446 



METHODISTS. 



course of study to be conducted by the conferences 

 on question papers prepared by a central board to 

 go into effect in the year 1900 ; a resolution disap- 

 proving the admission and advancement in certain 

 instances of ministers and evangelists who had not 

 passed the educational tests required by the Disci- 

 pline, or were behind in some of their studies, and 

 insisting on full compliance with the prescribed 

 tests; and a resolution directing that no person 

 shall be licensed as a local preacher who has not 

 been previously licensed as an exhorter and recom- 

 mended. The Conference refused to allow the name 

 of a woman preacher to be placed upon the list of 

 claimants upon the Superannuate fund; but in the 

 case of another woman it refrained from disapprov- 

 ing the appearance of her name in the list of mem- 

 bers of the Kansas Conference, on the ground that 

 she had been received into the Conference prior to 

 the action of 1890, which barred the admission of 

 women. The sense of the Conference was ex- 

 prtssed that it has l>een a violation of Discipline, 

 since the action referred to, to receive a woman into 

 an annual Conference on trial or in full connec- 

 nection. A proposition to substitute the title of 

 " bishop " for the words ' general superintendent " 

 where they occur in the Discipline was rejected, and 

 the title of the officer remains general superintend- 

 ent.. A recommendation to expunge the general 

 rule relating to slavery was adopted, conditioned 

 upon its receiving the assent of the requisite majority 

 of the annual conferences. The Conference re- 

 solved to begi/1 proceedings to close the business of 

 the Methodist Association for the Perpetuation of 

 Church Property, and appointed a committee to at- 

 tend to the details of the transaction. A delegate, 

 with a reserve delegate, was appointed to the (Ecu- 

 menical Methodist Conference to beheld in London 

 in 1901, and also to a preliminary meeting in antici- 

 pation of the conference to be held in Plainfteld. 

 N. J. Two delegates were appointed to attend the 

 (Ecumenical Missionary Conference to be held in 

 New York city in the spring of 1901. The action 

 of a previous General Conference urging the people 

 to vote "with the party committed fully to the 

 overthrow of the saloon "was reaffirmed. Provi- 

 sion was advised for the publication of a list of the 

 best books for Sunday-school libraries, and for hav- 

 ing the books kept on sale at the publishing house. 

 A number of measures were directed for the pro- 

 motion of Sunday-school work, including annual 

 Sunday-school conventions, monthly Sunday-school 

 board meetings, the furnishing of lesson helps to 

 the schools, and the institution of a Sunday-school 

 secretary, who shall also be associated with the edi- 

 torial departments of the Church and Sunday-school 

 papers. E. P. Hart, George W. Colcman, Burton 

 K. Jones (all re-eleCted), and Walter A. Sellen 

 (elected for the first time) were chosen general 

 superintendents. The salary of the general super- 

 iutendent was fixed at $800 a year, with $200 for 

 traveling expenses. Special collections were au- 

 thorized to be taken at points where the superintend- 

 ents are called to labor, the proceeds to be applied 

 to their salaries; they to give receipts for the money 

 if required to do so. 



VII. Methodist Protestant Church. "The 

 Methodist Protestant," the official organ of this 

 Church, publishes a comparative table of numbers 

 and the net gain of members of this Church by 

 |>eriods of ten years from 1828 to 1896, which 

 shows that in the former year it had 5,000 mem- 

 bers; in 1838, 39,000 members, a gain of 080 per 

 cent.; in 1848. 58.000 members (gain,48. 73 percent.); 

 in 1858. 75.000 members (gain, 29.31 percent.): in 

 1868.99,000 members (gain.:!'J p.-rcent); in ls7s. 

 116.000 members (gain, 17.17 per cent).: in 1888, 

 147,000 members (gain, 26.72 per cent). ; and in 



1896 (eight years), 181,000 members (gain, 23.12 

 per cent). To the present number of full members 

 should be added nearly 3,000 ministers and preach- 

 ers and perhaps 5,000 probationers. The 50 con- 

 ferences return, for the beginning of 1898, 2,291 

 churches. 512 parsonages, 2,200 Sunday schools, 

 with 19.363 officers and teachers and 130,562 pu- 

 pils, and Church property valued at $4.913,809 ; col- 

 leges at Westminster, Md., Adrian, Mich., Yadkin, 

 N. C., La Harpe, 111., Westminster, Texas, and a 

 theological seminary at Westminster. Md. ; 3 book 

 concerns, at Baltimore, Md., Pittsburg, Pa., and 

 Greensboro, N. C. ; 8 church papers ; a complete 

 set of Sunday-school papers ; and Boards of Home 

 and Foreign Missions, Ministerial Education, 

 Church Extension. Ministerial Relief (superannu- 

 ate preachers), and local interests. 



VIII. Methodist Church in Canada. The Gen- 

 eral Conference statistician has published statistics 

 of this Church for 1898. the summary of which gives 

 for the western section, including the London, To- 

 ronto. Hamilton, Bay of Quinte, Montreal, Manito- 

 ba and Northwestern, British Columbia, and Japan 

 con ferences, and the China mission, 239,622 members, 

 showing an increase of 2,638 during the year, and 

 for the eastern section, including the Nova Scotia, 

 New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island, and 

 Newfoundland conferences, 40,915 members, a de- 

 crease of 226 ; total, 280,537 members, with a net in- 

 crease of 2,412. A comparison with the tables of the 

 3 previous quadrennial terms shows that the Church 

 has realized a net increase of 110,734 members dur- 

 ing the past fifteen years. Of the members re- 

 turned in 1898, 2,370 were connected with the 

 Japan Conference and 31 with the China mission. 



The tables prepared by the General Sunday- 

 School and Epworth League Board represent 8,887 

 Sunday schools, with 270,239 pupils, showing an in- 

 crease of 136 schools and 17,783 pupils in four 

 years. The Home Department, consisting of per- 

 sons who, without attending the Sunday schools 

 regularly, study the lessons at home and make 

 stated reports of their work, has been developed 

 rapidly, the number of members having risen from 

 1,856 'in 1895 to 7,151 in 1898. The board also 

 reported that there were 658 Epworth Leagues and 

 869 Epworth Leagues of Christian Endeavor, be- 

 sides a number of Young People's societies, making 

 the whole number of such societies within the 

 Church 1,947, with 81,935 members, showing an in- 

 crease in four years of 915 societies and 34. Kin 

 members. The collections for the general fund 

 amounted to $1,374. The total collections of tlie 

 Sunday-School Aid fund for the past four years had 

 exceeded those of any previous quadrennium. Tlu> 

 amount for the last year was $2.665. A debt of 

 $2,600 existing four years ago had been extin- 

 guished. A joint commission of the Epworth 

 League, Christian Endeavor Societies. Bapii-t 

 Young People's Union, and other societies was ar- 

 ranging for the preparation of common topics to be 

 used in the Young People's prayer meeting. 



The capital stock of the Book Room amounted 

 now to nearly $400,000, having increased $60,000 

 in four years. During this period $34,000 had 

 been paid to the Superannuation fund. 



The total sum of $23,435 had been raised during 

 the quadrennium for the General Conference fund. 

 $8,020 below the estimate set by the last General 

 Conference fund. 



The capital of the Parsonage and Church Aid 

 fund was returned at $23.790, of which $19.7!M 

 were invested. The receipts had been $14.688, and 

 the expenditures $10,G!)8. 



The income of the Educational Society for four 

 years had been $86,002. Grants had been ma-le i<> 

 colleges amounting to $44,279, and the fees paid to 



