FRIENDS. 



827 



ing in October, 1872, were $1,659.62; the 

 amount paid paid for teachers' salaries was 

 $1,587.15. 



The following statistics are reported of the 

 Canada Yearly Meeting : Meetings, 28 ; fami- 

 lies, 297, and 266 parts of families ; members, 

 1,616; children of school age, 276. 



The London Yearly Meeting of the Society 

 of Friends opened on the 22d of May. Epis- 

 tles were read from the yearly meetings of 

 Ireland, New York, New England, Baltimore, 

 North Carolina, Ohio, Indiana, Iowa, Canada, 

 and the Western Yearly Meeting, but none was 

 received from that of Pennsylvania. A prop- 

 osition was introduced that the meeting join 

 the other Non-Conformist denominations of 

 England in support of the principle of making 

 education in the schools, supported by the 

 state, simply secular. The feeling in favor of 

 having the Bible taught in the schools was 

 shown, during" the discussion of this subject, 

 to be very strong. No decision was reached 

 upon the motion. 



An act of Parliament, in relation to mar- 

 riages of members of the Society of Friends, 

 had been passed a short time previous to the 

 holding of the yearly meeting. By the pro- 

 visions of this act, the preliminary proceedings 

 required in the case of marriages in the soci- 

 ety were greatly simplified. Under it, mar- 

 riages are permitted in the meeting-houses and 

 according to the usages of the society, of any 

 persons, whether in the profession of the so- 

 ciety or not, who may have obtained the con- 

 sent of the yearly meeting. New regulations 

 were adopted to correspond with the provi- 

 sions of the act. 



The attention of the yearly meeting, held 

 two years before, had been called to a certain 

 alleged heresy, which had sprung up in the 

 Lancashire and Cheshire quarterly meeting, 

 and a committee had been appointed to inves- 

 tigate it. This committee presented a report 

 of its action in discipline, and along with it 

 a statement of the doctrines held as funda- 

 mental truths by the society. This "state- 

 ment " sets forth at considerable length, and 

 with elaborate minuteness, the distinctive doc- 

 trines of the denomination. The doctrines of 

 the Friends, with regard to the Godhead and 

 the Scriptures, are denned as follows : 



We have ever believed concerning God the Father, 

 the Son, and the Holy Spirit, according to the testi- 

 mony of the holy Scripture ; that there is one God 

 and Father, of whom are all things ; and one Lord 

 Jesus Christ, by whom all things were made, who 

 was glorified by the Father before the world was, 

 who is over all, God blessed forever; and that there 

 is one Holy Spirit, the Leader and Sanctifler and 

 Comforter of the people of God ; and we further be- 

 lieve that these three are One. 



We believe that all the posterity of Adam are in- 

 volved in the consequences of his fall. 



Very precious is the doctrine of the immediate 

 work of the Holy Spririt; we own no principle of 

 spiritual light, life, or holiness, inherent by nature 

 in the mind of man ; we believe in no principle of 

 spiritual light, life, or holiness, but the influence of 

 the Holy Spirit of God, bestowed on mankind, in 



various measures and degrees, through Jesus Christ 

 our Lord. This influence must ever be distinguished 

 both from the conscience, which it enlightens and 

 from the natural faculty of reason, which, when un- 

 subjected to its operation, is, in the things of God, 

 very foolishness. We disavow all professed spiritu- 

 ality which is divorced from faith in Jesus Christ, 

 of Nazareth, crucified for us without the gates or 

 Jerusalem. One with the Father and the Son, the 

 Holy Spirit works for the regeneration of fallen man. 

 There can be no true repentance or faith without His 

 holy operation. . Convincing of sin, of righteous- 

 ness, and of judgment, and testifying of Jesus, it 

 is the Spirit who leads the humble believer in that 

 course of experience in which he becomes established 

 upon Christ the One Foundation. 



We accept the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New 

 Testament as the authentic testimony of the Spirit. 

 * * * The work of the Spirit, truly submitted to, 

 ever prepares and inclines the heart to receive the 

 teaching of the Scriptures. It is the Spirit alone 

 who can open the understanding to understand them. 

 And whatever any may say or do, which is contrary 

 to the Scriptures, though under profession of the 

 immediate influence of the Holy Spirit, is to be ac- 

 counted a delusion. 



A meeting was held in behalf of foreign 

 missions, at which the chairman spoke of the 

 rapid growth of the Missionary Society during 

 the five years of its existence, and testified 

 that the efforts made in this cause had 

 strengthened the Society of Friends itself. 

 The expenditures for missions during the 

 year had been 300. Two missionaries had 

 returned from India on account of ill health, 

 leaving but one at work in that field. This 

 one (Rachel Metcalfe) was conducting, with 

 the aid of one native assistant, two schools in 

 the city of Jabbalpoor. Mr. Sewell had re- 

 turned from Madagascar, bringing with him 

 two native boys, who are to receive an Eng- 

 lish education. Arrangements had been made 

 with the London Missionary Society by which 

 a large district of Madagascar would be left 

 under the superintendence of the Friends. 

 The school which had been conducted by Mr. 

 Sewell was reported as being in an excellent 

 condition, with about one hundred and fifty 

 male scholars. A larger school for women 

 and girls was also favorably spoken of. Ac- 

 counts were given also of the Friends' schools 

 and missions in Syria, and the Foreign Mis- 

 sionary Society of the American Friends. 



A very large work in the distribution of 

 tracts was reported by the several local meet- 

 ings. Extensive efforts had been made by 

 members of the society in behalf of temper- 

 ance. 



The subject of bringing the various volun- 

 tary agencies for the extension of the Gospel, 

 which were sustained by members of the so- 

 ciety, into closer connection with the Yearly 

 Meeting, was mentioned and received some 

 discussion. It was decided to call a confer- 

 ence later in the year, to consider this subject 

 more fully. This conference met on the 13th 

 of November. It was well attended. From 

 the representations which were made, it ap- 

 peared that about two thousand persons were 

 brought weekly under the religious influence 



