as the literary standing of the leading men in the Church.

Following is a summary of statistics as published in the Lutheran Church Almanac, embracing the latest data collected with great care by the editor of this publication:

The

The Lutheran Church in this country is organized into 60 district synods, and these again into 4 general bodies, embracing 46 district synods, the rest being independent synods. The number of clergymen is 6,657; congregations, 11,101; and of communicant members, 1,570,134, an increase over last year of 225 clergymen, 588 congregations, and 34,582 communicant members. parochial or Church schools number 3,085, with 3,856 teachers and 216,980 pupils, while the Sunday schools number 6,290, with 58,508 officers and teachers and 550,038 scholars. The purely benevolent contributions for the year aggregate the sum of $1,020,520.23. The educational institutions number 115, of which 23 are theological seminaries, 47 colleges, 35 academies, and 10 colleges for women, with an aggregate value of property amounting to the sum of $4,883,846, endowment amounting to $1,507,812, having 299,570 volumes in their libraries, employing 657 professors and instructors, and having 13,235 students, of whom 2,662 have the ministry in view. There are 99 benevolent institutions under Church control, of which 43 are orphanages, 19 homes for the aged and afflicted, 18 hospitals, 11 immigrant and seamen's missions, and 8 deaconess institutions. The aggregate value of property of these institutions is $3,596,302, and the endowment $173,195, and the number of inmates is 26,161. This makes a total of 214 institutions directly or indirectly controlled by Church influences, the value of whose property amounts to $8,480,148, with endowment amounting to $1,681,007, or a total of $10,161,155. Most of this money has been contributed in small amounts. Only one of these institutions has been fully established by the gift of an individual. None of the rest are sufficiently endowed, and hence must depend for their support upon the annual contributions made by the congregations. The amounts already stated, however, do not include the annual expenses necessary to carry on the diversified activities of the various institutions, and hence the record is not complete. The expenses necessary to carry on the operations of the 214 institutions would add materially to the $10,000,000 set down as money used in connection with the work of the Church. As a proof of this statement we need refer only to one synod-the Augustana-for whose institutions the sum of $208,248.98 was expended in 1899. The periodicals published number 165, of which 71 are English, 51 German, 17 Norwegian, 8 Swedish, 8 Danish, 3 Icelandic, 2 Finnish, 2 Slavonian, and 1 each French, Lettish, and Esthonian.

General Synod.-The thirty-ninth biennial convention of this body was held in York, Pa., May 24 to June 1, 1899. Twenty-four district synods were represented by 120 clerical and 119 lay delegates. The convention was opened with divine service, at which the retiring president, the Rev. M. W. Hamma, D. D., of Washington, D. C., delivered the sermon. The Hon. Frank Geise, mayor of York, extended a welcome to the synod in behalf of the citizens, the Rev. George W. Enders, D. D., in behalf of the Lutherans of the city, and the Rev. Clinton E. Walter in behalf of the members of St. Paul's congregation. To these addresses of welcome the president responded. At the first session the following officers were elected: The Rev. Prof. Samuel F.

Breckenridge, D. D., Springfield, Ohio, President; the Rev. William E. Fischer, D. D., Shamokin, Pa., Secretary; and Louis Mauss, Cincinnati, Ohio, Treasurer.

The Board of Trustees of the National Lutheran Home for the Aged, Washington, D. C., reported that the institution has been in operation since 1895, that its property is valued at $50,000, and that it has 25 inmates. The Hymn Book Publishing Committee reported the completion and publication of a book of worship with hymns in English, and tunes, as well as progress in the publication of a similar work in German. The Board of Trustees of the Tressler Orphans' Home, Loysville, Pa., reported that the institution is in a flourishing condition, having 150 children under its care. The body expressed its hearty approval of the Lutheran conference held in Philadelphia, Pa., in December, 1898, and reappointed the Rev. Stephen W. Owen, D. D., as its representative in arranging for a similar convention in co-operation with other Lutheran bodies. The Committee on Common Service reported that its work in so far as Luther's catechism was concerned was completed, and presented the work in connection with the report. It also presented forms for 17 ministerial acts. The Committee on Literary and Theological Institutions presented encouraging reports with reference to Hartwick Seminary, at Hartwick, N. Y.; the Theological Seminary and Pennsylvania College, at Gettysburg, Pa.; Wittenberg College and Theological Seminary, at Springfield, Ohio; Carthage College, at Carthage, Ill.; Susquehanna University, classical and theological departments, at Selinsgrove, Pa.; and Midland College and Western Theological Seminary, at Atchison, Kan. The statistical secretary presented the following report: "We have in our 24 district synods 1,545 churches, 37 more than reported two years ago; preaching stations, 188, a decrease of 18; 1,786 prayer meetings are held, a gain of 117; 281 students for the ministry, 31 less than in the previous two years; 37,808 catechumens, a gain of 4,036. The losses were: By death, 5,947; by certificate, 6,829; other losses, 12,794 while the accessions were: by infant baptism, 22,338; adult baptism, 5,995; confirmation, 18,742; certificate, 10,064; restoration, 3,273. The present reported communicant membership is 192,299, an increase of only 7,571 over the previous biennium. These figures show that many pastors do not report all their accessions, since a comparison of the reported losses and accessions shows a net gain of 12,504. Our churches own property whose estimated value is $12,129,943.21, and congregations paid for local expenses $2,713,390.93, or $324,916.65 more than during the preceding two years. Our Sunday schools number 1,544, a decrease of 18. These schools have 23,625 officers and teachers and 186,695 pupils, an increase of 1,341." The benevolent contributions amounted to $477,135.

