840 UNITED STATES, FINANCES OF THE. 



UNIVERSAL1STS. 



The following table shows the changes during 

 the calendar year in the debt with equivalent 

 reserve : 



A report of the issue of the bonds on account 

 of the Spanish war loan had already been made, 

 hence the statement of the debt bearing interest 

 shows but little change for the last calendar 

 year. In the aggregate a reduction is shown ow- 

 ing to the purchase during the year of a consider- 

 able amount of the interest-bearing debt. 



The following table shows in detail the changes 

 in the debt without reserve during the calendar 

 year: 



Owing to the increase of gold in the country as 

 above stated the amount of money in circulation 

 has been in the aggregate considerably increased 

 the last year as will be seen by the following 

 comparative table: 



The aggregate of the cash assets of various 

 kinds held by the Treasury for various purposes 

 exceeds $1,000,000,000, perhaps the greatest ac- 

 cumulation of money in the world. Of this 

 amount only about $283,000,000 was in the gen- 

 eral Treasury balance subject to the draft of the 

 United States Treasurer, and of that amount 

 $100,000,000, represented by gold coin, was held 

 as a fund for the redemption of United States 

 notes under the resumption act. 



The following table shows the assets and liabili- 

 ties at the end of the calendar years 1888 and 

 1899: 



During the last calendar year their was a groat 

 increase in the coinage of both gold and silver. 

 as will be seen by the following comparative table: 



UNTVERSALISTS. The Board of Trustee* 

 of the General Convention of this denomination 

 reported to that body, at its meeting in October, 

 the following statistics: Number of parishes, 

 1,003; of families, 47,411, showing an increase of 

 about 1,200; of church members, 52,177; of mem- 

 bers of Sunday schools, 59,179; value of parMi 

 property less debt, $9,623,672; amount of contribu- 

 tions, including those for parish expenses, $1. 1 (>.">.- 

 869. The figures represent an increase of 64. .1 |, r 

 cent, in church membership and 18 per cent, in 

 Sunday-school membership since 1884. ..The < in- 

 vention was in debt to the amount of $31. :<74. 

 It had spent during the past year $8,934 for the 

 mission in Japan. 



The Universalist General Convention met in 

 Boston. Mass., Oct. 19. The opening sermon 

 was preached by President Elmer Hewitt < aprn. 

 of Tufts College. The Hon. Charles L. Hutrhin- 

 son, of Chicago, presided. The most important 

 business was the final adoption of the statement 

 of belief transmitted from the previous Genera! 

 Convention held in Chicago, 111., in 18JKS. in the 

 form of a platform of principles instead of a 

 creed. This declaration is as follows: 



