who have prior rights to the shore fisheries, and when the cod began to grow scarce their jealousy led them to induce the fishermen on the south shore to refuse longer to sell to the Frenchmen herring for bait. The canning of lobsters was taken up by the French in 1889, although the Newfoundlanders protested, and have continued to protest, that the right to establish canneries is not included in the original treaty rights. The French are charged with arbitrarily preventing the building of railroads or the development of mining and other industries on their shore, and Miquelon, where no English consular agent is allowed to reside, is said to be a nest of smugglers. A royal commission reported that the French cod fishing rights on the treaty coast are now valueless, and should be extinguished by a cash payment or by concessions elsewhere; that the lobster industry is on the decline, and should be settled on the same basis; that the colony should give the French free bait if they will abandon their bounties to the cod fishers, which expire in July, 1901, and are declared to be useless for the promotion of naval enlistment; that no French interference with the development of the treaty coast should longer be tolerated; and that a consular agent should be appointed to St. Pierre.

Another question between France and England arose in connection with the lease for one year to France by the Imam of Muscat of the harbor of Bandar Jisseh, five miles from Muscat. The concession was made in March, 1898, but it was not until the beginning of 1899 that the British agent knew of it. The Indian Government at once protested. The harbor is landlocked, about as large as Muscat, having an island at the entrance capable of being strongly fortified. The British Government objected that the treaty of 1862 precluded either France or England from accepting a cession or lease of Muscat territory, and would only agree to the French having a coaling depot at Muscat itself on the same terms as the English have. Before the French and English governments entered into conversation on the subject a British cruiser on Feb. 11 presented an ultimatum to the Sultan of Oman to prevent the cession, and under a threat of bombardment the Sultan revoked his grant of a coal depot at Bandar Jisseh, which the English feared France might convert into a fortified post. The French Government disclaimed the intention or the right of raising the French flag or erecting fortifications on the leased ground, and expressed complete satisfaction with an arrangement giving France a depot at Muscat. FREE CHURCHES, EVANGELICAL, FEDERATION OF. The Free Church Handbook for 1899 contains comparative tables of the provision of sittings in churches of the Established Church and in those of the nonconformist denominations, and of the number of communicants recorded by the Episcopal and the nonconformist churches in England and Wales, the numbers of the nonconformist communicants being shown by denominations severally and footed up. From the face of these tables it appears that the Established Church provides 6,886,977 sittings, while the nonconformist churches have total sitting accommodations for 7,848,804 persons; and that the whole number of communicants is in the Established Church 1,886,059, and in the nonconformist or free churches 1,897,175. Besides these, a number of large congregations, it is claimed, should be accounted for which are not connected with any particular body, but which are distinctly nonconformist. The net gain

during the year was represented to be 47,526 communicants in the Evangelical Free Churches, and 45,708 in the Established Church. It is estimated by the editor of the Yearbook, Mr. Howard Evans, that the ordinary income of the free churches in England and Wales is more than £5,000,000, and that the value of their church property exceeds £50,000,000.

The fifth annual meeting of the National Council of Evangelical Free Churches was held in Liverpool, beginning March 14. The opening sermon, preached by the Rev. John Clifford, D. D., had for its subject The Crisis in the Church: Its Place in the Development of British Religion. The Rev. Alexander Mackennal, D. D., presided, and delivered an address setting forth the objects of the federation movement. The report of the secretary represented that the work of the federation was growing so rapidly that it was difficult to keep the record of it within bounds. Ninety-nine new councils had been organized in 25 English counties since the meeting in Bristol in the previous year, with 13 new councils in North Wales and 5 in South Wales; and Ireland had joined the movement, with councils in Dublin, Belfast, and Cork. The number of district federations had grown from 20 to 31; the reports from these federations bore strong witness to their value in helping the local councils and bringing the whole strength of a district to the support of weak points. They were doing good work in scattering literature, promoting lantern lectures, and keeping a vigilant eye on the education question and cases of persecution of dissenters. Missions, house-to-house visitation, district interchange of pulpits, mass open-air meetings in the summer months, and other work were also carried on by the federations. The federation movement was extending itself to all parts of the English-speaking world. In South Africa a Cape Town and District Evangelical Council had been formed; the word "free," it was observed, having been dropped from the title, as all churches are free in Cape Colony. Councils were being rapidly formed in the United States and Canada. Many councils had been organized in Australia, and large quantities of federation literature were circulated there. A union of evangelical churches had been formed in Jamaica. Evangelical ministers in Norway were taking a deep interest in the movement, and would probably adopt it. United missions which had been held under the auspices of the federation had produced such results of spiritual revival that the General Committee had been considering the advisability of employing more men specially called of God for this work. It was further proposed to hold a great simultaneous mission in England and Wales as early as possible in 1901. Many councils had adopted, with the best results, house-to-house visitation on the parochial system. Two hundred and fifty boxes, with nearly 7,000 volumes, constituting the circulating library, had been sent out to councils. A resolution adopted by the council respecting the crisis in the Church of England, while expressing joy at the signs of quickened spiritual life in the national Church, deplored the widespread adoption and inculcation of certain defined ideas and practices by members of the clergy; protested against the determination of clergymen to undo the work of the Reformation; and urged Parliament to do its utmost to maintain its own authority, and to safeguard the Protestantism of the realm. "Seeing the difficulty the state had in controlling the clergy of the Established Church, the council was convinced that there is no final and effective

