BAPTISTS. 



had been 15,982, of which more than 13,000 

 had been distributed to pastors and widows on 

 tin' Annuity fund, and to pastors and churches 

 aided by tbehomemission. Twenty-five churches 



had joined the Union, and 14 personal members 

 had been received. The churches were showing 



ater disposition to seek information from 

 the Board <>f Introduction about candidates for 



rates, and iii<itiiries were answered in many 

 CM68 with satisfactory result s. Amendments to 

 th> constitution of the Union were adopted re- 

 specting thf ratio of representation in the As- 

 sembly.' and tin- method of electing the vice- 

 pivsideiit. which is hereafter to be made by the 

 Assembly by ballot, without nomination. A 

 resolution was adopted deprecating lynching in 

 the United States, and calling upon all lovers of 

 justice, of freedom, and of brotherhood in the 

 churches of this country ' to demand for every 

 citi/en f the n-public accused of crime a proper 

 trial in the courts of law." 



The report of the Home Missionary Society 

 showed that there were 92 mission churches upon 

 the council's list, 52 of which were formed into 

 24 groups of 2 or 3 churches each, besides 38 

 mi-ion stations, with 63 mission pastors serving 

 \:> t :t preaching places; 5,099 communicants (365 

 baptized during the year); 8,423 children in Sun- 

 day schools, and 1,042 in Bible classes. The 

 mission churches had raised for various pur- 

 during the year 8,349. The expenditure, 

 of the society on the general account had been 



::. including the adverse balance of 786. 

 The deficit chargeable to the year was 94. 



From the Baptist Building fund 11,000 had 

 been lent to 40 churches, in sums varying from 

 80 to iv.oo. The capital of the fund now stood 

 at 51,583, showing an increase of only 14 for 

 the yi-ar. At the close of the financial year ap- 

 plications for 7,500 were awaiting votes, and 

 fresh appeals were constantly being made. The 

 Baptist Young Men's Missionary Society returned 

 an income of *j 1,107, of which 181 were devoted 



'.ngali schools, IT).") to schools in China* 

 >ngo and general account, and 185 

 for home expenses. 



The Irish Home Mission is independent of the 

 Baptist Union of Great Britain and Ireland, but 



refl help from England, us well as from 

 Wale* and Scotland. It, had 00 students in its 

 training college at Rockferry, and was sustain- 

 ing a home for those who could not care for 

 themselves, 



Tin- one hundred and second annual meeting 

 of the Baptist Missionary Society was held in 

 London. April '24. The expenditure of the past 



i.ad I..-I-M I'TiU)^, a decrease of 1,232 from 

 the [.receding year, but the receipts exhibited a 

 deficiency ,,f CM. IN:S. The expenditure was 

 undergoing examination with a view to reduc- 

 tion wher.-ver possible. The cash receipts for 

 the Centenary fund amounted to 111,765, and 

 sums Mill due were estimated at l'.~>.(>?7. which 

 would raise the fund to 1117,442. The work of 

 the society in India. Ceylon, China, Africa, the 

 West Indies. Brittany, and Italy was reviewed. 

 Seventy-nine missionaries and 113 native evan- 

 gelists were laboring in India, 5 missionaries and 

 ','"> evangelists in Ceylon, 21 missionaries and 23 

 evangelists in china, and '-2'.) missionaries on the 

 Congo. Reports were received from the West. 



Indies of encouraging progress of the native 

 churches, and of their increasing ability to stand 

 alone. The Baptist Zenana Mission was carry- 

 ing on its work in 22 stations, with a staff of 60 

 missionaries, 200 native Bible women and teach- 

 ers, and 80 schools, with 3,080 children. Regu- 

 lar instruction was given in 1,394 zenanas, be- 

 sides which 2,500 houses were visited for Bible 

 teaching alone. The balance sheet for the year 

 showed a deficiency of 1,695, the payments 

 having amounted to 9,235, and the receipts to 

 7,539. 



The autumnal assembly of the Union wa^ 

 held at Newcastle-on-Tyne, beginning Oct. 2. 

 The Rev. George Short presided. Reports were 

 made of 7,272 places of worship, having 1,242,- 

 038 sittings, with 322,507 members, 4,534 local 

 preachers, and 1,791 pastors, while 18,006 per- 

 sons had been baptized during the year. Ninety- 

 five mission churches were returned, with 5,000 

 members and 9,000 young people ; and 360 bap- 

 tisms during the year, the number of baptisms 

 being equivalent to 7 per cent, of the member- 

 ship. These mission stations had raised 9,000 

 during the year, including 1,300 for church 

 debts and 400 for foreign missions. The open- 

 ing address of the president of the Union *was on 

 " The Religious Instruction of the Young : The 

 Relation of Baptists to the Subject." A resolu- 

 tion was passed denouncing the traffic in slaves, 

 and calling on all the churches of the Baptist 

 Union, especially in view of recent events in 

 Egypt and the Soudan, to support all lawful 

 measures for securing the abolition of slavery 

 throughout Africa. Another resolution expressed 

 the gratification of the assembly at learning that, 

 the Government, was pledged to an early sub- 

 mission to Parliament, of a bill for the disestab- 

 lishment and disendowrnent of the Church of 

 England in Wales, and its trust that nothing 

 would be allowed to interfere with the passing 

 of such a bill into law. . A third resolution was 

 in favor of the immediate passing of the Gro- 

 cers' License Abolition bill. One hundred and 

 eighty-one applications had been received and 

 accepted on account of the Augmentation fund. 

 The amount needed to pay 20 in each case was 

 3,620, to which 100 was added for working ex- 

 penses. The amount received up to Sept. 25 

 had been 2,368, leaving a balance required of 

 1,352. An appeal was made for the increase 

 of the Retired Ministers' Annuities fund, which 

 was not now sufficient to maintain full payment 

 of the allowances. 



V. General Baptists in Great Britain.- 

 The two hundred and forty-first annual assem- 

 bly of the General Baptist Churches was held at 

 Bethnal Green. Sept. 16, the Rev. W. E. Mellone, 

 of Tunbridge Wells, being moderator. A mes- 

 sage was received from the sister assembly in 

 America, expressing a desire for union in mission 

 work. The Rev. W. M. Jones, D. D., was elected 

 moderator, and the Rev. A. J. Marchant vice- 

 president, for the nexc year. 



VI. The German Baptist Bund. The six- 

 teenth triennial Bundes Conferenz of the Ger- 

 man Baptist churches was held in Berlin, Aug. 

 l!Mo 24. Besides Germany, the Bund comprises 

 Baptist churches in Austria, Hungary, Bohemia, 

 Switzerland, Roumania, Bulgaria, Holland, and 

 the Cape Colony. The Bund has an incorpora- 



