DIVINITY SCHOOL TROWBRIDGE LIBRARY fa Iftirfnt A CENTURY OF BAPTIST ACHIEVEMENT A PSALM-MEMORIAL Great Ancient of eternal days ! Let heaven and earth resound thy praise ; Who wast, who art, who art to come, Thy children ' s help, thy people ' s home. With joyful eyes our thoughts we cast Upon the hundred years now past, Wherein thou hast thy people led And fed them with the Living Bread. Our fathers trusted, Lord ! in thee, And ever found thy mercy free ; They sought salvation in thy Son, Through whom their works of faith were done. For all their toil, and all their prayer, For churches planted by their care, For all the gifts which crowned their days Thy children novu would give thee praise. Like them, before thy throne we bow ; Like them, we seek thy guidance now; Like them, maintain the Saviour's cause; Like them, uphold thy righteous laws. Our Father, God! bestow thy grace On this and each succeeding race, Till all shall love thy holy name, And through the world thy praise proclaim. —Pastor J. Clark. A CENTURY OF BAPTIST ACHIEVEMENT EDITED BY A. H. NEWMAN, D. D., LL. D. "Professor of Church History in {MctMaster University It seemed good to me ... to write . . . that thou mightest know the certainty of those things wherein thou hast been instructed. — Luke's ^Preface PHILADELPHIA american JBaptiet ipubltcatton Society i go i Copyright igoi by the American Baptist Publication Society ffrom tbe Society's own ipress PREFACE As the close of the wonderful nineteenth century drew near, it occurred to the editor that the achievements of the Baptists, which had constituted one of its most marked religious features, might fittingly be commemorated in a volume. It was at first his thought either to write the entire volume himself or to associate with himself a single competent writer. Further consideration led to the conviction that a co-operative work in which each topic should be treated, as far as might prove practicable, by the scholar most conversant with the materials involved, would best subserve the end in view. The readiness with which a large number of the most eminent, and consequently most heavily burdened, brethren acceded to the editor's request for co-operation was highly gratifying, and the manner in which they have performed the tasks so graciously assumed has fully confirmed the wisdom of the plan adopted. The number of topics selected by the editor and the spatial limitation prescribed by the publishers rendered absolutely necessary a rigorous restriction of each writer. All who have had the experience of being obliged to crowd into three thousand words materials that might well be expanded into a volume will fully appreciate the difficulty that some of our contributors have encountered in trying to keep within the prescribed limits. And whoever has undertaken to compress within narrower bounds articles that in the opinion of their writers were already unduly abbreviated will join with the A editor in his appreciation of the remarkable skill, born of ^3(ears of intelligent, considerate, and painstaking practice, N~ 6,960 1,004 4,652 no 400 5,73= 822 2 Missionaries and evangelists. DURING THE NINETEENTH CENTURY 49 rateness, in their Association at home and in their mission to Orissa. At the same time the two bodies had cordially joined their forces in the Baptist Union, had been free of each others' pulpits, and being equally evangelical, had in many respects become indistinguishable. Why should they not be come formally one ? The question had been often asked ; it was now practically answered in the union of the two mis sionary societies. It was inevitable that other denomina tional institutions, as the college, should follow suit ; and the happy result is that the ' ' General ' ' and ' ' Particular ' ' now dwell side by side, and happily realize that they have one gospel for the church and for the world. 4. The Outlook. Compared with the beginning of the century the present period is full of encouragement. The work of the churches is zealous and prosperous ; their minis try is, as a whole, growingly liberal and evangelical. Old watchwords, indeed, are losing their force, old lines of de- markation are being effaced ; there is a more free and cordial intercourse with brother Christians of other denominations. One fact is most noteworthy : the National Council of Evan gelical Free Churches in England and Wales has issued for use in home and school, an ' ' Evangelical Free Church Catechism," in the preparation of which Congregationalists, Presbyterians, Baptists, Wesleyan Methodists, Primitive Methodists, New-Connection Methodists, Bible Christians, and members of the United Methodist Free Churches, have united, and there has been, so far as the present writer knows, no complaint from any quarter that essential doctrines have been overlooked. The fact is surely a sign of the times. But with all this, the Baptists hold by their distinctive principles. Many indications show that these principles are spreading. There is, at least, a conviction, often unex pressed, but held by Christian thinkers in all communions, that baptism is the sign of personal discipleship. It is true that the "mode" is often regarded as secondary; but it is seen by Baptists themselves, that the question of "subject" is immeasurably the more important. The rapid growth of open communion in England — Scotland and Wales being still exceptions — has brought all parties closer together with out surrender of conviction on any side. The Baptist Union now contains many churches which receive both Baptists and Pedobaptists to full membership ; the Congregational Union has many which receive both Pedobaptists and Baptists. In such churches, generally speaking, the restriction of the min- D 50 ENGLISH AND SCOTCH BAPTISTS istry to one or the other section determines the denomina tional connection. Whether this tendency to fusion will increase, or whether, in the progress of Christian thought, some influences may arise to renew the old division, only time can prove. Mean while denominational institutions flourish. If the income of the Missionary Society be taken as a test, it may be noted that this is distinctly increasing, the figures at intervals of five years being: 1887-1888, £70,142 10s. 5d. ; 1892-1893, £72,729 8s. 3d. ; 1897-1898, £75,331 9s. 2d. ; 1899, £77,- 642 2s. 9d. If the numerical growth of the churches is considered, we find that the membership in the United kingdom, of churches connected with the Union, is now calculated to amount to 360,475, the number in all the churches being about 500,- 000 ; the reported baptisms of the past years having been 16,899 in 2,7°4 churches, a larger number than for many previous years. Of the whole number, the Baptists in Scot land report 16,905 in 118 churches ; those in Ireland, 2,719 in 32 churches. Other organizations connected with the body show similar results. In view of the twentieth century, and with the desire to present a worthy thank offering at its commencement, a fund is now being raised which it is hoped will reach £250,000. Tokens for good abound, and every sign of the times is a stimulus to hope for the century to come. Samuel G. Green. IV WELSH BAPTISTS IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY It is generally understood that Baptist principles were known in Wales at a very early period. Historic evidence is not sufficiently clear to justify positive statement as to the manner in which this knowledge was acquired. It is very probable that Christian disciples, driven by the persecutions which raged at intervals during the first and second centuries, found their way to Britain and established churches there after the New Testament model. The Reformation awakened religious interest in many parts of the world. Its influence upon Wales was not direct and yet was real. The revivals in Wales in which modern Chris tianity found its genesis were purely local in their origin, but the men that were used of God to produce them had felt the new throb of life that the Reformation had inspired. We are not for a moment to suppose that Baptists had died out of the land before the modern movement set in. During most of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries they did not come into the fore because they were under the ban. They were more bitterly hated by the enemies of truth and righteousness in high places than any other type of Chris tians. They represented principles which struck at the very foundations of ecclesiastical and political tyranny, and they called down upon themselves in consequence the unrighteous vengeance of kings and magistrates, sycophants and time- servers. It was as late as 1649 before the first church of the new era was formed at Elston near Swansea. The first Association was held here, at which three churches only were represented. This was the feeble beginning or reappearance of those in fluences that have long since permeated the land, and reached out in beneficent potency into the nobler life of the world. In 1689 this little body of Christian disciples united with the Baptists of London, but in 1700 they formed again an Asso ciation of their own. They met at Llanwenarth, where a 5' 52 WELSH BAPTISTS IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY chapel was erected in 1695. Nine churches represented at that time the total strength of the Baptists of Wales. The work which has been accomplished since that comparatively recent period has no parallel in the activities of our people in any part of the world. When the nineteenth century was breaking the dawn, the Welsh Baptists were emerging out of obscurity. There were already churches of considerable strength in South Wales, but their members were gathered from distances that would be utterly incomprehensible to the church-goers of the present day. The faithful used to travel thirty, forty, and even fifty miles to the monthly Communion services at Rhydwilim, Llanwenarth, and other religious centers. North Wales had scarcely, been touched by Baptist influence at this time, and considerable parts of South Wales were in a like' condition. Nearly all the religious edifices that are now found wherever there is a population have been erected out of the poverty of the people during the last 100 years. In the beginning of the century the number of Baptist members would not have been more than 4,000 or 5,000 all told; now they are considerably over 100,000. The average an nual increase of the past few years has been between 4,000 and 5,000. There is provision at the present time in the Baptist chapels of the principality for 350,000 hearers. When all the circumstances are considered the record is an amazing exhibition of zeal and devotion, of enthusiasm and consecra tion, and withal of a splendid loyalty to the principles which it required no small sacrifice to espouse and maintain. Yorkshire, England, is larger than all Wales, with Mon mouthshire included. Its population in 1861 exceeded that of Wales by over 746,356, and yet the census returns give to Wales five times as many Baptist churches and about six times as many Baptist members. In Yorkshire we had one Baptist to every 178 of the population, in Wales one to every twenty. Such comparison might be made, 1 have no doubt, with similar results in many other parts of England. In 1844 the average number of members in the Baptist churches of England was ninety-two ; in the Baptist churches of Wales, 113, or one-fourth more. At that time, in proportion to population, the Baptist churches of England should have re ported sixteen times as many as those reported in Wales. The actual return was but five times as many. The popu lation stood at that date: England, 15,000,000; Wales, 911,000. There are some distinguishing features of Welsh Baptist WELSH BAPTISTS IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY S3 life which might justify a passing mention. They are all (with the exception of a few English churches in the larger centers) what are called close communionists. They strictly adhere to what they believe to be apostolic, leaving it for those who differ from them to follow their own bent. Their Sunday-schools have always been quasi theological institutions. The adult classes search the Scriptures and eschew lesson leaves and other appliances in favor with their English-speaking brethren. Fifty and more years ago it was the custom in Wales that one school visit another, not too distant, to recite the ' ' Pwnc, " as it was called. This was a theme placed in catechetical order, with Scripture proof. Many an aged Christian in Wales retains a pleasing recollection of these occasions. The whole school would march in orderly procession and happy song, often along mountain slopes or through romantic vales, to the chapel where the event of the day was to take place. The answers to the questions would be given now by one person, then by a class, and then again by the whole school in unison. When it was desired to place special emphasis on any part of the recitation the whole school would join in with rhythmic cadence. The men who contributed to the accomplishment of mag nificent results are worthy of being held in remembrance. In many instances they were exceptional both for ability and consecration. Those who prepared the way for the great work were for the most part highly educated and splendidly endowed sons of the Established Church who espoused Baptist principles as the result of an earnest study of the Scriptures and at unspeakable personal sacrifice. Such men as Penry and Vavasor Powell did much to awaken the popular mind on the subject of religion and to set influences in operation that looked toward their moral and spiritual uplifting. Vavasor Powell was a preacher of extraordinary power in both Welsh and Enghsh. He suffered much for his principles. He was immured in as many as thirteen prisons, in one of which he died on December 27, 1670. It is almost invidious to mention names where excellence has been so evenly distributed. And yet we cannot altogether refrain from doing so. Morgan John Rhees, great-grand father of the eminent educator, Rush Rhees, ll. d. , presi dent of Rochester University, was one of the foremost of them. He was a hero of religious liberty. Joseph Harries (Gomer) was pastor in Swansea in 1773. He enjoyed scarcely any educational advantages, and. yet by his own plodding industry he became one of the leading 54 WELSH BAPTISTS IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY literary men of his age. He was an expert controversialist, a clear and logical reasoner, a fine poet. He impressed him self upon his generation mightily. Christmas Evans has attained a fame which is worldwide. His gifts were such as to impress and influence the popular mind more profoundly than those of any other man of his age. His early life was remarkable chiefly for the insupera ble barriers which it seemed to place before extended useful ness, much less fame. He was of obscure parentage in one of the most secluded and morally benighted portions of the land. He was untaught in the merest rudiments of educa tion. For some time after he began to preach it was impos sible to determine whether he was a genius or a fool. That great, over-mastering faculty which in after years, under the most careful discipline, was the main secret of his unrivaled power, now but infused a capricious wildness into his utter ances which astonished rather than impressed, and exposed to ridicule rather than to admiration. It was not long, however, before he was able to use his pinions without even appearing to be grotesque. Wales will never forget some of his transcendent flights of genius. He was certainly a prince among the princes. John Jenkins, of Hengoed, was also an outstanding man. He was of lowly birth and unfavorable surroundings, but in spite of these inimical conditions he became great and influ ential. John Williams was a scholar. His acquirements were great for the times, and especially in view of the fact that he was self-taught. At twenty-one he published a Welsh-Eng lish grammar which gave him no small repute among the scholarly of all denominations. He translated the New Testament into the Welsh language. Thomas Rees Davies was a rare character in his way. He had a few sermons that were most effective. He preached them to the same congregations with a frequency that we cannot think of without wonder. People never tired of hearing them, they were so absolutely original. Robert Ellis might have readily passed for one of the old Druidical priests, with his capacious cranium and flowing beard. He was a poet of high order and an authority on every branch of Welsh literature. William Morgan, the author of the first "Life of Christmas Evans," and a life-time pastor in Holyhead, Anglesey, de serves grateful remembrance both for what he was and what he did. John Prichard, for years a leading spirit in the councils of WELSH BAPTISTS IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY 55 the denomination in North Wales and first president of the Llangollen College, was a conspicuous and influential figure for many years in all that region of country. Daniel Davies, "The Blind Man," as he was familiarly called, was not the least of any of his contemporaries. He lost his sight when eight years old. Despite this disadvan tage his mind was richly stored with every variety of informa tion. He had an acquaintance with books which impressed with wonder those who casually associated with him. He was abreast of the thinking of his age. He kept some one always at his side whose business it was to read to him. His conversational as well as his preaching ability was of the very rarest. Many others were there whom to mention would be a pleasure were there only space. Among the forces that have contributed to the strength and influence which Baptists have attained in Wales, preach ing has been imperial. It has been the inspiration of every other activity which has served to solidify and crystallize their life. For generations schools were few and poor, books were scarcely to be found, literature and the sciences were un known ; the most ambitious had to look to the pulpit for intel lectual stimulation as well as for religious impulse. The Welsh preachers were the sole educators of the people. As the great statesmen and great scholars of the Middle Ages were mostly ecclesiastics, so it may be said that the pioneers in secular education, in national enfranchisement, as well as in every broadening and uplifting agency which has operated upon the Welsh character and life, were preachers of the gospel. To the Nonconformist pulpit and to the revival influences which it awakened and fostered, more than to all other instrumentalities combined, are owing the virility of character, the mental robustness, the religious quality, to gether with the ever-brightening outlook, educationally, socially, nationally, and religiously, which now obtains. No history of Welsh religious life would be complete with out reference to the Associational gatherings. These, in the early part of the century, were by all odds the most impor tant events of the year. They were attended by vast multi tudes from far and near. When churches were few and distinguished ministers rare and religious privileges not so common as they are to-day, the Association was looked for ward to by all classes of the population as the rarest occasion that could come within their reach. The spot where it was held was generally well chosen, an amphitheatre of wood land and mountain often giving every facility for aesthetic, 56 WELSH BAPTISTS IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY oratorical, and at the same time religious impressiveness. It was no common sight, when one of the princes of the pulpit occupied the temporary platform, to witness the eager multi tude pass through all the varied transformations of intellectual and emotional enthusiasm. It was on one of these occasions that Christmas Evans, while yet a young and unknown man, became famous. These were, with rare exceptions, self-educated men. Christmas Evans was out of his teens before he could even read. Educational facilities of any sort were meagre in those days, and to the sons of toil even what existed were not available. The first school of the prophets was in Trosnant, in the vicinity of Pontypool. It was established in 1732, and con tinued to do a good but inadequate work until 1 7 70. Some of the brightest ministers of that generation were educated here. The celebrated Morgan Edwards, pastor of the First Baptist Church of Philadelphia and founder of Brown Uni versity, was a student in this institution in 1740. When the Association met in Ffynonhenry in 1803 larger plans for ministerial education were considered, resulting in the establishment of the Abergavenny Academy, which for years filled a large need in the denominational life. Micah Thomas was the efficient and universally esteemed president. Not a few of those who studied under him were eminently useful men. This institution was removed to Pontypool, where the blessing of ministerial education was for many years greatly extended under the efficient presidency of Dr. Thomas Thomas. He was succeeded by W. Lewis, m. a. For some years past the genial and erudite Dr. William Ed wards has ably occupied the position. Recently the institu tion was removed to Cardiff so as to be within reach of university facilities for instruction in the arts and sciences. The Haverford West College was established in 1840. It has had a grand record of usefulness. The Haverford West College was removed to Aberyswyth for a few years under the presidency of Dr. A. J. Morris. The Llangollen College was the last to come into existence and did a useful work for the churches in North Wales. Dr. Prichard, Dr. Hugh Jones, and Dr. Gethen Davies were successively its presidents. This institution has now removed to Bangor, under the presidency of Silas Morris, m. a and with the eminent Hebraist, Dr. Whitton Davies, filling one of its chairs. The removal of the theological schools to centers where WELSH BAPTISTS IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY 57 the arts work in all the higher branches may be prosecuted in the university colleges of the country, is likely to prove one of the most important denominational movements of the century. We certainly cannot regard with contempt the work done by these schools, meagre though their educational equipments admittedly were, when we think of some of their brilliant sons. John Emlyn Jones was, in addition to being a strong preacher, a man of rare poetic gifts. His name forty years ago was familiarly and favorably known throughout the land. William Roberts (Nevydd) Blaenau, was as thoroughly appreciated as a historian as Emlyn was as a poet. Richards and Roberts, of Pontypridd, were both preachers of insight and originality. Hughes, of Maesteg, was as sweet-spirited a man as ever trod the soil, and his sermons were like "the droppings of the honeycomb. ' ' Nathaniel Thomas, Cardiff, and Evan Thomas, Newport, were both giants in their day. Thomas Davies, president of Haverford West College forty years ago, was as fine a model of chaste and incisive elo quence as could be found in the pulpit of any land. R. A. Jones, of Swansea, was not perhaps great as some men count greatness, nor was he a college man, but he held the largest audience in Wales together for many years, and I can bear witness that he was one of the greatest masters in adjusting his voice to the musical cadences of the language I have ever known. Hugh Jones, Carmarthen, had a portly body and a voice of fine quality and volume. He appeared at his best on Associational platforms, stirred into a glow of fervid ora tory by the sympathetic enthusiasm of the assembled thou sands. Dr. Hugh Jones, Llangollen, shone more as a writer than a preacher. His books have won for him a high degree. Roberts, Llewynhendy, was not a college man, but he became a preacher that captivated audiences almost as completely as Christmas Evans. His words came forth with such rapidity that when wrought up to a high pitch of feeling, it seemed hke the rapids of Niagara, majestic and irresistible. Dr. Morgan, of Llanelly (Lleurug), was among the few men in the principality who used manuscript freely. His style was flowing and poetical to a degree. Audiences were captivated with the beauty and strength of his sentences. It seemed sometimes to be an idyl or a poem from first to last. The wonder is that he could keep this sort of thing up for forty years and hold one of the largest audiences in the land in enthusiastic admiration. Dr. Price, of Aberdare, was many- sided and resourceful. He would have made a good lawyer or statesman. He was a fine organizer and would have been 58 WELSH BAPTISTS IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY a distinguished success in any sphere in which intellectual alertness and fine conversational ability were in demand. Dr. Evans, of Neath, had a keen, analytical mind. If he had enjoyed larger advantages, he would have made a critic of ability. His style of preaching was peculiar. He seemed at times to take delight in tantalizing his audiences by a method which he had of playing around his subject. He would keep them eagerly listening for what they.believed he had in reserve for them. Sometimes they would go away disappointed, but not often. His sermons were frequently masterpieces of originality and the unmusical screech, which in his more intense moments he would indulge in, greatly added to the effect, and is remembered and spoken of to day with reminiscent interest. John Jones (Methetes), did not excel as a preacher. He lacked the sympathetic quality. He could interest intelligent people by what he said, but could not move them to enthusiasm as many far inferior to him in intellectual gifts could. He, however, excelled as a writer. He did more for his countrymen in this way than any other man of his age. David Evans, Dudley, was a preacher of rare ability in both Welsh and English. My difficulty is to know where to stay my hand. The field is fascinatingly inviting. Names come up before me by the score that are worthy of a nobler remembrance than I could give them. In more recent years the type has changed with the chang ing conditions, but the quality has not deteriorated. The preachers of the past quarter of a century have been well abreast of the best life and culture of their times. Rowlands, of Llanelly, whom I knew to love and honor in the prime of his early manhood, is now a handsome old man with a life of distinguished usefulness forming a halo which transfigures his white locks into a "crown of glory. " " Myfir Emlyn," whose sermonic and poetic genius was unsurpassed, has re cently fallen by the hand of death. Davies, of Carnarvon, and A. J. Pawry, Cyfn Mawr, Morris Treorchy and Daniel Jones, of Whitland, Morris Aberystwyth and Williams Lan- dore, Lloyd Castletown and D. Oliver Edwards, Davies, Cardiff, and Jones, Pontypridd, are all men of intellectual strength and spiritual earnestness, who would be an adorn ment to the pulpit of any land. A fellow-student of mine at Haverford West, Rev. J. Spinther James, of Llandidro, is the historian par excellence of the present time in Wales. And these are but representatives. I am conscious that I have left unmentioned many who are their peers, and in WELSH BAPTISTS IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY 59 some instances their superiors. I must not close, however, this hurried sketch without mentioning the name of John Gomer Lewis, whom Swansea and the whole of Wales have learned to appreciate and honor. The institutions that have served as helpful agencies in Baptist development are the Building Fund for Wales, organ ized in 1862, with a capital of £6,932 us., for the purpose of making free loans to churches, payable in annual install ments of ten per cent. ; the Welsh Baptist Union, formed in 1866, now representing the whole strength of the denomina tion ; the Baptist religious press, including a weekly and two or three monthlies, have all facilitated denominational activ ity and usefulness to an extent that we cannot readily estimate. The Welsh Baptists have exerted no small influence upon the denominational life of the world. Some of the brightest men who have occupied and adorned the pulpits of England have hailed from the principality. Thomas Morgan, of Bir mingham ; Joshua Thomas, of Leominster ; Jenkyn Thomas, of Cheltenham ; David Griffiths, of Acrington ; Benjamin Davies, of Regent's Park, and many others, stand out as names to be honored throughout the generations. In more recent years the number has multiplied, but the quality has not been of less worth. John Thomas, of Myrtle Street Chapel, Liver pool, had no superior among the men of his age, either for fine scholarly acquirements or for profound, philosophic, and at the same time picturesque ability as a preacher. David Davies, of Brighton, for industry and versatility, is unsur passed, and Evan Thomas, of Ealing, stands at the forefront for fine fancy and captivating pathos. The English pulpit in Wales has in later years found its most able and efficient pastors among the sons of the soil. James Owen, of Swansea, has for many years been recognized as one of the most finished and powerful preachers in the land. He was honored a few years ago by the Baptist Union of Great Britain and Ireland by being elected its chairman. He has declined some of the most influential pulpits in England. J. W. Williams, pastor of the Memorial Church in the same town, is a man of rare intellectual and homiletical gifts. He did a fine work in the leading Welsh Baptist church in America and has labored in Swansea under conditions that have been inimical in no small degree, and that with a goodly measure of success. Evan Thomas, Newport, dispensed to delighted audiences the sin cere milk of the word. Mills, of Carmarthen, my successor when I left Wales for America; the intellectually alert and brotherly Jones, ofPem- 60 WELSH BAPTISTS IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY broke Dock, and Williams, of Newtown, are men of light and leading in the English pulpits of the principality. Rowe Evans, of Neath, a man of large heart and rare eloquence, died recently in the prime of his manhood and in the very zenith of his popularity. John Williams, Pontypool, my old chum at college, has oc cupied one of the leading pulpits in Monmouthshire for nearly a quarter of a century and was, when I last saw him, a few years since, as young and fresh in his thinking as he ever was. These are but samples of the men who are now filling the English pulpits of Wales. In Brittany a flourishing mission work carried on for half a century and more, was commenced by a son of Dr. John Jenkins, of Hengold. The New Testament was translated by him into the language of the people. In connection with our denominational missions in India there are Welsh names which will not be forgotten, among them those of John Thomas, Thomas Evans, Daniel Jones, William James, and Timothy Richards. Among the Welsh-speaking people of the United States the most influential men as Baptist clergyman fifty years ago were W. Morgans, Pottsville ; William Owens, Pittsburg ; J. E. Jones, Cincinnati ; Morris Williams, Utica ; and Thomas Davies, New York. Later J. P. Harris, Minerville ; Theoph- ilus Jones, of Scranton ; P. L. Davies, who although set tled with the English in Camden, New Jersey, was claimed by the Welsh as one of the very choicest of her sons ; Owen Griffiths (Geruldus), and Fred. Evans, of Hyde Park, who afterward occupied several prominent pulpits among the Eng lish-speaking Americans. The men who stand out among the Welsh in the United States to-day are W. F. Davies, T. Roslyn Davies, Jacob E. Davies, W. D. Thomas, John T. Griffiths,1 Ebenezer Edwards. The last has retired from the active ministry, but is still busy with his pen. From the earliest days Welsh Baptists have exerted a very positive influence upon the denominational life of English- speaking America. There can be little doubt that the type of American Baptist life was struck in a Welsh mold. Roger Williams, the champion of religious liberty ; John Miles, the great-grandfather of General Miles of the United States Army ; Dr. Samuel Jones, of Lower Dublin, and the venerable Isaac Eaton, first master of Hopewell Academy ; Abel Morgan and Morgan Edwards, distinguished as writers 1 Author of "Morgan John Rhys " and " Baptist Missionaries in their Relation to the Translation of the Scriptures." WELSH BAPTISTS IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY 6 1 and preachers ; David Thomas, the pioneer preacher of Vir ginia and Kentucky; David Jones, Horatio Gates Jones, Isaac Bevan, of Scranton ; P. L. Davies, a very apostle of saintliness ; William Shadrach, John Williams, of New York, and his more distinguished son, W. R. Williams, were Welsh men, or the near descendants of Welshmen. The Welsh do not figure very prominently in the American Baptist life of to-day, but their descendants do. George E. Rees, of Philadelphia ; Owen James, of Johnstown, Pa. , and E. E. Chi vers, so long the inspiring and level-headed leader of the Young People's movement, are the only ones direct from the old sod that I can now think of who have attained to eminent usefulness and honor, but those who have descended from a Welsh ancestry are to be found in high places all over the land. The new president of Rochester University, the president of William Jewell College, the president of Buck- nell University ; Dr. Benjamin Griffith, the former, and Dr. A. J. Rowland, the present corresponding secretary of the American Baptist Publication Society, and one of the secre taries of the Baptist Home Mission Society, Dr. Morgan, Dr. H. O. Rowlands, Dr. Olden Williams, Dr. P. L. Jones, the accomplished book editor of the Baptist Publication Society, and many others occupying high positions both as teachers and preachers all over the land, are proud of the Welsh blood running through their veins. B. D. Thomas. V BAPTISTS OF THE NEW ENGLAND STATES At the beginning of the nineteenth century there were in New England a little more than four hundred Baptist churches, with about thirty thousand church-members. For the most part the pastors of these churches were not college graduates. They had been taught in the school of Christ, however, possessed deep religious convictions, and their nat ural gifts, earnest piety, and consecration to the cause of their divine Master made their message effective and gave them great success as soul winners. The contest for religious lib erty, in which Backus and others for many years had fought so glorious a fight, had not yet ended in full victory, but it had secured relief from the oppression the New England Baptists had so long endured, and only a few added rallies of the Baptist host were needed to secure that just measure of re ligious freedom which they demanded, not for themselves but as the heritage of all. The evangelistic spirit of the New England Baptist churches early led to the adoption of plans for home missionary work. The Massachusetts Baptist Missionary Society was organized in 1802, the Maine Baptist Missionary Society in 1804, the Connecticut Baptist Missionary Society in 1811, and the New Hampshire Baptist Domestic Mission Society in 1819. The Baptists of Rhode Island co-operated with the Massa chusetts Baptist Missionary Society from the time of its organization, Rev. Stephen Gano, pastor of the First Baptist Church in Providence, having a place on its first Board of Trustees. The foreign missionary spirit was awakened a little later by letters from William Carey concerning his work in India. There were in these churches those who desired to co-operate with him and his associates in their missionary work, but Carey advised otherwise. But the departure of Judson and his associates in 181 2 for far-away heathen lands deepened this interest awakened by Carey's work, and when at length the tidings came that Judson and his wife had become Bap tists and had been baptized at Calcutta, the hearts of New 62 BAPTISTS OF THE NEW ENGLAND STATES 63 England Baptists were stirred as they had not been stirred before. Later came the intelligence that Mr. Rice had also become a Baptist. When he returned to this country he found the Baptists of New England organized for effective work. Arrangements were soon made for an address to the Baptists of the United States, while Mr. Rice was requested to travel in the Middle and Southern States for the organiza tion of societies to co-operate with those already formed in New England. It was the organization of these societies that led to the call of a meeting May 18, 1814, to consider "a plan for eliciting, combining, and directing the energies of the whole denomination in one sacred effort for sending the glad tidings of salvation to the heathen and to nations desti tute of pure gospel light." This meeting resulted in the organization of "The General Missionary Convention of the Baptist Denomination in the United States of America for Foreign Missions." Early in the century an interest in educational matters characterized the Baptists of New England. At that time Brown University, at Providence, R. I., was the only educa tional institution under their auspices. Admirably did this institution meet the needs of the denomination in the south ern part of New England. But the northern parts were re mote and as early as 1807, in the Bowdoinham Association, in the district of Maine, attention was called to the importance of securing added facilities for ministerial education. Three years later, at a meeting of the same Association, a committee was chosen to take into consideration the propriety of petition ing the General Court of Massachusetts for the incorporation of an institution for promoting literary and theological knowl edge. This institution, located at Waterville, and opened in 1818, became Waterville College in 1821, Colby Univer sity in 1867, and Colby College in 1899. In 1825, the es tablishment of the Newton Theological Institution followed the movement at Waterville. Hebron Academy, at Hebron, Me., was established in 1804, and Pierce Academy, at Mid- dleboro, Mass., in 1808. These were the Baptist educa tional institutions in New England at the close of the first quarter of the century. About this time the Baptists of the several New England States were engaged in perfecting their organization for ag gressive mission work within their own borders. The Bap tist Convention of Connecticut was organized in 1823, the State Conventions of Maine, Vermont, and Massachusetts were organized in 1824, that of Rhode Island in 1825, and 64 BAPTISTS OF THE NEW ENGLAND STATES that of New Hampshire in 1826. The aim of these several organizations at the outset was very largely a missionary one. Missionaries were employed, and new or neglected fields re ceived their attention. But these State organizations were forceful in other directions. The churches in each of these States were brought into closer relations for organized effort in various directions, and in this way the influence of the denomination was greatly extended. Other organizations for ministerial education and charitable work were also formed. As early as 1816 an Education Society was or ganized in Rhode Island. The Massachusetts and Connec ticut Baptist Education Societies were organized in 181 8, and the Maine Baptist Education Society in 1819. In 1830, the Massachusetts Baptist Education Society became the Northern Baptist Education Society, and in co-operation with this society the Baptists of Rhode Island organized the Rhode Island branch of the Northern Baptist Education So ciety ; the Baptists of New Hampshire, the New Hampshire branch of this society ; and the Vermont Baptists, the Ver mont branch of the same society — all in 1830. The same course was adopted by the Baptists of Connecticut in 1832, but the auxiliary relation continued only a short time and the Connecticut Baptist Education Society has since maintained an independent organization. In 1842, the Rhode Island Baptist Education Society was formed, and the relation which the Rhode Island Baptists had hitherto sustained to the Mas sachusetts society was severed. In Maine, also, an indepen dent organization was continued. Into the Sunday-school movement, which had its begin nings in New England in the first quarter of the century, the Baptist churches entered somewhat slowly. There were those among the older members of the churches who held aloof from the new movement because of a fear that the organiza tion of Sunday-schools would be followed by a decline in parental instruction and family religion ; but for the most part the members of the churches placed no obstacles at least in the way of the new movement, and it found increasing favor. The Charles Street Baptist Church, in Boston, had a Sunday-school as early as 1816. Although the movement at first was confined to the cities and larger towns, it soon extended to the smaller places. It was not deemed neces sary that the teachers should be Christians, but teachers' meetings were held and Sunday-school libraries were formed. At length in the several States societies were organized in the interest of Sunday-school work, and in 1836 the New England BAPTISTS OF THE NEW ENGLAND STATES 65 Baptist Sunday-school Union came into existence. In Maine, the Maine Baptist Sunday-school Union continued its work until 1854, when that work was assumed by the Convention, but was not made prominent. In New Hampshire and Ver mont the Sabbath-scnool Union transferred its interests to the State Convention in 1844. In Massachusetts, from 1848, the Sunday-school work was left to the various Associational Sunday-school organizations until 1885, when the Massachu setts Baptist Sunday-school Association was formed. In Rhode Island a Sabbath-school Association was organized in 1840. The work was reorganized in 1854, and is still vigor ously prosecuted under the title, The Rhode Island Baptist Sunday-school Association. The Connecticut Baptist Sabbath- school Society was organized in 1830. In 1836, it became auxiliary to the New England Sunday-school Union, but in 1842 it changed its name to the Connecticut Baptist Sunday- school and Publication Society. For many years the Sunday- school work of the denomination in the State was left to the Associational Sunday-school societies. Later the Convention appointed a Sunday-school secretary, and to this extent gave attention to the work. In 1883, the Connecticut Baptist Bible-school Union was organized, and has since been useful in gathering statistics and in stimulating Sunday-school work throughout the State. The doctrinal belief of the New England Baptist churches found expression at the beginning of the century in the Phila delphia Confession, which was an adaptation of the West minster Confession, prepared in England for use in Baptist churches. But as early as 1830 there was a call on the part of some of the Baptists of New England for a better ex pression of their doctrinal views, and June 24 of that year a committee was appointed by the New Hampshire Baptist Convention to prepare a " Declaration of Faith and Practice, together with a Covenant," and to submit the same at the next meeting. The work of final revision, however, seems to have been performed by Rev. J. Newton Brown, at least very largely, and in October, 1832, he laid the revised arti cles before the Board. After a few changes they were adopted and then recommended to the churches of the State. These articles of faith have since been known as the New Hampshire Confession. After the lapse of twenty years, Mr. Brown, in a republication of this Confession, added two new articles, one on repentance and faith and the other on sanctification. What has just been said is in evidence as to progress in E 66 BAPTISTS OF THE NEW ENGLAND STATES Christian doctrine in the Baptist churches in New England. There has been no new departure, and the New England Baptist churches have held all through the century the doc trines of grace which they received from the fathers as the teachings of the word of God. During the century added light has been thrown upon that word from a great many sources. Then too, the boundaries of knowledge in general have been extended, and as a result the revolving years have left us, not a new theology, but the old theology somewhat modified and restated. In the various moral reforms the New England Baptist churches have taken a prominent part. At first the protest was raised against the excessive drinking of intoxicating liquors, and a New England Baptist minister in the early part of the century could refer to this as a " habit which pre vails to the utter ruin of many and the injury of millions," and he added, alluding to the young, "Shall we teach them to be sober and temperate and not be so ourselves ? ' ' Many Baptist church-members had a part in the Washing- tonian movement. In not a few of the churches, while this movement was in progress, temperance societies were formed and efforts were made in various directions, and especially among the young, for the cultivation of sound temperance principles. Baptist Associations and State Conventions early began to place on record their convictions concerning the evils of intemperance, and throughout the century the Bap tists of New England have been consistent and united in their efforts to advance the cause of temperance at home and abroad. Likewise in the great anti-slavery movement, beginning early in the century, the Baptists of New England manifested the deepest interest. It was not forgotten by them that among the slaveholders at the South were very many mem bers of Baptist churches, but the New England Baptists had such convictions of duty in their opposition to slavery that they could not refrain from giving expression to them and from uniting in efforts not only to prevent the extension of slavery in the Territories, but to secure its abolition in the slaveholding States. When at length the Civil War opened the Baptists of New England promptly placed themselves upon the Union side in the conflict. The resolutions adopted by Associations and State Conventions during the four battle years expressed an unshaken confidence in the ultimate triumph of the Union arms and in the final overthrow of slavery. After the war BAPTISTS OF THE NEW ENGLAND STATES 6j the New England Baptist churches interested themselves in a very large degree in missionary and educational work in behalf of the freedmen at the South. The earliest workers along these lines were for the most part from New England, and the results that have been obtained in the progress of this work have been due very largely to the heroic and unself ish labors of these devoted instructors, of whom some have finished their labors and some are still at their posts. The work of Baptist women in connection with Baptist missionary operations commenced with the century. The Boston Female Society for Missionary Purposes was organ ized in 1800. In it Congregationalists and Baptists were united in a common service. The funds they raised were at first devoted to the work of the Congregational Missionary Society ; but with the organization of the Massachusetts Do mestic Missionary Society for distinctively Baptist work, it was agreed that the subscription of each member of the so ciety should be devoted to the work of that organization with which she was connected. More and more, very naturally, Baptist women began to contribute directly to the work of the Baptist society. Much of the work of raising funds was through mite societies. The minutes of various Baptist Asso ciations in New England from 1808 make mention of these mite societies. That in Warren, R. I., constituted Septem ber 26, 1808, contributed that year $55 for missionary work. A hke society in Charlestown, Mass., in 1809, "engaged to pay one cent a week for the purpose of sending missionaries, who shall publish the doctrines of the cross in new settle ments, and other places where the name of the Saviour is hardly known. ' ' The Female Benevolent Society of Liver- more, Maine, where George Dana Boardman was born in 1801, contributed in 1812 $14.08 to missionary work. But all such contributions at first were for work here in the home land. In 181 1, the Boston Female Society for Missionary Purposes gave all the funds it raised that year for the ' ' trans lation of the Scriptures carried on so extensively and success fully by the missionaries at Serampore in Bengal." After Judson and his wife entered upon their work in Burma, the Baptist women of New England commenced the raising of funds to aid in the prosecution of the work there, and with increasing devotion they continued their self-denying labors, glad of the opportunity that had so wonderfully come to them in the opening of this promising missionary field. Their in terest was deepened as the work extended to Assam, India, Siam, China, and Japan. In 1870, Mrs. C. H. Carpenter, of 68 BAPTISTS OF THE NEW ENGLAND STATES the Bassein mission, in Burma, writing to her sister, Mrs. Dr. Alvah Hovey, of Newton Center, Mass., suggested the or ganization, by Baptist women, of women's missionary socie ties auxiliary to the American Baptist Missionary Union. This suggestion led to the organization of such a society in the Baptist church at Newton Center, and not long after, in April, 187 1, the Woman's Baptist Foreign Missionary Society was organized in Boston. The first missionary of the society sailed from Boston December 16, 187 1. It was not a New England society, however, but was designed to unite the efforts of Baptist women in churches interested in the work of the American Baptist Missionary Union, wherever resident. In 1877 the Women's American Baptist Home Mission Society was organized, with its headquarters in Boston. It had in view educational work in co-operation with the Ameri can Baptist Home Mission Society, and from the time of its organization it has done a most helpful service in furnishing teachers in connection with the educational work of the Home Mission Society. It has largely contributed, also, to the erection of school buildings at Spelman Seminary, Atlanta, Ga. , in the City of Mexico, and at Salt Lake, has generously aided in other places, and supported many beneficiaries in the Home Mission Society's schools. It has also engaged in mis sionary and educational work in Alaska, where it has estab lished a home for Alaskan orphans. All through the century the educational work of the Bap tists of New England has indicated progress, but especially has this been true during the last half of the century. Dr. Wayland, who became president of Brown University, in 1827, introduced new features, especially in 1849, making provision for such new courses of study in the sciences as the practical spirit of the age demanded, and also for. elective studies — features that have since been adopted by all the principal educational institutions in the country. In 1891 women were admitted to college examinations, and in 1892 a woman's college, as a department of the university, was opened, having a building of its own, known as Pembroke Hall. During the last quarter of the century the endowment of Brown University has been considerably increased, and in 1899 amounted to #1,297,227.59. In 1 899-1 900 subscrip tions were received amounting to #1,095,000, including a subscription of #250,000 from John D. Rockefeller. Colby College has had the following presidents : Jeremiah Chaplin (1822-1833), Rufus Babcock (1833-1836), Robert E. Pattison (1836-1839), Eliphaz Fay (1841-1843), David BAPTISTS OF THE NEW ENGLAND STATES 69 N. Sheldon (1843-1853), Robert E. Pattison (1854-1857), James T. Champlin (1857-1873), Henry E. Robins (1873- 1882), George D. B. Pepper (1882-1889), Albion W. Small (1889-1892), Beniah L. Whitman (1892-1895), and Na thaniel Butler (1895). During the presidency of Dr. Cham plin the funds and equipment of the college were largely in creased. The gifts of Gardner Colby to the college, com mencing with a subscription of #50,000 in 1864, and in cluding the bequest in his will, amounted to #200,000, and ex-Governor Abner Coburn, who had been a generous bene factor to the college, added by his will, in 1885, #200,000. In 187 1 young women were admitted to the college on the same terms as young men. In 1890 the trustees organized within the university a college for young men and a co-ordi nate college for young women, with conditions far entrance identical in the two divisions. , Newton Theological Institution has shared in the pros- . perity that has come to Brown and Colby during the last half of the century. Colby Hall was erected in the last year of the Civil War. Sturtevant Hall and the beautiful Hills Library have been added since, while the old dormitory, Farwell Hall, was entirely remodeled in 1898. A home for the president of the institution was erected in 1900. At the dedication of Colby Hall it was stated that the institution was free from debt, had eighty acres of land with its build ings, and a permanent endowment of #100,000. At the close of the century its permanent fund, trust funds, and other funds amount to more than #500,000. January 1, 1899, a subscription of #100,000 was completed, and almost immediately an effort was commenced to secure an additional endowment of #300,000, toward which John D. Rockefeller offers to give a dollar for every dollar that is raised upon this subscription to the amount of #150,000. Dr. Alvah Hovey, who had been connected with the institution as a member of the faculty since 1849, became president of the institution in 1868, and remained in this position until 1898. His fifty years of service covers the period of its largest prosper ity, and its value was fittingly recognized by the institution in 1899. His successor in the presidency is Dr. Nathan E. Wood. In the increasing prosperity of the higher Baptist educa tional institutions in New England the academies have shared. Ex-Governor Coburn gave #50,000 to Coburn Classical Institute, Waterville, for which he had already pro vided a large and elegant building. Hebron Academy has a JO BAPTISTS OF THE NEW ENGLAND STATES handsome building, Sturtevant Hall, the gift in 1891 of B. F. Sturtevant, of Jamaica Plain, Mass., and in June, 1900, a dormitory for girls, to be known as Sturtevant Home, erected at an expense of about #70,000, was presented to the academy by Mr. Sturtevant's widow. Ricker Classical Institute, at Houlton, Me. , also has a noble building known as Wording Hall, in honor of a generous benefactor, while the institute bears the name of an honored son of Maine, long connected with the missionary and educational interests of the denomi nation, who bestowed upon it liberal benefactions, Rev. Dr. Joseph Ricker, of Augusta. Higgins Classical Institute, at Charleston, Me., is the youngest of the Baptist academies in the State. It bears the name of its generous benefactor and the chief promoter of its varied interests, Rev. J. H. Hig gins, and, as the century comes to a close, preparations are already in progress for the erection of buildings which will give it needed facilities for its growing work. In Colby Academy, at New London, N. H. , the Baptists of New Hampshire have an institution in which their educa tional interests center. Opened in 1853, under the charter of the New London Academy, afterward known as the New London Literary and Scientific Institution and in 1878 as Colby Academy, in honor of the late Governor Anthony Colby, its history has been a varied one, but it enters upon the new century with an efficient corps of instructors and brightening prospects. In the Vermont Academy, at Saxton's River, Vt., the Baptists of that State have wisely concentrated their educa tional interests. Incorporated in 1872, it has a valuable plant, a good endowment, and a well-merited reputation. Worcester Academy, at Worcester, Mass. , incorporated in 1834, entered upon a more prosperous career in 1869. Since that time new and elegant buildings have been added, its endowment has been greatly increased, and it has secured a high position among the schools of its grade in the old Bay State. In Connecticut the Baptists established at Suffield the Connecticut Literary Institution in 1833. Its building was burned in 1871, and a new building took its place. Its facilities for educational work have been increased from time to time, and so has its endowment. But the missionary work of the churches has not been neglected meanwhile. The various State Conventions have shown a growing interest in providing methods and means to meet the needs of the fields, old and new. It is a significant BAPTISTS OF THE NEW ENGLAND STATES "J \ fact that in Boston, long the stronghold of the Standing Order, the Baptists now take the lead in church-membership. The Boston Baptist Social Union was organized in 1864, to promote good fellowship among the members of the Baptist churches in and around Boston, and especially to interest them in various denominational enterprises, such as aiding weak churches and establishing new churches. In connec tion with its work an increasing interest in city missions has been developed, and the present prosperity of the denomi nation in Boston is due, in a measure at least, to the help received from this organization of Baptist laymen, and one of its members, the late Daniel Sharp Ford, by his liberal benefactions has furnished it with greatly added resources with which to prosecute its helpful work in the new century. The same generous benefactor has made large provision for aiding in the work of the Baptist Conventions of Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. In these States the Baptists find it more and more difficult to increase their membership on account of a diminishing native population. From the rural communities, remote from the lines of railroad, there has been a steady emigration during the past fifty years, and churches once strong in these communities have become weak. But many of the men and women who have left their old homes in the country have not left New England, and are still active in its Baptist churches in more prosperous communities, so that Baptist growth in New England has been maintained throughout the century. As a whole, the Baptist churches of New England were never better equipped for successful sendee than at the present time. The mem bership of the New England Baptist churches by States, as furnished by the minutes for 1899, is as follows : Maine, 249 churches, 20,051 members; New Hampshire, 84 churches, 9,719 members; Vermont, 96 churches, 8,520 members; Massachusetts, 338 churches, 70,862 members; Rhode Island, 77 churches, 13,774 members; Connecticut, 141 churches, 25,147 members; total, 985 churches, 148,073 members. Henry S. Burrage. VI BAPTISTS OF THE MIDDLE STATES Traces of Baptists in the Middle States are first met in the year 1656, in the colony of New Amsterdam, near the present town of Flushing, L. I. There were at that time but three Baptist churches in the Colonies, two in Providence and one in Newport. The second Providence church had been formed but four years before, because of a schism in the first church established, growing out of the laying on of hands and other disputed matters. The new church was the more vigorous of the two and active in propagating its notions, and one of its elders, William Wickenden, a cobbler by trade, preached the gospel on Long Island and baptized several converts. He was arrested, imprisoned, fined, and ban ished. There is no record of a church,, and these summary measures seem to have been successful in preventing further progress of Baptist principles during the Dutch domination. In 1684, Thomas Dungan, a Baptist from Ireland, gath ered a small church at Cold Spring, Pa. , but it was a short lived body. The real history of Baptists in the Middle States begins with the formation in 1688 of a church at Pennepeck, or Lower Dublin, now incorporated in the city of Philadel phia. Its constituent members were English and Welsh Baptists of the Calvinistic order, and the other churches that soon sprang up in the same region "were of like faith. The same year saw the formation of the church at Middletown, N. J., and the year following the Piseataway. During the first half of the eighteenth century growth was quite rapid, and by the outbreak of the Revolution there were twelve Baptist churches in Pennsylvania (eight of which were in the Philadelphia region and four in the Pittsburg), and fifteen in New Jersey. The first church to be established in the Colony of New York after the British conquest was in New York City about 1 712. A congregation was gathered in the house of Nicholas Eyers, a well-to-do brewer, of which he finally became the minister. This church disbanded about 1732. A church was formed at Oyster Bay, L. I., possibly as early as 1700, 72 BAPTISTS OF THE MIDDLE STATES J $ but certainly no later than 1724, and is still in existence. The present First Baptist Church of New York dates from 1745, when a small congregation began to meet in the house of Jeremiah Dodge, a shipbuilder, but it did not become an independent body until 1762. It was greatly scattered and weakened by the Revolution, but survived that struggle, and afterward grew and became the mother of many other churches. The process of Western migration and settlement that set in at once after the Revolution contributed greatly to the growth of Baptists in these States. We find it hard to realize that Buffalo and Pittsburg were then regarded as ' ' the far West," and that nearly all the region between these cities and New York and Philadelphia was a wilderness that the feet of few white men had ever trod. But so it was, and now the filling up of this region with hardy pioneers and immigrants began. In this new population were some Bap tists, and a few pioneer preachers of our faith made their way into the new settlements, and from such feeble and unpromising beginnings sprang the first Baptist churches in the interior of these great States. But the missionary spirit was strong among them from the first, and, if the beginnings were small, the growth was rapid. Before this westward advance had begun a characteristic feature of our denomination had become well established, the union of the churches in Associations. This institution begins with the year 1707, when the churches in the Phila delphia region, which had before that time held "yearly meetings," such as still prevail among the Friends, changed these general assemblies into a body of delegates duly ap pointed by the several churches. After 1800 the increase of these Associations was notable, and the early minutes of these bodies disclose the secret of the rapid growth of Bap tists. They were missionary societies in fact, though not in name, existing chiefly for the purpose of encouraging the weaker churches and the establishing of new churches in promising localities. Many of these Associations engaged in missionary labors far beyond the bounds of their own terri tory. This work made manifest the need of a distinctively mis sionary organization of a more general nature, and the first effort to meet this demand was the formation of the Lake Missionary Society in 1807. The name was soon changed to the Hamilton Missionary Society, and the Baptist churches of central New York supported it with praiseworthy liberality. 74 BAPTISTS OF THE MIDDLE STATES But it was soon felt that a society which would unite all the churches of the State in this work was desirable, and the Baptist State Convention was accordingly organized in 1821. The two bodies were united in 1825 under the name of the latter, and this Convention has ever since been an active agent in the propagation of the gospel as understood and practised by Baptists. In 1827 the Baptists of Pennsylvania formed their State Convention, and the New Jersey Conven tion followed in 1830. To the work of these bodies is largely due the progress of Baptists in these three States. A very large proportion of the churches owe their very existence to the fostering care of these Conventions. This is not only true of those churches that are located in sparsely settled communities or in villages once flourishing but now in decline, it is quite as true of churches in thriving towns that are now strong and able to help others because in other days they received help. The best years of the New York Convention have been since 1874, when it was reorganized under the presidency of Ed ward Bright, D. d. Both during his service of ten years, and under the later administration of Dr. J. B. Calvert, there has been a constant growth of power and usefulness. In Pennsyl vania, during the first half-century of labor, ending in 1877, 233 of the 561 churches were brought into existence and maintained by the Convention. In consequence of these missionary labors, the increase of Baptists in all three States has been considerably in advance of the growth of population during a large part of our denominational history. It is the special praise of the Baptists of the Middle States that they were the pioneers in the work of education among us. The first college established under Baptist auspices is due to the intelligent interest in education taken by the Philadelphia Association from the beginning of its history. For many years such an institution was projected, but it was finally decided to ask for a charter in Rhode Island, that being the only Colony where Baptists were likely to receive such a favor. Thus Brown University came to be, in 1764. But this was a college purely, and the need of an institution for the training of ministers was felt. An Education Society was accordingly formed in 181 2, and after maintaining a private school for some years, this resulted in the founding of Columbian University, the charter being obtained in 182 1. In the meantime, another Education Society had been formed by Baptists in central New York, which brought about the establishment of the Hamilton Literary and Theological In- BAPTISTS OF THE MIDDLE STATES 75 stitution, in 1820. Until 1839 this was restricted to the training of ministers, but then young men were admitted to study for other callings. The literary department was char tered as Madison University in 1846, and the name was changed to Colgate University in 1889. A proposal to move this institution from Hamilton, a rural community, to the thriving city of Rochester, was made in 1847, and for a time the project seemed likely to be success ful. Objections arose, however, and the courts finally pro nounced the intended removal illegal. Two new institutions were established at Rochester in the year 1850, as a result of this failure, the University of Rochester and the Rochester Theological Seminary. Not only were the first Baptist college and the first Baptist theological seminary founded through the labors of Baptists of the Middle States, but the first college for the education of women. By gift of Matthew Vassar, in September, 1865, Vassar College began its work of instruction, with what was then an ample endowment, increased in later years to a sum of which none then dreamed. Two years later the Crozer Theological Seminary was founded, beginning its career with #275,000, the largest endowment up to that time possessed by a Baptist theological institution. Nine schools of academic grade have also been established by the Baptists of the Middle States. Five of these are in Pennsylvania, including the oldest of them all, Bucknell Academy, established in 1846. The others are : the Bucknell Institute, an academy for young women exclusively (1854) ; Keystone Academy, at Factoryville (1868) ; Hall Institute, at Sharon (1888), and the Western Pennsylvania Institute, at Mt. Pleasant (187 1). New York has three such schools : Cook Academy, at Montour Falls (1872) ; Colgate Academy, founded in connection with the university of the same name in 1873, and the Marion Institute, the oldest of all (1855), but for many years a private school and only recently coming under full denominational control. New Jersey has two academies, the Peddie Institute, at Hightstown (1867), and the South Jersey Institute, at Bridgeton (1869). These schools are sufficient in number, though none too many, but they are very inadequately endowed. The income- producing funds of all combined do not equal the funds of the worst endowed college in the same region. Insufficient as is the material provision for education yet made by the Baptists of the Middle States, the aggregate en dowments of the institutions named reach the sum of #5, 162,- 76 BAPTISTS OF THE MIDDLE STATES ooo, while the fair valuation of property and apparatus also possessed by them is #4,400,000. This is the work of two generations, and so considered is far from discreditable. There are now about 2,200 students annually pursuing studies in these schools. In all forms of Christian work — such as Sunday-schools, young people's societies, women's work in missions — the Baptists of these States have been, if not the first to under take them, second to none in the vigor and enterprise of their participation. The churches of these States are also identified in a peculiar way with many of the events and in stitutions of capital importance in our denominational history. The first of our missionary organizations, the body commonly known as the Triennial Convention, was constituted in the First Baptist Church of Philadelphia, in May, 18 14, and it was dissolved in May, 1846, in the Pierrepont Street Church of Brooklyn, where also the first meeting of its successor, the American Baptist Missionary Union, was held. The Home Mission Society was formed in New York, in 1832, at a convention held in the Baptist Tabernacle, in Mulberry Street, and its headquarters have always been in that city. In April, 1837, a remarkable Convention, held in Philadel phia, resulted in the establishment of the American and Foreign Bible Society ; and three years later the American Bible Union was organized in New York. In addition to this series of denominational societies formed in connection with the Middle State churches, might very properly be named the American Baptist Publication Society ; for, though originally formed in Washington, it was almost immediately removed to Philadelphia, where it has had its headquarters until this day. Nor should mention be omitted of the Bible Convention of 1883, at Saratoga, which composed the de nominational strifes of two generations, and unified our Bible work. In tracing the relative progress made by Baptists in these States, the chief difficulty is lack of trustworthy early statistics. As nearly as may be estimated, in 1 800 Baptists were about one in eighty-three of the population. From 1820 to 1850, their increase was very remarkable, especially in the two decades following 1820, and at the middle of the century they were one in forty-six of the population. This increase was due in part to rapid immigration, both from Europe and from the Eastern States, and in still larger part must be ascribed to widespread and repeated revivals in nearly every community, promoted by the preaching of itinerant " evan- BAPTISTS OF THE MIDDLE STATES yj gelists." These revivals were not peculiar to any denomi nation, but characteristic of American religious life during this period. No denomination profited more numerically than our own, and none attained such rapid growth in the face of greater obstacles. To begin with, the principles advocated by Baptists seemed to other denominations to be especially hostile to their teach ing and practice, and consequently great opposition to Bap tists developed in almost every community. If they were permitted to unite with other Christians in enterprises of common interest, they were almost always denied equal rights in them, and hence were often compelled to do their own work in their own way and hold themselves aloof from those with whom they would have been glad to labor on more just terms. This is a disadvantage that in these later years Baptists have measurably outgrown ; their increase in numbers, in wealth, in intelligence, has made them not only respectable but respected. Again, our churches suffered during this period from severe internal dissensions, which more than once threatened to rend the denomination in twain, and once did accomplish that result. Some of these causes of dissension were common to all portions of the denomination ; some were peculiar to the Baptists of these States. Among the former may be named the agitation against slavery, which caused great diversity of sentiment as to measures and methods, though there was practically but one attitude toward slavery itself. Among the latter were such agitations as the Millerite and Anti-Masonic movements, which deserve more extended mention. William Miller was a member of a Baptist church in northern New York, and from 1831 onward his teachings regarding the impending coming of Christ and the end of the present world began to attract great attention among Christians generally, but especially in the Baptist churches. Eventually thousands of Baptists, and some entire churches were drawn into this current, which bore them farther and farther away from their faith, and resulted in the establishment of the Second Advent body. Even when there was no formal separation from our fellowship, many churches and individuals received irrepara ble harm from Miller's vagaries, and growth was greatly re tarded in the regions where his influence was most extensive. The Anti-Masonic agitation was political in essence, but the strong feeling against that order invaded the churches, and finally in the majority of Baptist churches fellowship was 78 BAPTISTS OF THE MIDDLE STATES refused to all who would not separate themselves from all secret societies. A considerable number of churches in these States, from about 1835, also began to oppose Sunday- schools, foreign missions, and other activities of the denomi nation, on the ground that all organizations for these pur poses were unauthorized human inventions, and as such contrary to the Scriptures. Under the name of Primitive or Old School Baptists, some few churches of this order still remain in the Middle States, and farther South they are quite numerous. From 1850 to 1900 Baptists have failed to maintain their rapid growth not only, but have even fallen slightly behind the increase of the population, being now not quite one in forty-eight. The declension is greatest in New York. An analysis of the statistics discloses the fact that when we set over against the baptisms during this period the losses by deaths and exclusions, there were at least 100,000 members dismissed to churches of other States. This was the time when immigration to the central Western States was most ac tive, and the relative decrease of the churches is thus accounted for. They really grew much faster than the population, but of their increase they gave generously to build up churches elsewhere. The same is true, in a less degree, of Pennsyl vania and New Jersey churches — a statement of their ap parent growth does them serious injustice. There has been, however, a steady increase in the strength of the churches in all three States. In 1850 the average Bap tist church in New York had 105 members, in Pennsylvania ninety, in New Jersey, 133. In 1900 the numbers had risen to 162 in New York, 148 in Pennsylvania, and 167 in New Jersey. Careful analysis of the tables reported in the minutes of the State Conventions proves that this increase in membership is not due to the rise of a few great metropolitan churches, but to growth in cities of the second class and in thriving villages. The purely rural churches have suffered severely during the last half-century, but there is reason to hope that better times are at hand for them. From 1850 to 1880 there was a general and ominous concentration of population in the cities. The figures of the last census show that this tendency has been checked. The general introduction of the trolley- car and the improvement