The new North-west. [volume] (Deer Lodge, Mont.) 1869-1897, 1893-07-22
B, F, JACOBS,

mediately after it the second worlds
Sunday school convention will meet and
sit till Sept. 6. and about the same time
an informal convention will be held of
the international field workers in the
Sunday school line. Of these three the
first is the historic and important one,
and among its promoters are many of
the most noted religious educators in the
world.
The numbers given above are but
round estimate from the known growth
of the Sunday schools, but III exact fig
ures the last report showed 2,051 ,67G
teachers and 1S.02G,91G scholars, a grand
total Of 20.01S.5o5, of whom but few
less than one half, or $500, All, are in the
United States. Add the 530,220 in Can
ada, and it will be seen that considerably
more than half Of all the Sunday school
attendants Of the world are in English
speaking North America In Great Brit
ain and Ireland are 7,399,6S5 more, and
every other country is SO far behind that
it is not in it for comparison.
In truth. the Sunday school was from
the start and still is an nglish-American
institution, and whether it be decided
that the great liberality of thought and
progressive energy Of this great race, this
two nationed race, so to speak, be the
cause or the result Of Sunday schools, or
that each promotes the other, the fact is
equally suggestive and instructive Ger
many comes next with 43l .22l, then
Sweden with 23S. .OS2. Holland with 157,-
676 and Switzerland with S9.459. after
which the numbers fall off with surpris-
| ing suddenness. In all Austria there are
but 4,S3l, in all Russia but GAGS and in
all Spain but e40O Yet it is a pleasant
surprise to read that Mexico and Central
| America contain 1863 coo Sunday school
attendants and South America 1913, 900.
| Wherever English is the language the
Sunday school is established us soon as
a colony has children enough to form a
! class, and next in this line are the speak
ers Of German, Dutch and the Scandi-
navian tongues Even farofT Australia,
so recently a great country that old peo-
/ pie still think of it as Botany Bay, the
| land Of exile for criminals, has 457 ,729
teachers and scholars, while little New
Zealand, but yesterday the home of the
wild Maori, has l09,S72. Hawaii-Nei
i
has II ,25;} and the English islands gener-
ally 10,s00.
1t should be noted that many sections
are omitted. Very few Catholic churches
sent in any returns, and a large part Of
the Episcopal schools are not included,
as they are given a different name. So
it is believed that the total Of teachers
and pupils in the world exceeds % ,0O0,-
600. Still more remarkable is the fact
that of the ,515 places Of meeting re-
ported the United States alone has lOS,-
939, or nearly three-fifths of all in the
world, as in this country generally the
churches are used and room is abundant,
while elsewhere the schools are often
held i'll immense halls. In St. Louis are
64,337 teachers and pupils by the last
report, and these will consider the del
egates as their guests and the guests Of
the city.
ST. Louis has devised and maintains in
great activity an original system of house
to house visitation i'll connection with
her Sunday school work. Her Sunday
School union and the Missouri State as
sociation are making thorough prepartr
tions to receive and entertain the visit