518 



METHODISTS. 



open new preaching stations. Services had been 

 established in 20 of the places. 



The Conference met in Leeds, June 15. The 

 Rev. Henry I. Marshall was chosen president. 

 The Connectional Committee reported concern- 

 ing the negotiations for union with the United 

 Methodist Free Churches, transmitting the reso- 

 lutions of the General Assembly of those societies 

 and calling attention to the fact that they did 

 not express an opinion on the particular point 

 which the last Conference of the New Connection 

 had submitted to the judgment of the Assem- 

 bly. The Conference ordered that the resolu- 

 tions of the Assembly of the United Methodist 

 Free Churches be placed on the minutes, and 

 added to them as its own expression : 



That, considering that the Assembly of the United 

 Methodist Free Churches gave no deliverance on the 

 report of the joint committee, and considering es- 

 pecially that the discussion of the question of the 

 union 'has developed serious differences of opinion 

 and sentiment among our ministers and people, the 

 Conference is constrained to conclude that further 

 action in relation to the proposed union is not at pres- 

 ent advisable. The Conference, however, devoutly 

 trusts that whatever may be the course of events, the 

 relations of the ministers and members of the two 

 denominations will continue to be those of fraternal 

 sympathy and cordial co-operation in the great com- 

 mon cause of our Lord Jesus Christ. 



In its resolutions on education the Conference 

 unanimously approved of a system of free 

 education which should extend throughout the 

 whole school life, and declared that no scheme 

 for free or assisted education would be satisfac- 

 tory which did not provide for the universal 

 establishment of school boards charged with 

 the duty of supplying all educational deficiencies 

 as they might arise ; and that in every case there- 

 should be a board school within reasonable 

 reach of all. A full delegation was appointed to 

 attend the Methodist (Ecumenical Conference. 

 An invitation to appoint two persons as guests to 

 attend the Congregation Council was accepted, 

 and they were appointed. In a resolution unani- 

 mously adopted the Conference expressed sor- 

 row 



at the recent revelations in a court of law of gam- 

 bling, and cheating in gambling, by those who oc- 

 cupy high positions in society, and from whom, 

 therefore, a higher example of virtue should proceed. 

 But it is most deeply concerned that the Prince of 

 Wales should have been intimately involved in these 

 disreputable proceedings. Such encouragement _ of 

 vice and immorality by one from whom the nation 

 expects impulse and encouragement to its higher life 

 is fraught with great danger to its future well-being. 

 It earnestly hopes that all such practices by one who 

 aspires to be the king of a Christian people will 

 henceforth cease. 



VIII. United Methodist Free Churches. 



The following is a summary of the statistics of 

 these societies as they were reported to the Annual 

 Assembly in July : Number of itinerant preachers, 

 378 ; of supernumeraries, 43 ; of local preachers, 

 3,333 ; of leaders, 3,801 ; of church members, 77,- 

 710 ; of persons on trial for membership, 8,134 : 

 of chapels, 1,399 ; of preaching rooms, 235 ; of 

 Sunday schools, 1,374, with 26,514 teachers and 

 203,333 pupils. \ 



The Annual Assembly met in Sunderland. 

 July 14. The Rev. M. T. Myers was re-elected 

 president. Reports were made of the condition 



of the Benevolent fund. The income of the Su- 

 perannuation and Beneficent fund had been 

 8,838, and the expenditure on its account 7,- 

 188. The capital of the fund had reached 40,- 

 076. The income of the Chapel Relief fund 

 had been 603, and the expenditure 471. Ad- 

 vances had been made from the Loan fund of 

 2,190. The capital of this fund amounted to 

 12,760. The " Silver Wedding fund " ( a fund 

 commemorative of the twenty-fifth anniversary 

 of the Annual Assembly) amounted to 29,5(50. 

 The newly formed Chapel Insurance fund had 

 issued 429 policies. The Book Room returned 

 a year's profit of 1,802. The amount of 23,- 

 284 had been raised for foreign missions and 21,- 

 997 had been expended upon them. A scheme 

 for the prosecution of special active evangelis- 

 tic work among the masses, denominated " for- 

 ward movement," was introduced, for which it 

 was proposed to raise the sum, of 15,000, to 

 be called the " Wesley Memorial fund." In the 

 Connectional evangelistic scheme 12 evangelists 

 had been employed during the year, conducting 

 86 missions. Forty thousand books and 8,000 

 Bibles and Testaments had been sold through 

 the operation of the Jubilee and John Wesley 

 mission cars. Questions relating to the employ- 

 ment of woman evangelists and the evangelization 

 of villages were referred to the Connectional 

 Committee for consideration. A training house 

 for female workers, suitably furnished, fitted up 

 by private means, was offered to the Assembly 

 as a gift, and accepted. The Assembly acknowl- 

 edged the reception of the resolutions of the 

 Methodist New Connection Conference on Union, 

 reciprocating the friendly and fraternal senti- 

 ments expressed in them, and declared : 



That this Assembly derives great satisfaction from 

 the fact that, both by resolution and by its represen- 

 tatives on the joint committee, the Annual Assembly 

 has earnestly and honestly endeavored to give prac- 

 tical effect to the sentiment and principle of Metho- 

 dist Union, and it now confidently leaves the ultimate 

 issue with the great Head of the Church, believing 

 that in his own time, and in his own way, he win 

 accomplish that unity among his people for which 

 he earnestly prays. 



The annual meeting of the United Methodist 

 Free Churches Home and Foreign Missionary 

 Society was held in London, April 27. Mr. R. 

 Shadforth presided. The society's inccome for 

 the year had been 21,609, and its expenditures 

 22,081. The report showed that the society 

 had 66 missionaries, 295 lay preachers, 10,335 

 church members, 227 preaching places, and 11,- 

 347 pupils in Sunday school, each item showing 

 an increase. 



IX. Bible Christian Church. The summa- 

 ries of the Connectional statistical reports of this 

 Church presented to the conference in July give 

 as the number of local preachers 1,923 ; of 'chap- 

 els, 854 ; of preaching places, 159 ; of full mem- 

 bers, 31,601 ; of members on trial, 562 ; of teach- 

 ers, 8,946 ; of pupils, 52,503. A net increase of 

 662 members was returned. 



The Conference met at Plymouth, July 29. 

 The Rev. Frederick William Bourne was chosen 

 president. The Missionary Society returned an 

 income of 4,757. showing an increase of 138. A 

 committee was appointed to draw up a scheme 

 for the fitting celebration of the centenary of the 