Foreign Missions.-The General Synod has missions in India and Africa. Following is the report of the work in India: The Board of Foreign Missions employs 170 workers, who labor in 514 villages containing native Christians, in 421 or ganized congregations, whose baptized membership in 1898 was 17.811, of whom 6,366 were communicants. The Sunday schools number 208, with 10,538 pupils. They maintain 173 elementary schools, with 203 teachers and 4,475 pupils; 1 boarding school, with 130 pupils; and 1 college, at Guntur, East India, of which the Rev. Luther B. Wolf is president, employing 40 teachers and having 863 students. The zenana department contains 58 workers, 15 schools, and 913

issue of the series now exceeds 100,000 copies annually. Provision has been made for the publication of this series in German and in Swedish. In accordance with the recommendation of the committee, a standing committee on education was appointed.

Immigrant Missions.-The Board of Immigrant Missions, New York city, reported the death of the Rev. William Berkemeier, the founder and head of this work for more than a quarter of a century. The mission work among the emigrants during the past two years maintained its usual course. The number of guests was 12,425, and the receipts for the support of the work amounted to $1,927.19. The location of the Emigrant House, on State Street, had to be changed, in view of the fact that the United States Government claimed the site for the erection of a new customhouse. The board received $98,720 for its property, and purchased another for its use. Hereafter the Emigrant House will be No. 4 State Street. Board of Publication. This board reported a large extension of its work. A publication house has been purchased in Philadelphia, and, besides the publications already mentioned in connection with the report of the Committee on Sundayschool Work, it has issued English and German books and The Lutheran, the organ of the General Council, in a largely increased circulation. The receipts of the board amount to $79,771.25. Deaconess Work.-The Committee on Deaconess Work reported a quiet and steady progress of the work in this country. The deaconess institutions of the General Council are: Mary J. Drexel Home and Philadelphia Motherhouse of Deaconesses, Philadelphia, Pa.; Immanuel Deaconess Institute, Omaha, Neb.; and Milwaukee Deaconess Motherhouse, Milwaukee, Wis., in which there are 50 deaconesses and 72 probationers.

Church-book Committee.-This committee reported through its chairman, the Rev. Joseph A. Seiss, D. D., as follows: "In the matter of a common order of ministerial acts and hymnal, two joint meetings of the committees of these general bodies (General Council, General Synod, and United Synod, South) were held, the whole question discussed, and the conclusion reached to enter devoutly upon the work of preparing such orders and hymnal on the same general principles, as far as applicable, on which the common service was formed. Progress in the undertaking will necessarily be slow, but the indications are promising that a consummation so desirable is within reach. The translation of Luther's Small Catechism into a standard English version was completed by the joint committee at Wernersville, Pa., in September, 1898, and recommended for adoption by the three general bodies as the best that can be made. It was

MADAGASCAR, an island colony of France, near the southeast coast of Africa, formerly a kingdom, proclaimed a French protectorate in 1885, when a French force occupied Diego Suarez, and this protectorate, at first denied, was acknowledged by the Queen on Oct. 1, 1895, after another war between the French and the Hovas, and after the suppression of an insurrection and the capture of the capital by a second expedition declared a French colony on Aug. 6, 1896. Queen Ranavalona III was deposed on Feb. 27, 1897, as the result of fresh disturbances. Great Britain recognized the French protectorate in 1890

printed in the Lutheran Church Review, and appears also in the minutes of the recent meeting of the General Synod, which has adopted it. It is now presented for adoption by the General Council also." It was adopted by this body also. The next convention of this body will be held at Lima, Ohio, 1901.