of the highway, have made country life more tolerable, and the rich are more and more making their country houses their chief place of residence, spending only the few winter months in their city houses. The churches sympathize with these general movements of popu- BAPTISTS OF THE MIDDLE STATES 79 lation, and with the rehabilitation of the country as a place of residence for the well-to-do we may look for the rehabili tation of the country churches. At the beginning of the twentieth century, New York Baptists reported 943 churches, and 152,776 members; in Pennsylvania there were 743 churches, with 110,292 members; and in New Jersey, 317 churches and 53,172 members. These churches possess property valued at over #25,000,000 and their contributions in 1900 for all objects were httle short of #4,000,000. Some of the peculiar causes that have limited the growth of Baptists in these States dur ing the last fifty years are likely not to affect them so seriously as heretofore. The immigration from Catholic countries is lessening, this population now tending to settle elsewhere. The emigration to Western States of our own best people has markedly fallen off. These facts do not warrant a prediction, perhaps, of immediate increase in our denominational growth, but they encourage a hope that with the removal of serious obstacles progress may become more rapid. Henry C. Vedder. VII BAPTISTS OF THE SOUTHERN STATES In order to trace with proper appreciation the phenomenal growth of the denomination in the Southern States during the century, let us glance at the prevailing conditions which existed at its beginning. The people had about recovered from the disintegration and demoralization which resulted from the Revolution. A new generation had practically come upon the scene of action to avail itself of the new order of things. Meeting-houses, which had been dismantled or totally destroyed prior to the Revolution, were now rebuilt, congregations were once more gathered, and new territory was penetrated by the Baptist missionary. I. SERIOUS BARRIERS. There were, however, serious barriers to be encountered. Baptist churches were widely scattered ; roads and bridges were few, and methods of travel meagre ; implements of in dustry were hardly to be had ; books were scant and food and clothing were the simplest and coarsest. At that time too, Baptists were comparatively a feeble folk. Scarcely 70,000 members belonged to the Baptist churches of the South. Almost one-half of these were massed in Virginia — a result of the fierce persecution to which they had been sub jected by the Establishment. These 70,000 communicants met in 550 churches. The membership of some of these was exceedingly small, and almost all were served by an illiterate, though consecrated, ministry. The impulse derived from unrestricted freedom, however, animated and stimulated them at every step. Devotional meetings were held, whenever possible, during the week. The primitive forests about a new settlement rang with stentorian melody, interspersed with prayer, equally stentorian, when the labor of the day was done, and the rudely dressed settlers, with their oblong "note books," encircled a blazing fire. Conventionality in worship was undreamed of by these worshipers in the early days of the century. Natural impulse was obeyed, no matter whether it actuated to prayer, to exhortation, or to song. 80 BAPTISTS OF THE SOUTHERN STATES 8 1 In cool disregard of the dangers which threatened them, these primitive preachers evangelized the widely scattered settlers, built churches, and thus laid the foundation of a great body of Christians. Nor was this all. With unflinch ing courage these same rugged preachers proclaimed, with no uncertain sound, the distinctive principles, dear to Baptists, at a time and under conditions when an effeminate conserva tism would have suggested a milder policy as a means of suc cess. Nor was the power of the influence of these early preachers restricted to their sacred ministrations. In the common walks of life they were equally potent. They had so won, by their zeal and consecration, the confidence of communities that they were frequently chosen to adjudicate causes between man and man. Differences of divers kinds were deferred until the man of God should again visit a community ; and when the cause was appealed to him and he quietly and dis passionately rendered his decision, it was usually taken as final. A day of arduous toil in the field would be followed by hours of earnest study of the plain and well-thumbed Eng lish Bible by the pine-knot fire, for the services of the ap proaching Sunday. Thoroughly identified with every crude interest in these early communities, these earnest preachers came to be bound, by ties of comity and in relations the most intimate, to these primitive settlers. Leaving their rude fields sufficiently early in the week to trudge on foot, sometimes the distance of forty miles, to fill an appointment to preach, these indefatigable missionaries not infrequently followed the Indian trails which threaded the forests, climbing hills and crossing bridgeless streams, and at the appointed time would appear upon the scene to preach the gospel. Sometimes, when the streams were swollen, they would strip, hold their wearing apparel aloft, boldly plunge in, and swim to the opposite side. Such was the character of the indomitable Baptist preacher in the early years of the century, such, the people of that time, such, the prevailing conditions. II. THE FIRST STAGE OF DEVELOPMENT. The first steps taken by Southern Baptists were evangelis tic. This had been true prior to the Revolution. There was practically a cessation of missionary effort during the turbulent years of the war, but that effort was resumed as soon after the struggle as the condition of the country would allow. The energies of the Baptists were bent in the direc- F 82 BAPTISTS OF THE SOUTHERN STATES tion of evangelism. To convert the masses was the one con suming desire of the early Baptist preacher. As a result of this universal sentiment and this singleness of effort, Baptist churches multiplied with great rapidity throughout the rural regions, and as soon as centers of population began to be formed churches were planted in them also. It is true that a few churches existed in certain strong centers, but these were exceedingly few. The gradual material development of the country, and the steady enrichment of the people in a region of equable cli mate and fertile soil, suggested the importance of the crea tion of new schools of learning. These primitive schools partook of the rudeness of the times, but they served to meet existing demands. The gradual development of the masses necessarily called for the scholastic improvement of the min istry. In these movements the leading spirits of the minis try led, among whom may be named Henry Holcombe, John M. Roberts, and Richard Furman. Various means were em ployed for the accomplishment of the end desired. At first books were bought by a common fund, raised for that pur pose, kept at a given place and loaned as occasion required. This was followed by voluntary instruction given by those capable of teaching. Then followed efforts to estabhsh schools for those seeking a better equipment for the sacred work. But these efforts, for different and obvious reasons, failed. The chief difficulty was that none of these means could reach more than a fractional portion of the ministry. Another arose from the inability of men, many of whom had reached maturity and even middle life, to undertake systematic mental work. In the midst of so much diversity no uniform system could be established. Another difficulty, still, grew out of a downright opposition on the part of many well-meaning, but prejudiced preachers, to any plan at all. In the hands of such a class, and it embraced a large major ity, this fruitful suggestion of improvement became a cudgel to be used against pious and progressive leaders. Them selves illiterate, these preachers, in their opposition found ready support of their views in the large uncultured classes which had been brought into the churches. But the strug gling, incipient efforts, though undergoing a number of mod ifications, were eventually developed into the strong Baptist schools of learning now existing in the States of the South. The opening period of the century was distinguished by extraordinary religious revivals. A tide of revivalism again and again swept the country over. The most notable of BAPTISTS OF THE SOUTHERN STATES 83 these revivals was that in which Rev. James McGready, a Scotch-Irish Presbyterian preacher, was a conspicuous leader. It spread from North Carolina into the adjacent States, and even beyond. Under the impassioned appeals of preaching, multitudes were brought into the Baptist churches of the South. Conversion was the be-all and end-all alike of preachers and churches. Subsequent improvement in social organization in the South in time suggested the importance of shaping this incoherent mass into more compact organiza tion. Undaunted by grave difficulties, leaders like Furman and Pelot, of South Carolina, and Holcombe and Mercer, of Georgia, were resolved upon the accomplishment of two ends, viz : a better equipped ministry and a more thorough and efficient organization of the churches. In order to ac complish these ends these leaders found it necessary to lay under tribute the agency of education. III. THE SECOND STAGE OF DEVELOPMENT. The Baptists of the South sought to have scholastic train ing and church development mutually aid and supplement each other. Indeed it is not easy to separate these co operative ideas when we consider the compass of denomina tional education. Church and school act and react upon each other. A ministry trained in a church school neces sarily affects the denominational body ; a denomination sup porting a school of its own necessarily gives to it tone and complexion. The germs of all the Baptist denominational schools in the South are found in the efforts to give increased efficiency to the ministry. Thus theology and secular education gradually became wedded in the evolution of Baptist schools. The study of the process of the evolution of Baptist institutions of learning in the South is a most interesting one. Begin ning in the effort to meet the deficiency of the ministry by the supply of appropriate books, this was followed by a fund with which to enable the younger candidates for the sacred work to take a scholastic course. This, in turn, gave place to an attempt to organize manual labor schools, in which young ministers could combine study with physical labor in such a way as to be able to pay as they should go. This gave place, in the development, to denominational schools of broader compass, in which secular instruction could become so annexed to theological education as to train the laity along side of the ministry. Another change took place when the secular side of the institutions came to overshadow the theo- 84 BAPTISTS OF THE SOUTHERN STATES logical, so that theology became a department of the institu tion under a special professor. The whole plan finally de veloped into a total severance of the two departments, by the creation of a theological seminary and a completer equip ment of the denominational colleges for purely hterary and scientific study. This required the labor of many years, in volving stupendous sacrifice and the wisest management. Each succeeding stage was an experiment which was no sooner shown to be impracticable than it was abandoned and something else adopted in its stead. Before the present con summation was reached full fifty years had gone by. IV. THE THIRD STAGE OF DEVELOPMENT. The third stage was that of a more compact organization of the Baptist forces of the South. Allusion has already been made to the opposition encountered in this under taking. This organization involved two stages, that of the District Associations and that of the organization of State Conventions. As serious opposition was encountered in the one as in the other. Indeed, it seems a principle with Bap tists never to act with precipitation in the adoption of any new method. They have been reluctant to quit the beaten paths of their ancestors. Before the advent of the potent press the Baptists of the South were dependent, as a means of intercommunication, upon what was called ' ' The Circular Letter," a kind of denominational paper read upon some important topic before each district Association as it would annually assemble. The most intelligent and progressive spirits being appointed to prepare such papers, they availed themselves to the fullest of the opportunities afforded for urging from time to time contemplated measures of progress. Immense patience, intense labor, sage wisdom, and earnest effort — all these were employed through long periods of time to bring the churches of the South into complete fusion and unanimity of sentiment and action. In all this the develop ment and general advancement of the country aided. Nor was the opposition encountered from other denomi nations without decided effect. This remark admits of peculiar application to the Methodists, always a wide-awake, energetic, and progressive people. The omnipresent circuit rider, with his supply of tracts and books in his saddle-bags, proved a mighty fulcrum to our leaders in lifting the Baptist people of the South upon a higher plane of activity and intelligence. Baptists can never know how much they are indebted to the indefatigable Methodist preacher. Vying BAPTISTS OF THE SOUTHERN STATES 85 with each other, not always in the most fraternal or even friendly way, the Methodists and Baptists have largely evan gelized the States of the South. V. THE FOURTH STAGE OF DEVELOPMENT. This relates more especially to missionary enterprise. In the earlier days, when Southern society was less coherent and when the enforcement of law was lax, the pulpit was a mighty conservator. Prevalent vices, always inseparable from the population of a new region, demanded the most pro nounced pulpit deliverances. Hence, in those early times the legal side of the gospel was more frequently proclaimed than the side of love. Men were alarmed rather than per suaded. In the midst of this hard service and excessive labor preachers thought little of compensation. To urge this would have been to defeat their efforts. Pastoral compen sation, save in the towns and cities, was little thought of. Generations of preachers in the rural districts never dreamed of compensation, arduous though their labors were and ex ceeding great as were their sacrifices. Most of the men who laid the foundations of the great Baptist denomination of the South went to their graves unrewarded in this world's goods. Next came the agitating questions to which allusion has already been made. The opposition encountered in the work of organization was the logical result of the character of the evangelistic labors of the early fathers. The suggestion of organization had in it more than a hint about money. So had the questions of education and the founding of educa tional institutions. Time was needed as a solvent of these difficulties. This opposition became still more pronounced when the effort was made to raise funds for missionary purposes. And yet this remark is not to be received except with decided modification. Many individuals there were, both men and women, who had from the earliest years of the century been liberal contributors to missions. Relatively speaking, but little was done by the great mass of Southern Baptists, save in the centers of population, prior to 1845. Much had been accomplished in many ways for local or domestic missions, but missions abroad were never emphasized to the churches of the South until the formation of the South ern Baptist Convention. Of course, churches served by such men as Furman, Holcombe, Mercer, Johnson, Sher wood, and others, who were identified with the interests 86 BAPTISTS OF THE SOUTHERN STATES fostered by the Triennial Convention, made stated contribu tions to the general cause ; but the great mass of Baptists was untouched by the appeal in behalf of foreign missions prior to 1845. That they were devoted to domestic missions, however, is abundantly indicated by the fact that they have within one hundred years grown from a membership of, per haps, less than 70,000 to about 2,000,000, a ratio of increase that is marvelous. In the westward flow of civilization the Baptists of the South have been numerously represented. Hence they are strong in the great Mississippi basin and throughout the vast domain of Texas, Arkansas, and Missouri. During the later years of the century the Baptists of the trans-Mississippi region, though the last portion of the South to be occupied, are not a whit behind their brethren in the eastern portion in energy, earnestness, and progressiveness. Their churches, their preachers, their papers, and their schools are abreast of these same agencies elsewhere in the South. With the later years of the century came increased zeal in foreign missions, to which as much attention is now shown by Southern Baptists as there is to home missions. As before in timated, interest in these twin causes was stirred into fresh life by the organization of the Southern Baptist Convention in 1845. The work of the Domestic Board, located first at Marion, Ala. , and afterward removed to Atlanta, Ga. , as the Home Mission Board, became urgent in fostering complete organization and in eliciting means for developing the outlying districts and for the propagation of truth in the rapidly grow ing centers. Its achievements have been great, but its possi bilities are greater to-day than ever before. With similar energy and enterprise the Foreign Mission Board, located from its organization to the present at Rich mond, Virginia, has prosecuted its work in distant fields. In China, Africa, Japan, Italy, Mexico, and South America the missionaries of the Foreign Board are laboring with marked success. Through the Foreign Board, the Southern Baptists are supporting 126 missionaries in the different fields already named. These are distributed as follows : In China, there are forty-four, with native assistants ; in Africa, eight ; in Italy, sixteen ; in South America, twenty-three ; in Mexico, twenty-seven ; in Japan, eight. The evangelistic work in the South has been intensified and solidified by the creation of a local Board in each State. While the primary object of these Boards is the oversight of BAPTISTS OF THE SOUTHERN STATES 87 mission operations in a given State, closest touch with the gen eral work and co-operation with it obtains. To these State Boards is chiefly due the revival in Sunday-school work in the South. While Sunday-schools have existed in some form in some of the churches since the opening of the century, they did not become prominent until about i860. The rising inter est in that cause was retarded by the Civil War, but at its close the interest was renewed. When a few years after the cessa tion of hostilities State Boards began to be formed, a new impetus was imparted to the Sunday-school, and it has in creased with the years. VI. THE FIFTH STAGE OF DEVELOPMENT. Special reference is had by this to that branch of denomi national education which relates to theological instruction. The creation of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary was a distinct stage of development in the history of Southern Baptists. It was the culmination of six decades of experi mental effort on the part of the Baptists of the South. For the successful completion of this great enterprise the Baptists of the South are chiefly indebted to Dr. James P. Boyce. The advancement made in the two great spheres of effort oc cupied by Southern Baptists — missions and education — is more largely due to this institution, already become famous, than to all other agencies combined. The flexibility of its curriculum has been aidful to the pastors of Southern Bap tists, of all degrees of culture. The seminary has just fairly begun its career of usefulness. CONCLUSION. Other interests not previously mentioned which are inci dental in character, but which are indicative of the increased vitality in the Baptist churches of the South, may be briefly mentioned here. These relate to efforts designed to enlist the youth and children belonging to the congregations of South ern Baptists. One of these is the Baptist Young People's Union, which has proved to be as popular in the South as in any other section of our common country. The wide awake pastors of our churches, in city and country alike, have committed themselves to the organization of the youth of their respective charges and are impressing them with the importance of work for the Master. "The Sunbeams" is an organization, I believe, peculiar to the South. The purpose of this organization is to enlist the smaller children of the congregation in general denomi- 00 BAPTISTS OF THE SOUTHERN STATES national work. This is coming to be as popular with that class as the larger organization is to the youth of our churches. In a sketch so general and imperfect as this is, it is impos sible to give more than a glimpse of the accomplishments of Southern Baptists during the nineteenth century. Many points of interest have been passed over without record, or even allusion, but sufficient has been presented to show the phe nomenal development within one hundred years. Within the last quarter of the century long strides have been taken by Southern Baptists. With their superior institutions of learn ing, an able press, ample mission machinery and organization, progressive spirit, and strong ministry, So.uthern Baptists enter the new century superbly panoplied for service for the Lord. B. F. Riley. VIII BAPTISTS OF THE CENTRAL WESTERN STATES This sketch, which cannot be more, attempts the retracing of the denominational progress for a century in a region constituting at its end a mighty empire with a population of nearly 25,000,000, comprised in sixteen States, nine of which have passed the million mark in population, two of them having more than 4,000,000 each. It is, in general, the region which at the beginning of the century comprised the Northwest Territory entire and the greater part of that vast Louisiana province ceded by France to Spain in 1763, re ceded to France in 1800, and purchased by the United States from Napoleon in 1803. Nor can the denominational, any more than the national, history be understood without an un derstanding of the territorial and political premises, especially as indicated in the ordinance of 1787 and the development of the territory northwest of the Ohio. Baptist history in this region is illumined by the fact that the pioneers consisted in large part either of revolutionary soldiers seeking to retrieve the fortunes shattered by war, or of those voluntarily forsaking their former homes for the sake of living under the principles embodied in the ordinance of 1787, guaranteeing the en couragement of education and religious and individual free dom. Patriotism, liberty of conscience, education, and human freedom will be recognized as characteristic Baptist ideas and it will not seem strange that the first Protestant church to be formed in all this vast region was a Baptist church, that the pioneers were in so many instances of aggressive anti-slavery views, and that education followed hard after church-found ing. November 18, 1788, a few months later than the earli est settlement in the territory at Marietta, a band of twenty- five pioneers settled at Columbia, within the present limits of Cincinnati. The leader, Major Benjamin Stites, and five others, including John S. Gano, son of Dr. John Gano, first pastor in New York City, were Baptists. The historic first church in the territory was organized at Columbia in January or March, 1790, by Rev. Stephen Gano, another son of Dr. 89 90 BAPTISTS OF THE CENTRAL WESTERN STATES Gano, then on a visit to the Ohio region and afterward for thirty-six years pastor at Providence, R. I. The first pastor of the Columbia Church (still existing as Duck Creek Church) was John Smith, afterward United States senator and un fortunately associated with Aaron Burr. The first Baptist church in what is now Illinois was constituted in 1796 at New Design, Illinois, with the Lemen family as members, of whom the father, James Lemen, and five sons, James, Josiah, Moses, Joseph, and William, became preachers and anti- slavery leaders. The first church in Indiana dates from 17981 or 1800, 2 and was the Silver Creek Church, near the Falls of the Ohio. The first general organization of Baptists in the West was that of the Miami Association, which includes the Cincinnati region. The first meeting for the organization of this Association was held September 23, 1797, at Columbia, although the organization was not perfected until June, 1798. No general statistics of the Baptist denomination, like those for 1792 and 1812, are available for the year 1800, yet we are able with fair accuracy to estimate those for the region under our survey. Miami Association had in 1800 ten churches and 291 members. There existed also at least the Rainbow Church, near Marietta, Ohio, the New Design Church in Illinois, the Silver Creek Church in Indiana, and a small body, the Ames Church in Scioto Association, Ohio, organized in 1800. A fair estimate for the membership of these fourteen churches would probably be 375 members. This is the beginning of a century of Baptist work in a region which in 1900 reported 4,866 churches with 448,543 mem bers. For the first quarter of the century, as indeed for long after, Cincinnati continued to be the metropolis of the West, and Baptist history for this period was largely confined to Ohio, where churches multiplied until at the organization of the Ohio Baptist Convention, in 1826, it was estimated that there were 7,000 Baptist members among the 700,000 inhabitants of Ohio. Among the prominent churches which had their beginning within this time were the First Church in Cincin nati proper (1813), Lebanon (1802), Zanesville, Granville (1808), Wooster (1812), Marietta (1818), Dayton (1824), Columbus (1824). The remarkable providence which through the coming of Adoniram Judson into the denomina tion hastened the formation of what is now the Missionary Union, in May, 1814, found instant response in Ohio, al- 1 "Bap. Encyc," and Smith, "Hist. Baptists in Western States." 2 Jesse Vawter in " Bap. Triennial Register " for 1836. BAPTISTS OF THE CENTRAL WESTERN STATES 9 1 though separated far from the East in those primitive days, for in the records of the Miami, Mad River, and Scioto Associations for the same year, while the Missionary Union was but four or five months old, there are found an account of the new organization, with its constitution reprinted entire, and a warm commendation of the cause to the churches. In 1815 the Miami Association voted to organize the Miami Baptist Domestic Missionary Society, "to support Baptist missionaries in this Western country." This organization, completed in 1816, was a genuine home missionary society, and in 181 9 it was voted by the Association to recommend the Domestic Missionary Society at its next meeting to pro vide also for foreign missions in the constitution. In 1816, or possibly in 181 7, the Ohio Baptist Education Society was formed in Beaver Association,1 and although in the strenuous times which soon were experienced in that Association, through the presence in it of Alexander Camp bell and Sidney Rigdon, this organization seems to have lapsed into obscurity, so that it is doubtful whether it bore direct connection with the present society of the same name, yet it is of importance as the first movement on behalf of de nominational education organized in the West. In 1824 there was organized the Cincinnati Baptist Missionary Society, to perform missionary work within a radius of twenty-five miles of Cincinnati and to organize auxiliary societies. This or ganization, two years later, gave way to, and led in, the organ ization of the Ohio Baptist Convention, which was formed at Zanesville in May, 1826. The anti-means, anti-education, and anti-mission movements in Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois are often assumed at this distance from their beginnings to have represented the original attitude of Western Baptists toward missions and education, and the progressive sentiment only to have emerged slowly and painfully therefrom. But the anti-mission sentiment, on the contrary, while always latent in human hearts, did not fully come to a head until the middle of the fourth decade of the century, while the Baptist missionary movement in the West was instantly wel comed in Ohio in 1814 ; and within that second decade of the century at least three Associations (the Miami, Beaver, and Mohican, in Ohio) proceeded to form missionary or educational organizations, or both, on their own account, be sides co-operating with the Triennial Convention. The notable work of Isaac McCoy among the Indians began in 1 Minutes Beaver Association for 1817, and Miami Association for 1818, and copy of constitution preserved in the Larwill family at Wooster, Ohio. 92 BAPTISTS OF THE CENTRAL WESTERN STATES Indiana in 1818, and was transferred to Carey Station, near the present site of Niles, Michigan, in 1822 ; and John M. Peck, sent out by the Triennial Convention to St. Louis in 181 7, had by 1819 organized the United Society for the Spread of the Gospel, with its education fund, its Indian fund, and its mission fund, which was approved the same year by the Missouri and the Illinois Associations and whose purposes were vigorously pushed with much success, forming the introduction to Dr. Peck's important work, educational and missionary, in Illinois, and to the formation of the American Baptist Home Mission Society. The first quarter-century, which saw Baptist history well started in Ohio, Illinois, and Indiana, saw also its bare be ginning in Michigan, for the first church was formed at Pon- tiac in 1822, the year in which also the First Church, Indian apolis, was organized. The Pontiac Church was organized by Rev. Elon Galusha, but the first settled pastor was El- kanah Comstock, who came to Pontiac in 1824 and who in the two years following organized the Bloomfield and Farm- ington churches which, with the Stony Creek Church (formed in 1824) and the Pontiac Church, were on June 3, 1826, formed into the Michigan Association. These dates, which are es tablished by a letter from Elkanah Comstock, dated Novem ber 15, 1826, and printed in the "American Baptist Maga zine" (now the " Missionary Magazine") for February, 1827, are to be remembered, since the Michigan Association ob served its fiftieth anniversary, in 1877, and still gives the date of organization in the ' ' Michigan Baptist Annual ' ' as 1827, misled probably by the early practice of referring to a first anniversary as the ' ' first annual meeting, " as is done by Elkanah Comstock himself in a second letter to the "Ameri can Baptist Magazine," dated July 6, 1827, and published in the magazine for August of that year, giving an account of the first anniversary of the Association. The year 1827 saw the organization of the First Church, Detroit, by Rev. Henry Davis, and the year following that in Ann Arbor, under Rev. Moses Taylor. The decade of the thirties saw in quick succession the or ganization of Baptist colleges in the four States, beginning with Granville, Ohio, in 1831 ; Shurtleff, in Illinois, follow ing, in 1832; Kalamazoo, in 1836; and Franklin, in 1837, each of them with manual labor features and the most of them with theological aspirations. Each of these institutions has survived, and at the end of the century they are attended by probably 1,200 students and represent an investment in prop- BAPTISTS OF THE CENTRAL WESTERN STATES 93 erty and endowments of nearly #2,000,000. It was this dec ade, so prolific in promising educational offspring, which ush ered in the birth of the American Baptist Home Mission So ciety, which saw at its beginning in this region 668 of our churches, with 26,986 members, and at its close the churches increased 800 percent., and the membership 1,600 per cent. This decade saw also the notable beginnings of Baptist work in Chicago, the first church being organized by Rev. A. B. Freeman in 1833. The year 1836 saw the establishment of the first church in Milwaukee, with other Baptist begin nings in Wisconsin. But the same decade witnessed the cul mination of the slowly gathering opposition to missionary and educational work. The doctrinal basis of this opposition lay in the hyper-Calvinistic construction placed, perhaps without great straining, upon the Philadelphia Confession. Its prac tical basis lay in the natural human tendency to withstand claims upon body, brain, and purse, and in a jealousy of the more educated and aggressive ministry, who may, perhaps, in some cases have let their light shine with too bright a glare. ' In the fourth decade of the century the anti-means and anti- mission movement seemed most formidable. It rent the Miami Association asunder, taking nineteen churches with 706 members and leaving but six churches with 441 mem bers ; and all throughout southern Ohio, Indiana, and Illi nois the line of cleavage opened. But it fought a hopeless fight against the onward movement of God's universe. In a brief twenty years the missionary Miami Association had six teen churches with 1,964 members, while the anti-mission body had but ten churches, with 343 members ; and at the end of the century the missionary Baptists have in Ohio more than 72,000 members, while there are few more than 2,000 of the Primitive Baptists scattered about over the State. And now the lines limited in the first generation to the five States of the Northwest Territory begin rapidly to diverge until they take in one State and Territory after another, cover ing at last the whole imperial domain of our study. The lines push first across the Mississippi into Iowa in 1834, and the first church is organized at Long Creek, now Danville. The first Iowa Association was organized in 1839, with three churches and ninety members, represented by ten delegates. The introductory sermon was preached by Rev. Hezekiah Johnson, father of Dr. Franklin Johnson, of Chicago, and prominent in early Ohio, Indiana, Iowa, and Pacific Coast 1 " Mass. Bap. Miss. Mag.," Sept., 1812. 94 BAPTISTS OF THE CENTRAL WESTERN STATES history. The Iowa State Convention was organized in 1842, at Iowa City. Early names of prominence were, of ministers : Ezra Fisher, H. Johnson, Burton Carpenter, J. W. Todd, M. J. Post, Ira Blanchard ; and of laymen : Stephen Headley, Amos Matthews, M. W. Rudd, J. M. Choate, and others. In the first full decade, from 1840 to 1850, Iowa Baptists in creased from 1,000 to 11,000. It is said that the early labor ers in Iowa were men of unusual culture, broad-mindedness, and energy, and its later history is in keeping with the state ment. Iowa which, at the organization of the State Conven tion in 1842, had eleven churches and 386 members, had at the close of the century 461 churches and 38,499 members. Nearly midway of the century, in 1849, our first church in Minnesota was formed at St. Paul. The first Association was formed in 1852 ; a church constituted at Minneapolis in 1853 ; and the State Convention formed in 1859, with fifty churches and 1,500 members to show for the first decade of work. The work of the Home Mission Society was of signal im portance here as elsewhere. When there were 112 churches it is reported that only nineteen of them had houses of worship. Minnesota Baptists had at the end of the century 155 churches and 19,626 members. It was in 1854 that the Home Mission Society entered Kansas, and in i860, when the State Convention was formed, there were thirty churches, with 537 members. It had, in 1900, 40,198 Baptists, or one to every thirty-six of the population, while Indiana, the next highest, had only one to every thirty-nine. It was in 1855 that the first church in Nebraska was formed at Nebraska City. The first Association followed in 1858 and the State Convention ten years later. Rev. J. M. Taggart and Rev. J. G. Bowen were pioneer builders of Baptist history, and it was said in 1880 that there was scarcely a church in the State which had not been aided by the Home Mission Society. There were at this time 138 churches and 4,855 members. Nebraska had at the end of the century 239 churches, with 15,824 members, or one in seventy of all Nebraskans. The educational work, repre sented in Grand Island College, has afforded proof of the devotion and self-sacrifice of Nebraska Baptists. The first church -in Colorado was formed at Golden in 1863 by Rev. William Whitehead. The First Church, Den ver, was organized in 1864, under Rev. W. McD. Potter. The Home Mission Society has put #160,000 into Colorado, together with the work of Dr. H. C. Woods and many noble BAPTISTS OF THE CENTRAL WESTERN STATES 95 missionaries. Colorado closed the century with a Baptist membership of 8, 253, or one in sixty-five of the population, a proportion not far below that of Iowa and Ohio. The Dakotas, North and South, have witnessed worthy Baptist achievement. Vermilion, organized in 1868, under Rev. J. E. Rockwood, was the first permanent church. Deacon Martin J. Lewis, of this church, was during his life associated with nearly all prominent denominational interests in the State, and the State University, located at Vermil ion, has had a strong Baptist element from the first, with two Baptist presidents. At Sioux Falls there is located a most prosperous church, organized in 1875, and a Baptist college, from which much is hoped for the State. The Baptists had at the close of the century 5,385 members, a proportion of one in eighty to the whole population. North Dakota was late in its Baptist beginnings, although two missionaries of the Sioux entered the State in 1852, Elijah Terry and James Tanner, the former being killed by the Indians. The im portant church at Fargo was organized in 1879, but Baptist growth begins with the taking up of the work by the Home Mission Society in 1881, with Rev. G. W. Huntley as general missionary. Ten churches were organized in the first year, and at the end of Mr. Huntley' s ten years of work there were fifty-six churches, with about 1,600 members, and these had grown in 1900 to sixty-four churches, with 2,547 members. Montana, the mountain State, is one of the new and diffi cult regions where you must pass 199 people before you reach a Baptist, yet while in 1870 there was but one church and twenty members, and in 1880 but four churches and 100 members, there were in 1900 twenty-two churches and 1,278 members, and Rev. L. G. Clark, the general mis sionary, is making Baptist history for the centuries to come. Wyoming, with 463 Baptists, has the same proportion to the population as in Montana and in Utah ; after twenty years of work, there are 615 Baptists, a proportion of but one to 450 of the population, while in Nevada, the one State in the Union which is losing in population, Baptists have but two churches, one ordained minister, and eighty-four members, only one in 500 of the population. Yet even in these regions each genuine Baptist must be like a charge of moral dynamite drilled into the great mountain side and destined to lay bare their true wealth in coming years. This sketch has had largely to do with beginnings and endings, as achievement could thus best be shown. But 96 BAPTISTS OF THE CENTRAL WESTERN STATES there are eloquent years all along the way which could speak of the work in Ohio of such men as Professor John Stevens, the Sedwicks, Drs. S. W. Lynd, D. Shepardson, E. G. Rob inson, Wayland Hoyt, H. F. Colby, S. W. Adams, S. W. Duncan, A. H. Strong, and such princely laymen as E. Thresher, ll. d., and the younger Threshers, E. F. Barney and his son, Judge T. W. Ewart, Hon. J. M. Hoyt, R. A. Holden, W. H. Doane, and G. M. Peters. And in Indiana, what apostolic tales could be told of the Vawters, of Drs. Day, Stimson, J. R. Stone, W. M. Pratt, J. L. Richmond, W. T. Stott, father and son, with noble laymen such as the Holmans, legislators and foremost Baptists ; E. C. Atkins, of Indianapolis, and Deacon Henderson, of Lafayette. And Michigan history is redolent still of the lives of pastors like Dr. Samuel Haskell, saint of God and molder of men ; of Dr. Samuel Graves and of quaint old Dr. S. Cornelius, joint founder of the Publication Society, who once, when asked how many deacons he had, replied : "A thousand, yes a thousand — one and three ciphers .'" In Illinois the record is quite fully given in Dr. J. A. Smith's "History of the Baptists in the Western States," while of Wisconsin it may be said, that in a field difficult for Baptists, with faithfulness and success, they have steadily gained in ratio to the rest of the population, though they are still but one out of every 105. The region of our sketch has given to the world at large the statesman-missionary, Dr. William Ashmore ; the world's leading Sunday-school worker, B. F. Jacobs, father of the International Lesson system ; the greatest organizing educa tional genius of the century and the most remarkable educa tional achievement of the century in Dr. W. R. Harper and the University of Chicago ; in the Baptist Young People's Union of America, a movement of untold promise for our denomination in the western continent. Certain single churches have arisen or developed which surpass in scope of financial operations even the national organizations of early in the century. Such churches as First, Dayton ; Ninth Street and Lincoln Park, Cincinnati ; Euclid Avenue and First, Cleveland ; Ashland Avenue, Toledo ; Woodward Avenue, Detroit ; First, Indianapolis ; First, Second, and Immanuel, Chicago ; First, Denver ; First, Milwaukee ; First, St. Paul ; First and Central, Minneapo lis, and others, represent in splendid equipments, varied activities, and large beneficence the modern ideal of a Baptist church. The end of the century finds in this Western region nearly BAPTISTS OF THE CENTRAL WESTERN STATES 97 450,000 Baptists, a proportion of one to fifty-four of the population, and an increase during the century of 120,000. As the history is traced from the beginning and as the lines of development are projected into the coming century ; as quality is tested and the progress, ecclesiastical, missionary, and educational, is viewed both at its present and its pros pective value, the Baptist achievement for the nineteenth century in this imperial Western domain takes its place among the notable historic forces which tend to make this Western continent the seat of the highest type of civilization ever seen. In Appendix A, of this volume, page 458, will be found a statistical table giving in brief compass the century's record for the territory covered in this chapter. Augustine S. Carman. IX BAPTISTS OF THE PACIFIC SLOPE No adequate conception of the present condition on the Pacific Slope, or of the stages by which this condition has been reached, is possible without a knowledge of the circumstances surrounding those who began the work and those who carried it forward to its present attainment. This region was de clared to be " the mere riddlings of creation, ' ' and it was said that if Congress should decide to establish a penal colony for criminals its utility would become apparent. It could not have been otherwise than that among the earliest comers were those of a restless, roving disposition. They came from that West in which the institutions of religion were weak, and where a heedless disregard of religion was well. mingled with doubts as to its reality. Add to these influences the fever- ishness developed by the discovery of gold in California in ] 848, and later in Nevada, Arizona, Oregon, Montana, and Alaska, and there is set forth most vividly a large family of the hindrances to all Christian work in this great region. In stock ranches, in mining camps, and where nature must be subdued and broken to the plow, women and families must be left behind until conditions became more settled and living somewhat tolerable. It was so in the settlement of the Virginia colony, it was so on the Pacific Slope, and this to a considerable extent still characterizes us. By the census of 1890, in a population of little more than 1,200,000, there were 200,000 more men than women, and it can well be be lieved that in 1850 this excess of men was far greater. With this was a great sparseness of population, there being in 1850 but one person to each sixteen square miles. Under condi tions like these, and all that such conditions imply, Baptists began and have carried forward their work on the Pacific Slope. Into this great region a home-seeking immigration began about 1840. Missionaries came and began work among the native races as early as 1834, and trappers at a considerably earlier date. It is quite definitely known that the first Baptists to reach 98 BAPTISTS OF THE PACIFIC SLOPE 99 this territory came with the immigration of 1843. The im migrant wagon train with which they had cast in their lot left Westport, Missouri, May 22, 1843. Of this train Peter Bur nett, afterward first governor of California, was chosen cap tain ; but after three days he resigned and was succeeded by David Thomas Lennox. Lennox was a native of the State of New York, having been born at Catskill on the Hudson, December 1, 1801. In early manhood he left this State for Kentucky, and there in 1825 married Louisa Swan, and for a time made his home near Lexington. But the pioneer spirit was upon them and they soon removed to the new State of Illinois. Here one winter day they were baptized by Rev. John Logan, and not long afterward Mr. Lennox was made clerk of the Spring River Association. In 1840 the family moved to Platte County, Missouri, and he and his wife united with the Todd's Creek Church, of which Rev. Thomas Turner was pastor. April 9, 1843, with his wife and seven children, D. T. Lennox left Platte County for Westport, the appointed rendezvous for the Oregon train. In this company were William Beagle and wife, Eli Blevens and wife, and Henry Sewell, all members of Baptist churches. Late in the fall of 1843 they reached Oregon and settled for the winter in Oregon City. In February following Lennox bought a farm on the Tualatin Plains, about eighteen miles west of Portland, and moved his family to that region. On the twenty-fifth of May, 1844, having become con vinced that a Baptist church was needful, he gathered into his own house the following persons : Eli Blevens and wife, William Beagle and wife, and Henry Sewell. These, with himself and wife, he organized into the West Tualatin Baptist Church. There was no recognition council, and no words of fraternal encouragement from members of sister churches. The nearest Baptist church was more than 2,000 miles, and by usual routes of travel fully six months distant. A Sunday- school was organized at once by Henry Sewell, and during the summer he gathered the children in the first Baptist Sunday-school on the Pacific Slope, and taught them from the Scriptures. No Baptist minister reached the coast until No vember, 1844, when Rev. Vincent Snelling reached Oregon. He also made the start to Oregon from Platte County, Mis souri, and in that State had known the Lennox family. He was a native of Kentucky, having been born in Caldwell County, March, 1797. He was ordained in Missouri and preached there for some years before leaving for Oregon. He settled with the little church and in February of 1845 IOO BAPTISTS OF THE PACIFIC SLOPE held his first revival meeting with it. Three converts were baptized, two of them being daughters of Lennox, and the third, Perry Beagle, a son of another of the constituent mem bers of the church. The first of the three baptized, and the first on the Pacific Slope, was Mary A. Lennox, now Mrs. R. W. Ford, of Austin, Texas. After a year spent with this church, Snelling removed to Yamhill County and settled on a donation land-claim near the present town of McMinnville. In 1846 he organized the second and third churches in the State at Yamhill and La- creole. In 1848 he assisted in the organization of the first Association in the State and was its first missionary appointed to "labor in the destitution within its bounds." In this ca pacity he was useful and honored. In September, 1855, he died, mourned by the whole brotherhood of the State. In 1845 the American Baptist Home Mission Society de termined to occupy the Pacific Slope as a mission field and appointed Ezra Fisher and Hezekiah Johnson, two tried and experienced men, from its mission field in Iowa. They be gan at once their overland journey, and in November of that year reached their new field wherein the value and extent of their work entitle them to be called the "fathers of the Ore gon work. ' ' In 1846 the second and third churches of Oregon were organized, and the fourth at Oregon City in 1847. These four churches at their organization had thirty-four members. In June of 1848 their membership had become eighty-seven and an Association was felt to be a necessity, and the Willa mette Association was constituted June 23, 1848. An Asso ciational missionary was promptly decided upon, and the delegates present paid and pledged #107.50 of the #200 salary voted. In the fall of this year, the church at Oregon City built for itself a house of worship. The land was cleared by the hands of its pastor, Hezekiah Johnson, and the house was the first of its kind west of the Rocky Mountains. It cost about #500 and for twenty-three years was used to the glory of God. The church has built a second and third house, but the first still stands, a reminder of the day of small things. The meeting of the Association in 1852 was notable on account of the new faces seen for the first time. Among them were those of Rev. George C. Chandler and Rev. J. S. Read, who came to take charge of the Oregon City College. By the year 1856 the churches were sufficiently increased to justify the organization of a second Association, and the BAPTISTS OF THE PACIFIC SLOPE IOI Corvallis Association was formed at Corvallis with Ezra Fisher, moderator, and C. H. Mattoon, clerk. Seven churches composed the new body, with 188 members, and in the next year the Central Association was organized with ten churches and 429 members. The entire strength of the de nomination in the State at this time was thirty-four churches with an enrolled membership of 1,127 members. In 1857 there was organized a General Association, but its session of 1858 was its last. The reason for its abrupt discontinuance does not appear in the records nor in any published matter of current date. The ten years from 1857 to 1867 were full of division and bickering over the questions at issue in the Civil War. Slavery never existed on the Pacific Slope, but a consider able part of our population was from the South and sympa thized warmly with the South. With a man like Ezra Fisher, friend and associate of Lovejoy, as leader of those who hated slavery and could not fellowship slave-owners or their friends, it may be seen there could be little fellowship and fraternal co-operation. During this period there was some growth, however. About a dozen new churches were organized, among them the First Church of Portland, Oregon, which afterward had a large place in the work of the State and became the fruitful mother of ten other such bodies in that growing city. The membership increased to about 1600, and the work had gradually spread over the State, west of the Cascade Moun tains and across the Columbia River into what is now the State of Washington. During this period of development the college and seminary trained man labored by the side of his uneducated and untrained brother with entire harmony and mutual appreciation. Of this latter class, were there space, many devoted men might be named with all pro priety. In 1876 the North Pacific Coast Convention was organ ized, embracing the Territories of Oregon, Washington, and northern Idaho. Soon afterward the Home Mission Society entered into co-operative relations with this body and thus insured its permanence and steady prosperity. Rev. J. C. Baker was, soon after its organization, chosen as general mis sionary and superintendent of missions within its bounds, and was one of the largest factors in its successful work until his resignation, in 1885. At the date of this organization there were about 2,400 members, gathered into sixty churches, From year to year contributions increased and 102 BAPTISTS OF THE PACIFIC SLOPE the denominational growth was rapid. This was particularly the case in Washington, so that after ten years of successful history this North Pacific Coast Convention was dissolved in order that Conventions might be organized in the several States, the Oregon Convention being organized at McMinn- ville, in June, 1886. Messrs. G. J. Burchett, C. M. Hill, and Gilman Parker served successively as general mission aries in Oregon, with honor to themselves and with steady prosperity in the Convention work. The first organized work in the eastern part of Oregon was near Weston, where the Mount -Pleasant Church was consti tuted in March, 1866. In 1868 an Association was formed with five churches, known as the Mount Pleasant Association of United Baptist Churches, comprised of three churches in Oregon and two from adjacent counties of Washington, with a total membership of about 100. Owing to the sparseness of the population in that part of the State the increase of churches has been slow. The Grande Ronde Association was organized in 1874 and the Middle Oregon in 1883, while the latest is that of the Eastern, in 1894. During the last fifteen years considerable friction has ex isted in our work growing out of "alien immersion" and allied matters. In 1892 a new Convention was organized, though it would be difficult now to state the real grounds of the division and of the new organization. At the first the new movement promised success, having secured the approval of the Middle Oregon, a majority of the Grande Ronde, and the Western Associations, the churches of which went into the new body. But its leaders set up tests for fellow ship not generally recognized by Baptists. Application was made to the Home Mission Society for co-operative relations, but the application was declined on the ground that the new Convention had no defined bounds and was wholly within the bounds of the Oregon Convention with which the society was in co-operation. A few years later the churches of that Convention involved in this movement returned for the most part to its fellowship. German work on the Pacific Slope had its origin in Ore gon. The first organization was at Bethany, near Portland, in 1877. Delegates appeared that year in the Willamette Association from this church, seeking to know if the Bap tist churches comprising this body baptized any persons without a credible profession of faith. This church came as a colony from Switzerland, and from a study of the Bible had come into accord with Baptist views, though know- BAPTISTS OF THE PACIFIC SLOPE 103 ing nothing of Baptists historically. This community having the German tongue as their own, this church became the founder of German work in Oregon. There are now seven German churches in Oregon, two in Washington, and three in California, all organized into the Pacific Coast German Conference and in co-operation with the General Conference of German Baptist Churches in America. Swedish Baptist work on the coast also had its beginnings in Oregon in the organization of the Portland Swedish Bap tist Church. There is a Conference in Oregon with three churches and one in Washington with seven churches. There is also a number of Swedish churches in California, but up to the present time they have been connected with the various Associations and have not organized into sepa rate Conferences. A considerable work is also done among the Chinese in each of the coast States, being supported largely by the Home Mission Society, through which also has been secured the property belonging to that work. Work among the Japanese is carried on in Washington, in both Seattle and Tacoma. Educational work in Oregon has been contemporaneous with church building. When the new house of worship was completed in Oregon City, in 1848, a school was opened therein. In a year or two thereafter land was secured, and a building was erected in the present limits of Oregon City, and a charter obtained from the State legislature for ' ' Oregon City College." In 185 1, Rev. George C. Chandler and Rev. J. S. Read reached Oregon to carry on this school. Patronage did not justify its continuance, and after some three years it was discontinued, and upon the opening of the school at McMinnville such property as remained was turned over to that institution. In June of 1857, the Central Association at its first ses sion extended "its fostering care over the institution at Mc Minnville. ' ' The next year the legislature granted a charter to this "college." As was to have been expected the early history, and indeed all its history, has been a record of strug gle. George C. Chandler, G. J. Burchett, E. C. Anderson, and T. G. Brownson have been presidents under whom progress has been made, and who have given its character to the institution. Others equally faithful have labored and sacrificed and made possible the work now being done under the presidency of H. L. Boardman. The campus, buildings, and endowments aggregate a value of #90,000. In eastern Oregon the Grass Valley Academy is a new enterprise having 104 BAPTISTS OF THE PACIFIC SLOPE a small campus, a good building, but no endowment, all valued at #6,000. J. B. Spight is principal. A brief sum mary of progress in Oregon will show that there are now 135 churches. These are gathered into nine Associations, and own ninety houses of worship and thirteen parsonages. These have a valuation of somewhat more than #400,000, while the entire membership is not far from 8,500. Work in the present State of Washington began near the present town of Centralia in the early part of 1853. In that year P. J. Harper settled in Shell Mound Prairie. He had been licensed in Missouri, removed to Oregon in 1852, and the following year to Washington. For ten years he main tained services in his community, and in 1859 conducted a revival service in which five professed conversion. Following this an appeal was sent to the Corvallis Association, of Oregon, for delegates to be sent as a council to advise with the brethren concerning the ordination of Mr. Harper. Two brethren made a journey of more than 200 miles on horseback, and organized the New Prospect Church and ordained its pastor, Brother Harper, in October, 1859. His pastorate continued until 1863, when he removed to the eastern part of the State; and the church soon afterward became extinct by reason of the removal of its members to other places. So far as known, the second preacher to settle in Washing ton was Rev. J. J. Clark, who removed from Linn County, Oregon, and settled in what is now known as Brush Prairie, in Clarke County, some fifteen miles from old Fort Van couver, in 1863. On May 28, 1863, he organized the Brush Prairie Church with six members, and this is the oldest of the churches now in existence in the State. It has a neat house of worship, maintains a Sunday-school, and has an oc casional preaching service, being a small country field. In October, 1867, "Father" R. Weston organized the Puyal- lup Church, near Tacoma, and on December 20, 1868, the First Seattle Church was organized with eleven members. Its first house of worship was opened and dedicated in August, 1872, the sermon being preached by Rev. E. Curtis ; its first pastor was J. Freeman, d. d., from Vermont, who settled with the church in April, 1873. In 1871 churches were organized at Oysterville and Olympia, and with the latter church in October of that year was organized the Puget Sound Association, comprising five churches with a total membership of eighty-eight persons. The second meet ing of the Association was held with the Seattle church, and BAPTISTS OF THE PACIFIC SLOPE 105 the body "rejoices" in the presence of Rev. S. E. Stearns as colporter for Washington and Oregon. At the sixth meet ing of the Association the church of Victoria, B. C, was re ceived, and the name was changed to " Puget Sound and British Columbia Association." This title it retained until 1884, when it adopted its original name, the field being divided and the churches of British Columbia going into a new Association. The year 1883 marks a decided advance in the work in the western part of the State. The churches now num bered sixteen with nearly 400 members. A committee had been created to act as a sort of mission Board to care for the work on the Sound. Rev. J. C. Baker was superinten dent of missions for Oregon and Washington, and the North Pacific Coast Convention still embraced all the churches of the two States. The Northern Pacific Railroad was nearing completion to the Sound. The cities of Seattle and Tacoma were rapidly increasing in population and many other points were growing rapidly in business and population. In 1884 Rev. A. B. Banks was secured as general missionary for the field, and in 1888 the Northwest Baptist Convention was organized, covering the field of Western Washington and British Columbia. The entire membership of the churches at this date was about 2,000. In April, 1890, Rev. James Sunderland became general missionary, and in the formative years of the Convention rendered invaluable service. Late in 1 89 1 he resigned his position to accept the office of dis trict secretary for the Pacific Coast District of the Missionary Union. He was succeeded by Rev. D. D. Proper, who came to the work from years of experience in Iowa and Kansas. He did a large and abiding work, resigning to accept a sim ilar work in Colorado in 1897. Rev. W. E. Randall was chosen as his successor, and has carried forward the work with increased volume to the present time. In 1897 the churches in British Columbia withdrew and organized a Convention of their own, in co-operation with their brethren of eastern provinces. This left the Northwest Convention occupying the western half of the State. It now has in its membership seventy-six churches with 3,881 members, and a property in meeting-houses val ued at #145,000. The total contributions reported during the last year were #28,775. The work now is carried on in organized form among the Swedes, Danes, Norwegians, Germans, Chinese, and Japanese, as well as in American churches. 106 BAPTISTS OF THE PACIFIC SLOPE The work in eastern Washington and northern Idaho is closely associated in its beginnings with that in eastern Ore gon. The first work of which any record has been preserved was done in Walla Walla County, in the vicinity of Walla Walla, in the winter of 1867 and 1868, by Noah F. Lieual- len, Spencer Neil, and A. Land. The first named of these brethren organized the first church in this region in January, 1868, in "The Blue Creek Schoolhouse, " and the church adopted the name of Friendship Church. Within the next two years the Waitsburg, the Harmony, and the Union churches were organized, but subsequently the membership scattered and all these churches became extinct. In 1873 Rev. William H. Pruett moved from the Willamette Val ley, under the appointment of the American Baptist Home Mission Society, as the pioneer missionary for eastern Ore gon, and settled at Western. In the course of his journeyings he visited Dayton, Washington, and there, on the fourth Sun day of July, 1873, he organized the Dayton Baptist Church, and thus began the permanent and continuous history of our work in eastern Washington. A house of worship was soon built which, after some years, was replaced by a substantial brick edifice in which the church now worships. In 1875 Rev. S. E. Stearns was appointed to colporter work "north of the Snake River. ' ' During the same year Rev. John Rexford went into that same region, and in Colfax, on July 2, 1876, he organized the Colfax Church with six members. This church soon became and has continued one of the most influential in that part of the State. On August 6 of that year Mr. Stearns organized the Moscow Church, which for some years met in the country and was called the Zion Bap tist Church. During the next four years churches were gath ered at Garfield and Walla Walla, and in 1881, Mr. Stearns, in company with Rev. D. J. Pierce, visited the little village of Spokane Falls. In a short time Rev. D. W. C. Britt was appointed by the American Baptist Home Mission Society to this field, and early in 1882 gathered a small church. After the completion of the Northern Pacific Railroad line this town grew rapidly and our work grew with it. Though suf fering some severe reverses our cause has come at last into a gratifying degree of prosperity. Grace Church has been organized on the north side of the river, and a Swedish and a Negro church have b^en recently organized. Prosperous missions are carried on, some of which will soon be brought to church organization. This field was at the first a part of the North Pacific Coast BAPTISTS OF THE PACIFIC SLOPE 107 Convention, and was under the supervision of Rev. J. C. Baker. When Washington was separately organized this field came under the care of the general missionary of the State. About 1890 Rev. A. M. Allyn was made district missionary in charge of this field and upon its becoming a separate Convention he was chosen its general missionary, and has been the beloved and successful worker in this capacity to the present. A review of the field shows it to have at the present time fifty- two churches and 2,600 members. Of these, forty churches and 2,123 members are in east Wash ington and twelve churches and 437 members are in north Idaho. Educational work on this field began at Colfax, Septem ber 11, 1878. Rev. S. E. Stearns was the man whose faith saw its possibilities, and with others he succeeded in estab lishing Colfax Academy. In 1881 the school moved into its own building, which was an annex to the Baptist meeting house. In 1885 the school was incorporated as a college, and in 1889 was moyed into a new four-story frame build ing. While it has done a considerable work it has not been able to secure any endowment, and its future, for this reason, is full of uncertainty. In southern and eastern Idaho there are two Associations, and the work is under the supervision of the general mis sionary of Montana. Work in southern Idaho began at Boise, the State capital, about 1862, when a church was or ganized largely through the labors of Rev. Hiram Hamilton. For some years the work made but httle progress, but with the completion of the Oregon Short Line Railroad population be gan to increase and churches were organized at several new points. The churches of the Southern Idaho Association number sixteen, with about 900 members. There are ten meeting-houses and the property is valued at about #40,000. In the East Idaho Association there are nine churches with above 300 members and a property valued at about #16,000. The work in these two Associations is new and the churches are widely separated, so that progress is difficult and slow. Only one of the twenty-five churches is self-supporting, and the isolation and unresponsiveness of the fields are such as to wear out pastors in a brief time. Mormonism is largely rep resented in this part of the State, and this adds difficulties many and peculiar to aggressive work. We come now to the beginnings of the work in California. When the first Baptist may have reached California is not 108 BAPTISTS OF THE PACIFIC SLOPE known. Doubtless in the early forties some wandered down that way from Oregon or came with early immigration to that State. Under the appointment of the American Baptist Home Mission Society, in 1848, Rev. O. C. Wheeler and his wife sailed from New York as the society's first mission aries to California. He landed in San Francisco from the "California," the first steamer to pass through the Golden Gate, on the morning of February 28, 1849. The only place in the city where Protestant worship was held was in a small schoolhouse near one corner of Portsmouth Square. Here Rev. D. T. Hunt, the founder of Congregationalist work in San Francisco, was maintaining services. On March 18 Mr. Wheeler began public worship, and on Friday evening, July 6, 1849, Lemuel P. Crane, William Lailie, Charles L. Ross and wife, with Mr. and Mrs. Wheeler, united themselves in fellowship as the First Baptist' Church of San Francisco. On the tenth of July the meeting-house was commenced. It was thirty by fifty feet in size, and stood on a lot seventy-two by 137 feet. The house was built of scantling, rough siding, roof of ship's sails, ceiling of cotton cloth. The lot cost #10,000 and the house as described cost #6,000. It was completed for the first Sunday in August and was the first Protestant house of worship built in California. On September 2 the first new members were received, four coming in by letter, and on October 1 the first baptism took place. During the latter part of this month a " society " was organized, consisting of the members of the church and con gregation, which assumed the entire support of their pastor and work, thus relieving the Home Mission Society of this expense. The salary of the pastor was fixed at #10,000 per year, of so little relative value was gold at that time in Cali fornia. In December of this first year there was opened in this meeting-house the first free public school of the State, so that it became the birthplace not only of a true line of gospel churches, but also of that remarkably efficient system of public instruction now given its children by this State. In September, 1850, the Pine Street Church was organized, and in December, 1862, the Fifth Street Church from the membership of the First. Our cause is now represented by three American churches, one German, one Swedish, and one Negro church, and six mission Sunday-schools. It has had its dark years and sad reverses, to which we shall not here refer. The second Baptist organization to be effected in Cali fornia was that of San Jose on May 19, 1850, with eight BAPTISTS OF THE PACIFIC SLOPE 109 members. The organization was the work of Rev. O. C. Wheeler while he was yet pastor in San Francisco. At the second meeting of the church four new members were re ceived and a decision was reached to build a meeting-house. A Sunday-school for the home church and a mission-school at Santa Clara were also determined upon. By the end of December a lot costing #2,000 and a house costing #900 had been secured and regular services were entered upon. In the course of its history this church has built for itself four houses of worship, dedicating the last on the day it celebrated its semi-centennial. Eighteen pastors have served the church, and none more efficiently than the present incumbent, Rev. T. S. Young. From this church, members have from time to time been dismissed to form churches at Gilroy, Los Gatos, and Santa Clara, besides two others in San Jos6 itself. In this city Baptist strength is now represented by three churches with somewhat less than 600 members. In Sacramento, destined to become the capital of the State, was planted the third Baptist church of California. Rev. J. Cook seems to have come to this town in 1849 and to have opened a boarding house, preaching, however, to his fellow-townsmen ' ' in the grove. ' ' Rev. O. C. Wheeler visited the few brethren known to be there in 1850, and on Sep tember 4, 1850, a church of nineteen members was organized in the house of Judge E. J. Willis, and on the following day public services were held in the court-house. In the spring of 185 1 a house of worship was completed at a cost of #4,000. In November, 1852, this was burned in the great fire which swept over the city, but the church built a second house at double the cost of the first, a house which was said to have been the best in the State at the time. It was used for twenty-five years and then was sold to another denomina tion, which still uses it. The church then built its third house of worship, which it still occupies. Prior to this last enterprise it had dismissed members for the organization of the Calvary Baptist Church of the same city. Since this two other churches have been organized and each of the four has a good house of worship. In the same month in which the Sacramento church was organized a call was sent out by the San Francisco church for the organization of an Association. In response to this call, delegates gathered for this purpose, and on the 26th day of October, 1850, in the old church in San Francisco was organ ized the San Francisco Association. Three churches, with a total membership of fifty-three, was its entire strength. IIO BAPTISTS OF THE PACIFIC SLOPE Convention organizations had as varied an experience in California as in Oregon and for much the same reasons. In June, 1852, a preliminary organization was effected of the California Baptist Convention. The churches were twelve in number and the aggregate membership was about 400. The first annual meeting of the Convention was at Santa Rosa. The record of this meeting says : ' ' Initiatory steps were taken for the thorough exploration of the State with a view to ascertain and provide for its spiritual necessities as ade quately and as speedily as possible." It was a fitting action, for at that date there was not in all California south of Stock ton a single Baptist church and no Baptist services of any sort so far as is now known. In 1854 the Convention met in Sacramento, and the statis tics show seventeen churches in the State. With the records of this meeting of the Convention are the minutes of an Educational Society, but no further record of this society appears in any published records of the denomination. The Convention appointed its third meeting with the Pine Street Church, San Francisco, where it was organized, but there are no published minutes extant, and it is probable that the Convention did not meet on account of dissensions already appearing over the question of slavery. In the min utes of the San Francisco Association for 1866 there is a record of the prehminary organization of a second State Con vention. D. B. Cheney, d. d., was elected president, and 0. C. Wheeler, d. d., secretary. The first annual meeting of this body was held in Marysville in 1867. This Conven tion met annually until 1881, when its final meeting occurred at Dixon. A considerable number of delegates present at this meeting, under the leadership of Dr. G. S. Abbott and Dr. S. B. Morse, withdrew and organized a new Convention. The old Convention never met again and the new gradually drew to itself all the churches of the State, and continues to this time under the title of the General Baptist Convention of California. No general missionary was put into the field by this Convention until 1886, when Rev. W. H. Latourette was chosen. In a summary given by him when he closed his work some ten years later, he shows that in the field of this Convention there were in 1885 five parsonages and forty-five church buildings. During the ten years of his service seventy new meeting-houses were completed, of which the Home Mission Society helped to build thirty-seven from its edifice fund. The Associations had increased to nine and the mem bership of its 140 churches aggregated more than 10,000, with BAPTISTS OF THE PACIFIC SLOPE I I I a church property valued at #430,000. Rev. Robert Whita- ker succeeded to the work of general missionary in Jan uary, 1898, and carried it forward most vigorously and suc cessfully. He resigned December, 1900, and Rev. E. R. Bennett was chosen to take his place. No other special feature of the history of this Convention needs to be men tioned save the division of its territory, effected by entire unanimity and concord of all concerned, into two Conven tions. This was done at the meeting of 1891 and for geographical reasons entirely. The Convention of Southern California held its first annual meeting with the First Los Angeles Church in 1892. This change and the new organization for southern Cali fornia will allow a brief review of the organization of the work in that part of the State. Prior to the discovery of gold in 1848 there was no Enghsh speaking population in southern California. In 1850 some immigrants came and among them were a few home seekers. Of these were some Baptists, and of them was R. C. Fryor. In 1852 he settled at El Monte, and in 1854 he began to preach for this church, which seems to have been organized during October, 1853. He also preached in the regions adjacent to the church and was or dained in 1857, being the first man ordained to the Baptist ministry in California, so far as is known. Associated with him in this early work in southern California were Rev. John Fuqua, from Texas, and Rev. William Freeman, from Missouri. In 1886, thirteen years after the first organization, the second church was organized in San Bernardino. Two years later three others were organized, but not until 1869 was the Los Angeles Association formed. The five churches entering into the organization had a membership of 118. That same year the San Diego Church was organized and for eight years enjoyed the services of Rev. O. W. Gates as pastor. The First Church of Los Angeles was the tenth in order of organ ization, occurring in September, 1874, with eleven members. For seven years this church knew much struggle and but little growth. In August, 1881, Rev. P. W. Dorsey became pastor, and in three years he and his church of not more than 100 members had dedicated free of debt a meeting-house costing #25,000. The church has made large growth in subsequent years under the pastorates of Daniel Read, d. d. , and its present pastor, Rev. Joseph Smale. It now occupies a new property on Ninth and Flower Streets, costing about #45,000 and has the largest membership of any church on the Pacific Slope at the present time. Our work in Los Angeles is now 112 BAPTISTS OF THE PACIFIC SLOPE the most important in the Convention, being represented by nine churches with about 1,900 members, and owning prop erty valued at #100,000, Three other Associations have been organized in this portion of the State, the Santa Barbara in 1877, the Santa Ana, and the San Diego in 1891. Convention work in southern California dates from 1892, when the State was amicably divided into two Convention fields. During all these years the work has been under the fostering care of the American Baptist Home Mission Society. The Convention now comprises sixty-five churches with about 6,500 members. They have a church property worth #272,- 000, with but little debt on their buildings, while their contri butions reach an annual aggregate of #60,000. Educational effort in California dates from 1870. In that year an educational convention was held in Vacaville. A Methodist property at that place was bought at once and a college opened under the presidency of Dr. Mark Bailey, a. m. He served two years and was succeeded in turn by A. S. Worrell, d. d., Rev. T. W. Green, S. A. Taft, d. d., and U. Gregory, d. d. By 1881 the college was forced from financial considerations to close its doors. But the educa tional needs of the field were discussed from year to year and in 1886 a building costing about #10,000 was erected in East Oakland for college purposes. S. B. Morse, d. d., was secured to lead in the enterprise and soon secured two ad ditional buildings and the beginning of an endowment, the whole sum being about #100,000. T. G. Brownson, d. d., was called from McMinnville to succeed Doctor Morse at his death, in 1897, and has car ried on the work to the present time. The years of finan cial depression have been very trying to the institution. It is now engaged in an effort to add #10,000 to its funds to meet an offer of #5,000 from the Education Society. Lo cated in the immediate vicinity of the State University, at Berkeley, and but forty miles distant from the Leland Stan ford, Jr., University, the future progress of the college can not but be slow, and its final success will depend entirely upon the loyalty of the denomination to the ideal of denomi national education. In southern California denominational educational work was begun in Los Angeles soon after 1883, the Los Angeles Association having appointed a committee in that year to re ceive propositions from towns in its field for the location of the school. Rev. Dr. Shelton was the first president and was succeeded by Rev. J. H. Reider, and he was followed BAPTISTS OF THE PACIFIC SLOPE 113 by Rev. P. W. Dorsey, who had been serving as pastor of the Los Angeles First Church. A fine property and two good buildings were secured in the western part of Los An geles, and for a few years a school was maintained with much vigor. But the plans on which it was attempted to carry the school were wider than the income warranted, and after a time increasing debt made it impossible to continue. The property has been leased to private parties for some five years, and the outlook for an early resumption of a school under Baptist control is not bright. The campus is finely located and is one of the best under control of the denom ination on the coast. It is much to be regretted that it may not be used for the object for which it was originally given. Arizona is missionary and frontier ground for all denom inations. The Roman Cathohcs established one or two mis sions in the southern part of the Territory among the Indian and Mexican population at about the same period of similar work in California. What pioneer work may have been done prior to the organization of our first church in that Territory has never been reported, so far as is known. Rev.