method of terminating the spread of Romanism within and by the Anglican Church except by abolishing the connection between the Church and the state, thus setting the Church free for the management of its own affairs, and delivering the state from the burden of duties it can not adequately discharge." The council therefore appealed to its members and to the evangelical party in the Anglican Church "to support a policy of justice and freedom, in the interest of religion, sound Protestantism, good government, and the well-being of the nation." Another resolution related to the provision of means whereby nonconformists in the army and navy other than Presbyterians and Wesleyan Methodists, who already have special services, may enjoy nonconformist ministration. A resolution was enthusiastically adopted which contemplated advising all Free Church parents to withdraw their children from Church of England schools where ritualistic practices and sacerdotalistic teachings exist, and requesting the Government "to provide proper accommodation for the primary education of their children until popular control is secured for all state-aided schools." Other resolutions expressed satisfaction at the Czar's call for a conference on disarmament, and approved of the Free Church celebration of the three hundredth anniversary of the birth of Oliver Cromwell. Replying to a criticism of the Free Church Catechism, in which the speaker denied that it had the sanction of the council, the Rev. Dr. Mackennal (president of the council) said that the matter was one that lay entirely within the initiative of the committee. The catechism went out on the responsibility of the committee and the special committee, and the council was only asked to accept the measured responsibility implied by sympathy with the object, without indorsing every detail of the document.

The Free Church Catechism.-The following catechism, intended to cover the points of religious faith on which all the Free Evangelical Churches are agreed, and to be acceptable to them all for common use, was published by a committee of the National Council of England and Wales at the beginning of the year. The work of preparing the catechism had been undertaken two years previously, when the Rev. Dr. Oswald Dykes, principal of the English Presbyterian College, was requested to draw up a draft catechism, to be revised by successive committees appointed by the council of the federation. The committee of final revision consisted of 5 ministers and members of the Congregational churches, 5 of the Wesleyan Methodist Church, 3 of the Baptist churches, 2 of the Primitive Methodist Church, 2 of the Presbyterian Church, and 1 each of the Methodist New Connection, Bible Christian, and United Methodist Free Churches. Every question and every answer in the catechism was finally adopted by the committee without a dissenting vote. It is not pretended that the document carries any authority, it being designed only for optional use:

1. Question. What is the Christian religion? Answer. It is the religion founded by our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, who has brought to us the full knowledge of God and of eternal life.

2. Q. How must we think of God? A. God is the one eternal Spirit, Creator, and Sustainer of all things; he is Love, boundless in wisdom and power, perfect in holiness and justice, in mercy and truth.

3. Q. By what name has Jesus taught us to call God? A. Our Father in heaven.

4. Q. What do we learn from this name of VOL. XXXIX.-20 A

Father? A. We learn that God made us in his own image, that he cares for us by his wise providence, and that he loves us far better than any earthly parent can.

5. Q. What does Jesus say about himself? A. That he is the Son of God, whom the Father in his great love sent into the world to be our Saviour from sin.

6. Q. What is sin? A. Sin is any thought or feeling, word or act, which either is contrary to God's holy law or falls short of what it requires. 7. Q. Say in brief what God's law requires. A. That we should love God with our whole heart, and our neighbor as ourselves.

8. Q. Are we able of ourselves to do this? A. No; for, although man was made innocent at the first, yet he fell into disobedience, and since then no one has been able, in his own strength, to keep God's law.

9. Q. What are the consequences of sin? A. Sin separates man from God, corrupts his nature, exposes him to manifold pains and griefs, and, unless he repents, must issue in death eternal.

