68 



BAPTISTS. 



There are, says the Register, a number of 

 associations of Baptists in America, which, in 

 doctrine and polity, are in general agreement 

 with the Free-Will Baptists. No specific re- 

 ports have been received from these associa- 

 tions, but, from the best information received, 

 the inference is that they number, in the ag- 

 gregate, not less than 25,000 members. 



The Register enumerates, among the benevo- 

 lent institutions of the Free-Will Baptists, the 

 Foreign Mission Society, the Home Mission 

 Society, the Education Society, the Sablath- 

 School Union, the Temperance Society, the 

 Central Association, the Kansas Free-Will 

 Baptist Home Mission Society, the Free Bap- 

 tist Woman's Mission Society, and the New 

 Hampshire Charitable Society. It also enu- 

 merates twenty literary institutions, of which 

 four are colleges, and the others academies and 

 seminaries of various grades. 



The anniversaries of the Free Baptist be- 

 nevolent societies were held at Manchester, 

 N. H., beginning October 12th. The Treas- 

 urer of the Foreign Missionary Society re- 

 ported that its receipts had been $16,351.11, 

 and that its expenditures had equaled that 

 amount. The society had a permanent fund 

 of $7,461.14. The principal missions of the 

 society are in India. They have been organ- 



ized into the Bengal and Orissa yearly meet- 

 ing, the statistics of which are embodied in 

 the general table given above. 



The business of the Education Society re- 

 lated chiefly to the affairs of Bates College, 

 and the effort to complete an endowment of 

 $200,000 for that institution. 



The reports of the Home Mission Society 

 stated that the total receipts of the society 

 for the year had been $8,496.24, and the ex- 

 penditures had equaled that amount. The 

 society had a permanent fund of $4,744.97. 

 An effort to raise $1,000 for the freedmen of 

 the South had resulted in securing $1,300. 

 An effort had been begun to raise $1,000 for 

 the needy churches of the North, and $600 

 had been pledged toward this sum. Report 

 was made of the condition of the missions at 

 Chicago, 111. ; Jackson, Mich. ; Cleveland, O. ; 

 Cairo, 111. ; and Harper's Ferry, W. Va. At- 

 tention was invited to the " opening field " 

 in Louisiana, East Tennessee, Alabama, and 

 Texas. 



At the anniversary of the Sunday -Sclwol 

 Union, report was made that returns had 

 been received from only about one- sixth of 

 the whole number of schools in the denomi- 

 nation. From these it appeared that there 

 were, in 211 schools, 17,228 scholars and 

 1,445 teachers. Forty-eight schools had con- 

 tributed $1,154 for benevolent purposes. To 

 sustain schools, there had been raised $4,666. 



The Treasurer of the Woman's Missionary 

 Society reported that the contributions to the 

 society during the year ending October 1, 

 1875, were $1,053.26. This sum, witji the 

 cash on hand at the beginning of the year, 

 made the total amount of funds at the dispo- 

 sition of the society $2,077.24. The expendi- 

 tures had been $1,075.78. The society was 

 employing one missionary in India, and was 

 supporting several children in school in the 

 same country. 



The tenth session of the Free Baptist Gen- 

 eral Conference of Nova Scotia was held at Cal- 

 edonia, beginning September 9th. The statis- 

 tical reports showed that the Conference had 

 32 churches, 16 ministers, and 3,500 com- 

 municants. Anniversaries were held of the 

 Temperance, Education, Sunday-School, Home 

 Mission, and Foreign Mission Societies. A 

 Woman's Missionary Society was organized. 



III. SEVENTH-DAT BAPTISTS. The commit- 

 tee on statistics reported to the General Confer- 

 ence of this denomination, that the whole num- 

 ber of churches was 83, representing a mem- 

 bership of 8,308. Sixty-four of the churches 

 had made reports to the Clerk of the Confer- 

 ence, leaving nineteen which failed to report. 

 The statistics of the latter churches were 

 taken from the Associational minutes of the 

 year. A net increase of ninety-six members 

 was reported from the previous year. 



The sixty-first session of the Seventh-Day 

 Baptist General Conference was held at Alfred 

 Centre, N. Y., beginning September 22d. A. 



