METHODISTS. 



399 



schools, 2,613 officers and teachers, 38,118 pupils, 

 and 826 churches ; the West Indian Affiliated Con- 

 ference, 93 ministers, 907 lay preachers, 45,726 

 members and probationers, 301 Sunday-schools, 

 2,758 officers and teachers, 28,750 pupils, and 143 

 churches. The Australasian Methodist Church 

 had 932 ministers, 8,432 lay preachers, 131,774 

 members and probationers, 4,103 Sunday-schools, 

 with 21,476 officers and teachers and 211,082 pu- 

 puils, and 5,539 churches. 



The Church had 7,374 chapels settled upon the 

 terms of the Model Deed, with sitting accom- 

 modations for 2,075,802 persons, showing an in- 

 crease in ten years of 506 chapels connectionally 

 settled, and 173,142 sittings. In addition there 

 were 913 rented chapels or other preaching 

 places, seating 111,703 persons. The whole num- 

 ber of sittings in Great Britain was 2,187,505. 



Sixty Wesley deaconesses and 8 second-year 

 probationers Had been employed during the year 

 in 42 circuits and 7 missions, besides 2 in the 

 Transvaal, 1 in New Zealand, and 2 in Ceylon. 



The report of the General Chapel Committee 

 showed that 411 cases of new chapels, school- 

 rooms, ministers' houses, alterations, enlarge- 

 ments, etc., had been sanctioned during the 

 year, with an estimated outlay of 365,286, on 

 which such provision for payment had been made 

 as would leave an indebtedness aside from the 

 connectional loans of not more than 89,640. A 

 total additional accommodation would be fur- 

 nished on the completion of these improvements 

 of 14,787 sittings. Of the new chapels, 39, to seat 

 7,253 hearers, were to be erected in places where 

 there were previously no Wesleyan places of wor- 

 ship. Two hundred and twenty-five cases of 

 erections, enlargements, etc., had been reported 

 through the district synods as completed, at a 

 cost of 178,718, with an entire indebtedness of 

 41,588. The net amount of debt cleared off 

 during the year was about 12,000. 



In the eighty-third annual report of the Gen- 

 eral Committee for the maintenance and -educa- 

 tion of ministers' children the amounts raised for 

 the general purposes of the fund were given as 

 30,755 for maintenance and 4,977 for educa- 

 tion. The sum of 10,608 had been appropriated 

 to allowances for 884 ministers' children educated 

 at home; and other appropriations had been made 

 to schools. 



The total income of the Home Mission fund 

 had been 35,831, showing an increase of 1,304; 

 and the expenditure had amounted to 33,396. 

 This left a surplus of 2,434, available for the 

 reduction of the adverse balance carried over 

 for several years to 1,122. Grants of 4,791 

 had been made toward the support of home mis- 

 sionary ministers in circuits; 3,123 had been 

 spent on lay agency; 1,691 on district mission- 

 aries; 1,872 on village evangelists; 8,798 on 

 dependent circuits; 290 on university circuits; 

 and 1,000 on special extension work. Toward 

 the cost of army and navy ministers 4,387 

 the Government gave 2,454 in capitation grants. 

 More than 100 home missionary ministers and 

 8 connectional evangelists were supported by the 

 fund. Twenty Gospel cars were in service, 5 of 

 which had been added during the year, and were 

 manned by 40 evangelists. 



A novel legal question has arisen at Gloucester. 

 The votes of 2 Wesleyan ministers were objected 

 to by the Conservative agent at an election on 

 the ground that the ministers had not resided in 

 the district during the time required to qualify 

 them as electors. The Libei'al agent, supporting 

 the votes, contended that the ministers in being 

 transferred from one circuit to another were 



" successors to a benefice or office," and as such 

 were entitled to vote. The case came before a 

 King's Bench divisional court, Nov. 7, on an 

 appeal from the refusal of the revising' barrister 

 at Gloucester to allow the claim of the ministers. 

 The Lord Chief Justice said that the question 

 raised was one of importance to a great number 

 of ministers who at present lost the right to vote 

 for one year by reason of changes in circuits. 

 The point was whether the revising barrister was 

 right in this instance, on the evidence before him, 

 in holding that the applicant had not proved that 

 the post of Wesleyan minister was an " office " 

 which came within the meaning of the statute, 

 and gave him a right to vote by reason of suc- 

 cession to that office. The Chief Justice held, 

 with the concurrence of the other justices, that 

 the revising barrister was right. The applicant 

 was backed, in making his appeal, by the Com- 

 mittee of Privileges of the Wesleyan Conference. 



Wesleyan Missionary Society. The annual 

 meeting of the Wesleyan Missionary Society was 

 held in London, May 5, Mr. Peter F. Wood, of 

 Chiselhurst, presiding. The total ordinary net re- 

 ceipts for the year had been 100,478, while the- 

 addition of special contributions, miscellaneous 

 income from investments, legacies, and lapsed an- 

 nuities would bring the amount up to 136,528. 

 The expenditure had been 143,617, leaving a 

 deficiency of 7,088. Forty-four missionaries 

 had been sent to India, Ceylon, Burma, West 

 Africa, China, the Transvaal and Rhodesia, the 

 West Indies, the Bahamas, South Africa, Hon- 

 duras, Paris, Naples, Gibraltar, and Malta; 17 

 woman missionaries had gone to various parts 

 of the field; and one lay agent had been sent to 

 India. The general summary of the mission 

 fields gave the following numbers: Of principal 

 stations, 325; of chapels and other preaching 

 places, 2,466; of missionaries and native minis- 

 ters, including supernumeraries, 395; of other sal- 

 aried agents, 3,337; of unpaid agents, 6,260; of 

 full and accredited church-members, 50,132; of 

 members on trial, 14,482; of pupils in mission 

 schools, 100,738. These numbers show an increase 

 of 26 stations and preaching places, 31 mission- 

 aries, 96 other salaried agents, 158 unpaid agents, 

 1,384 members, 860 on trial, and 4,355 pupils. 

 Among the striking features of the work of the 

 year were successful labors among the Italian 

 navvies in the Simplon Tunnel; progress toward 

 a self-supporting and self-governing church in 

 Ceylon; revivals in South India; reconstruction 

 and readjustment in China; improved conditions 

 in South and West Africa; and beneficial legisla- 

 tion in the West Indies. 



Wesleyan Conference. The Conference met 

 at Manchester, July 22. The Rev. John Shaw 

 Banks, Professor in the Theological Institution, 

 was chosen president. The following resolution 

 was adopted concerning the education bill: 



" The Conference once more declares that the 

 primary object of Methodist policy in the matter 

 of elementary education is the establishment of 

 school boards everywhere, acting in districts of 

 sufficient area, and "the placing of a Christian un- 

 sectarian school within reasonable distance of 

 every family. The Conference therefore deeply 

 regrets that the present education bill is in- 

 tended to destroy the school board system, and 

 to make no adequate provision for the just claims 

 of those parents who do not desire their children 

 to be drawn into denominational schools. The 

 Conference has no wish to abolish denomina- 

 tional schools, or to prevent them from being 

 used with equitable restriction, for the purpose of 

 giving denominational education to those children 