- R. A. Windes organized the Prescott Church January 25, 1880, with six members. In August of the same year a meeting-house was built and dedicated. Brethren J. M. Green, C. A. Rice, Joseph Smale, and Winfield Scott have served in subsequent years as pastors. The Tucson Church was gathered by Rev. U. Gregory in 1881, and was organized with six members April 7 of that year, and later in that same year completed an adobe meeting-house which it still uses, being the only such house on the Pacific Slope. The present pastor is Rev. J. B. Thomas. At Phcenix, on February 25, 1884, Rev. R. Win des organized a church with seven members. In later years churches have been gathered at Tempe, Buckeye, Mesa, and Cottonwood. Organizations existed for a- time, and houses were built at Tombstone, Jerome, and Globe, but they became extinct and the property acquired was sold. The Phcenix Church is the only self-supporting church in the Territory. Associational organization was attempted several times, but seems to have been permanent only since April, 1893. From the first the Home Mission Society has been a large supporter of the work and is now giving help to each settled pastor, save at Phcenix. The work is under the general care of the general missionary of southern California. In this capacity Rev. W. W. Tinker for a time, and later Rev. C. T. Douglass, have rendered valuable service. H I 14 BAPTISTS OF THE PACIFIC SLOPE There are now eight Baptist churches in the Territory with about 350 members. The white population is about 98,000. Of these, 15,000 are Catholics and 10,000 Mormons. Of all the remainder it is estimated that only about 3,000 are professing Christians, and but a little more than one-tenth of this number are enrolled in the membership of our churches as now organized. There are known to be more than 100 Baptists in several towns where we have not yet been able to organize churches. When the Home Mission Society shall be able to somewhat increase its appropriation for work in Arizona the work may be enlarged. Space allowed for this chapter does not permit a presenta tion of organized women's work on the Pacific Slope. Nor can anything be said of the beginnings and growth of Sun day-school or colportage work, or other special lines of work carried on at the present time by Baptists. Nor yet can any space be given to the large contribution of Baptists to civil and domestic history. The total achievements of our history for fifty-six years on the Pacific Slope may not be gathered into any satisfactory summary. Our churches num ber 510, with a membership of about 34,000, and our de nominational investment in property, including our school properties, aggregates not less than #1,650,000. This very inadequately sets forth our denominational achievement and progress. No agency outside our borders has had so large a place in the denominational achievement as that of the American Baptist Home Mission Society. But this will be told elsewhere, and we must pass it with this simple heartfelt acknowledgment. The story of the struggle of the churches in the West is the story of a great tragedy on the part of both pastors and their people ; but it is through successive tragedies that men do arrive and attain. The footprints of civilization were made by the feet of the men who stood beautiful upon the wild prairies and high mountain tops of the West bringing good tidings and publishing peace; that cried unto Zion, "Thy God reigneth. " C. A. Wooddy. X THE GERMAN, SCANDINAVIAN, DUTCH, HUNGA RIAN, SLAVIC, ESTHONIAN, AND FINNISH BAPTISTS IN EUROPE AND AMERICA The movement for Baptist principles and practices among the Teutonic and Slavic peoples in Europe and America is scarcely seventy years old, and for about fifteen years after its inception was confined to Germany. Generally speaking the movement which we are to describe is one of the past fifty years. I. THE GERMAN BAPTISTS. i. The Baptist Churches in the German Empire. The first Baptist church on the continent of Europe was organized at Hamburg, Germany, April 23, 1834, and was composed of seven persons. The steps which led to this organization were quite as providential as was the event itself. The leader of this little band of seven was Johann Gerhard Oncken, an able, courageous, and devoted man of God who, according to his own statement,1 had come to a knowledge of the truth of believers' baptism and the New Testament idea of a church solely from the study of the word of God many years before he had an opportunity to submit to the rite of baptism him self. Oncken's great native ability, his winning personality, his deep piety, his energy and enthusiasm soon drew to the new movement men of like stamp and devotion, among the earlier of whom were Julius Kobner and Gottfried Wilhelm Lehmann. And the quiet, but shining lives of the rank and file who joined themselves to them from personal conviction, oftentimes after much soul conflict, lent the movement un usual strength among the common people. It was exceedingly fortunate for the Baptist work in Ger many that such material went into it at the outset, for nothing but this deep, personal religious conviction and this fidelity to the word of God could have made any impression on a 1 Lehmann, " Geschichte der deutschen Bafitisten," Theil I.,' Sett. 44-49. US Il6 GERMAN, SCANDINAVIAN, DUTCH, HUNGARIAN, people like the Germans, whose spiritual and religious life had been stunted and made almost impervious by years of training in formalism and infidelity. Aside from the blessing of God, these human factors must be looked upon as account ing in a very large measure for the subsequent numerical growth of the German Baptists in spite of the most unfavor able outward circumstances. The httle band of seven has now increased to 28,898 in the German Empire alone, and that first church at Hamburg has grown to 155 churches, which together sustain 715 preaching stations. These churches are scattered1 over the whole empire, being most numerous in Prussia 2 and least numerous in the States of southern Germany. In the larger cities of northern and eastern Prussia there seems to have been the greatest success. In Berhn there are four churches, with a combined membership of 2,594 ; in Hamburg and its suburbs there are four churches which together have more than 1,300 mem bers ; Konigsberg has two churches with 2,000 members. There is a Baptist church in nearly every large city of the empire, some newly planted and still struggling for an exist ence, others of considerable strength and great promise for future usefulness. The Baptist churches in Germany are organized into eight Associations. They also have one national organization, called the Bundes-Konferenz, which meets triennially and is perhaps the most democratic body in our denomination. This Conference has jurisdiction over the missionary, benev olent, educational, and publication interests of the German churches. Baptists have been pioneers ° in the Sunday-school work in Germany, and have always given it much attention ; they have at present 417 schools and 18,237 scholars. They have separate societies for their young men and young women. There are also women' s missionary societies and societies for the distribution of tracts in very many churches. The rank and file of the membership is still largely composed of arti sans and peasants, but there is also a fair representation of the mercantile and professional classes. In addition to their home work, German Baptists have 1 Thl st£tis'icTs °f Tal! the churches belonging to the German Bund are published £.. y 1 y J ' • L? hmann> of thl= Baptist Theological Seminary at Hamburg. The I 'Tvoi,umc ?01»ams sixty pages and is exceedingly interesting and full. ship USS'a there are 24'884 members, or about six-sevenths of the entire member- s It was through Oncken's influence that the first Sunday-school was oreanized at L, 3«?.r!'9!n JaDUary' l82S- See Lehmann- " Geschichtc dlr deul Bah?*tT„™ThM SLAVIC, ESTHONIAN, AND FINNISH BAPTISTS I 1 7 been led in the providence of God, since 1891, to go to the regions beyond. They now sustain a prosperous mission in the Cameroons, on the west coast of Africa, where they have succeeded in gathering 2,142 converts. They sustain nine European missionaries and about fifty native helpers. From the inception of the work in Germany much use has been made of the printing press in disseminating the truths for which the Baptists stood. Oncken began to publish tracts on the necessity of conversion, on the evils of infant baptism, and hke subjects. These tracts have had a wide circulation and are still being published. Special attention was also given at first to missionary subjects, and, when Baptists finally obtained freedom, they began the creating of a de nominational literature. The publication interests of the Baptists in Germany are now centralized and in the property of an incorporated society representing the churches. The headquarters remained at Hamburg until the spring of 1899, when they were removed to Cassel, where the society now occupies its own new building, put up at an expense of #60, - 000. Here are published five papers. Not so easy was it for the German brethren to establish a theological school. Up to 1880, when the present seminary at Hamburg was opened, theological instruction of the most elementary character was given for a few months each year. Now the seminary has a suitable building at Horn, a suburb of Hamburg, has a four years' course of instruction, two theological professors, and the past year had thirty-one stu dents. It has, as yet, no endowment. Much has already been written a concerning the sacrifices, pecuniary and otherwise, which have made the triumphs of the Baptists in Germany possible, and a slight reference to them, even in a sketch as brief as this one, seems to be in order. German Baptists have certainly furnished their quota of the martyrs of our century. Beginning with Oncken, many of their number have languished in prisons, have had their property confiscated to pay the fines which an intolerant government laid upon them, and have suffered violence from mobs ; some have even had their infants torn from them to be "christened" by the clergy of the State Church. Hap pily these conditions do not obtain to-day, but the struggles and agony of the days of persecution cannot well be for gotten. The "work-field" of Baptists in Germany is practically 1 See accurate accounts in Lehmann' s " Geschichie der deut. Baptisten" Theil I. The persecutions since 1851 are tabulated in Theil II., Sett. 107-126. Il8 GERMAN, SCANDINAVIAN, DUTCH, HUNGARIAN, limitless, and the churches at the beginning of the twentieth century stand splendidly equipped for aggressive missionary work. We can surely hope for great results in the century before us. 2. German Baptists in Austria- Hungary, Roumania, and Switzerland. A work of grace of the depth and power like the one we have just been describing could not be confined within the borders of Germany. As early as 1846, Baptists found an entrance in that stronghold of Romanism, Austria, through the instrumentality of a few Austrians who had been bap tized by Mr. Oncken at Hamburg. They chose Vienna for their headquarters, and diligently distributed copies of the New Testament and tracts. They were left undisturbed for about three years, the work meanwhile 1 progressing. In 1849, however, repressive measures of a very violent char acter were adopted by the government, and for about twenty years all aggressive work was impossible. The oldest and strongest German Baptist church is at Vienna, which has five preaching stations and a present membership of 221. There are five other German churches in the empire, one of which is at Budapest in Hungary. Several of the Hungarian churches, of which mention will be made later, have German members also. The present number of German Baptists in Austria- Hungary is 816. They enjoy a fair measure of re ligious freedom, but there are laws still in force which inter fere greatly with their work. German Baptists entered Roumania when that country was still under Turkish rule, through a colporter from Hungary, who began his labors among the small number of German Protestants there in 1856. His labors were so successful that Oncken sent a missionary who, in 1869, formed a church at Katalni, which has proved to be a veritable haven of rest for the exiled Baptists from Russia. It now has about 290 members. Another church is at Bukarest, and still another at Tultscha, on the Russian frontier. This latter church has a mixed membership of Russians and Germans, and is pre sided over by Rev. Vasili Pavloff, one of the most faithful and successful of the early Russian Baptists. Baptists have not had, up to this time, that degree of success in the Protestant cantons of Switzerland which has attended their work elsewhere. The earliest beginning was made in Zurich in 1849, where the church now numbers 268 members. There are altogether eight Baptist churches in 1 The first baptism in Austria occurred at Vienna, Oct. 28, 1847. SLAVIC, ESTHONIAN, AND FINNISH BAPTISTS 119 different parts of German Switzerland with a combined mem bership of 780. 3. The German Baptists in Russia. In Russia, as in Austria-Hungary, Germans form a considerable segment of the population. They are specially numerous in Poland, in the province of Wolhynia in western Russia, and in the provinces of Kief and Cherson in southern Russia. To these provinces they have migrated in large numbers since 1861, when, by reason of the abolition of serfdom, the vast landed estates in these parts of Russia were opene*d to set tlers. The Germans keep up their language and their social and religious customs, although of late years the Russian government has made the Russian language compulsory in their schools too. The beginning of a Baptist interest among the Germans in Poland was made in 1858, when a German Baptist clergy man from Prussia, by the name of Weist, baptized nine con verts near Warsaw, thereby laying the foundation for an en terprise which has proved successful beyond all expectations. Indeed, when all the circumstances are taken into account, we may confidently say that this mission has been even more successful, at least in gathering converts, than has the work in Germany. The chief reason for this success undoubtedly is the deplorable religious condition 1 which obtained in these parts, and against this background the new spiritual life of the Baptists shone most brilliantly. Formalism had made the people hungry for better food. The German Baptists in Russia now have a membership of 13,567 gathered in forty-one churches, which together have 376 preaching stations. They are organized into three Associations — one for Poland, another for western Russia, and the third for south Russia. There are also four German churches in the Baltic provinces, not included in the forego ing, which have a combined membership of 410 ; one of these is at St. Petersburg. The German churches in Russia were formerly in organic connection with their sister churches in Germany, but for good reasons they separated in 1888. They have a denominational paper of their own called "Der Hausfreund. ' ' All this success has not been attained without great sacri fices on the part of the early leaders. The persecutions of Alf, who belonged to the first nine converts baptized by Weist in 1858, Wolf, Ewert, Besel, and Aschendorff have no 1 See Lehmann, " Geschichte der deut. Baptisten" Theil I., Seit. 233, for reports of the early colporters who labored in this section. 120 GERMAN, SCANDINAVIAN, DUTCH, HUNGARIAN, parallel in modern Baptist history.1 Since 1878 German Baptists have enjoyed religious freedom in Russia, and their work is constantly growing. 4. The German Baptists in North America. The plant ing of German Baptist churches in our own country was not due to any considerable extent to immigration of German Baptists from the Fatherland, although this immigration, when it set in about the middle of our century, strengthened the German churches that had already been formed here. In a very few cases, also, where the German brethren came over in larger numbers and settled in one center, they formed a church. The German Baptist churches in our country are rather, in their inception as well as in their present character, the result of a larger movement in which other evangelical denominations have also participated, the object of which was, and still is, to bring the vast number of Germans who have made their permanent home here, to accept a personal vital Christianity in place of the formalism or infidelity in which they had been trained in Germany. To this end the German language has been employed in this work, because it has proved thus far the best medium to attain the end sought for. Between 1839 and 1851 several independent beginnings were made in different parts of our country to establish Bap tist churches for the German people. In 1839 a German itinerant missionary from Switzerland, Rev. Conrad Fleisch- mann, baptized three Germans in Newark, N. J. , but a Bap tist church was not organized there until 1849. Fleischmann then went into Pennsylvania and succeeded in gathering three small German churches in Lycoming County in 184 1. In 1843 he organized a church of baptized believers in Phila delphia, in which city he remained, and where he, as a result of a more intimate association with American Baptists, soon found himself fully in accord with the teachings of our de nomination. The church he founded in Philadelphia is the first German Baptist church in our country. The three small churches in Lycoming County, with which he continued to sustain fraternal relations, joined the Baptists in 1854. An other German church was organized in New York City in 1846 through the efforts of a German missionary, also from Switzerland, who was sustained by the wise direction and pecuniary help of the American Baptist Home Mission So ciety. At about the same time, some German Baptists from 1 See especially a book, which is as interesting as it is rare, " Geschichte der Bap tisten in fiussisch-Pelen" ; pp. 163-250 give an account of these persecutions. SLAVIC, ESTHONIAN, AND FINNISH BAPTISTS 121 Eastern Prussia, driven hither by persecution, formed a few churches in Wisconsin. In 1849 a colporter in the employ of the American Baptist Publication Society succeeded in gathering a few German converts in Buffalo, N. Y. This colporter had been converted and baptized in an English- speaking Baptist church. Other beginnings were made at Springfield, 111.; St. Louis, Mo.; Rochester, N. Y. ; and Bridgeport, Ontario, about this time. In 1 85 1 the first successful attempt was made to bring together into one organization for fraternal counsel and more aggressive work, the few feeble German churches which were then scattered over our country from New York to St. Louis. At this time there were eight churches with a total member ship of 405. The eight churches have since that time grown to 250 and the membership to about 23,000. These churches are now scattered over our entire country and have overleaped its boundary at the northwest, so that German Baptist churches can to-day be found in the British provinces as far northward as German immigration has gone. The churches we are speaking of are splendidly organized for effective missionary work. They have formed seven yearly Conferences which are in effect so many missionary societies, as to each of them is entrusted- a definitely pre scribed ' ' work-field. ' ' There is also a General Conference, which meets triennially and which has immediate supervision of the entire publication, educational, and missionary in terests. The headquarters for the publications of the German Bap tist churches are at Cleveland, Ohio, where there are pub lished a weekly paper for the family, a monthly for young people, a monthly four-page tract, and three Sunday-school papers, all of them in the German language. The theological school is at Rochester, N. Y., where it has been since 1852. This has a course of instruction extending over six years, wholly distinct from the course in Rochester Theological Seminary, of which it is a part. It has a faculty of five teachers and last year had forty-four students for the ministry. Two factors have been especially potent in the work the German Baptist churches have been called upon to do in our country, and to these the results that have been achieved must in a great measure be ascribed : the aggressive mission ary spirit in the churches, and the ever-ready pecuniary help of American Baptists. 5. German Baptists in South Africa, Australia, and South 122 GERMAN, SCANDINAVIAN, DUTCH, HUNGARIAN, America. As early as 1861 a number of German Baptists from Stettin and Templin, in Prussia, migrated to Cape Colony, where they organized a church and began aggressive work among the large numbers of their countrymen, who, like them selves, had gone to South Africa for a new home. In 1863 they had increased to four churches and the membership to 160. For a short time they carried on a mission for the Kaffirs at King William' s Town, but owing to a lack of means this was given up. There are at present seven German Bap tist churches in South Africa, one of which is at Johannes burg, in the Transvaal. There is also a Dutch Baptist church at Sugarloaf. These eight churches have a membership of 1,292. Australia has thus far not received German immigrants in large numbers, but there are four small German churches of our faith there, with a total membership of 350. A considerable number of Germans have gone in recent years to the southern part of Brazil. In Porto Alegre, capi tal of the Brazilian State of Rio Grande de Sul, there are 15,000 Germans out of an entire population of 100,000. A German Baptist church was formed here in 1898 by eight members coming from various parts of Germany and Russia. The church now numbers thirty-five. At Linha Formosa there is a church of forty members and another one is at Jjahy. This latter church is composed mostly of Letts. The German Baptists in the United States have recently sent an evangelist to these three churches, whose visit has greatly strengthened them, and whose reports as to the outlook for future work in Brazil and Argentina are very encouraging. II. THE SCANDINAVIAN BAPTISTS. 1. The Danish Baptists. Denmark was the first of the European countries into which the Baptist movement entered from Germany. Rev. Julius Kobner, one of the pioneers in the German work, himself a native Dane, while on a visit to Copenhagen in 1838 found a company of Danish Christians that had become dissatisfied with the formal Christianity of the Lutheran State Church, and was led to discuss with them the subject of believers' baptism. As a result of much search ing of the Scriptures, eleven of them were baptized the year following by Kobner and Oncken, and the first Baptist church in Denmark was organized at the capital. Persecution im mediately set in and assumed so violent a form that it attracted attention in England and America, and at various times dele gations of Baptists from these countries endeavored to inter- SLAVIC, ESTHONIAN, AND FINNISH BAPTISTS 1 23 cede with the Danish government in their behalf. It was not until about 1850 that the Danish Baptists obtained free dom of worship. The progress of the Danish Baptists has been somewhat slow, partly on account of the repressive measures of the gov ernment, and partly on account of the temperament of the Danish people, who are confessedly slower in appropriating to themselves new truths than are their northern neighbors, the Swedes. The lack of a sufficiently large number of educated and capable leaders, in the formative period of their exist ence, may also be a reason for the relatively slower progress of these churches. The German brethren, notably Kobner, did much to help on the work, but the constantly expanding work in Germany claimed their first attention. In 1884 the Scandinavian department of the then Morgan Park Seminary began to send a number of educated pastors to Denmark to serve the churches, and their services were greatly appre ciated. Since 1895 the Danes have undertaken to establish and maintain a theological school of their own, under the leadership of Rev. P. Olsen, the school having at the start ten students. The numerical increase of the Baptists in Denmark can be seen from the following figures : They now have twenty-eight churches and 4,008 members; 4,014 pupils are reported to be in their Sunday-schools. They publish a number of pa pers and have an enterprising tract society. 2. The Norwegian Baptists. It is difficult to state just when Baptists began missionary work in Norway, but the records say that German Baptist colporters were at work there as early as 1840. The first Baptist church was organized in 1842, but since that time the progress has been slow. In Christiania, the capital, there is a Baptist church numbering upward of 200 members ; the church at Frederickshold is even stronger. At Tromsoe, north of the Arctic Circle, there is a church of 154 members, to which some have pointed as an example that immersion can successfully be performed, even in a rigid northern climate. There are at present thirty- two Baptist churches in Norway, with about the same number of pastors and helpers, and a combined membership of 2,671. They have a Conference which meets yearly. 3. The Dano-Norwegian Baptists in the United States. The persecution of Baptists in Denmark is primarily a cause for the earliest beginning of Danish Baptist churches in our own country. As early as 1853 ten Baptists from Denmark settled in the neighborhood of Racine, Wisconsin, which 124 GERMAN, SCANDINAVIAN, DUTCH, HUNGARIAN, number was increased the following year by further immigra tion. In 1856 they formed themselves into what is known as the first Danish Baptist church in America. In the early sixties several other beginnings were made in other parts of Wisconsin and in Minnesota, in which some men were promi nent who had been successfully identified with the work in Denmark. At Chicago, 111., to which place Scandinavian immigration was being directed at that time, a Danish church of twenty members was organized in 1864. The earliest known beginning of a Norwegian interest in our country is the effort a Rev. Hans Valder made at In dian Creek, HI., in 1848, which resulted in the formation of a Baptist church. Other beginnings were made at a later time, of which, however, space forbids any mention. The Danish and Norwegian Baptists in our country readily affiliate with one another because of the great similarity of their respective languages and also because they are able, by thus combining their strength in many localities, to keep up their church organization. They have also adopted the same course with reference to their Associations or Conferences, of which there now are seven. They are numerically strongest in Minnesota, where the Dano-Norwegian Conference num bers twenty-two churches, which have a membership of 1,409. They have churches also in Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, South and North Dakota, Nebraska, and on the Western slope in Oregon, California, and Washington. Their present strength in our country to-day is eighty-six churches, with a mem bership of 4,884. The Dano-Norwegian department of the Divinity School of the University of Chicago supplies their churches with pastors and missionaries. 4. The Baptists in Sweden. Nowhere on the continent of Europe has the success of the Baptists in this past century been so gratifying as in Sweden. A feeble beginning was made in 1848, when five persons were baptized near Gothen burg by a Baptist minister from Denmark named Forster. Now, after fifty-one years, this small company has increased to 40,759, and this one church has grown to 564 churches. In 1898 upward of 3,000 were added by baptism, showing that the successful work is still going .on. Various reasons have been given for this rapid advance of the Baptists in Sweden, among them the following : First, that the Swedish people are more pious than are the people of central and southern Europe and less hostile to the recep tion of new truths ; secondly, that when the Swedish move ment began, the Baptists of Denmark and Germany had SLAVIC, ESTHONIAN, AND FINNISH BAPTISTS 1 25 already shown continental Europe that the Baptists were not the people their enemies had represented them to be, and that this fact had great weight with a people hke the Swedes. These and other reasons do not, however, of themselves account for the wonderful growth we have just noted, though as factors they may be important. For in spite of the heroic stand of the German Baptists in the decade preceding, there was in Sweden for a number of years much persecution. Frederick O. Nilsson, who was instrumental in gathering the first company of Swedish converts at Gothenburg, was thrown into prison and finally banished. Even as late as 1853 a number of their strongest leaders were compelled to leave the country, and the four small churches, which up to that time had been called into existence, were compelled to meet for religious worship in the dead of night. A prominent factor in the success of the Swedish Baptists is that God gave them from the very beginning such a large number of gifted, devout, and heroic leaders who could lead on the small bands of believers to new and larger triumphs. Nilsson, although compelled to leave his country and labor in America, was a man cast in a heroic mold. Andreas Wi- berg was for Sweden what Kobner has been for Germany, a veritable God-send, — a man whose special gifts for creating a Baptist literature were just what was needed at that time. Other leaders could be mentioned did space permit. But the success is chiefly due to the aggressive missionary spirit that has characterized the churches from the outset, and this spirit had its roots in the strong conviction that the State Church was dead in formalism, and that their country men must come out of it in order to be saved. They were not afraid of an aggressive proselytism. As early as 1856 the Stockholm Missionary Society was formed, which is still in existence. To-day each one of the nineteen Associations is a missionary body. The annual national gatherings have charge of two other missionary organizations, one for foreign and the other for home work. The total expenditure of these two bodies is about #8,000 annually. The plan of planting many separate churches, and aiding the feeble ones until they are sufficiently strong to stand by themselves, has also been an important element in their ag gressive work. By this plan, which is the American plan, many new centers of missionary activity were established and responsibility for extension was thrown upon the local forces. The theological seminary, established as early as 1866 at Stockholm, has been a molding factor in the work. The 126 GERMAN, SCANDINAVIAN, DUTCH, HUNGARIAN, regular course of instruction of this school is four years and includes preparatory as well as theological study. The num ber of students is about forty. They have a good building and have made some provision for an endowment. Mr. Wiberg began in 1855 the publication of a denomina tional paper, which has remained the principal church paper, although there are other Baptist papers published in various parts of Sweden, some monthlies, others weeklies. While a great many of the Swedish churches are small, and their influence on the community is often barely perceptible, the Baptist movement, as a whole, is beginning to bear a marked influence. The Baptists are in the foreground among the dissenters in Sweden. The six churches at the capital, with a combined membership of 3,500, and the three churches at Gothenburg are recognized as among the most aggressive churches in the denomination. 5. The Swedish Baptist Churches in the United States. The origin of Swedish Baptist churches in our own country was due, in one notable instance, to the persecutions to which Baptists were subjected in Sweden. In 185 1 Mr. Nilsson, to whose banishment from Sweden allusion has already been made, settled with a few of his followers at Houston in Minnesota, where they organized a church in 1853. This place proved to be a valuable and strategic center from which the new movement could spread, as the rich farm lands of Minnesota had already attracted large numbers of Swedes. The success of the Swedish brethren in this particular State has been very gratifying, for to-day they have here seventy-eight churches with a membership of 5,450. Another beginning, in point of time a little earlier than the one just noticed, was made at Rock Island, 111., when Rev. Gustaf Palmquist organized a Swedish Baptist church in 185 1. This church was the result of a revival in an English-speaking Baptist church at which several Swedes were converted, who after their baptism were constrained to begin a mission among the many Swedes in the State of Illi nois. In this State too, their subsequent labors met with much success, notably so in the city of Chicago, where there now are eleven Swedish Baptist churches with a combined membership of about 2,300. The work of the Swedish Baptists in our country is very much like that of the Germans. Their aim is to reach their coun trymen through the medium of the Swedish language, and in this they have been quite as successful as have been their German brethren. There are at present 306 Swedish Bap- SLAVIC, ESTHONIAN, AND FINNISH BAPTISTS 1 27 tist churches in the United States with a membership of 20,692. They are most numerous in the central West, in Minnesota, Illinois, Iowa, and Nebraska, whither the Swed ish immigration has largely gone, but they have a few churches in almost every northern State. Their churches, with the exception of those in our larger cities, are for the most part small and need the financial support of the mis sionary organizations of our denomination. This support has been given them very generously, and it has been a prominent factor in their success. What Rochester Seminary has been for the German churches, in the matter of ministerial education, the Scandi navian department of the Divinity School of the University of Chicago has been to the Swedish churches, their pastors having very largely been educated at this school. The Swedish Baptists sustain two denominational papers in their language, one published at Chicago, the other at Burlington, Iowa. Their Sunday-school papers are published at Phila delphia. III. THE DUTCH BAPTISTS. Baptist views entered Holland by way of Germany. In the year 1844, Kobner, while visiting the newly formed Baptist churches in East Frisia, concluded to extend his visit into Holland. It was a very opportune time, for the question of believers' baptism was then being agitated by a small circle of Dutch Christians who had gone out from the State Church in the province of Drenthe. At the head of this company stood a former pastor of the Dutch State Church, Doctor Feisser, who had lost his position on account of his opposition to infant baptism. Feisser was on the point of introducing a rebaptism by sprinkling when Kobner first met him. Through the latter' s visit, however, and upon further study of the question, Feisser was led to adopt the Baptist position, and was baptized by Kobner in 1845, together with seven others. They then formed what is known as the first Dutch Baptist church, at a place now called Stadskanaal. At about the same time Kobner bap tized a few converts at Amsterdam and organized them into a church. From these two centers the work has gone on, but very slowly, perhaps largely on account of the proverbial con servatism of the Dutch people. It was not until the late sixties that the work in Holland began to take on new life. There are now eighteen Baptist churches in Holland, with a com- 128 GERMAN, SCANDINAVIAN, DUTCH, HUNGARIAN, bined membership of 1,389, of which the church at Franeker is the strongest. Some of the Dutch churches readily affiliate with their stronger neighbors, the Germans, while a certain number do not. The Dutch Baptists support a denomina tional paper called ' 'De Christen. ' ' Dutch emigration to the United States has not been very considerable in our century, nevertheless several attempts have been made by the German brethren to reach this inter esting people, but thus far with little success. There is one small Dutch Baptist church in existence at Muscatine, Iowa, and the Home Mission Society has a Dutch missionary in Chicago, who has gathered a few converts. IV. THE HUNGARIAN BAPTISTS. Hungary is to all appearances one of the most promising mission fields for the Baptists in all Europe. It may surprise some to learn that there are at present 4,912 Hungarians enrolled in the twenty or more Baptist churches in that country. A beginning was made as far back as 1846, when three young Hungarians, who had been converted and bap tized in Germany, were prevailed upon by Mr. Oncken to return to their native country and spread the truth they had experienced. As was the custom in those days, they began to distribute tracts and copies of the New Testament and to preach where they found an opening. The greatest obstacle in the way of their success was the extreme indifference on the part of the Hungarian people, and the early workers were obliged to wait many years before they could obtain a foothold. The outlook now is very promising, but the lack of trained men to properly organize the churches and to lead them on is felt, by those who know the work best, to be a very serious matter. They do not affiliate so readily with the Germans as might be best for the work at this stage of its development. They formed an Association with the few Bohemian churches some years ago, which is to meet an nually. V. THE SLAVIC BAPTISTS. 1. The Lithuanian and Lettish Baptists. In the early fifties the German Baptist church at Memel, on the Baltic Sea, near the Russian border, became a veritable Antioch for two Slavic peoples, the Lithuanians in Prussia and the Letts in the Baltic provinces, among both of whom Baptist views found entrance. It appears that a destructive fire, which swept over the city of Memel in 1854, first brought the Slavic, esthonian, and Finnish baptists 129 German brethren into contact with the Lithuanians in rather a unique way. The large Lithuanian church edifice having been burned to the ground, a brother in the German church undertook to preach to the Lithuanians in their language. The result was the conversion and baptism of a few Lithua nians and a subsequent mission work among them. There are at present two Lithuanian Baptist churches in eastern Prussia, and a few of the German churches there have Lithuanian members. The new interest begun among the Letts in the Russian provinces of Kurland and Libland about this same time has, however, been much more successful. The Letts number about one and a half million, and, like the Lithuanians, are mostly Lutherans. As early as 1855 a Lett named Jacob- sohn was baptized in Memel, and thereby the attention of the German brethren was directed to his countrymen across the border. A missionary tour, such as was so common in those early days, was undertaken in 1857 by Niemetz, the pastor of the Memel Church, which resulted in the baptism of eleven converts in i860, at a place called Windau, and the formation of a Baptist church there. The few Lettish brethren themselves took up the work with the result that to-day there are fifty-five Lettish Baptist churches, with a membership of 6, 285. The greater number of these churches are small and in rural districts, but there are some strong churches too in Riga, Libau, and Mitau. Lettish Baptists are now allowed freedom of worship, but only in their own churches ; they are still forbidden to hold meetings in private houses. Of course this is a hindrance in their work, but it nevertheless goes on successfully. They have been fortunate in having had able, energetic, and de voted men of their own nationality who could weather the storms of persecution, and their example is still having a tell ing effect upon the membership to-day. The one special need of the Lettish churches to-day is a larger number of men who are sufficiently trained to represent their churches successfully before the Russian government, to ward off the attacks of the Lutheran clergy, and to create a Baptist litera ture in the Lettish language. A few of their ministers have been trained in Hamburg, but the German language is to them a foreign language, and therefore the supply of men, who could profit by a course of instruction in Hamburg, is much limited. The rank and file of the membership is com posed largely of poor people, and this is a hindrance to their success when questions of church building press to the front. 1 130 GERMAN, SCANDINAVIAN, DUTCH, HUNGARIAN, There are a few Lettish Baptists in the United States, but they generally find a home in a German Baptist church. In Philadelphia about sixty of their number have recently organ ized themselves into a Lettish Baptist church. 2. Bohemian and Polish Baptists. It has been exceed ingly difficult, not for Baptists alone, but for all of the evan gelical denominations, to obtain a satisfactory opening for missionary work among Bohemians and Poles, both in our own country and in Europe. The chief reason for this is not that these people are so intensely bigoted, for those who know them are astonished at their religious indifference ; it is rather their notion that the Roman Church and the soli darity of their respective nationalities hang together, and any departure from their traditional faith is viewed among them as a betrayal of their nation. Among the Bohemians in the Austrian Empire Baptists have been at work since 1880, and the numerical increase, considering the difficulties of the un dertaking, has been very encouraging, for there are at present five churches with a combined membership of 380. The largest and oldest is at Prague, under the leadership of Rev. H. Novotny, who has undertaken to publish a monthly paper in the Bohemian language, which is gaining friends for him in all parts of Bohemia. Of the five Bohemian churches, four have been organized within the past two years. The outlook is very promising. The Bohemian population in our own country is estimated at about half a million. A Baptist interest among them was begun at Chicago by the First German Church there, and this has been so successful that in 1896 a Bohemian Baptist church was organized, which now has a membership of ninety- one. There is but one Polish Baptist church in existence, and that one is at Buffalo, N. Y. In spite of the fact that Ger man Baptists have been successfully at work in Poland since 1848, it has not been possible to reach the Roman Catholic Poles in numbers sufficiently large to organize a Pohsh Bap tist church. This is true of those parts of the old kingdom of Poland which now belong to Russia, as well as of those which are under German jurisdiction. The Polish Baptist church in Buffalo has but a small membership, and its ad vance has been very slow. Two Polish missions have recently been established, one in Detroit, Mich., and the other in Chicago, III, in both of which cities there is a large Polish population. 3. Bulgarian Baptists. The Bulgarians are Greek Cath- SLAVIC, ESTHONIAN, AND FINNISH BAPTISTS I3I olics, densely ignorant and as fanatical as the Greek priests can make them. A German colporter named John Kargel began missionary work among them in 1878 at Rustschuk, and not without success. There is a church at Rustschuk which has sixty-four members and another one at Lompa- lonka, lately organized, which has thirty-five members. This latter church has a few German members. The government allows the Baptists in Bulgaria full freedom of worship, but is oftentimes unable to control the people when the priests find occasion to stir up their fanaticism. A few years ago a Bap tist meeting-house was completely destroyed by a mob. 4. The Russian Baptists. Baptist work among the Rus sians, at least that which led to organized l Baptist churches, has had two independent beginnings in two different centers, — the one in south Russia among adherents of the Russian State Church, and the other in the city of Tiflis in the Cau casus, among the Molokani, a sect of the Russian church. The first of these beginnings was mediated through the so-called "immersing Mennonites," the second directly through Ger man Baptists. As has been stated, a considerable number of German im migrants found homes in the vast fertile plains of southern and western Russia. These Germans came from different parts of Germany, the greater number, however, hailing from north Germany. Nearly all of them were Protestants : Lutherans, Reformed, Mennonites, and Baptists. They formed themselves into rural communities which they called " Kolonien," over which the Russian government allowed them to exercise an almost independent civil jurisdiction. They upheld their language, their churches, and their schools. It appears that between the years 1840 and i860, the date is uncertain, a revival of religion broke out in the German Reformed colony of Rohrbach, in the province of Cherson in south Russia, the influence of which was quite remarkable.2 It found its way into the Mennonite "colonies" on the Molotschna River, among which Christian life had become exceedingly formal, with the result that in the year i860, in the month of June, a company of eighteen persons withdrew from the " Mennonite Church," on the ground that the church was spiritually dead, and began meetings of their own in which much attention was given to the exposition of the 1 Some Russians were baptized in the sfxties, in connection with the German work in Poland, hut such baptisms did not lead to the formation of Baptist churches. 2 Russian Stundism is .very probably to be traced to this revival, although recent Russian writers deny this. 132 GERMAN, SCANDINAVIAN, DUTCH, HUNGARIAN, Scriptures and to prayer. The question of a re-baptism had not yet been mentioned at the time of their withdrawal from the larger body ; but later in that year it was brought up, and the result was a conviction that believers' baptism by immer sion was the only baptism x taught in the New Testament, which they thereupon introduced on the twenty-third of Sep tember, i860. In the absence of a qualified administrator they did what Roger Williams had done in our own country. Each of two brethren baptized the other and these thereupon baptized the remaining candidates. There was not much of an organization after this baptism, but they introduced the Lord' s Supper, had frequent stated meetings, and began to call themselves "Mennonite Brethren," in contradistinction from their former co-religionists, whom they designated as the ' ' Mennonite Church. ' ' Of the subsequent history of these "immersing Men nonites ' ' there is only space to remark that this schism called forth repressive measures, instigated by the larger body, and had it not been for some influential representation at St. Petersburg, the leaders of the " Mennonite Brethren " would have been exiled. The new movement could not be put down, however, but continued to grow. They never came into organic relations with the German Baptists, although Oncken, in 1869, ordained their leader, a man named Abra ham Ungar. They continue to adhere to foot-washing and oppose oaths and the bearing of arms. They still num ber about 2,000 adherents in Russia and about 1,500 in our country, to which they began to immigrate in 1870, because of the introduction, by the Russian government, of compul sory military service. It is to this company of ' ' immersing Mennonites ' ' that the origin of the Russian Baptists in south Russia is due, and the story is an interesting one. The revival that had caused a split in the Mennonite body influenced in a yet greater degree the Russian peasants who were brought into daily contact with these converted Germans. The law, it is true, forbade proselyting among members of the Russian State Church, but nothing could prevent the circulation of the Scriptures among them. Through this agency many Russians had already come to the truth of believers' baptism 1 The question as to whether they came to this conviction independently, solely from a study of the New Testament, or whether from contact with German Baptists, has been variously answered. Professor Lehmann, " Geschichte der deutschen Baptisten," Theil II., Seit. 310, gives some evidence for the view that they were in possession of Baptist literature before they introduced immersion. On the other hand, some "eye witnesses " assert that they knew of no Baptists at that time. The question has only an academic value. SLAVIC, ESTHONIAN, AND FINNISH BAPIISTS 1 33 and were only waiting for an opportunity to see their convic tions carried into practice. But who would undertake to baptize them in the face of a law which meant banishment for the administrator and imprisonment and fines for the baptized? But love is inventive. On June n, 1869, Abra ham Ungar undertook to baptize a large number of German converts in the night, when two Russians, Elim Zimbal and Trifon Chlystum, both known and respected, managed to mingle with the baptismal candidates and were baptized without the knowledge of the administrator. There was no need of baptizing any other Russians after this baptism, for not long after Zimbal was found preaching and baptizing a number of converts in a village near by, among whom was Ivan Rjabeshapka, who more than any other became an apostle of the new life among his country men. Rjabeshapka soon afterward baptized Ratushni, who, with the others just mentioned, soon filled south Russia with the new doctrine. These men were instrumental in inau gurating a movement that would have swept thousands upon thousands into the Baptist ranks had it not so soon been checked by violent persecution. Space forbids any more extended notice of these early Russian leaders. Suffice it to say that, for sublimity of faith, the character of these Russian brethren stands unparalleled in modern Christian history. There was another beginning of Baptist work among the Russians, independent of the one we have just been con sidering, and this was made in the city of Tiflis, in Trans- Caucasia. To this city a German Baptist by the name of Kalweit immigrated in 1862. He soon gathered some con verts from among his countrymen, whom he baptized and organized into a Baptist church. It numbered but nine per sons at that time, but they began to hold services under the leadership of Kalweit. Through the instrumentality of a Nestorian missionary, Kalweit, in 1867, became acquainted with a Russian merchant named Mikita Woronin, who had for some time left the Molokani because he had become convinced of their unscriptural positions. Woronin, giving evidence of conversion, was baptized by Kalweit on August 20, 1867, the first Baptist convert, so far as is known, from that Russian sect. He remained with the German brethren at Tiflis but a short time, for he felt called to preach the gospel to his former co-religionists and set himself to this task. This was by no means an easy one, because of their Quaker-like opposition to anything that had a semblance of organization or was at variance with their traditional 134 GERMAN, SCANDINAVIAN, DUTCH, HUNGARIAN, forms. He was successful, however, and on April 18, 1869, baptized the first six Russians, whom he organized into a church at Tiflis, undoubtedly the first Russian Baptist church of which we have any record. This church is still in exist ence, having a membership of about one hundred, while the older German church soon became extinct. From these two beginnings the Baptist interest among the Russian people has grown and spread over south Russia and Caucasia. In its outward extension it has found a more receptive soil in south Russia than in Caucasia, but in the former place the persecution was more severe and the dis tinctively Baptist work was too much allied to the larger movement of Stundism, both of which circumstances greatly hindered its fuller growth. In Caucasia and in the valleys along the Volga River the Baptists were less disturbed by persecution, because the population here consisted largely of such as did not belong to the orthodox church. Brief mention may be made of but two men who had a prominent part in the subsequent extension of the Baptist movement. One was Vasili Pavloff, who labored for twenty years with marked success, and who, after many imprison ments, was finally banished to Tultscha, in Roumania, where he now lives in poverty, cut off from a work for which he is so well fitted. The other was a German, named Johann Wiehler, who gave to the Russian Baptist churches a hymnal and aided them in organizing their churches. He made one great mistake, however, in that he encouraged the Russian brethren to adopt the name of "Brethren " instead of Bap tists, perhaps out of deference to the Stundists, whom he was so desirous of winning. As a consequence the Russian Baptists could not avail themselves of the name of Baptists before the Russian courts, when, in 1879, the Czar's govern ment granted the Baptists the rights of a lawful Protestant denomination. Even to this day the Russian Baptists are treated as Stundists and blamed for all the vagaries and excrescences of this once promising, but now unhappy and divided religious movement. It is difficult to give reliable statistics of the present strength of the Russian Baptists, because they do not dare as yet to publish names and figures which would only aid their enemies in their work of extermination. The constant perse cutions and petty police surveillance have scattered them and destroyed nearly all their former organizations. A conserva tive estimate places the number of Russian Baptist churches at about 250 and the membership at about 12,000, scattered SLAVIC, ESTHONIAN, AND FINNISH BAPTISTS 1 35 over the southern and eastern portions of European Russia and Caucasia. It may be worth while to remember that there is a Baptist church of about 300 members at Blagooest- schensk on the Amur River, on the Manchurian border. Very few of the Russian Baptist churches have houses of worship at the present time, all but two having been closed or confiscated by the government. They are obliged to worship in private houses, or barns, or under the open sky, and always in small numbers. Persecution has seriously crippled this work, but the truth has had time to strike root, and therefore it is destined, at some future time, to bring forth a yet greater harvest. VI. THE ESTHONIAN AND FINNISH BAPTISTS. The Esthonians are said to be a Mongolian people belong ing to the Finnish family, but having a language of their own. They number about 650,000, and live principally in their old habitat, Esthonia, one of the Baltic provinces of Russia. Like the Finns and Letts they are mostly Lutherans. A Baptist interest of great promise was begun about fifteen years ago by Rev. A. R. Schieve, who was at that time pastor of the German Baptist church at St. Petersburg. It had its inception in a revival over which the Lutheran pastors could gain no control. There are now four Esthonian Bap tist churches with a membership of 1,048. Thus far no per secution has impeded the progress of this interest. The Finns are also a Mongolian people and probably still in possession of that part of Europe which they held before the incursion of the Indo- Europeans. Up to the beginning of our century, Finland belonged to Sweden, which fact may explain the influence the Swedes still have in the country, and also explains the interest the Swedish Baptists have shown in the planting and fostering of Baptist churches there. The first converts were baptized in 1868 by a missionary from Sweden. The progress of the work was very slow at first, because of the hostility of the Lutheran clergy and the op pressive laws governing religious communities in Russia at that time. The Baptists obtained legal rights in 1892 after a long and trying struggle. They now have thirty-one churches with a membership of 2,030. The churches are all still small. They have had the assistance of their stronger neighbors, the Swedish Baptists, with whom they were for merly affiliated ; they now have a Conference of their own which meets annually. The interest seems to be thoroughly established and will surely see yet greater triumphs. 136 GERMAN, SCANDINAVIAN, DUTCH, HUNGARIAN ' In 1895 Rev. I. A. Winklund began a Finnish mission in Worcester, Mass., to which city four Baptists from Finland had immigrated. The mission has progressed to the extent that in June, 1900, a church was organized which had twenty- three members. This church is at the present time the only Finnish Baptist church in our country. Albert J. Ramaker. XI THE BAPTISTS OF THE DOMINION OF CANADA PART I ONTARIO, QUEBEC, MANITOBA, AND THE NORTHWEST I. THE FIRST PERIOD, 1800-1835, INDIVIDUAL EVANGELISM. 1. Population. Quebec was settled mainly by the French ; its "eastern townships" and almost all Ontario by English- speaking people from the mother country and the United States. Scarcely any of these settlers were Baptists, for the French were solidly Cathohc ; in Great Britain and Ireland Baptists were few, and, of the numerous American Baptists, very few were United Empire Loyalists. The early Baptists, therefore, became such from personal conviction. 2. The dawn of the century found three widely separated Baptist centers. Vermont missionaries had followed the American settlers of the eastern townships and founded churches. The oldest was Caldwell Manor (1794). The only one that has lived through the century is Abbott's Cor ners (1799). In the center, Reuben Crandall, from the United States, began the work and organized a church at Hallowell, Prince Edward County, in 1795. Other churches soon followed, among them Haldimand (1798), which still exists. Tradition says the present Beamsville Church, twenty miles from Niagara, dates from 1776. Certainly it was flourishing in 1796. The settlers there were from New Jer sey and Great Britain. The missionaries were all American. 3. Early Progress. Haldimand became such a fruitful mother of churches that in 1803 the Thurlow Association was formed. From Beamsville influences spread westward, which were reinforced by settlers from the Maritime Prov inces, some of whom, like Elders Mabee and Merrill, had become Baptists in the East. Charlotteville, now Vittoria, was organized in 1804 by Titus Finch, of Nova Scotia, the first Baptist ordained in Ontario. Townsend, now Boston, '37 I38 THE BAPTISTS OF THE DOMINION OF CANADA followed in the same year, and many others in rapid suc cession, among them Aylma (18 16). These were in touch with Haldimand and Beamsville. In 1819 they formed the Western Association and Beamsville district the Eastern. North of them, in the London district, sprang up a group of Free Baptist churches, the most important of them Wood stock, founded in 1822. Work began in Toronto in 1829. An independent beginning was made at Harlem, near Brockville, where a church was organized in 1803. This issued in the Johnstown Association in 1827. Abel Ste phens, Loyalist, and Doctor Day, founder of the Telugu Mission, are honored names on its roll. The Ottawa Valley has an entirely different history. Breadalbane (181 7) and Dalesville (1826) were formed by Perthshire Highlanders. They were a vigorous, godly folk, who had come under Haldane's influence in Scotland. Their character and influence is shown by the fact that Mr. Fraser, after a nineteen years' pastorate, could say that he had never heard an oath or seen a glass of liquor drunk in Breadalbane. 4. Leaders. William Marsh did faithful service in eastern Quebec, and in 1825 followed some of his people westward and started the church at Whitby, Ont. In the extreme west mention should be made of Elder Mabee, able and aggressive, Elder Merrill, unconventional and mighty, as well as of the far-seeing Deacon Beam, of Beamsville, and quaint Champion Scovill, through whose influence the first annual missionary was sent out. Elders Crandall and Winn, of Haldimand, were men of great zeal, and John Harris, of Boston, was mighty in soul-winning. John Edwards, a ship wright, converted under Haldanein 1799, settled at Clarence, on the Ottawa, in 1827. Moved by the spiritual destitution around him, he became a preacher and a veritable apostle. His chief work, however, was in visiting Britain, rousing interest, and bringing Gilmour and Fraser to Canada. These pioneers were men of energy, ability, devotion, and conviction. Circumstances called out the clearest-headed and truest-hearted. Supporting themselves, they preached to their neighbors, toured extensively on foot, horseback, by boat, and endured much hardship for Christ's sake, and the people honored and welcomed them. II. THE SECOND PERIOD, 1835-1866, UNIFICATION. 1. The Situation. During the first period the churches East and West were unaware of each other's existence. The Ottawa Valley and Montreal were in touch with Britain, the ONTARIO, QUEBEC, MANITOBA, AND NORTHWEST 1 39 rest with the United States. The population of Upper Canada which in 1783 was 10,000, rose to 50,000 in 1800 and 95,000 in 18 15. Lower Canada, in 1800, had 150,000. In 1833 there were 400,000 English-speaking people in the two provinces, of whom 3,000 were members of Baptist churches. During our second period immigration was heavy and all of older Ontario was settled. This constituted an urgent call for evangelization. 2. Leaders and Progress. John Gilmour (d. 1869), a fine combination of pioneering zeal and scholarly culture, organ ized the church in Montreal (1830), toured in almost every section of the provinces, did much to enlist British support, promote co-operation, and raise the standard of the ministry. William Fraser, a giant physically, intellectually, and spirit ually, evangelized extensively in the Ottawa Valley and Bruce, and was pre-eminent as a teacher and exemplar of truth. The doctrinal sanity of Canadian Baptists is largely due to him. Daniel McPheil, "the Elijah of the Ottawa Valley," was a man of tremendous conviction, possessed with a passion for soul-winning. He probably founded more churches and saw more of his proteges in the ministry than any other Canadian. These two preached in Gallic as well as English. An even more commanding figure is R. A. Fyfe, a native Canadian. He was the first to put the work in Toronto on a finn basis. His chief work, however, was educational. An altogether imperial personality he has been undoubtedly the greatest organizer and maker of men in Canadian Baptist history. Faithful Samuel Tapscott was abundant in labors ; George Watson bravely planted the standard near Sarnia ; colonies of Welshmen became the material for substantial churches in Claremont and Dinfield ; McDormand, the impassioned orator, reached multitudes all through the West ; faithful men began the work along the shores of Georgian Bay, and in the heart of the Huron district the now venerable Alex ander Stewart repeated all the hardships and heroism of the most devoted pioneers. In the older districts valuable work in extending and up building was done by William Rees, a clear-headed Welsh man, who told wondering Brantford that she should yet know who Baptists were and fulfilled his prophecy ; George J. Ryerse, of Townsend, sagacious and true ; W. H. Landon, gentle, philosophic, lover and loved of men ; J. Winter- botham, who put Woodstock on the Regular basis ; Dr. James Cooper, scholarly and spiritual ; Dr. Robert Boyd, the sainted 140 THE BAPTISTS OF THE DOMINION OF CANADA sufferer, author of "The World's Hope "; and James Inglis, the vigorous editor of the " Evangelical Pioneer." In Que bec, where there were several weak Freewill churches and about twenty Calvinistic, Hibberd was an honored name ; there too, Elders GilUes and Chandler, and Rev. David Marsh, of Quebec City, began their long and honorable careers. Among others than preachers must be mentioned-David Buchan, leader in the Union ; Deacon Burtch, of Wood stock, who mortgaged his farm to save the college ; Rowley Kilborn, first president of the permanent missionary society ; and Stephen Tucker, the consecrated lumberman, who planted seven churches along the Ottawa. The territorial progress made is indicated by the mere mention of a few of the leading places occupied. In the thirties : Osgoods, Kingston, St. Catharines, Brantford, St. Thomas ; in the forties : Quebec, Brockville, Peterboro, Hamilton, London ; in the fifties : Ottawa, Guelph, Strat ford, Owen Sound, Leamington. The numerical progress shows a membership of about 5,000 in 1840, 7,000 in 1850, and about 15,000 in 1866. 3. Unification. Distance kept East and West apart for years. The progress of the country cured that. There remained three main obstacles to unification — the com munion question, the ultra-independence of some churches, and general indifference to missions in others. Most of the Eastern churches started with open communion ; some of them even with mixed membership. By 1840 they had all become close. At first they were ultra-independent, believ ing that the church existed only for its own edification and the observance of the Supper, that evangelists should be sup ported but that the pastor should support himself and be as one of the brethren. They looked askance at any organiza tion beyond the local church. But in a series of remarkable revivals much new blood came in ; under wise leaders they were trained to co-operation, and the Ottawa Association was formed in 1836. Out of it sprang in 1837 the Canada Bap tist Missionary Society. It pushed evangelization, founded Montreal College (1838), published a paper and magazine, and received aid from the Baptist Canadian Missionary So ciety of Britain, through which they became acquainted with thejr Western brethren, Rees and Gilmour having visited England about the same time seeking assistance. They were advised to co-operate. The Western churches, in constant touch with the American ONTARIO, QUEBEC, MANITOBA, AND NORTHWEST I4I Baptist Home Mission Society, which in 1837 assisted seven of their missionaries, had been earlier prepared for co-opera tion. But here too, the communion question caused diffi culty. In the Baptist Missionary Society of Upper Canada (1833-1835), and the Upper Canada Baptist Mission So ciety that immediately succeeded it, the question was ignored and an effort was made to effect a union with the Free Bap tist churches. But in 1843 the Western and Grand River Associations disfellowshiped all the "opens," and held aloof from the Canada Baptist Union which was formed that year on a broad basis and included both East and West. The Regular Baptist Union of Canada (1848), attracted "the strict" and many "moderates." Both failed. Montreal College and the Eastern Society also collapsed, after some thirteen years of noble missionary and educational service, under the guidance of the cultured Englishmen who manned the college, Doctors Davies and Cramp. So that in 1850 there was no Convention, no college, no paper, and the de nomination seemed hopelessly divided. These failures taught two lessons — that union must be on the Regular basis and that minor differences must be ignored. These lessons and the general weariness with division secured permanence for the Regular Baptist Missionary Society which was organized October, 185 1. Around it gathered in succession the Educational (1858), Superannuated Ministers (1864), Foreign Missionary (1866), Church Edifice (1867), and Pub lication (1882). On similar lines was created in 1858 the C. B. M. Convention East, with the country east of Kings ton for its field. 4. Educational. Many plans had been formed in the West. Montreal College had failed because it was too far from the center and never won the confidence of the close commun- ionists. It was Doctor Fyfe who finally launched at Wood stock the college of which McMaster University is the outcome. 5. Religio- Political. During this period the Baptists made a notable contribution to the spread of religious liberty. Strenuous efforts had been made to fasten State-Churchism on Canada. Largely through the influence exerted by Baptists through the "Pioneer" and the "Montreal Register," the petitions of the " Union," and the splendid work of Davies, Fyfe, Cramp, Bosworth, and others, Toronto University was nationalized and the vexed questions of the clergy reserves and endowed rectories were settled on sound principles. 6. Indian Work. In 1842 some Baptist Indians from Lewiston, N. Y., settled on the reserve near Brantford. 142 THE BAPTISTS OF THE DOMINION OF CANADA Through their influence others were converted and a church of twenty-six members was organized in May. In November, though persecuted by Episcopalians, they numbered 103. The church has been supported mainly by Brantford. Its membership is now 152. 7. French Work. Before 1834 all evangelical work among French Canadians had been abandoned as utterly fruit less. Then from a little, persecuted, independent church in Switzerland, came Pastor Olivier, Madame Feller, and M. Roussy. About 1848, owing to changed views, the mission became Baptist. Madame Feller and M. Roussy lived to see thousands of French Protestants. The story is among the romances of missions. Feller Institute and Roussy Memorial Church at Grande Ligne are to-day the center of a growingly influential work which must be measured not simply by the number of converts, churches, schools, and missionaries, but also by the increased intelligence of the French people and their growing independence of the priest hood. 8. German Work. Professor Rauschenbusch, then of the American Tract Society, was invited by Mr. Schneider, of Berlin, Ontario, to come and baptize his baby boy. He happened to be studying the question of baptism and advised his friend to let the child grow up unbaptized. In 185 1 he himself was baptized and shortly afterward visited Berlin and baptized Mr. and Mrs. Schneider and four others and organ ized a church of fourteen members. The work prospered, but much of it has been lost to Baptists for lack of competent leadership. There are in Ontario to-day twelve churches with a membership of 923. III. THE THIRD PERIOD, 1866-1900, EXPANSION. 