PRESBYTERIANS. 



The increase of communicants over the 

 nu m IK- r reported for the previous year was 

 1,840. The number of Sunday-school teachers 

 is 4,112; of persons in Sunday-schools and 

 Bible-classes, 40.864. The contributors for 

 the year ending March 31, 1878, were as fol- 

 lows : For congregational purposes, $463,390.- 

 33; for the college fund, $16,951.66; for the 

 home mission fund, $18,777.87 ; for the for- 

 eign mission fund, $8,216.86; for the wid- 

 ows' and orphans' and aged ministers' fund, 

 $8,662.84; for the Assembly fund, $2,412.- 

 66 ; for the French Evangelization, $5,454.- 

 61; for the Kankakee mission, $2,640.61; 

 Sunday-school contributions for missions, 

 $8,978.38; benevolent objects not otherwise 

 specified, $26,840.66 ; total contributions for 

 congregational purposes, schemes of the church 

 and benevolent objects, $650,901.72. 



The General Assembly of the Canada Pres- 

 byterian Church mot in Toronto, June 3d. The 

 Rev. William Reid was elected moderator. 

 The Committee on Foreign Missions reported 

 that their receipts had been, including the 

 balance from the previous year, $12,425.07. 

 They still had a balance on hand, after deduc- 

 ing their expenditures, of $5,120.60. The com- 

 mittee had closed its accounts with the mission 

 to British Columbia, after having spent $25,- 

 000 on it in twelve years. The mission had 

 been transferred to the Board of Home Mis- 

 sions. The Saskatchewan mission had returned 

 in August, 1872, thirty-two communicants, of 

 whom six were whites, and twenty-seven were 

 Indians and half-breeds. Six of the Indians 

 were converts from heathenism. There were 

 in the school fifty-four pupils, all but one of 

 whom were Indians and half-breeds. A fav- 

 orable report was made concerning the work 

 which had been accomplished in the island of 

 Formosa. The Committee on Home Missions 

 reported that their total receipts had been 

 $21,249.90, and their expenditures. $18,698.42. 

 Increased contributions had been made by all 

 the presbyteries in Ontario and Quebec. One 

 hundred and twenty-three mission stations 

 were reported, and fifty-three congregations 

 had received help from the supplemental fund. 

 The union committees of the differ, nt 

 bytcrian churches in Canada and tin- KM-NTM 

 Provinces had held two conferences with ref- 

 erence to union into one church ; one at Mon- 

 treal in December. 1872, and the second at St. 

 John.. N. H.. April, 1878. Their deliberations 

 had ended in agreement upon a basis of union. 



This basis was submitted to the General As- 

 sembly, and was adopted by a large majority. 

 It n insists of four articles, and is as follows : 



1. That the Scriptures of the Old and New Tecte- 

 mento. being the Word of God, ore the only infalli- 

 ble rale ol'fuith and manners. 



2. That the Westminster Confession of Faith ehall 

 form the subordinate standard of this Church ; tliut 

 the larger and shorter catechisms shall he a<l 



by the Church, and appointed to be ui-cci forinstruc- 

 tion of the peoplo t it being distinctly und. i 

 that nothing contained in the aforesaid confession 

 or catechism regarding the power and duty of the 

 civil magistrate, shall be held to sanction any princi- 

 ples or views inconsistent with full liberty of con- 

 Bcicnce in matters of religion. 



8. That the government and worship of this Church 

 shall be in accordance with tin- m-i^nizid principles 

 and practice of Presbyterian Churches, as laid down 

 generally in the " form of Prcsbytcriul Church gov- 

 ernment," and in"thc Directory for the Public Wor- 

 ship of God." 



4. That this Church, while cherishing Christian 

 affection toward the whole Church of God, and de- 

 siring to hold fraternal intercourse w ith it in its M v- 

 eral branches, as opportunity offers, shall t the 

 game time regard itself as being in Buch ecclesiasti- 

 cal relations to churches of the same doctrine, gov- 

 ernment and discipline with itself, us tit:. t ministers 

 aud probationers from those churches shall be re- 

 ceived into this Church, subject to such regulations 

 as shall from time to time be adopted. 



The adjustment of the interests and forms on 

 minor points of the two churches uniting was 

 provided for in nine supplementary articles. 



It was agreed that the name of the United 

 Church should be " the Presbyterian Church 

 of British North America." The four articles 

 of the basis of union and the explanatory arti- 

 cles were then sent down to the "presbyteries, 

 kirks, sessions, and congregations," for ratifi- 

 cation by them. The Committee on Sunday- 

 schools reported the number of schools to be 

 620; of scholars, 34,172, or 2,690 more than 

 were reported the previous year. The mis- 

 sionary contributions of the Sunday-schools 

 were $8,924.18, or $446.74 more than for the 

 previous year. The amount of their contri- 

 butions for all purposes was $18,762. The re- 

 ceipts for the widows' and orphans' fund were 

 $17,061.41. Twenty-three widows or families 

 were receiving annuities. 



VII. SYNOD OF THE PRESBYTERIAN Cm u< n 

 OF CANADA n CONNECTION WITH THE CHURCH 

 OF SCOTLAND. The statistics of this synod, as 

 presented at its meeting in June, showed die 

 nnmber of congregations to be 183, of which 

 28 were vacnnt ; the number of commnnu-nntM, 

 11,987. The increase in the number of com- 

 municants from the previous year was .vj'.'. 

 Returns were not received from forty-eight 

 congregations. The synod met at Montreal, 

 .Iiitn- :il. The Rev. James Patterson was 

 i ].-i-t..d moderator. The minutes of the joint 

 meetings of the committees on union held :it 

 Montreal in Ileceniber, 1KV2. und at St. .lolin, 

 N. B., in April, 1878, were submitted. The ' 

 of union and supplementary articles. IIP n : 

 upon by the committees (tee Canada Presby- 

 terian Church), were approved, and sent down 



