80 



BAPTISTS. 



ety had been organized at Canton ; Mexico, where 

 the work had been divided into a north and a 

 south Mexican mission; Italy, where the English 

 Baptists had turned their mission in Naples over 

 to the board; Brazil, where the work showed a 

 marked advance, and the line of missions ex- 

 tended from Manaos, on the Amazon, to Sfio 

 Paulo in the south, a distance of several thou- 

 sand miles: and Japan. In all, the missions re- 

 turned 100 churclu s, 140 out stations, 82 mission- 

 aries (35 men and 47 women), 27 ordained na- 

 tive missionaries, 101 unordained native laborers 

 (87 men and 14 women), 845 additions by bap- 

 tism, 5,347 members, 2,440 pupils in Sunday 

 schools, f>7 houses of worship, and 43 day schools, 

 with 1.105 pupils. The contributions offered by 

 the native members amounted to $7,110. Of the 

 whole number of members, 1,802 were in China, 

 341 in Africa. 518 in Italy, 1,091 in Mexico, 1,524 

 in Brazil, and 71 in Japan. 



The Home Mission Board had employed (most- 

 ly in co-operation with State boards) 653 mis- 

 s'ionaries, against 407 in 1897, and returned 6,552 

 baptisms during the year, against 4,739 in 1897, 

 and a total of 12.983 additions to the churches, 

 against 9.509 in the previous year. Five hundred 

 and twelve Sunday schools had been organized, 

 with 14.768 teachers and pupils. The amount 

 raised and expended on the field for home mis- 

 sions was $65,819, and $50,050 had been collected 

 and expended in building houses of worship, 

 making a total amount of money raised $115,869, 

 an increase of $5,232 from the previous year. The 

 whole amount of cash received by the board from 

 the States was $61,794. Co-operative work among 

 the negroes was carried on in Georgia, Missouri, 

 Kentucky, North Carolina, and Virginia. In 

 Alabama the work had been discontinued through 

 the withdrawal of the State board, while in South 

 Carolina, the three years' agreement having ex- 

 pired, the arrangement was not continued. This 

 co-operative work had been productive of much 

 good in many ways, not the least of which was 

 the increased harmony it produced between the 

 races. The work in Cuba had been resumed, with 

 stations at Havana, Matanzas, Cienfuegos, and 

 several towns and cities in Santa Clara province. 

 It was proposed to occupy Pinar del Rio, in the 

 western province, and ultimately to cover the 

 whole island with missions. The Woman's Mis- 

 sionary Union was becoming more and more 

 helpful every year. Through its agency $14,129 

 in money and the value of $22,567 in boxes had 

 been contributed to the board ; and the women 

 were represented in work among Germans, Mexi- 

 cans, French, Chinese, and Italians. They had 

 undertaken the charge of industrial schools 

 among the Germans in Baltimore, and had labored 

 with the colored people through Bible classes, in- 

 dustrial schools, and home instruction. The 

 Sunday School Board reported a total income of 

 $67,173, of which $61,876 were from sales of peri- 

 odicals, books, etc. The whole was an advance 

 of more than $2,100 over the previous year. There 

 were no unpaid balances against the board, while 

 a credit balance remained sufficient for the be- 

 ginning of the work of the new year. The board 

 had sent out, on account of appropriations. 17,448 

 Bibles and Testaments, while the sale of Bibles 

 besides was increasing every year. Books and 

 tracts had been distributed to the value of $3,391, 

 and more than $2.000 had been spent in publica- 

 tion, although caution had been used in exercis- 

 ing the privilege of publishing books and tracts. 

 One jjift of $500 had been received as a " book 

 endowment fund," which would be named from 

 the wife of the donor, " the Eva Garvey Publish- 



ing fund." Majority and minority reports were 

 presented by a committee which had been ap- 

 pointed at the previous meeting of the conven- 

 tion to consider a resolution for the dissolution 

 of the connection of the Theological Seminary at 

 Louisville with the convention, so a's to leave the 

 institution under the unrestricted control of its 

 trustees, and a request from the Kentucky Gen- 

 eral Association that each State interested in the 

 seminary be permitted to elect -its representatives 

 on the Board 'of Trustees. The majority report 

 recommended that the mover of the resolution 

 be allowed to withdraw it, and the affairs relat- 

 ing to the seminary be left as they were. The 

 minority report advised that the convention put 

 itself on record as opposed to dissolving the con- 

 nection between the seminary and itself, and 

 offered reasons for preserving it, and advised that 

 the request of the Kentucky association be not 

 adopted. The majority report was adopted. A 

 representative of the convention was appointed 

 to co-operate with the deputation of the Baptists 

 of England and Ireland in presenting a petition 

 to the Czar in behalf of the Stundists in Russia. 

 The convention resolved to observe the year 1900 

 as a year of thanksgiving, with special efforts to 

 inform the people of the denominational life of 

 the century, and to organize the forces of the 

 churches for work during the coming century; 

 and provision was made for carrying this resolve 

 into effect. The employment of " a wise and dis- 

 creet man " to work in the mountain regions of 

 the South, establishing schools and preaching, 

 was directed. 



The annual meeting of the Southern Baptist 

 Young People's Union was held in Louisville, 

 Ky., May 11. The Rev. L. O. Dawson, D. D., of 

 Tuscaloosa, Ala., presided. The report of the 

 Executive Committee showed that there were 

 about 2,500 unions in the South, and that they 

 were represented in the convention by 165 en- 

 rolled delegates. Addresses were made relative 

 to religious life and work. 



The annual meeting of the Woman's Mission- 

 ary Union was held at the same time with that 

 of the Southern Baptist Convention. The union 

 had raised $24,153 for its work in co-operation 

 with the Foreign Mission Board. It had insti- 

 tuted a system of regular correspondence to be 

 carried on between the children of their mission- 

 aries and those of the home board, whereby they 

 could be brought into closer relations. 



Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. 

 The resignation of the Rev. Dr. W. H. Whitsitt 

 as President of the Southern Baptist Theological 

 Seminary, Louisville, Ky., and as Professor of 

 Church History, which had been offered to 

 them, was acted upon by the Board of Trustees 

 of the seminary at their meeting in May. The 

 friends of Dr. Whitsitt had desired that he should 

 remain at the seminary, but, in view of the con- 

 troversies that had been raised concerning his 

 position on certain questions (see Annual Cyclo- 

 paedia for 1898), had finally concluded that it 

 would be expedient to consent to his withdrawal, 

 voluntarily tendered. The resolution to accept 

 his resignation was offered by one of those trus- 

 tees who had acted most steadfastly in his behalf. 

 It was divided into two parts, the first of which, 

 accepting his resignation of the presidency of the 

 seminary, was carried by a very large majority; 

 while upon the second resolution, accepting the 

 resignation of the professorship of church his- 

 tory, the vote was 22 to 20. In connection with 

 this action the board adopted a minute which 

 set forth that, "whatever differences may exist 

 among us as to other matters, we are one in our 



