580 



PRESBYTERIANS. 



of the missionaries. The missions were in China, 

 Asia Minor, Syria, and Cyprus. 



The Synod met at Syracuse, N. Y., May 29. 

 The Rev. W. W. Carrithers was chosen moder- 

 ator. The reading of a letter from the Western 

 section of the Presbyterian Alliance led to a dis- 

 cussion of the relations of the Synod and the alli- 

 ance. The purpose of the alliance was held to 

 be good, if it could be made sure that the prin- 

 ciples of purity in worship would not be sub- 

 merged. It was observed that tne Western sec- 

 tion had recently adopted papers advocating 

 things to which the Church was opposed, and the 

 question was raised whether comity required si- 

 lence on those things or whether the Synod 

 should protest. In the letter adopted to be sent 

 to the alliance the Synod expressed itself as con- 

 strained to refer to certain passages in the re- 

 ports' of the Committee on Religious Liberty in 

 the New Possessions and of the Committee on 

 Moral Conditions in the New Territories. It dis- 

 claimed any responsibility for such expressions 

 in those passages as might be quoted as favoring 

 the divorce of religion and the commonwealth, 

 and of religion and the schools, though they 

 were acknowledged to be " mainly directed 

 against the papal idea of the domination of the 

 state by the Church. There is a failure herein 

 to assert the true doctrine of the Reformed faith 

 on these questions. As to a third report, that of 

 the Committee on Cooperation in Foreign Mis- 

 sions, while this Synod favors the union in one 

 native church of the missions in the foreign field 

 that are one in doctrine, polity, and worship, yet 

 we do not favor this step on the part of those 

 missions which may differ in doctrine or wor- 

 ship, though they agree in polity. This subject 

 of Church union, we believe, is in the province of 

 the churches themselves, rather than of the alli- 

 ance." In a paper on Peace and Arbitration, 

 the Synod declared its belief in the wisdom and 

 righteousness of the principle of peace between 

 nations as among men, earnestly favoring the 

 policy " that will draw nations nearer to each 

 other and that will lead all peoples to cultivate 

 a common friendship and a peaceful brother- 

 hood. We urge arbitration as the proper meth- 

 od of settling difficulties between nations, and 

 hold that the weakness of one party in a dis- 

 pute should not work a forfeiture of its right to 

 a fair hearing and an impartial judgment." The 

 Synod pledged its support to all true temperance 

 work; advised that the children be taught true 

 temperance in the home and the Sabbath-school; 

 approved of temperance institutions in Sabbath- 

 schools; reaffirmed its former declarations 

 against the use or sale of tobacco; and reiterated 

 its protest against the Government protecting the 

 evil of intemperance by law and receiving revenue 

 therefrom. The work of the American Sabbath 

 Union was commended, and the resolutions of 

 the Synod required members of the Church to 

 abstain from selling or delivering or receiving 

 milk on the Sabbath Day, or from holding stock 

 in Sabbath-breaking creameries and other Sab- 

 bath-breaking corporations; from working in any 

 mill or factory and from any other unnecessary 

 labor on that day ; urged sessions to proceed with 

 the enforcement of proper discipline upon those 

 guilty of violating these rules; and enjoined 

 presbyteries to see that sessions are faithful in 

 the discharge of this duty. A letter was read 

 from the Reformed Presbyterian Church, General 

 Synod, in reference to closer cooperation. 



V. Reformed Presbyterian Church, General 

 Synod. This body has 33 ministers. 37 churches, 

 and 500 members. The meeting of the synod was 



held in Philadelphia, Pa., in May. A resolution 

 declaring that the General Synod " leaves to the 

 wise discretion of the direction of the worship of 

 their particular congregations " was discussed at 

 some length, and defeated by a vote of 18 to 12. 



VI. Cumberland Presbyterian Church. 

 Statistical reports are published in connection 

 with the minutes of General Assembly of this 

 church for 1902, of which the following is a sum- 

 mary: Number of synods, 16; of presbyteries, 118; 

 of churches, 2,944; of ordained ministers in the 

 presbyteries, 1,695; of licentiates, 187; of candi- 

 dates, 219; of members, 184,493, of whom 145,473 

 are enrolled as resident members; of ruling eld- 

 ers, 10,481; of deacons, 4,140; of members en- 

 rolled in Sunday-schools, 111,722; of members of 

 Christian Endeavor Societies (senior and junior), 

 22,001 ; of ministers ordained during the year, 

 67 ; of additions to the church by examination, 

 11,588; of baptisms, 7,837 of adults and 1,652 of 

 infants. Total amount of contributions, $923,660 

 including among others, $62,524 for synodical 

 and home missions, $3,361 for church erection, 

 $20,620 for foreign missions, $20,171 for the 

 Woman's Board of Missions, $10,068 for educa- 

 tion, $7,495 for ministerial relief, $411,111 paid to 

 pastors or for supplies, and $278,211 for building 

 and repairing churches ; value of church property, 

 $5,025,873. 



The contributions to the Educational Society 

 of this Church were reported to the General As- 

 sembly to have been $8,586, and its total avail- 

 able funds had been $10,025. The sum of $5,317 

 had been given, and $2,113 loaned, to students. 

 The whole number of probationers for the min- 

 istry was 468, not more than half of whom had 

 been to school, having been kept away by lack 

 of funds. Progress was reported in the move- 

 ment for the endowment of institutions, and 

 much had been accomplished toward raising the 

 educational standards for ordination. 



The Board of Ministerial Relief had received 

 $12,545. Fourteen persons had been added to the 

 list of beneficiaries, which now included about 

 100 names. The endowment fund of Thornton 

 Home was growing every year, and was now 

 $24,024. 



The Board of Managers of the Orphanage and 

 Industrial School, appointed by the previous 

 General Assembly, recommended that the enter 

 prise be abandoned. The recommendation was 

 approved by the General Assembly. 



The Board of Publication reported an increase 

 in the volume of business to $107,497 ; an increase 

 in the volume of net profit to $11,083; a reduc- 

 tion of $13,843 in the debt of the house; a sur- 

 plus of assets over liabilities of $126,666; and 

 other elements of improved condition. 



The Board of Missions reported that the for- 

 eign mission receipts for the past year had been 

 $20,620, a gain of $6,105 over the preceding yrar: 

 and that the home mission receipts had boen 

 increased $1,469, and amounted to $10,026, besides 

 special gifts of $6,505. Material reduction had 

 been made in the indebtedness of the board. 

 which was now $21.600. Two thousand dollars 

 had been received through the will of the Rev. 

 Jacob Gillespie, to be appropriated as a perma- 

 nent endowment, the interest to be used for for- 

 eign missions. The total receipts of the board 

 for current accounts had been $46.984; but add- 

 ing other funds which had passed through the 

 office and the contributions to the Woman's 

 Board and to church extension, the whole sum 

 contributed to missions during the year was 

 found to have been $123.506. The expenditure 

 included $15,846 for home missions, $4,758 for 



