680 



PRESBYTERIANS. 



mittee, appointed two years previously, reported 

 upon its work in distributing literature and 

 holding meetings. The Rev. A. J. McFarland 

 was appointed to give his time to this work. The 

 report on national reform distinguished between 

 national reform and the National Reform Asso- 

 ciation. It mentioned various tendencies in the 

 direction of national reform and various organi- 

 zations which more or less clearly regard it neces- 

 sary to palcethe National Government in an atti- 

 tude of subjection to Christ and his will. It 

 gave a threefold definition of the object of the 

 national reform movement : 



1. It is conservative. It aims to conserve all the 

 existing features of the Government. 2. It is reforma- 

 tory. It aims at such development and transforma- 

 tion in the life of the nation that it shall make in a 

 large sense a Christian nation. The Supreme Court 

 has stated that this is a Christian nation. There is a 

 sense in which this is true. But a nation which has 

 secret societies, loose divorce laws, a liquor trallic, 

 unjust anti-Chinese laws, and which breaks God's law 

 of the Sabbath by having Sunday mails, is a nation 

 laden with iniquity. 3. It is constructive. It strives 

 to construct a true Christian state, changing the gov- 

 ernment from a secular to a religious basis. It is 

 grand in conception and glorious in its fulfillment. 

 To this movement the Covenanter's Church is unal- 

 terably bound. The work of the National Keform 

 Association for the year has been most successful. 

 The Kev. Mr. George, the field secretary, has been 

 peculiarly successful in securing financial supplies. 



The following recommendations of the report 

 were adopted : 



1. That the synod reaffirms the great importance 

 of the national reform work as essential to the com- 

 ing of the kingdom of God into the world, and calls 

 upon our people to maintain a practical testimony 

 against the unchristian compact of civil government 

 in the Constitution of the Lnited States, and at the 

 same time to co-operate in every legitimate way with 

 all Christians who seek the true reformation of the 

 nation and its subjection to Christ as King. 



2. That the synod recognizes the great work 

 that has been accomplished by the National Keform 

 Association in disseminating the true principles of 

 civil government; in directing attention to the re- 

 ligious defect in our fundamental law, and maintaining 

 the crown rights of King Jesus, and as having afforded 

 us delightful Christian fellowship with loved breth- 

 ren of sister churches in the common cause of our 

 country and our Kedeemer. 



3. That in tendering the services of its ministers 

 to the National Keform Association the synod does 

 not understand there is any agreement expressed or 

 understood that they will not utter a testimony against 

 Christiana incorporating in a Christless government 

 on any occasion when in their judgment the interests 

 of truth require such testimony to be given. 



4. That while the cause of national reform must 

 continue to be regarded as one of the schemes of the 

 Church until the glorious ends have been accom- 

 plished, the annual appropriation to the National Re- 

 form Association is made upon the basis of the 

 clearly denned principles of this association suitably 

 expressed, and its binding obligation upon our people 

 depends upon the continued adherence on the part of 

 the association to the basis on which the appropriation 

 is made. 



An appropriation of $7,000 was made to the 

 association. 



The report on secret societies declared in sub- 

 stance that the opposition of the synod to such 

 associations did not lie against organization or 

 pledges or privacy, for efficient work demands 

 organization, a good life is full of promises and 



pledges, and the best interests of society demand 

 that many things be covered from public view. 

 Secret societies, however, the report alleged, are 

 organized on the principle of secrecy and for 

 the purposes of concealment without previous 

 knowledge of the things to be concealed. The 

 testimony of the synod was reiterated against 

 these organizations. A committee appointed at 

 the previous meeting of the synod on a uniform 

 metrical version of the Psalms reported prog- 

 ress, and a committee was appointed to represent 

 the Covenanter Church in meeting with other 

 committees and take part in a joint revision of 

 the present version for the purpose of securing 

 a rendering plainer, smoother, and more agree- 

 able to the text than any heretofore. A report 

 on evangelistic work urged the duty of direct 

 personal effort on the part of Christians for the 

 salvation of their neighbors and friends; the 

 training of the youth of the congregations for 

 practical work in conducting Sunday schools, 

 missionary meetings, and prayer meetings ; and 

 the provision by the faculty of the seminary, 

 where possible, of evangelistic work during the 

 summer vacation for unlicensed students. The 

 foreign mission board was instructed to take 

 further steps to open a mission in China, toward 

 which the first measures had been taken two 

 years previously. It was authorized to assist 

 the weak congregations on the Pacific coast en- 

 gaged in Chinese work. A number of domestic 

 mission stations were placed under its care. 

 One thousand dollars were appropriated for the 

 foundation of a Jewish mission. 



V. Cumberland Presbyterian Church. 

 The following is the general summary of the 

 statistics of this Church as they were reported 

 to the General Assembly in May, 1894 : Number 

 of synods, 15; of presbyteries, 126; of ordained 

 ministers. 1,708; of licentiates, 266; of candi- 

 dates, 259; of congregations, 2,881; of commu- 

 nicants. 184,138; of ruling elders, 11,228; of 

 deacons, 4,571 ; of members of Sunday schools, 

 106,786. Amount of contributions : For educa- 

 tion, $9,959; for ministerial relief, $8,919; for 

 home missions, $10.650; for foreign missions, 

 $20,037; for the Woman's Board of Foreign 

 Missions, $12,359; for church erection. $1,816; 

 for pastors' stipends, $367,640 ; total, $676,465 ; 

 value of church property, $4,036.341. 



The Board of Education reported that it had 

 received $9,694, or $230 more than in the pre- 

 vious year. One thousand dollars had been 

 added to the permanent, fund. About 200 can- 

 didates for the ministry were attending the col- 

 leges of the Church, while 30 others desired to 

 attend college, but could not because the board 

 had no funds for them. 



The Board of Publication reported that the 

 year's net profits of the Publication House had 

 been $7.177, and that its indebtedness had been 

 diminished by $5,003. The sales of books had 

 been $14,387, against $19.795 the previous year. 



The Board of Ministerial Relief returned its 

 total cash receipts for the year as amounting to 

 $9,352, of which $432 were 'received through the 

 Woman's Department. The list of beneficiaries, 

 comprising 99 families, included 44 ministers, 

 55 widows of ministers, and 2 families of orphan 

 children. The endowment fund of Thornton 

 Home all safely invested was $8,793. 