10. Q. Can we deliver ourselves from sin and its consequences? A. By no means; for we are unable either to cleanse our own hearts or to make amends for our offenses.

11. Q. How did the Son of God save his people from their sins? A. For our salvation he came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary, and was made man, and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate. He suffered and was buried, and the third day he rose again according to the Scriptures, and ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of the Father.

12. Q. What benefit have we from the Son of God becoming man? A. We have a Mediator between God and men; one who as God reveals to us what God is; and, as perfect Man, represents our race before God.

13. Q. What further benefits have we from our Lord's life on earth? A. We have in him a brother man who is touched with the feeling of our infirmities, as well. as perfect example of what we ought to be.

14. Q. What did he accomplish for us by his death on the cross? A. By offering himself a sacrifice without blemish unto God he fulfilled the requirements of divine holiness, atoned for all our sins, and broke the power of sin.

15. Q. What does the resurrection of Jesus teach us? A. It assures us that he has finished the work of our redemption; that the dominion of death is ended; and that, because he lives, we shall live also.

16. Q. What do we learn from his ascension into heaven? A. That we have in him an advocate with the Father, who ever liveth to make intercession for us.

17. Q. What do we learn from his session at the right hand of God? A. That he is exalted as our Head and King, to whom has been given all authority in heaven and on earth.

18. Q. How does Jesus Christ still carry on his work of salvation? A. By the third person in the blessed Trinity, the Holy Spirit, who was sent forth at Pentecost.

19. Q. What is the mystery of the blessed Trinity? A. That the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, into whose name we are baptized, are one God.

20. Q. What must we do in order to be saved? A. We must repent of our sin and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.

21. Q. What is it to repent? A. He who truly repents of his sin not only confesses it with shame

and sorrow, but above all he turns from it to God with sincere desire to be forgiven and steadfast purpose to sin no more.

22. Q. What is it to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ? A. It means that we rely on him as our Teacher, Saviour, and Lord, putting our whole trust in the grace of God through him.

23. Q. How are we enabled to repent and believe? A. By the secret power of the Holy Spirit working graciously in our hearts, and using for this end providential discipline and the message of the Gospel.

24. Q. What benefits do we receive when we repent and believe? A. Being united to Christ by faith, our sins are freely forgiven for his sake; our hearts are renewed, and we become children of God and joint heirs with Christ.

25. Q. In what way are we to show ourselves thankful for such great benefits? A. By striving to follow the example of Jesus in doing and bearing the will of our heavenly Father.

26. Q. Where do we find God's will briefly expressed? A. In the Decalogue, or law of the Ten Commandments, as explained by Jesus Christ. 27. Q. Repeat the Ten Commandments. (Repetition of the Commandments.)

A.

28. Q. How has our Lord taught us to understand this law? A. He taught that the law reaches to the desires, motives, and intentions of the heart, so that we can not keep it unless we love God with our whole heart and our neighbor as ourselves.

29. Q. What special means has God provided to assist us in leading a life of obedience? A. His word, prayer, the sacraments, and the fellowship of the Church.

30. Q. Where do we find God's word written? A. In the Holy Bible, which is the inspired record of God's revelation given to be our rule of faith and duty.

31. Q. What is prayer? A. In prayer we commune with our Father in heaven, confess our sins, give him thanks for all his benefits, and ask, in the name of Jesus, for such things as he has promised.

32. Q. Repeat the Lord's Prayer. A. (Repetition of the prayer.)

33. Q. What is the Holy Catholic Church? A. It is that holy society of believers in Christ Jesus which he founded, of which he is the only head, and in which he dwells by his Spirit; so that, though made up of many communions, organized in various modes, and scattered throughout the world, it is yet one in him.

34. Q. For what ends did our Lord found his Church? A. He united his people into this visible brotherhood for the worship of God and the ministry of the Word and the sacraments; for mutual edification, the administration of discipline, and the advancement of his kingdom.

35. Q. What is the essential mark of a true branch of the Catholic Church? A. The essential mark of a true branch of the Catholic Church is the presence of Christ, through his indwelling Spirit, manifested in holy life and fellowship.

36. Q. What is a free Church? A. A Church which acknowledges none but Jesus Christ as head, and therefore exercises its right to interpret and administer his laws without restraint or control by the state.

37. Q. What is the duty of the Church to the state? A. To observe all the laws of the state unless contrary to the teaching of Christ: to make intercession for the people, and particularly for those in authority; to teach both rulers and subjects the eternal principles of righteousness, and to imbue the nation with the spirit of Christ.

