74 



BAPTISTS. 



Baptist Convention met at Baltimore, Md., 

 May 7th. The Rev. P. H. Mell, D. D., of 

 Georgia, was chosen president. The Home 

 Mission Board reported that its receipts had 

 been $66,414, and jts work had been prose- 

 cuted at a cogt of about $48,000. The board 

 had employed 144 missionaries, who had 

 served 338 churches and stations, and re- 

 ported 2,665 baptisms, and 141 Sunday-schools 

 with 5,387 teachers and pupils. A church- 

 building department had been organized in 

 November, 1883, for the purpose of assisting 

 destitute churches by loans in building and re- 

 pairing their houses. It appeared that there 

 were, in the 164 associations heard from in 

 the Southern States, 612 churches that had 

 no houses of worship. The department had 

 helped twenty-three churches, and estimated 

 that 2,000 church-buildings were needed, for 

 which the sum of $500,000 would be required. 

 Theological instructors had labored among the 

 colored people in Georgia and in Texas. The 

 mission among the Indians, with the Levering 

 Manual Labor School, had been continued. 

 The convention adopted resolutions respect- 

 ing the colored people, recognizing their claim 

 to assistance, and advising that the work ot 

 instruction among them be continued ; and, 

 with respect to the Indians, that the success 

 of the work thus far among them justified its 

 continuance, advising that that people be en- 

 couraged to build for themselves neat houses 

 of worship, and favoring the preaching of the 

 gospel among the wild tribes. The receipts 

 of the Board of Foreign Missions had been 

 $80,465, the largest amount ever returned in 

 one year. This sum, with the balance of $6,- 

 160 from the previous year, gave the board 

 $86,625 at its disposal. The Women's Auxil- 

 iary Societies had contributed $16,895 to the 

 treasury of the board. Reports were made 

 from the missions in West Africa, Italy, China, 

 Brazil, and Mexico ; in connection with which 

 were returned 95 missionaries (native and for- 

 eign), 42 stations and out-stations, 1,141 church- 

 members; contributions of $1,077; 684 Sun- 

 day-school and other pupils; and 175 additions. 

 An account was given to the convention of the 

 Kabyles of Algeria as a people among whom it 

 might be expedient to begin a mission. The 

 Southern Baptist Theological Seminary reported 

 the value of its endowment as $220,000 ; num- 

 ber of students, 118. 



The colored Baptists of Kentucky report 45,- 

 000 communicants, with a university attended 

 by more than 200 students, and having proper- 

 ty valued at $20,000 and a weekly newspaper. 

 Their Women's Educational Convention had 

 raised $1,000 during the year. 



Autumnal Baptist Conference. The third Au- 

 tumnal Baptist Conference was held in Phila- 

 delphia, November 1 1th, 12th, and 13th. Presi- 

 dent Weston, of Crozer Theological Seminary, 

 presided. Assigned topics were discussed in 

 papers, followed by volunteered remarks, as 

 follow : *' The Value in Education, Secular 



and Religious," of the Greek Philosophy, Prof. 

 E. B. Andrews, of Brown Uniyersity ; of the 

 Roman law, Rev. P. A. Nordell, of New Lon- 

 don, Conn. ; and of the English Bible, Prof. 

 John A. Broadus, of the Louisville Theological 

 Seminary ; " Missionary Endeavor in its Con- 

 tribution to Human Knowledge, its Bearing 

 upon the Political and Social Development of 

 Peoples, and its Relation to Self-Support," 

 Rev. Dr. McKenzie, of Boston, Prof. H. H. 

 Harris, of Richmond, Va., and Rev. Dr. John- 

 son, of Cambridge, Mass. ; " Prohibitory (tem- 

 perance) Legislation," Mr. A. A. Hopkins, of 

 Rochester, N. Y., and Rev. J. W. Willmarth, 

 of Philadelphia, Pa. ; " The Conduct of Public 

 Worship in respect to Music, to Prayer, and to 

 the Use of Scripture," Rev. Dr. Robert Lowry, 

 Rev. S. H. Greene, of Washington, D. C., Rev. 

 Dr. T. T. Eaton, of Louisville, Ky. ; " Phases 

 of Theological Thought as influenced by Social 

 Conditions and by Philosophic Methods," Dr. 

 W. N. Clarke, of Toronto, Ont., and Rev. Dr. 

 Heman Lincoln, of Newton Theological Semi- 

 nary ; " The Edification of the Church," Rev. 

 Dr. D. W. Faunce, of Washington, D. C., Rev. 

 O. P. Giffbrd, of Boston, Mass., and Rev. Dr. 

 J. L. Burroughs, of Norfolk, Va. 



II. Free-Will Baptist llmrdi. Statistics of this 

 Church are given in the "Free-Will Baptist 

 Register and Year-Book " for 1885, of which 

 the following is a summary : Number of yearly 

 meetings, 46 ; of quarterly meetings, 185 ; of 

 churches, 1,496 ; of ordained preachers, 1,286 ; 

 of licensed preachers, 159 ; of members, 80,913. 

 In addition to the churches regularly connected 

 with the regular quarterly and yearly meetings, 

 there are many other small Free-Will Baptist 

 bodies in the Southern and Western States in 

 substantial agreement in faith and practice with 

 the churches represented in the General Con- 

 ference. The "Liberal Baptist Year-Book," 

 published in 1884, makes the following esti- 

 mates of the number of members of other 

 bodies of this kind : 



Free Baptist Associations in the United States 13,190 



General Baptists 13.228 



Separate Baptists 6,329 



United Baptists l,4f 



ChurchofGod* 40,000 



Free Christian Baptists of New Brunswick 10,777 



Free Baptists of Novu Scotia 8,415 



Total 88,886 



These, added to the members of the regular 

 Free-Will Baptist churches, will make 169,249 

 members in general sympathy with the princi- 

 ples of that body. 



The educational institutions of the Free- 

 Will Baptist Church include Hillsdale College, 

 Hillsdale Mich., with nine departments of 

 instruction and 867 students; Bates College, 

 Lewiston, Maine, and the theological school 

 connected with it; New Hampton Institution, 

 New Hampton, N. H. ; Nichols Latin School, 

 Lewiston, Maine ; Maine Central Institute, 

 Pittsfield, Maine; Green Mountain Seminary, 



* See section under this heading below. 



