The daily morning journal and courier., 1898-10-05
AMERICAN BOARDS MEETING
SU1T1TARY OF THE 1NNUAL REPORT
 OF THE TREASURER.

Balance ofDebt August 31, 1898, S4O,- @91.36-The Important Report of the Secretary, Rev. Charles H. Daniels, D.
 D., of Boston-The Years Work.
 Grand Rapids, Mich, Oct. 1.-The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions of the Congregational church began it's annual convention in the Park church this afternoon General Byron M. Cutcheon de- lvered an address of welcome and President c. M Lamson of Hartford, Conn.,, responded. About 200 delegates are present, including mission aries from China. Turkey, South Afri- ca and the Pacific Islands. A sum- mary of the report of the treasurer was presented by F. H. Wiggin. It showed that the expenditures for the cost of missions were s625, ,O16.6O; cost of agen- cies, $2o,97326; cost of publications, $10,- 'oo'oVb Soob ol ,OlO.OA, balance of debt September 1, 1897, $45,- 13O.50; total expenditures, $727,500.34 The receipts were $6S7, ,20S .9S; balance of debt August 31, 1898, $40,291.36. The balance now at the credit of the be- quest of Mrs. c. L. A. Tank is S15,3
 The annual report of the home de- partment was presented by it's secre- tary, Rev. Charles H. Daniels, D. D., of Boston. In part it is as follows
 There has been one insistent problem confronting your committee all the year. From whatever point the busi- ness came it was always the same per- picking, resistless fact, namely how to carry on the work which the church. es have intrusted to our hands when the means are totally inadequate. Fol- lowing the last annual meeting the task for making the appropriations for the ensuing year was begun. The Otis and Swett 1egacies were exhausted, and a debt was on hand. It was stat ed at New Haven that $130,0OO extra would be necessary to carry on the work. How large should the appropria- tions be? A special b-committee, with the officers of the board, gave the matter long and careful deliberation. Should the appropriations be made on the same scale as the previous year? Should they be made less than that? Deliberately and prayerfully the case was reviewed by the whole committee, including the president and the vice president, and the action taken was thought to be right. The appropria- tions were made and sent to the mis- sions as the boards pledge. The sala- ries of missionaries were reduced by 10 per cent. in all the fields save two, and the native agencies were reduced by from 45 to 50 per cent.
 Three thousand three hundred and thirty three churches have shared in the support of the work during the fis- ! cal year, and 22S1 have not contribut- ed. Of the over 5000 Sunday schools connected with our denomination, but S29 have made such contributions. The host of 750,0o0 children enrolled should belong to the advancing army of con- quest. The endeavor societies, to the number of 1,244 have sent their offer ings, leaving 1,6S6 societies to be heard from. The women of the churches have done their part nobly. All their pledges have been well met and there has been an advance. The regular donations from churches, societies and individuals were $431, ,4S9.26, a gain from the pre- vious year of S14,S9S11. Of this sum $1S0, ,656.80 came through the contrbu- tions of the woman's boards, represent ing an increase of 2,716.32 above the receipts of the previous year from the same source. (From the Woman s Board of Missions, $11S,5O8.S5; from the woman's Board of the Interior, $57 ,572; from the Woman's Board of the Pacific, S4,464.45, and from Canada $111.50).
 These figures show, apart from the gifts from the woman's boards, loss in the receipts to the distinctive work of the board of $1,159.47. In the matter of legacies there was an increase over the previous year of $68, 742.94 The in- come from the permanent funds of the board shows that such funds have ma terially improved during the year, giv- ing an increase of $1,04803 above the previous year. The decrease in dona- tions for special objects by $27 7920.15 is almost identical with the amount rais- ed for orphan relief through the ef- forts of the Congregationalist last year but not repeated this year. The re- ceipts for the year from all sources, emitting sums received for the debt have been $661, ,307, gain over last year of s1S, ,023, but less than the average for the last five years of $40,000
 With the total receipts for the veal s661. .307, and with the total expenditures for the year s6S2, ,369.S4 the obligations resting upon the board for the opera lions of the year are S21,062.84. The debt at the close of last year was $45,- 1sO5O, and upon this debt S25,9O1.9S has been received, leaving a balance due or the old debt of 19,12S.52. The total ob- Hgations resting upon the board August 31. 1S9S were $4O,291.36, or about $5,O0( less than one year ago. We are conf1- dent that if one thousand of our church es could have live missionary com rnittee, whose duty it should be to dis seminate information, and plan, in con- ference with the pastors, an opportuni- ty for every individual to contribute tc foreign missions, the financial burdens of the board would be lifted. This method. as is known, has been followed I for fifty years in the Old South church Inf Boston, and that church leads to- t day in its gifts to our work. The First