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Union reported that there had been during the year an increase of 8,000 scholars and 2,000 teachers, and that about 2,000 conversions had taken place among the children.

III. SEVENTH-DAY BAPTISTS.—The Executive Board of the Seventh-day Baptist Education Society, in their thirty-first annual report, for 1876, made the following statements of the condition of the several literary institutions of the denomination-Alfred University, Alfred Centre, N. Y.: endowment fund, $95,746.10; grounds, buildings, library, cabinets, and apparatus fund, income from 1836 to 1876, $145,076; teaching and incidental fund, income from 1836 to 1876, $211,574.38; revenue and expenditure account for the year ending July 5, 1876, $9,088.46; number of teachers, 19; whole number of students during the year, 388. Wilton College, Wilton, Wis.: value of lands and buildings $34,450; amount of endowment fund and notes, $6,000; value of cabinets, apparatus, furniture, paintings, and libraries, $5,600; value of other articles, estimated, $300; total assets, $46,350; number of students during the year-in the college classes, 67; in the academic classes, 175: total, 242; whole number of graduates from the beginning, 131, 98 of whom were in the academic classes and 33 in the college. Albion Academy: value of property, $50,000; indebtedness, between $2,000 and $3,000; number of teachers, 10; whole number of students during the year, 263.

At the thirty-third session of the Seventhday Baptist Tract Society, held at Walworth, Wis., October 1st, the Executive Board were instructed to pass over the work of the society to the General Conference as soon as it could be safely and legally done. The board were advised, also, to take "early and efficient" measures to procure the publication of tracts in large quantities, "bearing on every aspect of the Sabbath controversy, together with larger works containing more elaborate and extensive treatises on the same general topics, and a good commentary on all the passages of Scripture bearing, or supposed to bear, on the Sabbath." The sixty-second session of the Seventh-day Baptist General Conference was held at Walworth, Wis., beginning September 27th. Letters were read from thirty-nine churches, representing the Eastern, Central, Western, and Northwestern Associations. D. E. Maxson was chosen president. Report was made by the Executive Board that, in accordance with instructions received at the previous session, a charter had been procured for the General Conference, bearing date July 4, 1876. The various societies were invited to become constituent members of the General Conference, without loss of their legal rights or prerogatives as societies. The report on the state of the Church represented that the educational work of the Church was in a prosperous condition at every point; that the missionary work was in good condition, but that its field of

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operations should be enlarged; that the "Sabbath reform" work had been greatly extended during the year; and that the Sabbath-schoolwork had everywhere become greatly strengthened. One hundred dollars, contributed for that purpose, had been received, and bestowed by the committee having the matter in charge upon young men preparing for the ministry at schools of the Church. The trustees of the "Seventh-day Baptist Memorial Fund" ported that they had just received the deed of a valuable property in Cattaraugus County, N. Y., the gift of Mr. Delos C. Burdick and his wife, of Pardee, Kan., constituting the largest gift yet made to the fund. The income of the fund had been considerably larger than during any previous year, so that a balance of $251.89 was left after paying all appropriations and expenses. The Executive Committee of the Sabbath-School Department reported that there were under their care 58 schools, with 489 teachers and 4,519 pupils. One hundred and eighty-two baptisms had taken place in the Sunday-schools. A normal institute had been held at Westerly, R. I., in November, 1875, with good results. The interchange of courtesies with the Seventh-day Adventists was commended, and its continuance advised, but a resolution was adopted in connection with this subject to the effect that "while the Seventh-day Adventists and Seventh-day Baptists cherish in common a sacred regard for the Sabbath of the Lord, and will still continue kindly Christian intercourse, nothing good to the cause of Christ would come of any measure looking to a consolidation of the two bodies, while holding such diverse and opposing views on important Christian doctrine." Varnum Hull was appointed to prepare a paper or tract on "the difference now existing between the Seventh-day Baptists and the Seventh-day Adventists," to be presented to the next session of the Conference for action upon it.

IV. BAPTISTS IN THE DOMINION OF CANADA. -The first Baptist Conference of Ontario and Quebec was held at Toronto, Ont., October 15th. Papers were read on subjects pertaining to the interests of Baptist Churches in the Provinces. The twenty-fifth annual meeting of the Baptist Missionary Convention of Ontario was held in Toronto, Ont., October 16th. The report of the secretary showed that the income for the year had been $6,100. Forty-six missionaries had labored in the mission-fields, who had conducted services at 103 stations, and administered baptism to 584 converts. Ten associations, of which the convention is composed, reported an increase in membership of the churches of 2,391 by baptism.

