CONliKF.IiATInNAl.lsTS. 



199 



re assisted by 40 lay preachers; and 

 .rational I'nion <>f the Channel Isl- 

 ' church.-, - branch churche-, and ."> min- 



m churches in Sweden and Norway, 

 It n meiiil>er-.liip of 100,000, nn- formed on the 

 'mil model. There are also Congre- 

 ;..M.i! churchrs iii France, liu-vMa, (icrmany, 

 in, and Helium. With the McAll mission 

 connected rj! Mat ion* in Paris and different 

 > and town^ n r 1-Yance, Algeria, and Corsica, 

 it-li an- a*>isted by contributions from Great 

 tain, llif I'nitcd States, and Canada. 

 n Australia and New Zealand are 7 Congre- 

 oiial I'nions, 173 churches, 150 pastors, and 

 resident ministers without pastoral charge. 

 y-M'Vt-n Congregational churches, with 

 members, an- returned in the Sandwich 

 nds. The Theological Institute at Honolulu 

 rates ministers for both the home and the 

 tirld. 



n Missionary Society. The ninety-sev- 

 anniial meeting of the London Missionary 

 iety was held in London, May 18. The re- 

 embodied a review of the last ten years of 

 the work of the society, from which it appears 

 that tin- income in 1881 was 108,247; in 1891, 

 i'lll.-J'.K!. It reached the highest point, 125,- 

 2.V. in 1889. In 1888 it was 124,860, and in 

 1890, 121.455. The society was now in debt 

 '".'..">! 1 7. The number of missionary agents was 

 higher than in 1881. In ten years 189 new 

 naries had been sent out, and 95 names 

 had dropped, 27 of them by death. There were 

 w 12 more ordained missionaries than in 1881, 

 10 fewer than in 1871. 



he Ladies' Association (missionary) had re- 

 ved 7,276, or 582 more than in 1890, and 

 loyed 89 women as agents, against 86 in 



Congregational Union. The annual meeting 

 the Congregational Union of England and 

 was held in London, beginning May 10. 

 The Rev. Dr. Herber Evans was elected chair- 

 man. Notice was taken of the report of the 

 death of the secretary of the Union, the Rev. 

 I>r. llannay, and the progress of the effort to 

 erect a suitable memorial of him. The arrange- 

 ments had been made for the International Con- 

 Council, to be held in July, and the 

 was good for a satisfactory meeting. 

 The publication department had had a prospcr- 

 ar. The receipts of the Union had been 

 <>.7~>1. and a credit balance of 602 was re- 

 ed. In view of the necessity of choosing a 

 secretary, a special report on the nature and 

 ies of the office was presented by a sub-com- 

 tteeof the General Committee. It gave rise 

 to discussion in which the opinion seemed to 

 prevail that great deliberation should be exer- 

 cUed in the choice of a permanent secretary, 

 and fuller consideration should be given to the 

 duties and responsibilities of the office; after 

 which a resolution was unanimously adopted, 

 affirming the principle that any person appoint- 

 ed ^eeretary of the Union should be a mini>tcr 

 Iding a leading position in the churches, and 

 "erring all matters relating to the duties of 

 ,t office to a special committee which should 

 rt, with a recommendation, at a special busi- 

 meeting to be convened at the next au- 



tumnal session of the Union. The assembly, 

 while expressing gratification at tin- introduc- 

 tion of the (.ill for providing free education in 

 public elementary schools, urged that the grant 

 for the purpose should appear on the annual 

 olimates, and that increased grants of public 

 money to denominational schools should be con- 

 ditional on their being subjected to the control 

 of manager* appointed by the public; and that 

 there should also be unsectarian schools, man- 

 aged by school boards, within reach of the chil- 

 dren of every locality. A council of secondary 

 education was provided for, whose duty it shaft 

 be to attempt to secure the recognition and 

 operation of the principle of religious equality 

 in all the public schools and throughout all de- 

 partments of the secondary and higher educa- 

 tion ; to endeavor to secure the liberal and im- 

 partial administration of the local grammar 

 schools, and aid in the creation of a public 

 spirit favorable to their free government and 

 efficient management ; to promote the organi- 

 zation, equipment, and standard of attainment 

 of non-conformist schools ; and to seek the co- 

 operation of the representatives of other free 

 churches in carrying out its objects. The spe- 

 cial committee appointed at the annual meeting 

 of 1890 to consider what measures might be 

 taken by the churches to increase their power in 

 dealing with prevalent religious indifference re- 

 ported, recommending the appointment of a sj>e- 

 cial social questions committee, the principal 

 function of which should be to give information, 

 advice, and other assistance in furtherance of 

 upward social movements. Regarding the mca. 

 ures pending in Parliament concerning mar- 

 riages in non-conformist places of worship us 

 inadequate for their intended purposes, the 

 meeting expressed the opinion that a public in- 

 quiry into the operation of the present marriage 

 laws should precede further attempts at legisla- 

 tion, and that early steps should be taken for 

 obtaining information and eliciting non-con- 

 formist opinion on the subject. The assembly 

 thankfully recognized the resolution of the 

 House of Commons condemning the opium- 

 licensing system in India as morally indefen- 

 sible, and "urged that the license be abolished. 

 except as to the legitimate demand for medical 

 purpoeM. 



The autumnal meeting of the Union was held 

 at Southport, beginning Oct. 12. The most 

 important business concerned the election of a 

 secretary to succeed the Rev. Dr.. Alexander 

 llannay, deceased, in connection with which the 

 committee appointed for the purpose in May 

 presented a paper on the nature and duties of 

 the office. The paper declared that the secretary 

 of the Union should clearly reco^ni/e that Con- 

 gregationalism is truly Catholic; that he should 

 have a perception of the natural unity of all the 

 denominational interests, and. without forcing 

 anything, should carefully and wisely inquire 

 how far they can be legitimately consolidated: 

 that he should have faith in the elasticity and 

 progres-iv eiie^s of Congregational ism, and should 

 always regard the revision of the Constitution of 

 the t'nion as a possible contingency: that he 

 should be in sympathy with all the churches, 

 should give his whole time to the I'liion ami h*> 

 paid correspondingly; and that he should bo 



