each 

 meeting claims to be the regular one. The 



meetings for 1872 were held in different places 

 in Rhode Island. They are represented to have 

 been " earnest and successful religious meet- 

 ings, more largely occupied with Christian 

 conference than with any other exercise." The 

 reports do not give the statistics, nor even the 

 number of churches. The best estimate gives 

 some seven or eight churches to each branch. 



IV. GENERAL BAPTISTS. The one hundred 

 and third annual meeting of the association 

 of General Baptists in England was held at 

 Nottingham, commencing June 23d. The Pres- 

 ident, Rev. J. Clifford, in his inaugural address, 

 spoke strongly against the Church Establish- 

 ment. A vote of thanks was offered for the 

 address, and it was ordered to be printed. 

 The association offered welcome to ministers 

 and members of other churches. The secre- 

 tary's report stated that all the returns had 

 not been received, but, taking them as they 

 stood, it appeared that the churches had 20,- 

 970 members against 20,628 last year, and that 

 1,024 had been baptized, against 889 the pre- 

 vious year. 79 churches had raised 1,641 

 for foreign missions; 44 churches had raised 

 421 for home missions; 43 churches, 270 

 for the college; and 80 churches, 2,288 for 

 Sunday-schools. No new churches were re- 

 ceived into the association. 



V. MENNONITES. The subject of emigration 

 to the United States has been agitated among 

 the Mennonite colonists near Berdiansk, Rus- 

 sia. These people, who now number about 

 40,000 souls, emigrated from Prussia several 

 years ago, under the promise of the Russian 

 Government that their cardinal doctrines of 

 non-resistance should be respected, and that 

 they should be exempted from military service. 

 They have since complained that this promise 

 was not kept according to their expectations, 

 and have thought of looking for a home in 

 America. A number of young men of their 

 community came over during the summer, and 

 visited the States and Territories of the Missis- 

 sippi Valley. Some of them returned in the 

 fall, prepared to make a favorable report. The 

 Government of Canada has offered the colonists 

 very liberal terms to induce them to settle in 

 that country. It does not appear that any 

 formal organization exists to promote the emi- 

 gration. The movement is described as spon- 

 taneous and voluntary on the part of the sev- 

 eral families, but the sentiment in its favor is 

 so widely diffused in the community that the 

 emigration, if it take place, is expected to be 

 general. 



BAVARIA, a kingdom in South Germany. 

 King, Louis II., born August 25, 1845; suc- 

 ceeded his father, Maximilian II., on March 

 10, 1864; heir-apparent, his brother Otto, born 

 April 27, 1848. Count von Hegnenberg-Dux 

 (appointed in 1871) having died in 1872, the 

 ministry was composed toward the close of 

 the year of the following members: Prime 

 Minister, A. von Pfretzschner (appointed Sep- 

 tember, 1872); Minister of Finance, L. Berr; 