The Baptist Convention of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island, met at Sackville, N. B., August 26th. Avard Longley, Esq., of Paradise, N. S., was chosen president for the year. The convention has charge of Acadia College and the foreign mission in

terests of the Baptist churches of the three Provinces. The most important business of the present meeting was the consideration of a proposition to incorporate Acadia College in the scheme of the university at Halifax, which had been established by the Government of Nova Scotia as an examining university. Most of the other denominational institutions of the Province had associated themselves with this university, and the Government had appointed five gentlemen to represent the Baptist denomination in its senate. The convention unanimously decided that Acadia College should not comply with the enactments of the bill establishing the University of Halifax. It also resolved that, in order to enable the college to maintain an independent position under the circumstances, an appeal should be made to the members of the churches to give it a new endowment of $100,000. A resolution was passed expressing confidence in the fidelity of the Baptist brethren who had been appointed on the senate of the university, but declaring that while no infringement was intended on their individual rights, it must be distinctly understood that their acceptance of office "must not be interpreted to indicate affiliation, direct or indirect, of Acadia College with the University of Halifax."

A report was adopted protesting against the desecration of the Christian Sabbath by the running of railway-trains and the consequent employment of men in connection therewith, and calling the attention of the Government to the subject.

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V. BAPTISTS IN ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND.— The anniversaries of the British Baptist Societies began in London, on the 20th of April, when the fifty-first annual meeting of the Baptist Building Fund was held. The reports showed that the annual contributions had increased, and several legacies had been left the fund, the contributions of the year amounting to £1,700. The annual meeting of the Baptist Union was held April 24th. The report stated that during the year 20 new churches had been formed, 30 new chapels had been built, 8,371 new members and 20,318 new Sundayscholars had been received. The sum of £58,804 had been spent in building chapels. Ninetythree brethren had entered the ministry, and 55 ministers had died. The following amounts had been received for benevolent schemes: For the Home Mission Fund, £15,435; for the augmentation of ministers' incomes, £2,670; for ministers' widows and children, £15,161. For foreign missions, the Particular Baptists had raised £52,871, and the General Baptists, £9,471: altogether, £62,342; for the nine colleges, £15,655. Adding to these contributions the amounts raised for ministerial support (estimated at £170,000), the offertories at the communion (estimated at £20,000), the contributions for Sunday-schools, Dorcas societies, and incidental objects, it was thought that between £600,000 and £700,000 were an

nually raised by Baptists for denominational purposes.

The anniversary of the Baptist Missionary Society was held April 27th. It was reported that the entire receipts for the year had been £44,762 18. 10d.; but there had been a falling off of more than £2,000 in the contributions, and an increase of £2,081 138. 4d. in expenditures: there was, therefore, a balance due to the treasurer of £4,354 128. Five new missionaries had been engaged in the service of the society; six missionaries had returned home for their health, and three had died. About 99,000 copies of parts of the Scripture had been published from the mission press in Calcutta, in the Bengali, Hindi, and Geno languages. Selections from the Scriptures had also been prepared for popular use, in attractive forms, with engravings. In Rome the work of the missionaries had been prosecuted with vigor and success. Many thousand copies of the New Testament and of religious tracts had been circulated.

The thirty-sixth annual meeting of the Bible Translation Society was held April 24th. The income for the year had been £3,165. The work of translating, printing, and distributing the Bible was actively carried on in the various mission-fields.

The autumnal meetings of the English Baptist Union were held at Birmingham, beginning October 2d. About 950 ministers and delegates from all parts of the kingdom attended its deliberations. A resolution was adopted condemning the Elementary Education act of 1876 as unjust to nonconformists, and prejudicial to the interests of national education, "inasmuch as it shows great favor to denominational schools, which are almost wholly in the hands and under the control of the clergy of the Established Church; tends to demoralize parents by encouraging them to seek pecuniary help, even at the sacrifice of their conscientious convictions, for the education of their children; gives the management of schools, with power to compel attendance, to the guardians of the poor and others not elected with reference to such duties, and not properly responsible for the discharge of them; prepares the way for the dissolution of existing school boards; and, generally, is calculated to retard instead of advancing the establishment of a sound system of national elementary education. . . . For these reasons," the resolutions continue, "the assembly cannot accept the act of 1876 as a satisfactory settlement of the principles on which the elementary education of this country shall be permanently based; and, having little confidence in the effectual working of any conscience clause, anticipates the continual recurrence of cases of oppression toward the nonconformists, and recommends the immediate formation of vigilance committees in connection with every county association."

