CONGREGATIONALISTS. 



173 



which niiiv ooour in the board, somewhat more in 



iiuinlxT ln'iiix' desirable tlinii tin- average usually att- 



(iirncd t- an\ 'Mute or Territory; ami from uuch 



. if furnished, to sclcet and n-i>rt at the next 



utiiiual iiiffiiiiir enough to till thrct- fourths of the 



ies which may then exist, regard being had to 



a division 1'i-t \\ceii ministers and la\mcii and the ap- 



|M>rtiomncnt of mcm't'crs according to the by-laws. 



That inasmuch at) the action recommended by this 



i mittec is in the nature of the cuse provisional, 



and it can not be foretold what will be the practical 

 operation of the plan proposed, the committee be con- 

 tinued, and instructed to report at the next annual 

 meeting sueh permanent sclicme as shall seem most 

 practicable and promotive of the great intents we all 

 Dave at heart. 



The following resolutions, offered by the 

 minority of the committee representing the 

 "liberal " side of thought in the board as sup- 

 plementary in the report of the Home Depart- 

 ment on the engagement of missionaries, were 

 indefinitely postponed : 



J&tolved, That young men and young women of 

 approved Christian character, possessing the needed 

 physical and mental Qualifications, who accept heart- 

 ily' the creeds of their respective churches and the 

 fundamental doctrines of the Gospel as set forth in 

 the I'.uriul Hill Declaration of Faith," and in the 

 creed of the Congregational Commission of 1883, 

 should be accepted by the Prudential Committee as 

 suitable candidates for missionary service. 



Sttolvad, That the missionaries of this board, while 

 holding these fundamental truths, "shall have the 

 same right of private judgment in the interpretation 

 of ( lod's Word, and the same freedom of thought and 

 speech, as arc enjoyed by their ministerial brethren 

 in this country," whether in the pastorate or in the 

 employ of other benevolent societies of the denomina- 

 tion. 



A discussion concerning the right of the 

 "liberal" minority to be represented on the 

 Prudential Committee was terminated by the 

 adnption of a resolution, "That the board re- 

 affirms the rules of administration laid down by 

 it at the annual meetings in New York and 

 M i n neapolis, and expects them to be applied in 

 the spirit of liberty as well as of faithfulness to 

 candidates for missionary service; and that 

 these rules are to be interpreted liberally and 

 faithfully in accordance with the President's 

 letter of acceptance." (See the extract from 

 President Slorrs's letter in the " Annual Cyclo- 

 pa'dia" for 1887.) 



American Missionary Association. The 

 forty-sixth annual meeting of the American Mis- 

 sionary Association was held in Hartford, Conn., 

 beginning Oct. 25. The Rev. P. A. Noble, D.D., 

 presided. The receipts for the year, including 

 the balance from the previous year, had been 

 $430,568, and the expenditures had been $429.- 

 fisri. in addition to which the income from the 

 Daniel Hand fund had been $53,721. The death 

 of the giver of this fund, Daniel Hand, was re- 

 curded as having taken place Dec. 17, 1891. 

 Eighty-four schools had been maintained, classi- 

 fied as 6 chartered institutions, 28 normal and 

 graded schools, and 30 common schools, which 

 returned in all. :isl instructors and 13,062 pupils. 

 Of the 28 normal schools in the South, 1 is in 

 Virginia, 5 are in North Carolina, 2 in South 

 Carolina, 5 in Georgia, 1 in Florida, 4 in Ala- 

 bama, 6 in Tennessee, 2 in Kentucky, 1 in Mis- 

 sissippi, and I in Arkansas. Tallndega College, 

 in Alabama, had risen to a full college organiza- 



tion. In most of the normal schools in the South 



and among the Indians, and in all the colleges, 

 special instruction is given in indu-t rii-s. Agri- 

 culture and mechanics are taught Inith in their 

 principles and in their practical applications. 

 The Church work in the South comprised 140 

 churches, with 122 missionaries s l x ~i church 

 members, and 10,884 pupils in Sunday schools, 

 with 7IW members added during the year on pro- 

 fession of faith. The Indian missions returned 

 12 churches, 4G1 church members, 90 mission- 

 aries and teachers, 511 pupils, and 1,047 pupils 

 in Sunday schools. Four missionaries were la- 

 boring in Alaska, and returned nearly 200 pupils 

 in the schools. Nearly $10,000 more had been 

 expended on the Indian missions in the past than 

 in the previous year. Nineteen schools were 

 maintained among the Chinese of the Pacific 

 coast, with 38 teachers and 1,176 pupils. Forty- 

 five missionaries were employed;, 16 of whom 

 were Chinese, and 70 Chinese had during the 

 year given evidence of conversion. Reports were 

 also made concerning the " mountain work " in 

 eastern Tennessee and Kentucky. During the 

 past year 35 missionaries had been sustained in 

 the field through the co-operation of the Wo- 

 man's Bureau of Correspondence. Resolutions 

 were passed declaring that 



Whereas, the system known as the "contract sys- 

 tem " in connection with Indian work is liable to very 

 serious abuse ; and whereas, Government schools have 

 now reached a position, as to equipment, methods, and 

 efficiency, where the common-school education among 

 the Indians may be safely and advisedly intrusted to 

 them; therefore, Resolved, that public money ex- 

 pended upon the education of Indians ought to be 

 expended exclusively by Government officers upon 

 Government schools; that the practice- of appropriat- 

 ing public money for the support of sectarian schools 

 among Indians ought henceforth to cease; and that it 

 is wise for the American Missionary Association to 

 join in the purpose expressed by other great ecclesias- 

 tical bodies the Methodist General Conference, con- 

 vened at Omaha, May 2, 1892 ; the Presbyterian Gen- 

 eral Assembly, which met at Portland, Ore., May 28, 

 1892; and the Episcopal Convention at Baltimore, 

 Oct. 19, 1892 to decline to seek or accept any subsidy 

 from the Government, and that henceforth this society 

 act in conformity with this purpose. 



Special appeals were recommended to the 

 churches for increased contributions, to supply 

 the place of the money taken away by the with- 

 drawal of Government support. 



National Congregational Council. The 

 eighth triennial National Congregational Coun- 

 cil met in Minneapolis, Minn., Oct. 12. The 

 Rev. A. H. Quint. D. D., was chosen moderator. 

 It was determined that hereafter missionaries of 

 the American Board should be recognized as 

 honorary members of the council. A committee 

 appointed by the previous council to consider, 

 in connection with committees of the national 

 benevolent societies, the subject of the relation 

 of those societies to the churches, presented a 

 report carefully reviewing the whole question, 

 which, however, having been prepared previous 

 to the action of the American Hoard on the same 

 subject (see above), related to a condition of 

 affairs which had already undergone a change. 

 This committee presented six alternative [thins 

 for the adjustment of the relations in question, 

 of which it specifically recommended as the most 

 advantageous one a plan for the election of cor- 



