64 



BAPTISTS. 



ed making the term of the General Conference 

 three years, and that of presiding elders one 

 year ; refusing fellowship to persons who take 

 out insurance policies, who violate the Script- 

 ure rule of divorce as laid down in Matthew 

 and Mark, and who use tohacco. The churches 

 were prohibited having organs and choirs; 

 and a system of raising funds for foreign mis- 

 sion work was adopted. 



V. KEGULAE BAPTISTS IN GREAT BRITAIN. 

 The "American Baptist Year -Book" for 

 1882 gives the following statistics of the Regu- 

 lar Baptists in Great Britain and Ireland for 

 1881: 



The "Baptist Hand-Book" for 1882 gives 

 for the United Kingdom 2,586 churches, 3,395 

 chapels, 1,101,361 sittings, 295,035 members, 

 46,321 teachers and 433,801 scholars in Sunday- 

 schools, 1,885 pastors in charge, and 3,247 

 evangelists. 



The annual meeting of the Baptist Union of 

 Great Britain and Ireland was held April 24th. 

 The Rev. John Jenkyn Brown, of Birmingham, 

 was president for the year. Returns had been 

 received from 2,586 churches, with a reput- 

 ed membership of 295,000, as against 2,565 

 churches and 281,000 members reported in the 

 previous year. Nearly 50,000 sittings had been 

 added to the chapel accommodation, giving 

 1,101,000 sittings, against 1,052,000 reported 

 in the previous year, and school-rooms had 

 been provided to accommodate 8,000 Sunday- 

 school children. Chapel debts had been dimin- 

 ished by more than 124,000. Not less than 

 20,000 had been raised for evangelistic work 

 in the several counties, including that of the 

 British and Irish Baptist Home Mission. Some 

 changes in the constitution were agreed upon, 

 with the object of making it possible for the 

 Union to become legally amalgamated with the 

 British and Irish Baptist Home Mission. Ac- 

 cording to the new provisions, the governing 

 body of the Union will consist of a council of one 

 hundred members, seventy of whom are to be 

 chosen by ballot, and the rest elected by the 

 members thus chosen. The officers of the Union 

 and of the Baptist Unions of Scotland and 

 Wales will be ex-officio members of the council, 

 and societies or organizations accepted by the 

 Union as auxiliaries to any of its work will be 

 empowered to appoint a representative who 

 shall be entitled to attend and vote at the 

 meetings of the council. The actuary of the 

 annuity fund reported that an additional an- 

 nual income of 400, or an augmentation of 

 the capital to 100,000, was needed to keep 

 the annuities t their present annual value of 



45 for each minister and 39 for each widow 

 on the list. The committee was instructed to 

 procure the opinion of counsel respecting the in- 

 terpretation of the rule which deals with funds 

 the investment of which has been specially 

 prescribed by the donors. The Baptist Build- 

 ing Fund had aided with 25,000 in the erec- 

 tion of twenty-five new chapels and the en- 

 largement of other chapels, by which a clear 

 increase of 7,646 sittings was gained. The 

 total cost of the new erections had been 83,- 

 770. The Bible Translation Society had ex- 

 pended 2,665 in the prosecution of its work, 

 and had a small balance on hand. Progress 

 was reported on the Bengali Commentary on 

 the New Testament, in which Mr. Eouse had 

 taken the place of the Rev. Dr. Wenger, de- 

 ceased, and on the Dualla (African) version of 

 the New Testament. The Baptist and Irish 

 Home Mission had received 4,002 ; the Zenana 

 Mission, 4,635. 



The total income of the Baptist Missionary 

 Society had been 52,366, and it closed its 

 year with a deficiency of nearly 7,000. The 

 receipts for special purposes (included in the 

 total) had been 6,497. Encouraging prog- 

 ress was reported of the missionary work in 

 India, the West Indies, and Africa. A special 

 steam-launch was in course of construction for 

 the Congo mission in Africa. In China, Mr. 

 Richard had been preparing translations and 

 original books for the literati in Shansi. 



The annual report of the Baptist Union of 

 Scotland for 1880-'81, which was read at the 

 meeting of the Union in April, gave the num- 

 ber of churches in connection as 80, with 8,500 

 members. Sixty-seven Sunday-schools, with 

 905 teachers and 7,300 children, and 157 

 preaching-stations, were also reported. Forty- 

 seven Bible-classes had been formed during 

 the year, and were attended by 1,940 persons. 

 One new chapel had been opened, and three 

 others were being built. 



VI. GENERAL BAPTISTS. The one hundred 

 and thirteenth annual meeting of the General 

 Baptist Association was held at Derby in June, 

 under the presidency of the Rev. William Gray, 

 of Birch cliffe. Reports had been received 

 from 168 out of 187 churches, which showed 

 a clear gain of 442 members. The total ex- 

 penditure for home missions for the year had 

 been 483, and the committee returned a bal- 

 ance on hand of 401. The total receipts for 

 foreign missions had been 8,116, of which 

 sum 3,203 had been received in India, and 

 185 in Rome. The expenditures had been 

 8,947. The liabilities of the society had 

 been increased by 279. The Building Fund 

 Committee returned a capital, provided " all 

 promises were fulfilled," of 5,500. Its re- 

 ceipts had been 1,557, and it had made grants 

 to churches of 1,250. 



VII. BAPTISTS OF GERMANY. The twelfth 

 Triennial Convention of ihs* Baptists of Ger- 

 many and other European countries was held 

 in August in Altona. One hundred and thirty- 



