552 



METHODISTS. 



which had heen called into existence during 

 the present century in England, America, and 

 Australia, had adopted in substance, if not in 

 form, the distinctive principles of the New 

 Connection. The Wesleyan Connection also, 

 had been constrained, by the growth and pow- 

 er of liberal principles, to make very great 

 changes in its polity and administration 

 changes which had swept away some of the 

 elements of difference between the two bodies, 

 and greatly reduced the magnitude and prac- 

 tical force of others. 



VI. Primitive Methodist Church. The statistical 

 reports of this Church, as presented to the 

 Conference in June, give the following foot- 

 ings: Number of church-members, 191,641; 

 of regular hearers, 485,136 ; of ministers, 1,043 ; 

 of local preachers, 16,120; of class - leaders, 

 10,723 ; of Connectional chapels, 4,305 ; of 

 other chapels, 1,545; value of church property, 

 $3,017,647; number of Sunday-schools, 3,753, 

 with 58,121 teachers, and 386,570 pupils. 



The forty-third annual meeting of the Primi- 

 tive Methodist Missionary Society, was held in 

 London, May 11. Mr. H. Spicer, M. P., pre- 

 sided. The receipts of the society for the year 

 had been 22,250, and the expenditures 18.- 

 905, but the apparent balance was probably 

 already covered by prospective payments for 

 current expenses. More than 1,400 cases of 

 conversion had been reported by the mission- 

 aries in the home department. 



The Primitive Methodist Conference met in 

 its sixty-seventh annual session at Derby, June 

 9. The Rev. John Atkinson was chosen presi- 

 dent. The report of the Metropolitan Chapel 

 fund showed that during the twenty-one years 

 of its existence it had assisted in the erection 

 of 78 chapels and schools in London. The 

 Book-Room had been able to give 3,300 out 

 of its profits to the Superannuated Ministers', 

 Widows', and Orphans' fund. The income of 

 the latter fund had amounted to 7,570, and it 

 had on its books the names of 255 annuitants. 

 The General Chapel fund reported that during 

 the last nine years it had assisted trustees to 

 reduce their liabilities to the amount of 31,- 

 000. The most important measure perfected 

 by the Conference was one for the establish- 

 ment of a stationing committee, to consist of 

 one minister and one layman from each home 

 district, and the secretaries of the General 

 Committee and of the Missionary Committee. 

 Its business will be to arrange the appoint- 

 ments of unstationed ministers and provide for 

 unsupplied circuits ; and it shall not, except by 

 special instruction from the Conference, inter- 

 fere with arrangements previously made be- 

 tween ministers and stations. 



VII. United Methodist Free Churches. The fol- 

 lowing is a summary of the statistics of this 

 body, which were presented to the Annual As- 

 sembly in July : Number of itinerant ministers, 

 380 ; of supernumerary ministers, 41 ; of local 

 preachers, 3,268; of leaders, 4,077; of mem- 

 bers in society, 76,500 ; of members on trial, 



7,549; of chapels, 1,358; of other preaching- 

 rooms, 222 ; of Sunday-schools, 1,361, with 

 26,664 teachers and 198,196 pupils. 



The Annual Assembly of the United Meth- 

 odist Free churches was held in Sheffield, be- 

 ginning July 13. The Rev. Thomas Sher- 

 wood was chosen president. The committee 

 of the Commemorative fund, which had been 

 established three years before, in celebration of 

 the formation of the body, and to add to the 

 resources of the Connectional and local fund, 

 reported that 32,400 had been promised, of 

 which 18,082 had been paid in three install- 

 ments ; two other installments had yet to be 

 paid. The capital of the Superannuation fund 

 had been increased by 1,876, and now 

 amounted to 33,432 ; annuities had been paid 

 to the amount of 2,050 ; and the ministers' 

 subscriptions to the fund amounted to 1,080. 

 The Children's fund, which is applied to the 

 benefit of the children of all itinerant minis- 

 ters between the third and seventeenth years 

 of their age, and is maintained by a levy of 

 ten pence a year on the members of the Church, 

 had 470 children on its list of beneficiaries. 

 The capital of the Sunday-school fund was 

 1,420 ; and of the local preachers' fund, 

 1,710. The sales of the Book-Room had 

 amounted to 5,763, and the profits of the 

 concern to 462. These were appropriated 

 among the several benevolent schemes entitled 

 to share in them. The chapel committee re- 

 ported one hundred cases of erection and en- 

 largement of chapels, school-rooms, and minis- 

 ters' houses, at a total cost of 26,523 ; to- 

 ward which 12,395 had been raised ; the sum 

 of 25,875 had been raised for the reduction of 

 chapel debt, making the entire amount raised 

 in these two branches of the Connectional 

 work 38,964. Favorable reports were made 

 of the condition of Asheville College and of 

 the theological institute. The President of 

 the Assembly was authorized to sign a petition 

 in favor of the closing on Sunday of places 

 where intoxicating drinks are sold. Resolu- 

 tions were adopted, urging modifications in the 

 marriage laws so as to give Dissenting clergy- 

 men and chapels equal rights and position in 

 the solemnization of marriage with those of 

 the Established Church ; and asking for the 

 substitution of international arbitration for 

 war. 



VIII. Bible Christians. The Annual Confer- 

 ence of the Bible Christian Connection met in 

 Southsea, July 27. The Rev. Alexander Tren- 

 gove was chosen president. The statisticnl 

 reports showed an increase of more than 500 

 members. The receipts of the Chapel fund 

 had been 23,461 ; debts had been paid to the 

 amount of 4,420. A favorable report was 

 presented of the condition and standard of 

 scholarship of Shebbear College. Two candi- 

 dates offered themselves to enter the service 

 of the mission in China, which had been estab- 

 lished the previous year. A visiting minister 

 from Canada, where the Provincial Connec- 



