METHODISTS. 



495 



scholars, 3,122. The increase in the number 

 of members daring the year had been 5,022. 



The incomes of the benevolent funds were 

 reported to have been as follows : General 

 Chapel and Loan fund, 1,021 15s. 7^.; Met- 

 ropolitan Chapel Building fund, 237 8d.- 

 Chapel Loan fund, 502 5s. 6d. ; Superannu- 

 ated Ministers', Widows', and Orphans' fund, 

 5,107; Sunday-school Union fund, 1,235; 

 Auxiliary fund, 231 ; Missionary Society, to- 

 tal income, 47,239. The Book -Room had 

 done business during the year to the amount of 

 22,247 14s. 2d. The income of the Sunday- 

 schools was represented to have been 45.250 ; 

 their expenditures had been 33,746, leaving 

 a balance in hand of 10,509. 



The Elmfield College, York, and the Theolo- 

 gical Institution, were reported to have enjoyed 

 a prosperous year. Twenty-two students had 

 attended at the Theological Institution. 



The forty-sixth Annual Conference of the 

 Primitive Methodist Connection of Great Brit- 

 ain met at Leicester, June 2d. The Eev. Rob- 

 ert Smith was chosen president. The Confer- 

 ence of the previous year had decided to ask 

 the views of all the stations upon the expedi- 

 ency of changing the rules for the stationing 

 of ministers, so that the transfer of ministers 

 from one district to another could be made 

 more easy. Under the prevailing rule, minis- 

 ters were made to labor most, or all, of their 

 lives in a single district. It was sought to give 

 them liberty to be stationed at any point in the 

 Connection, without regard to the district in 

 which they had previously served. A majority 

 of the stations had declared against the pro- 

 posed modification, and it was not made. The 

 Conference decided to establish a school for 

 young women at Clapham Common, London, 

 and appointed the Rev. W. Eowe, of Canada, 

 governor of the institution. A committee was 

 appointed to prepare a scheme for the repre- 

 sentation of the several districts in the Con- 

 ference by delegates chosen in proportion to 

 the number of members in connection, to be 

 submitted to the consideration of the next 

 Conference. The churches in Canada were 

 represented to be in an unsettled state in con- 

 sequence of the agitation of the subject of the 

 Union of the Methodist Churches. The Rev. 

 G. Lamb was appointed a representative to 

 visit them in 1876. 



The annual meeting of the Primitive Meth- 

 odist Missionary Society was held in London, 

 April 27th. George Hodge, of Hull, presided. 

 The income of the society for the year was re- 

 ported to have been : Home stations, 25,185 

 10*. 8d. ; Australian stations, 1,087 5s. 6d. ; 

 Canada, 5,166, 12s. ; Africa, 317 10s. Qd. ; 

 contributions of the mission stations, for the 

 sustentation of missionaries, 4,542, 18s. Sd. ; 

 contributed on the mission stations for the 

 building and enlargement of chapels and 

 schools, 10,406 7s. 10& ; total, 46,706 5s. 

 5d. : showing an increase over the contribu- 

 tions of the previous year, or any preceding 



year in the history of the society, of 11,498 

 6s. IQd. Sixty-seven home missions were re- 

 ported, of which forty-nine were in England, 

 five in Wales, six in Scotland, five in Ireland, 

 and five were in connection with circuits in 

 large towns. One hundred and thirty-sev- 

 en missionaries were employed upon them. 

 Twenty - five new chapels and fifteen new 

 schools had been built. Congregations had 

 been gathered and societies formed at thirty- 

 eight new places, and twenty-seven new Sun- 

 day-schools had been begun. The society had 

 also in South Australia sixteen stations, seven 

 of which were missions, with eight missiona- 

 ries ; in Victoria and Tasmania, twenty - six 

 stations, fourteen of which were missions, with 

 fourteen missionaries ; in New South Wales, 

 fifteen stations and seventeen missionaries ; in 

 Queensland, five stations and five missionaries ; 

 in Canada, sixty-four stations and seventy-nine 

 preachers ; in Africa, four stations and seven 

 missionaries ; in all, in the home and colonial 

 fields, 176 stations and 267 missionaries. An 

 increase of 1,134 members was reported in the 

 mission stations. 



XL METHODIST NEW CONNECTION. The 

 seventy-ninth Conference of the Methodist New 

 Connection met at Dudley, June 14th. The 

 Rev. Henry Piggin, of York, was chosen presi- 

 dent. The present Conference was one of 

 those appointed on which the septennial re- 

 vision of the connectional rules should take 

 place. A proposition had been made for a 

 change in the name of the Connection, and sub- 

 mitted to the circuits for their opinion. Twen- 

 ty-nine circuits had disapproved of any change, 

 twenty-eight circuits had recorded themselves 

 in favor of some change, eleven of them favor- 

 ing the name "Methodist Connection," nine 

 " Methodist Church," and eight "Presbyterian 

 Methodists." The Conference decided to make 

 no change. A proposition had been submitted 

 for a modification of the rule in regard to at- 

 tendance upon class-meetings. Thirty-two cir- 

 cuits, representing 10,222 members, had voted 

 in favor of a change, and twenty-six circuits, 

 representing 10,722 members, had voted against 

 it. The change was not made, but it was re- 

 solved unanimously 



That this Conference, while resolving to con- 

 tinue the class-meeting in its present rank and au- 

 thority among us, deems it expedient, in harmony 

 with the purport of the returns from a large number 

 of circuits, to appoint a committee to consider 

 whether any improvement can be effected in the 

 mode of conducting the class-meeting, such as 

 would be likely to dispose persons who statedly 

 worship and communicate with us to become mem- 

 bers. 



The income of the Home Missionary Society 

 for the year was reported to have been 1,697 

 5s. 10d., and the expenditures had been 1,930 

 7s. lid. The Chapel Committee reported the 

 total amount raised during the year for build- 

 ing new churches, furnishing, and improve- 

 ments, to have been 37,075. Eighteen chap- 

 els had been built or enlarged, and eleven 