The annual meetings of the Baptist Union and

Home or Highland Mission of Scotland were held at Edinburgh, beginning October 25th. Three new churches, at Berwick, Dumbarton, and St. Fergus, Aberdeenshire, were received into the Union. The statistics for the year showed that there were connected with the Union 73 churches, 64 ministers (an increase in the year of fourteen ministers), 34 Bibleclasses with 1,470 students, 62 Sunday-schools with 5,390 scholars and 690 teachers, 210 preaching-stations, and 7,361 members. Eight hundred and thirty-seven persons had been added to the communion during the year.

The Baptist Home Missionary Society for Scotland, chiefly for the Highlands and Islands, according to its report for 1875, employed nearly thirty agents, who occupied about 150 stations in the Shetland and Orkney Islands, the islands of the west coast, the northern and western Highlands, and one or two Lowland counties.

The annual meeting of the New Connection of General Baptists was held in Derby, beginning June 19th. The Rev. Dr. Buckley, of Orissa, India, was chosen president. The report of the secretary showed the following facts respecting the condition of the connection: Number of members in the home churches, 23,408; total number of members at home and in Orissa, 24,262; number of baptisms during the year by the home churches, 1,535; number of baptisms by the mission churches, 63. Six new churches were applying for admission, and when these were received, there would be 170 independent churches in the association. The condition of the denomination was represented as sound in doctrine and practice. A resolution was adopted against Lord Sanders's educational bill, which gave as reasons for opposing that measure, that it gives undue advantage to national schools (so called); that it tends to perpetuate denominational education; and that any measure which fails to provide for the universal establishment of board schools, while enforcing compulsory attendance either direct or indirect, inflicts an injustice upon all nonconformists.

VI. BAPTISTS IN GERMANY AND ADJACENT COUNTRIES.-The Triennial Conference of the German Baptist Union was held at Hamburg, beginning July 13th. The statistical reports showed that the Union numbered 110 churches, with 22,504 members, and 1,296 preachingstations. The churches had raised during 1875, for religious purposes, the sum of 188,891 marks. During the three years since the last meeting of the Union, 4,874 believers had been baptized. It was decided to give increased attention to home missions, particularly in the Russian department. The Russian (Slavonic) Baptists employed seven of their number as missionaries among the people, and the Government no longer persecuted them. The meeting was attended by 151 deputies, of whom 57 were from the northwest, 53 from Prussia, one from Poland, 34 from the south, five from

Denmark, and one from Russia. Seven new churches were received into the Union—five from Germany and two from Russia.

BARILI, ANTONIO, an Italian composer and Professor of Music, born in Rome in 1824; died in Naples, July 12, 1876. From six years of age till thirteen, when he received the diploma of professor at the Congregation of St. Cecilia, being then the youngest member of that body, he was a pupil of his father. About this period his father died, when he entered upon the study of composition with Giuseppe Baini. At eighteen he left Italy for a short time, and, joining his mother in Spain, continued his studies under Carniser. Returning to Milan, he studied for a time under Mandanici, and afterward graduated as Maestro Composer in the Philharmonic Academy of that city at the age of twenty-one. The year following he was leader and director of the Italian Opera in Algiers, and the same year was serving in the same capacity in New York City. In 1850 he held a like position in the city of Mexico; and in 1854, returning to New York, organized the Sontag opera-troupe, with which he returned to Mexico. He remained in that city until 1861, and during that time composed his Spanish opera, “Un Pasio á Santa Anita." In 1856, under the patronage of President Comonfort of Mexico, he organized and established a conservatory, which is now a flourishing national institution. After this he returned to New York and lived there eleven years, devoting himself to the duties of his art, and giving to the stage a number of artists. From the end of that time until 1874 he resided and labored in Baltimore and Washington. In August, 1874, he went to Naples, where he opened an Academy of pure Italian singing," especially for foreign ladies finishing their studies in Italy. Thirty years of unremitting toil had much impaired his health, which he hoped to recover in the salubrious climate of that city. But in this he was disappointed. Barili came from an eminent musical family. His father was a composer of distinction; his mother, Madame Barili Patti, a famous prima-donna, who once gained renown in the United States. His sister, Clotilda, was equally successful on the operatic boards; his brother, Nicolai, achieved popularity as a basso; his second brother, Ettore, was an excellent barytone; his half-sisters, Adelina, Carlotta, and Amelia Patti, have made a world-wide reputation; and his halfbrother, Carlo Patti, gained many laurels as a violinist and orchestral director.

