PRESBYTERIANS. 



667 



studying for the ministry, and 153 had taught 

 schools, including 9,120 pupils. 



The receipts of the Board of Foreign Mis- 

 sions had been $693,122, and the board closed 

 the year with a debt of $10,723. The contri- 

 butions of the various Women's Auxiliary 

 Boards and Societies during the year had been 

 $203,754; and since these societies had come 

 into existence, fourteen years before, they had 

 contributed in all, $1,707,484. The missions 

 of the board were among ten tribes of Amer- 

 ican Indians, in Mexico, Guatemala, South 

 America, Africa, India, Siam, Japan, China, 

 Persia, and Syria, and among the Chinese in 

 the United States. They returned altogether, 

 163 American ministers; 108 ordained native 

 ministers ; 143 native licentiates ; 23 American 

 men and 281 American women as lay missiona- 

 ries ; 786 native lay missionaries ; 19,218 com- 

 municants; and 25,914 pupils. 



General Assembly. The General Assembly 

 of the Presbyterian Church in the United States 

 of America met in Saratoga Springs, N. Y., 

 May 15. The Rev. George P. Hays, D. D., was 

 chosen moderator. Upon report of the com- 

 mittee having the subject in charge to that 

 effect, the Revised Book of Discipline and the 

 Revision of Chapter X of the Form of Gov- 

 ernment, having been approved by the requi- 

 site number of presbyteries, were formally 

 declared to have been adopted,, and to be now 

 a part of the constitution of the Church. A 

 resolution was adopted recording the determi- 

 nation of the General Assembly to continue 

 correspondence with the General Assembly 

 of the Presbyterian Church in the United States 

 (Southern) by delegates. The committee ap- 

 pointed by the previous General Assembly to 

 confer with a similar committee from the 

 Presbyterian Church in the United States in 

 regard to plans of co-operation, reported that 

 the committees had agreed upon provisions for 

 the use and occupancy of Danville Theological 

 Seminary in perpetual joint tenancy and the 

 removal of the institution to Louisville, Ky. 

 They had also agreed upon a resolution, to be 

 recommended to the two General Assemblies, 

 for concurrent adoption ; with regard to co- 

 operation in home missions; that "this As- 

 sembly, while asserting its right to labor in 

 every part of our common country, would most 

 earnestly enjoin those charged with the direc- 

 tion of home-mission work, that they see that 

 nothing be done through strife or vainglory ; 

 that in prosecuting this work the interests of 

 the other Assembly already in occupancy, either 

 with an organized church or missionary labor, 

 shall be most carefully respected ; and that the 

 matter of consolidating feeble churches and 

 cases of disagreement threatening the disturb- 

 ance of fraternal relations shall be referred to 

 a joint committee of the presbyteries having 

 jurisdiction"; and with regard to comity in 

 the matter of discipline, "that this General 

 Assembly, as a matter of comity between our 

 own Church and the Southern (or Northern) 



Presbyterian Church, growing out of the fra- 

 ternal relations so recently established, enjoins 

 upon our church sessions, presbyteries, and 

 synods, that they have due regard for the dis- 

 cipline of all the sessions, presbyteries, and 

 synods of that Church." The Assembly's com- 

 mittee also reported that it had, after consid- 

 ering the many difficulties in the way of co- 

 operation, deemed it proper to say to the joint 

 committee, that "we feel constrained to report 

 to our Assembly that in our judgment the 

 only effectual method of removing these diffi- 

 culties is through organic union between these 

 two branches of the Presbyterian Church. We 

 would, therefore,' respectfully ask our brethren 

 representing the Southern Church in thisjoint 

 committee to make a similar representation 

 to their General Assembly. We do this with 

 the hope that both Assemblies may take such 

 action as will lead to organic union." To this 

 the Committee of the Southern Church replied 

 that, by the action of their Assembly of 1883, 

 they felt constrained to say that they were 

 estopped from making any recommendation, 

 and from considering the matter of organic 

 union. The committee on the subject of re- 

 duced representation in the General Assembly 

 reported that the returns of the votes of the 

 presbyteries upon the overtures that had been 

 submitted to them failed to give any evidence 

 of any general desire on the part of the churches 

 to reduce the size of the Assembly, but gave 

 abundant evidence that the Church did not de- 

 mand reduction, all plans to that end submitted 

 year after year having been rejected by the 

 presbyteries. A proposal to erect in the city 

 of Washington a monument to the memory of 

 the reformer, John Calvin, was approved, and 

 members of the Church were encouraged to 

 contribute in aid of the enterprise. In the 

 matter of Sabbath observance, the use of the 

 Sabbath-day, or of any part of it, for purposes 

 inconsistent with its sanctity, was declared 

 sinful ; churches and ministers were urged to 

 disseminate this view of the question ; and the 

 people of the Church were counseled not to be, 

 as owners, managers, or employe's of railroad 

 and steamship companies, as shippers or pas- 

 sengers on the Sabbath, or as publishers, pa- 

 trons, or writers for Sunday newspapers, par- 

 ticipants in those forms of Sabbath-breaking. 

 The habit of taking mail matter from the post- 

 office on the Sabbath was disapproved of. On 

 the subject of temperance, " the uniform tes- 

 timony of past Assemblies, from the year 1812 

 down to the present time," was reiterated, the 

 principles of total abstinence and prohibition 

 and their application were approved, and sys- 

 tematic action in behalf of temperance was ad- 

 vised. The Assembly decided, in reply to an 

 overture in which the questions were asked, 

 that a minister who has been deposed from 

 his office, or has demitted it, is reduced to 

 the condition of a lay member, and must 

 therefore be reordained in case he is restored 

 to office. 



