BAPTISTS. 



59 



and 6,557 members. The contributions report- 

 ed were: for the Tract Society, $4,216; for 

 the Missionary Society, $4360; for educa- 

 tional purposes, $44,687. The treasurer of 

 the memorial fund reported that the total 

 amount of assets in his hands on account of 

 that enterprise was $80,633. 



The receipts of the Seventh-Day Baptist 

 Tract Society for the year, derived from sales 

 and contributions, were $16,078. The society 

 publishes one quarterly, one monthly, and two 

 weekly journals in the English language, and 

 monthly journals in the Swedish, Hebrew, and 

 Dutch languages. The "Hebrew Journal," 

 which is printed without points, has been well 

 received by Jews in various parts of the world, 

 particularly in Southern Russia and Asia 

 Minor. 



The total receipts of the Missionary Society 

 were $11,588, and its expenditures were $10,- 

 853. Four foreign missionaries and 20 home 

 missionaries were employed. The mission in 

 China returned 2 foreign and 3 native laborers, 

 with 3 teachers and 54 pupils, and 1 church 

 with 18 members. The medical mission at 

 Shanghai had served 1,407 patients. The mis- 

 sion in Holland returned 55 Seventh-Day Bap- 

 tists, at 12 different places. The 3 churches at 

 Haarlem, Amsterdam, and Rotterdam included 

 32 members. Missionary work had been be- 

 gun among the Jews. The Woman's Board re- 

 turned receipts amounting to $5,001. 



The Seventh-Day Baptist General Confer- 

 ence met in its seventy-third session at Shiloh, 

 N. J., September 21. A. B. Prentice presided. 

 A committee appointed to correspond with per- 

 sons interested in the Sabbath cause reported 

 that it was in correspondence with about 100 

 such persons. The committee on denomi- 

 national history recommended the opening of 

 a department on that subject in either the 

 " Seventh-Day Baptist Quarterly," or the "Sab- 

 bath Recorder." A declaration was adopted 

 in favor of the prohibition of the liquor traffic. 

 A part of the time of the Conference was de- 

 voted to 'the discussion of special topics bear- 

 ing on the interests of the denomination. 



IV. Baptists in Great Britain. According to 

 the "Baptist Hand-Book" for 1887, there are 

 in the British Isles 2,742 churches, 3,787 chap- 

 els, 1,192,274 chapel-seats, 302,615 members- 

 47,170 teacher?, and 456,694 pupils in Sunday, 

 schools, 4,041 local preachers, and 1,868 pas- 

 tors in charge. 



The " Spring Session " of the Baptist Union 

 of Great Britain and Ireland was held in Lon- 

 don, beginning April 25. The Rev. Dr. Cul- 

 ross, of the Bristol Baptist College, was insti- 

 tuted president for the year. The report of 

 the council gave the amount of funds received 

 during the year for all the purposes in which the 

 Union is interested as 20,630. Good results 

 were claimed from the visitation of the church- 

 es. It had been resolved to raise a Jubilee fund 

 for the further extension and consolidation of 

 the British and Irish Mission. The value of 



the securities belonging to the Annuity fund 

 was estimated to be upward of 117,000 ; and 

 the number of beneficiary members on the books 

 was 846. The council had applied to be heard 

 before the special committee of the House of 

 Commons in opposition to the bill before Par- 

 liament respecting the attendance of registrars 

 at non-conformists' places of worship. 



The annual meeting of the Baptist Mission- 

 ary Society was held April 26. Sir Robert 

 Pbayse presided. The receipts of the year 

 had been 69,252. the largest amount ever re- 

 turned. The expenditures had, however, ex- 

 ceeded the resources of the society by 2,385, 

 and had been 3,341 in excess of the expendi- 

 tures of the previous year. The increase had 

 been mainly in India, China, and Ceylon, and 

 were incidental to the reinforcements of the 

 missions in those countries, particularly in 

 China, where, within the last few years, the 

 mission staff had been increased from 2 to 21. 

 Nineteen brethren had been accepted for mis- 

 sionary service, 8 of whom had been sent to 

 China, 6 to the Congo, 3 to India, and 2 to 

 Ceylon. The committee had had considerable 

 anxiety in consequence of the transfer by the 

 British Government of the Cameroons, includ- 

 ing the Victoria settlements, to the Germans, 

 without inquiring whether the Baptist mission- 

 aries were willing to hecome German subjects. 

 After protracted but fruitless negotiations with 

 the view of inducing the German Government 

 to purchase the mission station and property, 

 the latter had been sold on satisfactory terms 

 to the Basle Mission. Another matter of gen- 

 eral interest had been the application of Mr. 

 Stanley to be allowed the use of the steamer 

 u Peace " for the Emin Bey relief expedition. 

 It was found impossible to grant the request 

 without violation of the conditions laid down 

 by Mr. Arthrington, the donor of the vessel, 

 who refused to allow it to he employed in any 

 way for military purposes. In India, numerous 

 conversions were reported ; forty new Chris- 

 tian schools had been established, and a large 

 number of educated natives were preparing for 

 the ministry and the work of teaching in the 

 schools. In China, an institution had been 

 started for the training of Chinese Christians 

 and of parties of " self-supporting " congrega- 

 tions. 



The missions of the society in India, Ceylon, 

 China, Japan, Africa, the West Indies, and 

 Jamaica, and parts of Europe, return 94 or- 

 dained and 48 other European missionaries, 

 66 native ordained missionaries, 300 evangel- 

 ists, 366 teachers, 45,113 communicants, 26,679 

 pupils in Sunday-schools, and 16,351 pupils in 

 day- schools. 



The receipts of the Baptist Zenana Mission 

 for the year had been 6,422, and the expendi- 

 ture 6,920. The working-staff of the society 

 in the mission fields consisted of 44 lady zenana 

 visitors, 17 assistants, and 104 native Bible- 

 women and teachers; 1,206 zenanas were reg- 

 ularly visited, 1,800 pupils were receiving daily 



