742 UNITED BRETHKEN IN CHRIST. 



UNITED STATES. 



the mission in Saxony, or open a work in some 

 other part of Germany, contiguous to the pres- 

 sent mission, as might be directed by the Ex- 

 ecutive Committee. A favorable report was 

 made of the condition of the missions in Africa, 

 at Shengay and Bomphetook, in the Shesbro 

 country. One of the most powerful chiefs in 

 this district had been converted. 



Reports were received concerning the do- 

 mestic missions in the Virginia Valley, Phila- 

 delphia (German), Toledo, O. (German), Ten- 

 nessee, Missouri, Dakota, Wisconsin, the Fox 

 River District, in Northwestern Illinois, Ken- 

 tucky, the Parkersburg (Va.) Mission Confer- 

 ence, Minnesota, Kansas, Colorado, California, 

 Oregon, and the Walla Walla District. The 

 larger part of the mission funds of the Church 

 had been expended in the home-field. The 

 Walla Walla Conference had been disturbed by 

 a strange fanaticism, in consequence of which 

 it had been dissolved, and constituted a mission 

 district under the control of the board. 



The statistics of churches, members, and 

 ministers, were reported at the close of the 

 year 1875 as follows : 



* Statistics of 1874. 



The contributions for religious purposes 

 amounted to $783,304; the most important 

 items being $335,215 for ministerial salaries, 

 $38,925 for missions, $290,000 for church 

 building and expenses, and $46,935 centennial 

 contributions. The number of Sabbath-schools 

 is 2,718, and the number of children, officers, 

 and teachers, 160,931. The Church, in 1875, 

 had four bishops, and the general publishing- 

 house, at Dayton, Ohio, issued four periodicals 

 in the English and two in the German language. 

 The aggregate circulation of the periodicals 

 was, on July 1, 1874, 181,500 copies. The edu- 

 cational institutions of the Church are Otter- 

 bein University, Westerville, Ohio ; Hartsville 

 University, Hartsville, Ind. ; Westfield College, 

 Westfield, HI. ; Lebanon Valley College, Ann- 

 ville, Pa. ; Lane University, Lecompton, Kan. ; 

 Western College, Western, Iowa; Philomath 

 College, Philomath, Oregon ; Green Hill Semi- 

 nary, Poolsville, Ind. ; Eoanoke Seminary, 

 Eoanoke, Ind. ; and the Union Theological 

 Seminary. 



A " Woman's Missionary Association of the 

 Church of the United Brethren in Christ " was 

 organized at a convention called for that pur- 

 pose, which met in Dayton, Ohio, October 21st. 



UNITED STATES. Several resignations 

 of important officers of the Federal Govern- 

 ment at Washington took place during the 

 year 1875. On April 22d George H. Williams, 

 the Attorney-General, tendered his resigna- 

 tion, which was subsequently accepted by the 

 President. His successor was Edwards Pierre- 

 pont, who accepted on April 26th. He was 

 born in New Haven, Conn., on March 4, 1817, 

 entered Yale College in 1833, and four years 

 after graduated, and in 1840 was admitted to 

 the bar. Leaving the East, he settled at Co- 

 lumbus, Ohio. In 1846 Mr. Pierrepont left 

 Ohio and took up his residence in New York. 

 He immediately began the practice of his pro- 

 fession in that city, and soon attained high rank 

 at the bar and a large and lucrative practice. 

 In 1857 he was elected as Judge of the Superior 

 Court, to fill the vacancy caused by the death 

 of Chief-Justice Oakley. He remained upon 

 the bench until 1860, when he resigned and 

 resumed practice at the bar. In 1867 he was 

 elected by the Democracy of New York City 

 a member of the State Constitutional Conven- 

 tion, in the proceedings of which he took a 

 prominent part. In the same year, notwith- 

 standing his affiliations with the Democratic 

 party, he accepted the position tendered him 

 by the Attorney-General and Secretary of State 

 to conduct the prosecution against John H. 

 Surratt, when the latter was placed on trial 

 for complicity in the assassination of President 

 Lincoln. Although he did not indorse the 

 course of President Johnson fully, he sided 

 with him on the question of reconstruction. 

 He continued to act with the Democratic party 

 until 1868, and was a member of the State 

 Convention of that year which nominated John 

 T. Hoffman for Governor. But the nomination 



