CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH 



1536 



CONGRESSIONAL RECORD 



basin is 1,200,000 square miles. At its mouth 

 is the port of Banana, which until the build- 

 ing of railroads was the forwarding point for 

 the whole of the vast Congo region, but it has 

 been superseded by both Matadi and Leopold- 

 ville. The Congo differes from all other large 

 African rivers in that it has no delta and its 

 mouth is not obstructed by deposits or sand 

 banks. F -ST. A. 



CONGREGATIONAL, kong gre ga' shun al, 

 CHURCH, a religious denomination of Protes- 

 tants whose name is derived from the belief 

 of its adherents that every congregation of 

 Christians should be an independent body. 

 The English Congregationalists are known as 

 Independents. Every Congregational body 

 exercises the right of electing or deposing its 

 officers, of disciplining its members and of de- 

 termining its own forms of worship. There is 

 no appeal to a higher church body or to any 

 high church official or conference, but the 

 advice and cooperation of neighboring churches 

 are often sought. 



The modern Congregationalist movement 

 originated at the time of the English Reforma- 

 tion, its earliest advocates having been identi- 

 fied with the radical wing of the Puritans 

 (which see). The most important of its lead- 

 ers was Robert Browne, who urged separation 

 from the Church of England so zealously that 

 at first the Congregationalists in England were 

 called Separatists. Congregationalism was 

 planted in America by the Pilgrim Fathers 

 who settled Plymouth in 1620, and most of 

 the early Puritan churches were founded on 

 the Congregational model. 



This denomination in America has always 

 been relatively strongest in the New England 

 and other Eastern states, and it has been 

 notably identified with higher education. Yale, 

 Dartmouth and Amherst colleges and Andover 

 Theological Seminary are among the impor- 

 tant institutions which owe their establish- 

 ment to Congregational enterprise. 



The world membership of the denomination 

 is nearly 1,500,000. In Great Britain there are 

 about 5,000 churches and preaching stations, 

 with a membership of about 492,000. The 

 Dominion of Canada and Newfoundland have 

 about 230 churches and preaching stations and 

 nearly 13,000 members. In the United States 

 the Congregationalists number nearly 745,000, 

 and maintain over 6,000 churches. 



CONGRESS, kong'gress. In" the United 

 States this -term has been narrowed down to 

 mean one thing the law-making body of the 



nation; but it has, as well, a much more gen- 

 eral meaning. It is derived from Latin words 

 signifying a meeting together, and in interna- 

 tional affairs is applied to those assemblies 

 composed of representatives of different na- 

 tions, called to settle questions affecting the 

 welfare of all of them. It is difficult to over- 

 estimate the importance of some of the great 

 European congresses in deciding vexed ques- 

 tions, such as settling boundaries and estab- 

 lishing the balance of power. Some of them 

 have been attended by the sovereigns them- 

 selves, and when delegates have been sent they 

 have been invariably the greatest statesmen 

 of the various countries. In its widest sense 

 the word congress is applied to those assem- 

 blies which draw up treaties of peace to be 

 submitted to their governments, but these are 

 more commonly known as peace conferences. 



The congresses which have been most influ- 

 ential in European affairs have been the fol- 

 lowing : 



Congress of Vienna, which met in 1814-1815 

 and adjusted the affairs of Europe after the 

 Napoleonic era (see VIENNA, CONGRESS OF). 



Congress of Paris, which met in 1856 and set- 

 tled the tangled questions growing out of the 

 Crimean War. This congress marked a step 

 in the unification of Italy, for Cavour's ad- 

 mission as a delegate and the favor shown him 

 constituted a recognition on the part of the 

 great powers of the work he was trying to do. 

 See PARIS, TREATIES OF. 



Congress of Berlin, which met in 1878 and 

 concerned itself with the readjustment of the 

 terms of the Treaty of San Stefano. See BER- 

 LIN, CONGRESS OF. 



Congress of Mothers. See NATIONAL CON- 

 GRESS OF MOTHERS. 



CONGRESSIONAL RECORD. A printed 

 journal of the daily proceedings of the Con- 

 gress of the United States has been issued 

 since 1799. Prior to that date only "star- 

 chamber," or secret, sessions were held by the 

 Senate, but after that date all regular sessions 

 were open to the public and publication was 

 required except in the case of "executive ses- 

 sions." From 1789 to 1824 this publication 

 was known as the Annals of Congress; from 

 1825 to 1837 as the Register of Debates; from 

 1837 to 1874 as the Congressional Globe, but 

 since the latter date as the Congressional 

 Record. Permission to print undelivered 

 speeches is granted, and they appear in the 

 Record as if they had actually been given. 

 Stenographic reports of debates ar^ also re- 



