The Osceola times., 1877-06-02
RELIGIOUS.

Missions has expended during the last
fiscal year S4S0,3l6; the receipts have
been S47?,7i9. The debt of the board is
now $43,554. The total receipts from
the women's boards have been 1926, 900
an increase for the year. This depart
ment of mission support is growing in
the Presbyterian, as in the other Pro-
testant churches. There has been
falling off in the contributions of the
people Of nearly $50,090, but this. has
been balanced by severe retrenchment in
every department.
THE American Tract society's opera
tions have been curtailed during the past
year. The receipts were in all SAL ,l96,
which, added TO balances in the treasury,
makes the total resources for 1876 $449,-
269; the expenditures were s44l,ll9.
The number Of new publications issued
was l32, thirty-one of them volumes.
The society publishes six periodicals, all
Of which are said to be self.supporting.
The number of colporteurs employed was
2O9. A resolution was adopted at the
annual meeting proposing a return to
the old-fashioned May anniversaries.
SOME singular illustrations occur of
the ferment of the theological opinions
which characterizes our times. The
Rev. DIR. Armitase, the most amiable of
Baptist ministers, having in his Easter
sermon spoken strongly of the participa
ton of the Jews in the cruc fixion of
Christ, the Rev. DIR. Gottheil has in reply
announced a series of sermons designed
to set forth "the Jewish side OF the
transaction" DR.. Gottheil is the pastor
of the Temple Emanuel, the largest
Jewish place Of worship in this CITY. AT
the same time, Wong Ching Foo,
Buddhist. is lecturing in New York on
Buddhism. and especially in vindication
of the intelligence, morals, and religion
of the Chinese"
THE American Home Missionary 80
ciety (CongregationaD, whose aim is to
support feeble churches. has had a salts
factory year. From April |, 1876, to
April |, 1877, it has employed 996 min
listers, who have supplied 2,l96 congre-
cations and missionary stations. Seventy
two churches have been organized during
the year, and twenty-seven have become
selt,supporting. Over 5000 persons
have became church members on
profession of faith. The receipts
for the year were S293,7l2,
the expenditures $3l0,604, leaving
balance of $7,S97 due to missionaries for
labor performed but not yet reported.
The receipts are less by $l6,3l5 than
those of the year preceding.
SINCE the closing of Mr.. Moody's tab
ernacle services in Boston, the churches
of that city have been open everv even
ing, with numerous attendance Of wor-
shippers. The large additions to the number
of members heretofore reported still con-
tinue. Mr.. Moody has gone to Northfield.
Gospel meetings, as they are termed, are
now held in Lynn. Here, too, hundreds
have been added to the churches. Among
the speakers who have recently appeared
at these gospel services is General John l..
Swift. At the recent meeting of the
Suffolk North Congregational conference
it was stated that in Cambridge the num-
Der of members of the orthodox COngre-
gational churches had in nine years
increased from 1,l57 to 1853. II was
claimed that theologically Cambridge
had changed in ten years, and that it is
now predominantly orthodox.
THE total result of what is called in
Germany the "Cultarkampf, or war
between the empire and the church is
thus stated: The archbishops Of Gnesen.
Posen and Cologne, the bishops of
Breslau, Paderborn, and Munster, and
the auxiliary bishop of Posen- six in all
have been deposed. The sees of Treves
and Fulda have become vacant by death.
The proceedings against the bishop of
Limburg have not been brought to
close. About 600 members of different
orders and congregations have been ex-
PEELED from the diocese of Cologne,
among them 100 priests. The parishes
without priests are, in the diocese of
Cologne, "a; in Paderborn, 80; in Mum
ster, 60; in Treves, l40; in Limbure, IL
in Breslau, ga; in Hildesheim, ii and
like proportions in the other dioceses. In
many of the parishes the vacancies have
been caused by the death of priests; the
will not fill the vacancies, from
an UNIV willingness to conform to the gov
ernment regulations.
As the American Bible society grows
in resources, its operations attain grand
In sixty-one years its issues
of Bibles and Testaments have amounted
to S2,774,3ss copies. During the past
year the copies issued were, at home,
62l ,.26; abroad, 259 $50, making total
of Ssl ,O56. There were manufactured at
the Bible house, 55s, AIS copies printed
abroad, 27S,247 The society has dimin- |
ished the number of its district superin- |
tendents, having now twenty-mine there !
are also 239 county agents employed by
auxiliary societies; there were during
1876, 8 Sl9 volunteer Bible distributors,
who gave their services gratlitously. |
The society and its auxiliaries have to-
yether, through their agents, visited
during the past year 470, ,5Ss families; of
these, 63, ,s55 have been found without
the Scriptures, and 80, 800 supplied. The
money receipts, as already stated in this
Intelligence, were $543,579; this is an
excess over the receipts of the preceding |
year Of $l6,38l.
AFTER a full debate in the Italian !
senate, the "Clerical Abuses Billp' was
rejected on May Z, the vote being 92 for
and 105 against. Thus ends contro-
versy perhaps the most acrimonious Of
the many which have arisen between
the pope and united Italy. The ap-
prehension Of the consequences certain
to follow the passage Of such law led
to the allecution OF March IL. in which
Plus TX. appealed to Catholic Europe
for protection. The bill was very radi.
cal measure. 1t proposed to punish by
fine, and imprisonment extending from
three months to two years, any minister
of religion who should. "abusing the