66 



BAPTISTS. 



Union reported that there had been during the 

 year an increase of 8,000 scholars and 2,000 

 teachers, and that about 2,000 conversions had 

 taken place among the children. 



III. SEVENTH-DAY BAPTISTS. The Execu- 

 tive Board of the Seventh-day Baptist Educa- 

 tion Society, in their thirty-first annual re- 

 port, for 1876, made the following statements 

 of the condition of the several literary insti- 

 tutions of the denomination Alfred Univer- 

 sity, Alfred Centre, N. Y. : endowment fund, 

 $95,' 746.10; grounds, buildings, library, cab- 

 inets, and apparatus fund, income from 1836 

 to 1876, $145,076; teaching and incidental 

 fund, income from 1836 to 1876, $211,574.38 ; 

 revenue and expenditure account for the year 

 ending July 5, 1876, $9,088.46; number of 

 teachers, 19; whole number of students during 

 the year, 388. Wilton College, Wilton, Wis. : 

 value of lands and buildings $34,450 ; amount 

 of endowment fund and notes, $6,000; value 

 of cabinets, apparatus, furniture, paintings, and 

 libraries, $5,600 ; value of other articles, esti- 

 mated, $300 ; total assets, $46,350 ; number of 

 students during the year in the college classes, 

 67 ; in the academic classes, 175 : total, 242 ; 

 whole number of graduates from the begin- 

 ning, 131, 98 of whom were in the academic 

 classes and 33 in the college. Albion Acade- 

 my : value of property, $50,000 ; indebtedness, 

 between $2,000 and $3,000 ; number of teach- 

 ers, 10 ; whole number of students during the 

 year, 263. 



At the thirty-third session of the Seventh- 

 day Baptist Tract Society, held at Walworth, 

 Wis., October 1st, the Executive Board were 

 instructed to pass over the work of the so- 

 ciety to the General Conference as soon as 

 it could be safely and legally done. The board 

 were advised, also, to take " early and efficient" 

 measures to procure the publication of tracts 

 in large quantities, " bearing on every aspect of 

 the Sabbath controversy, together with larger 

 works containing more elaborate and extensive 

 treatises on the same general topics, and a good 

 commentary on all the passages of Scripture 

 bearing, or supposed to bear, on the Sabbath." 



The sixty-second session of the Seventh-day 

 Baptist General Conference was held at Wal- 

 worth, Wis., beginning September 27th. Letters 

 were read from thirty-nine churches, repre- 

 senting the Eastern, Central, Western, and 

 Northwestern Associations. D. E. Maxson 

 was chosen president. Report was made by 

 the Executive Board that, in accordance with 

 instructions received at the previous session, a 

 charter had been procured for the General 

 Conference, bearing date July 4, 1876. The 

 various societies were invited to become con- 

 stituent members of the General Conference, 

 without loss of their legal rights or preroga- 

 tives as societies. The report on the .state of 

 the Church represented that the educational 

 work of the Church was in a prosperous con- 

 dition at every point ; that the missionary work 

 was in good condition, but that its field of 



operations should be enlarged ; that the u Sab- 

 bath reform " work had been greatly extended 

 during the year ; and that the Sabbath-school 

 work had everywhere become greatly strength- 

 ened. One hundred dollars, contributed for 

 that purpose, had been received, and bestowed 

 by the committee having the matter in charge 

 upon young men preparing for the ministry at 

 schools of the Church. The trustees of the 

 " Seventh-day Baptist Memorial Fund " re- 

 ported that they had just received the deed of 

 a valuable property in Cattaraugus County, 

 N. Y., the gift of Mr. Delos C. Burdick and 

 his wife, of Pardee, Kan., constituting the 

 largest gift yet made to the fund. The income 

 of the fund had been considerably larger than 

 during any previous year, so that a balance of 

 $251.89 was left after paying all appropriations 

 and expenses. The Executive Committee of 

 the Sabbath-School Department reported that 

 there were under their care 58 schools, with 

 489 teachers and 4,519 pupils. One hundred 

 and eighty-two baptisms had taken place in 

 the Sunday-schools. A normal institute had 

 been held at Westerly, E. I., in Novem- 

 ber, 1875, with good results. The inter- 

 change of courtesies with the Seventh-day Ad- 

 ventists was commended, and its continuance 

 advised, but a resolution was adopted in con- 

 nection with this subject to the effect that 

 " while the Seventh-day Adventists and Sev- 

 enth-day Baptists cherish in common a sacred 

 regard for the Sabbath of the Lord, and will 

 still continue kindly Christian intercourse, 

 nothing good to the cause of Christ would 

 come of any measure looking to a consolida- 

 tion of the two bodies, while holding such 

 diverse and opposing views on important Chris- 

 tian doctrine." Varnum Hull was appointed to 

 prepare a paper or tract on " the difference now 

 existing between the Seventh-day Baptists and 

 the Seventh-day Adventists," to be presented 

 to the next session of the Conference for action 

 upon it. 



IV. BAPTISTS IN THE DOMINION OF CANADA. 

 The first Baptist Conference of Ontario and 

 Quebec was held at Toronto, Ont., October 

 15th. Papers were read on subjects pertaining 

 to the interests of Baptist Churches in the 

 Provinces. The twenty-fifth annual meeting 

 of the Baptist Missionary Convention of On- 

 tario was held in Toronto, Ont:, October 

 16th. The report of the secretary showed that 

 the income for the year had been $6,100. 

 Forty-six missionaries had labored in the mis- 

 sion-fields, who had conducted services at 103 

 stations, and administered baptism to 584 con- 

 verts. Ten associations, of which the conven- 

 tion is composed, reported an increase in mem- 

 bership of the churches of 2,391 by baptism. 



The Baptist Convention of Nova Scotia, New 

 Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island, met at 

 Sackville, N. B., August 26th. Avard Long- 

 ley, Esq., of Paradise, N. S., was chosen presi- 

 dent for the year. The convention has charge 

 of Acadia College and the foreign mission in- 



