The Evansville journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ind.) 1866-1870, 1867-12-21

By lar ever voluntarily gwen ~ re-
ligiaus purposes ~ one year, by sin
gle denomination. A late number of
| the. Methodist devotes a whole page to
.t4balaF atenlet3sa al sthese donations.
and figures up So. 93I. 255 96. This,
j however, is but partial exhibit: it
comprises but partial reports from
forty Ave conferences, whereas there
re sixty-sIx. conferences. No less
! than twenty one, or nearly a third, of
| these large sections of the Church are
yet TO be heard from; and these sixty
SIX bodies pertain to the single
: Methodist Episcopal Church, ,
which includes but about half of the
| Methodists of the country.
X This remarkable example of liber-
atty is, indeed, a national Indication,
and may well be considered matter
ofnational pride. Added to similar
Examples, connected with the late
war, it reveals a public spirit aud
| generosity altogether novel in the his
! tory Of the world, and flatteringly
| characteristic Of the country. ,.a.ss
It shows. not only the spirit OF the
American people. but the really
/ boundless resources Of the nation.
! Coming out of terrible and Wastefuf
war. and burdened with hardly
equaled taxation, the common people,
+! the bone and sinew of the Republic,
| are nevertheless equal to these great
things4these magnificent and volun-
tary achievements. And they are not
/ needless or fanatical In them; they
know what they are about, for they
are practical and calculating people.
It may be doubted whether any
/ Methodist citizen is sensibly poorer
for what he has given on this memo
rable centenary occasion. The
| fact is that our resources are illimita-
/ BILE, and the American people may
propose and accomplish things that
would seem utterly hyperbolical to
any other country. As Secretary
Harlan (himself Methsdist) told his
/ Church, at one of its centenary meet
ings Ia this city, the wealth of the
nation doubles every ten years. Was
there ever an equal fact known among
any other people? What can not
such people do, so far as money is
concerned? When we think of all
our present national wealth-our
ships, manufactures, farms, railroads,
etc.. and remind ourselves that In ten
years the aggregate valuation is TO be
duplicated, In twenty years quadru-
pied, the calculation becomes almost
stunning, and we are half inclined 20
doubt our calculations, though they
are based upon well-ascertained data
and ratios. What Is even the nation
al debt to a people In such condi-
ton? We get along tolerably. we'll
even now with its immense taxation,
but in q decade our taxable resources
will be doubled; in other words, the
debt will be Lalf reduced relatively
to its credit basis. Our people may
then we'll feel rich and liberal; and
this unparalleled elf-taxation of
American Methodists, for their
church purposes, need not be regret
ted by their fellow citizens as a
wasted or misdirected liberality, an
extravagaht use of a large amount of
the wealth of the country. This re
mark will be more readily accepted
when the chief object of these pro-
digious contributions is considered.
That object is education fact of
exceeding significance, for it shows
that the denomination is prudently
looking to the future, and to the for
ti6cation of its remarkable forces by
permanent means of security. 1t is a
fact also which gives sort of nation
al, or at least patriotic, character to
the contribution; for education, by
whatever provisions, ecclesiastical or
civil, is a public, a national good.
Judging from the tables in The Meth
odist, it would seem that great pro-
portion of these millions of money is
consecrated to educational institu-
| tions. actual or prospective. We have
: lately given illustrations of two of
the centenary" edifice3 of Method
, ism, the schools at Evanston, Illinois !:
AID Madison, New Jersey, and they
are both proofs that the Church is up
to the times In architectural taste
Aside, then. from any sectarian con
sderations, its centenary muDi6cence
deserves general and grateful ac-
acknowledgement a. an example Of pub
lie benefcence.
With such energy. and especially
with such direction of It's energy
Methodism seems destined to future
as important as its past Its official
organ The Christian AdvOcGte, of
this city reports that It's progress in
the centenary and the present year
has been surprisingly great. In these
two years it has increased in church
membership more than $500
equivalent to nearly one-fourth Of the
whole Church as reported in 1865, the
year before the centenary. Mean
while, and notwithstanding the fnan
cial efforts of the centenary, all its
stated pecuniary contributions Tex
eept for MissIons) have gone on with
greatly augmented momentum 1t
has erected the present We no less