38. Q. What is the duty of the state to the Church? A. To protect all branches of the Church and their individual members in the enjoyment of liberty to worship God, and in efforts to promote the religion of Christ, which do not interfere with the civil rights of others.

39. Q. What is a Christian minister? A. A Christian minister is one who is called of God and the Church to be a teacher of the Word and a pastor of the flock of Christ.

40. Q. How may the validity of such a ministry be proved? A. The decisive proof of a valid ministry is the sanction of the divine head of the Church, manifested in the conversion of sinners and the edification of the body of Christ.

41. Q. What are the sacraments of the Church? A. Sacred rites instituted by our Lord Jesus to make more plain by visible signs the inward benefits of the Gospel, to assure us of his promised grace, and, when rightly used, to become a means to convey it to our hearts.

42. Q. How many sacraments are there? A. Two only: Baptism and the Lord's Supper.

43. Q. What is the visible sign in the sacrament of baptism? A. Water: wherein the person is baptized into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

44. Q. What inward benefits does this signify? A. The washing away of sin and the new birth wrought by the Holy Spirit in all who repent and believe.

45. Q. What are the outward signs in the Lord's Supper? A. Bread and wine: which the Lord has commanded to be given and received for a perpetual memorial of his death.

46. Q. What is signified by the bread and wine? A. By the bread is signified the body of our Lord Jesus Christ in which he lived and died; by the wine is signified his blood, shed once for all upon the cross for the remission of sins.

47. Q. What do they receive who in penitence and faith partake of this sacrament? A. They feed spiritually upon Christ as the nourishment of the soul, by which they are strengthened and refreshed for the duties and trials of life.

48. Q. Why do Christians partake in common of the Lord's Supper? A. To show their oneness in Christ, to confess openly their faith in him, and to give one another a pledge of brotherly love.

49. Q. What is a Christian's chief comfort in this life? A. That in Christ he belongs to God, who makes all things work together for good to them that love him.

50. Q. What hope have we in the prospect of death? A. We are well assured that all who fall asleep in Christ are with him in rest and peace; and that even as he rose from the dead, so shall we also rise and be clothed with glorified bodies.

51. Q. What has Jesus told us of his second advent? A. That at a time known only to God he shall appear again with power, to be glorified in his saints and to be the judge of all mankind, and that for his appearing we should be always ready.

52. Q. What is the Christian's hope concerning the future state? A. We look for the life everlasting, wherein all who are saved through Christ shall see God and inherit the kingdom prepared for them from the foundation of the world.

FRIENDS. Statistics.-The statistical returns of the Society of Friends for 1898, published in January, 1899, show that the number connected with it throughout the world was 113,877, as compared with 112,413 in 1897. The gain, 1,464, was about 1.30 per cent. The chief gain (1,301) was in the United States, where the mem

bership now stood at 93,699. The whole number of Friends in Great Britain and its colonies and the Continent of Europe was 20,178, indicating a net gain for the year of 163. The society included 14 yearly meetings on the American continent, 2 in Great Britain, 5 on the Continent of Europe, and 6 in Australasia, with mission stations in every quarter of the globe. The whole number of recognized ministers of the Gospel was 1,648. The foreign-mission stations returned an aggregate native membership of 1,860, with 104 Bible schools having a total attendance of 5,102. The statistical tables for 1899, published in January, 1900, gave the whole number of Friends throughout the world as 113,580. The yearly meetings of the United Kingdom returned 20,379 members. The total number of recognized meetings for worship was 1,334, and of ministers of the Gospel 1,694, together with 1,234 Bible schools, attended by 101,258 persons. The Quaker mission schools for colored persons returned 3,585 members, with 8,305 persons attending 308 Bible schools.

The Friends' Foreign Missionary Association of London Yearly Meeting has in the foreign-mission field 79 missionaries and 235 native preachers, teachers, and Bible women, 187 churches and 2,639 members in Madagascar, 49 organized Friends' churches in the other missions, and a total of 14,297 adherents. Aside from Madagascar, 159 members were added by confession during 1898, 11 boarding and high schools and 247 other schools returned 20,187 persons under instruction, and 30,063 patients were treated in the hospitals. Fifty-four of the accessions of members, or nearly 33 per cent. of the whole number, were from the schools. The total expense of carrying on the work during 1898 was £20,621. Industrial training was associated with the missionary work in India, and 750 orphans in that country were under the care of Friends. In China 5 persons were received into membership. The mission in Madagascar is carried on in connection with the work of the London Missionary Society.

