PRESBYTERIANS. 



579 



$24,000 expended, 18 congregations had been as- 

 sisted a larger number than ever in one year 

 before. In the foreign missions the board support- 

 ed 44 unmarried woman missionaries, besides pro- 

 viding for the entire maintenance of 2 boarding- 

 schools, 3 hospitals, and 3 dispensaries. Special 

 features mentioned in the report were the begin- 

 ning of work on the new Martha J. McKown 

 Hospital, at Tanta, Egypt; the girls' boarding- 

 school at Seakote, India; a new school at 

 Luxor, Egypt; and in America the Home for 

 Aged People, the Orphan Home, the Memorial 

 Hospital, and the Home for Missionaries' Chil- 

 dren at New Wilmington, Pa. 



The forty-fourth General Assembly met in Alle- 

 gheny, Pa., May 28. The Rev. James C. Wilson, 

 D. D., of Erie, Pa., was chosen moderator. The 

 committee appointed by the previous General 

 Assembly (see Annual Cyclopaedia for 1901, p. 

 555) to prepare a revised and amended form of 

 membership covenant for overture to the pres- 

 byteries, if it should prove acceptable to the As- 

 sembly, reported a form of covenant, and with 

 it a new formula for the reception of members. 

 The form embodied a declaration that the Scrip- 

 tures are received as the revelation of the truth 

 and the law of life; an expression of unquali- 

 fied faith " in the one living and true God, the 

 Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit," and the 

 personal acceptance of each person of the God- 

 head in his relation to us and our salvation; and 

 a promise of submission in the Lord to the au- 

 thorities of the Church, a willingness to receive 

 with meekness instruction in the divine truth 

 as set forth in the accepted Standards of the 

 Church and a resolution to renounce the world, 

 the flesh, and the devil, and to conform the life 

 to the will of God; a promise of fidelity in at- 

 tendance on public worship and in the observ- 

 ance of the sacraments, of personal service and 

 financial support, a disposition to promote the 

 peace, purity, and prosperity of the congrega- 

 tion, and a promise of daily prayer, Bible read- 

 ing, and worship. These propositions were op- 

 posed in the debate by those who were satisfied 

 with the present conditions of receiving members 

 and desired no change, and the motion to over- 

 ture the report to the presbyteries was lost by 

 a vote of 103 to 118. A new committee was ap- 

 pointed to consider the subject further and re- 

 port to the next Assembly. The General Assem- 

 bly was asked by the Synod of the Punjab, 

 India, in respect to the attitude to be taken and 

 the course to be pursued regarding the proposed 

 union of all the Presbyterian churches of India 

 into one church, the " Church of Christ in India, 

 Presbyterian." The answer of the Assembly was 

 given in resolutions " that we approve of the 

 principle of Presbyterian union in India, when 

 in the providence of God the way is opened up 

 and the time is ripe for such a movement; that 

 reposing the utmost confidence in the wisdom 

 and loyalty of our missionaries in India, we au- 

 thorize them to take part in the work of prepara- 

 tion for the proposed union; and that when the 

 whole scheme of doctrine and administration is 

 completed, it be submitted in overture to the 

 presbyteries in India, and reported, together with 

 the vote on the same, to the General Assembly 

 for approval or rejection." Relations were re- 

 sumed with the General Synod of the Reformed 

 Presbyterian Church after an interval of twenty 

 years, and a fraternal delegate was appointed to 

 the General Synod. The General Synod had with- 

 drawn its mission from the Gujranwala district 

 in India in favor of the United Presbyterian 

 Church, and had sent its salutations by delegate 



to the General Assembly. Progress was reported 

 in the preparation of a uniform metrical, version 

 of the Psalms, whicn is in the hands of a joint 

 committee of Psalm-singing churches, and the 

 gratification of the Assembly was expressed. The 

 overture on the limitation ol appeals, having been 

 approved by a majority of the votes cast in the 

 churches, was declared adopted and ordered incor- 

 porated in the Book of Church Government. 



The report of the Board of Publication noted 

 an increased interest in Sabbath-schools. Their 

 contributions had increased $48,000 since 1890. 

 In its resolutions on reform the Assembly ad- 

 vised that only such papers be admitted into 

 home and school as w r ould uplift and ennoble and 

 tend to arouse to higher ideals; commended the 

 curfew ordinances wherever enacted, and urged 

 their enforcement; and asked the presbyteries to 

 hold conferences and conventions on Sabbath 

 observance. A committee was appointed in an- 

 ticipation of the fiftieth year of the existence 

 of the Church, six years hence, to prepare and 

 report a plan for a suitable celebration of the 

 event. 



The Associate Reformed Synod of the South, at 

 its ninety-ninth meeting in Pisgah Church, Gas- 

 ton County, North Carolina, Nov. 6 to 10, ap- 

 pointed a committee on union to confer with a 

 similar committee of the United Presbyterian 

 Church for agreement on a basis of union of the 

 two bodies, to be submitted to the next meeting 

 of the synod and be handed down to the presby- 

 teries in overture. This synod has 104 ministers, 

 151 churches, and 11,903 members, and sustains 

 Erskine College, Due West, S. C., and a foreign 

 mission in Mexico. 



IV. Reformed Presbyterian Church in 

 North America. Synod. The following are the 

 statistics of this body as reported at the meet- 

 ing of the Synod in May, 1902: Number of con- 

 gregations, 112; of mission stations, 9; of min- 

 isters, 126, 1 of whom is a native Syrian; of 

 licentiates, 19, 5 of whom are Syrians; of the- 

 ological students, 10, 1 of whom is a Syrian; of 

 communicants, 9,722, showing a decrease of 77; 

 of attendants at Sabbath-schools, 10,644; attend- 

 ance upon Young People's Societies, 2,162; total 

 amount of contributions, $199,079. 



The resources of the Board of Church Erection 

 for the year had been $2,896, and its disburse- 

 ments $1,900, leaving a balance of $986. An ap- 

 propriation of $4,000 was asked for for the com- 

 ing year. The applications on hand called for 

 $1,300, and steps were being taken toward ma- 

 king others. 



The Board of Sustentation reported $3,585 in 

 its treasury, with 12 congregations asking for 

 aid to the amount of $3,785. 



The Central Board of Missions reported the 

 receipt of $7,744 and the expenditure of $8,049 

 on the account of the domestic mission and the 

 receipt of $4,668 and expenditure of $4.574 for the 

 Southern mission, with an enrolment of 543 in 

 the school of the latter. The Indian mission in 

 Oklahoma had received $4,044, and returned 55 

 pupils in the schools. The accounts of the Chi- 

 nese mission gave receipts $1,229, and expendi- 

 tures $725; and of the Jewish mission, $1,119 of 

 receipts and $1,080 of expenditures. The discon- 

 tinuance of the Chinese mission was recom- 

 mended. 



A satisfactory report was made by the Board 

 of Foreign Missions. Among the favorable fea- 

 tures noted were the passing away of the hostile 

 Russian influence, the increased attendance at the 

 schools, the growth in the membership of the 

 Church, and manifest blessing upon the labors 