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BAUER, CLARA, a German authoress, well known under the nom de plume of Karl Detlef, born June 23, 1836; died June 29, 1876. At an early age she lost her father, and being thus forced to provide for herself, she devoted her whole energy to develop her musical talents. She went to St. Petersburg, where she was a frequent visitor at the house of the Prussian embassador, Herr von Bismarck, who ever

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after took a great interest in her success. impressions received on a journey through the Russian steppe caused her to devote herself to a literary career. Upon her return to Germany she settled in Dresden, and here, in 1869, published her first novel. Her last novel, "Ein Document," was not finished, one volume only having appeared at the time of her death. Her novels are chiefly descriptions of Russian life. BAYER, HIERONYMUS JOHANN PAUL VON, a German jurist and scholar, born September 21, 1792; died June 13, 1876. After studying law at the Universities of Salzburg, Landshut, and Göttingen, he became in 1816 Privatdocent in the law faculty of the University of Landshat; in 1819 he was appointed extraordinary and in 1820 ordinary professor. After the removal of the University of Landshut to Munich, he five times occupied the position of rector. In 1853 he was appointed a life-member of the Upper Chamber of the Bavarian Diet. He is the author of a number of highly valuable works on law, among which are: Vorträge über den deutschen gemeinen ordentlichen Civilprocess" (tenth edition, 1869); "Theorie der summarischen Processe" (seventh edition, 1859); "Theorie des Concursprocesses nach gemeinem Rechte" (fourth edition, 1868).

BELGIUM, a kingdom of Europe. Leopold II., King of the Belgians, was born April 9, 1835, son of King Leopold I., former Duke of Saxe-Coburg; ascended the throne at the death of his father, December 10, 1865; was married August 22, 1853, to Marie Henriette, daughter of the late Archduke Joseph of Austria, born August 23, 1836. Offspring of this union are three daughters. Heir-apparent to the throne is the brother of the King, Philip, Count of Flanders, born March 24. 1827, lieutenant-general in the service of Belgium, married April 26, 1867, to Princess Marie of Hohenzollern-Sig maringen, born November 17, 1845; offspring of the union is a son, Baldwin, born July 3, 1869.

The area of the kingdom is 11,373 square miles; population, according to the last census, taken in 1866. 4,737,833; according to an official calculation of December, 1874, 5,336,634. Of this population, 54 per cent. belong to the Flemish and 44 to the Walloon-French nationality. The following table exhibits the population of each province of the kingdom on December 31, 1874, as well as the number of arrondissements and communes into which each province is divided:

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The movement of population was as follows in 1874:

PROVINCES.

Antwerp.

Brabant..

Flanders, East..

Hainault..
Liége.

Limburg.
Namur...

West..

Luxemburg.

Total...

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9,710 9,847 6,139 5,678 4,302 16,306 15,556 10,514 9,781 7,693 11,771 11,008 7,566 7,396 4,571 14,401 18,695 9,392 8,981 5.549 15,221 14.575 9,138 8,107 7,782 10,869 10,281 7,086 6,362 5,149 8,250 8,044 2,214 1,972 1,447 2,976 2.914 1,884 1,831 1,486 4,721 4,303 2,706 2,598 2,849

89,225 84,758 56,939 52,656 40,328 From these tables we derive the following facts: The number of boys born for 100 girls was 105.3, the number of inhabitants for one

birth 30.2, the number of births per 100 deaths death 47.9. In the same year the number of 158.7, and the number of inhabitants for one still-born amounted to 7,750, 4,451 males and 3,299 females, and the number of divorces to 120. Of the births, 161,882 were legitimate and 12,096 illegitimate, and of the still-born 6,974 were legitimate and 776 illegitimate, making in all 168,856 legitimate and 12,872 illegitimate births.

In 1874 there were four communes with over

100,000 inhabitants, twelve communes with from 25,000 to 100,000 inhabitants, thirty-eight communes with from 10,000 to 25,000, ninetyeight communes with from 5,000 to 10,000, 1,207 with from 1,000 to 5,000, and 1,213 with less than 1,000 inhabitants.

