Morning journal and courier., 1890-06-18
r.rIn }, AnnuAI !, mxKrrra.

The one NunArsd and EiGhsy.Flfss
 msesing Of she General Assoclaslon
 Of nnectlcut-Pr0mlnent O0nEre-
 gaslsnallsss speak-The Program of
 Inc General Conference for Te.Day
 and To.MorroW.
 The first days exercises were held yester- day in the United church of the one hundred and eighty-irst annual meeting of the Gen eral Association of Connecticut. It was at tended by about twenty-five Congregational |. clergymen from various parts of the state. Rev. s. L. Blake of New London, the retir- ing moderator, was succeeded by Rev. Dr. Emerson of Waterbury for the ensuing year. Rev. F. R. Wait of Hockanum was chosen scribe, and Rev. Joel s. Ives of Stratford assistant scribe.
 Rev. Dr.. Munger, pastor of the church, twas introduced and extended warm welcome to the delegates and the visiting clergymen. He closed by introducing President Dwight of Yale, who was received with applause.
 His remarks were witty at times and to the point.
 The feature of the afternoon session was a paper read by Rev. S. ". Pike, LL.D., of Auburndale, Mass, on the "Present Phases of the Divorce Problem"
 He laid bare all the existing evils and growing tendencies that threaten ruin to the existence of tho family. Divorces, he said, are increasing twice as fast as the rapidly growing population. It Is contagious so- The treatment of 1t belongs to religion in part at least. Often times the clergyman and judge are at the opposite poles on the question. We need to awaken the slumber- ing conscience of the family to the neces- sity of q better home life, better religious instruction and better ways of making its powers felt than we have yet known or used.
 MT. Diks's views were discussed at length by the delegates and other clergymen, and Rev. William Burnett Wright, D. D., read a paper on "The Influence of Handel Upon the English Faith" This paper was also discussed, and the meeting took recess un- til the evening sessien. The delegates are entertained around at the different houses or at the hotels. The Sec. ond Congregational church, Fair Haven, provided for ten at the different hotels. EVENING SESSION. The association met for It's evening session l at 7:80. Owing to illness Rev. Dr. Maxwell was not able to be present and his place was taken by Rev. Mr. Holden of Olivet church, Bridgeport, as the speaker of the evening. He took as his subject, "Our Hope in Chris tianity as Sustained by tho Cumulative Tes. timony of History"
 It is my purpose. he said, to say something | to night that may strengthen our confidence ! in Christianity and the enduring reign of ou, l Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The speak CT briefly traced the course of history from the time of the Christian era to the present and its attitude toward the church of Christ Beginning with Herod, the cruel and sus picious king, was started a course of prosecutions taken up by the great Roman empire te suppress Christianity. But through all thil
 the living church grew and stuck its rooti down deeper into the hearts of men. By thu
 time of Diocletian's bloody edict it was ap
 parent that the world would never again set I weapons of force used to suppress her. Fron ! the fifth to the fifteenth century 1t Is
 strange history. From the outside world th'
 church suffers little or no moleatation. Bu
 withinR the church herself there are bitte
 disssntions ending in the most awful perse
 cutions and corruption. If'the church wer' | to die 1t surely must have done so in thoz'
 dark ages of her history. Amoat the mos
 were the intellectual missiles and sharl
 sting cast by the Eighteenth centur!
 atheists, Voltaire and others. And it evsl
 has its enemies of this character to-day. Bu
 never before in all the time of history hal
 Christianity had 70 firm hold on mankind
 So mighty has the power of Christ grow,
 that only the infinite mind of God can com prehend the force of the leaven that Is work | ing. See how 1t has raised the condition o
 women. War has nearly disappeared as
 method of settling disputes. Observe it's in fuencs in the forming of constitutions ant governments and the improvements in socia
 conditions, but above all 1t has created rec , ognition of the universal brotherhood o mankind.
 At the close of the address resolution wa passed expressing sorrow for the recent deat
 of Rev. Dr. William Walter Wood worth o ! Berlin.
 The following will be the program for thl morning, beginning at g o'clock.
 9:00A.M
 . ! Prayer.
 ' Business.
 Minutes read. Anno0oannnnfa