The daily morning journal and courier., 1904-03-31
THE GENERAL CONFERENCE
OF THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL
 CHURCH

Angeles, caI.-A survey of the aIissiOn- ary Work of the Denomination for
 the Last Four Years.
 The general conference, the governing body of the Methodist Episcopal church, and meeting once in four years, is to convene at Los Angeles. Cal, May 4. In view of the forthcoming session or the general conference, 'World-Wlde Missions" the official paper of the Mis- sionary society of the Methodist Epls- copal church. will print in the April number the following survey of the mis- 4 sionary work of the denomination for the last four years:
 Foreign Missions.
 Membership-The total membership in foreign conferences has grown from 1S2, ,1O4 in 1899 to 216,476 in 1903, an in crease of 34,372, or r per cent The re- gions most fruitful in accessions to membership have been: Korea (from 3.S97 to 6,915); the Philippines (from a handful" to 7,S42) northwest India < (from 34,469 to 42,672); Gujarat district, Bombay conference (from 3,443 to 1O,- 9S5.) The number of Sunday school pu- pills has grown from 191, ,917 to 230,15S, gain of 3S,241, or 19 per cent.
 Difficulties-Special difficulties which have disturbed missionary activity, or which have tended to block progress have been the Boxer uprisings in north and west China, floods in central China. the plague in south China, cholera and the plague in various regions of south eli fa ir, Tn1 Qcf E central Africa and Finland. No one of these difficulties was so widely and so F distressingly felt as were the cuts in appropriations which the general mis- sionary committee was forced to make during the first two years of the quad rennium, because of the rapid extension l of the work of the society, and conse- quent extraordinary demands upon it's resources.
 Episcopal Supervision-Bishop Moore, with the exception of one trip to the United States, has spent the four years in eastern Asia. He has seen the end of the Boxer upheaval and the begin ming of the Russian-Japanese war. Bishop Vincent has spent practically all the quadrennium in Europe. Bishop McCabe hasyvisited Europe once. Bish- op McCabe and Bishop Joyce have each made two visits to the missions in South America. Bishops Hamilton, Cranston and FitzGerald have visited Mexico. Bishop Warne has itinerated in south ern Asia throughout the quadrennium; Bishop Thoburn has made two trips to southern Asia, and Bishop Warren one. Bishop Hartzell has made two extended journeys to Africa, supervising and ad ministering our mission work on the east and west coasts of that continent.
 Deatts-The most notable deaths have been those of Bishop William Tay- 1or missionary bishop for Africa; Bish- op E. w. Parker, missionary bishop for southern Asia; Miss Isabella Thoburn, pioneer missionary of the Womans For eign Missionary society; and pr. Ste- phen L. Baldwin, sometime missionary S.S to China and at the time of his death recording secretary of the missionary % society. Not a. few other missionaries and a number of leading native work CTS have gone to their reward, nor must we forget the five hundred native Chris tians in north China and the little group ' in west China who have received mar tyrs' tcrowns. 'These all died in the faith
 Conference Organization-Since the last general conference Burma district of Bengal Burma conference has be- come Burma mission conference; the Congo mission conference has become the east central African mission confer ence and west central African mission conferences; the western South Ameri- ca mission conference has become the western South America annual confer ence; the Malaysia mission conference has become the Malaysia annual con- ference; and the Philippine Islands dis triet thereof, organized since 1900, is now petitioning to become excessively mission conference and an annual conference during the coming quadren- niun.
 Unoccupied Territory-The outposts of our foreign missions have been pushed farther afield into unoccupied territory Borneo has been entered, also Bolivia and Patagonia. The line o preaching appointments has advanced northward in Korea New cities and groups of villages have been added to the scope of missionary supervision in most of our missions in China, while in the Philippines, instead of one province of Luzon being entered, as four years ago, our appointments are now in eight. In India several conferences have rap idly extended the geographical range of their work, this being especially true of Bombay and northwest India.
 Property Values-The estimated value of foreign mission property has in creased $1,244,120, or from $5,41093S to S6655 05S an increase of P per ceint Particularly significant have been the additions of equipment made to medical work in China, and to industrial work in India and Africa.
 f-Support-There was collected for self-support in the foreign field during 19OO-03 the sum of $1, ,262,57S; during the previous quadrennium, $S20,6SO, an in crease of $341, ,S93, or 37 per cent.
 Comity-Growing evidences are to be noted of attempts on the part of our missionaries so to relate their work ge- ographically and in other ways to that of other societies that the most econom- ical disposition of money and life ener- giees may be made and the largest re- suits achieved
 Domestic Missions.
 During the quadrennium now closing the missionary society has expended