METHODISTS. 



MEXICO. 



551 



outlay of means than the colonial and mission 

 churches alone are able to furnish. 



VII. METHODIST NEW CONNECTION. The 

 eighty-second Annual Conference of the Meth- 

 odist New Connection met at Ashton-under- 

 Lyne, June 10th. A resolution was adopted con- 

 demning the continued existence and spread of 

 the opium trade with China, on grounds of its 

 political and commercial inexpediency and im- 

 morality, of the evil consequences which it 

 produces, because it hinders Christian mission- 

 ary zeal and enterprise among the Chinese, 

 and because "it places England in such an 

 unenviable, invidious position as to expose her 

 to the reproach of inconsistency among other 

 nations." Measures were recommended to in- 

 fluence public opinion in opposition to the 

 trade. The statistical returns showed an in- 

 crease of 863 members and 1,134 probationers. 

 There were reported 423 Sunday schools, with 

 10,763 teachers and 74,989 scholars. 



VIII. PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH. The 

 statistical report of the British and Colonial 

 districts of this Church, exclusive of Canada, 

 made the total number of members 174,473, 

 showing an increase for the year of 1,473; 

 number of ministers, 1,122; of local preachers, 

 15,542; of class-leaders, 10,438; of Sunday 

 schools, 3,945 ; of teachers in the same, 57,374 ; 

 of Sunday-school scholars, 358,358. The fol- 

 lowing is a summary of the statistics of the con- 

 nection in Canada : number of ministers, 98 ; 

 of local preachers, 262 ; of class-leaders, 339 ; 

 of members, 8,174; of connectional churches, 

 214 ; of other preaching places, 88 ; of Sunday 

 schools, 154; of teachers in the same, 1,250; 

 of Sunday-school scholars, 9,098. The ques- 

 tion of union with the Methodist Church of 

 Canada was brought up in the Canadian Con- 

 ference of the connection, and was settled by 

 the adoption, by a vote of 54 against 22, of the 

 following resolution: "That inasmuch as we 

 believe the union of our connection with the 

 Methodist Church of Canada is impracticable, 

 on account of the existing differences of church 

 polity between the two bodies, and that our 

 people are riot prepared for such a union, there- 

 fore we deem it advisable to cease further dis- 

 cussion on the subject for the present." 



IX. UNITED METHODIST FREE CHURCHES. 

 The statistical reports presented to the Annual 

 Assembly of 1878 showed that the number of 

 members of these churches was 72,714, indicat- 

 ing a net decrease of 283 members. Every 

 foreign fisld, however, showed an increase. 

 The number of chapels had increased by 20, 

 the number of Sunday schools by 24, of schol- 

 ars by 2,697, and of teachers by 280. 



X. BIBLE CHRISTIANS. The statistical re- 

 turns of this denomination for 1878 show the 

 following results: number of ministers, 297; 

 of local preachers, 1,825 ; of chapels, 932 ; of 

 church members, 30,688, showing an increase 

 of 328 during the year ; of persons on trial for 

 membership, 1,342; of teachers in Sunday 

 schools, 9,973. The report on missionary 



affairs showed that the expenditure had ex- 

 ceeded the income by more than 300. The 

 522 connections! trust estates returned an in- 

 come of 16,442, out of which the cost of im- 

 provements, interest, and other working ex- 

 penses had been met, 727 had been appropri- 

 ated to the support of the ministry, and 4,759 

 had been applied to the reduction of the debt, 

 leaving balances in the hands of local treasurers 

 amounting to 535. The profits of the Book 

 Room for the year amounted to 600. 



XI. INDEPENDENT METHODIST CHURCHES. 

 The seventy-third Annual Assembly of the 

 United Free Gospel, or Independent Methodist 

 Churches, was held at Glasgow, Scotland, June 

 15th to 18th. More than fifty representatives 

 were present, chiefly from Lancashire and 

 Yorkshire. The President, Mr. A. Donovan, 

 explained concerning the organization of the 

 Union that, while a system of united effort 

 under a single designation was considered ex- 

 pedient for the prosecution of the common 

 work, each church was left at liberty to retain 

 its local name and entire independence as to its 

 internal arrangements. The doctrines of the 

 churches are of the school called evangelical, 

 and their forms of service Methodistical. All 

 members of full age are entitled to share in the 

 government of the church, and the ministry is 

 open and free, voluntary and unpaid. An 

 evangelistic agency is organized, consisting in 

 the appointment of brethren to go from place 

 to place, preaching the gospel, visiting weak 

 churches, and planting new ones. Reports 

 were presented concerning the operations of 

 thess evangelists, and also of the Connectional 

 Book Room. 



MEXICO (ESTADOS UNIDOS DE MEJICO), an 

 independent State of North America. For the 

 proposed discussion of the boundary question 

 with Guatemala, reference may be made to the 

 article on that country in the present volume; 

 and for statistics concerning population, etc., 

 to the "Annual Cyclopaedia" for 1874 and for 

 1875. 



The President of the republic is General 

 Porfirio Diaz, inaugurated in November, 1876. 

 The Cabinet is composed of the following Min- 

 isters: of the Interior (ministro de goberna- 

 cion\ Sr. Don T. Garcia ; of Foreign Affairs, 

 Sr. Don J. M. Mata; of Finance, Sr. Don M. 

 Romero; of War, General M. Gonzalez; of 

 Justice, Public Worship, and Public Instruc- 

 tion, Licentiate Protasio Tagle ; and of Public 

 Works, Sr. Don Vicente Riva Palacio. The 

 President of the Supreme Court of Justice 

 (and consequently, according to the terms of 

 the Constitution, Vice-President of the repub- 

 lic) is Sr. Don Antonio Vallarta, and the mem- 

 bers are as follows : Sres. P. Ogazon, J. de 

 Mata Vasquez, M. Alas, A. Martinez de Cas- 

 tro, M. Blanco, J. Ramirez, J. M. Bautista, J. 

 M. Altamirano, E. Montes, L. Guzman, J. E. 

 Munoz (Attorney-General), and D. de la Garza 

 y Garza (Procurator-General). The Govern- 

 ors of the several States, etc., are as follows: 



