650 



PRESBYTERIANS. 



ister of Finance, Senhor Espregneira ; Minister of 

 Justice, Senhor Alpoim ; Minister of Marine, Senhor 

 Villaca ; Minister of Public Works, Elvino Brito. 



PRESBYTERIANS. The annual statistical re- 

 turns of the alliance of the Reformed Churches 

 holding the Presbyterian system show that there 

 are 80 such bodies throughout the world, with a 

 total membership of 4,627,149 in 29,634 congrega- 

 tions. 



The twelve branches of the Presbyterian Church 

 in the United States return, altogether, 11,703 min- 

 isters, 14,891 churches, and 1,542,401 communicants. 



I. Presbyterian Church in the United States 

 of America (Northern). The following is a sum- 

 mary of the statistics of this Church as published 

 with the " Journal of the General Assembly " for 

 1898 : Number of synods, 32 ; of presbyteries, 228; 

 of ministers, 7,190; of churches, 7,635 ; of communi- 

 cants, 975,877; of members of Sabbath schools, 

 1,034,164 ; of candidates for the ministry, 1,161 ; of 

 local evangelists, 135 ; of licentiates, 469 ; of dea- 

 cons, 9,696; of elders, 28,000; of additions on ex- 

 amination during the year, 57,041 ; of baptisms, 

 21,574 of adults and 27. 768 of infants; of licensures 

 (of ministers), 329 ; of ordinations, 290 ; of churches 

 organized, 124. Amount of contributions: For 

 home missions, $972,993 ; for foreign missions, 

 $749,497; for education, $84,056; for Sabbath- 

 school work, $112,781 ; for church erection, $149,- 

 702; for the Relief fund. $95.149; for the freed- 

 men, $118,359; for synodical aid, $82,619; for aid 

 for colleges, $164,840 ; for the General Assembly, 

 $84,679 ; for congregational purposes, $10,219,891 ; 

 miscellaneous contributions, $068,905. The figures 

 show an increase in one year of 14,966 commu- 

 nicants, 9,702 members of Sabbath schools, and 

 $262,885 in contributions; and since 1870, or in 

 twenty-eight years, of 429,316 communicants. 585,- 

 307 members of Sabbath schools, and $4,063,440 

 in contributions. 



The total income of the Board of Education for 

 1897-'98 was $66,361. The report showed that the 

 debt had been reduced $1,500, and was at the time 

 of making the report to the General Assembly 

 $7,720. One hundred and fifty-three new students 

 had been received, making 814 beneficiaries in all 

 a decrease in two years of 223. 



The Board of Aid for Colleges and Academies re- 

 ported to the General Assembly that it had enjoyed, 

 on the whole, the most prosperous year in its his- 

 tory. It had aided 28 institutions, the whole num- 

 ber of students at which was 2,733. It had suffered 

 a loss of $61,239 by the defalcation of its treasurer, 

 who had been arrested, but had escaped. The 

 amount lost had been made good by individual con- 

 tributions of friends of the home mission work, and 

 the board had been able to close the year without a 

 deficit, and without having been obliged to use any 

 part of its ordinary income to replace the subscribed 

 funds. The receipts for the year had been $117,- 

 622, against $77,086 in 1896; besides which $57,763 

 had been contributed to make good the loss by em- 

 bezzlement, leaving $3,475 yet to be replaced. The 

 expenditures of the board had been reduced 20 per 

 cent, below those of the preceding year. 



The year's receipts of the Board of Ministerial 

 Relief had been $197,136, and showed a gain over 

 the previous year of $9.073 in church collections 

 and $1,820 in individual contributions. The board, 

 having canceled the obligation of $20,911 charged 

 against it in the previous year, was out of debt. 

 There were upon the roll of beneficiaries for the 

 year 873 names, viz., 342 ministers, 473 widows, 

 25) orphan families, 7 woman missionaries, and 24 

 guests in the ministers' house at Perth Amboy, N. J. 



The total receipts of the Board of Publication 

 and Sabbath-School Work had been, in the Sabbath- 



school and missionary work, including what it had 

 received from the publishing department (two thirds 

 of its profits), $114,845 ; while the profits of the 

 business department were $31,047, of which $20,698 

 were turned over to the Sabbath-school and mission- 

 ary department. The net profits of the business 

 department were $4,680 more than in 1896. One 

 hundred and thirty-five free libraries had been sent 

 out by this department, containing 9,513 volumes. 

 The missionary work had been prosecuted in 2!) 

 States and Territories, comprising 23 synods and 63 

 presbyteries, the present number of missionaries 

 being 76. The missionaries had organized during 

 the year 1,028 Sabbath schools, with a membership 

 at starting of 4,896 teachers and 46,518 pupils. 



The Board of Home Missions reported that the 

 direction of the previous General Assembly for its 

 reorganization with one secretary had been carried 

 out, and the Rev. Charles L. Thompson, D. D., had 

 been appointed the secretary, and had entered on 

 his work March 1. A system of monthly payment 

 of missionaries had been instituted instead of the 

 former system of quarterly payments. The finan- 

 cial burdens of the year had been unusually severe. 

 The debt had increased from $147,297 to $167.839 ; 

 but a part of this increase might be considered only 

 apparent, as resulting from the changes in the sys- 

 tem of payment. The gross receipts for the year 

 had been' $698,940, as against $702,404 in 1896. 

 Thirteen hundred and ninety-three missionaries- 

 and 330 missionary teachers had been employed 

 These returned 84,682 members of the Church and 

 107,541 hearers in the congregations ; 7,995 addi- 

 tions on profession of faith, and 3,715 baptisms of 

 adults and 4.322 of infants ; 250 Sabbath schools 

 organized ; 88 church edifices built, 10 churches 

 become self-supporting, and 39 churches organized, 

 during the year. 



The receipts for the year of the Board of Missions 

 for Freedmen had bee'n $126,000. The debt had 

 been slightly reduced. The Assembly directed 

 that the expenditures for the year be limited to the 

 amount appropriated during the past year. 



The report of the Board of Foreign Missions 

 mentioned revolution in Guatemala; war, famine, 

 plague, and earthquake in India; excitement in 

 China because of the aggressions of certain Euro- 

 pean powers; and alarm in Persia because of certain 

 ecclesiastical and civil transactions, as having af- 

 fected its work during the year. The 24 missions. 

 however, with their 110 stations, had had a period 

 of substantial growth, especially in Korea, where 

 347 adults had been baptized, much church building 

 had been done, and some successful efforts had 

 been made at self-support. The missions in China 

 had advanced. The baptism of a number of high- 

 caste Hindus and Mohammedans in India was 

 mentioned. The number of additions on confession 

 of faith, 415, in western Persia was unusually 

 large. The general receipts for the year had been 

 $889.387, and the receipts on account of the debt 

 $79,738, making the total receipts $979,125. Tin 1 

 appropriations and disbursements had been $864.- 

 702. The General Assembly reaffirmed its previous 

 recommendations for the taking of two collections 

 yearly for foreign missions ; advised that foreign 

 mission work have a place in the instruction of the 

 Sabbath school, with encouragement of systematic 

 giving; and directed that candidates to foreign 

 fields be required to answer certain questions 

 touching belief in evangelical truth, and accept- 

 ance of the Christian standard. 



The one hundred and tenth General Assembly 

 met at Winona Park, Ind., May 19. The Ue\. 

 Wallace Radcliffe, D. D., of Washington, D. ('.. 

 was chosen moderator. Much interest was taken 

 in the case of the Rev. A. C. McGiffcrt, I). D., a 