1. Foreign Missions. Heretofore contributions had been made to English and American Baptist missions. In 1866 a Canadian auxiliary to the American Baptist Missionary Union was formed and A. V. Timpany became its first missionary. John McLaurin followed in 1870. In 1873 a strong appeal was made to him at Ongole by Thomas Gabriel, a caste con vert, to take up the work he had begun at Cocanada. The result was that in 1879, with the cordial concurrence of the Union, the Canadians entered upon independent work, witn Doctor McLaurin as their missionary ; he laid wise founda tions. Timpany, glowing soul, and Craig, our veteran, joined in 1878. Timpany's death in 1885 stirred the churches deeply and large reinforcements were hurried for- ONTARIO, QUEBEC, MANITOBA, AND NORTHWEST I43 ward. Only well-equipped men and women have been sent and great blessing has been vouchsafed. There are to-day thirty missionaries, thirty churches, 4,000 members, and a noble body of native helpers trained in the village schools, the boarding schools, and the Samulcotte Seminary. In 1897 a new mission was opened in Bolivia, by Rev. A. B. Reekie. Seven others have followed and work has begun auspiciously at Oruro and La Paz. 2. Manitoba, Northwest, and British Columbia. Work was begun by Rev. A. McDonald in 1873. The First Church, Winnipeg, was organized in 1875, and in 1881 a Convention, which in 1883 included ten churches with 500 members. There are to-day 4,220 members and seventy-five churches, of which eleven are German, five Scandinavian, and two Indian. This success has been due largely to the noble women's Board (organized 1885), Prairie College, conducted by Doc tor Crawford (1880-1883), Brandon Academy under Profes sor McKee, the superintendents of missions, and the late Alexander Grant. Brandon College now belongs to the body and has started out most auspiciously. British Columbia worked for years with the Washington Convention and was helped by the American Baptist Home Mission Society. A separate Convention was organized in 1897, which numbers now eighteen churches and 1,500 mem bers. Both these Conventions co-operate with Ontario in foreign missions and receive help from the East for home work. 3. Publication. Senator McMaster's gift of #40,000 led to the formation. of the Standard Publishing Company, whose directors purchased "The Canadian Baptist," which in 1859 succeeded "The Christian Messenger" (1853), and opened a book-room, the profits going to missions. This became technically, as it had been virtually, the property of the denomination under the reorganization to be mentioned. 4. Changes in Organization. In 1889 the Eastern and Western Conventions gave place to the Baptist Convention of Ontario and Quebec. The new differed from the old in two important respects : the old Convention meant no more than that certain district Societies met at the same place for the convenience of persons who were members of more than one. It was simply a meeting of Societies and had no officers of its own. Moreover, the Societies had a monetary basis of membership. The new Convention is on a strictly rep resentative basis, being composed of delegates from the churches and the Associations constitutionally, but practically 144 TllE BAPTISTS OF THE DOMINION OF CANADA from the churches only. It has its own officers and annually appoints Boards to manage the various departments of work formerly done by the Societies, viz, Home Missions, Foreign Missions, Superannuated Ministers, Church Edifice, Publica tion, and a Committee for Manitoba, Northwest, and British Columbia. Women's Foreign Missionary Societies, East and West, were organized by William Timpany in 1876. They have raised since then #120,000, less than two per cent, of which has gone for home expenses. The Women's Home Missionary Society, West, dates from 1884 and the Eastern from 1889. Their income last year was #6,700. The "Visitor" and "Link" are published monthly by the Women' s Home and Foreign Societies re spectively. The first Provincial Baptist Young People's Union Con vention met in 1897. Before 1884 pastors served as secretaries of all Societies. In that year Rev. Alexander Grant was appointed superin tendent of Home Missions. After five years of magnificent service this remarkable man resigned to take the Winnipeg pastorate. God called him home in 1897. His successor was the wise and devoted J. P. McEwen, whose loss we just now mourn. Under the earlier order, Dr. T. L. Dandson, the indefatigable secretary, did splendid work. The Foreign Board followed this lead in 1888. Rev. John McLaurin, A. P. McDiarmid, and J. G. Brown have held the office and proved the wisdom of the step. A Dominion Board of Missions was formed in 1885. Its two years' history was not encouraging, and it was not until July, 1900, that in Winnipeg the Baptists of the Dominion met in their first National Baptist Convention. 5. Leaders. To those already named should be added John Bates, prime mover in foreign missions ; John Demp- sey, laborious and wise ; John Alexander, a charming per sonality ; Joshua Denovan, rugged, original, who suffused doctrine with the charm of poetry ; E. W. Dadson, incarna tion of righteousness and goodness ; John H. Castle, saga cious as he was attractive and generous ; D. A. McGregor, keen-minded and gentle-souled ; and to mention only one among the living, W. K. Anderson, whose lingering presence is a heavenly benediction,— these as pastors and preachers. Among others must be named T. S. Shenstone and William Craig, Sr., faithful friends of foreign missions, as Benjamin Bell and Thomas Lailey were of home missions ; J. E. Wells THE MARITIME PROVINCES I45 professor and editor, our most finished publicist ; Theo dore H. Rand, poet, educationist, iron-willed and inspiring, and William McMaster, whose gifts of over #1,200,000 en dowed the Publication Board, the Home Mission Superin- tendency, and McMaster University. Leaders in education exclusively will be found in the article devoted to that work. 6. Progress. The 15,000 of 1866 have grown to over 44,000, representing 464 churches. The Home Mission Board last year employed 104 regular missionaries and fifty- three students. The forward movement to mark the century aimed at #150,000 for missions. In 1900 home missions received #22,460 ; foreign missions, #35,783 ; Grande Ligne, #10,000 ; the Northwest nearly #10,000, and other objects, #2,000. McMaster, Grande Ligne, and Brandon sought #40,000 each for buildings. Our share of all (about #80,000) is nearly all pledged. Our educational history is given by another. 7. Conclusion. Canadian Baptists have had good school ing. Moderately conservative in theology, they are putting emphasis on the gospel of grace, the power of the Spirit for service, and the necessity of a Christlike life in church and home, in business and society. They are facing bravely the great responsibilities which the rapid development of the country is thrusting upon them, and hope by God's blessing to strengthen the kingdom of God in Canada and make some worthy contribution to its spread throughout the world. J. H. Farmer. PART II THE MARITIME PROVINCES I. FROM 1752 TO 1809. The history of the Baptists of the Maritime Provinces begins with the coming of German immigrants to Halifax in 1752, and with the coming to Nova Scotia of New England people in 1760, to settle the lands made vacant by the expul sion of the French in 1755. The first Baptist of the Mari time Provinces, as far as is known, was a man named Andres, who came from Holland, and as early as 1752, was settled in Lunenburg. The first New England Baptist to settle in I46 THE BAPTISTS OF THE DOMINION OF CANADA Nova Scotia was Rev. Ebenezer Moulton, who moved from Brimfield, Mass., to Yarmouth, in 1761, and was residing in Yarmouth as late as 1770. In 1763 he visited Horton and Cornwallis, where his preaching resulted in a revival of re ligion. In the same year he organized, at Horton, a church composed of Baptists and Congregationalists. In 1763 Rev. Nathan Mason, another New England Bap tist, organized a church of thirteen members at Swansea, Mass., and emigrated with it to Sackville, New Brunswick, where he remained with his church for eight years. In that period it increased to about sixty members. Mr. Mason and the greater part of those who came with him returned to New England in 1771. When Joseph Crandall visited Sack ville in 1778 he found only one or two persons who had been immersed. About 1763 Rev. John Sutton visited New port, N. S. , where he immersed Daniel Dimock, who before coming, in 1760, from Connecticut to Nova Scotia, held Bap tist views. Among the immigrants from New England to Horton and Cornwallis in 1761 was a number of Baptists. The first church was formed at Horton (now the Wolfville Baptist Church) on October 29, 1778. It was organized by Nicholas Pierson, who had been a local Baptist preacher in England, and was composed of ten persons, who are by some called " the fathers and founders of the Baptist denomination in the Maritime Provinces." At its organization what is called close communion was agreed upon as the doctrine and practice of the church, but in 1780 it was resolved "that the Congregational brethren who are sound in the faith be invited to sit down with us at the Lord's table occasionally, and that the mode of baptism is no bar to communion." With the organization of the Horton Church, Baptists of the Maritime Provinces entered upon an independent existence, and thenceforth contended for the faith with increasing zeal and devotion. Rev. Nicholas Pierson, the first pastor, retired from office in 1 791 and moved to Hopewell, N. B. His successor was Rev. Theodore Seth Harding, who ministered to the church from June, 1795, to his death in 1855. His ministry was fruitful in great blessings to his church and the denomina tion. When he began his pastorate his was the only Baptist church in these provinces except the small church in Halifax ; when he died the denomination numbered 200 churches. When his ministry began the Baptists probably had less than a hundred members ; when his ministry closed they num bered not less than 18,000 communicants. THE MARITIME PROVINCES 1 47 Rev. Thomas Handley Chipman was immersed at Horton by Mr. Pierson in 1779, and soon began his ministry, which proved to be very successful. He was the first of the New Light preachers to be immersed ; Rev. Joseph Dinwek, con verted at Newport in 1785 and baptized at Horton in 1787, was the second, and James Manning, immersed by Rev. Thomas Handley Chipman, was the third. Thus Baptist sentiment increased and many laymen followed the example of the ministers. David George, who was born a slave in Virginia about 1742, came from the Southern States, with many other people of color and a large number of whites, to Halifax in 1782. He preached at Preston and baptized a few converts. At Shelburne he baptized converts and organized a church of six members. In 1798 Joseph Crandall held revival services at Sackville, N. B., where, on October 4, 1799, a church of about twenty members was organized, of which Mr. Crandall was ordained pastor, October 8, 1799. During the year 1800 Mr. Crandall preached at Norton, Belleisle, Waterborough, Kingsclear, Woodstock, and many other places in New Brunswick, his meetings resulting in numerous conversions. At Waterborough, Elijah Estabrooks, minister of the Congregationalists of the place, was baptized, and his example was followed by many of his people. The Waterborough Baptist Church was organized in 1800. From April, 1798, to June, 1799, revivals occurred at various places between Horton and Yarmouth. Harris Harding, who became one of the fathers of the denomination, was baptized by Rev. James Manning in August, 1799. Thus by the immersion of New Light ministers and of many others, during the revivals that were constantly occur ring, the number of Baptists was largely increased. Their common desires and interests soon led them to unite for mutual help and the advancement of their principles. And so it came to pass that the Association of the Baptist churches of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick was organized at a meet ing in Granville, in June, 1800. It was composed of repre sentatives of six churches, among whom were six ministers. The churches at this time included Baptists and Congrega tionalists and mixed communion continued to be practised until 1809. The faith and order of the Association were to be the same as in the Confession of Faith adopted by upward of one hun dred congregations in Great Britain in the year 1687, and adopted by the Association of Philadelphia in 1742. I48 THE BAPTISTS OF THE DOMINION OF CANADA From the first, Baptists met with bitter opposition from members of other bodies whose doctrines and practices were necessarily assailed by Baptist teaching. Their preaching of the cross, with the related doctrines of human depravity, of the necessity of regeneration by the Holy Spirit, of justifica tion by faith, and of sanctification by the Spirit, gave constant offense to those who held the baptismal regeneration view and kindred ideas. The ministers, by their zeal and faithful ness in self-sacrificing labors, witnessed a good confession of Jesus Christ. They ' ' went everywhere preaching the word ' ' ; they labored night and day to extend the knowledge of Christ; they counted it joy to suffer for Christ's sake. And while death wrought in them, life increased among the people ; for a considerable multitude became obedient to the faith. 11. from 1809 to 1846. The early years of the nineteenth century witnessed steady increase of the body in numbers and power. In 1810, when the Association met at Sackville, N. B. , fourteen churches reported, having an aggregate membership of 924. In 1821 the membership had reached 1827, nearly twice what it was eleven years before. In 1821 the Association was divided, the churches in Nova Scotia uniting in the Nova Scotia As sociation and those of New Brunswick in the New Brunswick Association. This change of organization showed the growth and confi dence of the body, and it also no doubt promoted the de nomination's interests. The New Brunswick Association was composed of the following churches : Germain Street, St. John, Rev. Richard Scott, pastor ; Sackville, Salisbury, Rev. Joseph Crandall, pastor ; Waterborough, Prince William, Rev. L. Hammond, pastor ; Wakefield, Keswick, Frederic- ton, Rev. T. S. Harding, pastor; St. Mary's, Stellarton, Norton, Rev. Francis Pickle, pastor ; Miramichi, Hopewell, Rev. Nathan Cleaveland, pastor. This Association was com posed of six ministers, thirteen churches, and 506 members. It was organized in July, 1822, at St. John. The years 1827 and 1828 are memorable in the history of Maritime Baptists; for in 1827 Granville Street Church, Halifax, was organized, and in 1828 the Association decided to enter upon the work of denominational education. As the Baptist body in these Provinces owed its existence to the evangelical preaching of Henry Alline and others, so the new impulse received by the organization of Granville Street Church, where there was received a number of devoted, edu- THE MARITIME PROVINCES 1 49 cated men who became leaders in the denomination's un dertakings, was due to the evangelical preaching of the Rev. T. Twining, curate of St. Paul's Church, Halifax, under whose ministry a number of persons were converted. Bishop Inglis, then rector of St. Paul's, was strongly opposed to evangelical preaching, and secured the dismissal of Mr. Twining from the curacy. Thereupon a large portion of the congregation withdrew, and with Mr. Twining as leader, es tablished separate services, and built a meeting-house. The seceders were unable, however, to retain their connection with the Church of England, as they had hoped, and the greater part returned to St. Paul's. But a number had be come convinced of the correctness of Baptist doctrine and united to form the Granville Street Church, which was organ ized by Professor Irah Chase, of Newton Theological Insti tution, September 27, 1827. Alexis Caswell was the first pas tor. The formation of this church brought into the Baptist body a number of men of culture and high standing, among whom were James W. Johnstone, E. A. Crawley, J. W. Nut ting, Lewis Johnston, m. d., and others. The membership of the churches was 1,711, which, by the addition of the Yar mouth Church next year, was increased to 2,055. At tne same date (1827) there were fifteen ministers in New Bruns wick, and the aggregate membership was 1,374, while the total membership in both Provinces was 3,429. At the meeting of the Nova Scotia Association of 1828, held at Horton, there was a full discussion of the educational needs of the body and a decision was reached to undertake the establishment of a literary and theological institution. As this department of the denomination's work has been made the subject of another sketch in this volume nothing further need be said of it here. From 1828 to 1846 the denomination made continuous progress in numbers and influence. The growth of Horton Academy and Acadia College had inspired additional confi dence and new enthusiasm. The need of co-operation was seen, and in 1846 the Baptist Convention of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island was organized. in. from 1846 to 1900. When the Convention was formed the membership of the three provinces was 14,177. The Associations had always co-operated in matters affecting the general interest of the churches, but the organization of the Convention added greatly to the unity and strength of the denomination. The 150 THE BAPTISTS OF THE DOMINION OF CANADA objects of the Convention were, " to advance the interests of the Baptist denomination and of the cause of God generally ; to maintain the religious and charitable institutions ' ' of the body. Acadia College became the college of the Convention, and so of all the provinces ; foreign missions occupied more of the mind and heart of the people when the Convention took up the work, and home missions at a later period passed from control of the smaller societies and Boards into the manage ment of the general body. The churches increased in num bers and other elements of strength. In 1900 Nova Scotia had 197 churches having an aggregate membership of 30,008 ; New Brunswick had 171 churches, with a membership of 19,223; and Prince Edward Island twenty-seven churches, with a total membership of 2,159. In 1850 the denomination in the Maritime Provinces had 15,564 members ; in i860 it had 145 ordained ministers, 248 churches, and 20, 760 members ; in 1870 there were 155 min isters, 303 churches, and 27,981 members; in 1880 the num ber of ministers was 194, the number of churches 344, the membership 38,794; in 1890 there were 217 ministers, 389 churches, and 41,808 members ; in 1900 the number of min isters was 250, the number of churches 411, and the member ship 5J>39°- In 1846 the Baptists had one communicant for about thirty-four of the population ; in 1894 (when the examina tion was made for the Jubilee meeting of the Convention in 1895) they had one communicant for about every nineteen of the people. While the population between 1846 and 1894 increased about eighty per cent, the Baptist member ship increased about 218 per cent., or more than two and one half times as fast. With the increase of the churches it became necessary to divide the Associations. In 1850 it was decided to divide the Nova Scotia Association into three Associations, to be known as the Western, Central, and Eastern Associations, and these three Associations were organized in 1851. The old Nova Scotia Association did a great work. It gave birth to home and foreign missions, to educational institutions, to Sabbath-school organizations, and to agencies designed to pro mote the revision and circulation of the sacred Scriptures. The New Brunswick Association, organized in 182 1, con tinued its work of fostering home and foreign missions and educational enterprises until 1847, when it was divided into two Associations, the Eastern and the Western. In 1880 THE MARITIME PROVINCES I 5 I the churches were grouped into three Associations, known as the Western, Southern, and Eastern. In 1868 the churches of Prince Edward Island, which had hitherto been connected with the Eastern Association of Nova Scotia, united to form the Prince Edward Island Association. The foregoing statements will, it is believed, furnish a brief outline of the history of the Baptists of the Maritime Provinces as far as their life appears in their organizations. But to write, even in part, an account of the inner life of the body, its struggles and triumphs, to describe the opposition and difficulties it encountered, would require more space than can be allowed to this sketch. Some features of the history, however, may be briefly noted : 1. The denomination has had its own personality and re tained its characteristic qualities through all the changes inci dent to growth. The unfolding of its life has not destroyed its identity, its progress has not interfered with its stability. The characteristics of a religious body are its message, its ideals, its spirit, and the strength of its personality. Its power is largely determined by its message and the power of its personality. And the message sought to be given, and the declaring of which has brought power to Maritime Bap tists, has remained essentially the same through its history. 2. The personal experience, the high moral character of the ministers, and the depth and clearness of their religious conviction gave power to their ministry that enemies could not resist. There is no explanation of their success, except that God was with them. The ministers whose names have been recorded in the foregoing sketch, and many others whose names do not appear, were men who bore the signature and stamp of the Most High. The entire denomination has been a Home Missionary Society, the ministers and laymen co operating in evangelistic effort. 3. The Spirit of Christ that was in the disciples was mani fested in their desire for conversion of the heathen. In 1814, at the Association held at Chester, "a contribution was made for the poor heathen." It amounted to #34.60. This may be regarded as the commencement of our foreign missionary enterprise. In 1845 Rev. R. E. Burpee and wife, the first foreign missionaries of Maritime Baptists, arrived at Mergui and began work. After contributing for many years to the American Baptist Missionary Union, it was decided to under take an independent mission, and in 1873 three brethren and their wives, and another lady missionary, were sent to Burma. In 1875 they moved to India and began the "work among the 152 THE BAPTISTS OF THE DOMINION OF CANADA Telugus, which has continued to the present. In 1900 our missionaries in India numbered fifteen, and five others were on furlough. There are seven churches, with 314 members, connected with the mission. The receipts for the year were #20,844.59. The late S. T. Rand, d. d. , for many years labored among the Indians of the Maritime Provinces, translated large por tions of the Scriptures into the Micmac language, and pre pared the way for the evangelization of this long-neglected people. 4. The churches have been scattered over a wide area ; and especially in the early years of the denomination's history traveling was difficult, so that the brethren could seldom meet one another. But they were one in spirit and in doc trine and united, in face of opposition from without, in the greatest and most unifying of all service, the extension of the gospel of Christ. The denominational spirit was fostered and the unity of the body promoted by the denominational press. In 1827, when the Baptists had only 2,694 members, they began the publication, at Halifax, of the ' ' Baptist Missionary Magazine." In 1837 this magazine was merged in the "Christian Messenger," which in 1885 was united with the "Christian Visitor" to form the present denominational organ, " The Messenger and Visitor." The "Christian Visitor," the organ of New Brunswick Baptists, was published at St. John from 1847 to 1885. The Maritime religious newspapers were founded at the following dates : " The Baptist Missionary Magazine," 1827 ; "The Christian Messenger," 1837; "The Christian Visitor," 1847; "The Presbyterian Witness," 1848; "The Wes- leyan," 1849 ; "The Religious Intelligencer" (organ of the Free Baptists), 1854; "The Messenger and Visitor," 1885. 5. The Baptists have been forward in advocacy of tem perance and all the moral and religious movements of the land in which they live. This fact has added to their power and has won for them the respect of the people at large. While recognizing the incompleteness of their service they have reason for gratitude that, under God, they have accom plished so much. The historical statements in the foregoing sketch have been taken, for the most part, from the forthcoming "His tory of Maritime Baptists," by E. M. Saunders, d. d., and from "The History of the Baptists," by I. E. Bill, d. d. E. M. Keirstead. XII TWO GENERATIONS OF BAPTISTS IN AUSTRALASIA I. THE BACKGROUND. Australia, Tasmania, and New Zealand are about the size of the United States, more than twenty-five times the size of the United Kingdom, and three-quarters the size of Europe. New Zealand has its population of 800,000 fairly distributed, but in Australia the people are found around the margin of a waterless continent, chiefly in the southeast, so that, all told, there are but 4,000,000, as many as in Scot land or London or Illinois, and fewer than in Canada. Speaking broadly, the population is homogeneous, and in its religious relations is closely allied to Great Britain, whence the leading ministers of all churches are still drawn, though the newer policy of the country is checking this tide. The position of Baptists in this newest world is thus affected by their position in England as "Dissenters and Noncon formists, ' ' which phrase may still be heard, despite its inap plicability in lands where all churches are free and none are controlled or endowed by the State. II. TASMANIA. This pleasant island, with a population of 180,000 scat tered over 25,000 square miles, presents singular difficulties for Christian work. There are two historic centers, at Hobart and Launceston, with nearly a century' s history. In 1834 Rev. H. Dowling came from England for mis sionary work and allied himself with the thirty-four Baptists then known in the island. A church of Strict Baptists was founded in 1835 at Hobart, which presently changed to an open communion basis, and within two years became nearly extinct. It rallied in 1859, but dissolved after thirteen years owing to "Disciple" preaching, and an attempt to revive it failed. The second church was formed at Launceston, in 1836, of the Strict Baptist type, and still survives, though not in touch with any other. "53 I 54 TWO GENERATIONS OF BAPTISTS IN AUSTRALASIA In 1862 a new departure was made by single individuals building and partially endowing churches. The Gibsons, of Perth, kept up this policy, and so between 1880 and 1890 ten churches of a new type arose in the north, for which ministers were brought from Spurgeon' s college. An act of incorporation empowered a Union to take pos session of property belonging to dead or dying churches. The Union was also granted some control over the settlement of pastors, with a claim on them to travel and evangelize. Model by-laws for each church and an unalterable schedule of doctrines were appended to the act, and an appeal was allowed to he to the Union in cases of church discipline. Already, however, defects have disclosed themselves in the plan so that the Union must soon apply to the State for a new act. III. NEW SOUTH WALES. A century ago this, the senior Colony, was peopled by some 5,000 Englishmen under the arbitrary rule of a naval captain. With the close of the Napoleonic wars farmers settled beyond the eastern ranges, but it was the European political movements of 1830 that aroused a corresponding desire for local self-help. Forthwith the Baptists of Sydney drew together and appealed "home " to the English Baptist Missionary Society for a minister. Rev. J. Saunders was sent, and early in 1836 the first church was formed at Bathurst Street on open communion lines. Indeed, at first it was even mixed in membership, with three Baptists and three Independents, besides the pastor. For long this was the only, or the only important church. But when, about 1854, the stream of free immigrants in creased and responsible government was attained, the condi tions of Baptist progress were present. Within twelve years there were six other churches near Sydney, five near New castle, and four others inland. Stirred in 1868 by the great strides of younger colonies, the newer churches, led by Revs. F. Hibberd and Allan W. Webb, strove to unite all Baptists for aggressive work. Within two years the older churches fell into line, but some hyper-Calvinists held aloof and in 1872 founded the Particular Baptist Association of Australia. The Union promptly led an attack on the State endow ment of denominational schools, and has ever been forward in opposing such relics of the European system. Something was also done toward guiding the studies of young ministers and home missionaries, or aspirants to these posts. Within five years a newspaper was issued, and a short-lived evangel- TWO GENERATIONS OF BAPTISTS IN AUSTRALASIA I 55 ist society gave place to foreign and home missionary so cieties, with their many auxiliaries. As a result more than eighteen churches have been originated by the Union. Work outside of Sydney is difficult, as there are only eight people on the average to three square miles in the country, and as ten towns here include 100,000, the country proper is very thinly populated. However, a volunteer traveling agent supplied with literature is doing good work. A third of the population clings around the beautiful harbor of Sydney, and suburban extension has not quite kept pace with the waning of the mother church, which now remains the oldest in Austra lasia. The great mining center of Broken Hill is practically attached to South Australia, and the Baptist churches there belong to the South Australia Baptist Union. IV. SOUTH AUSTRALIA. The huge province of South Australia received its first settlers in 1836 under the auspices of a chartered company. Two years later we hear of some Baptists rallying together led by the father of Alexander McLaren, of Manchester. They founded a church on the close communion principle, but from the first this matter was a cause of quarrel and division more than of union. Open communion Calvinists soon gathered, and from them presently seceded the North Ade laide Church. Their first pastor, Rev. G. Stonehouse, between 1848 and 1869 helped many little churches to gather in the country districts, and lived into a new era of consolidation and delib erate extension. But all through these twenty years there was much confusion as to the application of the term "Bap tist. ' ' On the one hand, all who practised immersion recog nized a certain kinship, though terming themselves ' ' Disciples of Christ" or "Christians" ; on the other, the Congrega tionalists often claimed Baptists as a junior branch. In i860 a new departure was decided on; Mr. Mead, a young London graduate, was brought out, a new church formed, and a grand pile of buildings erected on a main thoroughfare of Adelaide. The leading preachers of Aus tralia, both Baptists, were brought from Melbourne to in augurate the new movement. The initiative of Victoria was followed by establishing an Association, into which a vain attempt was made to compre hend all immersionist churches. At this time there were three Baptist churches in Adelaide, two others within a few miles, and seventeen others dotted about the south of the 156 TWO GENERATIONS OF BAPTISTS IN AUSTRALASIA province — all that is really occupied even yet by a white population. Mr. Mead soon revealed himself to be a leader of the first order ; the churches were consolidated, a monthly news paper was printed, and an aggressive pohcy was adopted in the press and on the platform. As the towns grew or new districts were opened, Baptist churches were planted. Funds were gathered for building and other purposes, and an interest created in Indian missions that demands separate notice. As the century closes it leaves Baptist communicants more numerous than even those of the Church of England within the province, and stronger in proportion than in any other part of Australasia. But all the churches are of mixed membership, and several members are not baptized, esti mates varying from five to twenty-five per cent. Most of the ministers are locally trained, and many of them may almost be said to preach Christian socialism or other doctrines of applied Christianity. V. VICTORIA. Baptists in Victoria began assembling in 1839, but the different types could not readily amalgamate in one church. A few united in a suburb of Melbourne and founded a ' ' Re- hoboth," named after a Sydney church, whence their pastor had just come. This first church in Victoria became extinct in 1868. The second was an open communion church, gathered under Rev. J. Ham, who spent 1 843-1 848 building up this cause. Soon after his leaving for Sydney the brethren di vided and another strong church arose. Before long Revs. James Taylor and Isaac New lifted these two into the front rank. With the outbreak of the gold fever, churches were planted in the new centers and Mr. Taylor began training men to develop them. Baptists in the old country were entering on a new era with the preaching of Spurgeon and the enterprise of Morton Peto. The visit of Doctor Binney to Australasia roused a like enthusiasm here, and in 1862 an Association was formed which rapidly attracted most of the Baptist churches within the Colony. Within ten years many new churches were founded, an Itinerant Preachers' Society helping somewhat ; Hindu preachers were set to work in Bengal ; a Home Mission saw to the frontiers of Victoria ; and the education of candidates for the ministry was attended to by Rev. James Martin, b. a., jointly with the Congregationalists. TWO GENERATIONS OF BAPTISTS IN AUSTRALASIA I 57 Unfortunately, this display of central energy, however natural a consequence of the methods in vogue for politics, seems to have weakened the fibre of local Baptists, and the spontaneous formation of churches almost ceased. The establishment of the " Victorian Freeman " did much to edu cate and consolidate the denomination, but the standing of Baptists relative to other bodies seems to have grown worse. The stagnation ended when one or two wealthy and enter prising business men roused the Union to celebrate the jubilee of the Colony by raising a quarter of a million dollars to found a theological seminary, to aid in erecting churches and schools, to supplement pastors' stipends, and to pension aged ministers. William McLean, Rev. S. Chapman, and others, carried this through, and McLaren, of Manchester, was brought out at its completion to inspire the community. Other able laymen have guided the new movements, and, despite the financial disasters of the Colony, extension has gone on steadily. The Home Mission maintains services at one hundred stations by the agency of twenty-one mis sionaries, with such success that two or three weak churches have desired inclusion in the circuit system. The mission is now beginning to occupy some of the larger towns where local Baptists have not been energetic enough to act for themselves. Absolutely, though not relatively, Victoria is the stronghold of Baptists in Australasia, and Melbourne has the largest church south of the equator. VI. NEW ZEALAND. Dutch Baptists did nothing in this Colony discovered by their countrymen. Christianity was introduced to the Maoris in 1814, British colonists began arriving in 1839 and brought their flag and their creeds with them. The early settlements were by members of the Free Church of Scotland and of the Church of England. Baptist only drew together in 185 1, just before the islands obtained responsible government. Rev. D. Dolamore founded the first church at Nelson ; the second, at Auckland, dates from the majority of the Colony, in 1852. For awhile each church strengthened its stakes, the latter especially thriving under Revs. Allan W. Webb and Thomas Spurgeon, till it lengthened its cords over the districts around. When the Baptist wave reached these shores, in 1863, the Scotch provincial capital was touched, and the Baptist church of Dunedin started on its prosperous course. Next year an other was planted in the Episcopal center of Christ Church. 158 TWO GENERATIONS OF BAPTISTS IN AUSTRALASIA More and more coast towns were thus occupied, and when in 1876 the provincial system of government was aboh'shed, Wellington, the colonial capital, saw its Baptists draw together. All social life on the islands is on the seaboard, and com munication has long been difficult; but in 1883 a Union was formed, and within four years the churches had joined for foreign missions and for training theological students. New Zealand and South Australia are remarkable for their paternal public spirit ; the Baptists of these Colonies have lived up to this reputation in many ways, including the estab lishment of annuity schemes for aged ministers and mission aries. Although New Zealand is geographically and politically somewhat aloof from Australia, Baptists, both of pew and pulpit, freely migrate across the waters. VII. QUEENSLAND. With the arrival of picked God-fearing people at Moreton Bay, in 1849, we find Baptists in a union church, whose first pastor was a Baptist. They drew off in 1855, and three years later obtained a minister from home by the mediation of the Baptist Missionary Society. Rev. B. G. Wilson labored for twenty years and promoted the formation of many other churches, some being close communion. His last act was to join in establishing an Association which has since gathered in practically all the Baptist churches, including some of German nationality and speech. Rev. W. Poole founded a newspaper in 1880 which, by its excellence and cheapness, does much to link the churches together. This is very neces sary when a dozen are dotted around a coast of 2,500 miles, and the towns are not joined by one railway system. VIII. WEST AUSTRALIA. The first church was formed in West Australia, in 1894, at Fremantle, by an accountant from Victoria, and half a dozen more were founded within four years, served by young min isters trained in the east, or by business men. Like Queens land this Colony offers splendid opportunities for mission work, both among the aborigines and the white settlers. With the Rev. A. S. Wilson as leader, buildings are rising and home mission districts are being organized under the auspices of the Union. IX. BENGAL MISSIONS. Until 1864 there were really only four centers of Baptist work on the continent, at Sydney, Adelaide, Melbourne, and TWO GENERATIONS OF BAPTISTS IN AUSTRALASIA I 59 Brisbane ; and the only communication was by broken voy ages over 2,000 miles of stormy ocean. Mutual help was rare, and each of the older Colonies wrought out its own schemes for itself. But missionary work has ever been a passion with Baptists, and immigrants from England could not forget the work of Carey in Bengal. This cause elicited the first signs of co-operation in Australasia. A new line was struck out in the formation of societies which from the first were independent of the British Society, but have worked side by side with it. The same method was chosen immediately afterward by the Baptists of the other great group of British Colonies in Canada. For a time in deed the older work was subsidized by South Australians and Victorians, but the British Society has gradually relinquished to Australasian care a number of districts in East Bengal, 200 miles northeast of Calcutta. Six English missionaries have visited Australia and counseled the young societies, or have superintended the work on the field ; while Rev. John Greg- son, one of Havelock' s chaplains, was one of the first colonial secretaries. In 1882 the first Australian ladies went out for zenana work, and Miss Arnold, on returning, visited throughout Aus tralasia and roused a new enthusiasm. In 1887 men began to follow, and to-day there are thirty-six Australasians in ten centers, who meet yearly in convention ; teachers are trained for village schools and an orphanage and hospital have been raised at joint expense. From the hill tribe of Garos, evangelized by the Americans, some ten thousand have come down to a malarious belt of plain. Among these the Victorians have won 500 converts in five years, who show some signs of forming a self-support ing union and undertaking aggressive work. Progress among the three million Hindus and five million Mohammedans is much slower, but is to be plainly discerned. The Rev. A. North, who with Mr. Driver has done so much for the cause in New Zealand, has now gone to Cal cutta and will act as agent for the societies. The Rev. Silas Mead, who raised the banner in Australia, and for thirty years upheld it, is now head of Harley House, in London, training missionaries. Other veteran leaders are the Revs. F. Hib- berd and Allan W. Webb. X. EDUCATION. The governments of Australasia aim at a rigidly secular universal free education controlled by the State ; no schools l6o TWO GENERATIONS OF BAPTISTS IN AUSTRALASIA or colleges that impart religious instruction are aided with public money ; no universities are chartered except those of the State, which are forbidden to grant divinity degrees, and offer no instruction in theology. Baptists have not grappled with the situation. The Roman, Anglican, Presbyterian, and Methodist churches, which claim six-sevenths of the population, maintain schools and colleges to supply the deficiency from their points of view, but Bap tists are too few in any one Colony. So the children of Baptists mostly go to the State schools, where perhaps a vol untary Scripture lesson may be given one hour a week in play hours. A few go to private schools or the proprietary schools and colleges of the four great churches. The very few who push on to the universities may attend the Presbyterian or Methodist colleges affiliated. There is no denominational love of learning ; except for professional men and ministers, it is doubtful if twenty Baptists born in Australasia have en joyed a university education. Matters are very different in avowedly religious education ; in America eight members of Baptist churches send three children to Sunday-school, in Australasia they send twelve. Ministers are still brought from England for all denomina tions. Perhaps half of the Baptist pastors come thus from home, and a sixth more are converts from other bodies. But the training of colonial ministers has been pursued in four centers, and dates back nearly to 1850. For the last ten years the Baptist College of Victoria, with an endowment of #125,000, has been at work, and its alumni are now labor ing in each of the seven Colonies. XI. PUBLIC LIFE. Baptists have generally declined any gift from the State. One of the Victorian pioneers was the Rev. David Rees, who in England had been largely instrumental in stopping the annual grants of public money to the State Church. This policy he urged vehemently in the Colonies. In a few cases, where free land-grants were made for all sorts of public pur poses, allotments have been accepted for all church buildings, but in most of these cases such acceptance was censured ; and never has any measure of public control been conceded. Baptists have been forward in the fight for religious equal ity, and America cannot show a more complete triumph than has been won here. The new Federal Constitution prohibits all religious legislation by the Commonwealth Parliament. On the other hand, Baptists are good citizens, obeying, TWO GENERATIONS OF BAPTISTS IN AUSTRALASIA l6l making, administering, and interpreting the law. Never has any need arisen for Baptist chaplains in jails or refuges for the destitute. In a country where political life is pure, some of the prominent and most trusted members of Parliament and ministers of the crown are Baptists, and the highest posts of the permanent civil and mihtary services are adorned by members of our churches. XII. RELATION TO OTHER CHURCHES. Of a thousand Australasians, sixteen would return them selves in the census as Baptists, and four of these would be actual members. There is a total of only 20,000 on the rolls, with 170 ministers and missionaries, not ten of whom have been through a university, and forty of whom have not even studied at a seminary. The contrast with other churches is glaring, and the comparative independence of our churches lessens their weight still further. Yet on the other hand, Baptists lead in the ratio of com municants to mere census adherents and in the rate of in crease. And in everything relating to evangelistic effort, whether among the heathen, in the Colonies, or in single towns, they exercise an influence out of all proportion to numbers. Amicable relations are entertained with the great Presby terian and Methodist Churches, and joint councils are often held with them and the Congregationalists. XIII. CO-OPERATION AMONG BAPTISTS. Many causes have kept Baptists asunder. Besides small numbers and great distances, there were many types of doc trines, and tolerance grew but slowly. To-day there are about a dozen Particular Baptist churches in an Association of their own, with a highly Calvinistic and Anti-Mission declaration of doctrine. They have seven pastors, and their last annual meetings were attended and witnessed by fourteen men and twenty-one women. There are several thousand "Disciples," with whom Baptists hold no fellowship ; there are no General, Free-will, Seventh-day, or Unitarian Bap tists. The immense majority are grouped in seven Unions. The tendency is strong to incorporate these or their subsidiary agencies, and this leads to the adoption of doctrinal bases. Orthodox as these are, an Englishman is surprised at the exaltation of any standard except the New Testament, how ever subordinate it professes to be. An American will be L 1 62 TWO GENERATIONS OF BAPTISTS IN AUSTRALASIA equally surprised to learn that nearly all the churches are open communion, and, in South Australia, of mixed member ship. He will not, then, be surprised to hear that a few pastors do not care to preach baptism. Fortunately, there are many signs that the danger is recog nized, especially by the laymen. The prospect of a vigorous debate and possible disruption on this matter need not appall, if it leads to a sturdier spirit that will compel respect for its adhesion to principle. The Unions are linked to some extent by a fortnightly newspaper circulating in four Colonies, by a regular interchange of delegates, and by a common interest in the foreign work. XIV. PAST AND FUTURE. Reviewing the sixty-four years during which Baptists have been in these southern lands, we see that there has been no racial or political obstacle to progress, and that the influence of a State Church has been only social and slight. On the other hand, there has been no conflict or persecution such as hardened early Baptists in Holland, England, and New England, nor any such mighty revival as under Whitefield created and refreshed Baptist churches in England and America. Two hindrances exist to Baptist progress. The whole political trend is to State socialism, concentration of all initiative and power in the executive. Therefore the churches are prone to expect the Unions to do everything for them, and to forget the New Testament principles of self- help, to which the Divine blessing is pledged. The same lax grasp of Baptist principle has also led, most inconsistently, to a want of loyalty, so that many undenominational institu tions, especially missions, draw large supplies of candidates and money, to the detriment of purely Baptist work. Should these hindrances be removed, most of the outward conditions are present which might enable the Baptist churches of the Commonwealth to grow and spread as those in the sister dominion have done. Valuable statistics bearing on this chapter will be found on page 460, Appendix B. W. T. Whitley. XIII SKETCH OF THE COLORED BAPTISTS OF THE UNITED STATES The story of the progress of the colored Baptists as a sep arate people is one not of a century, but of a generation, and yet we must needs take a look back of the Civil War, which lies at its beginning. The first colored Baptist church in America was organized in the city of Savannah, Ga. , on the twentieth of January, 1788. Andrew Bryan, a slave, was converted under the preaching of a Negro minister, George Leile, by name, and was by him baptized in the Savannah River, with several other converts, in the year 1783. Shortly after his baptism, Bryan began to exhort his brethren, and soon developed such gifts as a preacher that he attracted the attention of his master and some others and was encouraged to continue and to hold regular meetings for the slaves. Conversions followed the preaching of the word, and in 1788, when Rev. Abraham Marshall, one of the noblest pioneer white Baptist ministers of Georgia, visited Savannah, he found a httle band of be lievers. Forty-five were ready for baptism. These were baptized, a church was organized, and Andrew Bryan was ordained to the ministry and constituted the first pastor of the infant church, a position which he held for twenty-four years, until removed by death, in 181 2. Two churches in Savannah now claim to be the original first church, and from each party to the controversy a history of the church has issued, setting forth its claims to the succession. We may not attempt to judge between these contestants, but what is certain is, that up to 1832 the church continued a united and vital body, and in one organization or the other has continued till the present day. During the regime of slavery, while the great mass of colored Baptists were members of the white churches, many churches of wholly colored membership were organized, especially in the large cities. Of these churches this Savannah church was one of the few of which traces can be found at the begin- 163 I64 COLORED BAPTISTS OF THE UNITED STATES ning of the century and may be taken as a type of the class. The membership was almost wholly slave, and it was only when they had ' ' passes, ' ' or tickets of permission from their masters, that the members could attend public services. It was not legal for slaves to hold property in their own right, and, there fore, whatever property these churches acquired was vested in white trustees for their use and benefit. The ministers of the churches, while enjoying full rights of pastors within the church, had no civil privileges. Marriages were solemnized by them, but there being no civil recognition of marriage among slaves there was no civil recognition of the right of colored ministers to perform the marriage ceremony. In all other regards these churches were similar to Baptist churches in general. In all matters pertaining to church government and discipline they were free and independent. These churches were admitted to Associations on equal terms with the white churches and their pastors received full recognition among their white brethren, being sometimes appointed to preach at Associational gatherings. The independent colored churches sometimes enjoyed the ministrations of white pastors. The First Colored Church, of Richmond, similar in character to the Savannah church, though of much later date, is an example. So eminent a man as Dr. Robert Ryland, first president of Richmond College, was for twenty-five years pastor of this church, laboring for it with great earnestness and baptizing into its fellowship during that period over 3,800 persons. Only a step removed from the independent churches were what were sometimes called colored branches of white churches. In these churches, nominally one, there were really two organizations. The colored branch had its own organization and officers and acted freely in the reception and discipline of members, subject to the approval of" the white body, which was almost never withheld. It held its own meetings for worship, generally on Sunday afternoons, in the church building where the white portion had worshiped in the morning. A type of this class of church is found in the First Church of Montgomery, Ala. This church had at the close of the war a membership of 900, two-thirds of whom were Negroes. By far the greater number of colored Baptists were mem bers of white churches. Separate seats were provided for them, generally in the galleries, sometimes in the body of the church. White and colored members joined in the observ ance of the Lord's Supper, the colored portion of the church COLORED BAPTISTS OF THE UNITED STATES 165 being served after the whites. In some of the large churches separate services were held for the colored members, con ducted by the white pastor. It has already been said that colored churches were received into the Associations on equal terms with the white. It sometimes happened that a Negro pastor, by his Christian character, his grasp of divine truth, and his power as a preacher would e"ngage the attention and secure favorable recognition of an Association. Such a man was Caesar McLemore, of the Alabama Association. The Association was so impressed with this man's usefulness as a preacher that they purchased him from his master for #625, that he might be free to give his whole time to religious work. The laws of Alabama did not permit the freeing of a slave in this way, and so we have the interesting spectacle of a Baptist Association as a slaveholder. A committee of three mem bers was appointed to direct Mr. McLemore' s efforts and he , became a missionary to the colored people on the plantations within the bounds of the Association. Similar cases are reported from other States, the Negro preacher being some times purchased and sometimes hired by the Association and set apart for the work of the gospel ministry. The Negro ministers of the old regime were really a re markable class of men. The regular minister was usually a man who by force of character, piety, and gifts, commanded the recognition of the white leaders. Of education, in the ordinary sense, he had none. A deed made by Rev. Andrew Bryan, conveying a certain lot of ground in Sa vannah, Ga. , to the First African Church, bears the signature, "Andrew Bryan," attested by "his mark." It would be erroneous, however, to speak of these men as uninstructed. Classes for the instruction of colored pastors were sometimes formed by prominent white pastors. Dr. Sylvanus Landrum, of Georgia, was always deeply interested in the spiritual wel fare of the Negroes, and, when pastor in Savannah, held a class in his study for the instruction of his colored brethren in the ministry. This work he continued from 1859 till some years after the war. The upheaval of the Civil War and the emancipation of the slaves changed everything in the relations of the whites and blacks in the Southern States. It is difficult to get at accurate statistics of that time, but a careful estimate places the Negro Baptist membership at the close of the war at 400,000. There is substantial agreement in the testimony of both white and colored people living at the time that the l66 COLORED BAPTISTS OF THE UNITED STATES moral and spiritual condition of the Negro membership was good. It has already been stated that the colored ministry was, as to general ability, of a high order. These men were rigid disciphnarians. They were fully impressed with the dignity of the pastoral office, and, as a rule, watched over their flocks with rare devotion and faithfulness. The survey here given of the Negro Baptists of ante-bellum days is of importance in the history of these people, because it reveals the training which they received and uncovers some of the causes of that remarkable denominational growth which they have shown since the war. The Negro member ship under the preaching of the white pastors had received valuable instruction in evangelical truth and Baptist doctrine. At the same time they were trained in the form of church government and Baptist usage. In the colored branch churches and in the independent churches colored men re ceived training as deacons and moderators of assemblies. Thus it came to pass that when the colored churches were severed from the white they were not committed to men unaccustomed to church work and usages, but to men who had been schooled under the white pastors for the work laid upon them. To this day the Southern white churches and Associations are the models for the colored bodies, their virtues and their faults alike being faithfully copied, and no people can be found more loyal to Baptist polity and usage than the Negro Baptists of the Southern States. After the war it soon became apparent that a separation of the colored Baptists from the white was inevitable. In gen eral the initiative came from the colored members themselves. They felt that they could not sustain the old relations longer. The instinct of freedom and the desire for independence was strong within them. As has been shown, the way had been prepared for separation by the organization of many of the large churches into white and colored branches, and by the training which the blacks had received. The white Baptists came to recognize the necessity of the change and freely gave their colored brethren their assistance in the organization of their churches, in many cases allowing them the use of their church buildings, or portions of them, until they could secure houses of their own. Thirty-five years is not a long time in the history of a people, and in surveying the progress of the colored people since 1865 it is simple justice that we do not expect too much, and that we have constant regard to the circumstances COLORED BAPTISTS OF THE UNITED STATES 1 67 under which they began their career. "I beg you to remem ber the depth from which we have come, ' ' Frederick Douglass used to say. When we do this the progress of the Negro Baptists is a marvelous record. It has been seen that they numbered at emancipation 400,000. Their growth in num bers since that time has been phenomenal, and has gone be yond the estimates of the most hopeful of their friends. The highest estimates of the colored population of the present tim; do not place it higher than 10,000,000. The "Baptist Year- Book" for 1899 gives a Negro membership of 1,569,528. It is estimated that the number of colored Baptists belonging to white churches and Associations in the North and not separately reported is 300,000, giving a total membership of colored Baptists of 1,869,528. Thus, estimating the Negro population of the United States at 10,000,000, the population shows an increase since emancipation of 150 per cent, while the colored Baptist membership shows an increase of 350 per cent. Not forgetting the commendable progress of the Negro Baptists during the past thirty-five years along all lines of growth, it must be confessed that the growth in other respects has not been in proportion to the numerical increase. The ministry of to-day is divided into two classes. There is what may be called the advanced wing, composed of men who have enjoyed more or less educational advantages. They are in telligent and aggressive. Among their number are to be found many preachers of eloquence and power. But the great mass of them have had no educational advantages. Among these, indeed, can be found many men who, of great natural ability, sound sense, and spotless character, are equally competent and useful with their more fortunate brethren. But of great numbers it must be said that they are quite in competent to be spiritual guides of their people. Circum scribed in their own lives, and with but imperfect knowledge of the Bible, they are quite incapable of leading their people to a high plane of life and duty. Over against this low standard of so large a portion of the ministry stands the low intellectual condition of the people. The standard of the pulpit is low because the masses of the people have not de manded anything better. The great mass of" those who were emancipated in 1865 were doomed to die in their illiteracy. It was years before they had a public school system, and to day, after thirty-five years of freedom, except in favored local ities, especially in cities, the advantages offered by the public schools are very meagre. It could not be expected that a 1 68 COLORED BAPTISTS OF THE UNITED STATES people so largely illiterate could produce a ministry much above its own level. Against this background of a people and a ministry bravely struggling with deep poverty and illiteracy, with all their deadening effects upon manners and morals, let us place the achievements of thirty-five years. It has been a time of great activity in the building of churches. Except the very few independent churches" which possessed their own houses, the colored Baptists started out with no church property whatever. There are reported now in twelve Southern States, 5,000 church buildings, valued at #7,864,621. This gives an average value of about #1,500. Numbers of the buildings cost many times that amount and, while examples of extravagance are rare, there are many of these buildings which for beauty, taste, and comfort, do not suffer in comparison with those of the white Baptists. In the erection of these buildings they received considerable aid from their white neighbors, but by far the largest part of the money thus expended came from the colored people them selves, and this vast sum represents more than anything else the devotion of the colored Baptists to the church of Christ, and is highly creditable to both ministers and people. The period now under review has been one of denomina tional organization. The colored Baptists early learned the value of Associational and State organization. As early as 1867 at least two States had organized Conventions, and by 1880 Conventions existed in every Southern State. In some cases the organization of the Convention antedated that of the Associations, as in Alabama, while in other cases it grew out of the Associations, as in Georgia and other States. The work of these organizations has been mainly along two lines, educational and missionary. The educational work is reserved for a separate paragraph. The missionary work consisted in the appointment of missionaries to travel within the bounds of the Convention, preaching in destitute places, and render ing help in the organization of churches and Sunday-schools. In this work the colored brethren have had from time to time in the various States the aid of the white Baptist Conventions. Sums of money were appropriated for this purpose while the work of supervision was left to the colored Conventions. Much good has been done by the missionaries thus sent forth in the organization of churches and Sunday-schools, and in supplementing the labors of the pastors in evangelical work and the Christian teaching of the people. In addition to the general State Conventions, Sunday-school Conventions have COLORED BAPTISTS OF THE UNITED STATES 169 been organized in most of the States. The sessions of these Conventions, being more definite in aim, or their purpose being more generally understood, are often more profitable than those of the General Conventions. There is great activity in Sunday-school work among the colored Baptists and this work is of great value to them in the present condition of the people in the opportunity it affords for the moral and religious training of the young. In addition to the local organization above described there is now a National Baptist Convention which is intended to gather into one body the colored Baptists not only of the Southern States, but of the North as well. This Convention was organized in 1886, and in 1895 it absorbed another or ganization, national in character, the Foreign Missionary Convention, which had been in existence since 1880. The chief work of the National Convention is along two lines : the publication of Sunday-school literature and the carrying on of missionary work in Africa. In 1895 its publishing Board, aided and encouraged by the Sunday-school Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, began the publication of Sunday-school literature. Since that time it has established a publishing house in Nashville, Tenn., and has continued the publication of its own Sunday-school helps. The Foreign Mission Board has within a few years accomplished much in raising money for the prosecution of work in Africa. It has estabhshed stations in South Africa and is beginning that which may develop into great usefulness and power. From early times the Negro Baptists have manifested con siderable interest in the spiritual condition of their country men in heathen Africa. They too have their "Father of Missions," and his name is Carey. Lott Carey was a slave, a tobacco packer in a warehouse in Richmond, Virginia. By prudence and economy he saved money enough to buy his freedom. By equally earnest efforts he picked up some edu cation. Hearing an address upon the condition of Africa, he was fired with a purpose to go to that country to preach the gospel to its people. He presented himself to the "Triennial Convention" and with another Negro, Rev. Colin Teague, received appointment, and in 1820 set sail for Liberia. Not only in missionary, but in civil matters as well, he played an important part in the early history of that coun try. His name is perpetuated by a Convention recently formed in the South, the "Lott Carey Missionary Conven tion, ' ' whose purpose is to conduct missionary operations in co-operation with the white Baptists of the North. 