CHRISTIANS. 



1*7 



be had, would .show tho increase of member- 

 ship (lining tlio year to have boon not loss 

 tliaii 12. mill. l-'iftuon oh arches had been 

 tvil, ami thirteen churches remodeled 



tl rrpniivil, during the year. One of the 

 "ing clergymen of the Christians, in answer 

 t!n> in-iuirii-s of the officers of the census, 

 vrn tho following estimate for the de- 

 nomination it-; n \vholo in tho United States: 

 church organizations, 1,100; church edifices, 

 I. ""'! i; sittings in the churches, 100,000; value 

 of i-liiiroh property, $785,000. 



It i- estimated that the Christians and Disci- 

 ples of Christ together have 8,578 church or- 

 ganizations, 2,822 church edifices, 865,602 sit- 

 tings and $6,425,187 of church property. 



Tho biennial session of the Christian Pub- 

 lishing Association was held in Dayton, Ohio, 

 Jane 23d and 24th. Tho treasurer reported 

 his receipts to Juno 23, 1874, to have been 

 $15,544.1)4, and his disbursements, $16,064.02; 

 leaving a balance due him of $519.08. He es- 

 I tho value of the assets of the Associa- 

 tion under his control to be $33,383, and tho 

 amount of its liabilities, $11,469.08. The office 

 agent reported the value of tho stock, ac- 

 counts, and cash, under his control, to be $11,- 

 684.43, and t!ie liabilities of the office to be 

 *k :;_'."). 19. The receipts of the office to June 

 'J-M had been $12,148.67. Combining the re- 

 ports of the two officers, the auditing commit- 

 tee found the entire assets of the Association 

 to be $42,123.93, and its liabilities, $15,794.19, 

 leaving a balance over indebtedness of $26,- 

 829.74. 



The institution formerly known as the Wolf- 

 borough Christian Institute, at Wolf borough, 

 X. II., has been removed to Andover, N. H., 

 and renamed the Proctor Academy. 



The report on Sunday-schools made to the 

 Quadrennial Convention, October 6th, showed 

 that about 150,000 scholars were attending the 

 Sunday-schools connected with the church, and 

 that about 40,000 copies of the Sunday-school 

 Herald were taken. 



The quadrennial session of the American 

 Christian Convention began at Stanfordville, 

 Dutchess County, N. Y., October 6th. The 

 Rev. J. H. Coe, of Now Bedford, Mass., pre- 

 sided. Visiting delegates were received from 

 the Disciples of Christ, and a strong feeling was 

 shown on the occasion in favor of a closer 

 union of Christian bodies. A prominent feat- 

 ure of the proceedings was the dedication of 

 the Biblical Institute at Stanfordville. This 

 institution was formerly situated at Eddytown, 

 Yates County, N. Y. It had been removed 

 two years before the present meeting of the 

 convention to Stanfordville, where sixty acres 

 of land had been bought for it, at a cost of 

 $18,000. The Institute building and a students' 

 home had been erected by the Hon. David 

 Clark, of Hartford, Conn., at a cost stated to 

 have been between $20,000 and $30,000, and 

 wore presented to the Convention as his free 

 gift. The Institute was organized and in oper- 



ation, with a full faculty and a respectable body 

 of students. The trustees have adopted a rule 



prohibiting the smoking or chewing of tobacco 

 within any of the buildings or upon the* prem- 

 ises. The advantages of tuition, the use of 

 class-books and the library, and, in the case of 

 students without families, the occupancy of a 

 lodging-room and study-room in tho students' 

 home, are offered in this institution free " to 

 any worthy man or woman devoted to the gos- 

 pel ministry." 



The following resolutions on the subject of 

 Christian union were unanimously adopted by 

 the convention : 



fietoloed, That wo urge our ministering brethren, 

 BO fur as possible, to become associated with, or to 

 organize branches of the Evangelical Alliance, and 

 to attend general or branch conferences of the Alli- 

 ance. 



Resolved, In regard to our relations with other 

 denominations seeking union with us, or our union 

 with them, that we reaffirm our fuitli in Christ as 

 the Great Head of the Church, in tho Bible as the 

 only authoritative standard of faith and duty, and in 

 vital Christian piety as the true test of Christian 

 fellowship, and that the very principles of union 

 forbid any discrimination against conscientious fol- 

 lowers of the Lord Jesus, because of differences of 

 opinion concerning speculative theology, or the pur- 

 pose and practice of Christian ordinances, or any in- 

 terference with the liberty of individual churches in 

 fiiith or fellowship, and demand constant and well- 

 directed effort for harmony and union among all 

 God's children. 



Resolved, That recognizing the difficulties attending 

 formal church union arising from present denomi- 

 national affiliations, variations of church government, 

 and the possession of vested property, we recom- 

 mend our ministers to arrange frequent exchanges 

 of pulpits, and to cultivate association and acquaint- 

 ance with ministers of all denominations. 



Resolved, That we cordially greet those churches 

 which, casting off denominational affiliations, and re- 

 solving themselves into independent organizations, 

 have made their fellowship Christian fellowship. 



A resolution was also adopted extending 

 sympathy and encouragement to the editors, 

 publishers, and contributors of the Church 

 Union, a religious journal published in the 

 city of New York, and to other workers in 

 the same cause, in their efforts to secure the 

 unity of the Church. The subject of adjusting 

 a basis of representation in the convention was 

 discussed, but was deferred till the next quad- 

 rennial meeting. A new constitution was 

 adopted for the ministerial Life Assurance As- 

 sociation. 



II. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. The General Con- 

 vention of the Christian Church held its fourth 

 quadrennial session at Graham, N. C., begin- 

 ning May 1st. The Rev. W. B. Wellons pre- 

 sided. A special committee, consisting of the 

 Rev. J. T. Whitley, Rev. John N. Manning, and 

 Mr. John M. Moring. was appointed to con- 

 sider and report upon the general subject of 

 Christian union. The committee presented a 

 report, recommending the adoption and circu- 

 lation of a manifesto, setting forth the views 

 and aims of the denomination as an organiza- 

 tion. The report was unanimously adopted. 

 The manifesto is as follows : 



