METHODISTS. 



477 



had increased from 1,633 to 1,990; the mis- 

 sionary income from $193,709 to $249,000 ; the 

 property of the publishing houses from $149,- 

 602 to $321,580 in value ; and the college and 

 educational property from $993,719 to $1,504,- 

 993. The missionary income of the last quad- 

 rennium hud been $951,332, showing an in- 

 crease of $94,176 on that of the previous four 

 years ; the missionary expenditure had been 

 $933,005, an increase of $128,539. The Indian 

 and Japanese missions had grown substantially, 

 and a new mission had been established in China 

 2,000 miles from the seacoast, with a hospital. 

 The income of the Woman's Missionary Society 

 in the past year had been $37,974, and during 

 the twelve years of its existence its receipts had 

 been $219,309. Thirty-two woman missionaries 

 were employed. The amount raised by the 

 Church for all purposes during the four years 

 had been $6,169,679, an increase of $1,187,404 on 

 the amount raised in the previous quadrennium. 

 The total valuation of church property was $14.- 

 852,805. An increase was reported in the Sun- 

 day-school department in eight years of 622 

 schools, 6,420 teachers, and 61,361 pupils. 



Correspondence with the Evangelical Associa- 

 tion in Canada with reference to union was pre- 

 sented, and a committee was appointed to nego- 

 tiate on the subject. The report of the Committee 

 on Church Union affirmed willingness to nego- 

 tiate with other branches of the Church with a 

 view to union, and advised the formation of a 

 federal court composed of representatives of the. 

 several Protestant churches, the office of which 

 shall be to promote federal union and to prevent 

 the overlapping of denominational work in 

 sparsely settled missionary districts ; such court, 

 howeveV, not to have power to deal with any ques- 

 tions of creed or discipline, or with any questions 

 touching the vital independence of the negotiat- 

 ing bodies. Commissioners were appointed to 

 represent the General Conference in the pro- 

 posed court. Concerning union with the Angli- 

 can Church in Canada, with reference to which 

 considerable correspondence had passed, the con- 

 ference urged as an essential preliminary basis 

 such a definition of the "historic episcopate" 

 and the Lambeth articles as would be in harmony 

 with the teachings of the New Testament on 

 the subject. A report upon sociological ques- 

 tions recommended the study of economic sub- 

 jects and the appointment of a commission rep- 

 resenting the churches, to investigate and report 

 upon the subject of immigration. A protest was 

 voted against discrimination by the Canadian 

 Government adverse to the Chinese and their 

 Government. In the matter of extension of the 

 pastoral term, the conference decided that where 

 the necessities of the work demand, and upon a 

 three-quarter vote of the quarterly meeting taken 

 by ballot and a two-third vote of the Stationing 

 Committee, a man may be returned to a circuit 

 for a fourth or a fifth year. A rearrangement 

 of the six annual conferences in Ontario and 

 Quebec into five was ordered. The office of 

 Epworth League and Sunday-school Secretary 

 was instituted, and charged with the duty of 

 promoting the further development of Epworth 

 Leagues and unifying and harmonizing the or- 

 ganization of young people's societies. The 

 previous General Conference had authorized the 



affiliation of the Epworth Leagues with the 

 Societies of Christian Endeavor, local societies 

 wishing so to affiliate having been empowered 

 to adopt the title, Epworth League of Christian 

 Endeavor. An effort was made in the present 

 General Conference to have this adopted as the 

 official title of the Leagues, but it failed to be 

 approved, while permission was continued to such 

 local societies as wished to do so to use it. It 

 was agreed, for the increase and better security 

 of the superannuation fund, that each minister 

 should contribute to it 3 percent, of his income, 

 and connectional officers and college professors 

 an additional amount of $50 each. The report 

 of the Committee on Sabbath Observance con- 

 demned bicycle riding on Sunday for pleasure : 

 commended the work of the Lord's Day Alli- 

 ance and the efforts of John Carleton, M. P. ; 

 and recommended efforts to prevent vessels with 

 excursions from reporting or getting clearances 

 on Sunday. The officers of the General Confer- 

 ence were authorized to take the necessary steps 

 to secure from the Government for Methodist 

 ministers the right to solemnize marriage of 

 British subjects under consular jurisdiction in 

 foreign lands. In a declaration of principles 

 on the question of temperance, the General Con- 

 ference expressed as its views : li That the liquor 

 traffic can not be legalized without sin ; that it 

 is the duty of the civil Government to prohibit 

 the trade in intoxicating liquors; and that no 

 candidate who refuses publicly to commit him- 

 self to the destruction of the liquor traffic at the 

 earliest possible moment can have the support 

 of the members of the Methodist Church." 



VI. Wesleyan Methodist Connection. 

 The following is a summary of the official re- 

 turn made to the Conference of 1894 of the 

 number of ministers and members directly under 

 the jurisdiction of the British Wesleyan Con- 

 ference : 



The returns for Great Britain do not include 

 70,856 young persons in Junior Society classes. 

 The numbers of ministers and members in the 

 Australasian Wesleyan Church and in the Metho- 

 dist Church of Canada are given in the minutes 

 of their own conferences. 



The whole number of members of Connection 

 was given as 433,350, showing an increase for the 

 year of 5,650 ; the junior Bible classes returned 

 70,850 members, an increase of 2,760. The num- 

 ber of candidates on trial for membership was 



oo OOQ 



The' fifty-fourth annual report of the Commit- 

 tee on Education describes the condition c 

 Westminster Training College and of South- 

 land College, Battersea, as prosperous and ( 



