The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-04-04
BUSY DAY WITH The BAPTIsTs.
REV. HARRIS LEADS THE OPENING
DEVOTIONAL EXERCISES.

The Convention Put in Fine Spirits
by N SOul-Stirring sermon of the
Preceding Night-The Trustees of
Mercer University submit Craft
flying RepOrt-The Attendance 232.
The Convention Agrees to Raise
During April $1,000 Each for Home
and Foreign Missions.
Gainesville. Ca, April S.-The devotional
exercises of the convention. preliminary
to the regular session, was led by Rev.
r. E. L. Harris of Charlottesville. The
service was one of power. The great ser
mon the night before by DR.. Young, on
the converting power. the joys of Chris.
tianity, left the convention in fine spirits
for the opening session this morning 1t
was an old-fashioned Baptist preachers
meeting.
The report of the trustees of Mercer
University was most gratifying. Prof. P.
D. Pollock chairman of the faculty of
the university. made one of the most pow
erful educational speeches ever heard in
the convention. He clearly outlined the
work of Mercer. showing the number
of boys in attendance to be 2S2. Forty
one of them are young ministers, and all
but thirty-two of the whole number are
Christians. The scholarship of all the
classes is very high. The work done has
been very gratifying to the faculty. Mer-
Ger is not cheap school, but every eff
fort possible is being made to bring the
necessary expenses within the possibility
,1f
lege. Many boys at the university meet
all of their expenses with as little as SILT.
The students are making fine records in
their work.
Rev. H. r. Bernard, the financial agent,
gave a very hopeful statement as to his
work on the endowment He is trying to
raise 100000 additional endowment, and
feels hopeful of success. The university
has, in addition to its building, about $780,,
COO The Chevy legacy, now held up by
the courts, will make an addition of be-
tween $4,000 and $4,000. The interest on
this will go to the education of poor young
men. At a called meeting of the board of
trustees this morning DIR. B. M. Galloway
of Wilkes county was elected president of
the board to succeed the late DR.. w. L.
fitzpatrick, who had been president for
sixteen years. DR.. Galloway is one of the
strongest men of the denomination, and
has himself been a trustee for many
years.
News was brought to the convention of
the condition of Rev. L. W. Parrot, who
has just undergone a severe surgical op-
Grafton at the Grady hospital at Atlanta.
Special prayer was made for his recovery,
and generous Offering was made to aid
in defraying his expenses.
The convention by unanimous vote
agreed to raise during the present month
of April 5000 each for the home and for
eign boards. The convention is full of
missionary zeal. and more than 700 con
versions are reported from the foreign
fields. The foreign mission board has for
several years been running in debt, and
sa have the boards all over the country,
but there is now a determination that this
shall not any longer be true of the south
ern Baptists. DR. r. J. Willingham, sec
rotary Of the foreign mission board, in a
strong speech, urged this, and the con-
vention was not slow to show their ap-
prevail
The orphans home at Atlanta came in
for its full share of attention, and for a
liberal offering.
Tonight the convention will hear re-
ports on home and state missions and to-
morrow the various pulpits of the city
will be filed by prominent Baptist minis
ters. The convention will hold its next
business session on Monday morning.