170 COLORED BAPTISTS OF THE UNITED STATES The colored Baptists early began to concern themselves about the education of their people. Thus, at its second ses sion meeting in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1871, the Georgia State Convention expressed its approval of the attempt to found a "theological institute for the purpose of educating young men who have the ministry in view. ' ' Seven years later land for a school site was purchased in Atlanta for #600. The re moval of Augusta Institute to Atlanta in 1879, and the reopen ing of it there under the name Atlanta Baptist Seminary by the American Baptist Home Mission Society, rendered further effort unnecessary, and the project of the colored Baptists of the State was merged in the work of the Home Mission Society. The Alabama State Convention in 1873 passed the following : ' ' Resolved, That we plant in the State of Ala bama a Theological School to educate our young men." Out of this beginning has grown the Alabama Colored Bap tist University, located at Selma, Alabama, founded in 1878, an institution for higher education. This institution now employs twelve instructors, has 279 pupils, and owns property which is valued at #30,000. Similar movements resulted in the founding in 1873 of the State University at Louisville, Kentucky, by the colored Baptists of the State, a school which has twelve teachers, 169 pupils, and property valued at #30,- 000 ; and, in 1887, of Arkansas Baptist College at Little Rock, Arkansas, now owning property valued at #30,000, with 193 pupils and five instructors. These schools are of similar grade with that at Selma, and all have received generous aid from the American Baptist Home Mission Society. Besides these schools of higher grade fostered by State Conventions, there have been established in all the States by Associations and groups of Associations secondary schools, many of which have done and are doing excellent work. Some thirteen of these schools are now aided by the Home Mission Society, but these represent but a few of such schools started under the auspices of colored Baptists. In addition to providing for the education of ministers, the object of these schools is to supplement the work of the public schools for the col ored people. Shortly after the war public school systems were introduced in all the Southern States, in which the Negro population shared as well as the white. All praise is due to the white population of the South for the large sums of public money that have been expended since the war upon the education of colored children. But while that is fully recog nized, progressive Southern educators are free to admit that the provision made for both races was greatly inadequate. COLORED BAPTISTS OF THE UNITED STATES I71 The instruction given to the colored children was primary in its character, almost never rising above the grammar grades. Naturally, also, the colored people received the smaller share of appropriations for public education. While there has been considerable improvement, the conditions are substantially the same at the present time, except in the cities and larger towns, where better provision is made. In some States a small provision is made for high school training, but the system does not contemplate any other than elementary education for colored children. In the secondary schools established by the colored people themselves, a praisworthy effort has been made to supplement the meagre training afforded by the State and to provide high school training for their children. It is impossible to estimate the amount of money raised for education by the Negro Baptists. It is certain that it is no inconsiderable sum. Some idea may be gained from the fact that in connection with the schools, aided and supported by the American Baptist Home Mission Society, the receipts from colored people in the school year 1 898-1 899 amounted to #121,797.01. It is true that by far the larger part of this amount represents money paid by the students for board and tuition, and therefore cannot be regarded as voluntary con tributions ; but the entire amount represents the money paid by colored Baptists in one year for the higher education of their sons and daughters in connection with the schools of the Home Mission Society alone. No sketch of the colored Baptists would be complete without reference to the work of the American Baptist Home Mission Society. Beginning its work before the close of the war, it has entered every Southern State, and, either by establishing schools or by aiding those established by the colored Baptists, it has built up an educational system which has opened the way from the humblest cabin in the land to the highest educational advantages, and has placed within the reach of the Negro boy or girl educa tional opportunities equal to those enjoyed by the more fortunate youth of the Southern whites. Moreover, it has surrounded this pathway of education with moral and re ligious influences and safeguards that almost insure the development of high Christian character in the student who treads it. No one who knows the colored Baptists of the South can fail to recognize the potent influence of this so ciety in the uplift of the people. It has given to the colored Baptists the most intelligent, aggressive, and effective portion of its ministry. Almost every pulpit of any prominence and 172 COLORED BAPTISTS OF THE UNITED STATES almost every position of influence in Associations and Con ventions is filled by a graduate of its schools. It has given to the South a great host of educated, Christian school teachers, and, through these, men and women who have become preachers and teachers ; through their Christian homes it has reached hundreds of thousands of the colored people with beneficent moral and Spiritual influences. It belongs to this chapter to notice the fact that in this work the Home Mission Society has had and still has the cordial and grateful co-operation of the colored Baptists. From the earliest days the Society has called to its aid as teachers educated men and women of the colored race. It has sought out and encouraged the more promising among the students in the schools to fit themselves for service as teachers, and has rewarded merit and ability by appointment on the teaching staff of the schools. As the standard of instruction in the institutions has risen, the graduates of these missionary colleges have been encouraged to supplement their college course by post-graduate work in the Northern universities and normal schools, and thus there is growing up within the schools a body of scholarly men and women who are fully equipped for their work and who are abreast of the times in methods of instruction. In the schools of the so ciety, as shown by the last annual report, of 251 teachers employed in the school year 1 898-1 899, 124 were colored, and of ninety-eight male teachers sixty-five were colored, and among these are some of the most efficient and valued of the society's helpers. It may therefore be claimed that to a large extent the actual work of these institutions is a work of colored men and women for their own people. The white Baptists of the South have not been unmindful of their duty to their colored brethren. It has already been shown how important a work was done by them prior to emancipation in the training given to the colored members in the churches. The aid given to the State Conventions in missionary work has also been recognized. In addition to this an important work has been done under their auspices in holding ministers' and deacons' institutes for the instruc tion of those pastors and other brethren who could not attend the schools. Some of their best men have from time to time engaged in this work, which has been gratefully received by the colored brethren and has been productive of beneficent results. In this educational^ork the Negro State Conventions are given an equal share of responsibility and control with the white brethren. Work has begun in a COLORED BAPTISTS OF THE UNITED STATES 1 73 tentative way in several States, and, while gracious results have been achieved, the necessity has appeared for readjust ment. It is confidently believed that in this honorable partnership of the colored Baptists with their white brethren North and South hes promise of great achievement in the new century. George Sale. XIV FOREIGN MISSION WORK OF THE DENOMINATION PART I RISE AND PROGRESS TO 1845 For a proper apprehension of the foreign mission work of the Baptist denomination during the nineteenth century it is desirable that brief note should be made of the work begun in England during the closing years of the preceding cen tury. There are interesting links connecting the American work begun in 181 2 with that which had its inception in England twenty years earlier. The inauguration of the foreign mission work of Britain, at least, is associated with the name of William Carey. It is impossible to trace all the spiritual impressions and influences culminating in the movement of which he was the conspicuous leader. Other minds and hearts than his were at the same time awakening to a sense of the obligation to give the gospel to the heathen world. Doctor Thomas, who in his capacity as a ship surgeon had visited India, became in 1785 strongly impressed by the missionary obligation. Returning in his ship to India the following year it was not difficult for the little band of Christians in Calcutta to persuade him to remain there and preach the gospel to the heathen. He remained in India till 1792. In 1784 Mr. Sutcliff had drawn up, and the Nottinghamshire Baptist Association had adopted, a reso lution setting apart an hour on the first Monday evening of each month "for extraordinary prayer for the revival of re ligion and for the extending of Christ's kingdom in the world. ' ' The seraphic Pearce, of Birmingham, also had been led "to preach much upon the promises of God concerning the conversion of the heathen nations. ' ' Though God was planting the mission thought and the mission impulse in other souls as well, William Carey was manifestly the man of God's choice to lead the great enter prise. To his mind the duty of giving the gospel to the 174 RISE AND PROGRESS TO 1 845 1 75 heathen was as imperative as that of paying one's lawful busi ness debts. This sense of obligation, linking itself with a passion for souls, made him irresistible. He believed pro foundly, and he believed rightly, that for the salvation of England the gospel must be sent to the heathen. At the spring meeting of the Association, in 1791, after sermons by Sutcliff and Fuller that powerfuly impressed the assembly with the need of greater zeal, Carey introduced the question of the practicability and the bounden duty of making some attempt to spread the gospel in the heathen world, urging that they should commit themselves to the work that very day. The utmost they could be led to do was to proffer a request that he should publish a manuscript he had prepared, entitled, ' ' An Inquiry into the Obligations of Christians to use Means for the Conversion of the Heathen. ' ' This paper was published the following year, and in 1892, in connection with the celebration of the centenary of the society, it was reprinted in facsimile. Considering the time and conditions of its preparation it is a most remarkable document. In the year 1792, in the month of May, it devolved on Carey to preach the annual sermon of the Association. This was the memorable sermon, having for its text Isa. 54 : 2, 3, and for its topic, "Expect great things from God ; attempt great things for God. ' ' In the words of one of his biographers, ' ' It was as if the sluices of his soul were thrown fully open, and the flood that had been accumulating for years rushed forth in full force and irresist ible power." As they were about to disperse without taking any action he seized the hand of Fuller, and, wringing it in an agony of distress, pleaded that they should not again sep arate without doing something. The moving people were stayed, and it was there and then resolved ' ' that a plan be prepared against the next ministers' meeting at Kettering for the establishment of a society for the propagation of the gospel among the heathen. ' ' This meeting was held on the second of October, 1792. For some reason, even now, the action was not taken in the public gathering. When the public services were over, in the evening of the day, twelve men met in the back parlor of Mrs. Beeby Wallis. In this obscure retreat, by men at that time almost unknown beyond their own little parishes, was organized the first British society for the evangelization of the heathen. The society was organized with a committee of five members : Andrew Fuller (secretary), John Ryland, John Sutcliff, Reynold Hogg (treasurer), and William Carey. A subscription was made then and there amounting to £13 2s. I76 FOREIGN MISSION WORK OF THE DENOMINATION 6d. , and Carey declared his readiness to go to any part of the world the society might decide. Doctor Thomas, who had arrived in England in July, having heard of' the missionary movement in Northampton shire, wrote to Mr. Carey, giving some account of the work in which he had been engaged in Bengal. On January 9, 1793, during the progress of a meeting of the committee, Doctor Thomas unexpectedly presented himself. It was decided at that meeting that a mission should be begun in India with Carey and Thomas as the first two missionaries. After overcoming many difficulties and being denied passage in a British ship, they sailed in a Danish vessel on June 13, 1793, for India, and arrived in Calcutta on November n. Difficulties had to be encountered and overcome in India as well as in England ere the mission was established. Dur ing the first three years only ^200 was sent from England for the support of the missionaries. As a consequence they were compelled to engage in secular pursuits to maintain themselves and the work. The East India Company placed every possible obstacle in their way. In 1800, retiring from the company's territories, the mission was established at Serampore, under the cordial protection of the Danish flag. Thus Serampore became the center of the wonderful work in evangelization, Christian education, and Bible translation accomplished by Carey and his associates. On November 1, 1795, Carey, Thomas, Powell, and Long organized themselves into the first Baptist church in India. The first Hindu convert, Krishna Pal, was baptized on De cember 28, 1800. During his residence at Mudnabatty, before settling at Serampore, Carey established the first school for native children "ever set up by a European in Hindustan." The first Sunday-school in India was begun in 1803 in connection with this mission. The first Bible society, anticipating by a few months the British and Foreign Bible Society, was organized at Serampore in 1804, with a plan formed to print at least the New Testament in seven of the languages of India with their own printing press. The first Christian college in India they had begun to plan for at Serampore in 1818, and the building was begun in 1822. The work of Carey and his associates in Bible translation and publication is phenomenal. "In forty-four languages or dialects of the East, spoken by at least 500,000,000, in cluding the Chinese version by Doctor Marshman, the whole or a part of the Bible had been translated by these eminent servants of Christ, and nearly half a million copies had been RISE AND PROGRESS TO 1 845 1 77 printed. ' ' Marshman' s translation of the Bible into Chinese preceded that of Morrison, the first Chinese missionary, by a year or two. Limits of space impose the necessity of con fining ourselves to these brief and scattered allusions to the inspiring work having its center at Serampore in the early years of the nineteenth century. In the overruling providence of God the wrath of the East India Company became in its issues a factor in the creation of the foreign mission spirit in America. The company made it impossible for the missionaries of the English Baptist Society to sail to India in British ships. Under these cir cumstances it was found advantageous for some of them to come to America and sail in American ships to their destina tion. These young Enghsh missionaries found a most cordial welcome in American Baptist homes and in American Baptist pulpits. Their presence and their messages kindled a deep interest in the work to which they had with manifest heroic devotion committed themselves. The genuineness of this interest was evident in the very substantial contributions offered for the work. Carey and others in India were thus brought naturally into correspondence with leading Baptists in America. Some of these letters found their way into the ' ' Massachusetts Baptist Missionary Magazine, ' ' which had been established in 1803, helping thus to widen the awaken ing interest. Doctor Staughton's removal to America was another link of connection. Just after his graduation from college he was present at the meeting at which the English society had its birth. He caught the mission fire and brought it with him to America. His conspicuous ability gave him wide influence in fostering the spirit of missions. Probably the first considerable amounts of money contributed in America for foreign missions were given by the Baptists for the English mission at Serampore. In 1806 and 1807 these gifts aggregated between #5,000 and #6,000. Doctor Johns, an English missionary, who sailed on the same vessel with Luther Rice, carried with him #5,000 collected from the Baptists of Boston and Salem. Nor were their gifts con fined to the Baptist missionaries. Mr. Rice stated after his return from India that " a handsome portion " of the money he had collected for his outfit and passage came from the liberality of the Baptists. But as in England, so in America, there is one name in separably linked with the inauguration of the great foreign mission movement of the century. It is the immortal name, Adoniram Judson. The origin of the foreign mission enter- M 178 FOREIGN MISSION WORK OF THE DENOMINATION prise in America cannot be intelligently considered to the ex clusion of this name. He was indeed "Jesus Christ's man," chosen and qualified for leadership in the most far-reaching and beneficent enterprise of the century. The story of his spiritual arrest as a young man, his conversion, and his con secration to the cause of foreign missions has been so often told that it need not be repeated here. In April, 1810, Judson wrote to the London Missionary So ciety to ascertain if there was any opportunity for him and his companions being sent to the foreign field by that organi zation and later he was sent to present his case in person and ask for aid. The English Board expressed a readiness to send and support the young men as their own missionaries, but felt that joint direction of the work was impracticable. Under these circumstances the American Board, on the eighteenth of September, 181 1, appointed Judson, Nott, Newell, and Hall to open a mission in some Asiatic field. On the nine teenth of February, 1812, Mr. and Mrs. Judson and Mr. and Mrs. Newell sailed from Salem bound for Calcutta. On the previous day Mr. and Mrs. Nott, Mr. Hall, and Mr. Rice sailed from Philadelphia for the same destination. The con version of Mr. and Mrs. Judson and Luther Rice to Baptist views and their struggles to secure foothold in India are too well known to demand retelling. The news of the baptism of Mr. and Mrs. Judson and Mr. Rice reached America in February, 1813. Doctor Baldwin, to whom Mr. Judson had written, called a meeting of leading Baptist ministers of Massachusetts to discuss the interesting problem thus thrust upon the attention of American Baptists. At this meeting was formed the " Baptist Society for Propagat ing the Gospel in India and other Foreign Parts," and at once they wrote Judson assuring him that the Baptists of America would assume his support as their missionary in India. Sim ilar societies were formed in Philadelphia, New York, and other centers. Mr. Rice arrived in America in September. As he traveled about in the interest of the work, his graphic description of what he had seen, and his fervid appeals created great enthusiasm wherever he went. The necessity of the concerted action of all these small societies was soon recog nized, and to secure this a Convention was called in Phila delphia on the eighteenth of May, 1814. There were thirty- three delegates in attendance at the meeting in the old First Baptist Church, some of whom had traveled 300 miles in their own carriages to be present. Eleven States and the District of Columbia were represented. At this meeting was organized RISE AND PROGRESS TO 1 845 1 79 the " General Convention of the Baptist Denomination in the United States of America for Foreign Missions. ' ' The sum of #4,000 was placed in the treasury by the local societies, and it was estimated that they might count on an annual income of #5,280. This national society was to meet once in three years, and so came to be known as the Triennial Convention. To the Judsons belongs the honor of establishing the first evangelical mission in modern times amid absolutely heathen surroundings, and under a purely heathen government. The ruler of Burma was a despot whose tender mercies were cruelties. It was a capital crime for a native of the country to forsake his ancestral religion. Still Burma had for the Judsons greater attractions than America. Nearly six years passed before they had the joy of seeing their first convert. On the twenty-seventh of June, 1819, Moung Nau was bap tized, and he was followed by two others on the seventh of November. The Houghs had joined the mission in 1816, and they were followed by the Wheelocks and Colemans in 18 18. On the twenty-second of December, Judson and Coleman set out in a river-boat on a 500 mile journey to the capital to endeavor to secure toleration for the Christian con verts, but their effort proved fruitless. They had the joy, however, of seeing their converts stand firm notwithstanding the king's attitude. Early in 1824 Mr. and Mrs. Judson reached Ava to join Dr. Price, who with the Wades had now been added to the mission staff. This year was marked by the outbreak of the first Burmese war, with its scenes of awful terror and suffering, and the triumphant heroism with which these noble missionaries met them. At the close of the war, in negotiating the treaty of peace, Judson was employed as interpreter by the government. For this service he received several thousand dollars, which he at once turned over to the mission treasury. During his absence on this government mission, his heroic and devoted wife died at Amherst. The circumstances in which he found himself on his return to Amherst were sad beyond expression, but the Lord sustained him. In the following year, 1827, with the Wades he re moved to Moulmein to join the Boardmans. Here, in 1828, he completed the revision of his Burman New Testament, and finished the translation of the whole Bible into that language in 1834. In that year the number of baptized converts in Burma was 592. In 1828 the Boardmans removed from Moulmein to Tavoy, which became the third missionary center established in Burma. Here began the wonderfully interesting and success- 180 FOREIGN MISSION WORK OF THE DENOMINATION ful work among the Karens. Ko-Thahbyu, the first Karen convert,, who became a flaming gospel messenger to his peo ple, had been converted before leaving Moulmein, but was not baptized until after going to Tavoy with Mr. Boardman. These mountain tribes of Burma cherished traditions and ex pectations that prepared them in a remarkable way for the reception of the gospel, and the success of the mission among them was in that day phenomenal. Dr. Wade reduced the Karen language to writing, and in 1843 the New Testament, translated into the Karen language by Dr. Mason, was issued from the Tavoy press. In 1835 the Board instructed the Comstocks to open a mission in Arakan. In 1837 they were joined by the Halls, both of whom died within a few months of their arrival, in 1840 by the Kincaids and the Abbotts, and in 1842 by the Stillsons. Considerable success attended the work in this field, but the hand of death seemed to rest heavily upon the Arakan missionaries, and from 1852 till 1888 there was no resident missionary in this territory. The second mission established by the American Baptists was in Siam. An exploring missionary of another society had called the attention of the Burman missionaries to this coun try, and at once they sent Mr. Jones to open the mission. He arrived at Bangkok in 1833, the population of which was chiefly Siamese, Burmese, and Chinese. Mr. Jones de voted himself especially to the Siamese, but it was not till the end of fifteen years that he had the joy of seeing the first Siamese convert. Five years earlier he had completed the translation of the New Testament into Siamese. Besides other literary work he prepared a Siamese dictionary and be gan work on the Old Testament. The work among the Siamese was suspended in 1845, owing to the ill-health of Mr. Jones. The fruits of the work among the Chinese of Bangkok appeared much earlier. On the eighth of Decem ber, 1833, three Chinese men were baptized. Mr. and Mrs. Dean arrived in 1834, commissioned especially to labor among the Chinese. Mr. Dean was the first foreigner to study the Tie Chiu dialect, that used in the Southern Chinese mission. Mr. Shuck and Mr. Reed joined the mission in 1836, the latter dying within a brief period, and the former being trans ferred to Macao in the following year. Bangkok and Macao (a little colony of Portugal about sixty or seventy miles southeast of Canton), were made the points of approach to the great Chinese Empire. Mr. Shuck had come to Macao in 1836, and in the following year baptized RISE AND PROGRESS TO 1 845 l8l his first Chinese convert. In 1842, as a result of the "opium war," a treaty was signed ceding Hongkong to Great Britain, and declaring the five ports, Canton, Amoy, Fuchau, Ningpo, and Shanghai opened to British commerce and the residence of British officers and merchants. In that year the mission was transferred from Macao to Hongkong. Land was granted to the mission by the government, upon which a mission-house and two commodious chapels for public worship and school purposes were built, largely by the contributions of English gentlemen residing at Hong kong and Macao. The first church was organized in Hong kong that same year with five members besides the mission aries. Assam is the northeastern province of British India. The missionaries had been for some time looking toward Assam, with the hope that the establishment of mission posts in the north of the province might eventually issue in entrance into China by way of the inland trade routes. The first mis sionaries were Mr. Nathan Brown (afterward missionary to Japan) and Mr. Cutter. They reached Sadiya in 1836 and were joined by Mr. Bronson in 1837. In 1841 an Assamese convert was baptized, the first-fruits of the large blessing that has come to this mission in later years. At the meeting of the Triennial Convention in Richmond, in 1835, the Board was authorized to "establish new mis sions in every unoccupied field where there was a reasonable prospect of success. ' ' Coincident with this the attention of the Board was directed to the Telugus of India by Mr. Sutton, an English Baptist missionary in Orissa. The Telugu lan guage is the third most widely spoken in India. It was promptly decided that a mission should be opened among them. To Mr. Day, a native of the province of Ontario, belongs the honor of founding this mission. He reached Vizagapatam in 1836, and shortly afterward removed to Chi- cacole (now one of the stations of the Canadian mission). In the following year he fixed on Madras as the seat of the mission, where he wrought earnestly for three years. Having reached the conviction that he ought to move into the heart of the Telugu country, Mr. Day proceeded, in 1840, to Nel- lore with his family, where he was joined shortly afterward by the Van Husens. Here on the twenty-seventh of Sep tember he baptized the first Telugu convert. Three more converts were baptized in 1843, and on the twelfth of Octo ber, 1844, a church of twelve members was organized, in cluding the missionaries and their wives. In 1845 both the I 82 FOREIGN MISSION WORK OF THE DENOMINATION missionaries had to retire on account of failing health, and for three years the field was left without a missionary. The Board, in the early years of its history, turned its attention to the great "Dark Continent." Soon after the organization of the Convention, in 1814, the colored people of Richmond formed an ' ' African Baptist Missionary So ciety. " Two colored men, members of the First Baptist Church, in Richmond, Lott Carey (a man of somewhat re markable gifts and devotion), and Colin Teague, were sent to Africa under appointment of the American Colonization Society. In 1820 the Convention Board recognized them as its missionaries and made a small appropriation of money for their use. Beyond what was provided for them by the Rich mond society no further appropriation was made till 1825. The field was in Liberia on the West Coast. The first church was organized in 182 1, composed of seven members. In 1830 the church-membership, scattered in a few towns, had reached 150. New recruits to the mission force were being sent from time to time, but many of them were quickly cut down by the deadly African fever. Mr. Crocker reduced the Bassa language to writing. Very little was accomplished among the pagan natives, nearly all the church-members being American emigrants. We have hurriedly glanced at the beginnings of the work in the fields entered prior to 1845. It remains for us now in carrying out the design of this chapter, to say a few words regarding the work at home. Luther Rice never returned to the foreign field, but, as agent of the Convention, was a great force in the development of the home side of the work. In 181 7 the Convention resolved on undertaking ministerial education work also, with the thought of training missionaries and especially of qualifying them to translate the Bible from the original into the languages spoken on the mission fields. For this purpose a seminary was begun in Philadelphia, but later Columbian College was established at Washington. In 1826 it was decided that the Convention should confine itself to the foreign mission work and leave the college to be supported as a separate institution. Mr. Rice devoted the remaining ten years of his life to the interests of the college. The first president of the society was Rev. Dr. Richard Furman, of" South Carolina, a man of eminent gifts and con secration. Filling the important office of corresponding sec retary the Convention had from the beginning men of distin guished ability and devotion. Doctor Staughton occupied the position from 1814 till the headquarters were removed to THE AMERICAN BAPTIST MISSIONARY UNION 1 83 Boston, in 1826. Following him was Dr. Lucius Bolles, from 1826 to 1843. From 1838 Dr. Solomon Peck was associated with Doctor Bolles, after whose retirement he succeeded as sole incumbent of the office for a time, but from 1841 to 1845 he had associated with him Dr. Robert E. Pattison, and from 1846 to 1856 Dr. Edward Bright. The year 1835 was marked by the sending of the first delegate, Rev. Howard Malcom, to visit the mission fields in the East. We close this section of the chapter with the simple record that in the year 1845 the Southern members of this national Baptist organization withdrew from it on the slavery question, and formed a society of their own, called "The Southern Baptist Convention." Archibald P. McDiarmid. PART II THE AMERICAN BAPTIST MISSIONARY UNION After the withdrawal of the Baptists of the Southern States and the formation of the Southern Baptist Convention in May, 1845, "The General Convention of the Baptist Denomination in the United States for Foreign Missions ' ' continued its work under the same name and plan of organi zation for one year. It seemed to some of the leaders, however, that a simpler and more effective organization might be devised, and accordingly measures were taken to secure from the Legislature of Pennsylvania an act entitled "An act changing the name of the Association known as ' The General Convention of the Baptist Denomination in the United States for Foreign Missions and other important objects relating to the Redeemer's Kingdom ' to that of 'The American Baptist Missionary Union,' and for altering and amending the char ter of the same." As the headquarters of the Society had been removed from Philadelphia to Boston in 1826, cor responding action was secured from the Legislature of the State of Massachusetts under the title, " An act to authorize ' The General Convention of the Baptist Denomination in the United States for Foreign Missions and other important objects relating to the Redeemer's Kingdom' to take and use the name of ' The American Baptist Missionary Union ' and to define more clearly the purpose, rights, and powers of the said corporation." The Missionary Union is therefore I84 FOREIGN MISSION WORK OF THE DENOMINATION the General Missionary Convention continued under a change of name, ' ' with all its rights, duties, and privileges, ' ' and dates its organization from May 18, 1814. Two of its missionaries, Rev. Lewis J. Shuck and Rev. I. J. Roberts, at Canton, China, withdrew to join the Southern Conven tion, but all the property of the missions and all the rest of the missionaries were continued under the Union without change or interruption. The first problem in the foreign mission work to which the Baptists of the North were called to address themselves after the withdrawal of their Southern brethren was to provide a support for the missions which had hitherto drawn their resources from the whole country. This question was not wholly new, as in 1826, when the finances of the Missionary Convention were at a low ebb and some were discouraged, the Baptists of New England had volunteered to assume the whole responsibility of the missions and the headquarters were then removed from Philadelphia to Boston. As in the former case, the necessary funds were now provided and a large increase in the missionary income was realized. In the five years after the withdrawal of Southern Baptists from the Convention the income of the society averaged nearly #20,- 000 annually more than during the five years previous, and in 1850 reached #118,726.35, a larger sum than had thus far been received in one year. A potent factor in this great achievement under untoward circumstances was Edward Bright, D. D. He was chosen corresponding secretary of the Missionary Union for the Home Department in 1846, and addressed himself at once and with characteristic vigor to the task of organizing and enlarging the resources of the society. His papers and addresses, during his term of service until 1855, are the most striking and effective productions on the principles and methods of arousing missionary interest and raising an income which have been produced in the history of the society, and he gave an impress to the operations of" the Missionary Union on the home field which is felt to the present day. Many of the ablest and most devoted leaders in the de nomination viewed the prospect of a division between the Baptists of the Northern and Southern States with alarm and dismay, and earnestly sought to avert it. The separation was, however, inevitable, and would have occurred later if not at that time. But instead of bringing loss and injury to the missionary cause the division resulted in a large increase in the work. The Baptists of the North were aroused as THE AMERICAN BAPTIST MISSIONARY UNION 1 85 never before to the support of the missions for which they now became wholly responsible, and the Southern Baptists rallied with characteristic enthusiasm to the standard of their new society. Aside from the missions among the American Indians, which were transferred to the American Baptist Home Mis sion Society in 1865, the Missionary Convention in 1845 reported 109 missionaries, 123 native helpers, seventy-nine churches on the foreign fields with about 5,000 members, and fifty-six schools with 1,350 pupils. The missions were located in Burma, Siam, China, Assam, and India, in Asia ; in Liberia, Africa ; and in France, Germany, Denmark, and Greece, in Europe. In the last fifty-five years of the work of the American Baptist Missionary Union the missions have been extended to Japan in Asia, to the Congo Free State in Africa, and to Sweden, Russia, Finland, and Spain, in Eu rope. The missions in Burma have grown from three to twenty-seven stations, those in Assam from three to eleven stations, those in China from two to fourteen stations, and the Telugu mission in India from one station, ' ' The Lone Star," to twenty-five central stations. Even more remark able is the growth in the workers and the results, as the Missionary Union for the year 1900 reports 474 missionaries, 4,695 native helpers, 1,912 churches, 206,746 members in the mission churches, 1,445 schools and 37,297 pupils, an increase of 365 missionaries, 4,572 native helpers, 1,833 churches and 201,746 members, 1,389 schools and 35,947 pupils. The wise, persistent, and aggressive methods of the Baptists of the Northern States have caused their foreign missionary work to more than keep pace with their develop ment at home, the income having advanced from #82,302.95 in 1845 to #543,048.51 in 1900, and the favor of the Lord has placed the American Baptist Missionary Union the first among the missionary societies of the world as to the number of converts gathered into the churches on the mission fields. While to Dr. Edward Bright must be given the credit for molding the home policy of the Missionary Union, the meth ods of the society on the foreign fields are chiefly indebted to John N. Murdock, d. d., ll. d., whose service as cor responding secretary for twenty-nine years, from 1863 to 1892, covered the largest development of the missions. During • this period the annual income of the society in creased from #103,956.96 to #569,172.93, the number of missionaries from eighty-four to 417, and the converts in the mission churches from 31,000 to 163,881. This remarkable 1 86 FOREIGN MISSION WORK OF THE DENOMINATION prosperity was due in a large measure, as far as human agency can be traced, to the wisdom, firmness, broad judgment, and farsightedness of Doctor Murdock, which enabled the Union, with an income inferior to that of several other societies, to achieve results which in some features have surpassed them all. During the greater part of his term of service it was the policy of other societies to place two or more families at cen tral stations, and to give employment to but a small force of native laborers, while the Missionary Union under the same conditions placed one American missionary in charge of a field and surrounded him with as large a force of native helpers as could be procured or as the funds in hand would allow. It is this policy, without doubt, which has given the Union pre-eminence in evangelistic work and in the number of converts, and all the larger missionary societies of the world have conceded the correctness of the policy by con forming to it in their methods in later years. Some of these societies have more than quadrupled the proportion of native laborers to missionaries within the last decade and have even surpassed in this respect the Missionary Union itself! In some of the measures which he advocated, Doctor Murdock was in advance of his age. An example of this is found in the annual report of the Missionary Union for 1874. The in troduction is largely given up to an earnest, able, and elo quent advocacy of the employment of a certain proportion of men pledged to remain unmarried for a time while engaged in certain tentative and specially hazardous features of mis sionary life. This aroused a storm of criticism and opposi tion for a time, and, to his great sorrow, alienated from Doc tor Murdock many friends who did not fully understand his views. But his position has been vindicated by the adop tion of his suggestions by all the large European missionary societies, although not accepted by the society which he served. Many utterances on the platform and in the press, however, indicate a growing movement toward an acceptance of the propositions made in 1874 by Doctor Murdock. To others also it has been given to speak decisive words in momentous crises of our missionary history. Four pecu liarly inspiring instances must be mentioned. On November 19, 1845, was held the first meeting of the General Missionary Convention after the withdrawal of the Baptists of the South. It was a special meeting to. consider the question of the future of the missions, and it was made memorable not only by the grave importance of the questions to be considered, but by the presence of the pioneer American THE AMERICAN BAPTIST MISSIONARY UNION 1 87 Baptist missionary, Adoniram Judson. He had just returned to the homeland after a continuous absence of thirty-three years. At the regular meeting of the Convention in the spring, as the funds were low, the officers had been directed to report a plan for the reduction of the missions. The re port was made to this meeting in an extended paper read by the foreign secretary, Solomon Peck, d. d. Among other measures it recommended the abandonment of the mis sion in Arakan. On arriving in America Doctor Judson had been unable, from weakness, "to speak above a whisper. He was still forbidden to speak in public. No Baptist congrega tion in America had ever heard the voice of their first foreign missionary. But when this report was read the lion was roused. Rising to his feet, Mr. Judson, in a full voice, said, " Though forbidden of the doctors to speak in public, I must protest against the abandonment of the Arakan mission. ' ' It was all he could say, but it was enough. The Convention unanimously resolved not to abandon any mission work, and raised at once the funds needed to pay the balance of the debt of #40,000, and to provide #5,000 for strengthening the missions. In 1853 the mission to the Telugus in India had been carried on for seventeen years with very little apparent result. At the annual meeting in Albany, N. Y. , the transfer of the mission to Burma was strongly advocated. There was but one station, Nellore. After long discussion, Dr. Edward Bright, the home secretary, pointing to the map, demanded, "Who will write the letter blotting out the lone star in India? I will not." The tide of feeling began to turn. The title given to Nellore, "The Lone Star," caught the mind and heart of the Baptist poet, Samuel Francis Smith, who was present, and that night he wrote the famous poem, "The Lone Star," and read it in the meeting the next morning. It was voted to continue and to reinforce the mission. Again, in 1862, the abandonment of the Telugu mission was urged at the annual meeting of the Missionary Union in Providence, nut it was resolved before taking final action to await the arrival of Rev. Lyman Jewett, the sole missionary, who was on his way to America. In his interview with the executive committee of the Union, on being asked his opinion as to the giving up the mission, Mr. Jewett replied, "You may give up the mission to the Telugus, but I never will." Dr. Jonah G. Warren, then foreign secretary, at once replied, "Well, Brother Jewett, if you will go back among that heathen people, we must send some one with you to give 1 88 FOREIGN MISSION WORK OF THE DENOMINATION you a Christian burial." So the Telugu mission was pre served to become one of the brightest gems in the crown of American Baptist missions. Yet another instance of the power of a "word fitly spoken." When the Congo mission in Africa was adopted by the Missionary Union, in 1884, doubts as to the expedi ency of the action existed in the minds of many, who feared that by this new burden the Union might be embarrassed in the support of its older missions in Asia. This opposition continued with considerable strength through the winter. In the spring of 1885 Rev. A. Sims, m. d., of Leopoldville, came to America. He was the first missionary from the Congo to visit the Baptists of the United States, and after an interview with the executive committee of the Missionary Union at Boston, in which the whole situation on the Congo was fully set forth, and many things which even the committee and officers of the Union had not previously understood, were explained, it was decided that, with Dr. A. J. Gordon, Doctor Sims should visit various cities in America for conference with leading representatives of the Baptists, and at the annual meeting of the Union in Asbury Park, in May, the adoption of the mission was enthusiastically endorsed and its prosecu tion entered upon with energy. Aside from the generally successful progress of the missions on all the fields the work of the Missionary Union has been marked by four special and remarkable successes — the ad vance of the churches in Burma in self-support, self-depend ence, and self-propagation ; the remarkable ingathering in the mission at Ongole, India, under the administration of John E. Clough, d. d. ; the great prosperity which has been experienced in the Garo mission at Tura, Assam, founded by Rev. M. C. Mason and Rev. E. G. Phillips ; and "the Pen tecost on the Congo," begun in connection with the labors of Rev. Henry Richards, at Banza Manteke, and continued at that station and in the adjoining fields. Of these, while more quiet in its operation and attracting less of public attention in its promise of the speedy establish ment of an indigenous, self-supporting, and self-managing Christian church, the progress of the Karen churches in Burma may perhaps be placed first in importance. From the very first in the Bassein Karen mission the principles of self- help had been strongly advocated by Elisha L. Abbott, the founder, and his successors. The Karen Christians had shown marked liberality according to the testimony of the older missionaries among them ; but perhaps none of the THE AMERICAN BAPTIST MISSIONARY UNION 1 89 churches in 1845 were actually and entirely self-supporting. They were encouraged, however, to work to this end to pro vide for their own pastors as far as possible, and, when able, to maintain schools for their own children. These principles have been generally and almost universally advocated by all the missionaries of the Union in Burma among the different races. The Bassein Christians, under the special leadership of Rev. C. H. Carpenter, raised a fund of more than #31,000 for the erection of a memorial building in honor of the first Karen convert, Ko-Thahbyu, which was dedicated by special jubilee exercises fifty years from the date of his conversion. The remainder of the fund not required for the erection of the building has been invested in America, the income being used for the support of the Sgaw Karen Normal and Industrial Institute, which is carried on in the Ko-Thahbyu Memorial Hall. The Rangoon Sgaw Karens also have always mani fested a large degree of independence and self-reliance -in their evangelistic and school work, having erected buildings and established compounds for the missionaries at their own cost, and provided largely for the support of their own pas tors and the central school at Rangoon, as well as of their own village schools. At Shwegyin and Henzada progress has been manifested, and at other stations in less degree, but perhaps with no less an amount of effort. The progress of these prin ciples has gone on so strongly that the Karen mission in Burma has become the model mission of the world in self- support, self-dependence, and in the propagation of the gos pel to others. The Karen Christians carry on missions among the Karens in Northern Siam and among the Kachins in northern Burma, as well as provide for a large amount of missionary work among their heathen neighbors in the local ities nearer by. Of the 685 churches in Burma, 482 are self- supporting, and 378 out of the whole number of 514 schools. After long years of little success in the Baptist mission among the Telugus of India, greater prosperity began to be experienced about 1866, until in 1876 there were 4,000 Christians in the Telugu mission. At that time occurred' the great famine, in 187 7-1 878, in which about 5,000,000 of the people of India perished. The whole field of the Baptist Telugu mission was involved in the famine. Missionary work was necessarily partly laid aside and the missionaries turned their attention to saving the lives of the people. They acted as agents of the government and of the American public in distributing aid, and also to some extent in superintend ing public works. J. E. Clough, d. d., the missionary in 190 FOREIGN MISSION WORK OF THE DENOMINATION charge of the Ongole station in the center of the famine- stricken area, being a practical surveyor, took a contract from the government to build three miles of the Buckingham Canal, which was to pass through his district. By this means he gave employment to large numbers and saved thousands of lives. But although hundreds applied for baptism, yet for fear that they might be actuated by unworthy motives, none were received. After the famine was over the prohibition was removed, and in one day, July 3, 1878, 2,222 were bap tized in the Gundalacuma River, twelve miles north of Ongole. This is the largest number received into a Christian church in one day on profession of their personal faith in Christ since the day of Pentecost in Jerusalem. Baptisms in the mission continued until in two months they amounted to 9, 147. This great ingathering has been the inspiring element in all subse quent progress of the American Baptist Telugu mission, which in 1900 reported about 55,000 members in the churches. One of the most gratifying achievements of the missions of the Union, although on a smaller scale, is found in the Garo mission at Tura, in southeastern Assam. The Garos were wild and savage inhabitants of the hills and mountains, but were found to be peculiarly open to the gospel and espe cially efficient in proclaiming the truth to their own people. The first converts immediately became preachers to their friends on an independent basis. This unusual exhibition of independence attracted the special attention of the mis sionaries, and the immediate prosperity of the missionary work among the Garos led to the removal of Rev. M. C. Mason and Rev. E. G. Phillips from Goalpara, in the Brama- putra Valley, to Tura on the hills, in order to be more closely in touch with the mountain people. At this place has been developed one of the model missions of the Missionary Union. The compound at Tura comprises in itself in compact form all the essentials of a model missionary station, with central schools and industrial work. The churches, in which are found more than 3,500 members, are fully organized in Asso ciations conducted by the native Christians, and not only support their pastors, but evangelists for their own Associa tions, and missionaries are sent to the native tribes north of the Brahmaputra River. Of the sixteen churches of the mission twelve are wholly self-supporting. For seven years Rev. Henry Richards labored at Banza Manteke, in the Congo mission, with little success. He then began the translation of the Gospel of Luke, reading it and explaining it to the people as he went along, and increased THE AMERICAN BAPTIST MISSIONARY UNION I9I interest in the truth was shown. In a short time a move ment developed among the people which must be consid ered among the remarkable missionary movements of the times. More than 1,100 brought their fetiches and idols and threw them at the feet of the missionary and declared themselves followers of the religion of Jesus Christ. Not all were received into the churches, as Mr. Richards de sired a pure church on a Christian basis. But the movement has gone on, and has spread to the country round about. At Banza Manteke and the adjoining stations of Kifwa, Pala- bala, and Lukunga are 2,513 Christians, and the churches increased in membership more than fifty per cent, during the year 1899. An especially gratifying feature of the mission on the Congo is that all the churches are entirely self-sup porting. The independence, self-reliance, and evangelistic features of this mission give abundant promise for growth and a large expansion in the immediate future. The English Baptist Missionary Society, the first society formed to be supported by the voluntary contributions of Christians, was organized in 1792. 1892, 100 years from that date, was observed as a centennial missionary year, not only by the Baptists of England, but by other Christian bodies, and with peculiar interest by the Baptists in America. A special effort was made to enlarge the income of the Amer ican Baptist Missionary Union and to reach the standard of one million dollars in one year. The effort in this direction was successful, as at the annual meeting in Denver, in 1893, the home secretary of the Union, Henry C. Mabie, d. d., was able to report the total amount received into the treasury during the year as #1,010,341.46. Of this amount, however, only #766, 782.95 could be devoted to the current expenses of the society. Aside from the special achievements of Baptist missions under the auspices of the American Baptist Missionary Union, which have been referred to, the world owes a large indebtedness to this vigorous and important missionary organization for its services not only to Christianity in gen eral but to education, to science, and to civilization. The policy of the Missionary Union has been always to lay chief emphasis on the work of preaching the gospel, but as inci dental to this, great subsidiary advantages have accrued to the people in the various lands in which the missions have been maintained. While the gospel has been preached and many hundred thousands of converts have been brought into the kingdom of Christ, these and others have received mani- 192 FOREIGN MISSION WORK OF THE DENOMINATION fold and important advantages incidental to the advancement of the general missionary work. Although the early missionaries in Burma had reduced to writing several dialects of the Karen language, it was re served for later missionaries to perform the same important service for the Chins and for the Kachins, the numerous people occupying the mountains between western China and upper Burma and Assam. This was done by Rev. W. H. Roberts and Rev. Ola Hanson, whose system of writing Kachin in Roman letters has been accepted and made official by the government of British India. In Assam, also, the dialect of the Garo tribe and of two numerous and powerful Naga tribes, the Angami and the Ao, has been reduced to written form as well as several minor dialects. In the Congo mission a field of special interest and importance in philo logical work has been found by the Baptist missionaries. The Kikongo has been reduced to writing by various persons, and Dr. A. Sims, of Leopoldville, who has been decorated by the governments both of France and Belgium for his eminent medical services, made a dictionary of the Kiteke and also compiled a vocabulary of the Kiyansi. Besides the translation of the Bible into Burman by Dr. Adoniram Judson and into the Sgaw Karen by Dr. Francis Mason in the early days of the mission in Burma, the entire volume of Holy Scriptures has been translated into Pwo Karen by Rev. D. L. Brayton and into Shan by J. N. Cushing, d. d. , and published under the auspices of the Missionary Union. Doctor Cushing has also prepared a dictionary in the Shan language for English readers, and a large proportion of the school books in use in the schools of Burma have been prepared by the Baptist missionaries labor ing in connection with the Missionary Union. Dr. Nathan Brown, who had translated the New Testament into the Assamese, after his removal to Japan also prepared a trans lation of the New Testament in Japanese, which has had a decided influence on other translations made in that tongue. Early missionaries began the translation of the Old Testament into Assamese, and the work has been completed under the auspices of the Union by Rev. Albanus K. Gurney, sent out especially for that purpose. The full Bible was being printed in Assamese in 1900. Aside from these entire translations of the Bible numerous portions of the Holy Scriptures have been translated into several minor dialects of Burma, into various dialects of Assam, and of the Congo. The whole New Testa ment has also been translated by Dr. Lyman Jewett into the THE AMERICAN BAPTIST MISSIONARY UNION I93 Telugu language of India and into the local dialect of Swatow, China, by Dr. William Ashmore, Dr. S. B. Partridge, Rev. William Ashmore, Jr., and others. Rev. Josiah Goddard translated the whole New Testament into the colloquial dialect of Ningpo, China, and, at the request of many mis sionaries of various bodies, his son, J. R. Goddard, d. d., has prepared a version of the Old Testament in the same dialect. Everywhere that the missionaries of the Union have gone, in all countries, and among peoples speaking more than thirty languages, schools have been established, beginning at the primary grade and developing upward according to the needs and demands of the people. In 1900 the American Baptist Missionary Union had under its auspices 1,437 schools and eight theological seminaries, besides several minor training schools for preachers, and two full established colleges, one at Rangoon, Burma, affiliated with the university at Calcutta, and one at Ongole, India, affiliated with the university at Madras. In a large number of these schools industrial de partments are carried on, giving to the young men and young women a training not only in mind but in body, in prepara tion for usefulness in various industrial arts and occupations, as well as in more particularly intellectual pursuits and pro fessions. The sociological effects of the missions have also been marked in every country in which they have been main tained. This service has been recognized and highly com mended by the government of Burma and British India, one administration report of which says : " Christianity continues to spread among the Karens to the great advantage of the commonwealth, and the Christian Karen communities are distinctly more industrious, better educated, and more law-abiding than the Burman and Karen villages around them. The Karen race and the British Gov ernment owe a great debt to the American missionaries, who have, under Providence, wrought this change among the Karens of Burma." The same service has been rendered to a large degree among all the fields in which Baptist mis sionaries have been laboring. The outcastes in India have been educated and raised to a level with the proud Brahmans, and become their competitors in the civil service examinations for official positions, a thing which was unknown early in the history of India. On the Congo, American Baptists have, by their strict adherence to the practice of total abstinence, ren dered a large service in stemming the increasing tide of in temperance which threatened to overwhelm and obliterate the N 194 FOREIGN MISSION WORK OF THE DENOMINATION natives of the Congo Valley. The Baptist churches are bul warks against the efforts of traders to introduce rum into Africa, and missionaries have had a large influence in recommending the adoption of the prohibition measures which have been found necessary for the salvation of the African people from extermination by the vice of intemperance. Commerce, education, civil government, and higher moral, standards have been advanced wherever the missionaries have gone. Edmund F. Merriam. PART III THE SOUTHERN BAPTIST CONVENTION With William Carey began a new era for foreign missions. The doctrine emphasized by Christ in his farewell words flashed out again upon God's people. The English Baptist Missionary Society which sent out Carey, was organized October 2, 1792. The new society and its missionary were made the subject of all manner of scoffing and ridicule. But they work well who work with God to carry on his plans in Christ. Carey, Fuller, and others built even wiser than they knew. The English Missionary Society started by sending out Carey. The interest developed, and funds were gathered in this country also, and sent to the society in England for the work. But God was moving on other lines, and two young men were in college in America preparing to go to mission fields. These young men, Judson and Rice (Pedo baptists), started for India, but became convinced that the Baptists were right, and so on arrival in India were baptized. Thus providentially the Baptists of America had missionaries on the field. The mother society in England advised that the churches in this country have a separate organization, and May 21, 1814, "The General Missionary Convention of the Baptists in the United States" was formed. In this, the old ' ' Triennial Convention, ' ' the Baptists of this country worked harmoniously until trouble arose in reference to the question of slavery. By mutual consent a division was thought best, and May 8, 1845, the Southern Baptist Convention was organized in Augusta, Ga. To better carry forward the work of missions the Conven tion appointed two Boards or standing Committees. One of THE SOUTHERN BAPTIST CONVENTION 1 95 these was the Home Mission Board, to look after the mission work in the home land, and the other the Foreign Mission Board, to look after the work in foreign lands. The Foreign Board from the first meeting of the Convention has been located in Richmond, Va. It consists of twenty-one mem bers living in Richmond, and one vice-president in each affiliating State. The general management of the Board is committed to the members in Richmond. The vice-presi dents in the States endeavor to awaken interest and quicken the zeal of our people. The Board is appointed annually by the Southern Baptist Convention. The Convention, which represents the churches, has entire control of the Board, which is really only a com mittee to act for the Convention, or for the churches which compose the Convention. Until the separation from the brethren of the North took place, the States which went into the new organization, had contributed #215,856.28 of a total #874,027.92, which had been given. While the churches of the South had contributed about one-fourth of the funds, they had received only about one-tenth of the appointments. We will consider the work of the Board according to the countries in which we operate, taking these in the order in which we began work in each. I. CHINA. The first country to which the Board decided to send mis sionaries was China. The first American Baptist missionary in China was Rev. J. L. Shuck, of Virginia. At a missionary meeting he put in the contribution basket a piece of paper with "Myself" written on it as a contribution. He was sent out by the old Triennial Convention in 1835, and on the or ganization of the Southern Baptist Convention in 1845 was, with Rev. I. J. Roberts, accepted as a missionary of that body. They worked at Macao and Canton. They were joined by other faithful missionaries, and the work developed until now the Convention has important and growing interests in southern, central, and northern China. There is a num ber of churches. Those in and around Canton are known as the "South China Mission " ; those in and around Shanghai as the "Central China Mission" ; and those in the Shantung province in north China as the "North China Mission." 1. The South China Mission. This was our first interest in China. Work was begun here in 1845. Canton, a city of 1,500,000 inhabitants, situated about ninety miles from Hongkong, is the principal station. Here the venerable ig6 FOREIGN MISSION WORK OF THE DENOMINATION Dr. R. H. Graves has labored since 1856, and is still doing a noble work. By his side Dr. E. Z. Simmons has stood for about thirty years. A number of other excellent men and women have labored faithfully here also. About eighty miles from Canton, up the West River, is located Shiu Hing, and one hundred and twenty miles farther up the same river, is Wuchow. Both of these places have churches, and are con sidered by the workers as strong strategic points. Many other large cities are in the bounds of this mission. There are in the South China Mission eight male and eleven female mis sionaries, eight ordained native preachers, twenty-three other male and female native helpers. In 1899 there were 533 baptisms. Of these, over 200 were baptized by a native preacher. The mission had 1687 members January 1, 1900, and at that time there were seventeen houses of worship. One of the greatest factors for good in this mission is a the ological school conducted by Doctor Graves. Besides a training school for women, there is also a number of other schools — seventeen in all. Many of these are supported by the natives. In Canton is located the Chinese Baptist Publication So ciety, organized in February, 1899. While it is most inti mately associated with our mission, it is the intention of those founding it to make it furnish the Bibles, tracts, and other literature for the Baptist workers all over China. Dr. R. H. Graves is president of the society, and Rev. R. E. Chambers is corresponding secretary. The native Christians took stock liberally in this great enterprise. 2. Central China Mission. About 900 miles north from Canton is Shanghai, the principal station of the Central China Mission. This city has a population of 500,000 and is one of the most important cities for commerce, fashion, and literature in China. Foreigners have been attracted here for trade until there is a foreign city by the side of the Chinese. Our work here was opened in September, 1847, by M. T. Yates, J. L. Shuck, and T. W. Tobey. Here these noble servants of God labored amid great difficulties and laid the foundations for future workers. The church at Shanghai has about 100 members and five preaching stations. Ninety miles from Shanghai, and situated on the Grand Canal, is Soochow, a city of 500,000 population. Sixty miles farther up the canal, and on the Yang-tse River, is Chinkiang, with a population of 150,000. Forty miles from Chinkiang is Yang- chow, with a population of 300,000. We have small churches in all of these places. Besides these named, there are other THE SOUTHERN BAPTIST CONVENTION 1 97 points at which our missionaries labor. There are in this mission six churches with six male and ten female mission aries ; eleven native helpers, of whom one is ordained and two are women. Twelve baptisms were reported last year. The membership is 160. They have six houses of worship, and ten schools with an attendance of 275. Dr. R. T. Bryan has recently established a school at Shanghai to train men in the ministry, which will doubtless do great good. 3. North China Mission. Five miles north of Shanghai is our next mission, which was opened in i860 by Rev. J. L. Holmes and wife and Dr. J. B. Hartwell and wife. Dr. T. P. Crawford and his noble wife did valuable service in connection with this mission. In Tungchow, located on the gulf of Pechili, in north China, the work is being conducted by Dr. and Mrs. Hartwell, Miss Lottie Moon, and other workers. We have one church here with about seventy members. Only a short distance to the southwest is Hwanghien, where C. W. Pruitt and wife have labored many years. We have two churches here, one at Hwanghien, and one at Hwei Ching, six miles distant. Still farther southwest, a distance of 115 miles from Tung chow, we come to Pingtu. There are three prosperous churches at Pingtu and near-by. Saling (a village eight miles northwest) has a good church, and Chang-Kia-Kin (a village eight miles southwest of Pingtu and thirteen south of Saling) has a small church. In the early part of 1893, several valuable workers con nected with this mission, deciding that they had found a better way, withdrew from connection with the Board and moved farther toward the interior of China, where they have since been laboring for the Master. The last report for all our missions in China shows a total of twenty-four churches, thirty-six out-stations, eighteen male and twenty-nine female missionaries, nine ordained and forty- six unordained helpers, ten of the latter women, 597 bap tisms last year, 2,299 members, and thirty- four schools with 940 scholars. II. AFRICA. The work of Southern Baptists was begun in Africa when, in 1 82 1, Lott Carey and Colin Teague (colored men) were sent out from Richmond, Va. , with a number of others who went to form a colonization society in that country. They made a settlement in Monrovia, Liberia. The work was I98 FOREIGN MISSION WORK OF THE DENOMINATION fostered by the old Triennial Convention until 1845, and when the Southern Baptist Convention was organized, the existing work was continued by the American Baptist Mis sionary Union. The Southern Baptist Convention sent out its first mission ary, Rev. T. J. Bowen, in 1846, who began work in Liberia. In 1850, missionaries of the Southern Convention were sent to the Yoruba country, and in 1856 the Missionary Union turned over the whole work to the Southern Board. In 1867 the missionaries were driven out of the Yoruba region by war, persecution, and sickness, but in 1875 the work was resumed by Rev. W. J. David and Rev. W. W. Colley. Work was thenceforward carried on in the Yoruba country alone. On account of the terrible climate many missionaries have died, and many have been driven home. Yoruba Land is in Guinea, West Africa, between six degrees and eight degrees north latitude. The chief seaport is Lagos where there are two flourishing Baptist churches, one of them being entirely independent. The missionaries find it safer for health to live inland, and work is carried on at Lagos by a native con vert. There are stations at Hausser Farm (fifteen miles away), Abbeokuta (seventy-five miles), Awyaw (150 miles), Ogbo- moshaw (200 miles), and other points. The last annual re port showed seven missionaries, twelve native assistants, six churches, fifty-six baptisms, and 385 members. They have six houses of worship. Four schools are conducted in con nection with the mission. A railroad, recently constructed from Lagos up toward the Niger, and which will likely be extended to that river, is of great help to the missionaries. III. ITALY. Southern Baptists did not begin work in Italy until 1870, when Dr. W. N. Cote, a French physician, was appointed as a missionary. He was one of the first to enter Rome after the pope had lost his temporal power. At first the work seemed to prosper wonderfully. But troubles came. Men employed as evangelists proved to be unworthy. Complica tions arose, and Dr. J. B. Jeter, the president of the Board, was requested by his brethren to visit Italy and try to adjust matters in the mission. It was decided soon after that it would be best to send out for the work a strong, safe man from this country, and Dr. G. B. Taylor, pastor in Staunton, Va., was elected. He took the work in 1872, and has patiently and faithfully labored there ever since. Dr. John H. Eager was added to this mission in 1880, and worked in THE SOUTHERN BAPTIST CONVENTION 1 99 Rome until 1890. He then removed his field of labor to Florence, where he remained until 1896, when he returned home, giving up the work. While the cause in Italy has not seemed to prosper so rapidly as in some countries, yet it must be remembered that the conditions are most difficult. In the report of the Board for 1899, there are reported twenty-four churches and twenty outstations, one missionary, twenty native helpers, seventy-two baptisms, and 624 mem bers. There are churches in Rome, Florence, Venice, Genoa, Carpi, Naples, and other prominent places, including churches in Sardinia and Sicily. We have a chapel in Rome which cost about #27,000. The English Baptists have turned over their work in Naples to our Board, and we have arranged to take their chapel in that city. IV. MEXICO. The Foreign Board of the Southern Baptist Convention began work in Mexico in 1880. Rev. J. O. Westrup was first appointed, but was murdered in December, 1880. Rev. W. M. Flournoy took up the work, and in 1882 Dr. Powell was appointed and moved to Mexico, October, 1882. Mr. Flournoy worked until 1885, and resigned. Dr. W. D. Powell, by his zeal, energy, and consecration soon had not only a great work started in Mexico, but had so thoroughly aroused the enthusiasm of his brethren at home that a num ber of new missionaries had been appointed, several church houses built, and a good school for girls, Madero Institute, had been established. In 1898, the Board divided the work into the North Mexican Mission and South Mexican Mission, the dividing line being the 22 ° of latitude. The main sta tions in the North Mexican Mission are Saltillo, Torreon, Durango, and Zacatecas, while in the south are Toluca, Morelia, and Leon. The report made to the last Convention showed in both missions thirty-two churches, thirty-nine out stations, twelve missionaries, twenty native assistants, of whom ten are ordained, 175 baptisms last year, and a membership of 1,232. They have sixteen houses of worship, and three schools. The outlook in 1900 is more hopeful than for sev eral years past. A Sunday-school paper, ' ' El Expositor, ' ' is published at Saltillo, and in the same city the Board has had a school for training young preachers. v. BRAZIL. Of all the missions of the Southern Baptist Convention, 200 FOREIGN MISSION WORK OF THE DENOMINATION there is probably none which has been more prosperous than that in the land of the Southern Cross. Southern Baptists sent Rev. T. J. Bowen to Brazil in 1859, but his health failed and he returned home. Nothing more was done by the Southern Convention until 1881. In that year Rev. W. B. Bagby and wife went out and settled for a while at Campinas. The next year they were joined by Rev. Z. C. Taylor and wife, and these together opened work in Bahia. At first there was much persecution, trial, and hard ship, but the missionaries were faithful to their calling and a good beginning was made. Later Rev. W. B. Bagby moved to Rio and began work in that great city. Other missionaries joined them ; the work spread, and to-day there are five divisions of the work, known as : The Rio Mission ; the Cam pos Mission ; the Bahia Mission ; the Pernambuco Mission ; the Sao Paulo Mission. 1. The Rio Mission. The main church in this mission is at Rio de Janeiro. Rio is a large city of about 800,000 in habitants and is the metropolis of Brazil. Many nationalities are represented here and immigrants continue to pour in by the thousands. Through the liberality of two generous brothers, the Leverings, of Baltimore, Md. , the church is pro vided with a beautiful house of worship, which is a great help in this large and growing city. Other churches connected with this mission are located at Bello Horizonte, Santa Bar bara, Juiz de Fora, and Parahyba. Bello Horizonte is the new capital of the vast State of Minas. One of the greatest blessings to the Rio Mission is Mr. L. C. Irvine, a layman from this country who is in business in Brazil, being connected with the great coffee house of Lever ing & Co. He teaches, preaches, works, gives, and in other ways helps the cause of the Master. 2. The Campos Mission. The chief city of this mission is Campos, and there we have a flourishing church of about 215 members. They have a church building, most of the cost of which they have paid themselves. Rev. S. L. Ginsburg is the earnest missionary in charge of this mission. He is the converted son of a Russian rabbi, and his work for Christ has been greatly blessed. The churches at San Fidelis, Grandu, Macahe, and Ernesto Machado are also connected with this mission. 3. Sao Paulo Mission. This mission was organized in 1899, though work had been carried on by us in the city and State by that name before. Sao Paulo is a large city of 75,000 inhabitants, and is a fine place for mission work. The THE SOUTHERN BAPTIST CONVENTION 201 Board has given instruction to Rev. J. J. Taylor, missionary there, to open a school for the training of young preachers. 4. Bahia Mission. This is the oldest of our missions in Brazil. Rev. Z. C. Taylor has worked here faithfully for many years. The churches connected with this mission are located at Bahia, Valenca, Amargosa, Vargem-Grande, Casca, and other places. Bahia is an important city of 150,000 in habitants. Here Mrs. Z. C. Taylor has a large school which she superintends in person. 