538 



METHODISTS. 



MEXICO. 



whether from the national Treasury or local 

 rates, to irresponsible management. 



X. INDEPENDENT METHODIST CONFERENCE. 

 The seventy-first Annual Conference of the 

 Independent Methodists of England met at Old- 

 ham, in June. The statistical reports showed 

 that there were connected with the conference 

 72 chapels, 17 other preaching-places, 3,726 

 members, 235 preachers, 80 schools, 1,281 

 teachers, and 10,967 scholars. An increase 

 during the year of 30 members was shown. 



XI. UNITED METHODIST FREE CHURCHES. 

 The statistical reports of the United Methodist 

 Free Churches for 1876 showed that the total 

 number of members was 64,322, and that the 

 net increase in numbers had been 2,184. 



The nineteenth Annual Meeting of the Unit- 

 ed Methodist Free Churches' Home and For- 

 eign Missions was held in London, April 24th. 

 Mr. William Butler presided. The total in- 

 come of the Society for the year had been 

 16,542, just double the year's income of ten 

 years before. A fund of 10,000, which it had 

 been resolved by the last Annual Assembly of 

 the churches to raise in five years, was making 

 satisfactory progress. On the foreign mission 

 stations there were now 53 missionaries, 6,273 

 church-members, 163 chapels and preaching- 

 rooms, 5,740 Sunday-scholars, and 2,375 day- 

 scholars. The total statistics of the missions 

 (home and foreign) gave 328 ministers, 68,652 

 church-members, 1,658 chapels and preaching- 

 rooms, 170,718 Sunday-scholars, and 11,554 

 day-scholars. 



The twentieth Annual Assembly of the 

 United Methodist Free Churches met at Shef- 

 field, July 26th. The body consisted of 228 

 representatives, of whom 135 were ministers 

 and 93 were laymen. The Rev. Thomas Booth 

 was chosen president. A scheme was adopted 

 for the prosecution of mission-work in London. 

 It was decided that efforts be continued for 

 raising a special fund for this purpose, and that 

 the assembly make in aid of it an annual grant 

 out of the mission-fund, not to exceed in 

 amount the sum raised by voluntary contribu- 

 tions. A London mission committee was ap- 

 pointed, and provision was made for the ap- 

 pointment to one of the London Mission sta- 

 tions, and his maintenance, of a minister who 

 should be a member of this committee, and act 

 as its secretary. 



XII. WESLETAN EEFORM UNION. The fol- 

 lowing is a summary of the statistics of the 

 Wesleyan Reform Union for 1876 : Number of 

 chapels and preaching-places, 223 ; of minis- 

 ters, 19 ; of preachers, 521 ; of preachers on 

 trial, 77; of leaders, 453; of members, 7,320; 

 of members on trial, 388 ; of Sunday-schools, 

 174; of teachers in the same, 2,903; of Sun- 

 day-school scholars, 17,706 ; of day-schools, 

 4 ; of scholars in the same, 528. 



The twenty-eighth Annual Conference of 

 the AVesleyan Reform Union met at Bradford, 

 August 15th. Mr. S. H. Burrows, of Sheffield, 

 was chosen president. A resolution was adopt- 



ed, regretting the enormous consumption of 

 alcoholic drinks in the land, and the poverty 

 and crime resulting therefrom, urging the 

 churches, by precept and example, to promote 

 the practice of temperance. 



XIII. BIBLE CHRISTIANS. The following is 

 a summary of the statistics of the Connection 

 of Bible Christians for 1876 : Number of itiner- 

 ant preachers, 284 ; of local preachers, 1,828 ; 

 of chapels, 896; of full members, 28,945; of 

 members on trial, 1,252 ; Sunday-school teach- 

 ers, 9,642; Sunday-school scholars, 51,658. 

 A net increase of 2,246 members was declared. 

 The income of the year for missions had been 

 8,300. The profits of the Book-Room for the 

 year had been 532. 



XIV. PRIMITIVE CHURCH METHODISTS. The 

 Primitive Church Methodist Society is a new 

 organization, which held its fourth conference 

 in 1876. It acknowledges subordination to the 

 Episcopal Church in Ireland. Among the text- 

 books which it requires to be read by its candi- 

 dates for the ministry are Wesley's " Sermons," 

 Wesley's "Appeal," the "Larger Minutes," 

 Watson's "Theological Institutes," the Greek 

 Testament (gospels), Wesley's " Philosophy of 

 Christian Perfection." The Right Rev. Lord 

 Bishop of Kilmore, Elphin, and Armagh, was 

 president of the conference. Eighteen clergy- 

 men of the Episcopal Church of Ireland were 

 connected with the conference, and there 

 were four preachers on trial. Eleven stations 

 were occupied by the Society. The number in 

 the Society was 952. One hundred members 

 had been added during the year. 



XV. IRISH METHODIST UNION. The Com- 

 mittees on Union of the Irish Wesleyan Con- 

 ference, and of the Primitive Wesleyan Meth- 

 odist Conference, met in Dublin, September 

 20th, for consultation. Twenty ministers and 

 three lay members were present. The terms 

 of union were freely and fully discussed. 



MEXICO (ESTADOS UNIDOS DE MEJICO), an 

 independent federal republic of North Amer- 

 ica, lying between latitude 15 and 32 27' 

 north, and longitude 86 34' and 117 west. 

 Its boundaries are : On the north, the United 

 States of America; on the east, the Gulf of 

 Mexico, the Caribbean Sea, and Balize, or 

 British Honduras; on the south, the Republic 

 of Guatemala ; and on the south and west, the 

 Pacific Ocean. It lies between two great 

 oceans, has a northern frontier of 1,400 and a 

 southern of 345 miles, and a seaboard of 6,086 

 miles, 1,677 of which are on the Gulf of Mexico 

 and the Caribbean Sea, and 4,408 on the Paci- 

 fic, including 2,040 washed by the Gulf of Cali- 

 fornia. 



The boundary question with Guatemala still 

 remains unsettled, nor has any further progress 

 been made in the negotiations during the past 

 year. 



The republic is divided into twenty-seven 

 States, one Federal District, and one Territory, 

 which, with their areas, population (in 1871), 

 and capitals, are as follows : 