The two general bodies, Synodical Conference and United Synod of the South, held no conventions. The former numbers 1,957 clergymen, 2,525 congregations, and 520,785 communicant members; and the latter 212 clergymen, 402 congregations, and 37,455 communicants. The 14 independent synods number 2,058 clergymen, 4,505 congregations, and 463,574 communicant members. Conference of Deaconess Motherhouses.— The third Conference of Deaconess Motherhouses of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America met in the Swedish Lutheran Deaconess Institute, established and directed by the Rev. Erik A. Fogelström, in connection with Immanuel Hospital, Omaha, Neb., on Oct. 4, 1899. Five motherhouses are connected with this conference-to wit, Philadelphia, Milwaukee, Omaha, Minneapolis, and Baltimore. Its officers are: The Rev. Adolph Spaeth, D. D., Professor of Theology in Mount Airy Seminary, Philadelphia, Pa., President; the Rev. Carl Goedel, pastor of Mary J. Drexel Home, Philadelphia, German Secretary; and the Rev. Frank P. Manhart, D. D., superintendent of Baltimore Motherhouse, English Secretary. The president presented the statistics of the Lutheran deaconess houses in America, showing that more that 200 sisters, not including the candidates in course of preparation, are connected with the various motherhouses in this country. A list of technical terms for uniform use in the English literature on the deaconess cause and in the reports of the different houses was fully discussed, and a unanimous agreement on all points was the result. It was decided that houses applying for admission to the conference must adopt the principles of the female diaconate as adopted at the first conference, held in Philadelphia, in 1896. Papers were read on the following subjects: The Relation of the Motherhouse to the Church, by the Rev. Dr. Adolph Spaeth; Service of Consecration of Deaconesses, by the Rev. Dr. Frank P. Manhart; How to Interest our Congregations in the Deaconess Cause, by the Rev. Simon R. Tollefson, pastor of the Norwegian Deaconess Institute in Minneapolis, Minn.; The Deaconess and the Trained Nurse, by the Rev. William A. Passavant, of the Milwaukee Motherhouse; and The Spirit of Cheerfulness among our Sisters, by the Rev. Carl Goedel, of the Philadelphia Motherhouse. The discussion of these topics was most enjoyable and profitable. The next convention will be held in the Baltimore Motherhouse.

in return for the renunciation of French consular jurisdiction in Zanzibar. The French Government gave the assurance asked for that the establishment of the protectorate should not affect the rights and immunities enjoyed by British subjects in the island. By a treaty made with the Hova Queen in 1865 Great Britain secured for British commerce most-favored-nation treatment and a stipulation that the duty on imports should never exceed 10 per cent. ad valorem. When the hostilities of 1894 and 1895 had resulted in the annexation of the island to France, the French Government applied the special French tariff to

Madagascar, raising the duty on the principal British imports to 45 per cent. in 1897. In 1898 it was made 10 per cent. higher. The duties on foreign goods range from 54 to 79 per cent., while those on French imports are 4 per cent. An order of Gen. Gallieni, the Governor, that the coasting trade must be carried on in French vessels after Jan. 1, 1899, was afterward rescinded, because there were not enough French ships for the needs of commerce and of the troops as well.

The budget for 1899 shows 11,136,000 francs of receipts and 11,135,000 franes of expenditure. The area of Madagascar and adjacent islands is estimated at 591,967 square kilometres. The population of the island, according to recent estimates, does not surpass 3,500,000, of whom not more than 800,000 are of the Hova race. Antananarivo, the capital, has about 50,000 inhabitants. The value of the imports in 1898 was 21,641,000 francs, compared with 18,368.918 francs in 1897 and 13,987,931 francs in 1896. The exports in 1898 were valued at 4,960,000 francs, compared with 4,342,432 francs in 1897 and 3,605,952 francs in 1896. The chief exports in 1898 were rubber, valued at 1,282,000 francs; live cattle, 654,000 francs: hides, 637,000 francs; rafia, 561,000 francs; gold, 396,000 francs; wax, 383,000 francs; preserved meat, 265,000 francs; timber, 130,000 francs; vanilla, 113,000 francs. There are 2,800 kilometres of telegraph line.

