54 



BAPTISTS. 



the traffic in intoxicating liquors, and demand- 

 ing that "the evil shall be prohibited, not 

 protected, by the laws of the land." 



Baptist Chnrebes of Canada. The Baptists of 

 the Dominion of Canada fall naturally into 

 two grand divisions, viz., the Baptists of On- 

 tario, Quebec, and Manitoba, and the Baptists 

 of the Maritime Provinces. Owing to the 

 great distance between the eastern and the 

 western portions of Canada, intimate denomi- 

 national relations between the two sections 

 have never been established, and they have 

 united in no branch of denominational work. 



In Ontario, Quebec, and Manitoba, the Bap- 

 tist denomination holds numerically the fifth 

 place among the religious bodies, being out- 

 ranked by Roman Catholics, Anglicans, Pres- 

 byterians, and Methodists. The statistics of 

 the denomination for 1883 are: Number of 

 ministers, 260 ; of church-members, about 27,- 

 000; of adherents, about 125,000. Of these 

 about three fourths are in the Province of 

 Ontario, one sixth in the Province of Quebec, 

 and the remainder (500 or less) in the North- 

 west. About 26,000 of these are known as 

 "Regular Baptists," and are included in 15 

 associations, which make restricted communion 

 a term of fellowship. Outside of these .asso- 

 ciations are 25 or 30 churches with a member- 

 ship of about 1,100, which differ in certain 

 minor points from the associated churches. 



Each province has a Home Mission Conven- 

 tion of its own. The Ontario Convention 

 (founded in 1852) expends about $6,000 annu- 

 ally in assisting feeble churches, and in open- 

 ing up new fields within the province. Dur- 

 ing the conventional year 1881-'82, 28 mis- 

 sionaries were employed, who occupied 63 

 stations and received 250 persons into the 

 fellowship of the mission churches. The Can- 

 ada Baptist Missionary Convention, East (or- 

 ganized in 1859), expends nearly $2,000 annu- 

 ally in home evangelization. During the year 

 1881-'82, 18 missionaries were employed, who 

 occupied 47 different stations and baptized 

 52 converts. The Regular Baptist Missionary 

 Convention of Manitoba and the Northwest 

 (organized in 1881) has for its aim the early 

 occupancy of the Canadian Northwest, and has 

 secured the co-operation of the American Bap- 

 tist Home Mission Society, the American Bap- 

 tist Publication Society, the Baptist Missionary 

 Convention qf the Maritime Provinces, and of 

 individuals and churches in Ontario and Que- 

 bec. 



For foreign mission work there is one gen- 

 eral society, the Regular Baptist Foreign Mis- 

 sion Society of Ontario and Quebec (founded 

 in 1866), and two women's auxiliary societies, 

 one for Ontario and one for Quebec. These 

 support a vigorous mission among the Telugus 

 of India at an annual expense of about $12,000, 

 of which amount the women's societies con- 

 tribute nearly one third. The missionaries re- 

 port 292 baptisms during the year 1881 -'82. 

 A seminary has been founded at Samulcotta 



for the training of native preachers and teach- 

 ers. The Grand Ligne Mission among the 

 Roman Catholic French of the Province of 

 Quebec receives contributions from Ontario, 

 Quebec, the United States, etc. It has occu- 

 pied a considerable number of stations, and 

 sustains a school. 



Woodstock College, founded in 1857, is pro- 

 vided with a fund of $100,000 for grounds and 

 buildings, and an endowment subscription of 

 $85,000, of which more than $30,000 have been 

 paid in. It furnishes four independent courses 

 of study, and admits on equal terms students of 

 both sexes. Toronto Baptist College was found- 

 ed in 1879 by the aid of a gift and a pledge of 

 support from Senator William McMaster, as a 

 theological seminary, and has absorbed the for- 

 mer theological department of Woodstock Col 

 lege. It has a building valued at $80,000, and 

 four organized chairs of instruction. It was 

 opened in 1881, and had eighty-one students 

 during the first year. 



The work of publication is conducted by the 

 Standard Publishing Company, which has a 

 capital stock of $100,000. The dividends from 

 $45,000 of this stock, which was furnished by 

 Senator McMaster, have been devised by him, 

 provided they be not more than 6 per cent., to 

 the Home and Foreign Missionary Societies 

 and the Superannuated Ministers' Fund. 



The Baptist Union of Canada (organized in 

 1862) is composed of officers of the denomi- 

 national societies and colleges and of pastors 

 and delegates of churches, and meets annually 

 for the promotion of fraternal relations and 

 the discussion of topics affecting the welfare 

 and progress of the denomination. 



In the maritime provinces the Baptists con- 

 stitute a much larger proportion of the popu- 

 lation, and are actually more numerous than in 

 the western provinces. In New Brunswick 

 they are outnumbered only by the Roman 

 Catholics; in Nova Scotia, only by the Roman 

 Catholics and Presbyterians; and in Prince 

 Edward Island they rank fourth. The numeri- 

 cal strength of the denomination is, according 

 to the statistics for 1883 : Number of ministers, 

 188 ; churches, 348 ; church-members. 37,423 ; 

 and of adherents, about 175,000. The work 

 of the denomination in home missions, foreign 

 missions, education, ministerial relief, etc., is 

 transacted through the Baptist Convention of 

 the Maritime Provinces. The Home Mission 

 Board, in 1881-'82, assisted, at an expense of 

 nearly $5,000, in the support of 58 missionaries, 

 occupying 50 fields of labor and serving 97 

 churches, in which 282 persons were baptized. 

 Two churches were organized during the year. 

 The Foreign Missionary Board expends $10,- 

 000 a year, and supports three missionary fami- 

 lies and a Zenana worker among the Telugus 

 of India. The Ladies' Aid Societies furnished 

 more than one third of the missionary contri- 

 butions for 1881-'82. The literary institutions 

 of the convention are the University of Acadia 

 College, and Hortoii Academy, where students 



