CONGREGATIONALISTS. 



133 



crease of 518 members and $9,500 in contribu- 

 tions. Sixty-two of the churches, with 5,659 

 members, are in Ontario. 



The Canadian Congregational churches were 

 visited in September by a deputation of repre- 

 sentatives of the Congregational Union of England 

 and Wales, who were despatched in the interests 

 of the Colonial Missionary Society to inquire into 

 the condition and prospects of the Congregation- 

 alists of the Dominion, with a view to ascertain- 

 ing what responsibilities rested upon English 

 Congregationalists for the evangelization of the 

 new townships in the far West. 



English Congregationalists. The English 

 Congregational Year-Book for 1902 gives the num- 

 ber of Congregational churches, chapels, and 

 mission stations in England and Wales as 4,873, 

 with 1,743,583 sittings; of ministers as 3,121, of 

 whom 572 were out of service and 118 were in 

 professional, secretarial, or other work; of lay 

 preachers as 5,128, besides 227 evangelists; of 

 church-members as 436,279, showing an increase 

 of 4,762 over the previous year; of members of 

 Sunday-schools, 684,747, showing a decrease of 

 8,600. The theological seminaries returned 395 

 students and 62 professors. Fourteen new 

 churches and 66 new chapels and halls had been 

 built during the year. Fifty ministers had been 

 ordained. In 1900 1,184 churches and mission 

 stations were returned as being on the Continent 

 of Europe and in the British colonies. Of the 

 latter, 143 were in Canada, 283 in Australasia, and 

 288 in South Africa. The ministers abroad com- 

 prised 473 in the British colonies and on the 

 Continent of Europe, and 273 English mission- 

 aries in the service of the London Missionary 

 Society. The colleges were attended by 401 stu- 

 dents, and the 10 institutions of the London Mis- 

 sionary Society in heathen lands by 300 students. 



Congregational Union of England and 

 Wales. The Congregational Union of England 

 and Wales met in its annual assembly in Lojidon, 

 May 12. In the absence of the chairman, Princi- 

 pal Caleb Scott, who was seriously ill, the Rev. 

 Dr. G. S. Barrett, of Norwich, presided. In his 

 opening address the chairman, referring to the 

 question of the " United Congregational Church," 

 which was to come before the meeting, said that 

 whatever might be the result of the discussions 

 of the subject, he thought that the mind of the 

 Church was clear upon the point that the time 

 had come for their churches when, without sacri- 

 ficing any of their independence, they might be 

 drawn together in a closer federation that should 

 reveal their common brotherhood. 



The report of the committee opened with a brief 

 survey of the work achieved by the union since* 

 its formation seventy years before. During this 

 period it had established the Colonial, Evangeli- 

 cal Continental, English Chapel-Building, Church 

 Aid, Pastors' Insurance Aid, and Total Ab- 

 stinence Societies; had created the Memorial 

 Hall Trust, the Pastors' Retiring Fund, the 

 Pastors' Widows' Fund, the Young People's 

 Union, and other societies; had published 

 the Congregational Lectures, the Year-Book, and 

 hymnals; had given substantial aid to Con- 

 gregational societies through its earnings in the 

 publication department ; and had given stimulus 

 to churches from its platform and engendered 

 friendly feeling among them. An important step 

 in the evolution of Congregational affairs had 

 been taken in the creation of an incorporated 

 society by means of which the business of the 

 union might be transacted without the in- 

 tervention of trustees and without necessitating 

 the acceptance of personal liability by its officers 



and members. The new corporate society would 

 hold the property intended for the use of the 

 union and act as trustee to hold and dal with 

 property of any particular Congregational church. 

 The Committee of the Union would be the execu- 

 tive of the incorporated body. The report of the 

 Special Committee on Ministerial Settlements and 

 Removals recommended that provision be made 

 for the adoption of the same rules by all the 

 county unions. The Committee on Superannua- 

 tion reported a scheme which was referred back 

 to it with instructions to bring it up at -a sub- 

 sequent assembly. The general account of the 

 publication business showed total receipts of 14,- 

 172, and an expenditure of 16,585. Certain 

 recommendations submitted to the colleges by th.e 

 assembly of the spring of 1901 had been approved 

 by them. A special committee was ordered to in- 

 quire into the inner working of the colleges, to 

 make .recommendations as to ways in which the 

 union can best cooperate with the college author- 

 ities, and to consider whether it is desirable to 

 form a Central College Board. The Church Aid 

 Society had during the year distributed a little 

 more than 4,000 in grants, and had aided 368 

 churches and 148 mission stations, while 218 pas- 

 tors and 62 evangelists had received aid from the 

 fund. The report of the replies received to the 

 circular letter sent out with Dr. Joseph Parker's 

 Addresses to the Churches and County Unions 

 concerning his United Congregational Church 

 scheme embraced many details. No union had 

 declared absolute agreement with Dr. Parker's 

 proposal of a federation of chm-ches on lines sug- 

 gested in his letters; 6 unions, representing 82,714 

 members, had expressed general approval of it; 

 10, representing 54,000 members, had asked for 

 closer federation without committing themselves 

 to any scheme; and 7, with 72,000 members, had 

 declared for organic association with the county, 

 unions. 



Two hundred and fifty-two churches, with a 

 total of 28,748 members, had voted for Dr. 

 Parker's proposal ; 168 churches, with 30,419 mem- 

 bers, opposed it; 75 churches, with 11,623 mem- 

 bers, gave it general approval; 80 churches, with 

 18,310 members, approved closer federation with- 

 out committing themselves to any scheme: 60 

 churches, with 12,946 members, favored amal- 

 gamation of the county unions with the Union 

 of England and Wales; 149 churches, with 31.256 

 members, were for closer federation: and the re- 

 plies in general indicated that the larger churches 

 lean in that direction. Forty-six chim-hes. with 

 8,990 members, advised the Congregational Union, 

 in various forms of expression, to seek larger 

 powers. With respect to Dr. Parker's proposed 

 title, "The United Congregational Church." 164 

 churches, with 17,832 members, had voted " \ V- " : 

 352 churches, with 63,891 members, had voted 

 "No"; and 161 churches, with 33,769 members, 

 had declared their positive preference for the pres- 

 ent title, " The Congregational Union of Eng- 

 land and Wales." Twenty-two other titles had 

 been suggested. Replies in like manner various 

 had been received from a number of churches not 

 in the union and of aided churches, to which the 

 questions had been sent. Several of the unions 

 and churches had prepared draft constitutions 

 embodying the changes which they approved. 

 The replies as a whole were regarded by the com- 

 mittee on the subject as emphasizing the duty de- 

 volving upon the union " to continue its work 

 for the common service of the clum-hes, and to 

 provide opportunity for such changes as may 

 commend themselves to a majority of the most 

 earnest men among them." 



