PRESBYTERIANS. 



651 



of the well-being of men, and the glory of God, yet 

 the General Assembly does not deem it expedient or 

 important that it make any appointment of delegates 

 or representatives to attend the meeting of the Alli- 

 ance to be held in New York, in October next. 



The connection of members of the chnrch 

 with the new order of " The Patrons of Hus- 

 bandry " was disapproved of, on the principle 

 that the United Presbyterian Church discoun- 

 tenances all secret societies. 



IV. REFORMED PRESBYTERIAN Cnr/Ron. The 

 fiftieth meeting of the General Synod of the 

 Reformed Presbyterian Church was held in 

 Pitfctburg, Pa , commencing May 21st. It 

 was attended by twenty-five delegates. The 

 Rev. S. Young was chosen moderator. The 

 discussion and adoption of a report " On the 

 Signs of the Times " form a regular feature of 

 the sessions of this body. The report adopted 

 at the present meeting noticed the following 

 points: 1. An awakening of the public con- 

 science on impurity and divorce, and more 

 faithful teachings from the pulpit on these sub- 

 jects; 2. The wide-spread prevalence of dis- 

 regard of the civil laws bearing on moral con- 

 duct; 3. A greater degree of harmony and 

 cooperation attained among the various schools 

 opposed to Christianity ; 4. The growth of the 

 Roman Catholic Chnrch in the United States, 

 and its movements to increase its power and 

 influence ; 5. Certain teachings in the Presby- 

 terian Chnrch, which were held to be contrary 

 to the teachings of Scripture; 6. The gradual 

 removal of obstacles which impede the prog- 

 ress of God's truth; 7. Progress was recog- 

 nized in the effort to secure a formal recogni- 

 tion of God in the national Constitution ; 8. 

 The increasing approach to unity among the 

 various branches of the Chnrch. 



The Board of Domestic Missions had during 

 the year received $1,887.83, and had expended 

 $1,137.87. The Board of Foreign Missions 

 had received, including the balance from the 

 previous year, $1,526.05, and had expended 

 $88.50. The Board were instructed to inquire 

 whether "a feasible plan of cooperation with 

 any of the departments of the Reformed Pres- 

 byterian Church can be devised," with the un- 

 derstanding that if such codperation cannot bo 

 secured, the synod will establish an indepen- 

 dent station in Southern India or elsewhere. 

 The endowment fund of the theological semi- 

 nary was reported to have reached $30,538.75. 

 It had increased during the year $2,032. The 

 expenses connected with the management of 

 the fund were $1,829.55. The trustees were 

 contemplating the purchase of a building in 

 Philadelphia for the nse of the institution. 



V. CUMBERLAND PBBSBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

 The General Assembly of the Cumberland 

 Presbyterian Church met at Hiintsville, Ala., 

 May 15th. The Rev. J. W. Poindexter, of 

 Kentucky, was chosen moderator. The propo- 

 sition of the Rev . 8. S. Schmucker, D. D., for a 

 confederation of churches, was favorably con- 

 iidered, and referred to a special committee to 



report upon it at the next meeting of the Gen- 

 eral Assembly. 



The fact that the General Assembly of the 

 United States of America (Northern) had ap- 

 pointed a committee on the subject of union 

 with the Cumberland Presbyterian Church 

 was reported. Thereupon, although this Gen- 

 eral Assembly had not contemplated treating 

 with the other Presbyterian churches in refer- 

 ence to union, yet, as the suggestion that a 

 correspondence be begun on that subject had 

 been made by its own corresponding delegate 

 to the Presbyterian General Assembly, the 

 committee was appointed. Decided action 

 was taken for the promotion of temperance 

 in the Church. Resolutions were passed de- 

 claring it the sense of the General Assembly 

 " that it is a sin to make, buy, sell, or give, or 

 in any way use as a beverage intoxicating drinks 

 of any description ; " urging church sessions to 

 deal with members who should violate the 

 principles above expressed, in such manner as 

 would " free the church from the guilt and 

 scandal of such unchristian conduct ; " advising 

 ministers and members of the Church to en- 

 courage temperance organizations ; approving 

 recent temperance legislation; and counseling 

 the people to help by all prudent means in the 

 enforcement of temperance laws where they 

 exist. The Board of Missions had succeeded 

 in securing the cooperation of the presbyteries 

 in the conduct of a uniform system of opera- 

 tions. Interest in the subject was increasing. 

 An opening to the foreign field had been found 

 in Japan, where the Rev. Mr. Gordon, a min- 

 ister of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, 

 was already laboring as a missionary. The 

 board were instructed to send two ministers 

 to Japan as early as practicable ; they, in con- 

 nection with Mr. Gordon, will form a presby- 

 tery. The committee of publication recom- 

 mended the consolidation of the different 

 papers of the denomination; the publication 

 of works in the German language, and the 

 establishment of a depository at St. Louis. 

 The several educational institutions of the 

 Church were represented as being in a condi- 

 tion of continued prosperity. The statistics 

 of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church are 

 very defective. Out of 103 presbyteries only 

 29 have sent up reports. The roll of ministers 

 in these presbyteries includes one hundred and 

 seventeen names of ministers, and three hun- 

 dred of probationers for the ministry, of whom 

 one hundred are studying. Three hundred 

 thousand dollars were raised for endowment 

 funds, and $25,000 for the sustentation fund 

 during the year ending in May, 1873. 



VI. CANADA PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. This 

 Church was formed in 1861 by the union of 

 the Canada branches of the Free and the Unit- 

 ed Presbyterian Churches of Scotland. The 

 General Assembly was organized in 1870, with 

 four district synods and one presbytery. The 

 following is a summary, by synods, of the 

 statistics of the Presbyterian Church for 1873: 



