CHRISTIAN CONNECTION. 



121 



ties, the missionary claims, and intrigues of re- 

 actionary officials. In the central and southern 

 provinces the proclamations of the officials levy- 

 ing the indemnity taxes were often couched in 

 bitter and provocative phrases, commanding the 

 people to pay in order to increase the wealth of 

 the foreigners. 



In parts of Chili the villages and market-towns 

 formed leagues to resist the collection of foreign 

 indemnities and armed the members with Mauser 

 rifles for a conflict with Yuan-Shih-Kai's sol- 

 diery. The attempts of local officials at Taming- 

 Fu to collect indemnities for losses of the mis- 

 sions and native Christians on which they had 

 agreed with the Roman Catholic priests led to 

 riots which resulted in great loss of life. Hun- 

 dreds of villagers were killed, as they were armed 

 only with spears and bows, and 60 of the troops, 

 in consequence of which a brigade was sent to 

 destroy the villages. The insurgents killed a mis- 

 sionary and threatened to drive them all out of 

 the district. At Shunte-Fu a league of villagers 

 led by a military mandarin and armed with rifles 

 and cannon inflicted a defeat on the first body 

 of troops sent to suppress the rising. A large 

 force of Yuan-Shih-Kai's trained men dispersed 

 the rebels, who numbered some thousands, and 

 the leader, Ching-Ting-Ping, was captured in 

 Honan and beheaded. He had killed the mem- 

 bers of his family before embarking in the enter- 

 prise to prevent them from being punished in 

 the event of its failure. In Szechuen a Boxer 

 outbreak occurred during the summer in which 

 converts were massacred and mission property 

 destroyed. A conflict with the troops took place 

 in Cheng-Tu-Fu, which resulted in the defeat of 

 the insurgents, whose leaders were captured and 

 beheaded. The American and French ministers 

 made representations to the Government, which 

 removed the viceroy and the other officials. In 

 every place where disturbances occurred through- 

 out the empire the local officials were punished. 

 At Chenchau, in Hunan, missionaries were ac- 

 cused of introducing cholera. H. R. Lewis and 

 J. R. Bruce, of the China Inland Mission, were 

 beaten to death by a mob on Aug. 15. 



CHRISTIAN CONNECTION. Under this 

 head are embraced the American Christian Con- 

 vention of the Northern United States and Can- 

 ada, the Christian Church, South, and a number 

 of affiliated colored churches. The quadrennial 

 meeting of the American Christian Convention 

 at Norfolk, Va., beginning Oct. 8, was attended 

 by representatives of all these societies. The 

 conference lists given in the Christian Annual 

 for 1902 give the numbers of members as follow: 

 American Christian Convention, 60 conferences, 

 71,395 members; Southern Christian Conven- 

 tion, 6 conferences, 13,595 members; 6 other con- 

 ferences in the South, 12,217 members; in all, 

 72 conferences, with 97,207 members. The total 

 number of churches in 1901 was 1,517, and that 

 of ministers 1,151. The mission secretary re- 

 ported, for 1901, in home missions, 6 churches 

 and 7 Sunday-schools organized, 397 members re- 

 ceived, and 298 conversions returned by the mis- 

 sionaries during the year. The report of the 

 foreign missions (Japan and Porto Rico, with 

 one to be established in China) for the year clo- 

 sing July 1, 1901, mentioned 7 organized churches 

 with 148 members, 26 baptisms, and a net gain 

 of 20 members during the year, 16 Sunday-schools 

 with 725 pupils, 9 missionaries, and 13 native 

 ministers and other helpers. The mission receipts 

 had been in excess of those of any previous year 

 in the history of the Church. Nine educational 

 institutions of high grade are maintained, one of 



which is a Biblical Institute, and another a col- 

 lege for colored people. Besides the publishing 

 department of the General Convention, the 

 Christian Publishing Association is composed of 

 the same membership as the General Convention, 

 and issues the denominational weekly newspaper 

 and Sunday-school literature at Dayton, Ohio, 

 and a missionary journal and local newspapers 

 are published in New England and Canada. 



The American Christian Convention met in 

 quadrennial session at Norfolk, Va., Oct. 8, the 

 Rev. O. W. Powers, D. D., presiding. The reports 

 of the president and secretary represented the 

 Church as in a condition of encouraging progress, 

 Avith increase in every department of its work. 

 The people had contributed nearly $100,000 for 

 education. The receipts of the missionary treas- 

 ury during the past four years had been $61,057, 

 or $18,865 more than in the previous four years, 

 showing an increase of about 45 per cent. The 

 expenditure had been $42,495. The Woman's 

 Board of Foreign Missions had received (during 

 the four years) $5,978, and the Woman's Board 

 of Home Missions $1,711. The Home for Aged 

 Ministers, at Castile, N. Y., had an endowment 

 yielding an income of $600 a year, while the ex- 

 penditures were more than $900 a year, and had 

 received additional gifts. A new constitution was 

 adopted, during the discussion of which the 

 word " denomination " was stricken out wherever 

 it occurred, and the words " religious body " 

 were inserted in its stead. A resolution was 

 passed ratifying the acts of the old convention, 

 as those of the new are under the new articles 

 of incorporation, and provision was made for draw- 

 ing up new laws, rules, and regulations for the 

 convention, including order of business and par- 

 liamentary rules, which are to be printed and 

 distributed among the people of the Church. A 

 plan was approved for the establishment of a 

 university, to be called Palmer University, for 

 which property valued at $200,000 was offered at 

 Muncie, Ind., and $100,000 were promised for 

 endowment, contingent upon another $100,000 

 being secured. Papers were presented requesting 

 help for different interests of the colored people 

 and asking that literature of the connection be 

 furnished to colored colporteurs; and by resolu- 

 tion of the convention the Afro-American dele- 

 gates were admitted. Four convention collections 

 were authorized to be taken in the churches: for 

 the convention, for foreign missions, for home 

 missions, and for education. In a report on 

 building and equipping a printing establishment, 

 the Board of Trustees was advised to be cautious 

 in making investments in fixed property, but to 

 exercise greater vigor in publishing new matter. 

 The educational report advised a raising of the 

 standard of ministerial education, the fostering 

 of industrial training in at least one of the white 

 schools, and the federation of the colleges, in 

 order to bring about uniformity in work and 

 degrees. A report on moral reform took cogni- 

 zance of such subjects as Sabbath observance, the 

 settlement of labor difficulties " by Christians in 

 harmony," legislation on marriage and divorce in 

 harmony with biblical teachings, abstinence from 

 tobacco and intoxicating drinks, and the restric- 

 tion of the liquor traffic. Cooperation with the 

 Antisaloon League was continued. 



The Southern Christian Convention maintains 

 Elon College, North Caroline (Elon College post- 

 office), and has a book depot and publishing in- 

 terest at the same place, whence the periodical 

 organ is issued. Its home mission work is in 

 successful operation with one general missionary, 

 and interest in foreign missions is represented as 



