350 



EVANGELICAL ALLIANCE. 



on several occasions by large majorities, -was 

 forced to make way for a Ministry composed of 

 more radical members under M. de Freycinet. 

 (See FBAXCE.) 



In Belgium, the question of Church and sec- 

 ular schools was solved by the adoption of the 

 Government bill providing for the supervis- 

 ion of all schools by the state. (See BELGIUM.) 

 In Spain the year witnessed a struggle for su- 

 premacy between General Campos and Sefior 

 Canovas del Castillo. The principal question 

 before the Cortes was the pacification of Cuba. 

 An attempt was made on the life of the King 

 shortly after his marriage to the Archduchess 

 Christina of Austria. (See SPAIN.) 



The attention of England in 1879 was chiefly 

 absorbed by the wars in Afghanistan and Zoo- 

 looland. In the latter part of the year the 

 distress in Ireland consequent upon the agra- 

 rian depression became very great, and led to 

 a serious anti-rent agitation. Disturbances 

 occurred in different parts of the country, and 

 numerous arrests were made. At the same 

 time strong efforts were used to relieve the 

 distress. (See GREAT BBITAIN.) 



The after-effects of the war with Turkey 

 were felt very strongly in Russia during 1879. 

 In spite of the most stringent measures adopt- 

 ed by the Government to suppress it, Nihilism 

 was stronger this year than ever, and another 

 unsuccessful attempt on the life of the Czar 

 was made. Another danger resulting from 

 the late war threatened Russia in 1879, in the 

 form of the plague, which appeared in several 

 governments; but, through the efforts of the 

 Government, it was confined to a compara- 

 tively small part of the empire. (See PLAGUE.) 

 The advance of Russia in Asia received a check 

 this year by the defeat of the Russian army by 

 the Tekke Turkomans. (See RUSSIA.) 



In Germany a complete revolution in the 

 financial policy took place. The session of the 

 Reichstag in the beginning of the year was oc- 

 cupied almost exclusively with the discussion 

 of the new tariff, which was finally passed by 

 a coalition of the Conservatives and the Cath- 

 olic Center. This alliance was remarkable from 

 the fact that the Catholics, who had for years 

 been Prince Bismarck's most bitter opponents, 

 had now joined hands with him. The reac- 

 tionary spirit was also felt in the administra- 

 tion of Prussia, where the Liberal Ministers 

 were virtually forced to resign and a Conser- 

 vative Ministry was put in their place. The 

 elections for the Diet in Prussia resulted in a 

 large gain for the Conservatives, giving them 

 with their new allies, the Catholics, a bare 

 majority over the united Liberals. (See GEE- 

 MANY and PEUSSIA.) 



. EVANGELICAL ALLIANCE. This asso- 

 ciation has for its object to represent the unity 

 of all those churches which collectively are 

 called Evangelical in all the more important 

 articles of faith, notwithstanding their sepa- 

 ration by external organization. It has held 

 general assemblies at London in 1846, at Paris 



in 1855, at Berlin in 1857, at Geneva in 1861, at 

 Amsterdam in 1867, and at New York in 1873. 



The seventh General Conference of the Evan- 

 gelical Alliance was held in 1879 at Basel, 

 Switzerland, beginning September 1st. On the 

 evening of the preceding day, Sunday, August 

 31st, a service of greeting between the dele- 

 gates from the different countries was held in 

 the Vereinshaus, when fraternal addresses were 

 delivered in the German, French, and English 

 languages. Pastor Ecklin spoke in behalf of 

 the citizens of Basel, and as the representative 

 of the German-speaking countries ; Professor 

 Vignet of Berne for French Switzerland and 

 France ; and the Rev. Philip Schaff, D. D., of 

 New York, for the English-speaking delegates. 

 M. Charles Sarasin, ex-Councilor of State, was 

 chosen President of the Conference, and deliv- 

 ered the opening address. He dwelt upon the 

 necessity of a liberal and wise judgment in 

 theological thought, even though it might 

 sometimes seem to make too many concessions 

 to the demands of science ; at the same time, 

 he held, there must be no compromise of the 

 fundamentals of Christianity. He believed 

 that a reconciliation is possible between faith 

 and science, and that one of the duties of the 

 Evangelical Alliance is to find it. Reports 

 were then made by delegates concerning the 

 religious condition of their respective coun- 

 tries. Pastor Gudet of Basel represented Prot- 

 estantism in Switzerland as divided into parties 

 and suffering from the growth of rationalism. 

 Dr. Cremer, of the University of Greifswald, 

 described Germany as in a condition of reli- 

 gious unrest, enduring a contest between faith 

 and unbelief. He thought that much advance 

 must be made before the masses could be 

 reached and cured of their indifference and in- 

 fidelity. Pastor Babut of Nismes represented 

 the French Protestant churches. The Rev. E. 

 V. Bligh spoke in reference to the religious 

 condition of England, and dwelt especially on 

 the success and progress of the evangelistic 

 meetings which were instituted during the tour 

 of the American evangelists, Messrs. Moody 

 and Sankey, in 1874, and had been continued 

 since. Dr. Van Oosterzee, of the University 

 of Utrecht, described the religious condition of 

 Holland. The Rev. Dr. Philip Schaff described 

 the United States as the land of churches and 

 Christian activity, and ascribed the variety of 

 denominational forms existing there largely to 

 the diverse nationalities from which the people 

 have originated, each tending to transplant the 

 spirit of its own religious life. Dr. Tardy 

 spoke of the growing activity of Protestantism 

 in Austria and Hungary. Dr. Von Scheele 

 gave an encouraging view of the condition of 

 the Scandinavian churches. Among the gen- 

 eral addresses was one by the Rev. Dr. Stough- 

 ton of London, on " The Connection between 

 Basel and the Early English Protestants." Sec- 

 tional meetings were held for the reading of 

 papers in the French and English languages. 



The theme for special discussion on the sec- 



