516 



METHODISTS. 



Primitive Methodist Church, the United Meth- 

 odist Free churches, the Bible Christian Church, 

 the Methodist New Connection, the Wesleyan 

 Reform Union, and the Independent Methodist 

 churches. The totals for these are 1,900 minis- 

 ters, 23,551 lay preachers, and 346,258 members, 

 with 8,177 Sunday schools, including 113,200 

 teachers and 816,315 pupils. 



Wesleyan Missionary Society. The annual 

 meeting of the Wesleyan Missionary Society was 

 held in London, May 3. Alderman W. 0. Quib- 

 ell. of Newark, presided. The receipts for the 

 year had been 122,072, and the expenditures 

 132,885 ; while the debt had risen to 19,377. 

 The following general summary of the work of 

 the society was given : 



Missions under the immediate direction of the Wesleyan 

 Missionary Committee and British Conference in Europe, 

 India. China. West Africa, the Transvaal, British Hondu- 

 ras, and Bahamas: 



Central or principal stations, called circuits 363 



Chapels and other preaching places in connection with 

 the above-mentioned central or principal stations, as 



far as ascertained 1,572 



Missionaries and assistant missionaries, including su- 

 pernumeraries 338 



Other paid agents, as catechists, interpreters, day- 

 school teachers, etc 2,163 



Unpaid agents, as local preachers, Sabbath - school 



teachers, etc 4,234 



Full and accredited church members 34,722 



On trial for church membership 5,250 



Scholars attending either the Sabbath or day schools. . 65,803 



The report of the Wesleyan home missions, 

 May 4, spoke of the work of the great central 

 missions as " surprisingly successful." 



The income of the chapel fund for the year 

 was 9,054. There had been 383 cases of erec- 

 tions and enlargements, at an outlay of 276,- 

 801, whereby 18,115 sittings had been added to 

 the total church accommodation. The erections 

 involved a sum of 198,903, to be raised by con- 

 tributions, and the expenditure in new erections 

 and reductions of debt had been 353,000. 



The committee of the fund for the extension 

 of Methodism in Great Britain had received 130 

 applications and had promised 106 grants and 

 loans to the total amount of 6.196, of which it 

 had paid 5,698. It had received since the 

 foundation of the fund 1,913 applications, and 

 had promised assistance in 1,366 cases to the 

 amount of 98,332. Owing to the difficulty of 

 securing the return of its loans, it would make no 

 more at present. The fund was formed to pro- 

 mote the building of 1,000 chapels in the metrop- 

 olis. This number had already been exceeded 

 in erections and enlargements, but in many 

 cases the new buildings had only superseded pre- 

 viously existing inadequate chapels. The com- 

 mittee gave many reasons why the fund should 

 be continued and special reasons for present ac- 

 tivity. The Committee on the London Mission 

 reported an increase of 465 members. 



Reports were received by the committee of 

 the Sunday School Union of 6,992 schools, with 

 129,280 officers and teachers and 938,327 pupils. 



Wesleyan Conference. The one hundred and 

 forty-eighth Conference met at Nottingham, July 

 21. The Rev. Dr. Thomas B. Stevenson was 

 chosen president. A committee appointed by 

 the previous Conference to ascertain whether 

 any modification could be legally made in the 

 Deed Poll, whereby the restriction of the pastoral 

 time to three consecutive years in the same cir- 



cuit could be removed, reported that it had con- 

 sulted with competent counsel, who had found 

 that, no modifications appeared to be possible ; 

 that no court had power to change the Deed 

 Poll; and that the only way of securing relief 

 was by act of Parliament, to obtain which prac- 

 tical unanimity in the connection would be ne- 

 cessary. The existing special arrangements with 

 regard to town missions appeared, however, not 

 to be illegal. After a discussion of the question, 

 the Conference resolved 



That in view of the great and numerous advantage* 

 which would arise from an extension of the term of 

 ministerial residence in a circuit, and also of the fact 

 that eighteen districts have adopted minutes in favor 

 of it, the Conference shall appoint a special commit- 

 tee to consider the desirability of securing by act of 

 Parliament liberty of action for the Conference, and, 

 secondly, to suggest an equitable and eltective way 

 of submitting the proposals to the judgment of the 

 people. The special committee shall report its con- 

 clusions to both sessions of the next Conference. 



A rule allowing the circuits to control a cer- 

 tain part of the contributions for home missions 

 was rescinded, and the whole fund was ordered 

 administered by the General Committee on the 

 basis of a report sent up by the district meetings. 

 The Conference decided, subject to approval by 

 the district meetings, to abolish the yearly col- 

 lection in the classes in behalf of home missions, 

 and to substitute for it an assessment on the cir- 

 cuits. Approval was given to the work carried 

 on within the Church in behalf of social purity, 

 and the Social Purity Committee was authorized 

 to represent the Conference at any general coun- 

 cil of Christian Churches that might be held dur- 

 ing the year in the interest of that cause, and 

 especially to consider the relation of personal 

 character to public life. The Temperance Com- 

 mittee was authorized to seek the establishment 

 of White Cross associations in connection with 

 Bands of Hope. A resolution was adopted ex- 

 pressing strong disapproval by the Conference 

 of raising money for any Methodist purpose by 

 any means in which the element of gambling is 

 involved. The Conference deplored the wide- 

 spread prevalence of betting and gambling which 

 certain occurrences of the past year had brought 

 into painful prominence, and expressed its sor- 

 row that countenance had been given to those 

 vices in high places, and that the newspapers 

 stimulated them by devoting so much space to 

 the publication of sporting items ; entered a pro- 

 test against their publication of such news, and 

 suggested the need of legislation on the subject. 

 For securing more full and distinct lay represen- 

 tation in the district meetings the circuits were 

 authorized each to send, in addition to the cir- 

 cuit stewards, a freely elected representative to 

 those meetings. The use of the term " church " 

 was authorized in speaking informally of the so- 

 cieties and the connection. In formal documents 

 the legal designation of societies has to be re- 

 tained. It was ordered that henceforth an ab- 

 stract of the accounts of the Book Room should 

 be presented annually to the Conference. 



West Indian Conference. The West Indian 

 Triennial General Conference met in its third 

 session at Bridgetown. Barbados. March 16. The 

 Rev. George Sargeant presided. The General 

 Conference includes two annual conferences, the 



