MKTHOD1STS. 



459 



\l. Prlmltire Methodist Church. The 



.iiunial meeting of the Primitive Methodist Hit* 

 < iety was hold in London, May 17. 

 Tin- income (>r ilie (ieneral fund bad been 11,- 

 ..ain.st L'll.'.i'.iM in 1891; and the expend i- 

 tun-- had been i'11,408. The net income for the 

 African fund had been 3.777. The 5 I missions 

 in the. United Kingdom were served by 7~ mis- 

 sionaries. The returns of the colonial stations 

 .in Australia) were not yet at hand. On the for- 

 eign .stations (at Fernando Po and Aliwal North, 

 Alricai an increase of nearly 17 per cent, had 

 licen realized. The party which had been sent 

 out in 1890 to open a mission in the Zambesi 

 country were still, when last heard from, in Janu- 

 ary, 1892, awaiting the permission of the Barotse 

 king to settle in some part of his kingdom. 



The Conference met in Norwich, June 8. The 

 Rev. J. Travis was chosen president. The re- 

 port of the Committee on Statistics showed that 

 there had been a decrease of 552 in the number 

 of members, and the fact was made a subject of 

 discussion in the Conference. The African Mis- 

 sion fund returned a total income of 3,777, with 

 a balance in hand of more than 1,000. The 

 report of missionary work showed that the 6 

 missions in London returned an increase of 15 

 per cent., the colonies of more than 350 mem- 

 bers, and the African mission of 17 per cent, all 

 around. As the next year would be the jubilee 

 year of the society, the preparation of a history 

 of ils work was advised. It was decided to start 

 H home missionary van to travel in the country 

 districts and hold temperance and evangelistic 

 meetings. A scheme was approved for raising 

 a missionary jubilee fund in commemoration of 

 the jubilee of the Missionary Society, and 18,- 

 000 were contributed to that object during the 

 sessions of the Conference. 



XII. United Methodist Free Churches. 

 The statistical tables of this body, prepared for 

 the Annual Assembly in July, showed that the 

 number of members at home and abroad was 

 78,152, with 8,653 persons on trial ; of teachers 

 in Sunday schools, 26,598 ; and of pupils in Sun- 

 day schools, 206,039. The trust property of the 

 connection was valued at about 2,000,000, and 

 the liabilities on it at 700,000. 



The total income of the United Methodist 

 Free Church missions was returned at the an- 

 nual meeting of the society, April 25, as 26,- 

 284, showing an increase of 864 over the pre- 

 vious year, while the expenditure had been 

 25,997. A little more than 6.000 had been 

 promised to the Wesley Memorial fund. The 

 reports from the field showed that the denomi- 

 nation had abroad 68 missionaries and 10,510 

 members, being an increase of 375 members : 

 and at home and abroad 378 ministers and 77,- 

 710 members. The report affirmed that the so- 

 ciety had had considerable success at home and 

 abroad, but principally abroad. " Cheering ac- 

 counts" had been sent home from Australia, 

 New Zealand, Jamaica, Central America, East 

 and West Africa, and China, " perhaps the most 

 cheering being from China." 



The Annual Assembly met in the City Road 

 Chapel of the Weslevan Connection, London, 

 July 12. The Rev. J. Truscott was chosen presi- 

 dent. A report was made of the Wesleyan Me- 

 morial fund, which was instituted by the pre- 



ceding Annual Assembly for aggressive work at 

 home and abroad, that the contributions hud 

 not been BO large as had been anticipated. Of 

 the I' 15,000 sought to be raised, only 7.050 had 

 liccn obtained. The income for home and for- 

 eign missions, including foreign local receipt*, 

 liad been l'22,771. The Assembly recommended 

 the observance of a " self-denial week." in which 

 certain sums intended to be expended upon 

 pleasures and upon things that could be done 

 without should be laid aside for this purpose, 

 each year, in aid of the General .Mission funds. 

 A case was brought before the Assembly which 

 involved a question of the limits between t he- 

 principles of circuit independence and connec- 

 tional control. A dispute in one of the circuits 

 had led to the intervention of the.Connectional 

 Committee. This action was protested against 

 as in contravention of the principle of circuit 

 independence. The Assembly, reviewing the 

 whole case, defined its position on this question 

 by declaring 



That circuit independence is not absolute, as in our 

 constitution it is limited by the Connectional princi- 

 ple. And as the Foundation Deed gives to the 

 Annual Assembly the right to withdraw itself from 

 any church or circuit which does not act in accord- 

 ance with the teaching of the New Testament, this 

 right, in the opinion of this Assembly, necessarily 

 carries with ittne right of investigation and inquiry ; 

 and when there is &prima facie case, the circuit is 

 constitutionally bound to admit the investigation, 

 that the Annual Assembly may exercise an intelli- 

 gent judgment. 



That, as the Annual Assembly has, by the provi- 

 sions of the Foundation Deed, full control over con- 

 nectional ministers, the principle of circuit independ- 

 ence is not a bar to the proper exercise of that right 

 by the Annual Assembly. 



A proposition to recommend a series of suit- 

 able books for students for the local ministry, 

 and to recommend a line of study for local 

 ministers fully engaged in their work, was re- 

 ferred to the consideration of the circuits. 



XIII. Methodist New Connection. The 

 numerical summary of this body, reported to the 

 Conference in June, showed that it had 546 

 chapels, 486 churches, 201 circuit preachers, 

 1,191 local preachers, 31,288 members, and 4,767 

 probationers. The Connection had also in Eng- 

 land and Ireland 455 Sunday schools, with 11,- 

 196 officers and teachers. 



The aggregate amount of money sent to the 

 Conference for the Connectional funds was 

 16,670. Til* Beneficent fund for aged min- 

 isters and widows returned an income of 3,537, 

 and an invested capital of 25,059. The income 

 for home missions had been 1,153, and showed 

 an increase. The income for foreign missions 

 had been 6,854. 



The Conference met at Ashton-under-Lyne, 

 June 13. The Rev. J. C. Milburn was chosen 

 president. A report was made that a small 

 number of circuits . had sent resolutions to the 

 Annual Committee, complaining that the last 

 Conference had closed the negotiations for union 

 with the United Methodist Free Churches with- 

 out consulting the circuits. The resolutions had 

 been duly acknowledged, but, considering the 

 relatively small number of the circuits support- 

 ing them, and their comparatively small aggre- 

 gate membership, and the decision of the Con- 



