118 



CONGREGATIONALISTS. 



and the Indians, received especial attention. 

 A missionary, who had spent two years with 

 the Chippewa Indians, spoke of an extraordi- 

 nary arousing of mental activity, and the awak- 

 ening of a desire to better their condition 

 among that tribe. During two years they 

 had built up for themselves about one hundred 

 and fifty houses. 



The Congregational Union of Ontario and 

 Quebec met at Montreal on the 5th of June. 

 The chairman, in his address, spoke of the 

 progress of the body as not entirely satisfac- 

 tory. Sixteen years previously, the number 

 of members of the churches was reported as 

 2,877, and the number of attendants on wor- 

 ship as 11,980. In the last year, the number 

 of members was 5,052, and the number of at- 

 tendants 14,205. He thought that the growth 

 of the churches was hindered by failure to 

 make the peculiarities of the denomination 

 sufficiently prominent, and by impatience of 

 results, manifesting itself in the frequent sev- 

 erance of pastoral relations. Hardly more 

 than half the students who had been trained 

 in the colleges were now in the country as 

 pastors. The statistical secretary complained 

 of the incompleteness of the returns. Many 

 of the churches had not reported at all. Of 

 61 churches which had reported, all but 13 

 showed an increase in the number of their 

 members. The net increase was 265. The in- 

 crease in the amount of contributions for all 

 purposes was $3,350. The receipts of the Con- 

 gregational Missionary Society were $5,059. 

 The society had aided 49 missionaries. The 

 income of the Indian Missionary Society was 

 about $2,000. The operations of the society 

 are on Manitoulin Island, and the north shore 

 of the Georgian Bay. Several stations and 

 schools are maintained, and the work is en- 

 larging. Thirteen students had attended the 

 college. Fraternal courtesies were exchanged 

 with the conferences of the Wesleyan Connec- 

 tion and of the Methodist Episcopal Church. 

 A motion was offered to recommend the 

 French Canadian Missionary Society to the 

 good-will of the churches. Upon this, the 

 question was asked if this society was not be- 

 coming to all intents and purposes a Presby- 

 terian society. Explanation was made that 

 the funds contributed from Presbyterian 

 churches for the society were devoted, to a 

 large extent, to the support of the Presbyterian 

 college, and that the students of that institu- 

 tion became Presbyterian ministers. Several 

 distinctively Presbyterian churches had been 

 formed among the French. The Synod Evan- 

 gelique, which was formed with the hope and 

 intention of absorbing all the converts, was 

 not thriving. After this explanation, the 

 Union gave its recommendation to the society. 



The annual meeting of the Congregational 

 Union of England and Wales was held in Lon- 

 don, May 6th. An increase was reported of 

 more than three hundred churches in alliance 

 with the Union. 



A conference had been held in London at an 

 earlier date, between Baptists and Congrega- 

 tionalists, to endeavor to effect an arrangement 

 by which small churches of these two denomi- 

 nations might be amalgamated, or caused so to 

 act together as to avoid unnecessary and un- 

 profitable divisions. A liberal disposition had 

 been exhibited on both sides with reference to 

 the communion, but the efforts to adjust the 

 differences in reference to baptism were not 

 successful. The Baptist ministers insisted 

 that they would not baptize children, and the 

 Congregationalist ministers would not consent 

 to baptize over again persons who had been 

 baptized when children. No agreement was 

 reached. The committee of the Congregation- 

 al Union reported back to it the failure of the 

 conference to accomplish its object. 



The Congregational Union of Scotland met 

 at Glasgow, in April. Reports were made of 

 the condition of its various enterprises. The 

 Theological Hall had 14 students. The Chap- 

 el-building Committee had resolved to aim at 

 raising a capital sum of 5,000, as a perma- 

 nent loan-fund. 



The statistics of the Congregational churches, 

 for the year 1872, according to the Congrega- 

 tional Quarterly, for January, 1873, were as 

 follows : 



