The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1897-05-19
PREsBYTERANs|N COUNCIL
General Assembly to Meet in In
diana This Week.
SIX HUNDRED DELEGATES
Former President Harrison and For
mer Postmaster General Wana-
maker Among Them-A Member
ship of Nearly A Million Souls
Represented.

Philadelphia, May 19.-The one hundred
and ninth general assenbly of the Presby-
tcran Church in the United States Of
America will meet at Winona Assembly
| Grounds. Eagle Lake, Kosciusko county,
Indiana, tomorrow, and will probably
continue in session until May 81. The as
sembly will be composed of about GOO dele
gates, one half of them ministers ana the
other half ruling elders. The dele gates Are
elected by ecclesiastical bodies called
presbyteries. and come from every por-
tion of the country
The Presbyterian Church represented ly
this general assembly is the only one which
has ministers and churches In every State
in the Union, and by the statistics of
1896 consisted of 1873 congregations,
6,942 ministers and 943,7l6 members.
The contributions for comgrega ton Il eX-
penseS for the year S96 were SO, 413,-
7S5, and the contributions for mission ary
and other benevolent purposes So, ,6I3, ,230.
The foreign mission work OF the PIesby-
teTian Church is conducted in fifteen diff
ferent countries Its missionary and ben
evOent work in the United states is car
ried on by agents called boards. These
boards are eight in number, three of them
located in New York city, viz: The EOards
of home missions, foreign missions and
church erection, three located in the city
OF Philadelphia, viz: Publication and Sab
bath school work, education and minis
terial relief; one, the hoaId OF missions
for freedmen, at Pittsbmg, Pa, and one,
tie board OF aid for colleges and hcad-
emies, at Chicago. The boards located III
New York occupy what is known as the
Presbyterian building. corner Twentieth
street and Fifth avenue, and those To-
Gated in + Philadelphia will soon remove from
the present quarters at 1884 Chestnut
street To the Witherspoon building, corner
of Walnut and Juniper streets.
The assembly willb opened at L O'Clock
a. IN. on May 20, with sermon by the re-
tiring moderator, Rev. John l. Withrow.
d. D., pastor OF the Third Presbyterian
Church, Chicago. Among the delegate es are
found eX-Presdent Harrison, MIR. John
Wanamaker and other able and influential
laymen Among the ministers appear the
Rev. Sheldon jackson, ID. D.. for so many
years the home missionary superintendent
for the regioa wes, of the Missouri River, and
tion in Alaska; Rev HenryC Minton, D. D..
professor in the Presbyterian Theological
Seminary, of San Francisco; the Rev. Rob
ert +. Sample, ID. D. pastor OF. the West
Twenty-thrd Street Presbyterian Church,
New York city; from Philadelphia. the
Rev Drs John Macintosh, S W Dana,
NJ. j Eckels and G Bolton and others.
The business Of the assembly VIII consist
Of two main lines OF work
1. The consideration Of the annual re-
ports of the eight boards above referred
to. This portion OF the business will take
up the sessions Of five days.
2 TIE consideration of tie reports or
special committees. the most Important
of which are. the following:
/ Committee on the powers of as
seInhIy and presbytery in the care and
lcenSure Of candidates
: Committee on voters at the election
OF pastors and other church Officers.
8 Committee on conference with the
board of home mi SSons
l. Committee on Presbyterian building.
New York city.
s. Committee on methods of manage-
ment of church temporalitieS.
The reports of these several committees
have not a : yet been made public, ana it is
not the usage to give them to the press
prior to the meeting Of the assembly.
With regard TO the moderatOrship OF his
new assembly il is stated that the can IL
Gates for the office thus far announced
are the Rev Sheldon Jackson, II. d, of
Alaska; Rev Henry c. Minton, d. D., san
Francisco: Rev Robert f Sample, u. D.,
New York, and Mr.. John Wanamaker, If
Philadelphia.
a number of gentlemen have thought Of
nominating eX-Prcsident Harrison, but he
has declined the honor Oh the ground that
ne could not give the necessary time to the
duties of the office. In connection with
the moderatorship it is of interest to know
that layman has never yet filled the pO-
stion, and that there are many persons
who doubt if the constitution Of the Pres
byterian Church will permit any other han
a minister TO occupy the highest office in
the church