488 



METHODISTS. 



The general and conference boards had helped 

 431 churches, paying them $85,270. There wore 

 in hand for the help of needy churches during 

 the coming year $34,000 in donations and $27,- 

 000 in loans, while the applications for aid ag- 

 gregated $173,295. Cash additions had been 

 made to the Loan funds of $14,761. bringing 

 the total amount now available for use, and ex- 

 cluding valuable assets not yet turned into cash, 

 up to $96,459. The whole amount of aid fur- 

 nished from these funds to date was $168,240. 

 Grants were made to 102 churches in 24 States 

 and Territories, and to 1 in the District of Co- 

 lumbia and 1 in the Republic of Mexico, aggre- 

 gating $26,350 in loans and $34,430 in dona- 

 tions. Assessments were laid on the conferences 

 for the year to the amount of $100.000. 



Book Room. The book agents reported to the 

 Book Committee at its annual meeting, May 3, 

 that the total business for the year from all de- 

 partments had been $343,708 ; from which a net 

 eain in assets had been realized of $50,131. The 

 liabilities of the concern amounted to $13,896. 

 The Book Committee appropriated $17,500 for 

 the benefit of superannuated ministers. 



Board of Missions. The annual meeting of 

 the Board of Missions was held in Kansas City, 

 Mo., beginning May 5. The treasurer's report 

 showed that the receipts for the year ending 

 March 31 had been $374,565, and the disburse- 

 ments $277,510. The indebtedness for borrowed 

 money had been reduced by the sum of $61,050, 

 leaving the liabilities from that source $67,964. 

 Appropriations were made to the missions in 

 Brazil, China, Japan, Mexico, the Indian Mission 

 Conference, and 12 other conferences, amount- 

 ing, with certain special appropriations, to $170,- 

 798. The service of the Rev. Dr. Young J. Allen 

 in the translation and circulation of Christian 

 literature in connection with the mission work 

 in the Chinese Empire was commended, and the 

 bishop was requested so to adjust his appoint- 

 ment that he might be in a position to continue 

 it. Provision was contingently made for the 

 eventual establishment of a Hebrew mission. 



III. Methodist Protestant Church. The 

 annual meeting of the Board of Home Missions 

 was held in Pittsburg, Pa., June 10. The treas- 

 urer reported that his receipts had been $7,371. 

 The reports received from the mission churches 

 were generally of a favorable character. The 

 appropriations to most of the points which had 

 heretofore received aid were reduced, and a few 

 new points were given assistance. The subject 

 of organizing a woman's home missionary soci- 

 ety, in accordance with the directions of the 

 General Conference, was considered, but definite 

 action was not taken. 



The annual meeting of the Board of Foreign 

 Missions was held at Steubenville, Ohio. May 2 

 and 3. The Rev. T. B. Graham presided. The 

 treasurer reported that his total receipts had 

 been $13,922, in addition to which a balance in 

 cash remained on hand at the beginning of the 

 year of $2,201. His disbursements had been 

 $13,238. A memorial was received from the 

 Japanese Conference asking for a modification 

 of certain parts of the action of the last General 

 Conference concerning the government of the 

 conference in Japan, which provided that "all 

 missionaries sent out by the board or by the 



Woman's Foreign Missionary Society shall be 

 entitled to membership in the conference ; but 

 this shall not include the wives of missionaries." 

 The Japanese conference was not ready to recog- 

 nize women as members of the governing body. 

 The board responded to this request that it had 

 not the authority to change a law of the General 

 Conference ; that it could not pass an act out of 

 harmony with the General Conference action, or 

 construe that action in any other way than the 

 plain words of the Discipline dictate and require. 

 " If a mistake has been made, it will be wise to 

 make the best of it, until such time as the matter 

 can be remedied by proper authority." 



IV. American Wesleyan Church. The re- 

 ceipts of the general missionary secretary for 

 the year ending May 31, 1893, were $5,359. The 

 mission in Africa was regarded as established, 

 with land and a good building at Rokumso, al- 

 though the missionary force had been weakened 

 by the illness of some of its members. Fifteen 

 towns had been visited. In the American work, 

 47 protracted meetings had been held on mission 

 fields, 324 persons had joined the Wesleyan 

 Church, and collections of $290 had been taken. 



V. African Methodist Episcopal Church. 

 The annual meeting of the newly organized 

 Board of Church Extension was held in Phila- 

 delphia, Pa., May 4, Bishop Grant presiding. 

 The receipts for the nine months of operation of 

 the society were returned as having been about 

 $3,000. Assistance had been given to several 

 churches throughout the connection. 



VI. Free Methodist Church. At the an- 

 nual meetings of the General Conference Boards 

 and Committees, held in Syracuse, N. Y., in Oc- 

 tober, the treasurer of the Mission Board report- 

 ed that $2,731 had been collected and disbursed 

 during the year for the general or domestic work. 

 Not being able to respond to all the numerous 

 petitions asking for appropriations, the board 

 had sought to give aid to the most needy fields. 

 The sum of $5,935 had been paid for foreign mis- 

 sions. Reports were read from the missions in 

 India ; at Inhambane, and the Bethany Zulu mis- 

 sion in Africa ; and at Santiago, in the Domini- 

 can republic. Appropriations for aid in building 

 churches and in paying off church debts were 

 made by the Board of Church Extension to the 

 amount of $1,230. About $4,547 were reported 

 to the Committee on Claims as having been raised 

 during the year and paid to " Conference claim- 

 ants " (worn-out ministers, ministers' widows, 

 etc.). 



VII. Methodist Church in Canada. The 

 latest statistics of this body give the following 

 aggregates: Number of ministers and probation- 

 ers for the ministry, 1.920 ; of members, includ- 

 ing those on trial, 252,178 ; of Sunday schools, 

 3,229, with 30,576 officers and teachers and 244.- 

 774 pupils ; of Epworth Leagues and Epworth 

 Leagues of Christian Endeavor, 849, with 39,161 

 members ; of churches, 3,092, besides 1,108 other 

 preaching places ; of parsonages, 967 : of burial 

 grounds, 1,117 ; total value of church property, 

 $11,597,491. 



The last year's expenditures of the Board of 

 Missions of this Church exceeded its income by 

 about $7,000 ; the total amounts being, income, 

 $224,778, and expenditure, $231,983. A table of 

 " percentage expenditure " shows that 40 per 



