768 



PRESBYTERIANS. 



The summary of the work of the missions gives : 

 Number of missionaries, 1,367; of missionary 

 teachers, 199 ; of memhers of the Church, 84,- 

 560; of members of congregations, 126,670; of 

 members added on profession, 9,561 ; of bap- 

 tisms, 3,803 of adults and 4,082 of infants; of 

 Sunday-schools, 2,035, with 132,128 members; 

 of Sunday-schools organized during the year, 

 333 ; of church edifices, 100, valued at $3,971,- 

 031 ; of parsonages, 267, valued at $350,115 ; 

 amount of church debts canceled, $122,593. 



The Board of Missions for Freedmen had 

 received $115,503, of which $1,585 had come 

 from State school-funds. The permanent funds, 

 applicable to particular endowments, amounted 

 to $19,120. The board employed 266 minis- 

 ters, catechists, and teachers, of whom 106 

 were ordained ministers, and 236 were colored. 

 Twelve churches had been organized during 

 the year, while the whole number of churches 

 under the care of the board was 202, with 

 which were connected 13,754 communicants. 

 The number of baptisms was 637 of adults and 

 1,051 of infants ; number added to the churches 

 on examination, 1,453 ; number of Sunday- 

 schools, 201, with 14,563 pupils; number of 

 day-schools, 89, with 9,436 pupils; of night- 

 schools, 10, with 148 pupils; number of teach- 

 ers, 184. The six higher schools returned 1,866 

 students, of whom 97 were studying for the 

 ministry. 



The receipts of the Board of Foreign Mis- 

 sions had been $745,164, of which $224,025 

 were contributed through the "Woman's Board. 

 The liabilities of the board, on account of ex- 

 penditures and past indebtedness, amounted 

 to $803,017 ; so that it returned a deficit of 

 $51,853. The missions returned, in all, 172 

 American and 286 native ministers ; 326 Amer- 

 ican and 731 native lay missionaries; 271 

 churches, 20,294 communicants, with 2,533 

 added during the year ; 461 schools, with 24,- 

 144 pupils ; 12,913 pupils in Sunday-schools; 

 and 98 candidates for the ministry. The 

 amount of contributions credited to the native 

 churches was $23,059. The missions among 

 the Indian tribes in the United States (the re- 

 turns from which are also included in the above 

 summary) reported 15 American and 20 native 

 ministers ; 44 American and 22 native lay mis- 

 sionaries; 20 churches; 1,706 communicants, 

 with 240 added during the year ; 17 schools, 

 with 685 pupils ; 624 pupils in Sunday-schools ; 

 and contributions of $3,028. 



The General Assembly of the Presbyterian 

 Church in the United States of America met 

 in Minneapolis, Minn., May 20. This was the 

 first meeting of the General Assembly to be 

 held under the new system of representation, 

 which had been adopted at the meeting of the 

 previous year in Cincinnati. It was intended 

 by the operation of this system to reduce the 

 number of the members of the Assembly by 

 186. The increase of the year in the number 

 and size of the presbyteries had, however, 

 compensated to a large extent for this reduc- 



tion. The Rev. Dr. David 0. Marquis was 

 chosen Moderator. The announcement was 

 made that a majority of the presbyteries had 

 approved the overture sent down by the pre- 

 vious General Assembly for amending the Di- 

 rectory of Worship so as to give a distinct 

 chapter to the " Worship of God by Offerings," 

 and for recommending a weekly offering as a 

 part of public worship. It was agreed that the 

 one hundredth General Assembly (that of 1888) 

 be held in Philadelphia ; that one day be spe- 

 cially devoted to the presentation of historical 

 and memorial addresses by persons previously 

 appointed ; and that a centenary fund of $5,- 

 000,000 be raised by the Church. This fund 

 is to be devoted to the permanent endowment 

 of the Boards of Ministerial Relief and of Aid 

 for Colleges, in sums of $1,000,000 and $500,000 

 respectively ; to the endowment of the other 

 boards of the Church in sums sufficient to meet 

 all the costs of administration ; and to the en- 

 dowment of the theological seminaries of the 

 Church. An invitation was given to the Pres- 

 byterian Church in the United States to join 

 in the celebration of this anniversary. The 

 Assembly directed all of the journals repre- 

 senting the benevolent boards of the Church 

 to be combined into one. The committee for 

 investigating the affairs of the Board of Publi- 

 cation reported concerning defects which it 

 had detected in the methods of keeping ac- 

 counts ; upon which the Assembly, passing a 

 vote of confidence in the board, recommend- 

 ed the adoption of such measures as would 

 correct the evils pointed out. The Board of 

 Home Missions reporting a debt of $43,000, 

 steps were ordered to be taken for meeting 

 the needs of the board without reducing the 

 measure of its work. During the consideration 

 of the affairs of foreign missions, an address of 

 greeting was read from 1,200 members of the 

 Church in Chee-foo, China. A resolution was 

 adopted by the Assembly declaring it to be 

 the duty of the Church to advance in the en- 

 largement of the work of foreign missions, 

 and pledging contributions to it of $750,000 

 for the coming year, in addition to providing 

 for the debt of $57,000. Resolutions were 

 adopted expressing unqualified condemnation 

 of the mob violence employed against the Chi- 

 nese in the United States ; calling for the en- 

 forcement of treaty rights and local laws ; and 

 pledging the Presbyterian Church to try to se- 

 cure fair treatment and protection to men 

 of every race. The permanent Committee on 

 Temperance was continued, " as the natural 

 complement to the similar committees in pres- 

 byteries and synods, and as completing the 

 organic bond between the Presbyterian Church 

 and the great temperance movement"; but 

 the work of the committee was judged not 

 sufficiently large or extensive or the contribu- 

 tions from the Church liberal enough to de- 

 mand a corresponding secretary giving his time 

 to it, and it was determined to dispense with 

 that officer. 



