Iuka reporter. (Iuka, Miss.) 1888-1894, 1891-05-14
THE SOUTHERN BAPTISTS
Meet In Annual Convention In
Birmingham.
The Convention Makes Good Be.
ginning. and Rushes Business.

The Southern Baptist Convention crowded
a great deal of work into its first session o.
three hours, and went to dinner with good
conscience and a good appetite, after voting
the whole of the afternoon to the American
Baptist Educational Society
Between 200 and 800 delegates have re.
ported and have been assigned to hotels, and
when the great body came to order in
O'Brien's Opera House at ten O'Clock Friday
morning, the first floor and stage were packed
with members, and hundred or SO remained
on the outside. DR.. Chambliss, Of Missouri
who helped to organize the first convention
forty-six years ago, conducted the devotional
exercises, and began by reading the Psalm
which has the words: Behold how good and
how pleasant il is for brethren to dwell to-
gether i'll unity" When he gave out the
hymn, Amazing grace, how sweet ths
sound, y the great audience Of 1000 people
rose and Joined in the song. 1t was grand
chorus which filed the auditorium and per
ceptibly affected the audience.
The long, tedious roll call, and the cross
fire corrections, were followed at length by
two addresses of welcome Mayor Lane
made capital short speech in which the
Birmingham idea was well kept to the 'front.'
He said the people here invited two great re-
ligious bodies to meet with them this year
because they liked that kind of company.
Money making and industrial develop
ment,n said Mr.. Lane, 'were not the only
thugs in which we can put our souls. We
have The will and the power to put behind us
the sordid things of this EARTH and drink
from those pure sources of social and relig-
III, 81
and its only soace. We point with pride to
the number of church buildings here as evil
dence of religious fervor. | Know that true
worship may be held in any kind of build
ing, but it is sad to see a man considering
anything good enough for him as christian
and nothing good enough for him as an inal-
vidual. When people provide magnificent
churches, we know that Is from the love OF
God. Schools have well been called adjuncts
of the church, and on this account we invite
you to inspect our schools and their magnih-
cent buildings.
mingham.' know that there is much here
that is bad, but think we can show more
that is goodn
Rev Dr. Pickard of the First Baptist
Church, began his address OF welcome by
saying that nineteen years ago this place was
solitude, where the partridge built his nest,
which is succeeded by the whistles OF indus
tries representing millions of dollars and in
the sequestered home of the deer, with the
palatial homes of 10000 people
Then he showed how eight Baptist churches
had grown up here in the nineteen years, all
but one self supporting, and four were the
largest in the State, as well as leading churches
of the Southern Baptist convention. Speak
ing of the religious growth OF the city, he
said
bad Birmingham is the best church-going
city have ever seem There is not church
capacity enough to satisfy her people, and her
Sabbath sun never kisses the spires but scores
OF people are turned away from the pews ana
churches of the city. There seems to be a
holy enthusiasm for religion as well as Tor
money making. There is nothing large
enough here, Our churches are not large
enough, our schools are not large enough, our
jails are not large enough, [laughterl, and the
opera house is not argeenough So to-day We
have four churches which cost $3.50, uO0 and
yet we have not room"
The election Of officers resulted in the unan-
imous choice of Judge HARRISON, OF Selma,
who has been president of the conventional
since the death of DR.. Nell. He has Just en-
n"0h of the autocratic methods OF the bench
to dispatch BUSINESS and the convention
moves steadily under his parliamentary guid-l
ance. There were four vlce-presidents to-
elect, and DR.. Hawthorne nominated Gov
ernor Northen for the first. OF course, the
Governor was unanimously elected and in
vited to seat on the stage. The other three
vice-presidents are Professor Charles l..
Cooke, Of Hollins Female Instituta Of Vir-
GINA; Colonel james A. Hoft, Of South
Carolina, and DR.. I. I. Eaton, Louisville.
Dr. Lansing Burrows was, as us6al, made
secretary, and Rev. Q. f. Gregory was made
assistant.
Then came the reading Of DR.. Ia. "A. Tup-,
per's report for the foreign mission board
He showed that tine collections for the yaaE
were Sis, 522, which is "a, 34S more than l19S
year, and S20,355 above the average OF nyo
years. OF the whole amount Of VI, 75O 900 II
contributed in forty years, &Sl2, 000 W. Y
raised in the last decade. The deficit for tn
year is only S5,62S while the Methodists ato
S20,0U0 behind, aud the American Bapei1tf
Missionary Union has shortage OF t6l
The interest paid on loans is 81 ,O6S less th1T 4
last year, and Dr. Tupper urges more ~ Il
tematic giving, to do away entirely with ~ &
necessity for borrowing. The report paye 4
tributes to the memory of DR.. J. h. Devote,
of Georgia, and DR.. Henry ]. Ellison Of
Virginia. DR.. Topper made . running CONE
ment OH the various fields. showing nearly all
to be prosperous. Altogether there ara eighty
six missionaries IN the employ OF the board.
the meeting Of the American Baptist Educar
tional Society, which was called to order at y
o'clock. 1t developed the fact that there IL ii
three-year-old organization which has raised /
three millions OF money to invigoTate the /
Baptist educational insIitutions Of the coun-!
try, and mapped out programme which
contemplates nothing less than great
national system Of education under Baptist
auspices. W 4
When the reading of the report was ended
the great audience arose Is Il by q common
impulse and sang Praise God from whom all
blessings tiow'"