668 



PRESBYTERIANS. 



body, tlmt at the earliest practicable moment we phia, April 27th and 28th. The receipts for 



may see the establishment of correspondence with the year }, a( j amcm nted to $77,561.53. Sixteen 



th6 ^^ TITS' ATse^reiterates its cordial w missionaries had been taken under the 



desire to establish fraternal relations with that As- care ot the Society during the year. The re- 



1 sembly on terms of perfect equality and reciprocity, port stated that during the same period 110 



so soon as it is agreeable to their brethren to respond auxiliary societies and 56 mission hands had 



to this assurance by a similar expression. been added to the ligt? ma kj ng a p rese nt total 



This was adopted, and telegraphed to the of 648 of the former and 342 of the latter. 



Southern General Assembly. The Southern Nineteen new presbyterial societies had also 



General Assembly, in the mean time, had taken been organized, making 26 in all. 



action on the subject of fraternal relations. II. PKESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN THE UNITED 



This action being reported the next day, the STATES (Southern General Assembly). The 



Assembly unanimously adopted a resolution following is a summary of the statistics of this 



in substance identical with that of that body, Church, as they were reported to the General 



as declarative of the spirit in which its action Assembly in May, 1876 : 



was taken, as follows: Synods 12 



_ . ,. ... Presbyteries . f3 



In order to show our disposition to remove, on our Mir i st er8 and licentiates.. . . 1,070 



part, all real or seeming hinderance to friendly feel- Candidates 1S9 



ing, the Assembly explicitly declares that, while Churches 1,S20 



condemning certain acts and deliverances of the Licensures 



Southern General Assembly, no acts or deliverances Ordinations 



of the Northern Assembly, or of the historical ^^^-^^ e ^ :::: ^ g 



bodies of which the present Assembly is the sue- Churches organized. 45 



cesspr, are to be construed or admitted as impugn- dissolved . . . . . . . . . '. '. '. . '. '. ........'. '. '. '. '. '. 30 



ing in any way the Christian character of the South- Ministers received from other denominations 2 



ern General Assembly, or of the historical body or Churches " " " 



bodies of which it is the successor. Elders 5.415 



Deacons 3,177 



The previous General Assembly had sent Mo * ers * Me i on a ^ on ;;;;;;;; ;;;;;;;.- lf& 



down to the presbyteries an overture provid- Whole number of communicants.' .'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'. ".'."!! miss 



ing for a basis of representation in the General ^ d , ull t 8 baptized 2.416 



11 , l , -, , v Infants 4,6oO 



Assembly, by synods instead of by presby- Kumber of baptized non-communicants 22.230 



teries, as had always before been the rule. Children in Sunday-schools and Bible-classes 67,364 



The object was to reduce the number of mem- MONEYS COKTRIBUTED. 



bers of the General Assembly, which had be- Sustentatton *39,f9i 



come inconveniently large. The report of the luralkfnind...' 9$41 



vote of the presbyteries sh owed that 19 pres- Foreign missions'. 46,'oC4 



byteries had answered the overture in the pujjuoatlon' 8 f'666 



affirmative, 101 in the negative, and that 53 Presbyteriai .'..'....'........'.'...!.....'....'....... n'&se 



presbyteries had not reported. The overture Pastors' salaries j^ s -t 2 ? 



',, ,. . Congregational 882.814 



was consequently lost. The subject was again Miscellaneous 60,068 



referred to a committee, who were to prepare 

 a plan for reduced representation to the Gen- 

 eral Assembly, publish their report in all the The Executive Committee of Publication re- 

 Church papers before the spring meetings of ported to the General Assembly that their 

 the presbyteries, and report to the next Gen- receipts had been : From contributions of the 

 eral Assembly. The necessary action was churches, $6,570.21 ; from sales and subscrip- 

 taken to carry into effect the provision which tions, $35,394.79 ; and receipts from other 

 had been adopted by the Church for the elec- sources swelled the total amount of available 

 tion of elders for a term of years, by churches funds to $42,704.26. Their disbursements had 

 preferring that tenure to one for life. The been $41,866.24. The assets of the committee 

 .deliverances of previous General Assemblies amounted to $61,105.20, and their liabilities 

 of both branches of the Church, condemning to about $20,000. The business capital now 

 promiscuous dancing, and regretting the giv- amounted to $39,576.36. The arrangements 

 ing of dancing-parties by Christian families, with the Reformed Church in America, con- 

 were reaffirmed. The session of each church tern plated in the plan of cooperation between 

 was declared fully competent to decide when the two Churches, had been in part begun, 

 discipline in such cases is necessary, and when The Reformed Board had approved for sale all 

 it should be administered. It was declared the books of the committee but one, and all 

 not in accordance with Presbyterian usage to the publications of the Reformed Board but a 

 invite persons to the Lord's Supper who are few small volumes were offered on the shelves 

 not connected with any branch of the visible of the committee's store. The objections in 

 Church. A committee was appointed to in- the case of the excepted books were based 

 quire whether Roman Catholic baptisms should upon the introduction into them "of senti- 

 be recognized as valid, and report to the next ments or incidents connected with the recent 

 General Assembly. troubles of the country which might not pro- 

 The sixth anniversary of the Woman's For- duce edification in the opposite section from 

 eign Missionary Society waa held at Philadel- that in which they were first issued." The 



