56 



BAPTISTS. 



BELGIUM. 



The Rev. C. P. Aked, the minister whose con- 

 duct had given occasion for this resolution, sup- 

 ported it, and explained that he had invited the 

 Unitarian as an active social reformer to speak 

 on questions of reform, while it was understood 

 that doctrinal questions should be avoided, and 

 while he went into the Unitarian pulpit with 

 full liberty. In view of complaints of lack of effi- 

 ciency in the theological instruction given in the 

 denominational colleges, a resolution was adopted 

 suggesting that, considering the excellence of the 

 general education facilities in the country, the 

 colleges might be relieved of classical and pre- 

 paratory work and entirely devoted to the theo- 

 logical and related studies : that pupils should 

 be required to come sufficiently advanced to 

 enter at once on these studies ; that the course 

 should include, as far as possible, Hebrew and 

 Biblical Aramaic, New Testament Greek and 

 Syriac, textual criticism, exegesis, systematic 

 theology, apologetics, Christian history and lit- 

 erature, social economics, pastoral theology, and 

 horniletics ; and that the question of federating 

 or uniting two or more of the colleges should be 

 considered, each to undertake some separate de- 

 partment in a complete curriculum. A series of 

 proposals for Church extension was approved, 

 which include the formation of local societies 

 in large towns to secure sites for prospective 

 churches, make grants for building, and support 

 a pastors' sustentation fund for a term of years ; 

 the establishment of a " Baptist Union Church 

 Extension fund," by which the formation of 

 churches shall be undertaken in towns where 

 the local effort is inadequate ; the contribution 

 to this fund of one fourth of the sums raised by 

 the local societies ; the better distribution of 

 Baptist churches in town areas, the existence of 

 other Nonconformist churches being regarded ; 

 carefulness in building churches which shall be 

 suitable in size and architecture to the neigh- 

 borhood in which they are placed ; and the elec- 

 tion of the first pastor of any church that is 

 formed under this movement by the local Church 

 Extension Committee and the Council of the 

 Baptist Union. 



The autumnal assembly of the Union was held 

 in London, beginning Oct. 3. Committees ap- 

 pointed at previous meetings to prepare a man- 

 ual for the instruction of young people in non- 

 conformist principles, and to present a practical 

 scheme of college reform, reported progress, and 

 were continued. A delegate from Jamaica de- 

 scribed the condition of the Baptist churches 

 in that island, where out of a population of 

 610,000 fully 100,000 are Baptists. The princi- 

 pal feature of the assembly consisted in the 

 meetings in commemoration of the centennial of 

 Baptist, missions, which included a centennial 

 sermon, a thanksgiving, a " breakfast " meeting, 

 and other exercises. A report of the progress 

 of the contemplated thanksgiving fund of 100.- 

 000 showed that 92,000 had been promised, of 

 which the Sunday schools had given 16,000. 

 It was desired to raise the permanent income of 

 the society to 100,000. An offer was received 

 from Mr. Robert Arthington, of Leeds, to ex- 

 pend at least 30,000 in equipping and support- 

 ing missionaries if the different missionary soci- 

 eties would agree on a wise distribution of the 

 heathen world among themselves. 



Baptist Missionary Society. The one hun- 

 dredth annual meeting of the Baptist Mission- 

 ary Society was held in London, April 28. The 

 total year's income of the society for general 

 purposes had been 69,125, and the total ex- 

 penditure 74,935. The contributions to the 

 Special Centenary fund, up to the close of March, 

 amounted to 65,707, besides 11,000 raised by 

 special collections in the Sunday schools and 

 Young People's Societies. Encouraging reports 

 were received from the missions in India, where 

 the churches were represented as gaining on the 

 population at the rate of 10 per cent, per dec- 

 ade, and the Congo, concerning which a resolu- 

 tion of thanksgiving for success was adopted. 

 This mission, founded in 1878, has a chain of 

 stations reaching 1,000 miles inland, with many 

 believers, and a large and flourishing church at 

 San Salvador. The language of the Lower Congo 

 has been reduced to writing by the missionaries, 

 and a dictionary has been compiled ; while other 

 missionaries are engaged in similar work on the 

 Upper Congo. 



The report of the work shows that the num- 

 ber of missionaries employed is 136, eight of 

 whom are superannuated ; of evangelists, 778, 

 more than half of whom are in Jamaica, which 

 has for many years been independent of the 

 mission ; of stations, including Jamaica, 795 ; 

 of baptisms during the year, 4.015 ; of members, 

 50,875; of teachers in day schools 411, in Sun- 

 day schools 2,276; and of pupils in day schools 

 18,069. in Sunday schools 26,849. The missions 

 are in India, Ceylon, China, Japan, Africa, the 

 West Indies, and parts of Europe. 



The receipts for the Baptist Home Missions 

 had been 3,129, while the expenditure had been 

 3,843. The Home Mission fund aided 105 

 mission churches and 36 mission stations, served 

 by 64 mission pastors, and having 5,227 com- 

 municants, 8,652 in the Sunday schools, and 

 1,003 members of Bible classes. The mission 

 churches had raised 7,700 for various purposes. 



The Baptist Building fund made loans in aid 

 of the building of new churches to the amount 

 of nearly 10,000. 



The Baptist Zenana Mission returns 22 sta- 

 tions in India, with 54 zenana visitors and 

 more than a hundred Bible women arid teach- 

 ers, 64 girls' schools, with 2,200 pupils, and 

 1,400 pupils in the zenanas, while many hundred 

 women are visited for Bible instruction only. 

 The income of the mission for the year ending 

 with March, 1892, had been 7,547, and the ex- 

 penditure 7,541. 



Confederation of Baptist Churches in 

 Germany and Surrounding 1 Countries. This 

 body includes five associations in Germany, with 

 the Hungarian, Roumano-Bulgarian, Holland 

 Union, and South African Associations, and re- 

 turns for the year 1891 the following members : 

 Of churches, including those in Denmark, 167; 

 of stations, 1,011 : of pastors or "preaching eld- 

 ers" (not including those in Denmark), 205; of 

 colporteurs, 117: of members, 29.767; of per- 

 sons baptized during the year, 2,556 ; net year's 

 gain in members, 1,350. 



BELGIUM, a constitutional monarchy in 

 western Europe, organized as an independent 

 state in 1830. and declared neutral and inviolable 

 by the Treaty of London, concluded between 