5. Pernambuco Mission. The Pernambuco Mission is still farther up the Brazihan coast, and has been much blessed. There are in this mission eight churches, located at Pernam buco, Nazaretto, Goyanna, Maceio, Natal, and Para. It has been decided by the Board to organize the work in and around Maceio into another mission, to be known as the Alagoas Mis sion, from the State in which it is located. It would be seen on a map that we have churches extending from far up the Amazon to Sao Paulo, a distance of several thousand miles. The missionaries in Brazil, with the concurrence of the Board, have agreed to remove the publishing house from Bahia to Rio. This new arrangement will serve much better to furnish all the workers with the needed literature. The work has grown until the last report showed in Brazil twenty- seven churches, forty-five outstations, nineteen missionaries, nineteen native helpers, seven of them ordained, 431 bap tisms last year, 1,922 members, and six houses of worship. There is much in connection with the work in Brazil for which we should thank God and which should inspire us to press forward in his service. What was started years ago in weakness has grown, until now we have work in nine of the twenty-one States and one of our most prosperous missions. VI. JAPAN. In i860 the Board sent out J. Q. A. Rohrer and wife as missionaries to Japan. They sailed on a vessel, "Edwin Forrest," which was never afterward heard from. Nothing further was done until 1889, when the Board sent out, Octo ber, 1889, four missionaries, Rev. J. W. McCollum and wife and Rev. J. A. Brunson and wife. They first located at Kobe and undertook the difficult task of mastering the language. Rev. J. A. Brunson soon became dissatisfied, and, deciding that he was not called to be a missionary, returned to this country. Others were sent out. Mean while the work had all been transferred to the part of Japan 202 FOREIGN MISSION WORK OF THE DENOMINATION known as Kiushiu, with its 8,000,000 of inhabitants. The chief stations now are Fukuoka, with 50,000 inhabitants ; Nagasaki, eighty miles southwest, with 70,000 ; Kokura, forty miles northeast, with 15,000. There were January 1, 1900, eight missionaries, seven native helpers, and seventy-five members. Ten baptisms were reported for 1899. VII. BRIEF REVIEW. If we look back briefly over the work, we find that in i860, after fifteen years' service, the Board had missionaries in China and Africa. They had just sent Rev. T. J. Bowen, with his wife, to undertake work in Brazil, which later, on ac count of the failing health of the former, they had to abandon. The Board was also considering Japan, and had appointed several missionaries, none of whom, however, ever reached Japan. The collection for the Board the first year was #11,689.05 ; for i860 it was #41,195.07 ; for the first fifteen years, #383,344.28. In 1845 it started without a mis sionary; in i860 it had twenty- three missionaries and five native assistants. The number of baptisms is not recorded in the reports of that period. Coming forward fifteen years more, we have the time from i860 to 1875. This includes the trying period during and after the Civil War, when home needs greatly reduced the re ceipts of the Board and hindered the work. During this period work had been begun in Italy (1870), and so in 1875 the Board had missionaries in China, Africa, and Italy. There were eighty-nine baptisms reported for the year in the report of 1875. The collections for the year were #30,- 848.58. The total collections for fifteen years were #408,- 476.82. There were fifteen missionaries employed, with twenty-six native assistants. For the next period of fifteen years, 1875 to 1890, we find that new work had been opened in Mexico and in Japan, and also again in Brazil. The receipts had gone up in 1890 to #109,174.20 for the year, the total for the fifteen years being #960, 189.87. There were 409 baptisms reported for the year 1890, and a total membership in all the missions of 2,213. The reports show seventy-eight missionaries and eighty-six native assistants, 1 64 workers in all. For the last ten years, 1 890-1 900, the great idea has been to strengthen and develop the work already begun. New stations have been opened, but in countries already occupied by our missionaries. The interest has increased and strength ened in the home land. The report for this year, 1900, THE SOUTHERN BAPTIST CONVENTION 203 showed the following results: Contributions, #140,102.30; baptisms, 1,341 ; members, 6,537 ; missionaries, ninety-four; native helpers, 133 ; workers in all, 227. Since the report was rendered in May, 1900, eight other missionaries have been appointed and two of those on the field have resigned, so that the Board closed 1900 with just about 100 mission aries and 135 native workers. The total contributions from 1845 to May 1, 1900, were #2,984,295. The contributions for the past ten years show a gratifying increase, being over #1,200,000, nearly as much as for the previous thirty years. The great commotion in China owing to the uprising of the ' ' Boxers ' ' is causing trouble at the time this is written, but doubtless God will overrule all this to the glory of his name. Our King leads us on as we go in his name to give the world the gospel of his love in Christ. Our regret is that we have done so little ; our glory, that he has so abundantly blessed our feeble efforts ; our purpose is to do more to fulfill his command and to let all men know of his love. R. J. Willingham. XV AMERICAN BAPTIST HOME MISSION WORK PART I THE AMERICAN BAPTIST HOME MISSION SOCIETY 1832-1900 American Baptists awoke to the need of a general home mission society in 1832. They had a general organization for foreign missions, but for home missions there was none. Two or three Eastern societies or Conventionr;, in addition to their own work, had been doing a little for the evangeliza tion of the West. "A voice crying in the wilderness" for such an organiza tion had been heard for several years. It was that of the rugged Baptist, Rev. John M. Peck, who in 181 7, with his wife and three small children, journeyed in a one-horse wagon 1,200 miles from Connecticut to St. Louis as a mis sionary of the Triennial Convention. It rang through New England as he returned after nine years' service. Rev. Jonathan Going and others, of Massachusetts, were aroused ; he visited the West, with Mr. Peck drafted a plan for a so ciety, and secured the approval of others ; a provisional com mittee was appointed in 1831 to call a convention, which met in New York City, where, April 27, 1832, with great una nimity, the American Baptist Home Mission Society was organized, " to promote the preaching of the gospel in North America." During its entire history its headquarters have been in New York City. There are three fairly distinctive periods in the society' s history : the first, from 1832-1862 ; the second, from 1862- 1879 ; the third, from 1879-1900. I. THE FIRST PERIOD, 1832-1862. Most fitting was it that Doctor Going, a man of remarkable power, should be made helmsman or corresponding secre tary. Officially associated with him were many of the fore most men of the denomination. For five years he wrought, 204 AMERICAN BAPTIST HOME MISSION SOCIETY 205 until, feeling that the society was on a sure basis, he took the presidency of Granville College, Ohio, where he died in 1844, aged fifty-nine years. For two years Rev. Luther Crawford succeeded him until his death in 1839, when Rev. Benjamin M. Hill was elected, serving from 1840 until 1862, dying in 1 88 1, aged eighty-seven. During his administration great difficulties were encountered in the anti-slavery agitation, which resulted in the withdrawal of Southern Baptists in 1845, in the Bible Society controversy, in the two panics of 1837 and 1857, and the culminating troubles of the Civil War in 1861. With great ability, patience, and prudence he piloted the ship through these stormy seas. To the West the society's face was first turned ; for its evangelization, clarion appeals were made. Needs were great. Where were the requisite resources for its occupation ? Among the 385,000 Baptists in the United States in 1832 there were few wealthy men and few strong churches. About 140,000 Baptists in New England, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania constituted the chief reliance of the society. West of New York there were about 32,000 who were weak, widely scattered, and in the incipient stages of organized activity. The society had to make a place for itself in the benefactions of the churches, most of which had never heard the now familiar words, "systematic beneficence." Re ceipts the first year were #6,586.73 ; four years later, #16,- 910.85 ; #20,000 for the first time in 1847 ; reaching the highest point of this period in 1853, #56,381.08 ; thence falling to #31,144.28 in 1862. The first year fifty missionaries were laboring in twelve States and in Canada, thirty-seven in Western fields, a number in several Southern States. Five years later there were 103 ; in 1847, 136 ; in 1854 the highest number, 175 ; dropping to eighty-four in 1862. Particular emphasis was laid upon the early occupation of important centers like Cleveland, Indianapolis, Louisville, St. Louis, Detroit, Kalamazoo, and Chicago, to which mis sionaries were appointed within the first two years. Exploring and itinerant missionaries traversed whole States and Territories by most primitive methods. In Minnesota, Rev. Amory Gale, during sixteen years of pioneer work, traveled more than 100,000 miles, much of it with Indian ponies, and that too while a great asthmatic sufferer, frequently sleeping under his wagon, fighting wolves, in perils of Indians, a Christian hero who joyously endured hardness for Christ. Revs. Ezra Fisher and Hezekiah Johnson, in 1845 made 206 AMERICAN BAPTIST HOME MISSION WORK their tedious overland trip of seven and a half months to Oregon, where in their missionary service they endured great privations. Upon the acquisition of California and before the discovery of gold was known in the East, the society in 1848 sent thither Rev. O. C. Wheeler, who, arriving early in 1849, erected the first Protestant meeting-house in that State, while another laborer in 1849 went to New Mexico. Into Nevada in 1857, into Colorado in 1859 and i860, into Montana in 1861, poured surging, turbid tides of humanity eager for riches. Thither, as soon as practicable, the so ciety's missionaries went, battling manfully for Christ. As auxiliary to its Western missionary work, the society in 1854 made a beginning in church edifice work, during the next eight years securing for this purpose about #12,000, with which, by 1862, nineteen churches were aided in erect ing houses of worship, others being aided subsequently from this fund. A well-defined plan for a loan fund was adopted in 1862, but its execution was arrested by the war. A new mission field was soon presented among the foreign populations. Immigration, which for years prior to 1820 was a rivulet of 8,000 arrivals annually, swelled to 100,000 in 1842, to 428,000 in 1847, and in the next seven years to 2,250,000. Missions to the Welsh began in 1836, to the Germans in 1846, to the Scandinavians in 1848, to the French Canadians in co-operation with the Grande Ligne Mission in 1849, and to this people in the United States in 1853. As early as 1852, and for years, unavailing efforts were made to secure a Chinese missionary for the Chinese in California, who first arrived in 1849. Receipts for these thirty years were #795,259.82; the whole number of mis sionaries appointed was 2,947, whose services aggregated 2>398 years, and who reported 1,242 churches organized and 27,911 persons baptized. The period closed in the gloom and carnage and distrac tions of the Civil War, with strong expressions of the society's faith in the ultimate issue and with the girding of itselt for future tasks which it faintly foresaw. II. THE SECOND PERIOD, 1862-1879. From 1862, new mission fields, new men at the helm, and new measures are to be considered. In the seventeen years of this period there were five cor responding secretaries, three of whom, however, served awhile together. These were Dr. Jay S. Backus, 1862-1874; Dr. James B. Simmons, 1867-1874 ; Dr. E. E. L. Taylor, 1869- AMERICAN BAPTIST HOME MISSION SOCIETY 207 1874; Nathan Bishop, ll. d., 1874-1876 ; Dr. S. S. Cutting, 1876-1879. The disastrous effects of the war seriously embarrassed the society, receipts in 1863 being only #32,095.30. In 1862 it adopted the district secretaryship system for more systematic cultivation of the churches. In 1865 #94,403.17 was re ported. In 1866 the hundred thousand dollar mark was passed ; returning prosperity, an inflated currency, and spe cial efforts for the Freedmen and the Church Edifice Fund carried receipts in 1874 to the pinnacle of #221,272.97 ; whence the panic, changes in secretaryships, and discontinu ance of co-operation with several State Conventions, precipi tated the society into the pit where in 1879 actual receipts were only #115,083.38. In 1862 there was a sudden change of emphasis in the society's work. In January the Executive Board sent a com mittee South to inquire into the condition of the fugitive slaves within the Union lines. The story of their needs was appalling. In May the society itself directed that mission aries and teachers be sent thither ; in June several eminent brethren were appointed. By 1864 there were workers in seven Southern States. In 1865, at St. Louis, a month after the close of the war, vigorous action was taken for the effi cient cultivation of this new field. From 1864 to 1869 "The National Theological Institute ' ' was a rival claimant for de nominational support in this field, but in 1869 retired in favor of the society. In 1874 eight schools, some of them with quite valuable properties, were in operation. Instruction of the illiterate multitudes at first was in the simplest rudiments. Special attention was given to the education of ministers for Negro congregations which had withdrawn from white churches. Along with this was the training of colored teachers for the common schools which for the first time were estab lished in most of the Southern States after the war. In 1879 forty-four teachers and 1,041 pupils were enrolled in these institutions. Highly educated, heroic, consecrated men and women offered themselves for this pioneer service. Conspicuous among these were Henry Martyn Tupper, of Shaw Univer sity ; Charles H. Corey, of Richmond Theological Seminary ; D. W. Phillips, of Roger Williams University ; G. M. P. King, of Wayland College, whose whole lives were laid on this altar of service for Christ. This entrance of the society into the territory of the Southern Baptist Convention was at first regarded with de- 208 AMERICAN BAPTIST HOME MISSION WORK cided disfavor by many Southern Baptists. Its missionaries found few among the whites to welcome or help them. At length, as a result of overtures by the society for their friendly co-operation, they expressed their general approval of the work which they were financially unable to do. In 1867 the society took the initiative for the resumption of fraternal rela tions, broken off in 1845, by appointing messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention in 1868 ; that body sending a like committee to the annual meeting of the society soon after, when Doctor Jeter declared that they had come ' ' to bury the tomahawk forever," and that, "in some way, Bap tists of the North and South must come together and work together. ' ' In 1877 the society, after conferring with representatives of the Home Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Conven tion, concerning co-operative work in the form of ministers' institutes for colored preachers, appointed a superintendent thereof, Dr. S. W. Marston, of Missouri, who was continued for several years, Southern Baptists assisting in the institutes, but assuming no financial responsibility therefor. The relinquishment by the Missionary Union in 1865 of its Indian missions to the Home Mission Society, opened an other new field of effort. At once Dr. E. E. L. Taylor was appointed "Associate Corresponding Secretary for the Indian Department" ; missions among the Cherokees and others that had been shattered by the war were reorganized, rehabil itated, and strengthened, decided progress being made dur ing this period. From another quarter a new call came in 1869 with a resounding clang. The doors of opportunity swung wide open in Mexico. The republic, after a bitter fight with Romanism, reduced it to subjection and gave religious liberty to all. Seed sown by a Baptist minister in 1862 had borne fruit in several companies of believers in Nuevo Leon. The Mace donian cry of Rev. T. M. Westrup could not be disregarded. He and others were appointed and sustained until 1873, when retrenchment was inevitable and aid for several years was withdrawn. The same year a missionary was appointed to the Chinese of San Francisco, where in 1870 there were six Chinese Sun day-schools, with about 250 pupils, while thousands of this people heard the gospel in their own tongue. Prosperous missions were also maintained in Oakland, and in Portland, Oregon. The violent anti-Chinese agitation caused a tem porary suspension of the San Francisco mission in 1878. AMERICAN BAPTIST HOME MISSION SOCIETY 209 The same year, 1869, was memorable also in home mis sion annals, because of the completion of the first transconti nental railway, which, together with other railway projects, gave a great impetus to the settlement of the West. This was further accelerated by the homestead law of 1862, by the opening of Indian reservations, and by the exploitation of the West by railway companies that had lands for sale. Enormous pressure was put upon the society in its Western work. To Colorado in 1862, to Nevada in 1863, to Dakota and Idaho in 1864, to Wyoming in 1870, to Utah and Montana in 1871 its missionaries were sent, while large reinforcements were thrown into Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, and Kan sas, 217 laborers being reported in Western fields in 1874. Accompanying the demand for more missionaries was that for aid in building meeting-houses. "Better send one mis sionary with his house than two without it." The project of a Church Edifice Loan Fund was revived, and in 1869 Doctor Taylor was made corresponding secretary of the new department, for which by 1875 about #275,000 was secured. Between 1862 and 1879, 333 churches, chiefly in the West, were aided thereby. In the East also there were increased demands upon the society. The foreign element was augmented by nearly 5,000,000 arrivals during this period. The existence of 100 German Baptist churches with 7,300 members in 1876, and fully 100 Scandinavian churches with about 6,500 members in 1879, was very encouraging for enlarged effort among them. In 1869 began the evangelization of the throngs of French Canadians pouring into New England. New factors in home missions appeared during the clos ing years of this period. In 1873 the Women's Baptist Home Mission Society of Michigan was organized to aid in caring for destitute localities in the State and to assist the general society in its educational work for the colored people. In February, 1877, was organized The Women's Baptist Home Mission Society of Chicago, on an entirely independ ent basis. In November, 1877, The Women's American Baptist Home Mission Society was organized in Boston, with the purpose of becoming auxiliary to the general society. An unsuccessful attempt was made in 1879-1880 to combine these in one organization. Further references to them and their work appear in the ensuing period. All in all this was a remarkable period in the history of the society and of home missions, in which receipts aggregated #2,472,582.22, whereby 4,827 missionaries were appointed, o 2IO AMERICAN BAPTIST HOME MISSION WORK among ten nationalities, in thirty-seven States and Territories and in Mexico, who reported 1,395 churches organized and 55,861 persons baptized. III. THE THIRD PERIOD, 1879-I90O. In the third period of twenty-one years the society's opera tions attained to unprecedented proportions. From 1879 until his resignation in 1893, Henry L. Morehouse, D. d., was corresponding secretary, thereafter continuing in the new position of field secretary. He was succeeded by the present incumbent, T. J. Morgan, d. d., ll. d. The improving material condition of the country at the beginning of this period and the quickening impulse of the great Jubilee Meeting in New York City in 1882, encouraged the society to launch out in larger undertakings. An advanced step was taken in the establishment of the Church Edifice Gift Fund in 1881, about #100,000 being transferred by consent of the donors from the Loan Fund for a permanent gift fund, of which the income alone should be used. Within four years over #100,000 was also secured for gifts outright to churches. The number of churches aided by gifts and loans rose rapidly to sixty-six in 1882, to ninety- seven in 1883, to 107 in 1884, to 113 in 1885. This fund thenceforth became the right arm of the society in Western missions. In several Western States and Territories nearly every church edifice of much value has been erected by the society's aid. Westward afresh swept the tides of population with the opening of about 50,000,000 acres of Indian reservations in Dakota, Colorado, and elsewhere to settlers, with the com pletion of the Northern Pacific Railway in 1883, and of the Southern Pacific, together with the extension of many other lines about that time. In advance of, along with, and after the construction of railways, the society's pioneer mission aries went, working so well that, for instance, at the comple tion of the Northern Pacific Road there were twenty Baptist churches and fourteen meeting-houses between Lake Supe rior and Puget Sound, nearly all of which had received mis sionary and church edifice aid. The society occupied Ari zona in 1879 and re-occupied Utah in 1881, in three years expending there about #20,000 in church edifice work ; for about fifteen years it generously aided the Baptists of British Columbia, contiguous to our fields and remote from the Eastern provinces of Canada, and everywhere lengthened its cords and strengthened its stakes throughout the West. AMERICAN BAPTIST HOME MISSION SOCIETY 2 1 I Quickly, after the mighty rush of population into Oklahoma in 1889, and into the Cherokee Strip in 1893, its workers went thither. By 1900, #68,703.33 had been expended for missionary purposes, forty-five churches had thus been aided, and thirty churches, mostly at prominent points, helped in the erection of houses of worship by grants amounting to #14,038.91. A new plan of co-operation, differing from the unsatis factory former plan that terminated in 1874, beginning ex perimentally in 1878, became general, with modifications, between the society and Western State Conventions. It has been of great value to both and to the work at large. Con ditions soon required wise and closer supervision, hence, in 1882, William M. Haigh, d. d. , of Chicago, was made superintendent of missions for several of the older Western States ; then Dr. H. C. Woods, for several of the trans-Mis sissippi States and Territories ; after his transfer to the Pacific Coast division he was succeeded by Rev. N. B. Rairden, d. d. ; and after Dr. Wood's death, by Dr. C. A. Wooddy for the coast. Mexico was reoccupied in 1881, the City of Mexico was occupied in 1883 ; about #27,000 was soon expended for mission properties in that city and Monterey. In 1900, twelve missionaries, seven teachers, and a church-member ship of about 800 was reported. Chinese missions in California were resumed in 1885, when the Home Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention discontinued its work there, which had been carried on for several years through returned missionaries from China. Mission headquarters costing about #20,000 were secured in San Francisco in 1888 ; and in 1894, eighteen mission stations were reported on the coast. Also in Chicago since 1891, and in New York City since 1893, efficient missions have been maintained for the Chinese. From 1887 work was begun successively among the Bo hemians, Poles, Portuguese, Finns, Italians, Jews, Hollanders, and Japanese. Continued prosperity characterized the work among the German and Scandinavians ; the German Baptist churches in 1900 numbering 240, with 22,291 members; and the Scandinavian Baptists about 23,000, the latter consti tuting in Minnesota nearly one-third of the entire Baptist strength. The Swedish Baptists number 18,000. The whole number of Baptists in these foreign-speaking churches is about 52,000, besides thousands who have become identified with American churches — a large harvest gathered chiefly in the 212 AMERICAN BAPTIST HOME MISSION WORK last thirty years. Among them 275 missionaries were reported in 1900. Even in New England there were thirty-eight mis sionaries among six nationalities. The brunt of the battle in this quarter has been borne by the society, for the South has had but a small fraction of the foreign element, about ninety-seven per cent, going into the North and West. In educational matters for the colored people there has been great advance. The number of schools and of pupils therein increased about four-fold. In 1882 Dr. John M. Gregory was appointed and served as superintendent of education for two years. Rev. Malcolm MacVicar, ll. d., was superintendent from 1890 until 1900, when he became president of Virginia Union University. The faculties of institutions were strengthened, their equip ment and their courses of study improved, and the work throughout conducted according to approved modern meth ods. Of the 251 teachers employed, 124 are colored; lead ing colored men are also on Boards of Trustees of incorpor ated institutions. Co-education is the rule in these schools. There are, however, two flourishing schools exclusively for women, viz, Hartshorn College, at Richmond, Va., and Spel- man Seminary, Atlanta, Ga. A law school and a thorough medical school have been developed at Shaw University, N. C. Industrial education has had considerable attention. in several institutions, and nurse training and missionary training schools have been established. There are normal training courses for teachers ; in all the higher institutions ministerial instruction is imparted ; while the Richmond Theo logical Seminary, Virginia, is the high-grade school for ad vanced students for the ministry. Thirteen secondary insti tutions, most of which were started and are managed by colored Baptists, have been adopted and receive the society' s supervision and aid. Expenditures for this pupose, which until 1880 had aggre gated altogether less than #440,000, soon exceeded #100,000 annually, and for the period amounted to #2,600,000. In addition to this, endowment funds were increased from #21,- 993.90 in 1879 to #284,352.11, besides #115,000 to Leland University, Louisiana, which has become self-supporting. Benedict College, at Columbia, S. C. , approaches self-support through the gifts and bequests of Mrs. B. A. Benedict, amounting to about #100,000. An endowment of at least #2,000,000 is needed for the maintenance of these schools. Much attention has been given to constructive missionary work for the Negro Baptists of the South ; by co-operating with their AMERICAN BAPTIST HOME MISSION SOCIETY 213 State Conventions ; by the appointment in 1887 of a colored man of marked ability, W. J. Simmons, d. d., as district sec retary ; and, since the Fortress Monroe Conference, in 1894, between representatives of the society and the Home Mission Board of Atlanta, by co-operative effort with that Board and with the white and the colored Baptist Conventions of several States. No less marked, relatively, has been the development in our Indian work. A school started at Tahlequah, I. T , in 1880 has grown into Indian University, near Muskogee, with its large campus, fine buildings, and excellent reputation ; secondary schools are maintained at Tahlequah in the Chero kee Nation, at Atoka in the Choctaw Nation, and at the Wichita Agency ; while the school maintained for years among the Seminoles has been amply provided for by that nation out of its government funds. A number of chapels for the Indians have also been built by the society's aid. Among the Kiowas, since 1893, when they granted con cessions for mission property, several chiefs and about 200 in all have become members of two Baptist churches, and the whole tribe is taking on the customs of a Christian civilization. The Arapahoes, Cheyennes, Comanches, and Caddoes are likewise, though not so largely, turning to Christ. Among the civilized Indians most has been done for the Cherokees and the Delawares, but much also for the Creeks, Choctaws, Sacs and Foxes, Seminoles, and lesser tribes. The whole number of Baptists in the Indian churches of Indian and Oklahoma Territories is about 4,300. To Alaska, missionaries were appointed in 1886-1887, with headquarters at Kodiak Island. Out of this has grown a mis sion and an orphanage, supported by the Woman's American Baptist Home Mission Society. The rush to the Klondike in 1897 led to the occupation of Skagway, in 1898, the or ganization of the northernmost white Baptist church in America, and the erection of a good house of worship there in 1899. The evangelization of our great cities engaged the society's special attention in 1893, resulting in a plan of co-operation with city mission societies which was first put into execution in Chicago in 1898 and subsequently in Detroit and Buffalo, its wider extension being prevented by lack of resources. The opening of Cuba and Porto Rico imposed new obliga tions upon American Baptists. An agreement was reached in the fall of 1898 between the Home Mission Society and the Home Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, 214 AMERICAN BAPTIST HOME MISSION WORK whereby Porto Rico and the two eastern provinces of Cuba were taken by the former and the four western provinces of Cuba, by the latter. Early in 1899 two experienced mission aries, formerly in Mexico, were sent to Santiago, Cuba, and to San Juan, Porto Rico. These were soon reinforced by others ; a number of stations were occupied, valuable church property was secured, and large and deeply interested con gregations were gathered to hear the unheard-of story of sal vation through Christ alone. Baptisms were frequent, and within about a year there were six churches with about 400 members in both islands. It was a striking providence that gave the Society just when urgently needed, seven capable Spanish-speaking missionaries for these needy fields — " Cath olic countries without religion. ' ' Women's Home Mission Societies have borne an honorable part in the enlarged activities of recent years. The Women's Baptist Home Mission Society maintains a missionary training school in Chicago and in 1900 reported 149 laborers during the whole or part of the year in thirty-five States and Terri tories and in Mexico. Receipts from contributions, etc., were #69,919.09. While this society is not auxiliary to the parent society, yet to some extent it co-operates with the latter and with several Western State Conventions. In con nection with institutions for the Negroes it maintains two missionary training schools for women. Its educational mis sionary work is limited chiefly to these and to the appointment of matrons in several schools for the Negroes and the Indians. The Women's American Baptist Home Mission Society, of Boston, Mass., maintains in general close auxiliary relations with the parent society. Its distinctive, though not ex clusive, work is educational, for the Negroes, Indians, and Mexicans. Spelman Seminary, of Atlanta, Ga., the largest and best equipped school in the world for colored young women, has had its generous support. In 1900 it reported fifty-seven laborers and #35,558 in receipts. In the strenuous endeavor of this period expenditures some times outran receipts. By 1886 a debt of #123,428.93 had accumulated. Within three months, by the large gifts of a few and the smaller gifts of many, it was provided for. Again in 1897, because of hard times, falling off in legacies, and the difficulty of making retrenchment, an alarming debt of #190,- 181.82 appeared. The Missionary Union's debt was #303,- 307.56. Both societies made common cause for their pay ment, and for this purpose, with the munificent offer of #250,000 by Mr. John D. Rockefeller, soon secured #500,000. AMERICAN BAPTIST HOME MISSION SOCIETY 21 5 The marked progress during this period is shown by the following statements: The receipts of 1880, #160,588.27, were more than doubled in three years and went by leaps and bounds to #552,503.47 in 1887 ; the total for the first eleven years being #4,206, 513. 14, and for the last ten, #4,905,230.31, making a grand total of #9,111,744.01 (less about #300,000 of annuity funds reckoned twice). This is nearly three times the amount received in the previous forty-seven years. This increase was due in part to large legacies, amounting to #1,985,459.83 ; in part to the growth and prosperity of the denomination ; to more diligent cultivation of the churches in the interests of home missions ; and to the imperative neces sity of enlargement to keep pace with the development of the country. Included in the foregoing is the increase in perma nent funds for missions and education, from #55,615.28 in 1879 to #519,257.01 in 1900 ; church edifice permanent funds from #229,633.48 to #320,826.34 ; annuity funds from #97,- 258.91 to #445,053.97 ; school and mission property in value from #302,879.94 to #995,265. The field widened from thirty-four States and Territories to fifty-four ; the laborers increased from 238 to 1,180; the nationalities represented from seven to twenty ; schools for the colored people and Indians from eight to thirty; the enrollment from 1,041 to 4,848 ; while 1,617 church edifices were built by direct aid, thereby securing to the denomination property valued at #3,500,000, with accommodations for about 375,000 people. The whole number of missionaries appointed was 17,671 ; of churches organized 2,749 ; of baptisms reported, 80,746. GENERAL REVIEW. For the sixty-eight years, receipts, in round numbers, have been #12,000,000 ; the whole number of commissions issued, 24,242 ; over 16,500 years of service rendered by mission aries ; over 2,000,000 sermons preached; nearly 5,500,000 religious visits made ; thousands of copies of tbe Scriptures, and millions of pages of religious literature distributed ; 5,387 churches and about 10,000 Sunday-schools reported as organ ized ; 163,518 persons baptized and nearly as many more received by letter ; thirty Christian institutions of learning maintained, with an aggregate enrollment of about 100,000 pupils ; nearly 2,000 church edifices erected ; operations ex tending to every State and Territory of the Union, five Cana dian provinces, six States of the Republic of Mexico, and to Cuba and Porto Rico. In the West, directly and indirectly, it has fostered at least ten Baptist institutions of learning ; 2l6 AMERICAN BAPTIST HOME MISSION WORK while in 1887 it took the initiative in measures that eventu ated in the organization, the following year, of the American Baptist Education Society. In all its mission fields it is a strong constructive, directive, unifying power ; aiming to evangelize, energize, organize, mobilize, and utilize our forces for effective Christian service. It is also instinct with the spirit of Christian patriotism. Its platform is popularly regarded as the forum from which, in a sense, the voice of the denomination has been heard on questions having important bearings upon the progress of Christianity in our land. Its consecrated pioneer mission aries, as living shuttles in the rattling loom of frontier life, have woven into the forming texture of Western civilization the strong white threads of gospel righteousness. Through the American Baptist Home Mission Society, at a minimum of machinery and expense, Baptists do a three fold work that is usually done by other denominations through three distinct organizations. A Missionary, Church Edifice, and Educational Society, requiring a half-million dollars annu ally ; involving the care of school property valued at nearly a million dollars ; and the wise management of permanent and conditional funds amounting to #1,300,000; and the scope of whose operations is continental, constitutes a work of great variety, magnitude, and complexity. Its field presents six different soils, each requiring special treatment. In the great West social conditions were abnormal. Women were only one in ten of the population in California in 1852. Even in 1890, in eleven Western States and Terri tories they were in the minority by a round half-million. Children were few. The first attempt at a Baptist Sunday- school in San Francisco was crowned with the attendance of seven adults and one child. To make homogeneous churches out of heterogeneous and sometimes antagonistic elements was no easy task. Among the European and French Canadian population are encountered ignorance, bigotry, religious formalism, ecclesi astical tyranny, infidelity, atheism, and anarchy. Much good material, however, comes with the bad. They must have the gospel in their own vernacular. The Asiatic, with his heathen notions, his reverence for the past, his conservatism, his transient residence, lack of family life, and often his antipathy to Americans because of abusive treatment, is nevertheless responsive to Christian kindness and susceptible to the truth when properly presented. AMERICAN BAPTIST HOME MISSION SOCIETY 217 The North American Indian, in his native state a pagan, a nomad, unlettered, haughty, taciturn, smarting under real and fancied wrongs perpetrated by the whites, and occupying by compulsion islets of reservations in the all-encompassing Anglo-Saxon sea, furnishes Christianity an opportunity at home of proving its power, as it indeed has done, to trans form the savage into a saint. The American Negro, emerging from bondage in a pitiable plight ; low, intellectually and morally ; under painful racial limitations and encountering many obstacles, presented a unique problem to American Christianity. His progress, all things considered, has been remarkable. His is doubtless the most plastic character God ever gave any Christian people to fashion for himself. He is imitative, receptive, docile, def erential, communicative, demonstrative, and his faith is anchored in answered prayer for deliverance. The increase of Negro Baptists from 400,000 to 1,800,000 in a generation is a marvel in modern missions. Hundreds of the foremost Baptist preachers and others among them are from our Home Mission schools. The preparation of this people for their duties here and for the evangelization of Africa has justly been termed, ' ' the great American work of the age. ' ' In Mexico, Cuba, and Porto Rico there is spiritual sterility. By multitudes in all these lands the Romanist hierarchy is heartily hated for its bitter hostility to national struggles for freedom. Favorable changes are taking place because of new civil and religious conditions and the infiltration of the Ameri can spirit. The way of the Lord is being prepared and the word of the Lord therein shall not return unto him void. Before us at the opening of the twentieth century is a vast and varied unfinished work, making large and imperative de mands upon our resources and energies. With a population of more than 20,000,000 of foreign birth and parentage, constantly augmented by multitudes mostly unevangelized ; with our great cities surging with the forces of evil ; with 9, 000, 000 of colored population sadly in need of capable and consecrated Christian leaders ; with a quarter of a million Indians, most of whom are in spiritual darkness, but, as in the case of the Kiowas, evincing a surprising readiness to re ceive the truth; with Mexico's 13,000,000, for whose evan gelization American Christians are especially responsible ; with more than two and a half millions suddenly given to us in Cuba and Porto Rico, recoiling from a corrupt Romish hierarchy and hospitable to heralds of the gospel ; with Alaska rich in treasure, being threaded with railways and destined to 2l8 AMERICAN BAPTIST HOME MISSION WORK have a large population ; with Hawaii soon to be linked to this land by submarine cable and to assume immense impor tance as the naval rendezvous in the heart of the Pacific ; with the vast West, wherein are giant forces of evil ; it is indis putable that a tremendous task is yet ours to win North America for Christ. The worldwide influence of this nation, suddenly attained, is a summons to us to make it potent for truth and righteousness. The signal blessing of God upon our efforts hitherto should incite to more heroic effort hence forth all who love their fellow-men, their native land, and their Lord. Henry L. Morehouse. PART II THE HOME MISSION BOARD OF THE SOUTHERN BAPTIST CONVENTION The Southern Baptist Convention was organized in Au gusta, Ga. , in 1845. A call for this purpose had been made by the Virginia Baptist Foreign Mission Society. A large number of delegates, representing churches in Maryland, District of Columbia, Virginia, North Carolina, South Caro lina, Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, and Kentucky, assem bled in the house of worship of the First Baptist Church, and continued in session from the morning of the eighth to the evening of the twelfth of May. A large committee, in which every State that had sent delegates was represented, was ap pointed to draft a constitution for the new organization. The Convention created two Boards, one for Foreign Mis sions, which was located in Richmond, Va. , and the other for Home Missions, located in Marion, Ala. It is a significant fact that the first instruction to the Home Mission Board was given by the Convention which organized it, charging it "to take all prudent measures for the religious instruction of our colored population. ' ' How well the Board performed this duty may be inferred from the fact that the colored membership of our churches increased from about 200,000 in 1845 to about 400,000 in i860. The great changes which have marked the history of the Board have synchronized so nearly with the decades of the last half century that these may well serve us in writing its history. The four years between the beginning of the work THE SOUTHERN BAPTIST CONVENTION 219 of the Board and 1850 are years of organization and develop ment. From 1850 to i860 includes the period of its early manhood, when it did effective work for the Master. From i860 to 1870 includes the war period and the days of recon struction. The decade from 1870 to 1880 was marked by the pinching poverty of our people and was the time of the Board's lowest depression. The period from 1880 to 1890 was the time of revival and reorganization, while that from 1890 to 1900 covers the years of its noblest work. The first session of the Convention was held in Richmond, beginning June 10, 1846. There were present delegates from Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, South Carolina, Mis sissippi, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Rev. J. L. Shuck, missionary to China. The first annual report of the Home Mission Board, after narrating the difficulties and embarrassment under which it had labored, states ' ' that but few missionaries have been appointed, that until recently no funds have been at its disposal, and the prospect of se curing them has been exceedingly gloomy." The Board had six missionaries under appointment. The Boards of the Convention encountered great difficul ties in the organization and prosecution of their work. The influence of the mission organizations with which they had been previously connected had not reached the churches of the South to any great extent. No meeting of either the Home Mission Society or the Triennial Convention had ever been held south of Richmond, hence the stimulating influ ence of these large bodies had never been felt by our people. In the South there were few cities and large towns, and in many of these our Baptist churches were small in numbers and undeveloped as to mission work. For example, the First, Second, Third, and Fourth Baptist churches, organized in the city of Washington, D. C. , were each aided by the Home Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention. The Board did similar work in Norfolk, Raleigh, Columbia, Atlanta, Memphis, Vicksburg, Natchez, and Mobile. The strongest churches in the Convention were to be found in Richmond, Charleston, and Augusta. The people, for the most part, were averse to the use of money in their religious work. For two or three generations scarcely a Baptist preacher could be found in all our Southern land who was willing to receive a stated salary from any of our churches, nor were the churches willing to accept the services of a minister who required a stipulated compensa tion. Whatever these faithful men received for the preach- 220 AMERICAN BAPTIST HOME MISSION WORK ing of the gospel was by voluntary contribution of the indi vidual members. Under such conditions it was exceedingly difficult to induce many of the churches to make money contributions to the cause of missions. However, under the wise and efficient management of the Rev. Russell Holman, corresponding secretary, aided by the services of that invaluable man, Rev. J. H. De Votie, the Board gradually developed the liberality of the churches, and brought them into active co-operation with it. In its fourteenth annual report the Board shows receipts, #45,- 778.60, and work as follows: Churches and stations, 533; missionaries employed, 104; baptisms, 1,667; churches organized, twenty-six ; ministers ordained, twenty-four ; houses of worship completed, fifteen ; houses of worship commenced, twenty-eight. A most valuable work had been done in many of the cities and large towns within its territory. The Board reports the following named cities and principal towns as having been occupied by one or more of its missionaries : Baltimore, Washington, D. C. ; Richmond, Petersburg, and Wheeling in Virginia ; Newport in Kentucky ; St. Louis, Jefferson City, Saint Joseph, Hannibal, and Louisiana City in Mis souri ; Helena, Little Rock, and Fayetteville in Arkansas ; Vicksburg, Natchez, and Jackson in Mississippi ; Memphis, Chattanooga, and Knoxville in Tennessee ; Mobile, Selma, and Livingston in Alabama ; Hendersonville, Raleigh, Char lotte, and Eatonton in North Carolina ; Sumter, Granite- ville, Pendleton, and Columbia in South Carolina ; Darien, Thomasville, Athens, and Atlanta in Georgia ; Tampa, Hills- boro, and Pensacola in Florida ; New Orleans, Natchitoches, and Baton Rouge in Louisiana ; Galveston, Houston, Hunts- ville, and Austin in Texas ; and in California, Oakland and Sac ramento City. In addition the Board had sustained numerous missionaries in the interior of several of these States. These men by their unremitting labors had been eminently success ful in the establishment of their cause over wide districts of their country. In no State is the value of the work of the Board in these early years more apparent than in Texas, one of the strongest Baptist States within the bounds of the Convention. I. DECADE FROM 1850-1860. Indians. At the time of the formation of the Southern Baptist Convention, mission work among the Indians was carried on mainly by an organization called The Indian THE SOUTHERN BAPTIST CONVENTION 221 Mission Association, which had the seat of its operations in Louisville, Ky. This body was supported mainly by the Baptists of the South, and at the meeting of the Convention at Montgomery, in 1855, the proposal was made by the Indian Mission Association to unite it with the Southern Baptist Convention and transfer its mission work to the Home Mission Board. This arrangement was effected, and since that day mission work among the Indians has been under its care. Much of the early work of the Indian Mis sion Association was done among tribes that have either ceased to exist or have dwindled into a mere handful. It had men stationed among the Indians who then inhabited the territory now covered by the States of Kansas and Ne braska. Flourishing schools were established among these tribes, churches organized, and much good was accomplished. But the resistless tide of white emigration swept them away, and now there remains nothing but the name and the mem ory of this Christian work. The greater part of the work done among the Indians by the Home Mission Board has been within the limits of Indian Territory. The Cherokees, Creeks, Choctaws, Chickasaws, and Seminoles, and to some extent the smaller tribes in the western part of the Territory and Kansas, shared in the ef forts of the Board. So efficient were the labors of the mis sionaries, and so abundant the divine blessings upon them, that the number of Baptist churches among these tribes com pares favorably with the number found in our strongest Baptist States. It is not an overstatement to say that in i860, just before the beginning of the war, there was an average of one Baptist church for every thousand of Indian population, and almost an average of one Indian preacher for every church. The Board had schools among many of these tribes. It had in the Creek nation thirteen missionaries, fourteen churches with an aggregate membership of about 2,000. Among the Choctaws it had eight missionaries, with a church-membership of about 450. There were four mission aries among the Cherokees, among whom the Missionary Union had a prosperous mission of six churches of about 1,300 members, two native preachers, and a school of about forty pupils. It is a significant fact that no white missionary of any de nomination ever acquired such a knowledge of any one of the languages of the Indians as to be able to employ it in preaching to them. The proposal to require missionaries to preach in the Indian language was discussed in the Convention at more 222 AMERICAN BAPTIST HOME MISSION WORK than one of its sessions. The question was referred to the Board, but so far as appears from its reports, no action was taken requiring its missionaries to preach in the Indian tongue. II. DECADE FROM 1860-1870. The work of the Board, so far as it concerned the "Domes tic" and "Indian" departments, was practically suspended by the war. But it soon recognized the importance of work in the Confederate armies, and turned its attention to the camps and hospitals. In its report to the Convention which met in Augusta, Ga., in May, 1863, the Board gives the names of twenty-six army missionaries whom it had employed, gives most encouraging reports of their labors, and makes a stirring appeal for the enlargement of this work. The Con vention heartily endorsed the plans of the Board, expressed the highest appreciation of the army as a mission field, in structed the Board to enlarge its operations in the army as speedily as possible and made a stirring appeal to the churches to contribute liberally of their means and to give up their pastors for this great work, urging that our patriotic soldiers deserved and should have the services of the ablest and best preachers in the land. In its next report the Board shows the employment of eighty-nine army missionaries and a great work done, though it does not, unfortunately, give any sum mary of the labors of the missionaries. After the war, when the State Boards were all prostrate, our people impoverished, and the outlook gloomy indeed, the indefatigable secretary, Dr. M. T. Sumner, collected funds in Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, arid Texas, and helped to their feet again some of the most important points in the older States. The Board had nearly thirty missionaries in Virginia, occu pying such important places as Fredericksburg, Staunton, Pe tersburg, Lexington, Warrenton, Hampton, Culpeper, Bristol, Williamsburg, Portsmouth, Alexandria, and others. It had nine missionaries in North Carolina, fourteen in Georgia, nineteen in Alabama, seven in Mississippi, and thirteen in Tennessee. Thus it was seeking to heal the wounds of the war-smitten land with leaves from the tree of life. III. DECADE FROM 1870-1880. This decade covered the darkest period in the history of the Board. To conduct mission work under conditions that existed would have been impossible without the help of those States, THE SOUTHERN BAPTIST CONVENTION 223 as Maryland, Kentucky, and Missouri, which had not been subjected to the disastrous experiences of other States in the Convention. Many of their churches came nobly to the help of the Home Mission Board. Notwithstanding this liberal support, the Board became more embarrassed each succeed ing year, until near the close of this period its indebtedness became almost equal to its annual income. The war was a great disaster to the Indians — greater even than to the whites. They had a larger proportion of their population under arms than any State, North or South. Their country became a highway for armies on both sides. Their schools were disbanded. Their churches were scat tered. Their country was ravaged. Many of their church- members became backsliders and abandoned their faith. The missionaries returned to aid them, however, and in the past twenty-five years they have made most wonderful progress in their work toward the elevation of a Christian civilization. During this period most of the Negro members of the churches composed of individuals of both races withdrew and formed churches of their own. This division was effected without disturbance or complaint. In most cases the Negroes made no claim to the houses of worship, and everywhere the white people aided them liberally in erecting houses suited to their wants. Little mission work was done among them. The white people could not be persuaded to do much for the Negroes when so many thousands of their own race were so greatly in need of help to supply both their temporal and spiritual neces sities. They soon supplied themselves with preachers of their own race who rejoiced in the privilege of preaching, and who were reluctant to invite others, and especially white preachers, to minister to their people. IV. DECADE FROM 1880-1890. In 1882 the Southern Baptist Convention, which assembled in Greenville, S. C. , removed the Board from Marion, Ala., to Atlanta, Ga. The condition of the Board excited the gravest apprehensions. Its receipts from the churches were less than #20,000. It had not more than forty missionaries outside of the Indian Territory, and it had but. four west of the Mississippi River. The Baptist Convention in Arkansas was in co-operation with the Home Mission Society of New York. Nothing had been attempted in Missouri for years, and that State seemed lost to the Board forever. Texas was divided into five mis- 224 AMERICAN BAPTIST HOME MISSION WORK sionary organizations, four of which were receiving aid from the Home Mission Society, and the fifth was paralyzed by its own dissensions. Thus the entire territory west of the Mis sissippi River had passed out of the hands of the Board. East of the river, the Mississippi Board was in alliance with the Publication Society, Georgia was co-operating with the Home Mission Society in work among the Negroes, while Florida was hesitating between remaining with the Board, or forming an alliance with the Northern society. The State Boards had grown vigorously, and from several of the States the Home Mission Board was excluded by action of their State Conventions. It is not to be wondered that the Con vention at Greenville pondered the question whether re moval or abandonment was the wiser policy. When it was decided to remove it to Atlanta, and the present Board was put in charge, the outlook was by no means assuring. A sur vey of the field indicated a great defeat and a lost cause. Impressed with the conviction that the existence of the Con vention depended upon the resuscitation of its fortunes, the new Board threw itself into the arduous work before it with the determination to use every proper effort to reclaim its lost territory, and to make itself a support to the Convention. This could not be done without money, and our impoverished and disheartened people could not be expected to give a speedy or a liberal response to its demands. But such were the earnestness of its efforts and the happy results of its policy, that in five years there was not a missionary to the white people of the South who did not bear a commission from either the Home Mission Board of the Southern Bap tist Convention, or one of our State Boards in alliance with it. i. Cuban Missions. In 1884 a mission was started at Key West among the Cubans resident in that city. Miss Adela Fales, who had lived in Spanish America and had acquired a perfect knowledge of the Spanish language, was appointed missionary to the women and children of that city, co-oper ating with the Rev. W. B. Wood, pastor of the Baptist church. A small chapel was built at a cost of about #1,500, and in this Miss Fales gathered a day-school and a Sunday- school, and held frequent meetings with the Cuban women. The results were most gratifying. In less than two years Brother Wood had baptized about forty of these Cuban people into the fellowship of the Baptist church. Some of this number on their return to Havana found other Christian people who had forms of worship like their own. THE SOUTHERN BAPTIST CONVENTION 225 Communicating this fact to Brother Wood, they earnestly requested him to come to Havana and visit them. Applica tion being made and consent received from the Home Mis sion Board, Brother Wood went to Havana and found Rev. A. J. Diaz and his people. For two years or more Brother Diaz had been laboring all alone, and unknown to the Chris tian world, among the people of his native island. The history of this work in Havana is most wonderful. During the rebellion in Cuba about ten years before, A. J. Diaz, who was connected with the rebel army, was cut off from his command, and rather than surrender to the Spanish soldiers, threw himself into the sea. He was picked up by a small fishing vessel, and transferred to an American ship bound for the city of New York. Here he was converted to a knowledge of the truth, and united with the Willoughby Avenue Church, Brooklyn, N. Y. After the act of amnesty was passed by the Spanish govern ment, and it became safe to return to Cuba, Brother Diaz and his sisters went back to that island. Before leaving New York he had resolved to devote his life to the propagation of the gospel in his native land. Too modest to ask his brethren for financial support, he went back without making known his purpose to them, so that when he landed on the wharf in Havana he was without sympathy or support of any Christian organization. To use his own language, he had nothing but his Bible and his faith in God. But he remembered that there were in the city of Havana friends and companions of his youth, and classmates of his at the university, and comrades in the army, and he resolved to go to these and tell them about the religious truth which was so dear to his heart. To his great delight he found that some of them were willing to listen to him. The Divine Spirit attended his labors, and one after another was brought to a knowledge of the truth, until at length, at the time of Brother Wood' s visit to him, about 200 had been enrolled as "new men and new women." As Brother Diaz did not regard himself as authorized to administer the ordinances, the Reform Church organized con sisted of members who had never been baptized, and to whom the Lord's Supper had never been administered. Brother Wood's visit resulted in the Baptists of Florida taking a great interest in the work in Havana, and Brother Diaz was brought over to Key West and there ordained by a presbytery of Baptist ministers resident in Florida. Brother Wood returned with him to Havana and secretly baptized 226 AMERICAN BAPTIST HOME MISSION WORK some half a dozen of those who had professed faith in Jesus Christ. He and Brother Diaz then organized the first Bap tist church that had ever existed in the island of Cuba. This organization took place about the twenty-sixth of January, 1886. After Brother Wood's return Brother Diaz received and baptized the greater part of those who had been mem bers of the Reform Church in Cuba. The Florida Baptist Convention had appointed Brother Diaz and his sister Minnie as missionaries in the island of Cuba, and as all the work of Florida was done in co-opera tion with the Home Mission Board, they reported this work and these missionaries to that Board. At the meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention in Montgomery in 1886, the Convention formally recognized this mission in Cuba, and placed it under the care of the Home Mission Board. When the war in Cuba began, the churches had about 2,500 members, and the mission was enjoying a degree of prosperity rarely exhibited in the history of Christian effort. Hostilities gave our Baptist cause a check which well-nigh proved its overthrow. Baptists in Cuba were always objects of suspicion. Their known love of liberty, and their un conquerable opposition to the union of Church and State marked them as enemies of Spanish rule and of the ecclesi astical tyranny which it upheld. At the close of the war Diaz promptly returned to Havana. About 500 of our Baptist people had returned to the city. This remnant of his flock gathered around their former leader, and were reorganized under the bright auspices of a new land released from its long bondage of 400 years. The Board has broadened its work, and now has prosper ous missions not only in the Havana District, but also in those of Matanzas, Santa Clara, and Pinar del Rio. It is feeling its way to a still greater enlargement, which it hopes the churches will soon enable it to make. 2. Work Among the Negroes. One of the first efforts made by the new Board was to revive its work among the Negroes. The Home Mission Society of New York had ex pended large sums in the establishment and support of a school for both men and women. The work of evangeliza tion was going forward under the direction and control of the ministry of the Negro churches, and there was little opportu nity for missionaries of the white race to work effectively in this department. There remained one field unoccupied which demanded immediate attention and the cutivation of which promised THE SOUTHERN BAPTIST CONVENTION 227 the best results. This was the instruction of the pastors and prominent members of the Negro churches. Many of them were very poorly equipped for their work as pastors or deacons. The Board appointed W. H. Mcintosh, d. d. , to this work in Georgia. His services were so eminently use ful that others were appointed. After the agreement between the Home Mission Society and the Home Board for co-operation in work among the Negroes was made at Fortress Monroe this plan of work became a prominent feature in their conjoined efforts, and so continues at the present time. 3. Sunday-school Work. When, in 1873, the old Sunday- school Board of the Southern Baptist Convention was abol ished, it had a debt of about #6,000, and this debt was turned over to the Home Mission Board, with instructions to publish the Sunday-school paper ' ' Kind Words, ' ' and pay off the debt. In 1 89 1, at Birmingham, the Convention, by a practically unanimous vote, created a new Sunday-school Board, located at Nashville, and turned over to it the valuable property which the Home Board had created and fostered for the Convention. VI. DECADE FROM 1890-I9OO. The results of the Board's work during the decade ending May, 1900, is shown in the following figures : Missionaries employed (annual appointments), 4,522 ; baptisms by missionaries, 53,438 ; total additions to mission churches, 111,706; churches constituted, 1,819; Sunday- schools organized, 3,439 ; raised by missionaries on the field for houses of worship, #646,385. The fact that the Home Mission Board makes so favorable a showing is the highest commendation of the wisdom of its policy and the efficiency of its management. I. T. Tichenor. XVI THE AMERICAN BAPTIST PUBLICATION SOCIETY The Society began its organized life at Washington, D. C. , February 25, 1824. For several years prior to this date there appears to have been a growing conviction among Baptist people that the denomination should have a publishing house which it might call its own. It is estimated that in 1820 there were in the United States about 2,200 Baptist ministers and 3,600 Baptist churches with 225,000 members. This large body of people would naturally feel that something should be done in the way of publishing and disseminating tracts and books setting forth Baptist views of truth. Among those most conscious of this need was Rev. Noah K. Davis, a young pastor of Salisbury, Md. While a student at Columbian Col lege he had had conference with his fellow-student, James D. Knowles, about the matter of forming a society for the publi cation of Baptist tracts, and a subsequent meeting with Rev. Samuel Cornelius, who carried tracts in his bell-crowned hat, deepened his desire for the formation of such a society. As a result of his urgent solicitations a meeting was held at the house of Mr. George Wood, in the city of Washington, Feb ruary 25, 1824, at which time, after much deliberation and prayer, the Baptist General Tract Society was formed. A constitution was adopted setting forth the aims of the new organization and defining its powers and purposes. A depos itory was established in the office of the " Columbian Star," which was placed in charge of Mr. John S. Mehan, who had the year before removed from Philadelphia to Washington. An organization having thus been effected, the officers ap pointed seem to have proceeded at once, through the columns of ' ' The Columbian Star ' ' and other papers, to make known their action to the denomination throughout the country. Before the close of the first year ten central depositories were established at various points, and thirty-eight auxiliary soci eties were formed. The great difficulty with which the new society had to contend was lack of funds. The receipts of the first year were only #373.80. The city of Washington did not offer the proper facilities for stereotyping, printing, 228 THE AMERICAN BAPTIST PUBTICATION SOCIETY 229 and distributing tracts. These things stood greatly in the way of the progress of the new organization, and by the close of the second year, though the auxiliary societies had increased to seventy-one, it was felt that a crisis had arrived and that some change must be made or the work be given up. At this point Mr. Davis came once more to the front. At his urgent solicitation the Society was removed from Wash ington to Philadelphia, in December, 1826. A depository was established on the second floor of a building in the lower part of that city, for which the modest rental of #100 per year was paid, and the work of the Society was begun again with new spirit and energy. From the time of its removal from Wash ington to Philadelphia until the year 1840 it made, however, but slow progress. Mr. Davis died in 1830, after three years of faithful service, and was succeeded by Rev. Ira M. Allen. The entire amount of money coming into the society' s treasury during the sixteen years from 1824 to 1840, including sales and offerings, was only #86,114.91, or a little over #5,000 per year. Notwithstanding the difficulties in their way, how ever, the brethren in charge of the Society's interests kept bravely at their work. New tracts were continually being issued, and preparations were made for the issue of bound volumes. A monthly paper was published which continued for many years. Special attention was given to the furnishing of tracts for the Mississippi Valley, then opening for settle ment. Money for tracts, or the tracts themselves, were sent to Judson in Burma, and Oncken in Germany. I. A SECOND BEGINNING. That beginning may be said to have dawned in 1840. The annual meeting was held at the Tabernacle Church, New York. At that meeting the name of the Society was changed from the Baptist General Tract Society, to the American Baptist Publication and Sunday-school Society, a title which was appropriately shortened in 1844 to the American Baptist Publication Society. The title of the general agent was changed to that of corresponding secretary, and as the posi tion was then vacant, Rev. Morgan J. Rhees was elected to fill it. A new charter was secured and new life began to manifest itself. During the year Backus' "History," Booth's "Reign of Grace," Robert Hall's "Sermon on Modern Infi delity," a neat edition of the "Pilgrim's Progress," two Sun day-school books, and a number of illustrated tracts were issued. Efforts were set on foot to secure #50,000 as a pub lishing fund, and an additional amount to provide more ade- 23O THE AMERICAN BAPTIST PUBLICATION SOCIETY quate accommodations for the home office. The year 1840 is also to be noted as the one in which the Society first em ployed paid colporters. It antedates all other organizations, not only in coining the name, but in seizing and using col- portage in religious work, an honor of which, considering the value of this agency, it may well be proud. But while the new day began to dawn in 1840, the sun rose slowly and behind heavy clouds. During the first year after the re-organization the receipts from all sources were only #12,778.05. The annual reports year after year bewail the lack of funds and the consequent inability of the Society to do the work expected of it. But what could be done was done. A few colporters were sent into the field, and the list of the Society' s books and tracts kept constantly enlarg ing. In 1845 a charter, under which with slight modifica tions the Society has ever since been working, was obtained. During this year also " Carson on Baptism " was issued, and the publication of the works of Andrew Fuller was begun. The year 1850 was notable in the history of the Society for at least two things. The first of these was the purchase and occupancy of the property known as 530 Arch Street. The second was the employment of Dr. J. Newton Brown as the first book editor of the Society. The building at 530 Arch Street was subsequently enlarged and the Society continued its occupancy for twenty-six years, or until the removal to 1420 Chestnut Street, in 1876. In 1856 the total number of issues amounted to 501, of which 237 were bound volumes. The year 1855 was also notable for two things. One of these was an advance movement in the Sunday-school work of the Society. Previous to that year a large number of books for the Sunday-school had been published, but there were no papers or periodicals. In 1855 the entire stock of Sunday-school plates, engravings, copyrights, etc., belonging to the New England Sabbath-school Union was purchased at an expense of #6,715. The other notable event in 1855 was the beginning of the Society's work in Sweden. It was in that year that Mr. Wiberg, forbidden by Swedish law to preach the gospel in his native land, was sent by the Society to Sweden to originate and direct a system of missionary col- portage, which was permissible under the law. So wonder fully was this work blessed of God that when, in 1866, the Society transferred the Swedish mission to the American Bap tist Missionary Union, there were 176 Baptist churches, with an aggregate of 6, 606 members, and the work had extended to Norway and surrounding countries. THE AMERICAN BAPTIST PUBLICATION SOCIETY 23 1 Perhaps at this point, as well as anywhere else, we may speak of other and more recent work in foreign lands under taken by the Society. For several years, or from 1872 to 1877, Mr. Van Meter directed a mission in Italy under its auspices. Like work was done for a considerable period, or from 1883 to 1 89 1, through special funds contributed to the Society, in Turkey and Armenia. Dr. Philip W. Bickel was sent by it, in 1878, to rescue the colportage and publishing work in Germany begun and carried on by Doctor Oncken. He remained about eight years in the Society's service, ac complishing results which have wonderfully aided our cause in the German Empire and contiguous regions. In 1882 a second call came from Sweden, to assist our brethren there in inaugurating and conducting a publishing and colportage work. In response to this call, Rev. Jonas Stadling, son-in- law to Mr. Wiberg, was employed for three years, during which time he laid the foundations of the Swedish Publication Society. In 1883 two of the Society's colporters labored in Mexico. In more recent years the Society has aided our missionaries in India and China, and has assisted our English brethren in more fully establishing a denominational publish ing house for the United Kingdom. II. A NEW ERA. While a new day dawned for the Society in 1840, a new era may be said to have begun in 1857, when Benjamin Griffith was called to the secretaryship. Doctor Griffith be gan his labors under circumstances which were far from pro pitious. The business of the Society was seriously embarrassed and was feeling the effects of the widespread financial panic under which the country was then suffering. But Doctor Griffith laid hold of the task set before him with the utmost vigor and faith. Mainly by the aid of the Crozer and Buck nell families sufficient funds were gathered to remove the debt and enlarge facilities for work. For three or four years matters went on to the great encouragement of its friends. Then came the Civil War, which during the first year or two greatly affected its business, while at the same time it brought new calls and opportunities. During the later years of the war, hundreds of Baptist Sunday-schools and churches in the South, impoverished by the war, were afforded help. Large quantities of literature were sent to camps and hospitals, and thousands of dollars were expended in work among the col ored people. Perhaps at no time in the history of the So ciety was there greater activity or more satisfactory results. 232 THE AMERICAN BAPTIST PUBLICATION SOCIETY It could hardly be said that the Society resumed its regular work at the close of the war, as it had been prosecuting this during the conflict, but it certainly can be said that with the close of the war there was a great enlargement of its work. It was found necessary to establish branch houses to accom modate the various sections. In 1869 the Chicago, St. Louis, and New York Branches were established, and in the follow ing year the Boston Branch. Later there were added to these the Branch Houses at Atlanta, Ga. , and Dallas, Texas — Atlanta in 1887, and Dallas in 1892. It was about the year 1870 that a new era in Sunday-school work began for the Society. In November, 1869, a Sunday- school Convention under its auspices was held in St. Louis. This led to the publication of "The Baptist Teacher " and to the appointment of Dr. Warren Randolph as Sunday- school secretary. Dr. Geo. W. Anderson had been ap pointed book editor in 1 864, and he and Doctor Randolph labored earnestly together in meeting the needs of the Sunday- schools and churches. The jubilee of the Society was held at Washington, D. C, in 1874. Hon. J. L. Howard was then president. The meeting was one of great rejoicing and encouragement. The total receipts for that year from all sources were #430,- 854.93, and the issues for the year amounted to 330,813,542 pages. Up to that time the Society had given the world 1,136 different publications. Two notable facts were brought out. One was, that for every dollar of receipts in the Publish ing Department since its beginning the Society had actually published 1,054 i8mo pages, or their equivalent, besides circu lating more than an equal amount from other publishers, and in addition to this had accumulated a considerable property. The other, that the Publishing Department had contributed to the Missionary Department nearly #100,000 during the fifty years of its history. The benevolent work for the year was represented by the employment of twenty Sunday-school missionaries, fifteen colporters, and ten missionary agents. Grants of Bibles and religious literature had been made in thirty-one States, Territories, and foreign countries, and libraries had been given to 144 Sunday-schools and eighty- seven ministers. The invested funds at that date amounted t0 #93,5°°, on #15,000 of which the Publishing Depart ment was paying interest to the Missionary Department. The outlook for the Society was full of promise. It will not be possible within the limits set for this article to give in detail the history of the Society during the last THE AMERICAN BAPTIST PUBLICATION SOCIETY 233 quarter of the past century. The important events of this period are chiefly : 1. The erection of the new building at 1420 Chestnut Street, and its opening in February, 1876. 2. The observation of the Robert Raikes Centenary in 1880, which netted the Society #10,000 for the extension of its Sunday-school work. 3. The memorable Bible Convention at Saratoga in 1883, which committed the Bible work of the denomination to the society. 4. The appointment of Dr. G. J. Johnson as missionary secretary in 1878, Dr. C. R. Blackall as Sunday-school editor in 1883, and Dr. C. C. Bitting as Bible secretary in 1884. 5. The publication of many important books and papers, as for example, the ' ' Young People ' ' and the ' ' Senior Quarterly, ' ' begun in 1880; the "Baptist Hymnal" in 1883, the "Baptist Prin ciple " in 1881, and many others. 6. The beginning of the Baptist Young People's Union in 1890. 7. The inaugura tion of the chapel-car work in 1891. 8. The appointment of Dr. Philip L. Jones as book editor in 1893. 9. The lamented death of Doctor Griffith in the same year. 10. Appointment of the present general and missionary secre taries in 1895. 11. The great and disastrous fire of February 2, 1896. 12. The erection of the printing house at Lombard and Juniper Streets, and its occupancy in 1896. 13. The building at 1420 Chestnut Street of a larger structure to take the place of the one destroyed by fire, and its formal opening in 1898. 14. The understanding reached with the Home Mission Society as to relations of mission work in 1899. The mere mention, however, of these events, fails to give any idea of the work at large, the advance made in publica tion, the constantly increasing influence of the society through its publications, and its varied benevolent and missionary enterprises, and the vast results accomplished. III. SUMMARY In closing, it is proper that a summary should be given of the work done, the money received, and the results secured, as far as these can be tabulated, from the beginning to March 31, 1900. In the Publishing Department we find that during the seventy-six years of its history the Society has issued 2,841 books, pamphlets, periodicals, tracts, etc. The total issues of these publications amount to 812,209,588 copies, equal to 18,634,095,457 i6mo pages, and equivalent to 62,113,651 books of 300 pages each. The Society is now issuing nineteen different Sunday-school papers and periodi cals, which during the past year reached a total of 44, 206,000 234 THE AMERICAN BAPTIST PUBLICATION SOCIETY copies. Among the books published are the "American Commentary," "Clark's People's Commentary," Fuller's and Bunyan' works, a large number of Baptist histories, Hiscox's "Directories," Gordon's "Ministry of the Spirit," Strong's " The Great Poets and Their Theology," Newman's " History of An ti-pedobaptism," Lorimer's "Argument for Christianity ' ' and ' ' Christianity in the Social State, ' ' Patti son' s ".English Bible" and "The Making of the Sermon," the "Baptist Hymnal" " Sursum Corda," and numerous others as deserving of mention. Some of these have attained a circulation running into hundreds of thousands. The profits accruing from publications have been applied in two directions. One of these has been the creation of a reserve or sinking fund to provide against business or build ing contingencies. It was from this fund the money necessary for the erection and fitting up of the printing house was taken. The other application of the profits has been to the Mission ary Department. As already stated, the amount given by the Publishing Department to the Missionary Department up to 1874 was nearly #100,000. Since that time over #150,000 has been paid, making the total amount #250,000 from the beginning. Besides this, the Publishing Department furnishes the Missionary Department, both at the home office and at the Branches, offices free of rent, which if counted would considerably increase the aggregate sum. It has been the invariable rule of the Society to charge all the expenses of the administration of the Bible and Missionary Departments to the Publishing Department. During the past few years, with very heavy burdens to bear on account of losses occasioned by the fire, there has been no change in this time-honored custom. Every dollar received for benevolent and missionary work in the seventy-six years of the Society's history has been expended upon the field. The receipts in the Publishing Department for the first fifty years of the Society's history were #3,062,038.85. For the last twenty-six years they have been #12,049,377.26. The total amount received through the Publishing Depart ment from the beginning is, therefore, #15,111,416.11. The Bible work of the denomination was placed fully in the hands of the Society in 1883. Since that time, #321,- 184.15 has been raised and expended in that department. Of this amount, #50,565.62 has been paid to the American Baptist Missionary Union and #12,600 to the Foreign Board of the Southern Baptist Convention for Bible work abroad. The Society has also at great expense prosecuted the work of THE AMERICAN BAPTIST PUBLICATION SOCIETY 235 revision committed to it by the Saratoga Convention, and hopes shortly to be able to present to the world a revision of the entire word of God made by Baptist scholars. It is difficult to summarize the benevolent work done by the Missionary Department of the Society for the entire period of its history, as previous to 1865 no accurate records appear to have been kept. Since that time the total amount of grants made at home and abroad amount to #393,209.49, or #11,248.56 per year, 15,603 Sunday-schools having been aided and 7,561 ministers having had grants for their libraries. The receipts in the Missionary Department during the first fifty years of the society's history were #799,224.86, or #15,- 964. 50 per year. During the past twenty-six years the re ceipts have been #2,544,497.88, or #97,865.30 per year. The entire amount received for missionary work from the beginning is #3,343,723.10. The agents, colporters, Sunday-school missionaries, and chapel-car workers who have been engaged in the service of the society have been 3,904. These workers have sold 792,131 books and given away 177,440 more, besides 46,- 463,823 pages of tracts. They have visited 1,551,811 fami lies, held 149,317 prayer-meetings, and conducted 11,263 Sunday-school institutes. They have organized 11,561 Sunday-schools, baptized 27,927 persons, and constituted 1,315 churches. The financial condition of the society at the present time is as follows : The net assets of the Bible and Missionary De partments, including #217,974.99 conditional funds upon which interest is paid to donors during their lifetime, amount to #626,019.99. The net assets of the Publishing Depart ment, including real estate, fixtures, machinery, stock, plates, accounts in process of collection, etc., amount to $852,- 303.03 ; total aggregate of the assets for all departments, #1,508,323.02. As indicative of the growth of the Society we may add that the total receipts in all departments for 1898-1899 were #916,288.20, as against #430,854.93 for 1873— 1874, the semi-centennial year. A. J. Rowland. XVII AMERICAN BAPTIST SUNDAY-SCHOOL WORK PART I NORTHERN Baptist Sunday-school work is all included within the nine teenth century. Prior to that we have definite record of but four Sunday-schools, the denominational relations of these being unknown ; probably they were union schools : one at Savannah, Ga., 1737 ; one at Bethlehem, Conn., and one at Ephrata, Pa., 1740; and one at Plymouth, Mass., 1780. I. EARLY BAPTIST SUNDAY-SCHOOLS. The earliest organized Baptist Sunday-school seems to have been the First Baptist, of Pawtucket, R. I., in 1797, modeled upon the plan of the Raikes schools in England, distinctly religious features not being introduced until about 1805. The Second Baptist, of Baltimore, Md., was started in 1804. Next came the First Baptist, of Charlestown, Mass., in 1813 ; First Baptist, of Philadelphia, in 181 5 ; First Baptist, of Charleston, S. C. ; First Baptist, of Middletown, N. J. ; and Charles Street Baptist, of Boston, in 1816 ; West Dedham, Massachusetts, in 181 7 ; First Baptist, of Hartford, Conn., in 1818 ; First Baptist, of Providence, R. I., in 181 9. There after Sunday-schools multiplied very rapidly. 