MAINE, a New England State, admitted to the Union March 15, 1820; area, 33,040 square miles. The population, according to each decennial census since admission, was 298,269 in 1820; 399,455 in 1830; 501,793 in 1840; 583,169 in 1850; 628,278 in 1860; 626,915 in 1870; 648,936 in 1880; 661,086 in 1890. Capital, Augusta.

Government.-The following were the State officers during the year: Governor, Llewellyn Powers; Secretary of State, Byron Boyd; Treasurer, F. M. Simpson; Attorney-General, William

T. Haines; Adjutant General, John T. Richards; Superintendent of Schools, W. W. Stetson; Bank Examiner, F. E. Timberlake; Insurance Commissioner, S. W. Carr; Liquor Commissioner, James W. Wakefield; State Librarian, Leonard D. Carver; Land Agent, Charles E. Oak; Commissioner of Fish and Game, H. O. Stanley; Railroad Commissioners, Joseph B. Peaks, Benjamin F. Chadbourne, Frederic Danforth; State Topographical Survey, Leslie A. Lee, William Engel, Charles S. Hichborn; State Board of Health, C. D. Smith, President; Inland Fish and Game, Leroy T. Carleton; Commissioner of Labor and Industrial Statistics, Samuel W. Matthews; Pension Agent, E. C. Milliken; Chief Justice, John A. Peters; Supreme Court Judges, L. A. Emery, Thomas H. Haskell, Andrew P. Wiswell, S. C. Strout, A. R. Savage, William A. Fogler: State Detective, Fred A. Porter; Clerk, W. S. Choate; Census Superintendents, Elmer P. Spofford, James A. Placeall Republicans except Justice Strout.

Banks.-The first Maine savings bank was organized in 1819, and Maine now has 100 savings institutions, with about 180,000 depositors and more than $60,000,000 deposited, paying in taxes one fifth of the State revenue. The number of depositors with a balance less than $1,000 is 172,634; amount of deposits, $51,378,004.77; approximate average rate of dividend, 0.0348 cents; amount of dividends paid, $2,091,543.94; municipal taxes paid, $16,942.02; State taxes paid, $402,738.13. The number of savings banks on Nov. 30 was 51, with assets of $67,521,197.05; amount deposited during the year, $13,867,974.87. trust and banking companies numbered 17, with a capital of $11,802,252.29; number of depositors, 16,808; total deposits. $8.658,376.36; interest paid on all deposits, $161,948.21; average rate of interest, 6.54. The loan and building associations numbered 32, with a capital of $2.975,716.47; amount paid in interest and dividends, $2,578,

The

649.72; average rate of income, 3.45. This year, for the first time since 1892, there has been a net gain in new deposits over dividends. On Oct. 29, 1898, the amount of deposits in the trust and banking companies of Maine was $9,182,997.50, while in April, 1899, the amount was $10,023,364.05.

The number of school children who deposited in the savings banks of the public schools in Bangor was 1,460. From Nov. 15, 1898, when the system was inaugurated, to June 17, 1899, the sum of $2,621.05 was received by the teachers for deposit, and of this amount only $68 was withdrawn. The number of children in the primary department who deposited their pennies was 398, while in the ninth grade there were only 18 depositors.

Finances.-The amount of cash in the State treasury Jan. 1, 1900, was $154,723.73; temporary loan, $150,000; due from United States Government, $86,000; receipts for the year, about $1,689,210; first appropriation bill for expenses, $1,605,799.38; regular appropriations provided for in second bill, $143,350; bonded indebtedness, $2,203,000.

The amount of State taxes assessed for the year was $907,950.50, being 23 mills on each dollar of valuation; poll tax, 1 cent per poll; express tax, $5,213.06; savings banks' tax for six months ending April 10, 1899, $198,574.83; ending Nov. 30, 1899, $204,163.30; tax on building and loan associations, $255.78; telephone and telegraph companies, $15,605.52; railroads, $160,118.11; for expenses of Railroad Commissioners, $11,200; on electric-light companies, $220,545; water companies, $524,765; gas companies, $314,125; railroad bonds, $14,850; amount of school and mill tax, $573,933. Four notes of $25,000 each were destroyed by fire in the presence of the State Treasurer, representing the temporary loan of $100,000 made April 1, 1897, for one year, and paid by a second temporary loan for three months, which was paid at maturity, together with a registered bond for $5,000, a bond for $28,000, and a registered bond for $17,000, with coupons amounting to $444, all paid during the year. The sale of townships on which taxes of 1897 or before had not been paid took place in October, and brought prices just sufficient to pay the taxes due. The Land Agent reported the income from stumpage sold as $8,000, which amount goes to the support of schools in the towns and plantations where the lumber is cut.