Instruction is well cared for in all grades. In 1872 there were 5,678 primary schools with 618,937 pupils. Schools for adults have been established in most communes. Their number in 1872 was 2,351, with 199,957 pupils. The number of normal schools for primary teachers was, in 1874, 37, with 2,336 students, of which 22 schools, with 1,132 students, were for females. The number of secondary schools in 1874-75 was 168, with 17,763 pupils. Superior instruction is imparted in the two state Universities of Ghent and Liége, and the two free Universities of Brussels and Louvain. The number of students in each of these in 1874

was as follows:

UNIVERSITIES.

Ghent....
Liège...

Brussels..
Louvain...

Total

Students.

221

541

555

955

2,272

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The Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp bad, in 1874, 1,601 students. were, besides the Antwerp Academy, 80 other academies of design and drawing-schools, with 10,191 pupils; a Conservatory of Music at Brussels with 594, another at Liége with 609 pupils, and 46 other conservatories of music, with 8,932 pupils. The expenses for primary instruction in 1873 amounted to 18,076,635 francs, and the expenses of the two government universities in 1874 were 949,990 francs.

Nearly the entire population of Belgium is nominally connected with the Roman Catholic Church, at the head of which are the Archbishop of Malines, and five bishops. The other ecclesiastical benefices consisted, December 31, 1874, of 184 deaneries, 230 cures (parishes of the first class), 2,779 succursales (parishes of the second class), 180 chapels, 1,839 vicariates, 114 coadjutors, 26 annexes, 695 oratories and chapels of hospitals, colleges, etc. The number of religious communities of men, in 1866, was 178, with 2,991 inmates; that of religious communities of women, 1,144, with 15,205 inmates. The number of mutual-aid societies recognized by the state was, in 1873, 117; their aggregate revenue, 207,918 francs; expenditures, 194,923 francs; capital, December 31, 1873, 612,882 francs; number of mutual-aid societies not recognized by the state, 89; receipts, 447,309 francs; expenses,,403,785 francs; capital on December 31, 1873, 480,110 francs. The number of saving-societies for buying winter provisions recognized by the state was four; expenditures, 28,806 francs; capital on December 31, 1873, 13,879 francs. The number of saving-societies not recognized by the state was eight; expenditures, 86,019 francs; capital on December 31, 1873, 3,340 francs.

The receipts and expenditures for 1873 were as follows:

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The civic militia or National Guard numbers 125,000 men without and 400,000 with the reserve. Its duty is to preserve liberty and order in times of peace, and the independence of the country in times of war. A royal decree, dated October 20, 1874, divided the kingdom into two military circumscriptions, one embracing the provinces of Antwerp and West and East Flanders, and the second the others.

The imports in 1873 amounted to 1,422,700,000 and the exports to 1,158,600,000 francs. (For a detailed statement of the commerce with each country, see ANNUAL CYCLOPÆDIA for 1875.) The commercial navy in 1873 was composed of 69 sailing-vessels with 46,439 tons, and 28 steamers with 30,005 tons.

The aggregate length of the railroads in operation on December 31, 1874, was 3,370 kilometres (1 kilometre 0.62 mile), of which 664 were state railroads, and 2,706 belonged to private companies. The aggregate length of the lines of electric telegraph was, in 1872, 4,430 miles; that of wires, 15,802; the number of telegraph-offices was, in 1871, 478; the number of telegrams sent in 1874 was 2,750,223, of which 1,849,973 were inland, 693,506 foreign, and 206,744 transit telegrams.

On March 22d the House passed the bill of the Minister of Finance, by which the 12,000,000 francs which the state owed the Railroad Building Association were to be paid immediately instead of the time agreed upon. The purpose of the bill was to assist the Bank of Belgium, which had lost heavily by the defalcation of its cashier, the bank being a creditor of the association.

On April 8th the new law respecting academic degrees was passed by a vote of 78 to 26, all the Catholics and 19 Liberals voting for it, while 26 Liberals voted against it, and two did not vote. This law provides that in future the universities shall confer the degrees upon their own judgment, while the state will only guarantee their legality after an examination by a special commission. The state, however, reserves the right to subject to a special examination all persons who desire to obtain a government office. The winter session of the Chambers began on November 14th. In the Chamber of Deputies M. Bara brought up the election riots, which had occurred in several

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