EVANGELICAL ALLIANCE. 



EVANGELICAL ASSOCIATION. 261 



EVANGELICAL ALLIANCE. The American 

 branch of the Evangelical Alliance in March 

 issued an appeal to the public in behalf of a 

 closer and more intelligent co-operation on the 

 part of Christians for defense against the many 

 and great perils with which American insti- 

 tutions and Christian civilization seem to be 

 threatened. Such co-operation, it was be- 

 lieved, would strengthen every denomination 

 and greatly increase the effectiveness of each. 

 Many prominent men of different denomina- 

 tions had expressed the belief that the Evan- 

 gelical Alliance of the United States was a 

 medium through which the desired co-opera- 

 tion could be naturally sought and easily 

 effected. The alliance therefore would labor 

 to promote this object, by the organization of 

 branch alliances, which, being formed so far 

 as practicable in every community, would 

 afford opportunities for meeting and discussing 

 the situation, and devising plans for the co- 

 operation of the churches ; by holding annu- 

 ally great conventions, the discussions of which 

 would be put in print for general distribution ; 

 and by making the National Alliance a bureau 

 of information touching religious and reforma- 

 tory work, in pursuance of which aim careful- 

 ly prepared tracts, bearing upon different de- 

 partments of the subject, would be issued at 

 short intervals. In accordance with the mo- 

 tives of this appeal, a National Christian Con- 

 ference was called by the Alliance, and was 

 held in the city of Washington, December 

 7, 8 and 9, for the discussion of the follow- 

 ing questions : " What are the present per- 

 ils and opportunities of the Christian Church 

 and of the country ? " " Can any of them be 

 met best by a hearty co-operation of all Evan- 

 gelical Christians, which, without detriment 

 to any denominational interests, will serve 

 the welfare of the whole Church?" "What 

 are the best means to secure such co-operation 

 and to awaken the whole Church to its re- 

 sponsibility ?" Mr. William E. Dodge, Presi- 

 dent of the Evangelical Alliance, made an 

 opening address, in which he dwelt upon the 

 necessity of bringing the truths of Christianity 

 to bear upon the social and economical ques- 

 tions of the day, and insisted upon their power, 

 with the forces which they had in reserve, to 

 meet the perils of the time, and find a solution 

 for its perplexing problems. The several meet- 

 ings on successive days were presided over in 

 turn by the Hon. John Jay, Mr. Justice Strong, 

 of the United States Supreme Court ; Senator 

 Colquitt, of Georgia ; Mr. Justice Harlan ; 

 President Angell, of the University of Michi- 

 gan ; and Senator Hawley, of Connecticut. 

 Subjects pertaining to the objects of the Con- 

 ference were discussed in stated papers and 

 addresses, as follows: "The City as a Peril," 

 Rev. Daniel Dorchester, D. D., Rev. S. J. Mc- 

 Pherson, D. D., and Rev. Mr. Loomis, of 

 Brooklyn, N. Y. ; " Immigration," Professor 

 Hjalmar II. Boyesen, Rev. S. L. Baldwin, 

 and Rev. J. M. Foster; "The Misuse of 



Wealth," President Gates, of Rutgers College, 

 and Rev. Robert C. Matlack ; " Estrangement 

 from the Church," Bishop J. M. Hurst and 

 Rev. Arthur T. Pierson ; " Ultramontanism," 

 Bishop A. C. Coxe; "Jesuitism," Rev. J. M. 

 King, D. D. ; " The Saloon," Rev. R. S. Mc- 

 Arthur, I). D., Rev. A. G. Haygood, D. D. ; 

 " Perils to the Family," Rev. S. W. Dike ; " The 

 Social Vice," Col. J. L. Greene, Rev. J. C. 

 Thomas, D. D., Prof. S. E. Baldwin; "Illit- 

 eracy," Gen. John Eaton and Mr. N. M. Butler ; 

 " The Relation of the Church to Capital and 

 Labor," Rev. James McCosh, D. D., Hon. Seth 

 Low, and others ; " The Christian Resources 

 of our Country," Rev. J. M. King, D. D. ; 

 " Influence of the Universities on the Religious 

 Character of the Nation," President Gilman. 

 of Johns Hopkins University; " The Christian 

 Resources of the South," Rev. N. E. Hatcher, 

 D. D. ; " Co-operation of Churches in Chris- 

 tian Work," Bishop Samuel Harris, Rev. Wash- 

 ington Gladden, 1). D., and Prof. George E. 

 Post, of Beyrout, Syria ; "Methods of Co-oper- 

 ation among Christian Denominations," Rev. 

 Josiah Strong, D.D. ; "Methods of Co-opera- 

 tion in Large Cities," Rev. A. F. Schauffler, 

 D. D., with discussion of the general subject of 

 " Christian Co-operation," by other speakers; 

 and " Individual Duty, growing out of Perils 

 and Opportunities," Rev. A. J. Gordon, D. D. 



EVANGELICAL ASSOCIATION. The following 

 is a summary of the statistical report of the 

 Evangelical Association, which was made to 

 the General Conference at its meeting in Sep- 

 tember : Number of itinerant preachers, 1,123; 

 of local preachers, 034; of members, 138,668; 

 of Sunday-schools, 2,348, with 27,210 officers 

 and teachers, and 162,837 pupils; number of 

 churches, 1,836, the value of which was esti- 

 mated at $4,236,948; number of parsonages, 

 572, having a probable value of $635,589. The 

 returns show an increase in four years of 18,- 

 437 members, or 15 per cent., while the in- 

 crease during the preceding four years (1879 

 to 1883) amounted to 9 per cent. The value 

 of church property had increased during the 

 past four years 18f per cent., and the Sunday- 

 schools showed an increase of 20 per cent. 



The Charitable Society had a capital fund of 

 $24,822, had received an income during the 

 past four years of $5,948, and had expended, 

 during the same time, $5,852. Its capital had 

 increased $1,048 since 1883. The Ebenezer 

 Orphan Home returned a realized endowment 

 fund of $153,375. Its receipts and expendi- 

 tures for the year were balanced at $11.920. 

 The Publication House returned the value of 

 its assets at $498.483, and reported a gross 

 profit in four years of $131,749; the net in- 

 crease in the value of its assets during the same 

 time was $51,681. 



The total receipts of the Missionary Society 

 for the year had been $139,448. Of the ex- 

 penditures, $12,144 had been on account of the 

 "European." and $9,883 of the "heathen," 

 treasury. The total receipts for the past four 



