550 



METHODISTS. 



relations, and ultimate union. The committee 

 reported that they had had several meetings 

 during the year, with satisfactory results. The 

 principal question, to be adjusted was that of 

 representation of the laity in the Conference. 

 In the Primitive Wesleyan Church the laity 

 participate equally with the ministers in legis- 

 lation, and in all proceedings affecting the gen- 

 eral interest of the Church. In the Wesleyan 

 Church, the laymen have no part in the Con- 

 ference itself, but are only permitted to act on 

 the preparatory committees, through which 

 they may recommend legislation, but cannot 

 otherwise govern it. The subject was care- 

 fully discussed by the Conference, and a reso- 

 lution was adopted, "that the prayer of the 

 memorialists should be granted." The Prim- 

 itive "Wesleyan Methodist Conference met at 

 Dublin at the same time with this body. Dur- 

 ing the session its members were invited to 

 breakfast with the members of the Wesleyan 

 Conference. The best means of extending the 

 salvation of the gospel in Ireland was discussed 

 on the occasion. The proposed union of the two 

 Churches was referred to, but no business was 

 done relative to it, because it was understood 

 that further negotiation should be suspended 

 until the introduction of lay representation 

 into the Irish Conference should be secured. 



The anniversary of the Wesleyan Missionary 

 Society was held in London, May 4th. The 

 receipts of the society for the year were re- 

 ported to have been: "Home receipts," 122,- 

 092 7s. Id. ; Foreign receipts (from affiliated 

 conferences and the mission districts), 45,902 

 14s. 1d.\ total, 167,995 Is. Sd. The ex- 

 penditures had been: General expenditures, 

 including the cost of the Canton and Hankow- 

 Missions, and of the missions in Italy and 

 Spain, 154,818 3s. 5d. ; for payment of the 

 balance on the mission premises in Paris, 

 4,778 11s. 2^.; for Rome and Naples, 6,861 

 12s. lOd. : total, 166,458 7s. Sd. 



XIV. METHODIST NEW CONNECTION. The 

 returns of the members in connection of this 

 denomination, made to the Conference in June, 

 showed a decrease (exclusive of Canada) of 

 133 members, and an increase of 485 proba- 

 tioners. The amount of collections and sub- 

 scriptions during the year for the Chapel Fund 

 was reported to have been 698 7s. Qd. Chapel 

 debts, on trust estates, had been paid off, to 

 the amount of upward of 18,000. More than 

 12,000 had been contributed toward the erec- 

 tion and enlargement of chapels and schools. 

 The increase of the Home Mission Fund, for 

 the year, was reported to have been 1,661 

 18s. Id. ; the expenditures had been 1,591 

 7s. 8d. The debt of the fund had been slightly 

 reduced, and was now 404. The total re- 

 ceipts of the year for foreign and colonial mis- 

 sions had been 7,220 6s. 5<2., showing a net 

 increase of 1,653 15s. 6d. over the receipts 

 of the previous year. A balance remained 

 over the expenditures of 2,924 17s. 



The seventy-eighth Annual Conference of 



the Methodist New Connection met at Hanley 

 June 15th. The Rev. W. Wilshaw was chosen 

 President. The most important feature of the 

 proceedings related to the request of the Cana- 

 dian Conference for permission to consummate 

 its projected union with the conferences of the 

 Wesleyan Methodist Church in Canada. 



Resolutions were received from several 

 quarterly meetings asking the Conference to 

 consider whether such an alteration in the test 

 of Church-membership could not be safely 

 made as would enable the leaders' meetings 

 of the several societies to recognize and return 

 as members, not only those who meet in class, 

 but all pious persons who statedly worship 

 and communicate with them. The question 

 was remitted to the quarterly meetings, with 

 .the request that they transmit an expression 

 of their views to the annual committee, to be 

 by them classified and presented to the next 

 Conference. 



XV. PRIMITIVE METHODIST CONNECTION. 

 The following statistics of the Primitive Meth- 

 odist Connection, including the missions and 

 the colonies, were reported to the Conference, 

 June 3d: Members, 164,660, an increase of 

 4,002 from 1873 ; traveling preachers, 1,020 ; 

 local preachers, 14,838 ; class-leaders, 9,961 ; 

 connectional chapels, 3,826 ; other preaching- 

 places, 2,571 ; Sunday-schools, 3,536 ; teachers 

 in the same, 49,887 ; Sunday-school scholars, 

 306,333. A later report from the Canada Con- 

 ference, received after the regular returns were 

 made up, swelled the total increase of mem- 

 bers to 4,114. Increase was shown in all the 

 other particulars, except that of class-leaders. 



The total value of connectional property was 

 estimated at not less than 1,597,574. Ninety- 

 nine new chapels had been built during the 

 year, at a cost of 87,000. The total increase 

 from chapels was 195,554; sittings were pro- 

 vided for 715,289 persons, but two-thirds of 

 them were not occupied. The debts on chap- 

 els had been reduced to the extent of 42,000. 



The fifty-fifth Annual Conference of the Prim- 

 itive Methodist Connection was held at Hull, 

 beginning June 12th. The Rev. W. Rowe was 

 chosen President. The most important topic 

 considered related to the invitation of minis- 

 ters to stations. 



The thirty -first anniversary of the Primitive 

 Methodist Missionary Society was held in Lon- 

 don, April 28th. The report reviewed in suc- 

 cession the home missions, the colonial sta- 

 tions, and the foreign missions. It showed 

 progress and success in all departments of the 

 work. 



UNITED METHODIST FEEE CHURCHES. The 

 statistics of the United Methodist Free Church- 

 es for 1874 are as follows : In Great Britain, 

 members, 61,259 ; persons on trial for member- 

 ship, 5,650 ; increase, 581 ; in the foreign sta- 

 tions, members, 6,112 ; persons on trial, 545 ; 

 totals ; itinerant ministers, 334 ; supernumera- 

 ries, 24 ; local preachers, 3,361 ; class-leaders, 

 4,312; members, 67,371 ; on trial, 6,195; re- 



