The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-10-08
AMERICAN BOARD OF MISSIONS.
Seventy-Fifth Annual Meeting-Large At
tendance and Interesting Proceedings.

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COLUMBUS, O., Oct. THE seventy-fft fiji an
nual meeting of the American Board of Com
missioners for Foreign Missions convened in the
Second Presbyterian Church to-day, at 3 o'clock
P. NJ. The venerable president, Mark Hopkins,
D. D., LII. D., occupied the chair. The session was
opened by singing the hymn, "Au Hail the Power
of Jesus Name, and prayer by Rev. Burdett
Hart, of Connecticut. Rev. Eldridge Mix, of
Mississippi, was chosen assistant recording
secretary. Rev. II. A. Stimson, recording sec
rotary, read the material portions of the minutes
of the last annual meeting.
The report of the presidential committee on
home department was read by Secretary A. X.
Alden, D. D. During the year ten corporate
members, including Secretary John o. Means,
D. D.. of Massachusetts,; Hon. c.. J. Hammond,
of Illinois; S. Wells Williams, LII. D. of Con
necticut, and Hon. Reuben Hitchcock, of Ohio,
have been called to rest. Eleven missionaries
and III assistant missionaries have entered upon
work in foreign fields. OF these, five go to
Africa, four to Turkey, five to India, nine to
China, four to Japan, one to Micronesia, one to
Austria, and three to Mexico. T~wenty-seven
laborers. after a period of rest in this country,
return to their posts. Prof. Judson Smith of Ober-
lin Theological Seminary, has been called to take
the place of secretary John o. Means, at the
missionary rooms in Boston. DR.. H.. c. Hay
den, after four years as district secretary at
New York city, returns to the pastorate at Cleve-
land, o.
In consequence of marked disturbance in the
business world, there has been a slight falling
off in the contributions of the New York dis
trict. The district of the interior States, under
the care of Secretary S. J. Humphrey, ID. D.. shows
a gain of about 8 per cent. in donations and o.
90 per cent. in donations and legacies combined.
The Morning Star, a missionary vessel of 42l
tons hurthen, with a steam attachment, for serv-
ice in Micronesia, has been completed
at a cost of $40, 900, of which sum
about $36, 600 has been already received
from Sunday-schools. The receipts of the
American board for the year have been:
From churches and individuals, $237, 925; from
the four woman's boards. $149, 030; from Sunday
schools, So, sos; from ~legacies, $1l5, 567; total,
$5l7,412, being about Sc, 900 less than from the
same sources last year. Adding the receipts
from the Otis requests, and those for the new
Morning Star, gives a total of $685., 353, of which
$42S, SOL IS from donations, a larger sum from
this source than has been received during any
one year in the history of the board. The
executors of the estate of the late Samuel W..
Sewell, of Jamaica Plain, Mass, have notified
the board that it will receive, as residuarv legatee,
a sum considerably in excess Of the $3.50, 000 at
first reported. A like sum is given to home mis-
sions.
After reading this report, PRAYER was offered
by President G. +. Magoun, of Iowa College.
Secretary N. G. Clark, d. D., followed with a
general survey of foreign work during the year.
The revival among the Zulus shows a perma-
nent result in a higher tone of Christian life,
and a remarkable movement in behalf of tenn
perance. Portuguese traders have succeeded,
temporarily, in driving the missionaries Of the
West-eentral African mission from Behl and
Bailunda down to the coast, but the mission
will poDtiuua tO ha vioopOnglu Drosap11+a6 Tho
labors Of missionaries in Micronesia are at
tended by a remarkable transformation in char
acter among the natives. More than 500 addi-
tions have been made to churches in Turkey,
was never more hopeful. Eighty thou
sand copies of the Scriptures or
portions Of the Scriptures we're issued
from the press at Constantinople,
amounting, with other Christian literature,
to over eleven million pages. In India forty
three out of seventy native churches are self
supporting. No detriment, as yet, has come to
missionary work in China through the invasion
of the French. The government officials are
much more friendly in attitude than formerly,
and a rapid advance In the gospel leads the mis-
sion to call for a reinforcement at once of twelve
or fifteen missionaries Great spiritual awaken
ings have come upon the churches in Japan,
which have added to their number in converts,
the past year, more than 60 per cent. The year
has been one of large promisein missions in Mex
leo, Austria and Spain.
A brief summary shaws that the board has
twenty one missions in all parts of the globe.
Its missionaries preach the gospel in twenty Ave
different languages, and in more than 500 towns
and cities. 1t has nearly 1000 young men and
women in colleges and high schools, and more
than 10000 children in Christian common
schools. Seventy-four new churches have been
organized, and about 400 converts have been
received into Christian fellowship, a larger NUM-
Der than in any preceding year. The t~reasurer's
report was audited by Langdon S. Ward The
White, of Iowa, closed the services of the after
noon. An address of welcome by W. Z. Moore,
D.. D., and the annual sermon by President A.
L. Chaplin, d. d., of Beloit, Wis, occupied the
evening. The attendance from abroad will reach
from 200 to L5O0-250 coming by special train
from Cleveland and Oberlin alone.