1. Union in organization. The "First Day Society" was formed in Philadelphia in 1790 or 1791, and the "Philadel phia Adult and Sunday School Union" in 1817, succeeded by "The American Sunday School Union" in 1824, which at that date reported 723 schools, with an aggregate member ship of about 50,000; and that in 1821 began the employ ment of Sunday-school missionaries. In 1824 it was claimed that the number of Regular Baptists in the United States was in round numbers 150,000, the number of churches be ing 3>594- The number of Sunday-schools at this date can not be even approximately stated. 2. The Denominational Plan. About the year 1829, in- 236 NORTHERN 237 quiries began to arise for statistical information concerning Sunday-schools, the inquiries coming from churches to Asso ciations ; and then appears a suggestion in the Annual Report of the " Baptist Tract Society," in 1830, that "the time may come when the number of schools in our denomination will be so great as to require the Baptist Tract Society to publish a series of Sabbath-school books suited to their needs." Five years later, in 1835, a proposition was made to pub lish library books for Sunday-schools, and repeated suggestions were made by the Board of the Baptist Tract Society to es tablish a Baptist Sunday-school Union ; yet up to and in cluding 1839, but three Sunday-school library books were published by that society. Meanwhile, the ' ' New England Sabbath School Union ' ' had been in operation for several years, with a juvenile paper and a fair list of books for that time ; there was coming to be some friction between the two societies, neither of which was entirely satisfactory to progressive workers in Baptist ranks. Urgent demands were made and reiterated with force in 1839- 1840 for a new organization with a distinctly denominational name and purpose, with a view to better results. The Baptist Tract Society now met the situation in part by changing its name, in 1840, to "The American Baptist Publication and Sunday-school Society," with power to issue Sunday-school papers and library books ; its entire assets at the time being #4,121.70. The title, however, was regarded as cumbrous, and four years later the words "and Sunday-school" were omitted. Negotiations with a view to the purchase of the New England Sunday School Union were maintained through sixteen years, until in 1856 it was satisfactorily arranged, the consideration paid the Union being #6,715. The "Young Reaper," which had been published monthly by the late Union, was now issued in improved form, with an edition of fifty thousand copies, and the same year witnessed the issue of question books for use in Baptist Sunday-schools. 3. Change to Denominational Schools. The activity mani fested by those who represented the American Baptist Pub lication Society in the West led to a very material change in conditions between 1867 and 1870, so that there was prac tically a revolution throughout all of the Northern States, whereby the union plan was changed to that of denomina tional schools. This was due in very large degree also to the fact that within these years the American Baptist Publi cation Society had become universally recognized as the specific denominational Sunday-school organization. The 238 AMERICAN, BAPTIST SUNDAY-SCHOOL WORK Society began its issues of lesson helps, with "Bible Les sons" in 1869, in advance of the International Lesson sys tem, the new ' ' Lessons ' ' promptly gaining a circulation of 100,000, and " The Baptist Teacher " in 1870 following with a circulation of 24,000. Meanwhile, the First Baptist Na tional Sunday-school Convention was held at St. Louis, Mo., in 1869. Thenceforward the calendar rapidly filled with items of interest and significance, almost every year being marked by evidence of steady progress. Thus, in 1871, Warren Ran dolph, d. d. , was appointed Sunday-school secretary of the Society, and under his direction the Second Baptist National Sunday-school Convention was held at Cincinnati in 1872 ; "Our Little Ones" was started in 1873; "Primary Les sons" and a "Normal Class Manual" appeared in 1874; "Baptist Question Books" on the International Lessons came out in 1875, the "Primary Question Book" in 1877 ; and in the same year the Third Baptist National Sunday- school Convention and Institute was held in Boston. 1 In 1878, in harmony with most other publishing houses, a decided change was made in the Sunday-school lesson helps. The "Question Books" dropped suddenly out of use, and quarterlies of different grades took their place. Among these were what are now the "Advanced Quarterly," the "Inter mediate Quarterly, ' ' and ' ' Picture Lesson Cards, ' ' which were first issued in 1881. "Young People" began its career in the same year, and "The Young Reaper" was reinforced by a second children's paper with the title of " Sunlight, ' .' which was succeeded in 1897 by "Boys and Girls." 4. More Petfectly Graded Lesson Helps. Very great ad vance marked 1884, when the series of lesson helps was en larged and more perfectly graded, by the addition of the "Baptist Superintendent" and the "Senior Quarterly." Various improvements are noteworthy in the make-up of the ' ' Helps, ' ' the line remaining essentially unchanged, except with the addition of "Barnens Tidning," a children's paper in Swedish, until 1899, when the "Home Department Ad vanced Quarterly ' ' and the ' ' Home Department Senior Quarterly ' ' were started on their mission. 5. A Broad Work. The heading of this sketch suggests a setting forth of Sunday-school work only in the Northern States, but it has been found quite impossible to divide such work by geographical bounds. Until 1881 there was but a single specific Baptist general Sunday-school agency of a national character in the United States, viz, the American NORTHERN 239 Baptist Pubhcation Society, whose efforts in this direction penetrated and included every State and Territory, more or less, by its Sunday-school missionaries and other workers, even as it does to-day. It would be entirely wrong, however, to claim for this one Society all the Baptist Sunday-school achievements of the century, yet a true reckoning cannot be made without it as the largest and most influential single fac tor in the progress made during the century. The several State and other local Associations, the Baptist Home Mission Society, the Southern Baptist Convention, the Baptist Young People's Union, and kindred bodies, the churches, and private publishers, each has contributed more or less. These must be taken into the account, and due credit must in all fairness be awarded to every element that has entered materially into the general result. II. RESULTS GAINED. i. Organization. Upon the basis of historical facts pre viously presented, we may now briefly marshal the results gained. One well-marked line of development is in organi zation, in which the conditions that prevailed during the opening years of the century were rapidly and permanently reversed. This change kept pace with the growth of our country and the facilities for inter-communication. The same reasons that led many scattered Baptists of the eighteenth century to attempt to "build together " with other denomina tions caused the less scattered Baptists of the early nine teenth century honestly to make the same attempt in their Sunday-school work and with like result. It did not so much matter, however, when the schools were so few in number that co-operation was difficult or impracticable. The mail facilities in the earlier years of the century were so limited and the means of personal commu nication so insufficient that there was little stimulus to closely organized effort on the part of the few schools that were in operation. The pronounced individuality and independence of Baptists might also have stood somewhat in the way, but there were clear-visioned leaders of thought and action who perceived the needs of the hour and were not slow to adopt and put in force such measures as the times demanded. 2. Unionism Done Away. The first step was to do away with all trace of unionism in Sunday-school as in church organization, in order that freedom of teaching the children and youth should be equally untrammeled in the church and the school. It was a battle royal, not against Christian fel- 24O AMERICAN BAPTIST SUNDAY-SCHOOL WORK lowship, but against limitation and restriction in teaching divine truth. The result at the close of the century abun dantly justifies the effort. 3. Aggressive Effort. Naturally following this came aggres sive personal work by colporters and Sunday-school mission aries. At first it was only the former that were sent forth, beginning in 1840, on their divinely approved errand. No one can fully comprehend the value of the religious seed-sow ing faithfully done by these humble workers. After them came Sunday-school missionaries especially equipped for their duties by training and experience, and with a wider and more important field. More frequently than the others, because their opportunities were greater, they organized Sun day-schools in Baptist churches or planted schools that eventu ated in Baptist churches. 4. Common Ground of Effort. Side by side with this de termination to so group forces that most permanent work could be economically accomplished, came due recognition of the fact that there was much common ground of effort ; that in the department of methods there was no need of separation ; that the discussion and application of pedagogi cal principles would be more interesting and effective in pro portion as there was community of interest and action. Thus it came to pass that two distinct lines of effort were pursued : one in which every religious principle was held sacred, and one in which educational principles of universal application were recognized and utilized. 5. Technical or Specific Literature Demanded. As hand in glove, with determination to secure thorough and effective organization came increasing recognition of intellectual and doctrinal requirements. The religious weekly press was not deemed sufficient to meet the needs. A specific, and in a degree technical, literature was demanded, within the range of average pupils in Sunday-schools. It was not enough that the schools should be Baptist in name ; they must be such in fact. The teaching material must therefore be unquestioned. The principle of unionism is mutual concession ; the prin ciple of denominationalism is fidelity to all truth as Baptists hold the truth. Solid growth in individuals or churches can be gained only by conserving the truth ; the exponents of the truth must be such as shall merit entire confidence. For these reasons, the denomination turned to the American Baptist Publication Society as worthy of the great trust con fided and able to fulfill its appropriate functions. Not once has that sacred trust been betrayed. NORTHERN 24 I Upon the shelves of a large bookcase in the offices of the Periodical Department of this Society are 292 volumes of varying size, which represent its entire issues of Sunday- school periodicals. If the aggregate quantity of these peri odicals were reduced to ordinary book pages, the approximate amount would be the enormous quantity of 1,500,000,000 pages. Added to which are 10,000,000,000 pages, in round numbers, included in the numerous books issued either for libraries or as aids in various departments of Sunday-school work. While this is the largest single factor, other agencies employed would greatly swell the aggregate of production. The mind cannot appreciate the vastness of such numbers, but it is not impossible to estimate the influ ence that such distribution would have and the impression it would make upon the minds and hearts of two successive generations of intelligent people. It would be absurd to claim that the entire Baptist Sunday- school periodical and book issues during the century were of a denominational character merely because they had a direct or indirect denominational imprint. In point of fact, the polemical element is almost entirely absent in this literature. Careful examination will easily reveal the motive that has prevailed throughout all the years and the wisdom of the course taken : first, elimination of error, so that there should not be any recognition or advertising of its claims ; this was a strong point in the earlier years of the last half of the cen tury, when no books were even admitted for sale by the American Baptist Publication Society, or its agencies, until after most rigorous examination ; secondly, earnest and direct presentation of awakening and convincing appeals for a true Christian life ; thirdly, a calm, straightforward setting forth of distinctive Baptist principles, as these came under review in the study of God's word. While this work has been centralized most largely in the North, it has been participated in by writers residing in all parts of the country, and its influence distributed universally, without regard to sectional lines. The outcome has been increase of intelligence upon doctrinal, practical, and denomi national tenets, and the unifying of a great body of Christians upon a broad basis that is without any ecclesiasticism what ever, without synod, presbytery, bishop, or pope. In no other country has the same course been followed so closely ; in no other have the beneficent results been so complete. 6. Some Statistics. We close with a few statistics gleaned from the ' ' Baptist Year-Book, ' ' with which there is nothing Q 242 AMERICAN BAPTIST SUNDAY-SCHOOL WORK to compare because the century opened with a cipher, so far as Baptist Sunday-school work is concerned. If Baptist effort has failed to keep pace with the growth and development of our country, Baptists have themselves only to blame. The present number of Associations is 1,680, formed by 43,959 churches, with an aggregate membership of 4,233,226. Of these churches only 24,878 seem to have meeting-houses, the total seating capacity being 2,558,157. Whether the statistics are at fault through lack of information, or whether considerably more than one-half of the churches are unhoused, no one can tell. If the membership is almost double the seating capacity of the meeting-houses, it would certainly evince a decided scarcity of the latter, and it should awaken a pertinent inquiry with regard to the great number of Bap tists who must necessarily be deprived of church privileges. The "Year-Book" statistics place the present number of Sunday-schools at 25,200, which is 18,759 'ess ^an the num ber of churches. Perhaps the fault is in the lack of proper information, but the conditions are materially improved over those of 1876, when with 21,000 Baptist churches reported there were but 9,000 Baptist Sunday-schools. The present membership of the schools is stated to be within a fraction of 2,000,000, or less than one-half the church-membership. It was estimated in 1876 that actually the schools were 10,000 in number, with a membership of 1,000,000. It thus ap pears that in twenty-five years the record has been fully doubled, and that now the numerical strength of the schools nearly equals the seating capacity of the meeting-houses. The total number of Sunday-school periodicals now issued by the American Baptist Publication Society is eighteen, and their aggregate circulation last year was 43,897,400 copies. Other periodicals issued especially for Baptist schools would possibly increase the number to a round forty- five millions of copies for the year. The Society now has upon its catalogue 390 publications that are specifically designed for Sunday- schools, or for the training and improvement of Christian workers in that department of effort. The issues of other houses would materially increase this amount. In all lines the constant aim is to meet the requirements of an ever-im proving standard of excellence. The entire sum of achieve ment cannot be told in words or in figures, and may be known only when the final account is made up in the white light of the eternal throne, where all human agencies will receive due recognition and due meed of reward. C. R. Blackall. SOUTHERN 243 PART II SOUTHERN This paper must be held on prescribed hnes and within required limits. It concerns ' ' organized Sunday-school en terprise, including agency work in organizing Sunday-schools, and publication work," as done by the Southern Baptist Convention. This does not date back so far as a hundred years. In some instances it is not easy to determine the precise date. From an early period, however, there was a feeling among many Baptists in the South that their work could be better prosecuted by themselves than by others, and this feehng intensified at different times by different things, found ex pression finally in the formation of the Southern Baptist Con vention at Augusta, Ga., in the year 1845. THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL BOARD. At the first, and for many years after its organization, the Convention operated through only a Foreign Mission Board at Richmond, Va. , and a Home Mission Board located at Marion, Ala., formerly, but afterward at Atlanta, Ga. Its Sunday-school Board at Nashville, Tenn., was created in 1891 in the session at Birmingham, Ala. It was charged with certain great interests, but from time to time its scope has been enlarged, until now it represents what the Baptists of the Southern Baptist Convention are doing along four lines of work under the direct control of the Convention. 1. The improvement of their Sunday-school condition so as to foster its power for greatest usefulness. 2. Making a periodical literature for use in their schools as best adapted to their needs, and helping their other lines of work. 3. The distribution of the Bible in destitute places in home and foreign fields, as a distinct effort to give the word of God to the people. 4. The publication of books and tracts, making a publish ing industry for the advancement of denominational enter prises. These four things are closely related, are reciprocal in their helpfulness, indeed some of them making the others possible and powerful. It is interesting to trace the historical develop- 244 AMERICAN BAPTIST SUNDAY-SCHOOL WORK ment of these separate phases in which the Convention has been more or less engaged for something over fifty years. BEGINNING AT THE FIRST At the session of 1863, at Augusta, Ga., the Convention appointed a Sunday-school Board, which was located first at Greenville, S. C, and after the war at Memphis, Tenn., where it operated until its consolidation with the Home Mis sion Board by the Convention in the session of 1873 at Mobile, Ala. This early movement in the work was led by Dr. Basil Manly, Jr., who had gone from Virginia to take a position in the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary then recently established at Greenville, S. C. He had done much to forward the Sunday-school interests in the Old Dominion, as had been done in other States, and now gave the effort a much wider range and a more effective working basis. This new Sunday-school Board, besides doing noble Bible work and much to promote interest in the Sunday-school cause, published many tracts, books, and catechisms which quickly became very popular and some of which remained and are in demand to this day as connecting links between the old and the new. It began the publication of "Kind Words" in January, 1866. The paper was then a small monthly, having received its name from C. J. Elford, and was edited by Dr. Basil Manly, Jr., assisted by Dr. John A. Broadus. At the time of the consolidation of the two Boards, the publication of ' ' Kind Words ' ' was transferred to the Home Board, under whose auspices it continued to be published under the editorship of Dr. Samuel Boykin. The paper was always a source of revenue to the Convention, and finally became the basis for the future enlargement of its publica tion work. In 1885 the International series as a method of Bible study having come into general use and furnishing a larger field and surer basis for publishing, the Home Mission Board recom mended in its report to the Convention in session at Augusta, the publication of a full line of graded Sunday-school periodi cals. The report was adopted and their publication, in con nection with ' ' Kind Words " as a basis, was begun in Atlanta, in 1886, with Dr. Basil Manly, Jr., and Dr. Samuel Boykin as editors. These periodicals, forming a distinctive Sunday- school literature, commended themselves at once to many and grew rapidly in circulation, being known as "Kind Words Series. ' ' They continued to be published by the Home SOUTHERN 245 Mission Board until their transfer to the present Sunday-school Board at the time of its appointment, and the first issue was made from Nashville, Tenn., January 1, 1892, their name being changed from ' ' Kind Words Series " to " Convention Series of Sunday-school Helps. ' ' ANOTHER LINE OF HISTORY. There is another phase of its history needing to be set forth, concerning the organized efforts of the Southern Bap tist Convention in the distribution of the word of God, as more or less connected with its Sunday-school enterprise. As early as its second session at Richmond, Va. , 1846, special mention was made in the Convention of its Bible cause, which was committed to the Home and Foreign Boards for their re spective fields. This action was considered wisest, as it was thought the Convention should have its ' ' Bible agencies, as it had its mission agencies, within its own precincts. ' ' In its session at Nashville, 185 1, after deliberate considera tion, it appointed a Bible Board which was entrusted with the prosecution of the Bible work. The operation of this Board was very successful for ten years, and was then interrupted by the adversities of war. At the fall of Nashville, 1862, the Bible Board practically went out of existence, though not technically so until a year later. In its session at Augusta, Ga., 1863, all communication with Nashville having been cut off by the war then in pro gress, the Convention discontinued its Bible Board and com mitted that part of its work to the other two Boards and to the Sunday-school Board which was created at that time, and through these three agencies did effective service under the most trying circumstances for the distribution of Bibles in destitute places. The present Sunday-school Board established its Bible de partment in 1893, setting apart from its earnings #500 as a Bible fund. This was done under the wise management of Dr. T. P. Bell, who was then corresponding secretary, to meet the necessity so often arising for the free distribution of the word of God. Year by year the Convention approved the work and in the session at Wilmington, 1897, not only gave its approbation in a most emphatic way, but authorized the Board to solicit contributions for its furtherance, which hitherto had not been done. So that the Bible department of the present Sunday-school Board stands for the Bible work of the Southern Baptist Convention, conducted in connection with its Sunday-school enterprise. 246 AMERICAN BAPTIST SUNDAY-SCHOOL WORK BOOK AND TRACT PUBLICATION. In the appointment of the present Sunday-school Board, the Convention created a new publishing agency, under whose management its Sunday-school periodicals have been greatly improved from time to time, have increased immensely in circulation, and have become a mighty factor for usefulness. In the early spring of 1898, the Board went a step in ad vance of all its former work, even beyond the instructions under which it was operating, and published its first book, "The Story of Yates, the Missionary," by Dr. Charles E. Taylor, of North Carolina. This new venture was fully set out in its report to the Convention in the session at Norfolk the following May, and was unanimously approved and heartily commended. Moreover, the Convention author ized the Board to go forward in the publication of books and tracts in such way as it might be able and so took a decided step in the enlargement of its publishing agency. This first book has been followed by others, and by a large number of tracts. SUCCESS OF THE ENTERPRISE. Growth has been slow in all our Southern institutions, coming oftentimes after long struggles and painful waiting. No part of the Convention's work has escaped, or has had a different history. It was a sore struggle in the face of great odds, an effort by noble men to maintain great principles, to lay the foundations for future ages and to use what God had given them for the advancement of his kingdom. They were often disappointed, often failed, often held in abeyance even through many years, often finding opposition where they should have found sympathy and co-operation, but they never gave up or abandoned the hnes on which they had pro jected their hopes and plans. As it went with other things, so also it had gone hitherto with the Convention's efforts at publication and Sunday-school advancement. In many re spects it was a sad and trying period. But a brighter day dawned. The movement inaugurated at Birmingham, 1891, while a movement first and foremost for the Sunday-school cause, involved other matters of tremendous moment. It was a revival of the undertaking of other years, a gathering up of the broken threads of history, an old work projected on new lines with a surer basis and a more open future. Its success has far surpassed the largest expectations of those who were most sanguine, and should gladden the hearts of Baptists everywhere. In the Ninth Annual Report of the Sunday- SOUTHERN 247 school Board, presented to the Convention at Hot Springs, Ark., 1900, may be found the following summary for nine years, as to what has been done in a money way, over and above the expenses of the enterprise : Gifts in Bibles, books, tracts, and periodicals, #34,719.61 ; boxes for Sunday-school missionaries (three years), #8,468.53 ; cash to Home and Foreign Boards (missionary day), #21,891.30 ; cash to Sun day-school missions (through State Boards), #20,369.55 ; expended for other denominational interests, #6,182.91; purchase of house (all paid for), #10,621.99; invested re serve fund, #30,000; cash balance on hand, #1,630.68; other assets, #10,649.97; total for nine years, #144,634.54. The year now current, 1901, will show a very large advance on every one of these figures, and promises to make this, the last year of its first decade, by far the best in the history of the Board. SUNDAY-SCHOOL CONDITION. Our present Sunday-school condition is not easily described, and it is almost impossible to trace it back to its beginning when Sunday-schools first began to be among our Baptist churches. Statistics hitherto have been very meagre, but efforts are all the while being made to make these more com plete so as to furnish a more satisfactory basis. The "Con vention Annual for 1900," made up from the figures of 1899, shows among white Baptist churches of the South, 9,711 Sunday-schools, with an enrollment of 636,944 officers, teachers, and pupils. There are many reasons for believing that all these figures will be larger when our information is better. The condition is much more advanced in some States than in others, but needs betterment in all. The Sunday-school Board for nine years, and now passing through the tenth, has been making preparation for the future and laying its plans for advancement. All its forces converge toward the central idea of Sunday-school improve ment. Its periodical-making, its Bible distribution, its book and tract publishing, its industrial power as a business con cern, everything will be made subservient and effective in giving to the Baptists of the South a better Sunday-school condition. THE LINES OF ADVANCE. The Sunday-school should be made the most effective pos sible for the high ends which it holds in contemplation. We have numbers, we need greater efficiency. We need to have 248 AMERICAN BAPTIST SUNDAY-SCHOOL WORK all the forces marshaled on the field of action. Our lines of advance should carry at least four distinct features into Sunday-school work. 1. It should lead more and more to a better Bible study. It should rouse the desire of God's people to know his word. Much has been done in the past for this high end and we will advance it further. Never in the world's history has there been such a study of the Bible as now, — study so wide spread, so devout and earnest, so intelligent and compre hensive. This has come from several causes, but among them the Sunday-school holds almost the chief place. Some have proposed to change its name to the Bible-school. This is proof of its growing singleness of aim as to text-book, but would add nothing to its power. Not change of name, but emphasis of purpose, is what should be sought. The school that gets the best Bible study has gained one chief point of excellence. 2. There is growing need of emphasis in denominational teaching. There is need to widen the denominational vision and deepen the denominational conviction. As Baptists, we need to be Baptists. That term, in our thinking, is the highest expression of the highest truth. It is a rounded, symmetrical, comprehensive term, needing neither prefixes nor suffixes. We perhaps have enough of the name, but we need more of the great things it stands for. We need a people who are Baptists in their beliefs as to doctrine, in their experience and sentiment, in their church life and Christian activities. We want the living truth in living form. 3. Training for higher grade of church-membership. For this reason the entire membership, as far as possible, should be brought under the influence of the Sunday-school. Here the Home Department may be made very effective in reach ing those whose attendance cannot be secured. Let us get a fresh emphasis of church-membership. Train for it in the Sunday-school as we train for citizenship in the day-school, and herein we will develop strength which will be mighty in God's hands for giving Christ to the world and bringing the world to Christ. 4. The Sunday-school should be held more and more as an evangelizing power. Failure here is almost failure through out. It is important to have the Sunday-school rightly placed in the Christian programme. It is fatal to stop mid way of the Commission. We must insist on all nations as the scope of our field and all the commandments as the scope of SOUTHERN 249 our obedience — discipling, baptizing, and teaching. Ad vance on these lines will make our people great, bringing on a church condition which will be as beautiful garments to Zion, tell for all the future in establishing Christ's kingdom among the nations of the earth, and make the twentieth cen tury the crowning glory of the ages. J. M. Frost. XVIII AMERICAN BAPTIST NEWSPAPER AND PERIOD ICAL PRESS PART I NORTHERN AND NORTHWESTERN Baptist journalism dates from 1790, when the first period ical devoted especially to the spread of Baptist principles, ' ' The Baptist Annual Register, ' ' was established in England by Dr. John Rippon, the successor of the great Dr. John Gill as pastor of the church at Horsleydown, Southwark, London. The ' ' Register ' ' published contributions from American as well as English writers, and seems to have sufficed for the needs of American Baptists until the opening of the new century. But hardly had the nineteenth century dawned before the first of a long line of American Baptist periodicals was ushered into the world. In September, 1803, appeared the initial number of the ' ' Massachusetts Baptist Missionary Magazine, ' ' issued under the auspices of the Massachusetts Baptist Missionary Society, which had been organized in May of the previous year. It is a matter of pecuhar interest that it was for the purpose of spreading missionary intelligence among the people that our first journalistic enterprise was undertaken. Sixteen years later, in 18 19, the first weekly Baptist newspaper, ' ' The Christian Watchman, ' ' was estab lished, and it is worthy of note that, while the course of Bap tist journalism during the century has been marked by many vicissitudes of fortune, resulting in the extinction or the ab sorption by others of not a few promising ventures, the two earliest of our periodicals still survive, the monthly, as "The Baptist Missionary Magazine," the weekly, as "The Watchman. ' ' I. OUR MISSIONARY PUBLICATIONS. The Baptist General Convention for Missionary Purposes, known as the "Triennial Convention," organized in Phil- 250 NORTHERN AND NORTHWESTERN 25 I adelphia, May, 1814, in 1817 adopted the "Massachu setts Baptist Missionary Magazine," as its official organ, changing the name to "The American Baptist Magazine." The magazine appeared at first bi-monthly, and afterward monthly. It was devoted to general denominational interests, including foreign missionary and other religious intelligence and essays on critical, theological, and practical religious topics. In 1835, owing to the increase of Baptist newspapers, it was decided to confine it wholly to missionary intelligence, and this has continued to be its character to the present time. In 1836 the name was changed to that which it now bears, ' ' The Baptist Missionary Magazine. " It is an ably conducted journal, and ranks among the best publications of its class. In 1842 the Triennial Convention, realizing the need of a lower-priced and more popular periodical than the "Maga zine," began the publication of "The Macedonian and Record," an eight-page journal which reached a circulation of from 20,000 to 25,000. In 1845, owing probably to the poor mail facilities and the high cost of periodical postage at that time, an edition was published in Cincinnati as well as at the headquarters in Boston. While under the general direc tion of the society, "The Macedonian" was at first issued under contract, but in 185 1 was purchased by the Missionary Union, by which it was published until January, 1877, when its long career was terminated. Upon the organization of the Woman's Baptist Missionary Societies, with headquarters at Boston and Chicago, in 187 1, an arrangement was made with the Missionary Union by which four of the eight pages of ' ' The Macedonian ' ' were devoted to the work of the women's societies, under the title of "The Helping Hand," three pages to the Missionary Union, and one to the children under the name of "The Little Helpers." After the discontinuance of "The Mace donian" the women's societies continued "The Helping Hand" as an eight-page paper, with one page still devoted to the children under the same title as before. In 1883 "The Little Helpers" began to be issued in separate form as a paper for children, but was discontinued in 1888, when the women's societies started a new paper, called "The King's Messengers," for Sunday-schools, with one page de voted to "Little Helpers." "The Helping Hand" is still in existence as the organ of the four women's missionary so cieties, having headquarters at Boston, Chicago, San Fran cisco, and Portland, Ore. In 1890 the name of " The King's Messenger" was changed to "Around the World," which 252 BAPTIST NEWSPAPER AND PERIODICAL PRESS is published jointly by the Woman's Baptist Missionary So ciety, of Boston, and the Missionary Union, as was ' ' The King's Messenger" for several years before the change of name. In September, 1887, in response to a demand for a cheap and popular missionary periodical, the publication was begun of ' ' The Kingdom, ' ' a small, four-page paper, in which is given a condensed account of the current missionary news of the world, with special reference to our Baptist missions. It soon obtained the largest circulation of any of our missionary periodicals, which still continues. ' ' The Baptist Home Mission Monthly, ' ' now in its twenty- second year, is issued by the American Baptist Home Mission Society, under the editorial supervision of the corresponding secretary. It usually contains about thirty-two pages of read ing matter, and about 11,000 copies are issued. It aims to give from month to month fresh information from all the varied missionary fields and schools where the society is car rying on its work. It publishes also articles on special topics, carefully prepared by experts, so that it is not only a source of information but of inspiration as well. Many of these articles are of permanent value. Among the early publications in the interest of missions was "The Luminary," a magazine established in Philadel phia in 1818, by the Rev. Luther Rice, who was under ap pointment as a missionary to Burma, but was detained in this country for a time to labor among the churches. It was issued five times a year for about three years. II. WEEKLY NEWSPAPERS. The first of these, as already noted, was established in the year 1819, in Boston, Mass. Its first editor was John E. Weston, the father of Henry G. Weston, d. d. , the honored president of Crozer Theological Seminary. The second editor was Deacon James Loring, whose service covered a period of fifteen years. The third was Rev. B. F. Farnsworth, who retired within a few months, and was succeeded, in 1834, by Ebenezer Thresher, ll. d., who also became its proprietor in 1836. Two years later he relinquished the editorial chair to Rev. William Crowell, who held the position for ten years. During this period a rival Baptist journal was established in Worcester, Mass., called "The Christian Reflector," with Cyrus Grovenor as editor. In 1842 the "Reflector" was removed to Boston, where, under the editorial management of Rev. H. A. Graves, it attained a large circulation, out- NORTHERN AND NORTHWESTERN 253 stripping that of ' ' The Christian Watchman. ' ' Before long, however, the "Reflector" passed into the hands of Rev. Messrs. J. W. Olmstead and William Hague, and in 1848 a union of the two papers was effected under the name of " The Watchman and Reflector. ' ' Doctor Olmstead became sole proprietor and editor in 1867, and so continued until 1877, when the paper now known as "The Watchman," passed into other hands, and Lucius E. Smith, d. d. , who had long been on the editorial staff of ' ' The Examiner, ' ' was called to the editorial chair. In 1891 George E. Horr, d. d., became editor-in-chief, and still (1901) holds that position. Under its present management — as, indeed, has been the case during most of its long history — "The Watchman" ranks among the ablest and most influential of the weekly re ligious periodicals of America. The next venture in Baptist weekly journalism was made in 1822, when " The Columbian Star " was founded by Rev. Luther Rice in Washington, D. C. It was subsequently re moved to Philadelphia, and thence to Atlanta, Ga. , where as "The Christian Index," it still survives. In the same year, February 2, the first number of the ' ' Christian Secretary ' ' was issued at Hartford, Conn. , as the organ of the Connecticut Baptist Missionary Society. Two years later it was transferred to the Connecticut Baptist State Convention, which was organized in 1823. In 1829 it was presented to the " Christian Secretary Association," by which it was conducted until 1837, when it was united with "The Gospel Witness," a paper published in New York. This arrangement was distasteful to the Connecticut brethren, and the following year the Rev. Elisha Cushman, who had been the first editor, — serving two years, — revived the ' ' Chris tian Secretary, ' ' of which he became editor and proprietor. On his death, in October, 1838, his son, the Rev. Elisha Cushman, Jr., succeeded him and continued in control until 1840. For the next twenty-one years it was edited and pub lished by Mr. Normand Burr, part of the time (1840-1850) in association with Walter S. Williams and Almond A. Smith. Mr. Burr died in December, 1861, and Mr. Cushman, who had become associate editor in July of that year, became editor and proprietor, and so continued until his death in January, 1876. Sylvanus Dryden Phelps, d. d. , then be came editor and proprietor, and on his death, was succeeded by Rev. C. A. Piddock, by whom it was conducted till in April, 1896, it was consolidated with " The Examiner." Late in 1823, or early in 1824, the "New York Baptist 254 BAPTIST NEWSPAPER AND PERIODICAL PRESS Register ' ' was established in Utica by Rev. Messrs. Willey, Lathrop, and Galusha, who edited it in turn. There seems to be some uncertainty as to the date of the first issue, and it is possible that the first few numbers appeared at irregular intervals. If this was not the case the numbering of subse quent issues indicates that the first number was issued March i, 1824. The paper soon passed into the possession of the New York Baptist State Convention, with Alexander M. Beebee, Esq., a lawyer, as editor. The "Register" was subsequently united with the "New York Recorder," the continuation of "The Baptist Advocate," founded in 1839. The name of the latter was changed to the ' ' Recorder ' ' in 1845, when Sewall S. Cutting, d. d., became the editor. In February, 1850, the "Recorder" was purchased by Prof. Martin B. Anderson, of Waterville (now Colby) College, Maine, and James S. Dickerson, d. d. , Doctor Cutting retir ing from the editorship. In 1853, when Doctor Anderson became president of the University of Rochester, the ' ' Re corder ' ' was sold to Rev. Luther F. Beecher, and Doc tor Cutting again became editor. The "Register," then owned by Andrew Ten Brook, d. d. , and still published at Utica, was soon afterward united with it, under the name of the "New York Recorder and Register," with Doctors Cutting and Ten Brook as editors. In June, 1855, Edward Bright, d. d. , who had been for the previous nine years the home secretary of the Missionary Union, and Doctor Cutting purchased the "Recorder and Register," and changed the name to "The Examiner." The following year Doctor Cutting was elected to a professorship in the University of Rochester, and Doctor Bright became sole editor, and so remained until his death in May, 1894. A year or two before his death, however, Doctor Bright practically relinquished his editorial duties to Rev. Henry C. Vedder, who had been a member of the staff since 1876, and who continued in charge until December, 1894, when he resigned to accept the pro fessorship of church history in Crozer Theological Seminary, and was succeeded by the present writer, who had been a regular contributor to the paper — though engaged in other business also — for more than a quarter of a century, and on the staff since the fall of 1893. With him were associated Mr. Edward Bright, a son of Doctor Bright, and as hereafter noted, H. L. Wayland, d. d. In March, 1895, on the con solidation of "The Christian Inquirer" with "The Exam iner," John B. Calvert, d. d. editor of the former paper, be came a member of the editorial corps of "The Examiner." NORTHERN AND NORTHWESTERN 255 " Zion's Advocate," of Portland, Me., was founded by Adam Wilson, d. d. , long prominent among Maine Bap tists. The first number was issued in the city where it is still published, November n, 1828, with Doctor Wilson as editor. It was a small sheet, as were all the weeklies of that period, with four pages and five columns on a page. In 1838 Doctor Wilson accepted a call to the pastorate of the First Baptist Church in Bangor, and Mr. (afterward Rev. Dr.) Joseph Ricker took his place as editor, holding the position from May, 1839, to December 27, 1842. Doctor Wilson then resumed control of the paper, with Rev. Lewis Colby, pastor of the Free Street Baptist Church, of Portland, as associate editor. Mr. Colby retired August 8, 1843. July 19, 1848, Doctor Wilson sold the paper to Mr. S. K. Smith, who had just graduated from the Newton Theological Institution. In 1850 the "Advocate" passed into the hands of Mr. John B. Foster, a recent graduate of Newton. In the summer of that year Mr. Foster was elected to a pro fessorship in Waterville College, and sold the paper to Wil liam H. Shailer, d. d. , pastor of the First Baptist Church in Portland, who retained it, with Mr. J. W. Colcord as assistant editor, until October 15, 1873, when it passed into the hands of H. S. Burrage, d. d., as editor and pro prietor, and it still is under his care and direction. Enlarged from time to time, it has done for nearly three-quarters of a century a service for the Baptists of Maine for which in all the stages of its history they have been profoundly grateful. The next of our denominational weeklies to be established was "The Journal and Messenger," published at Cincin nati, Ohio, which grew out of a conviction that a medium of communication was needed between the Baptist churches of Ohio. Two Cincinnati Baptists, Noble S. Johnson and Ephraim Robbins, who had been foremost in the organization of the State Convention in 1826, sent to Reading, Mass., and persuaded John Stevens, a graduate of Brown Univer sity, and at that time engaged in teaching, to go to Cincin nati to edit the proposed paper. The Convention approved, and the first number of "The Baptist Weekly Journal of the Mississippi Valley " was issued July 22, 1831. Several years later, a paper called "The Cross," published at Frankfort, Ky., was combined with the " Journal," the name being changed to "The Cross and Baptist Journal of the Missis sippi," by which it was known for a decade or more. In 1838, after a service of seven years, Mr. Stevens resigned to accept a professorship in Granville College, and Rev. George 256 BAPTIST NEWSPAPER AND PERIODICAL PRESS Cole became the owner and editor. He removed the paper to Columbus, the capital of the State, and soon afterward Rev. David A. Randall, pastor of the First Church there, became associated with him as editor and proprietor. In 1847 Mr. Randall acquired Mr. Cole's interest, and asso ciated with himself Rev. J. L. Batchelder and changed the name to "The Western Christian Journal," the first issue under the new name bearing date April 16, 1847. On De cember 21, 1849, Mr. Randall retired and Mr. Batchelder became sole editor and proprietor. Meantime, an Indiana State paper called "The Christian Messenger" was main taining a precarious existence, and it was decided to unite it with ' ' The Journal, ' ' under the name by which the united paper has since been called, " The Journal and Messenger," the first issue of which appeared December 21, 1849. Mr. Batchelder removed the paper back to Cincinnati. In 1856 he transferred it to "The Central Baptist Press Company," which had been organized for its purchase, and Mr. Cole was recalled to the editorship and management of the paper. He was succeeded in 1864 by Rev. T. J. Mellish, and soon afterward J. R. Stone, d. d. , of Fort Wayne, Ind. , became corresponding editor for that State, continuing as such until 1874. In 1872 Rev. J. R. Baumes succeeded Mr. Mellish, and soon afterward Rev. W. N. Wyeth became associated with him as editor. About this time " The Baptist Missionary," published at Indianapolis, Ind., was incor porated with "The Journal and Messenger." In July, 1875, George W. Lasher, d. d., secretary of the Bap tist Education Society of the State of New York, pur chased the entire stock 0/ the Central Baptist Press Com pany and became sole owner and editor of" the paper. In 1887, Rev. Grover P. Osborne, then a pastor in Toledo, Ohio, acquired a half-interest and became joint editor and publisher, an arrangement which still continues. Besides its Indiana and Ohio constituency, ' ' The Journal and Mes senger " has a considerable circulation in West Virginia and western Pennsylvania. The excellent weekly now known as "The Christian Her ald, ' ' the Baptist State paper of Michigan, published at De troit, is a revival of a journal established in 1841, in accord ance with a resolution adopted by the State Convention in 1837. This paper, "The Michigan Christian Herald," was published monthly at Detroit, with Rev. A. Ten Brook as editor, and Messrs. R. C. Smith and S. M. Kendrick as pub lishing committee. In 1845 it became a weekly, Rev. Miles NORTHERN AND NORTHWESTERN 2 57 Sandford, Mr. Ten Brook's associate, having then become sole editor. He was succeeded in 1846 by Rev. James Inglis. The paper was then sold by the Convention to Mr. O. S. Gulley, of Detroit, and by him in 1848 to Rev. Marvin Allen, who continued its publication until his death in 1861. During this period and for two years longer, Rev. G. W. Harris was the editor. After his retirement in- 1863 the prosperity of the paper declined, and in 1867 it was merged with the "Christian Times and Witness," of Chicago, which thereupon took the name of ' ' The Standard. ' ' Soon after ward Rev. L. H. Trowbridge, who had become financial agent of Kalamazoo College, and had already begun the pub hcation of "The Torchlight" as an organ through which to speak directly to the churches, decided to undertake the re issue of ' ' The Christian Herald. ' ' Doctor Trowbridge and his wife became joint partners in the enterprise, both as pro prietors and editors, and received the reward of their faith and devotion in the establishment of the paper on a firm financial basis. It is now one of the best of our State denom inational journals. August 31, 1853, was the date of the first number of "The Christian Times, ' ' published in Chicago, 111. , and now known as "The Standard." Previous to that time two journalistic ventures had been undertaken at Chicago, the first the " Northwestern Baptist," a small paper published fortnightly from 1842 to 1844, the second the "Watchman of the Prairies," owned and edited by Rev. Luther Stone, which was published for five and a half years, from August, 1847, to February, 1853. "The Christian Times," which succeeded the "Watchman of the Prairies," six months after the latter had ceased to exist, was started by a committee of the Chicago Baptist Association, and was edited for about three months by an "Association of Clergymen." In November, 1853, the paper was transferred to Rev. Leroy Church and Justin A. Smith, d. d., as editors and proprietors. In January, 1857, Mr. Goodman became one of the proprietors, the firm name being changed to Church & Goodman, Doctor Smith con tinuing as editor-in-chief until his death, February 4, 1896. In 1867, "The Witness," of Indianapolis, Ind., was merged with "The Christian Times," the two names being united in the title. The same year, on the consolidation of the "Mich igan Christian Herald" with "The Christian Times and Witness," the name was changed to "The Standard." In January, 1875, Mr. Church retired, his share being purchased by James S. Dickerson, d. d. The firm name was changed to R 258 BAPTIST NEWSPAPER AND PERIODICAL PRESS that of Goodman & Dickerson, Doctor Dickerson also be coming associate editor. His death occurred in less than a year, however (March, 1876), and his interest in the paper passed to his widow, Mrs. Emma Richardson Dickerson. A few years later her son, Mr. J. Spencer Dickerson, became a third proprietor, and in May, 1895, managing editor. The proprietorship is still (1901) vested in their hands. "The Standard" has long been the leading Baptist journal of the Northwest. The " New York Chronicle " was established in 1840 by Rev. Orrin B. Judd, ll. d. It was at first issued as a monthly, and was especially devoted to the interests of the American Bible Union, a society organized to procure and publish faithful translations of the Bible in English and foreign tongues. In 1850 it was changed to a weekly. Three or four years later it was purchased by Jay S. Backus, d. d. , and in Jan uary, 1856, Pharcellus Church, d. d. , who had been asso ciated with Doctor Backus as editor and proprietor for a year, acquired, with his sons, the sole ownership of the paper. In 1863 the "Christian Chronicle," of Philadelphia, edited by J. S. Dickerson, d. d. , was bought by Doctor Church, who continued as editor until March, 1865, when a union was effected with "The Examiner," under the name of "The Examiner and Chronicle, ' ' with Doctor Bright as sole editor. A few years later Doctor Bright acquired a controlling in terest in the paper, which is still retained by his family. In 1868 a small paper, "The Christian Press," published in New York by the Rev. W. B. Jacobs, was acquired by "The Examiner and Chronicle," and in 1875 "The Outlook," a small paper issued in Brooklyn, N. Y. , was merged in it. The "American Baptist," the name given to a paper formed by the union of ' ' The Christian Contributor ' ' and "The Western Christian," — the latter, founded in Illinois in 1845 as an organ of the American Baptist Free Mission So ciety, — was published for some years at Utica, N. Y. , under the editorial charge of the Rev. Warham Walker. In 1857 it was removed to New York City, and Nathan Brown, d. d., the well-known missionary, who had returned two years be fore from a service of twenty years in Assam, became asso ciate editor. A year later Doctor Brown was appointed editor, with the Rev. John Duer as his assistant, and held the position till 1872, when he resigned to accept an appoint ment from the Missionary Union as a missionary to Japan. In May of that year A. S. Patton, d. d., of Utica, purchased the paper, changed the name to "The Baptist Weekly "and NORTHERN AND NORTHWESTERN 259 the form from folio to quarto. With him was associated Robert T. Middleditch, d. d., as assistant editor. In 1886 Doctor Middleditch withdrew from the ' ' Baptist Weekly ' ' and started "The Gospel Age." Doctor Patton died in January, 1888, and the "Weekly" was purchased by John B. Calvert, d. d. , who changed the name to ' ' The Christian Inquirer, ' ' the first number of which appeared February 23, of the same year. ' ' The Gospel Age ' ' was merged into the ' ' Inquirer, ' ' and its editor, Doctor Middleditch, became one of the asso ciate editors of the latter. Besides Doctor Middleditch there were associated with Doctor Calvert in the editorial manage ment of the paper Rev. Drs. R. S. MacArthur, L. A. Crandall, and John Humpstone. In March, 1895, "The Christian Inquirer" was consolidated with "The Examiner," and Doctor Calvert became one of the editors of the latter paper. In 1865 the American Baptist Publication Society received the gift of a fund for the establishment of a weekly newspa per, and began the publication of "The National Baptist," with Kendall Brooks, d. d., as editor. He was succeeded in 1868 by Lemuel Moss, d. d., who served for four years, and was followed, in 1872, by H. L. Wayland, d. d., to whom the paper was subsequently sold. In 1894 it was pur chased by "The Examiner," of which, as already noted, Doctor Wayland became one of the editors. In 1895, after the purchase of "The National Baptist" by "The Examiner," J. S. James, d. d., then pastor of the First Baptist Church, of Hartford, Conn. , conceived the idea of publishing a paper in Philadelphia to take its place. After due canvass and consideration a stock company was formed and in November, 1895, the first number of " The Common wealth" was issued, with Doctor James as editor. He con tinued as such until July, 1897,. when he resigned, and the paper was edited by a committee. In the spring of 1898 it passed into the hands of Mr. L. M. Cross, previously associated with "The Evangel," of Baltimore, Md., which ' ' The Commonwealth ' ' had absorbed. Mr. Cross continued as editor and proprietor until December, 1900, when the paper was sold by him to The Harper and Brother Company, by which it is now (1901) published. During the adminis tration of Mr. Cross the name was changed to ' ' The Baptist Commonwealth," which name it still bears. No editor is named. Until 1 88 1 the efforts to estabhsh a Baptist paper in Indi ana resulted in a series of mergers with journals published outside of the State. But in that year Rev. G. H. Elgin and 260 BAPTIST NEWSPAPER AND PERIODICAL PRESS Mr. U. H. Chaille began the pubhcation of "The Indiana Baptist," which, under various management, and with its name changed to "The Baptist Outlook," still continues. The present editor is U. M. Chaille, with W. T. Stott, ll. d., and W. C. Taylor, d. d. , as associate editors. For the following sketch of Baptist journalism in the Pacific Northwest I am mainly indebted to President T. G. Brown- son, d. d., of California College. Previous to 1873, he writes, there had been various at tempts to establish a Baptist paper for this part of the country. In that year, Rev. J. C. Baker, pastor of the church at Salem, Ore., began the publication of a monthly, called " The Bap tist Beacon," in the interest of the Baptist Convention of the North Pacific Coast. After about eight years ' ' The Beacon ' ' became the property of the Convention. Rev. G. J. Bur- chett was editor for some time, and was succeeded by J. Q. A. Henry, d. d. In 1886 Rev. S. P. Davis became editor, owner, and publisher, and supplied the denomination with an excellent paper, issued semi-monthly at first, and later weekly, for some four years, the name, meanwhile, being changed to ' ' The Pacific Baptist. ' ' Mr. Davis, finding him self unable to continue its publication, sold it to the Pacific Baptist Publishing Company, which was organized for the purpose of taking it over, and which still owns it. For four months the pastors of Portland, Ore. , and vicinity, acted as editors. In May, 1898, Rev. C. A. Wooddy became editor, and still holds the position. In 1892 "The Pacific Baptist" purchased "The Van guard," then published at Seattle, Wash. In 1893 "The Leader, ' ' of Oakland, Cal. , which had been formed by the consolidation of the ' ' Southern California Baptist ' ' and ' ' The Herald of Truth," was acquired by "The Pacific Baptist." In 1899 "The Baptist Sentinel," a Landmark organ, sus pended publication, after a history of some fifteen years, leaving "The Pacific Baptist" the entire Pacific coast. The paper has had a very encouraging growth. III. SUNDAY-SCHOOL PERIODICALS. To the Baptists belongs the honor of establishing the first Sunday-school paper, "The Young Reaper," for children in the United States. It was first issued by the New England Sabbath-school Union, and in 1856 was acquired by the American Baptist Publication Society. At first a monthly, it is now published both as a monthly and a semi-monthly. The other periodicals issued by the Publication Society are : "Our NORTHERN AND NORTHWESTERN 26 1 Little Ones" (weekly), " Young People" (weekly), "Boys and Girls" (weekly), "Good Work" (monthly), succeeding "The Colporter," discontinued, and the various Sunday- school helps : ' ' The Baptist Superintendent, ' ' the only pub lication of the kind in the world ; the "Home Department Senior Quarterly ' ' and the ' ' Home Department Advanced Quarterly," for the Home Department; "Picture Lessons," little cards with finely colored pictures, issued quarterly ; "Primary Lessons," "Intermediate Lessons," and "Bible Lessons" (monthly) ; "The Primary Quarterly," "The In termediate Quarterly," "The Advanced Quarterly," "The Senior Quarterly," and "The Baptist Teacher, " a monthly. All of these publications are ably edited, beautifully illustrated and printed, and have a deservedly wide circulation. It may be said, without exaggeration, that, taken together, they are unequaled in number and quality by the Sunday-school pub lications of any other denomination. Baptists have every reason to be proud of the superior excellence of their Sunday- school periodicals. IV. QUARTERLIES. "The Christian Review," the first Baptist quarterly maga zine, was founded in 1836, with Rev. James Davis Knowles, at that time a professor in Newton Theological Institution, as editor. Doctor Knowles held the position until his death in May, 1838. He was succeeded by Barnas Sears, d. d. (1838- 1841), S. F. Smith, d. d. (1842-1848), Rev. E. G. Sears (1849), S. S. Cutting, d. d. (1850-1852), Rev. Drs. R. Turnbull and J. N. Murdock (185 3-1 85 5), Rev. J. J. Wool- sey (1856), Rev. Drs. Franklin Wilson and G. B. Taylor (1857-1859), and E. G. Robinson, d. d. (1860-1863). It was then merged in the "Bibliotheca Sacra." In 1867 the " Review" was revived by the American Baptist Publication Society as "The Baptist Quarterly/' with Prof. Lucius E. Smith as editor, and Drs. Alvah Hovey, E. G. Robinson, A. N. Arnold, and J. M. Gregory as associates. In 1869, at the end of the second volume, Henry G. Weston, d. d. , as sumed the editorial control, remaining in charge until its pubhcation was discontinued at the close of 1877. Another quarterly, known as "The Baptist Review," was started at Cincinnati, in 1879, by Rev. Dr. J. R. Baumes. With the July number of 1885 it was transferred to New York, and Rev. Drs. Robert S. MacArthur and Henry C. Vedder be came joint editors. At the close of 1889 Doctor MacArthur retired, and Doctor Vedder continued as sole editor until the 262 BAPTIST NEWSPAPER AND PERIODICAL PRESS end of 1892, when its publication ceased. Thus closed, ap parently without hope of resurrection, the career of the Bap tist quarterly. This is much to be regretted. The magazine, under its several names, had been the vehicle for the publica tion of many important papers bearing upon Baptist history and polity, from the pens of some of our ablest thinkers. Unfortunately, while there is need, there is apparently no demand for such a periodical on the part of Baptists. In October, 1890, appeared the first number of "The Loyalist," published at Chicago, and edited by Rev. O. W. Van Osdel, the originator of the Baptist Young Peoples Union, then known as the "Loyalists," and Rev. J. M. Coon. After eight issues had appeared the Publication So ciety purchased the paper, changed the name to "Young People at Work," and appointed Philip L. Jones, d. d., con nected with the Society's book department, as editor. In September, 1891, the name was changed to "Young Peoples' Union, ' ' and in November of that year it was repurchased by the Baptist Young People's Union, transferred again to Chicago, and renamed in 1894 "The Baptist Union." F. L. Wilkins, d. d., secretary of the Baptist Young People's Union, became the editor in 1891, and was succeeded in 1897 by Secretary E. E. drivers, d. d., continuing until his resignation, March 1, .1901. The paper is the exclusive medium for the publication of the Christian Culture Courses of the Baptist Young People's Union, except as the mission ary material is also issued in pamphlet form. Thomas Oakes Conant. PART II SOUTHERN AND SOUTHWESTERN There lies before me Volume I. of "The Georgia Ana lytical Repository, by Henry Holcombe, a. m., pastor of the Baptist church in Savannah. Savannah : Printed by Seymour, Woolhopter & Stebbins. 1802." Thus reads the title-page of the first Baptist periodical in the South. It was a bi-monthly magazine of forty-eight pages, the first issue being for "May and June, 1802." It was dedicated to "His excellency, Josiah Tatnall, junior, Governor of Georgia," and the periodical is in keeping with the an- southern and southwestern 263 nouncement. Biographical sketches, conversions, death-bed scenes, accounts of religious movements, sketches of churches, along with reflections, devotional and practical, fill the pages. There are no advertisements. Two letters from William Carey appear, written in Calcutta, November 5, 1801, and June 16, 1802, respectively. The next Southern Baptist periodical seems to have been ' ' The Kentucky Missionary and Theological Magazine, ' ' Frankfort, Ky., first issued in May, 181 2, by Rev. Stark Dupuy, who compiled " Dupuy's Hymns." After one year this magazine suspended until the war with Great Britain should be over, and in 18 13 Rev. Silas M. Noel started a monthly ' ' Gospel Herald ' ' at Frankfort, where he was pas tor. Doctors Spencer and Cathcart tell us this periodical was "suspended for want of patronage," which history shows to have been the general cause of the suspension of Baptist periodicals. A little later we find Mr. Noel editing "The Baptist Herald, ' ' and afterward ' ' The Baptist Chronicle, ' ' also published at Frankfort, and these were virtually con tinuations of " The Gospel Herald." In April, 1823, " The Baptist Monitor and Political Com piler" was started at Bloomfield, Ky., by Rev. Stephen Ray, a native of Maryland, whose " style was rough, but pointed and forcible," and who was "fond of controversial subjects." After losing #1,000 on the venture Mr. Ray gave up his paper. Dr. J. H. Spencer, in his "History of Kentucky Bap tists" (Vol. I., pp. 218, 597), tells us: "About the first of March, 1826, Spencer Clark and George Waller com menced the pubhcation at Bloomfield, Ky., of a periodical under the style of "The Baptist Register," the name of which was soon afterward exchanged for that of " The Bap tist Recorder. ' ' They proposed to ' ' endeavor to strip religion of everything like the traditions of men, and to present the truth in a plain and simple manner." This was a great undertaking, but "there were giants in those days. ' ' In "The Columbian Star " for April 22, 1826, a copy of which is now before me, I find the following : " A letter to the editors of 'The Baptist Recorder,' dated Elkton, Ky., February 20, 1826, says: 'We have had, during the last spring, summer, and fall, some truly refreshing seasons from the presence of the Lord. About one hundred have been added to two churches in this county, and the work seems yet to be progressing in some places.' " 264 BAPTIST NEWSPAPER AND PERIODICAL PRESS This letter, dated "February 20, 1826," proves that "The Baptist Recorder ' ' was in existence at that date, and, since the paper had previously changed its name from that of "Baptist Register," the latter must have been started some time before "the first of March, 1826," or very soon after ' ' The Baptist Monitor and Political Compiler, ' ' of which paper it was the successor, gave up the ghost. We find about this time several papers whose precise dates and relations to each other the writer is unable satisfactorily to determine, viz, " The Baptist Herald and Georgetown Literary Messenger," at Georgetown ; " The Cross and Bap tist Weekly Journal," probably at New Castle ; "The Cross and Baptist Banner," at Frankfort, edited and published by Uriel B. Chambers, and then ' ' The Cross, ' ' by the same, "The Banner" being laid aside, while "The Cross" was still borne. In 1834, however, Dr. J. S. Wilson, of Shelby- ville, a leading physician, revived "The Baptist Banner," which continued to wave for a year, when the famous John L. Waller became editor, moved the paper to Louisville, consolidated it with "The Baptist," of Nashville, and "The Western Pioneer," of Alton, 111., and called it "The Bap tist Banner and Western Pioneer." This name it bore till 1 85 1, when it became "The Western Recorder," of which more presently. The "Columbian Star" was started by the famous Luther Rice, in Washington, D. C, January, 1821. It was a four- page weekly: "Published under the patronage of the Gen eral Convention of the Baptist Denomination in the United States. Terms — Three dollars per annum, payable in ad vance. All communications should be addressed to Baron Stowe, Editor and Publisher." This information was put at the head of the first column, first page, in 1826. It was not long till the "Star" set in Washington and arose in Philadelphia as "The Christian Index," edited by Rev. Dr. W. T. Brantly, Sr., of blessed memory. In 1833 he trans ferred it to that mighty man of God, Jesse Mercer, who edited and published it at Washington, Ga. , with Rev. Wm. H. Stokes as assistant editor. In 1840 Doctor Mercer trans ferred the paper to the Georgia Baptist Convention, which managed it through its Executive Committee. In making the transfer, Doctor Mercer presented the Convention "#500 worth of new type ' ' for the use of the paper, now removed to Penfield. J. S. Baker became editor in 1843 and con tinued till 1849, when B. M. Sanders, chairman of the Exec utive Committee, conducted it for a year, and then John F. SOUTHERN AND SOUTHWESTERN 265 Dagg became editor. The reports show that in 1854 the paper paid the Convention a revenue of #463.35, and in 1855, #296.59. In December, 1855, T. D. Martin became editor, and in 1856 the paper was moved to Macon, the Con vention having decided to locate it in "one of our principal cities," and J. F. Dagg was editor. At the beginning of 1857 Joseph Walker became editor, holding the position over two years. Sylvanus Landrum, the saintly hero, as chairman of the Executive Committee, did the editing for two months till the services of Dr. E. W. Warren (nobile nornen) were secured for less than a year, he being succeeded in March, i860, by Dr. Samuel Boykin, afterward famous as the ' ' Kind Words ' ' editor. In 1861 he bought the paper from the Convention, the sale having been agitated more or less ever since 1849. In 1856 the Executive Committee in its report to the Con vention says: " The management of the 'Christian Index,' from 1840, when it was transferred to the Convention by Rev. Jesse Mercer, has been a source of more perplexity to the committee than all other matters trusted to their charge. ' ' In the " Columbian Star " for July 29, 1826, appeared the following : ' ' Prospectus for a work contemplated to be pub lished in Richmond, Va. , entitled ' The Evangelical In quirer,' by Rev. Henry Keeling." The prospectus goes on to say : ' ' Demands for a paper, in some form, calculated to promote evangelical and literary objects under the patron age especially of the Baptist denomination and its friends in this commonwealth, have been thought by many judicious persons, long to exist. ' ' The ' ' Evangelical Inquirer ' ' was to be " issued monthly, in an octavo pamphlet of thirty- two pages, on good paper, neatly covered and stitched." The price was #2.00 a year, and it was "to be commenced when five hundred subscriptions have been obtained. ' ' The "five hundred subscriptions" were secured, certainly before January, 1828, for we read in the "Triennial Baptist Register" (p. 148) for 1836: "'Religious Herald.' This periodical commenced in January, 1828, under the editorial care of William Sands, the present editor and proprietor." The name " Evangelical Inquirer" was changed to "Relig ious Herald," which name the paper has borne ever since. Mr. Sands was editor and proprietor for about forty years, employing at different times Eli Ball, Henry Keeling, and David Shaver, as editors. The next periodical to claim our attention is the "Biblical Interpreter," a twenty-four-page monthly, published by Rev. 266 BAPTIST NEWSPAPER AND PERIODICAL PRESS Thomas Meredith, at Edenton, N. C, in 1833. The next year the name was changed to the "Biblical Recorder," and was removed to Newbern. In 1838 the "Biblical Recorder" was moved to Raleigh and consolidated with the "Southern Watchman," of Charles ton, S. C. , under the style of ' ' The Recorder and Watchman. ' ' In 1842 the paper was suspended and it w-as superseded by the "Southern Christian Repository," a monthly. In about six months, however, the "Biblical Recorder" was revived, and it continued under the control of Rev. Thomas Meredith till his death in 1851. The writer is unable to fix the date of the first Baptist paper in South Carolina. We find "The Watchman" moving from Charleston, in 1838, and consolidating with the "Biblical Re corder," and in the "Triennial Baptist Register," for 1836, we find (p. 177) : " 'The Southern Baptist and General In telligencer ' is published every Friday, in Charleston, Wm. H. Brisbane, editor." In the "Baptist Encyclopedia" (Vol. IL, p. 1076) there is the following in regard to Baptist journalism in South Carolina : "There are now two numbers of the 'Southern Watch man and General Intelligencer ' in existence, dated February 3 and February 10, 1837, printed in Charleston by James S. Burgess, and edited by the late Basil Manly, d. d. These numbers belong to the fourth volume. ' ' This sends the paper back to 1833, which in all proba bility marks the date of the first Baptist periodical in South Carolina. In 1843 the Rev. T. W. Haynes published a monthly in Charleston called the "Carolina Baptist" ; and in 1846 we find "The Southern Baptist" in Charleston, edited "by a a committee of brethren, consisting of Rev. J. R. Kendrick, James Tupper, Esq., and others." This went on till 1849, when Dr. James P. Boyce became editor, and he was suc ceeded in turn by Dr. E. T. Winkler, Dr. J . P. Tustin , and Dr. W. B. Carson. At the beginning of the war between the States the paper was suspended ; although during part of the war Dr. J. L. Reynolds published "The Confederate Baptist ' ' at Columbia. From the "Triennial Baptist Register ' ' (1836) we learn that "The Baptist" was started January 1, 1835, "published monthly at Nashville, on an extra imperial sheet, by R. B. C. Howell." "It is very ably conducted and is accomplishing much good," as the same authority informs us. The coming SOUTHERN AND SOUTHWESTERN 267 of Doctor Howell to Nashville, in 1833, marked an era in Tennessee Baptist history. The ' ' Baptist Register ' ' for 1841 does not mention "The Baptist" in its list of denomi national periodicals, but that may have been an oversight. The 1841 list is: "Baptist Chronicle" (monthly), Colum bus, Ga. ; "Southern Baptist Preacher" (monthly), Wash ington, Ga. ; "Religious Herald," Richmond, Va. ; " Bibli cal Recorder," Raleigh, N. C. ; "Christian Index," Wash ington, Ga. ; " Baptist Banner and Pioneer," Louisville, Ky. In 1846 J. R. Graves, a brilliant young preacher from Vermont, of Huguenot descent, who had been teaching in Kentucky and who had come to Nashville the year before, became associated with Doctor Howell in editing the paper, which took the name of ' ' The Tennessee Baptist. ' ' In June, 1848, Doctor Graves became sole editor, and his connection with the paper lasted forty-seven years. In 1855 he associated with him Drs. J. M. Pendleton and A. C. Dayton, in editorial work, with whom also he edited the "Southern Baptist Review." This arrangement continued till the breaking out of the Civil War. Owing to the ' ' Land mark " controversy, those who differed with the "Tennessee Baptist" established in Nashville "The Baptist Standard," with Dr. L. B. Woolfolk as editor, and it was published until the war caused its suspension. In 1853 we find "The Baptist Watchman" in Knoxville, edited by Dr. Matthew Hillsman, though when it began and how long it lasted, I am unable to determine. An eminent and accomplished Baptist physician in Nash ville, Dr. W. P. Jones, in 1852 started the "Parlor Visitor" (monthly), which was moved to Murfreesboro, and edited by Mrs. E. M. Eaton (consort of Dr. Joseph H. Eaton, Presi dent of Union University), and which took the style of " The Aurora," continuing until the war. Such were the beginnings of Southern Baptist journalism. Lack of space forbids the consideration of the various periodi cals that have from time to time appeared and passed away. We will therefore give the remaining space to the publications now in existence, with such incidental mention of others as may seem fitting. And first let us bring down to date those already named. " The Western Recorder." After moving to Louisville the " Baptist Banner and Pioneer" ended its pioneer work in 185 1 and floated as the ' ' Baptist Banner, ' ' being edited during 1848 and 1849 by Dr. Wm. C. Buck, one of the most effective men the Baptists have ever had. In 185 1 we find John L. 268 BAPTIST NEWSPAPER AND PERIODICAL PRESS Waller, R. L. Thurman, and A. W. Larne, serving as editors. Doctor Waller had started the "Western Baptist Review" in Frankfort, in September, 1845, and he continued to edit this sterling magazine. "The Baptist Banner," in 185 1, took the name "Western Recorder," which the paper has since borne. In 1852 we find Chas. D. Kirk as editor in place of R. L. Thurman; and we find the "Christian Repository" (monthly), edited by John L. Waller and Charles D. Kirk. The next year Dr. S. H. Ford became associated with Doctor Waller in editing both the "Western Recorder" and the "Christian Repository." In 1854 Doctor Waller died, and Joseph Otis became proprietor of the paper, with S. W. Lynd and S. H. Ford as editors ; but after five years we find Mr. Otis in sole charge. Dr. A. C. Graves became editor in 1863, and after the war, Prof. Norman Robinson, a schol arly and accomplished teacher ; C. Y. Duncan, J. C. Waller, and A. S. Worrell, were editors, until in 1868 Dr. R. M. Dudley, afterward the distinguished president of Georgetown College, took charge. He was then pastor of East Baptist Church in Louisville. Before Doctor Dudley's taking charge the paper was owned by Sherrill and Shuttleworth. Prof. J. W. Rust became associated with Doctor Dudley in 1868. This arrangement lasted until 1872, when Drs. A. C. Caper- ton and J. S. Coleman became editors. After five years Doctor Coleman withdrew and left Doctor Caperton in sole charge. He soon associated with himself, however, Mr. A. B. Gates, a gifted layman, and in connection with the paper they carried on a book store. Afterward Mr. Cates removed to Georgia, and Doctor Caperton was again alone. In October, 1887, after having done the denomination faithful service, Doctor Caperton sold out to the McFerran- Harvey Company, and T. T. Eaton became editor. In 1890, the Baptist Book Concern was organized, bought out the McFerran-Harvey Company, continuing T. T. Eaton as editor, and this arrangement remains in force. " The Christian Index," Atlanta, Ga. At the begin ning of the Civil War we find Dr. Samuel Boykin in charge. At its close he sold out to J. J. Toon, who made Dr. H. H. Tucker editor for six months. After a brief interval Dr. W. T. Brandy became editor for six months, and after another brief interval Dr. David Shaver edited the paper from the beginning of 1867 till 1873, when the "Index" was transferred to J. P. Harrison & Co., who made Dr. D. E. Butler editor. Dr. H. H. Tucker again became editor in October, 1878, and in 1882 Drs. M. B. Wharton and G. SOUTHERN AND SOUTHWESTERN 269 A. Nunnally bought each a fourth interest. Later Doctor Tucker bought the paper and continued to edit it until his death. . He had, however, associated with himself Mr. J. C. McMichael, who had edited "The Barnesville Gazette." On the death of Doctor Tucker, Mr. McMichael owned and edited the paper till his own death in 1895. Then it was sold by order of the court, the owner having died intestate, and was bought by Dr. T. P. Bell, who associated with him self Dr. J. J. Van Ness. Doctor Bell was for years assistant corresponding secretary of the Foreign Mission Board and then corresponding secretary of the Sunday-school Board, which last position he gave up to take charge of the ' ' Index. ' ' In January, 1900, Doctor Van Ness removed to Nashville to become editorial secretary of the Sunday-school Board, and Doctor Bell is now the sole editor. " The Religious Herald," Richmond, Va. This paper has had fewer vicissitudes than its contemporaries, and hence its story can be more briefly told. In the yearly reports of the papers we observe with interesting monotony, " 'Religious Herald,' William Sands, Richmond, Va." In 1857, owing to Mr. Sands' feeble state of health, he made Dr. David Shaver "associate editor." When the war came on and the armies cut off communication with a large part of its constituents, the "Herald" reduced its size and was issued semi-monthly, and when Richmond fell, on April 3, 1865, the office and fixtures of the paper were burned, though the subscription list was saved. Drs. J. B. Jeter and A. E. Dickinson bought the list and goodwill of the paper and resumed its regular publication November 16, 1865, having issued a specimen number the month previous. Drs. Richard Fuller, John A. Broadus, William T. Brantly, Rich ard Furman, James Upham, and B. Puryear were at intervals associate editors. Perhaps about 1875-1876, when Doctors Fuller and Broadus were associate editors, was the time when the ' ' Herald ' ' exerted the greatest influence upon the de nomination. After the death of Doctor Jeter, in February, 1880, first Dr. H. H. Harris and then Dr. W. E. Hatcher served as editor along with Doctor Dickinson as representing Mrs. Jeter's interest in the paper. That interest was sold to Doctor Dickinson, and he associated with himself Dr. R. H. Pitt, and these two are now in charge, most of the work devolving upon the latter on account of the former's failing health. Doctor Dickinson's period as editor will soon equal that of William Sands, and the two make a most remarkable record. 