Valuation. The total valuation of real and personal property of the State, as gathered from the assessors' reports from 385 towns on Dec. 27, 1899, was $287,691,790, an increase of $2,787,444 in real estate and $404,088 in personal property. Money at interest was taxed to the amount of $9,754,475, and live stock at $12,316,049. The total number of polls taxed was 181,110; number not taxed, 11,172. The total number of horses reported was 131,093, with a total value of $6,058,567; total number of three-year-old colts 2,781, value $107,736; two-year-old colts 2,671, value $79,844; one-year-old colts 2,003, value $39,605; cows 143,833, value $3,124,379; oxen 9,444, value $452,738; three-year-olds 28,830, value $586,629; two-year-olds 39,745, value $578,806; yearlings 55,454, value $444,055; sheep 256,577, value $641,024; swine 37,089, value $202,626; total values $12,316,049, against $11,832,904 last year.

The valuation of bicycles was $312,392; carriages, $1,257,364; musical instruments, $1,951,578; furniture, $1,209,291; shipping, $2,072,385; logs and lumber, $1,496,704; wood and bark, $238,491. There were 435,720 bushels of oats on

10,893 acres of land, at a value of $209,146; oats, 5,047,812 bushels on 140,270 acres, value $1,716,256; wheat, 35,256 bushels on 1,808 acres, value $31,378. The valuation of Portland in 1859 was $21,000,000, and in 1899 $37,801,200.

State Institutions.-The Industrial School for Girls was established as a State institution by act of the Legislature approved March 17, 1899, though the history of the school dates from 1867. The first building was erected in 1875, Erskine Hall was opened in January, 1886, and Baker Hall in December, 1898. The first building-Flagg-Dummer Hall-was damaged by fire on Feb. 2. The managers obtained an appropriation to remodel instead of repairing the building, but the appropriation was not used, as funds were received from other sources enough to put the building in good condition. The number of girls in the school in December, 1899, was 75; average number during the year, 70; committed during the year, 11; married, 9; discharged to friends, 6; total number received since 1895, 547, from 128 cities and towns; now in homes, 109; dismissed as incorrigible, 9; deceased, 27; escaped, 8. The expenditures during the year were $15,999.80; balance from 1898, $2,650.52; State appropriation, $10,500; in the treasury December, 1899, $4,653.47.

The total number of students in the Madawaska Training School in the autumn term of 1899 was 84; spring term, 105. The whole number of graduates is 139, while the number graduated this year was 23, of whom 22 are teaching.

The number of insane increased in the year from 733 to 747, of whom 416 were men and 331 women. There were admitted during the year 249 patients; died, 103; discharged as cured, 48; as improved, 37; total number treated during the year, 982. The special appropriation of $15,000 was used for the construction of a steam tramway and coal pocket. A stone crusher has also been purchased and put in operation at an expense of $1,470, the crushed rock being used to improve the streets and driveways of the grounds. A large crop of corn fodder was raised on the farm, and 3,300 bushels of potatoes. The hay crop fell short about 100 tons. The herd of cows numbered 150. The cash on hand and the receipts during the year amounted to $203.810.99; balance at the close of the year, $7,047.72.

The net loss in the State Prison for the current year was $9,092.29; gain in the carriage department, $3,237.27; in the harness department, $2,987.27; in the broom department, $193.05; in the furniture, $87.35; loss in the subsistence department, $8,115.14. The number of commitments in the year was 60, of whom 31 were natives of Maine and 7 from Canada. Two were sentenced for life, 1 for thirty-eight years, 1 for ten years, 15 for two years, and 13 for one year. On Nov. 30, 1898, there were 213 prisoners, since which time 52 have been discharged, 59 committed, 7 have been pardoned, and 4 have died, leaving 204 in the prison, with 23 in the insane department, 8 of whom are convicts. The sanitary conditions were found nearly perfect. The jail inspectors reported the total number of prisoners in the jails of the State on Dec. 30, 1899, as 526, against 750 last year; the number arrested for drunkenness, 2,901; for selling liquor, 200; for nonpayment of fines, 1,824; number of one-month sentences, 3,253; number of prisoners escaped, 13, of whom 8 were recaptured.

In 1897 and 1898 the State Library received 4.752 volumes; spent for law reports, about $4,000; spent for other works, $3,000. The library already contained 12,000 law reports and text