DISCIPLES OF CHRIST. 



absence of any specific instructions, and to comport 

 If ftOOoralngly in allyour oommunK-utiona and 

 interc .1 or unofficial, with persons or pub- 



i in Spiitn. 



iK-liiMoii, it remain* to bo said that, in ao- 

 o with tho established policy of tho United 

 Stall's in Huoh oases, as exemplified in the umiiy 

 rii.rii,'i'n of government in Franco during tho last 

 . inul in tin- Mexican Republic since tho 

 iflta first recognition by us, and in other OOSOB 

 which have occurred in Kuropo and America, you 

 will present your credentials to the persons or au- 

 thorities whom you may find in the actual exorcise 

 of tho executive power of Spain. 



DISCIPLES OF CHRIST. Tho General 

 Christian Missionary Convention met at Cin- 

 cinnati, Ohio, October 20th. About six hun- 

 dred delegates were present ; Isaac Essett was 

 chosen president. A quarter-centennial ad- 

 dress was delivered by W. K. Pendleton, in 

 which was given an historical sketch of the 

 convention. Progress was reported by the gen- 

 eral secretary in the organization of Sunday- 

 schools in the States of Kentucky, Missouri, 

 Ohio, Indiana, New York, Pennsylvania, Vir- 

 ginia, West Virginia, Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, 

 and Michigan. Seventy-five Sunday-schools 

 had been organized in Kentucky since Novem- 

 ber, 1873. A normal Sunday-school institute 

 had boon held in Ohio, and a great Sunday- 

 school convention in Indiana. Tho coinmitteo 

 to whom the report of the general secretary 

 was referred, recommended that his work be 

 continued, and that each State desiring his ser- 

 vices be asked to become responsible for the 

 expense of the work done within its bounds. 

 An essay was read on the subject of home 

 missions; it elicited a general discussion: tho 

 conviction was expressed that efforts should 

 be made to furnish the churches with better 

 pastoral care, to give assistance to weak and 

 declining churches, to look more carefully 

 after the freedmen, to secure the preaching of 

 the gospel to the foreign population coming 

 into the country, and to build up the cause of 

 tho denomination in the cities. The general 

 board were instructed by the convention : 1. 

 To employ four evangelists to work wherever 

 the board might suggest. 2. To endeavor to 

 receive and appropriate moneys as- follows : to 

 the establishment of missions among the 

 freedmen, $3,000; for the Bible-school at 

 Louisville, Ky., $1,000 ; for missions in Ne- 

 braska, $2,000 ; for missions in Kansas, $2,000. 

 3. To have personal appeals for funds made 

 through tho corresponding secretary, and to 

 appoint such other agents as may be necessary 

 to promote tho foregoing objects. The com- 

 mittee appointed at the previous meeting of 

 the General Convention to make arrangements 

 to have the Disciples of Christ appropriately 

 represented at tho celebration of the centen- 

 nial anniversary of American Independence, 

 in 1876, reported that to set forth in a proper 

 manner the various features which it would bo 

 desirable to have represented on the part of 

 the Disciples, embracing their literature, their 

 history, tho statistics of their churches, col- 



leges, and their journalism, would cost not 

 loss than $25,000. The subject was luid on tho 

 table. 



Tho report of the Board of Missions present- 

 ed an encouraging view of tho work of the 

 year just passed in Ohio, Kentucky, Nebraska, 

 Michigan, Indiana, Kansas, Illinois, Virginia, 

 West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York, Col- 

 orado, Wisconsin, and Missouri. Sixty-four 

 new places had been visited, thirty-seven 

 churches organized, 288 weak churches hcl|>l. 

 4,497 persons added to the churches, and tho 

 sum of $04,045.97 contributed to the purposes 

 of the board. The board represented that a 

 chief obstacle to their more complete success 

 lay in a provision of the constitution which 

 authorized donors to disburse their own con- 

 tributions. The operation of this rule was re- 

 garded by the board as such as practically to 

 destroy " church cooperation," and they rec- 

 ommended such amendment as would obviato 

 its objectionable features. The board advised 

 that some measure be adopted by which the 

 State treasurers should be enabled to pay 

 regularly whatever may bo due to the general 

 board ; that each county in a State be made a 

 district, with an advisory committee of three 

 to promote Sunday-school institutes, to make 

 provision for churches desiring ministerial 

 labor, to hold mass meetings, to see that con- 

 tributions are promptly forwarded to tho 

 general board, and to act as a medium of com- 

 munication between the county and State 

 boards. Tho convention instructed the gen- 

 eral board to establish one or more foreign 

 missions. A meeting of women was held 

 during the session of the convention at which 

 a " Woman's Christian Missionary Society " was 

 organized. Delegates were present from nine 

 States. The announcement was made that the 

 society started with a fund of $391 in its 

 treasury. A formal reception was given it by 

 the convention, when addresses were made by 

 Mrs. Goodwin on the " Undeveloped Talent of 

 the Church," and by Mrs. S. E. Pearre on 

 " Woman's Board Missions." The convention 

 gave recognition and approval to the new so- 

 ciety, and pledged cooperation with it. A 

 committee who had been commissioned to 

 bear the friendly greetings of the convention 

 to the General Conference of Free-will Baptists 

 at Providence, R. I., made a report of their 

 proceedings. The Rev. C. M. Graham, of 

 Chicago, visited the convention as a fraternal 

 delegate from the Free-will Baptists. He 

 asked tho appointment of a committee to con- 

 fer with a similar committee of that denomi- 

 nation on the subject of union. He represent- 

 ed that the Free-will Baptists were quite fa- 

 vorable to union. A committee of conference 

 on tho subject was appointed, consisting of 

 five members. 



Tho general annual meeting of the churches 

 of the Disciplfs of Christ, in England, Scot- 

 land, Ireland, and Wales, took place August 

 llth, at Carlisle. The reports of tho stations 