American Friends.-The 14 American yearly meetings returned at the end of 1899 a total of 93,253 members, against 93,699 in the previous year, showing for the first time in several years a loss-446. The number of ministers was 1,279. The missionary reports of the American Friends give 284 principal and subordinate mission stations in foreign countries, with a native membership of 3,585, not counting the 612 Indians who are members or the 550 Mexican Friends. One hundred and fifty-eight Friends are engaged in foreign-mission work, with 8,305 persons enrolled in 308 Bible schools. The foreign-mission work of the American Orthodox Friends was begun in 1871 in Mexico. These Friends have now 16 stations in 8 different countries, including Alaska, with 31 substations. In these fields 13 men and 38 women missionaries are employed, with 85 native helpers, and they return in all 1,279 members, 117 of whom were received last year, besides 2.938 nonmember attendants of the meetings, 1,795 pupils in Bible schools, and 1,454 pupils in boarding and day schools. The contributions last year from all sources for the support of this work aggregated $41,499, an average of about 45 cents a member. Fifty-two hundred and seventy-five patients were treated at the hospitals. Fourteen of the American and 7 of the native missionaries are recorded ministers. All the 14 Orthodox yearly meetings take part in this work.

A committee of two members from each of the yearly meetings was appointed at a conference

of American Friends held in Indianapolis, Ind., in 1897, to formulate a plan for a closer union of the yearly meetings, and to prepare a discipline to be submitted to them for approval. A draft of a discipline was made, submitted for criticism and suggestions, and has been published previous to submission to the yearly meetings for final action. It differs in many features from the old Discipline, omitting much of the historical matter and the advice, and contains a statement of belief which, though brief, is believed to include everything fundamental to the Christian religion as Friends interpret it. One of the purposes governing the draft has been to rid the yearly meetings of "useless machinery and formal perfunctory exercises, and make for life and peace." Changes are made in the names of the meetings, and the quinquennial conference, which has been introduced as a voluntary assembly, is adopted and called the Five Years' Meeting.

The Five-year Education Conference of Friends in America was held in Providence, R. I., in June. It was attended by Friends from all the American yearly meetings except Canada, Oregon, and California, and by three Friends from London Yearly Meeting. A number of subjects relating to religion and education were discussed, and the opinions of the meeting were embodied in resolutions urging upon the schools and colleges the importance of endeavoring to give students a clearer knowledge of the doctrines and government of the society, and to lead them into the practice of true worship; defining as the most ef fective means to that end the strong spiritual personality of the teachers; exhorting Friends to fidelity to the spiritual realities of the Gospel, to fearless reception of truth from whatever source it may come," and to a more faithful endeavor to meet the needs of the age by the use of all the instrumentalities, spiritual and temporal, which God is placing within reach; and advising that Friends should present the Bible attractively to their children in the home, and that more adequate provision should be made for rendering the biblical instruction given in the schools and colleges "second to no other teaching which they offer."

Friends in Mexico.-The first Friends' meeting of Spanish-speaking people was organized in Matamoras, Mexico, in 1875, by Samuel H. Purdy and H. M. Bimford. The work has increased till it includes 10 monthly meetings in Mexico, into which more than 1,000 members have been received, with several thousand adherents. Schools have been established and a Spanish Protestant literature has been created. The various yearlymeeting committees own property valued at $20,000 in gold, and other new buildings are contemplated. Through removals from these stations Friends have been scattered throughout southern Texas and northern Mexico. A native ministry has been raised up, and a yearly meeting has been established at Victoria.

The Cuban Evangelical Church.-The Cuban Evangelical Church has been organized at Havana, with the intention of establishing a national church, "which, deriving inspiration from the doctrines and discipline of the old Puritans, should worship the Lord in spirit and in truth." It was in its first organization independent of any religious denomination and sustained by the individual effort of all the brethren composing it. Having adopted Quaker forms in baptism, the Lord's Supper, government, and ministry, it, by the act of its quarterly meeting, entered into correspondence in June with the Friends' Society in Mexico, announcing its organization and ac

ceptance of the rule of faith, discipline, and doctrines of the Friends' Church; its desire to live by its own efforts, its members promising to defray the salaries of its pastors and the expenses arising from its mission work; and asking for religious literature in Spanish. An executive body had been organized, with Francisco G. Cala, a recorded minister, as presiding clerk, and Angel Serrato as secretary. The Church had, at the time of the writing of this letter, a pastor, 3 other ministers, 2 established meetings, 86 members, 2 Sabbath schools with between 260 and 300 attendants, 2 day schools with about 300 pupils, and 1 orphanage.

