BAPTISTS. 



77 



The receipts of the Foreign Mission Board had 

 been $83,404. The missions are in China (north- 

 ern, central, and southern), 547 members ; Af- 

 rica (Lagos), 125 members and 220 pupils; 

 Italy, 11 stations, 288 members; Brazil, 81 

 members; Mexico, 270 members, 216 pupils. 



Gifts were acknowledged of $60,000 by Bap- 

 tists in New York and $25,000 by Baptists of 

 Louisville, Ky., for the Southern Baptist Theo- 

 logical Seminary and the cost of its buildings 

 and grounds. Reports were adopted on sys- 

 tematic benevolence, woman's work in the con- 

 vention, and temperance. The report on wom- 

 an's work recognized its value, but did not 

 make any provision for the admission of women 

 into the convention as delegates. The report 

 on temperance pledged the influence of mem- 

 bers of the convention in all proper ways for 

 the suppression of the manufacture and sale of 

 intoxicating beverages. 



The Baptist Congress. The fifth annual meet- 

 ing of the Baptist Congress was held in Balti- 

 more, Md., Nov. 16, 17, and 18. The Rev. 

 W. E. Hatchee, of Richmond, Va., was the 

 president for the year. The following topics, 

 brought up according to a previously arranged 

 programme, were discussed in written papers 

 and appointed and voluntary addresses : " Inspi- 

 ration of the Scriptures," by the Rev. G. D. B. 

 Pepper, D. D., and the Rev. O. P. Eaches, 

 D. D. ; "Faith- Cures," by the Rev. W. H. 

 Whitsitt, I). D., and the Rev. F. II. Kerfoot, 

 D. D. ; "The Labor Question," by the Rev. 

 Philip H. Moxom, Hon. James Buchanan, and 

 the Rev. G. T. Dowling; "Religious Instruc- 

 tion in State Education," by Prof. N. K. Davis, 

 the Rev. Galusha Anders- >n, D. D., LL. D., 

 and the Rev. Walter Scott; "Sabbath Ob- 

 servance (a), Scriptural Grounds," by the Rev. 

 J. F. Elder, D. D. ; "(b) Utilitarian Grounds," 

 Rev. Reuben Jeffrey, D. D. ; " (c) How best 

 secured," by the Rev. Lansing Burroughs, 

 D. D.; "The Future Life (a) Endless Punish- 

 ment," by the Rev. E. B. Hulbert, D. D. ; " (b) 

 Conditional Immortality," by the Rev. W. H. 

 Robinson ; " (c) Future Probation," by the 

 Rev. E. II. Johnson, D. D. ; " Popular Indiffer- 

 ence to Religion," by the Rev. Malcorn Mc- 

 Vicar, LL. D., and Rev. John Peddie, D. D. 



Frec-Will Baptist Church. The twenty -sixth 

 triennial Free-Will Baptist General Conference 

 met in Marion, Ohio, Oct. 4. The Rev. J. L. 

 Phillips, D. D., returned missionary from Mid- 

 napore, India, was chosen moderator. The 

 question which engaged most of the attention 

 of the Conference was that of the union of the 

 Free Baptist and other denominations holding 

 lite views with it on questions of doctrine and 

 church polity. Corresponding delegates from 

 the bodies in question were present to express 

 the sympathy of the bodies they represented 

 in the subject of the discussion, as follows : 

 the Rev. J. R. II. Laidlaw, the Rev. R. H. Bol- 

 ton, from the Church of God ; tfce Rev. D. A. 

 Long, D. D., the Rev. N. Summerbell, D. D., 

 and the Rev. C. A. Tillinghast, from the Amer- 



ican Christian Convention ; the Rev. William 

 Hayden, D. D., and the Rev. J. M. Atwater, 

 D. D., from the Disciples of Christ; the Rev. 

 T. II. Sid dell, from the Free Baptists of Nova 

 Scotia ; and the Rev. Smith Baker, from the 

 National Congregational Council. The follow- 

 ing is the minute of the action which was 

 taken on the subject : 



We, the delegates of the Free Baptist General Con- 

 ference, acknowledging the manifold blessings with 

 which God has favored the people we represent ; rec- 

 ognizing the importance of the work still before our 

 people ; taking into consideration the fact that God is 

 moving his children of every name to closer relation- 

 ships with each other as well as with himself; and, 

 in order that our position may not be misunderstood, 

 hereby set forth the following declarations : 



1. We believe in the spiritual unity of all the fol- 

 lower of our divine Lord, and desire so to manifest 

 his spirit as to evince our unity with him and with 

 all wno love him. 



2. We are ready to form such alliances with other 

 Christian bodies as may promise larger results in ad- 

 vancing our Lord's kingdom. 



3. VVe are ready to join in organic union with such 

 Christian bodies as may so far agree with us in doc- 

 trine and usages as to give assurance of continued 

 harmony and peaceful relations in Christian work. 



4. We regard loyalty to Christ and the Bible, and 

 the independence of -the local church as suggesting a 

 basis on which closer relationship with other Chris- 

 tian bodies may be attained. 



5. We direct the Conference Board to take into 

 consideration and report upon at the next General 

 Conference such opportunities for closer relationships 

 with other Christian bodies as may in their judgment 

 give promise of increasing our own work in helping 

 bring the world to acknowledge Christ as King of 

 kings and Lord of lords. 



A committee of five persons was appointed 

 to confer with committees from the Christian 

 Connection, the disciples of Christ, and the 

 Congregationalists, and another committee to 

 confer with a committee from the Church of 

 God on the subject of Christian union ; and 

 both committees were given power to act for 

 the conference as their wisdom and best judg- 

 ment might direct. The conference directed a 

 Christian Convention of Liberal Baptists to be 

 called to meet at Ocean Park, Old Orchard 

 Beach, Maine, in August, 1887. An agree- 

 ment for co-operation in foreign missionary 

 work, particularly in lower Bengal, India, was 

 made between the Foreign Mission Boards of 

 the Free Baptists and of the Church of God. 

 Acknowledgments were made to the Rev. S. 

 P. Smith for a gift of $10,000 to Hinsdale Col- 

 lege ; to Winnebego City, Minn., for an offer 

 of $12,000 and forty acres of a land for a Free 

 Baptist institution of learning to be placed 

 there ; and to the Hon J. L. H. Cobb for a gift 

 of $25,000 to Bates College, conditioned upon 

 the denomination adding $75,000 to it. 



Union Convention. An informal convention 

 of delegates from four conferences and one 

 quarterly meeting of the American Christian 

 Convention and six associations and quarterly 

 meetings of the Free- Will Baptist Church, all 

 in New England, met in Boston, March 10, 

 to consider upon promoting a union of the 



