672 



PRESBYTERIANS. 



tion) in the work of foreign missions be con- 

 tinued; that a friendly cooperation of help 

 and non-interference be practised in the fields 

 of home missions and Church extension ; that 

 the two bodies cooperate in building and sus- 

 taining the Normal or Training School of the 

 United Presbyterian Church for the Freed- 

 men, established at Knoxville, Tenn. ; and that, 

 in the work of publication, the Associate Re- 

 formed Synod cooperate with the Board of 

 Publication of the United Presbyterian Church. 

 These provisions were adopted by the Synod. 

 The Committee on Correspondence with the 

 United Presbyterian Church was reappointed, 

 but was instructed to take no direct steps 

 toward union without further instruction. 

 The Board of Foreign Missions reported that 

 their receipts for the year had been $4,732.69, 

 and their ordinary expenses $604.08. They 

 had invested the sum of $2,664, and had 

 $1,464.61 on hand. 



IV. CUMBERLAND PRESBYTERIANS. The 

 forty-sixth General Assembly of the Cumber- 

 land Presbyterian Church met at Bowling 

 Green, Ky., May 18th. The Rev. J. M. Gill, 

 of Elkton, Ky., was chosen moderator. 



The Committee on Missions reported that 

 the missionary work of the year had in the 

 aggregate exceeded that of any former year, 

 especially so far as the collecting and dis- 

 bursing of money are concerned. The gifts to 

 the missionary cause had been far in advance 

 of those of former years. The most important 

 home-missions were at St. Louis, in Colorado, 

 and on the Pacific coast. 



The question was asked the Assembly by a 

 presbyter, whether baptism, as administered 

 by Roman Catholics, is to be regarded as a 

 valid Christian baptism ? The committee to 

 whom it was referred expressed the opinion 

 that it could not be so regarded, and recom- 

 mended an answer in the negative. " Notwith- 

 standing this," they reported, "each church 

 session must decide for itself what shall be 

 done in each particular case that may come 

 before them, as no absolute rule can be laid 

 down which will meet the peculiarities of every 

 case." Their report was adopted by the As- 

 sembly. A resolution adopted by the Assem- 

 bly declared " that, as a denomination of Pro- 

 testants, we are not dependent on regular suc- 

 cession from the Roman Church, or any other 

 body of Christians, for authority to preach the 

 Gospel and administer the* ordinances of the 

 Church." The Committee on Education re- 

 ported of the institutions of the Church : Lin- 

 coln University, Lincoln, 111., had an endow- 

 ment and property estimated to be worth 

 $264,700. and liabilities estimated at $3,017.55. 

 The faculty numbered nine professors and 

 three tutors, and nearly 300 students were in 

 attendance. Cumberland University had elev- 

 en professors and 375 students. It was the 

 oldest institution in the Church, and had had 

 great reverses in the loss of its endowments 

 and buildings during the war. Trinity Uni- 



versity reported a year of " reasonable suc- 

 cess." Bethel College, McKenzie, Tenn., re- 

 ported four teachers, 110 matriculations, and 

 five candidates for the ministry among its stu- 

 dents. Cumberland Female College, McMinn- 

 ville, Tenn., had an annual average of about 

 100 students. Waynesburg College had about 

 200 students. A new college building had 

 been begun, which would cost over $60,000. 



The Board of Publication reported to the 

 General Assembly that their receipts and ex- 

 penditures during the year had been each 

 $56,206.14. The assets of the Publishing 

 House, deducting liabilities, were valued at 

 $49,499.01, showing an increase of value from 

 the previous year of $21,528.46. 



Ttie Colored Cumberland Presbyterian 

 Church has been formed by the amicable sepa- 

 ration of colored members from the Cumber- 

 land Presbyterian Church, and their organiza- 

 tion into an independent body. The first 

 number of their newspaper organ, The Banner 

 of Light, was published in September, 1876. 

 It slated that the number of members of the 

 Colored Cumberland Presbyterian Church in 

 the States of Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Missis- 

 sippi, Tennessee, Alabama, and Kentucky, was, 

 in May, 1874, 3,925; that the number of min- 

 isters at that time was seventeen ; and that the 

 value of church property was $12,550. Since 

 that time the Presbytery of Missouri had added 

 240 members, and the same presbytery had 

 raised $529.25 in 1874. Later reports than 

 for 1874 had not been received from the other 

 States. 



V. PRESBYTERIANS IN CANADA, (a.) Pres- 

 byterian Church in Canada. The following 

 is a summary of the statistics of this Church as 

 they were reported to the General Assembly 

 in June : 



Synods 4 



Presbyteries 83 



Congregations 1.07(5 



Ministerial charges 684 



Ministers 664 



Families 50,209 



Communicants 82,186 



Added during year 11,247 



Sabbath scholars 57,949 



CONTRIBUTIONS. 



Stipend promised $418,058 21 



Paid by congregations 388,580 !1 



From other sources 8^,t08 70 



College fund 14,917 97 



Home missions 25.472 47 



Foreign missions It; 178 53 



Aged and infirm ministers 6,21 8 81 



Assembly fund 5,n62 '24 



French evangelization 11,219 93 



Sabbath-school contributions 9.496 67 



Total for schemes 88,561 63 



Total for all purposes 989,690 29 



The General Assembly of the Presbyterian 

 Church in Canada met in Toronto, June 8th. 

 The Rev. Dr. Topp was chosen moderator. 

 Much of the time of the Assembly was spent in 

 the discussion of the case of the Rev. D. J. 

 Macdonnell, who had expressed views regard- 

 ed as not according to the standards of the 

 Church. The basis of the charge against him 

 lay in a sermon which he preached in Novetn- 