The United Fruit Company having purchased 100,000 acres of land near Santiago, and having witnessed the work of Friends in Jamaica, has invited them to engage in a missionary enterprise in that district. The whole Spanish-American work has been taken in charge by the American Friends' Board of Missions, with Iowa, Western, Wilmington, and Indiana Yearly Meetings co-operating.

British Friends.-The statistics of membership presented to the Meeting for Ministry and Oversight of the London Yearly Meeting showed a total in Great Britain of 17,031, an increase during the year of 179, or a little more than 1 per cent. The "habitual attenders," or nonmembers, attending the meetings numbered 7,904, an increase of 428, while an aggregate of about 50,000 persons attended the adult schools and mission meetings. Two hundred and four persons had joined the society "by convincement" or from the outside.

The Meeting for Ministry and Oversight of the London Yearly Meeting considered the subject of the state of the meetings as to vocal ministry and earnest exercise of spirit on the part of the congregations, and also that of the conditions of right development and effective exercise of the ministry. A large committee was appointed to draw up a letter on the latter subject to the various congregations throughout the country.

The sessions of the London Yearly Meeting opened May 24. A considerable part of the time was spent in the discussion of the ministry, in regard to which a wide desire prevails in the society for improvement in quality; not so much that more intellectual sermons were demanded, as that " a more living message is sought and a wider grasp of truth on the part of those who feel themselves called upon to speak." Yet the meeting was not ready for the institution of a regular ministry or for the payment of ministers, and was careful not to approve the steps in these directions that have been taken by some of the American yearly meetings. The Home Mission Committee reported on its policy of inviting applications from men and women who feel it "laid upon them" to devote themselves to missionary work of this kind, and providing for the maintenance of those persons who were selected who had such a purpose in view. Between 20 and 30 workers were now employed in different towns and villages, at a total cost of a little more

G

GEOGRAPHICAL PROGRESS. While no great discoveries have distinguished the geographical work of the year, explorers have been active, especially in Africa and in the polar regions of the north and south. Many of the expeditions in Africa were primarily for political purposes,

than £3,000 a year. The committee were, however, not a unit upon this policy, some thinking they could see in it the beginning of a “hired ministry.

The Home Mission Committee presented a report upon means of bringing about a closer association between the society and the " attenders" at Friends' meetings, as well as with the members of the adult and other First-Day schools -the number in the former category being estimated at about 7,000, and those in the latter at about 45,000-a subject which had been referred to it two years previously. The report showed that there had been an increase in the number of "convincements," or of persons joining the society from outside, from an average of 73 a year in the period 1862-'66 to 275 in the period 1893'98, and a concomitant increase in the number of habitual attenders at the ordinary meetings from 3,000 to the present number. Various arrangements had been adopted in different meetings for drawing the attenders into closer fellowship with one another and with the society. In some places, as in London, the object was accomplished by a kind of preliminary membership, forming a stepping stone to full rights in the society. In other places, among which was Birmingham, "Christian societies" were formed of those who regularly attended the Sundayevening mission meetings; but they seemed to satisfy the need for church life, and did not lead on to any fuller association with the Society of Friends. In other meetings, as at Norwich, where congregational life was exceptionally active, nothing seemed needed between the adult school membership and full membership in the society. The committee recommended that congregational life and initiative be strengthened by giving more importance to the congregational church meeting, preparative meeting," which has hitherto been wholly subordinate to the monthly meeting. Attenders might find a place in the work of a congregation which they could not find in the monthly meeting, to which members only were admitted. It recommended further that localities be encouraged to find ways, either by preliminary membership or by some scheme of affiliation, for forming links between the various local mission societies and the main body; also that wherever possible a regular Friends' meeting should be established in each center of mission work, and so held as to be attractive and educative to those who are brought under the influence of the mission. The report was approved by the meeting. A minute was adopted expressing the sense of the meeting of the inconsistency of war with the precepts of Christ and the whole spirit of his Gospel,” and as to the enormous evils attending the military system and "the practices inseparably connected with warfare"; commending the peace congress called by the Czar of Russia to assemble at The Hague, and hoping for the success of its deliberations; and beseeching all Christian people to use their influence in favor of the principles upheld by the resolution.

or

but they have added something to geographical knowledge, corrected some errors, and filled some gaps. Probably the greatest interest among geographers at present is in antarctic exploration, which promises to be undertaken soon by the proposed German and English expeditions.