682 



PRESBYTERIANS. 



tended by thirteen European missionaries, 

 seven native pastors, and ten native elders. 

 It represented a church-membership of about 

 1,000 persons. The next meeting will be held 

 in Che-foo, in August, 1874. 



II. PBESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN THE UNITED 

 STATES. The following is a general summary 

 of the statistics of the Southern Presbyterian 

 Church for 1872 : 



Synods in connection with the General Assembly. 11 



Presbyteries 56 



Ministers and licentiates 957 



Candidates 205 



Churches 1,545 



Whole number of communicants 91,208 



Churches not reporting number of communi- 

 cants 87 



Children in Sunday-school and Bible-classes 55,943 



MONEYS CONTRIBUTED. 



To Sustentation and Presbyterial Domestic 



Missions $51,899 



To Foreign Missions 41,004 



To Education 47,532 



To Publication 10,479 



To Invalid Fund 8,518 



To Pastors' salaries 432,050 



To Congregational purposes 415,955 



To Miscellaneous 76,362 



Total $1,083,799 



The General Assembly of this Church met 

 in Kichmond, Va., May 16th. The Rev. T. D. 

 Welch, D. D., was elected moderator. The 

 organization was announced of the Presbytery 

 of San Paolo, in Brazil. The committee on sus- 

 tentation reported that the receipts for the year 

 ending April 1, 1872, were $28,961.37. This 

 amount includes $6,503.42, which were con- 

 tributed to the invalid fund. Estimates based 

 upon reports received from twenty-five pres- 

 byteries indicated that the average salary of 

 ministers was between $650 and $700. The 

 receipts for the Educational Fund were $19,- 

 661. The amount of $19,715.97 had been paid 

 to 130 students. A deficit of $4,421.98, 

 charged to the previous year's account, had 

 been cancelled. The receipts during the year 

 for foreign missions had been, including spe- 

 cial contributions, $35,876.55. A debt of $5,- 

 505.09 had been reduced one half. The in- 

 crease in contributions over those of the pre- 

 vious year had been more than 70 per cent. 

 The force of missionary laborers consisted of 

 14 ordained ministers, of whom four were 

 natives of the countries in which they were 

 employed; four missionary assistants; and 

 eight native assistants. The General Assembly 

 decided to undertake to raise $60,000 for mis- 

 sions during the ensuing year. The Eev. Dr. 

 Van Zandt was introduced as the correspond- 

 ing delegate from the Reformed Church in 

 America. He was formerly connected with 

 the Southern Presbyterian Church, and settled 

 as a pastor at Petersburg, Va. He addressed 

 the Assembly at considerable length, and de- 

 veloped propositions for the organic union of 

 the two bodies, and explained how their com- 

 mon interests would be greatly promoted by 

 union. His remarks were received with evi- 

 dent favor. The Rev. W. W. Trimble was re- 

 ceived as a delegate from the Independent 



Synod of Missouri. He explained the position 

 of that body, and the nature of the obstacles 

 which hindered union between it and the 

 Southern Presbyterian Church. When the 

 synod first separated from the Presbyterian 

 Church North, it became involved in lawsuits 

 for church property which it would have lost 

 if it had connected itself with the Southern 

 General Assembly. Since the close of the 

 war many Northern Presbyterians had moved 

 into Missouri and joined the churches of the 

 synod. These members would now be lost 

 to the synod if it formed an organic union 

 with the Southern Church. At the time of 

 its separation from the Northern Church, this 

 synod counted on its rolls 40 ministers, 80 

 churches, and 6,000 communicants; it now 

 numbered 90 ministers, 130 churches, and 

 8,000 communicants. A resolution looking to 

 the preparation of a liturgy with responses 

 was rejected. The question was submitted 

 whether it is proper for Presbyterians to ad- 

 minister baptism by immersion. The General 

 Assembly decided that such a method of bap- 

 tism is a departure from the standard, and 

 should be discouraged. The Union Theological 

 Seminary had been attended by 62 students, 

 of whom 20 had completed their course. The 

 property of this institution was valued at 

 $229,846.03. Thirteen students had been 

 graduated from the Theological Seminary at 

 Columbia, S. C. An increase of $5,570.94 

 was reported in the business transactions of 

 the publishing house. The net assets of this 

 establishment were appraised at $40,255.05. 

 Several works are to be published in Portu- 

 guese for the use of the churches in Brazil. 

 Reports on Sunday-schools were received from 

 forty-four out of the fifty-five presbyteries. 

 There were in these presbyteries 682 schools, 

 6,658 teachers, and 46,972 scholars. The 

 Sunday-schools had contributed to the funds 

 of the Church $26,678. Little Rock, Ark., was 

 selected as the place for the meeting of the 

 next General Assembly. 



III. INDEPENDENT SYNOD OF MISSOUKI. The 

 Independent Synod of Missouri, at its meeting 

 in 1871, adopted the following overture, with 

 reference to union with the Southern Presby- 

 terian Church, to be transmitted to the pres- 

 byteries, in order that their sense might be 

 taken upon it : " Shall an organic union be 

 formed between this body and the Presbyte- 

 rian Church in the United States, whose Gen- 

 eral Assembly held its sessions in Iluntsville, 

 Ala., in May, 1871 ? " The vote was taken at 

 the meeting of the presbyteries in 1872. Two 

 presbyteries voted for the overture, three pres- 

 byteries voted against it, and one presbytery 

 gave a tie-vote. The overture, having failed 

 to receive the approval of a majority of the 

 presbyteries, was lost. The synod met at 

 Columbia, Mo., October 8th. The report of 

 the result of the vote in the presbyteries was 

 referred to a special committee, who made a 

 report expressing the hope of ultimate union. 