270 BAPTIST NEWSPAPER AND PERIODICAL PRESS "The Biblical Recorder," Raleigh, N C. After the death of Rev. Thomas Meredith, in 1851, his widow owned "The Biblical Recorder" and employed Dr. T. W. Tobey to edit it. In 1854 it was purchased by a stock company, headed by Rev. J. J. James, who became the editor. Two years later he bought out the other owners and associated with himself Rev. J. S. Walthal. This arrangement lasted till 1 86 1, when Dr. J. D. Huffman bought the paper and edited it throughout the period of the war, though for a short time after the close of the war the paper was obliged to suspend. In 1867 it was sold to Dr. W. T. Walters and Mr. J. H. Mills, the latter becoming sole proprietor after a few months. He continued in control till 1873, when Pro fessor A. F. Read became editor, who after two years sold it to Dr. C. T. Bailey, who soon associated with him Messrs. C. B. Edwards and N. B. Broughton in the ownership, Dr. J. D. Huffman serving as associate editor. For two years Dr. | T. H. Pritchard was associate editor and then Dr. Harvey! Hatcher. On the death of Doctor Bailey, in 1898, the I paper passed into the hands of his gifted son, J. W. Bailey, under whose control the paper is highly prosperous, Messrs. Edwards and Broughton remaining as proprietors in part. " The Baptist and Reflector," Nashville, Tenn. The publication of "The Tennessee Baptist" was suspended at Nashville during the war, but was resumed by Dr. J. R. Graves at Memphis after the war under the name, "The Baptist." It rapidly regained its power. About 1886 "The Baptist Gleaner," of Fulton, Ky., was consolidated with ' ' The Baptist, ' ' and its editor, Dr. J. B. Moody, became associate editor with Doctor Graves, opening a branch office in Nashville. Dr. O. C. Pope, in Morristown, Tenn., in 1874 began the publication of "The Baptist Reflector," which in 1878 was sold to Dr. W. D. Mayfield and removed to Nashville, Dr. B. R. Womack becoming associate editor. After three years Rev. J. B. Chevis became editor and pro prietor. At that time Dr. J. M. Robertson bought "The Baptist Sun," published at Rome, Ga., by Dr. G. A. Nun nally, and moved it to Chattanooga, naming it "The Ameri can Baptist." The next year (1882) Doctor Robertson bought "The Baptist Reflector" and consolidated it with "The American Baptist" under the style of "The American Baptist Reflector." He retired in 1885, leaving the paper in the hands of Drs. R. J. Willingham and A. W. McGaha, pastors in Chattanooga. In November, 1888, the paper was bought by Dr. E. E. Folk, who in the next year effected a SOUTHERN AND SOUTHWESTERN 27 1 consolidation with ' ' The Baptist " ; ' he moved both papers to Nashville and called the combined paper ' ' The Baptist and Reflector," associating with him Drs. Graves and Moody. That same year, however, Doctor Graves turned over his interest in the paper to his son-in-law, Dr. O. L. Hailey, who bought out Doctor Moody and became joint editor with Doctor Folk, Doctor Graves being ' ' special editor. ' ' In 1 89 1 Doctor Folk became editor and proprietor, Doctor Graves remaining as "special editor" until his death, two years later. At various times there were other Baptist papers published in Tennessee. Among these we may mention the "Christian Herald," published in Nashville, in 1872 and 1873, edited by J. A. Shackleford, T. T. Eaton, and J. M. Phillips, and sold to the ' ' Christian Index. ' ' Also the ' ' Baptist Messenger, ' ' pub lished at Woodbury, by Rev. J. M. D. Cates, who wrote much for the paper and published two or three books. " The Baptist Courier" Greenville, S. C. Rev. Messrs. Tilman, R., and William A. Gaines, began to publish "The Working Christian," in Yorkville, S. C., in 1867. For a short time it was published in Charleston, with Dr. O. F. Gregory as editor. Purchased by Charles M. Mcjunkin, it was moved to Columbia, where Dr. J. L. Reynolds became associate editor. In 1878 Col. James A. Hoyt, a prominent and accomplished layman, bought the paper, changed the name to "The Baptist Courier," and associated with himself Dr. A. W. Lamar in editorial work. The paper was moved to Greenville in 1879, where it is still published, and Dr. J. C. Hiden became associate editor, with Drs. Wm. H. Strick land and R. H. Griffith as field editors. W. W. Keyes, Esq., in 1882 became joint owner with Colonel Hoyt, and Dr. J. C. Furman was associate editor. In 1891 Dr. A. J. S. Thomas bought Colonel Hoyt's share in the paper, and became editor along with Mr. Keyes, making Prof". G. B. Moore associate editor, which arrangement is still maintained. " The Central Baptist," St. Louis, Mo. It was in 1842 that "The Missouri Baptist" appeared in St. Louis, pub lished monthly by Isaac Hinton and R. S. Thomas. Soon it became "The Missouri and Illinois Baptist," and appeared semi-monthly, but it soon yielded to that inveterate foe of Baptist periodicals, want of patronage. ' ' The Western Watch man " was started in 1848, but was soon suspended on ac count of being burnt out, and in 1851 it was revived by Rev. William Crowell, with whom was associated Rev. S. B. John son for a time. It flourished until the breaking out of the 272 BAPTIST NEWSPAPER AND PERIODICAL PRESS war, when it suspended. "The Missouri Baptist" appeared in 1859, with Dr. S. H. Ford as editor, and ceased when the war began. With the opening of the year 1866, Revs. J. H. Luther and R. M. Rhoads began at Palmyra the pubhcation of the "Missouri Baptist Journal," and in the September following, Dr. A. A. Kendrick started "The Record," in St. Louis. These two papers were two years later consolidated, under the style of "The Central Baptist," published at St. Louis, with Drs. Luther, Kendrick, and Norman Fox as editors. In 1875 Doctor Luther retired, giving place to Dr. W. Pope Yeaman, with whom was associated Dr. Wiley J. Pat rick. Rev. Wm. Ferguson bought the paper in 1877, and associated with him Dr. J. C. Armstrong, and in 1882 the plant was sold to Dr. W. H. Williams, whose management con tinued till his death in 1893, Doctor Armstrong remaining one of the editors. Since the death of Doctor Williams, Mrs. Williams has continued Doctor Armstrong as editor, and he is now in charge. " The Alabama Baptist," Montgomery, Ala. The first Baptist paper published in the State was the "Southwest ern Baptist Pioneer," at Jacksonville, in 1834, with William Wood as editor. At Marion, Ala., in 1841, Rev. Milo P. Jewett, who founded the Judson Institute and who afterward influenced Matthew Vassar to found Vassar College, started the "Alabama Baptist," associating with him Rev. J. H. Devotie. In 1848 we find C. M. Breaker as editor, and in 185 1 A. W. Chambliss. The latter changed the name to "Southwestern Baptist." Dr. Samuel Henderson took charge in 1852, and the paper was moved to Tuskegee, where he was pastor, and there flourished until after the close of the war, when the Federal authorities forbade its publication and put Doctor Henderson under a bond of #20,000 not to pub lish it again. This led to its consolidation with the " Chris tian Index," at Atlanta. Doctor Henderson had enjoyed the editorial assistance, from time to time, of the Revs. Albert Williams, J. M. Watt, J. E. Dawson, and H. E. Taliaferro. For several years Alabama had.no Baptist paper, strange to say; but in 1873 the Baptist State Convention, through its Board, started " The Alabama Baptist," at Marion, with Drs. E. T. Winkler, J. J. D. Renfroe, E. B. Teague, and D. W. Gwin as editors, who gave their services gratuitously. In 1878 the Convention conveyed the paper to Drs. E. T. Winkler and J. L. West, the latter soon becoming sole pro prietor, with Drs. Winkler ar,d Renfroe as editors. After ward Dr. W. C. Cleveland served for three years, and the SOUTHERN AND SOUTHWESTERN 273 paper was moved to Selma. In 1880 Col. John G. Harris bought a half-interest, and in 1885 bought the rest, and in 1886 moved the paper to Montgomery, with Doctor Renfroe as editor. After two months Doctor Renfroe told the owner he was not fitted to be an editor, and that he would return to the pastorate. Here is the only man on record who avowed that he was not fitted to be an editor. Dr. Joseph Shackle- ford served temporarily till Mr. W. A. Davis bought a half- interest, and the two owners acted as editors for two years when Colonel Harris again became sole proprietor, leasing the paper to the Revs. C. W. Hare and J. C. Pope. In 1 89 1 the Alabama Baptist Convention requested Colonel Harris to resume control, and he complied. " The Baptist," Jackson, Miss. The Mississippi Bap tist Convention in 1857 established the "Mississippi Bap tist," with Rev. J. T. Freeman as editor. There had been efforts at Baptist journalism in the State before, but they amounted to little. The paper grew in favor and flourished until the war caused its suspension. After the war the Mis sissippi Baptists relied mainly on "The Baptist," at Mem phis, for denominational information and advocacy, till in 1876 it was decided to have a paper of their own, and the "Mississippi Baptist Record" was started at Clinton, with Dr. J. B. Gambrell as editor, and Prof. M. T. Martin as business manager. In 1881 Professor Martin became sole proprietor, but he soon turned it over to Doctor Gambrell, who was both editor and proprietor. In 1884 Prof. George Wharton became associate editor, and after two years Dr. L. S. Foster became such. The paper was moved to Jackson, and a little later it made its abode in Meridian, where in 1888 Dr. J. H. Hackett became associate editor. Four years later Doctor Gambrell retired from the paper, leaving Doctor Hackett in charge. This continued till 1898, when "The Baptist Layman" (a paper published by Dr. J. L. Johnson) was consolidated with the ' ' Record, ' ' and ' ' The Baptist ' ' was started at Jackson, whence, with Rev. T. J. Bailey as "editor and manager," it still goes forth. " The Baptist Chronicle." In 1855 the Rev. Hanson Lee started the "Louisiana Baptist" at Mt. Lebanon, La. He continued the paper, having H. Hill associated with him part of the time, till his death in 1862, when it was continued by W. F. Wells, with Doctor Courtney as editor. At the close of the war Dr. A. S. Worrell bought the paper, but soon sold it back to Messrs. Wells and Courtney, with the latter as editor and Dr. W. E. Paxton as associate. At the end of 274 BAPTIST NEWSPAPER AND PERIODICAL PRESS 1869 the paper was sold to the "Baptist" at Memphis. Also in 1855, Dr. W. C. Duncan pubhshed the "New Orleans Baptist Chronicle," which seems to have ended with the war. The present "Baptist Chronicle," published at Alexandria, La., entered upon its fifteenth volume August 10, 1900. It is edited by Dr. R. M. Boone, with A. L. Johnson and J. S. Edmonds as associates. J. D. Jamison and E. O. Ware are field and missionary editors, respectively. " The Texas Baptist- Herald," Dallas, Texas. At An derson, Texas, in 1855, Rev. George W. Baines and others started the "Texas Baptist," which flourished till the war. Dr. J. B. Link, in 1865, established the "Texas Baptist Herald" at Houston, where it remained till 1883, when it was removed to Austin and, something over two years later, to Waco. Dr. R. C. Buckner in 1874 started the "Christian Mes senger" at Paris, Texas, soon removing it to Dallas, and changing its name to the "Texas Baptist." In 1883 the paper was bought by Dr. S. A. Hayden, who in the same year bought the "Baptist Standard," which had been pub lished more than a year by Rev. C. C. Parroch, at Glen Rose, consolidating it with the ' ' Baptist Standard. ' ' In 1886 the "Baptist" and the "Baptist Herald" were consolidated, the united paper being known first as the "Texas Baptist and Herald," and later as the "Texas Bap tist-Herald," with Doctor Hayden in control. He soon re moved the paper to Dallas, where he now publishes it. " The Baptist Standard," Dallas, Texas. "The West ern Baptist," published for a year or two at Dallas, and owned by Revs. Levi Holland and R. T. Hank, was in 1892 sold to Drs. M. V. Smith and J. B. Cranfill, who changed the name to the "Texas Baptist Standard," and soon moved- the paper to Waco. The death of Doctor Smith in 1893 left Doctor Cranfill in sole charge till, in 1898, he sold a half-inter est to C. C. Slaughter, Esq. , known as the ' ' Texas cattle king." The paper was moved to Dallas and called the "Bap tist Standard." A stock company was at once organized, to which the paper was transferred, Doctor Cranfill being at the head of the company as well as remaining editor of the paper, Colonel Slaughter being a large stockholder. "The Arkansas Baptist," Little Rock, Ark. Rev. P. S. G. Watson in 1859 began the publication of this paper at Little Rock, but the war caused its suspension. The Bap tist Convention of the State in 1867 decided to start a paper and Rev. P. S. G. Watson was chosen editor. At the next SOUTHERN AND SOUTHWESTERN 275 meeting the paper was sold to Mr. Watson "on account of dissatisfaction with its management by the Convention," and in 1870 he sold out to the "Baptist" at Memphis. Four years later Rev. T. B. Espey started the ' ' Western Baptist, ' ' at Little Rock, which in turn was soon bought by the " Bap tist." In 1880, J. P. Eagle, J. M. King, W. D. Mayfield, Benj. Thomas, and T. B. Espey formed a stock company and began to issue at Little Rock, the "Arkansas Evangel." In a few months Drs. B. R. Womack and J. B. Searcy were made editors and the paper was moved to Dardanelle. In two years the stockholders, tired of the burden, turned the paper over to Doctor Womack, who sold a half-interest to Doctor Searcy, and two years later Doctor Womack retired, Dr. A. S. Worrell taking his place. Next year we find Doctor Womack again in charge, with Revs. M. D. Early and O. M. Lucas as associates. The next year these last two are dropped, and in one year more (1886) we find Dr. W. A. Forbes as sole editor and proprietor, with M. D. Early as field editor. Two years later Revs. J. N. Hall and J. H. Milburn became associated with Doctor Forbes, and in a few months he sold out to them. In November, 1888, Allen W. Clark became business manager, buying out Mil- burn ; and on March 1, 1889, Dr. W. A. Clark bought out Hall, and in the next January he became sole proprietor. On October 1, 1899, the paper was sold to Dr. O. L. Hailey and Rev. R. E. Drake, but on the sixteenth of April, 1900, Doctor Clark bought back the paper, associating with him Dr. J. H. Milburn. We doubt if any paper in the land can furnish more history for the same length of time than this one. For awhile the "Baptist Review" was published at Little Rock by Rev. W. Theodore Smith. "Florida Baptist Witness," Ocala, Fla. James Mc Donald, in 1847, began to publish in Jacksonville, Fla., a monthly journal called the "Baptist Telegraph," which seems to have soon run its course. In i860 Rev. N. H. Bailey issued the prospectus of a Baptist paper, with Rev. W. N. Chaudoin as associate editor, but the paper never ma terialized. The Baptist State Convention at Lake City, in 1872, resolved in favor of a paper for the State, and took up a collection to aid the enterprise, and in the February follow ing the "Florida Baptist" appeared at Lake City, with the Rev. H. B. McCallum as editor and the Revs. T. E. Lang- ley and J. H. Tomkies, corresponding editors. This paper lasted three years and was then sold to the "Christian In dex" at Atlanta, though it was afterward revived, for we find 276 BAPTIST NEWSPAPER AND PERIODICAL PRESS it in 1884 published at Live Oak, with L. A. Fish as editor, while the "Florida Baptist Witness" is published at Lake City, with A. P. Ashurst and C. C. Hill as editors. The latter paper began in February, 1884. It was moved to Ocala soon afterward, and owned by Doctor Hood and Rev. J. C. Porter. The latter is now sole proprietor and he has associated with him as editors Prof. C. S. Farriss and Rev. L. D. Geiger. "American Baptist Flag," Fulton, Ky., and St. Louis, Mo. Dr. D. B. Ray, in Lagrange, Mo., in 1874, unfurled the "Baptist Battle Flag." In 1880 the paper was moved to St. Louis and published by the National Baptist Publishing Company, which Doctor Ray had organized and of which he was the head. The name of the paper was changed to the "American Baptist Flag," The assets of the company, in cluding the paper, were sold in February, 1897, to Dr. J. H. Hamlin and Rev. J. N. Hall, the latter becoming sole pro prietor in the following December. In June, 1899, the paper was moved to Fulton, Ky. , where it is still pubhshed, Rev. J. N. Hall being editor and proprietor. " The Baptist Banner," Huntington, W. Va. This paper was started in June, 1887. It is published by a company, of which Dr. W. P. Walker is president. Rev. J. D. Wil liams is the editor, with Rev. T. C. Johnson as associate. " 7%,? North Carolina Baptist," Fayetteville, N. C. The first number appeared in January, 1891. John H. Gates, Jr., is the editor and proprietor, with J. W. Cobb as field agent. " The Word and Way," Kansas City, Mo. This paper began in June, 1896, and it has the following array of editorial talent, viz : S. M. Brown, E. K. Maiden, A. C. Rafferty, B. W. Wiseman, and W. S. Peace. The first two are pro prietors and editors-in-chief. ' ' The South Carolina Baptist, ' ' Greenwood, S. C. Soon after the close of the war Rev. W. E. Walters started the "South Carolina Baptist," at Anderson, S. C. ; but in three years the paper was bought by the "Religious Herald." The paper was revived at Greenwood, in August, 1897, where it is now published with Drs. J. W. Perry and A. McA. Pitt- man as editors and Dr. G. W. Gardner as business manager. " The National Baptist Flag," Bolivar, Mo. It was in January, 1899, that Dr. D. B. Ray unfurled the "National Baptist Flag," of which he is editor and proprietor. "North Georgia Baptist," Cumming, Ga. This paper began "contending for the truth" (that being its motto) in SOUTHERN AND SOUTHWESTERN 277 December, 1891. It is published by the North Georgia Baptist Publishing Company, and no editor's name is given. " The Mississippi Baptist," Newton, Miss. Rev. N. L. Clark is the editor of this paper, which has been published since March, 1891. "Southern Baptist," Charlotte, N. C. Rev. W. P. Ma- theney is editor and proprietor. It began in October, 1895. " The Baptist Argus," Louisville, Ky. Some Baptists who sided with Doctor Whitsitt in the " Whitsitt contro versy," and who did not like the "Western Recorder's" opposition to him, decided to estabhsh a paper which would fitly represent their feehng and views, and in October, 1897, they started the "Baptist Argus," with Dr. J. N. Prestridge as editor and Rev. M. P. Hunt as associate. When the lat ter removed to Missouri his place was taken by Rev. J. E. Gwatkin. " The Baptist Gleaner," Paragould, Ark. This paper has (November 21, 1900) reached the forty-first number of its third volume. It is issued by the Gleaner Publishing Com pany, with Revs. J. H. Peay and E. J. H. McKinney as edit ors, and E. P. Minton, J. H. Kitchen, J. D. J. Faulkner, W. J. Bearden, J. N. Hartley, M. V. Baird, H. F. Vermillion, R. P. Bain, A. A. Andrus, T. C. Mahan, O. L. H. Cun ningham, E. H. C. Kenner, and S. W. Abernathy, as asso ciates. " The Baptist Signal," Ardmore, I. T. This signal, with Rev. J. M. B. Gresham as editor, shows the way to the people of the Indian Territory and surrounding regions. It has just closed its third volume. Beside these we have in the South, the "American Baptist " (for the colored people), Louisville; the "Baptist Echo," J. M. Newburn, editor, a monthly at Rush, Texas; the "Baptist Herald," Milligan, Florida, M. J. Webb, editor; the "Baptist Herald," Z.-P. Smith, editor, Senatobia, Miss.; the "Baptist Leader," A. N. McEwen, editor, Selma, Ala.; the "Baptist Mirror," E. Z. F. Golden, editor, Macon, Ga. ; the "Baptist Mis sionary," E. W. Dow, editor, Pierce City, Mo.; the "Baptist Pilot," bi-weekly, C. S. Brown, editor, Winton, S. C; the "Baptist Visitor," L. H. Holt, editor, Guthrie, 0. T. ; the "Baptist Visitor," A. J. Kincaid, editor, monthly, White - wright, Tex. ; the "Bible Baptist," E. R. Carswell, editor, At lanta, Ga.; the" Florida Baptist Herald," J. S. Stokes, editor, Live Oak, Fla. ; the " Florida Evangelist ' ' (for colored people), J. M. Waldron, editor, Jacksonville, Fla.; the " Georgia Bap tist," W. J. White, editor, Augusta, Ga.; the " East Tennessee 278 BAPTIST NEWSPAPER AND PERIODICAL PRESS Baptist," S. W. Tindell, editor, Harrison, Tenn.; "The Eagle," A. R. Davidson, editor, Tincle, Ala.; the "Guar dian, ' ' monthly, T. L. Morris, editor, Waco, Texas ; the "Missionary Worker," J. B. Gambrell, editor, semi-monthly, Dallas, Texas; "The Missionary," S. J. Thomas, editor, monthly, Bellevue, Texas; the "Liberty Baptist," W. H. Smith, editor, Horse Cave, Ky. ; " Our Missionary Helper," Mrs. C. K. Kerr, editor, monthly, Decatur, Ga. ; the ' ' Mis souri Messenger," S. W. Bacote, editor, Kansas City, Mo.; the "Preacher-Safeguard," C. A. Buchanan, editor, semi monthly, Kosciusko, Miss.; the "Pulpit, Pew, and Home," monthly, Houston, Texas; the "Southern Watchman," A. N. McEwen, editor, Mobile, Ala.; the "S. C. Standard," Columbia, S. C. ; the "South Georgia Messenger," B. J. W. Graham, editor, monthly, Macon, Ga.; "The Star," S. W. D. Isaac, editor, Fort Worth, Texas; the "S. S. Bap tist," Mrs. Nannie R. Ford, editor, semi-monthly, St. Louis, Mo.; the "S. S. and Colportage Helper," monthly, E. C. Everett, editor, San Antonio, Texas ; the " S. S. Worker, ' ' monthly, Guthrie, O. T. ; the "Virginia Baptist," J. E. Jones, editor (for colored people), Richmond, Va. ; the "Virginia Baptist," editor, Norfolk, Va.; the " West Texas Bap tist," G. W. Smith, editor, Abilene, Texas; the "Western N. C. Baptist," George Wharton, editor, Waynesville, N. C, and others. Surely there is no lack of Baptist papers in the South. The Boards of the Southern Baptist Convention have all along issued periodicals. First there was "The Home and Foreign Journal, ' ' which was divided into ' ' The Foreign Mission Journal" and "Our Home Field." Then the Sunday-school Board began soon after the war to publish "Kind Words," in Greenville, S. C, with Drs. B. Manly, Jr., and C. C. Bitting in charge. When the Board was transferred to Memphis the publication was continued there, with Dr. Samuel Boykin as editor. Then the consolidation of the Home and Sunday-school Boards at Atlanta trans ferred the publication there, and it was expanded into a series of Sunday-school helps, and, as a result of the " Kind Words controversy," the Sunday-school Board was revived and located at Nashville, where a complete series of Sunday- school helps is published under the editorial management of Dr. J. M. Frost, corresponding secretary, and Dr. J. J. Van Ness. "The Seminary Magazine," Louisville Ky. In 1887 the students of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, SOUTHERN AND SOUTHWESTERN 279 the faculty co-operating, began to publish a monthly maga zine, issued only during the session of eight months each year. It is pubhshed by a company of the students, who elect editors and managers at the opening of each session. The following are the editors for the current session (1900- 1901) : A. Y. Napier, W. O. Carver, Lewis Bristow, C. T. Willingham, J. E. Briggs, H. C. Smith, and H. E. Gabby, with H. C. McGill as business manager. W. T. Amis is president of the Board of Directors. ' ' Ford ' s Christian Repositor)', ' ' St. Louis, Mo. The consideration of this sterling monthly is reserved to the last on account of its unique character. In January, 1852, in Louisville, Ky. , appeared the first number of ' ' The Christian Repository," with John L. Waller and Charles D. Kirk as editors. The next year Dr. S. H. Ford became associated with Doctor Waller, and, on the death of the latter next year, Dr. Ford became sole proprietor. In 1855 he married Miss Sallie Rochester, who afterward wrote "Grace Tru man, ' ' and who became at once associated with her husband in editorial work. The war interrupted the publication of the "Repository," but in 1871 it was re-established in St. Louis, where it still issues, with Dr. S. H. and Mrs. Sallie Rochester Ford as editors. Doctor Ford is the senior Bap tist editor of the South, and the ' ' Repository ' ' was never better or more helpful to the cause of truth and righteous ness than it is to-day. In 1881 "The Christian Repository " purchased ' ' The Home Circle, ' ' published by the American Baptist Publication Society, and continues its publication, joining its name to its own. There is no Baptist periodical in Maryland. Before the war ' ' The True Union ' ' was published there, edited first by the Baptist pastors of Baltimore and afterward by Dr. Franklin Wilson. Years afterward Dr. H. M. Wharton started "The Baltimore Baptist," associating with him Dr. A. C. Barron. The name of the paper was changed to "The Evangel," and ere long it was sold to "The Com monwealth," published in Philadelphia. It had shortly before absorbed "The Atlantic Baptist," published at Nor folk, Va., by Dr. J. A. Speight. Th's sketch of the Baptist periodicals of the South empha sizes the question often asked by the writer, but so far unan swered, On what principles should the number, location, and personnel of our Baptist periodicals be determined ? T. T. Eaton. XIX THE BAPTIST YOUNG PEOPLE'S UNION OF AMERICA The Baptist Young People's Union of America was organ ized at a large and representative Convention held in the Second Baptist Church, Chicago, 111., July 7, 8, 1891. In common with other bodies of Christians, Baptist churches had felt the quickening influences of what is known as "The Young People's Movement." The phenomenal growth of the Society of Christian Endeavor had directed attention, as never before, to the need and advantage of developing and organizing the forces of young life in the churches. Young people's societies which, under different names, had long been at work, adopted the watchwords and methods of the new movement. New societies were organized. All felt the thrill of the new enthusiasm. As the movement increased in sweep and volume, and the possibilities of it became more apparent, its relation to denominational work and growth naturally became a matter of discussion. Many strongly advocated organization within denominational lines. Prominent among the advocates of this policy was Rev. O. W. Van Osdel, who, in 1887, while pastor at Ottawa, Kan., published a plan for a denominational organization of Baptist young people. According to this plan, the young people of a church were to be organized by the church as " a depart ment for work and special training," and not to form a sepa rate society. The basis of union was a covenant in place of a constitution. Emphasis was placed upon the training of the members in a comprehensive course of Bible study, in dis tinctive denominational principles, in the missionary enter prises of the denomination, and in systematic beneficence. It contained a plea that time be given for the consideration of this work in church, Associational, State, and national gatherings. The name suggested was "Loyalists," and the motto, "Loyalty to Christ in all things, at all times." An extensive correspondence was carried on with pastors and leaders. From many of them encouraging and enthusi- 280 BAPTIST YOUNG PEOPLE'S UNION OF AMERICA 28 1 astic responses were received. Others deprecated the move ment as being too exclusively denominational, and as antag onistic to Christian Endeavor. The movement, however, grew apace. It was evident that a new force, not to be lightly reckoned with, was in the field. The States in the middle West became the scene of its most marked and rapid development, and in some instances, the arena of heated controversy. The first of the States to hold a meeting of its Baptist young people was Kansas. This gathering was held at Clay Center, Kan., in October, 1889, though a State organi zation was not formed until the following year. To Nebraska belongs the distinction of having the first State organization. This was formed under the leadership of Rev. L. W. Terry and others, at Grand Island, Neb., in October, 1889, and was styled, "The Nebraska Convention of Baptist Young People." Its platform was a broad one, all Baptist young people' s societies of whatever name or form being invited to affiliate for common denominational ends. In the State of Wisconsin, Rev. J. M. Coon had been zealously engaged in quickening interest in distinctively Baptist societies, and had made persistent effort to introduce the work into the State Convention. In other States, also, the movement had ob tained strong foothold. The time now seemed ripe for concerted action on a wider scale. At the May Anniversaries, in Chicago, in 1890, a conference of brethren interested in the movement was held in the Sunday-school room of the Immanuel Church. About eighty, representing fifteen States and Territories, were present. E. B. Hulbert, d. d., of Morgan Park, 111., was chosen chairman, and Rev. J. M. Coon, secretary. After full discussion, the plan of a denominational organization was heartily endorsed, and the initial steps were taken. A com mittee, consisting of two members from each State and Terri tory represented, was appointed, with power to add to its number from other States desiring to co-operate, and was charged with the work of fostering the new movement. Provision was made for an Executive Committee of three, which was composed of E. B. Hulbert, d. d., 0. W. Van Osdel, and C. Perren. The decision of this conference was the signal for renewed activity. During the summer a vigorous correspondence was carried on, co-operating committees were secured in several States, and preparations made for the holding of a large number of State meetings of Baptist young people. As the work advanced, the need of a paper that should be a medium 282 BAPTIST YOUNG PEOPLE'S UNION OF AMERICA of communication, and that should embody the distinctive features of the new movement, became increasingly evident. During the years 1 888-1 890, Rev. O. W. Van Osdel had issued a series of lessons, entitled " The Apostles' Doctrine," designed to encourage among young people the doctrinal study of the Bible. If work of this kind, which was regarded as vital to the movement, was to be carried on, some form of publication was a necessity. In Wisconsin, Rev. J. M. Coon had been for some time engaged in the preparation of a hand book for the use of young Christians, and had agitated the question of a State paper. At a conference held with him by Rev. O. W. Van Osdel, the decision to start a paper that should represent the new movement was reached. The firm of Coon and Van Osdel was formed, and on October 16, 1890, the first issue of the "Loyalist" was published in Chicago. This issue contained the announcement of a national meeting to be held in July, 1891. Preparations for that meeting advanced rapidly. Before the close of 1890 fourteen States had either held State meetings of their Baptist young people, or had taken definite action looking toward that end. The publication of the ' ' Loyalist ' ' was a determining factor in the new movement. It arrested the attention of the de nomination. It precipitated tendencies and gave them form. Among those who had from the outset taken a deep interest in the young people's work, and had watched every phase of its development, was Benjamin Griffith, d. d. , secretary of the American Baptist Publication Society. The need of edu cating our young people in Baptist principles, and of enlisting their intelligent interest in all forms of missionary effort, had deeply impressed him. He had in mind an extended series of publications to meet that need. The question of publish ing a paper in the interests of the young people had been a matter of conference between him and some of the leaders in the work. The issue of the ' ' Loyalist ' ' determined his action. After eight numbers of that paper had been pub lished, it was purchased by the Publication Society, and was issued with its imprint under the title, "The Young People at Work." In the meantime, plans for the July Convention were ma turing. As the result of a conference with F. L. Wilkins, d. d. , in Davenport, Iowa, in December, 1890, it was at first de cided that the Convention should be held in that city. The place of meeting was subsequently changed to the Second Baptist Church, Chicago, and the date fixed at July 8, 9. BAPTIST YOUNG PEOPLE'S UNION OF AMERICA 283 Under date of January i, 1891, a letter was sent to the co operating committees in the several States, asking their ap proval of a form of call for a National Convention. The call, which was approved, was addressed to the Baptist churches of America. The pubhcation of the ' ' Loyalist ' ' was the signal for a fierce attack upon the new movement, and upon the name by which it had been designated. As the time for the Convention drew near the controversy became more pronounced. At this juncture, Dr. Benjamin Griffith stepped into the breach, and with his characteristic energy, breadth of sympathy and farsightedness, sought to harmonize the conflicting elements. At his instance, largely, a conference was held in Philadelphia, April 22, 1 89 1, to which brethren representing all varieties of opinion on the matter at issue were invited. After full discussion a basis of co-operation for all local young people' s societies in Baptist churches was adopted. In securing this result the influence of the paper, "Young People at Work," was very marked, as from the first it had advocated an or ganization on the basis of inclusion. This was regarded as a most happy adjustment of the diffi culty, and was hailed with general satisfaction. The way was now ready for the Chicago Convention. The formal call was signed by representatives of twenty-one States. The Con vention assembled in the Second Baptist Church, Chicago, 111., on Tuesday, July 7, 1891, at ten o'clock a. m. Its ses sions extended through two days, morning, afternoon, and evening. The attendance exceeded the most sanguine ex pectations. There were representatives of thirty-three States and Territories, the District of Columbia, and the provinces of Ontario and Nova Scotia. The programme had been arranged with marked care. Many of the most effective speakers in the denomination addressed the assembly. Men of light and leading took part in shaping the form and policy of the movement. Enthusiasm rose high. Before the Con vention closed the Baptist Young People's Union of America was fully organized. Forms of constitution — national or in ternational, State, Associational and local — were adopted. A full list of officers was elected, with John H. Chapman, president; F. L. Wilkins, d. d., J. B. Cranfill, d. d., and 0' P. Gifford, d. d., vice-presidents; R. F. Y. Pierce, secretary; and J. O. Staples, treasurer. The basis of union was distinctly federative. The object of the Union was declared to be " the unification of Baptist young people, their increased spirituality, their stimulation 284 BAPTIST YOUNG PEOPLE'S UNION OF AMERICA in Christian service, their edification in Scripture knowledge, their instruction in Baptist history and doctrine, and their enlistment in missionary activity through existing denomina tional organizations." While the Union is thus distinctively denominational, as its name implies, yet within these lines it is broadly inclusive. It seeks to effect a fraternal union of all Baptist young people's organizations in America. It does not insist upon uniformity of name or constitution. It under takes no legislative function over local societies. It simply seeks to bring all these societies into helpful fellowship and active co-operation, and to relate them properly to our great denominational societies. The feature which from the beginning differentiated the Union most clearly from the young people's movement in general was the educational feature. It was felt that the enthusiasm which had been quickened by the general move ment needed to be supplemented and guided by wise measures of instruction in Christian truth. It was felt, also, that our young people should be trained to an intelhgent and self- respecting denominational loyalty and to active enlistment in the support of the missionary activities of the denomina tion. The formulating and initiation of plans for the attainment of these ends was no easy task. It was pioneer work. There were no precedents to guide. The whole scheme had to be evolved and wrought out. The field to be covered was a broad one, the- United States and Canada. Through out this vast field local centers were to be established, State and provincial organizations formed, and all, in turn, to be properly related to the central body. This involved an im mense correspondence, the preparation of technical litera ture, and the holding of almost innumerable meetings and conventions. At an early day it was deemed essential that the paper which had thus far represented the movement should be owned and controlled by the Union. It was accordingly purchased from the American Baptist Pubhcation Society, and the property was transferred, November 16, 1 89 1, to headquarters in Chicago. This involved the added burden of editorial work. The man for the hour and for this diversified and exacting task was found in F. L. Wil kins, d. d., who gave himself to it with an untiring energy and a complete devotion. The young organization was also fortunate in having at its head so energetic and consecrated a man as John H. Chapman. With them were associated an Executive Committee, composed of pastors and business BAPTIST YOUNG PEOPLE'S UNION OF AMERICA 285 men, who gave freely of their time, thought, and money to the enterprise. The educational aims of the Union were made prominent from the beginning. A department was opened in the paper, under the heading "The Study Hour," for the presenting of definite lines of study. During the first year series of lessons were furnished by Professor Ernest D. Burton, then of Newton Theological Institution, on "Writers of the New Testament and Their Books" ; by Professor Ira M. Price, of the University of Chicago, on ' ' The Books of the Old Testament," and by Rev. J. S. Wrightnour, then of Xenia, Ohio, on " Study of Christian Doctrine." From these be ginnings has been evolved a comprehensive system of biblical and missionary education for young people, to which has been given the name of the Christian Culture Courses. These courses are three in number, each extending through four years. A "Bible Readers' Course" provides for the reading of the entire Scriptures, the first year being given to the historical, the second to the poetical, the third to the epistolary, and the fourth to the prophetical books. The daily readings, which cover the whole year, are prefaced by introductions to the several books, giving the historical back ground and accompanied by brief analytical notes. A "Sa cred Literature Course ' ' furnishes lessons by eminent biblical scholars, who treat in successive years "Preparations for the Messiah," "The Life and Times of Christ," "The Dawn of Christianity, " and "The Development of Christian Doc trine." A " Conquest Missionary Course " presents a view of the missionary work of the Baptist denomination in all departments, at home and abroad, and is designed to fa miliarize our young people with the history, growth, present condition, and needs of our missionary enterprises. While two of these courses, the Bible Readers' and the Conquest Missionary, offer material for the whole year, the ' ' study period" extends only through twenty-five weeks, beginning October 1 and ending April 1, and is supplemented by a written examination. At the third International Convention, held in Indianapolis in 1893, a junior department was organized, and in October of the following year, under the leadership of Mrs. F. L. Wilkins, an experimental junior course was carried on during the fall and winter. The experiment was so successful that Christian Culture Courses for the juniors, similar in outline to those of the seniors, though simpler in form, were provided, and have become an established order. The Junior Depart- 286 BAPTIST YOUNG PEOPLE'S UNION OF AMERICA ment now has its own organ, the "Junior Baptist Union," issued monthly. Evidence of the interest in these senior and junior courses, is shown by the fact that at the examina tions in 1900, no less than 15,162 papers were received in all departments. The number of papers too falls far short of the number of those who pursue the studies. The educational scheme of the Union includes, also, an "Advanced Christian Culture Course" department, for which two scholarly volumes have already been published : "The Monuments and the Old Testament," by Prof. Ira M. Price, ph. d. , of the University of Chicago, and "Two Thousand Years of Missions before Carey, ' ' by Lemuel Call Barnes, D. D. , of Pittsburg, Pa. A delightful feature in the work of the Union is the hearty co-operation in it of Baptist brethren in the South. While there is a Baptist Young People's Union auxiliary to the Southern Baptist Convention, it is in closest affiliation with the parent organization. The members of its Board of man agers are the representatives of their several States on the general Board. The "Baptist Union " is accepted as the com mon official organ, and the study courses are heartily com mended. The fellowship fostered by the Union extends even beyond national boundary lines. The Baptists of Canada were represented at the first convention, and have contribu ted in no small measure to the development of the work. No more profitable or inspiring convention in the history of the Union has been held than at Toronto in 1894, nor was hospitality ever dispensed with more generous hand than on that occasion. The Union holds its international conven tions in July of each year. These conventions are the most largely attended gatherings of the Baptist denomination in the world. They furnish inspiration and instruction. Work ers from all parts of the great field come together to compare notes, and to hear able men of the denomination present their best thought on themes vitally related to Christian char acter and service. Such gatherings promote fellowship. They quicken the consciousness of a common life and bring cheer to the hearts of those who toil in lonely places. The history of the organization has abundantly justified its being, and vindicated the wisdom and foresight of its found ers. It is an educational force. The pursuit of the courses of study marked out cannot fail to result in a more intelligent type of Christian character, and in larger effectiveness for Christian service. It is a missionary force, disseminating in formation and quickening and directing missionary impulse. BAPTIST YOUNG PEOPLE'S UNION OF AMERICA 287 It is a denominational force, inculcating the distinctive prin ciples for which Baptists stand, and seeking properly to relate our young people to all the missionary enterprises of the de nomination. It came into the field at an opportune time. It has wrought a good work. It has in it the potency and promise of still larger good. The headquarters of the Union have from the first been in Chicago. It still retains as its president Mr. John H. Chap man, who has filled out almost ten years of service, and filled them to the full with earnest, prayerful, self-denying activity. F. L. Wilkins, d. d., the pioneer secretary, continued his service through a term of six years, and was succeeded by E. E. drivers, d. d., who served as general secretary and editor for four years. At the head of its educational work stands Prof. Ira M. Price, who through all these years has largely shaped its course, and to whom the Baptist denomi nation in America owes a larger debt than it realizes. The convention of 1901 will mark the completion of the first dec ade of the Union's history. The record is one of large achievement. The leaders may well thank God and take courage. E. E. Chivers. XX THE BAPTIST CONGRESS The Baptist Congress is an organized forum for the discus sion of current questions, religious, social, political, or philo sophic. Its institution was suggested, in part at least, by the success of certain earlier gatherings for the exchange of views. The Baptists of Great Britain hold the anniversary business assemblies of their various missionary organizations in the month of May and then in the autumn comes a meeting of the Baptist Union, the sessions, while extending over several days, being devoted not to the transaction of business, but merely to conference and the discussion of important topics. This gathering has been the great occasion of the year for popular interest, the attendance being large, and the ad dresses, which are very fully reported in the daily press, often exciting prolonged discussion, and thus the influence of this autumnal conference has been very great. In the Church of England in 1861 was organized the Church Congress. This is a purely voluntary gathering of clergymen and laymen, not for any legislative or business purpose, but simply for the discussion of subjects which are uppermost in popular thought. No vote or other action is taken in any direction. This Church Congress attracted so wide an attention that it was followed in 1874 by the organi zation of the Church Congress of the Protestant Episcopal Church in this country, which again, by its interesting meet ings in different cities of the United States, attracted the at tention of thinking men in other denominations. It came to be felt by many that there should be organized among American Baptists a body which should hold similar meetings for the discussion of questions of all kinds. The only thing necessary for the starting of the movement was for some practical man to come forward and bring together these separated persons of united sentiment. Shortly after the holding of the Episcopalian Church Congress in Providence, R. I., Elias H. Johnson, d. d., then of that city, who had been interested in its meetings, sent out the suggestion to several 288 THE BAPTIST CONGRESS 289 of his Baptist brethren for a private conference to consider the advisabihty of the formation of a Baptist organization on the same general lines. This conference was held at the St. Denis Hotel, in New York, on November 29, 1881. There were present E. H. Johnson, G. D. Boardman, J. B. Thomas, R. S. MacArthur, C. D'W. Bridgman, George Bullen, T. A. K. Gessler, A. J. Rowland, Wayland Hoyt, A. G. Lawson, J. F. Elder, John Peddie, H. M. Sanders, and Norman Fox. The discussion that followed continued through two ses sions and at luncheon in between. There were canvassed not only the promised advantages, but also some suggested difficulties and possible forms of opposition. At last, how ever, a unanimous conclusion was arrived at, that the proposed organization should be formed and the necessary steps were taken. A general committee was constituted consisting of persons contributing five dollars annually, this committee having the general control of the work. Of this George Dana Board- man, d. d., of Philadelphia, was made chairman. From the members of this committee there was appointed an Executive Committee, consisting of persons resident in New York and vicinity, on whom devolved the details of operation. This committee as originally formed consisted of J. B. Thomas, chairman ; Norman Fox, secretary ; and Messrs. Lawson, Gessler, Sanders, Peddie, Deane, Elder, Townsend, Mac- Arthur, Bridgman, and Hoyt. The name first borne by the organization was "The Bap tist Autumnal Conference for the Discussion of Current Questions." For "Autumnal Conference" was afterward substituted the name "Congress." The first public meet ing was held in Brooklyn, November 14, 15, and 16, 1882, in the spacious edifice of the First Baptist Church, in Pierre- pont Street, of which Dr. J. B. Thomas was then pastor. George Dana Boardman, d. d., presided. The meetings were in every respect a success, and carried with them an assurance of the wide influence of the new organization. The next annual meeting was in Boston, Dr. Alvah Ho- vey, of Newton Theological Seminary, presiding. The next autumn the gathering was in Philadelphia, President H. G. Weston, of Crozer Theological Seminary, being in the chair. The next assembly was in Calvary Church, New York, Dr. Thomas Armitage being the presiding officer. In 1886 the meeting was in Baltimore, in 1887 in Indianapolis, in 1888 at Richmond, in 1889 at Toronto, in 1890 at New Haven. T 290 THE BAPTIST CONGRESS The meetings up to this time had been held in November, but now a change was made to the spring, and the next meeting was held in May, 1892, in Philadelphia, the week before the Baptist anniversaries -in that city. The attend ance was larger than it had ever been before, but for various reasons it was thought best to return. to the autumnal gather ings, and the next assemblage was in November, 1893, at Augusta, Ga. In 1894 the meeting was in Detroit, in 1895 at Providence, in 1896 at Nashville, in 1897 at Chicago, in 1898 at Buffalo, in 1899 at Pittsburg, and in 1900 at Rich mond. Though the meetings of the Congress have always been fairly successful as to numbers, the exercises have not gen erally been such as to attract large crowds. Sometimes, indeed, a theological or social question will command the attention of the general public, and certain of the discussions of the Congress have secured a large attendance. But to a great extent the papers and addresses have been on topics which would interest only the thoughtful few. In each city, however, the audiences at the meetings have consisted not only of Baptists, but also of thinking persons from all the churches. The "current questions" which the Congress has dis cussed are questions in all branches of study, not only religious and ecclesiastical, but also educational, social, scientific, economic, and philosophical. It would be difficult to find a list of topics which will carry the investigator over a wider field of thought. Not only the clergyman, but also the thinking layman and every intelhgent student finds in this catalogue of subjects suggestions for extended and fruitful research. And these important topics have been discussed by truly competent investigators. The foremost ministers and lay men of the Baptist denomination have stood upon the plat form of the Congress. There need be no hesitation in saying that there has never been a series of Baptist public meetings in which the average character of the speakers was as high as has been that of those who have read papers and made addresses at the meetings of the Baptist Congress. The influence of the meetings has not been limited solely to those who have in person attended the discussions. Ex tended reports of those discussions have been given in the Baptist journals and other newspapers. Of each meeting, except the first, the proceedings have been published in full and may be found in public and private libraries, By the THE BAPTIST CONGRESS 29 1 newspaper reports and these published volumes the influence of the Congress has been widely extended. The foregoing paragraphs present merely certain outward events in the history of the Baptist Congress. But the insti tution has had an internal and private history which is of far more significance. Those who framed the organization had for their object " the discussion of current questions." But many to whom they made known their plan declared imme diately that such discussion would be widely frowned upon, and that all who identified themselves with the proposed in stitution would imperil their denominational standing. One of the New York daily papers, in an editorial article on the first meeting of the organization, noted with some sur prise that no papers were presented in defense and advocacy of distinctive Baptist principles. But to deal with these was no part of the purpose of the Congress. There was needed no new gathering to listen to argument on points concerning which Baptists were fully agreed. The object of the assem blage was to provide for the discussion of matters on which there were differences of opinion. When a "question" is no longer "current," when the problem has been settled, there is no danger in assailing the exploded error. The doughty champion who kicks and cudgels a dead hon may gain great glory to himself. The one who before a Baptist audience will prove by elaborate argumentation that prelacy is unscriptural, that infants are not to be baptized, will gain no end of applause. But when there is a difference of opinion among the brethren, it is plain that to provide for a square discussion of the question is to arrange for the utterance of views which one party will deem erroneous, and if this party is the majority such utterance may bring trouble not only on the speaker who has dared to challenge the dominant opinion, but also on those who have furnished him a platform from which to avow his dissent. The Baptist Congress was organized upon a denial of the infallibility not only of the Church of Rome, but of the Baptist churches also, upon the idea that even " the whole Baptist denomination ' ' might err, and in cases where a respectable minority of intelligent men differed from the current opinion it was proposed that it be considered whether this minority might not be right and the majority wrong. But to admit Aat there could be even a "question" whether established Baptist doctrine or usage was not at some points erroneous involved a hardihood which to many good brethren seemed perilous. 292 THE BAPTIST CONGRESS Said a certain prominent Baptist: "I do not believe in furnishing heretics a platform from which to air their notions. ' ' But what if, like the pope on former occasions, the majority, or what seems to be the majority, are in error, and the "heretic" speaks the truth of Christ, may we not wisely allow him to open to us the Scriptures and argue before us whether these things be " so " ? The Baptist churches have modified their views on divers points, and who knows but they may still learn something even from one who speaks "after the way which they call heresy" ? In the dealings of the Romans with Paul the proposed Baptist Congress had the clearest apostolic precedent. The idea of the founders of the Baptist Congress was the old-fashioned Baptist idea that the truth thrives best in free discussion, that the most effective means of suppressing wrong views is to invite the erring brethren to the platform there to give their arguments in full ; there being also provided able teachers who will point out there and then just wherein the new opinions are erroneous. The Congress has been subjected to vehement attack, gen erally on the part of those whose range of vision was not wide enough for them to comprehend its purposes, but sometimes, it may be feared, by men who thought it policy to cater to the majority. Year after year, however, as the institution has become better known and the spirit of those who control it has become more fully understood it has gained new sup porters. For some years it was deemed "an experiment," but now that it has held its Eighteenth Annual Session it may be considered to have become a permanent part of the ma chinery of the Baptist denomination. The declaration that the Baptist denomination is illiberal and proscriptive is grossly unjust. Men who have been freest to express their dissent from dominant opinions, who have openly antagonized current views on points at which the de nomination was the most sensitive, declare that in no Christian body is there greater freedom of thought and expression than among Baptists. If necessary, instances could be given in support of this contention. Of course the Baptist who at tacks the position of the majority of his brethen will not un likely arouse a counterblast. This simply shows that Baptists are not latitudinarians, that liberty of utterance in Baptist circles is not merely the result of indifference. Liberty can be predicated only of cases in which the majority are severely exercised over the departure from the current opinion, but still allow the dissenters freely to give their views. Though Baptists are by nature as illiberal as other men, they have THE BAPTIST CONGRESS 293 come to believe their own doctrine, that the truth is best established not by persecution but by free discussion. And while the open platform of the Baptist Congress may be re garded as simply a carrying out of the old Baptist principle, we may believe, on the other hand, that it has reacted on the denominational sentiment and that the greater freedom of utterance which is found in Baptist circles is in part, at least, a result of the fact that there has for many years existed in the denomination, a body before which any respectable mi nority could state its views and secure for them a full and fair consideration. Not merely concerning the particular ques tions argued, but in illustrating the broad principle of free discussion, the Baptist Congress has done a great and noble service to the cause of truth. Norman Fox. XXI ORGANIZED WORK OF THE DENOMINATION A STUDY IN COMPARATIVE METHODS NORTH AND SOUTH It is important that a clear statement of the object of this chapter be given at the outset. It is not proposed to make a historical study of our missionary societies. This will be done by others. Nor is this merely a descriptive article, outlining the various departments of work conducted by all the mis sionary societies of the Baptist denomination. For the pur poses in view it will be necessary to confine attention to the general missionary organizations of the denomination, em bracing the three larger societies of the North, and the Southern Baptist Convention. It is proposed to glance briefly at the organization and methods of work of each of these bodies, and then to institute a comparison between those of the North and of the South. It may be well also for the writer to say that his attitude is sympathetic toward all the constructive and missionary work of the denomination, both North and South. Being a native of the South arid having spent the greater part of his ministry in the Southern Baptist Convention, he could not cherish other than a most affection ate interest in all its work ; having spent several years in a Northern pastorate and in close touch with the organized work of the denomination there, he feels a no less genuine interest in the great work of the Northern brotherhood. A GLANCE AT THE CONSTITUTIONS. At this point it will aid our inquiries if we glance at such provisions in the constitutions of the four organizations as bear upon our object and point of view. The following are Extracts from the Constitution of the Southern Baptist Con vention. Art. III. The Convention shall consist, (i) of brethren who contribute funds, or are delegated by Baptist bodies contributing funds for the regular work of the Convention, 294 ORGANIZED WORK OF THE DENOMINATION 295 on the basis of one delegate for every #250 actually paid into the treasuries of the Boards during the fiscal year, ending the 30th day of April next preceding the meeting of the Convention ; (2) of one representative from each of the Dis trict Associations which co-operate with this Convention, pro vided that such representative be formally elected at the annual meeting of the District Association and his election certified to the Secretaries of the Convention, either in writing or by a copy of the printed Minutes. Art. V. The Convention shall elect at each annual meet ing as many Boards of Managers as in its judgment will be necessary for carrying out the benevolent objects it may de termine to promote — all of which Boards may continue in office until a new election. Each Board shall consist of a President, Vice-Presidents, Secretaries, Treasurer, Auditor, and fifteen other members, seven of whom, including one or more of the officers, shall form a quorum for the transaction of business ; provided, that any of the Boards may have the same person to fill the two positions of Corresponding Secre tary and Treasurer. To each Board shall be committed, during the recess of the Convention, the entire management of all the affairs relating to the objects with whose interest it shah be charged ; all of which management shall be in strict accordance with the constitutional provisions adopted by this . Convention, and such other instructions as may be given from time to time. Each Board shall have power to make such compensation to its Secretaries and Treasurer as it may think right, fill the vacancies occurring in its own bodies, and enact its own By-laws. From the above extracts we gather the following facts : First, a two-fold basis of representation, financial and associ ational ; second, a group of co-ordinate Boards elected by the Convention annually for the conduct of various depart ments of work, and each directly responsible to the Conven tion itself; third, plenary power residing in the annual meet ings of the Convention, which reserves the right to direct the Boards in any and all respects. Extracts from the Constitution of the American Baptist Mis sionary Union. The Union shall be composed as follows : All missionaries of the Union during their term of service. All life-members and honorary life-members. Any regular Baptist church, contributing to the funds of 296 ORGANIZED WORK OF THE DENOMINATION the Union, may appoint one annual member. If the sum contributed in the year amount to more than one hundred dollars, the church may appoint an additional member for every additional one hundred dollars. Any additional or local Association of the Baptist denomi nation, that may supply the funds for the support of a mis sionary or missionaries, may appoint one annual member for every one hundred dollars paid during the preceding year through the treasurer of the Union. Any individual may become an honorary life-member by the payment, during one financial year, of not less than one hundred dollars ; and every honorary life-member shall have a vote in the meetings of the Union so long as he continues to be an annual contributor to the treasury. 1. The Board of Managers. The Board of Managers shall be composed as follows : Seventy-five elective members, of whom not more than three-fifths shall be ministers of the gospel, and not less than one-fifth shall be women, these members to be elected in three equal classes, one class to go out of office at each annual meeting and its place to be supplied by a new election, the same proportionate limitations to be applied to the several classes. At its first meeting it [the Board of Managers] shall elect by ballot an Executive Committee of fifteen persons, not more than eight of whom shall be ministers of the gospel, and two-thirds of whom shall be residents of Boston or vicinity. 2. The Executive Committee. The Executive Committee shall hold its meetings at such times and places as it may ap point, shall choose its own chairman and recording secretary, and fill any vacancy that may occur in its own number. It shall be the duty of the Executive Committee to carry into effect the votes of the Union and the instructions of the Board of Managers, to designate, by advice of the Board, the places where missions shall be attempted, to establish and superintend the same ; to appoint and station the missionaries of the Union, and fix their compensation ; to give any need ful directions to the agents, missionaries, secretaries, and treas urer, in the discharge of their duties ; to make all appropri ations to be paid out of the treasury ; to employ all needful agencies for the collection of funds ; and in general to per form all duties necessary to promote the objects of the Union, subject always to the limitations of this constitution and the instructions of the Board and the Union. ORGANIZED WORK OF THE DENOMINATION 297 The following is a brief summary of the above provisions : First, a membership made up of four classes — missionaries, life-members, honorary members, and representatives from co operating churches. All these classes are appointed on the financial basis except the missionaries ; secondly, a Board of Managers elected at the annual meeting of the Union, which in turn elects the Executive Committee, fixes salaries of its officers, co-operates with it in establishing new mission stations, and gives instructions to said Committee in other ways ; thirdly, an Executive Committee which has charge of the ad ministrative work of the Union on the home and foreign fields, and which is responsible to the Board of Managers and the Union ; fourthly, the final authority over Board of Man agers and Executive Committee residing in the Union itself. The organization of the Home Mission Society is similar to that of the Missionary Union. It is made up of three classes of members, viz : Annual delegates from churches contribu ting to its treasury, life-members, and life-directors. The basis of its membership is exclusively financial. The Execu tive Board of the Home Mission Society consists of fifteen managers elected annually by the Society, together with the treasurer, auditors, and recording secretary of the Society. The Executive Board manages the affairs of the home mission work, and is responsible directly and only to the Society. The Society itself is final authority in all things. The American Baptist Publication Society is organized on principles closely corresponding to those of the Home Mission Society, as outlined above. Its membership consists of dele gates, annual members, honorary life-members, and life-man agers, all of whom receive their appointment on a basis of money contributed to the work of the Society. The affairs of the Society are in the hands of a Board of Managers elected annually and responsible directly to the Society, which retains full authority in all things. I. ULTIMATE AUTHORITY. Under this head it is to be noted that all the organizations are identical in the provision which lodges final authority in the popular representative annual meeting. These meet ings, in the three Northern societies and in the Southern Baptist Convention, legislate for their Boards, committees, and various subordinate agencies. Not one of them ever professes or attempts to legislate for the churches. Co operation is purely voluntary. There is no constitutional hindrance to prevent any delegate at any annual meeting 298 ORGANIZED WORK OF THE DENOMINATION from introducing resolutions looking to reform or change in any respect in any of the general missionary bodies. But while this is true as regards constitutional arrangement, I think it can fairly be said that in the Northern societies there is less of initiative in matters involving important changes in administration and policy in the annual representative meet ing than there is of such initiative in the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention. In the latter body nearly all important questions come first before the Convention, are there discussed and settled, and referred with instructions to the Boards. In the North such matters usually take the form of recommendations from the various Boards or com mittees and are then acted upon at the annual meeting. Of course there are exceptions, North and South ; I am speak ing now of the rule. The good and the evil of the Northern and Southern usage in this matter may easily be balanced against one another, but with the preponderance, it would seem, somewhat in favor of the Southern. There is always danger of hasty and immature action in a popular body under the stimulus of strong feeling or oratory leading to friction and discord afterward, just as the monopoly of vital matters by committees and Boards tends to chill the interest of the constituency at large and lessen attendance at annual meet ings. As there will always be some questions which should be referred to wise committees, and as there are others whose settlement without popular endorsement would prove unavailing, the part of wisdom would seem to be to cultivate both methods. II. UNITY OF INTERESTS INVOLVED. The Southern organization possesses advantages over the Northern in respect to the unity of interests involved in three particulars, although these are in part more theoretical than actual. It possesses an advantage, 1. In the General Direction of its Work. Obviously it ought to be true that one Convention could direct its three co-ordinate Boards along their respective lines of work with less overlapping and collision than could be attained by three independent organizations attempting to cover the same ter ritory, even though their work is different. 2. In the Distribution of Time at Annual Meetings. Under the Southern arrangement the time can be apportioned ac cording to the relative importance of the subjects presented. For three societies to hold three meetings in succession of equal length as in the North would seem to be an artificial ORGANIZED WORK OF THE DENOMINATION 299 arrangement. In the nature of the case it is not always true that the interests of foreign, home, and publication societies need exactly the same length of time for their consideration. The result may be that one meeting is crowded for time while the programme of another is padded to fill out. 3. The Ability to Settle Differences. Then too, it is an advantage of the Southern arrangement that there is a general body to settle differences between the Boards. In the North there is nothing of the kind save the slow growth of popular sentiment. The second and third of the above advantages are worthy of emphasis as being tangible and real. As to the first, it must be confessed that it is to a considerable extent theoreti cal. As one of the secretaries said some time ago in a public address : "The tendency is for it to become a hurdle-race between the Boards as to which will outstrip the other." It ought to be said, however, that rivalry in some degree is inevitable under any arrangement of separate Boards or societies. If this rivalry is generous and Christian in spirit it is not to be deplored. III. RELATIVE NEARNESS TO THE CHURCHES. A matter of vital importance in missionary effort is the relations sustained by the general missionary body to the local churches. A comparison of the organizations North and South in this respect reveals the following facts : In the Missionary Union and the Publication Society a contribution of any sum, however small, to the work of the society entitles any church to one messenger to the annual meeting, and, in the case of both these societies, each #100 additional entitles to an additional representative. In the Home Mission So ciety a contribution of #10 entitles to one, and every addi tional contribution of #30 entitles to another representative. In the Missionary Union all missionaries in the employ of the Union are entitled to membership also. With this exception the basis of representation in the Northern societies is ex clusively financial. In the Southern Baptist Convention the membership con sists of one delegate for each annual contribution of #250 to the work of its Boards, and of one delegate from each District Association within the bounds of the Convention. It can be seen from the above facts that the societies of the North enjoy the advantage of a more direct connection with the smaller churches. In the South the church which does not contribute so much as #250 during the year cannot ap- 300 ORGANIZED WORK OF THE DENOMINATION point its own representative to the Southern Baptist Conven tion. The appointments are usually made in the South by the various State Boards. In practice, however, any Baptist in good standing in any church can usually receive appoint ment, if he will indicate his wishes to the State Board before the delegation is completed. This matter of appointment by the State Board is one of custom only, and all appointments can be referred back to the churches at any time. Indeed, in the larger churches the appointments are often made wholly apart from the State Board. It would seem from the above showing that the consensus of the Baptists of the whole country is in favor of the finan cial basis of representation as a permanent principle in mis sionary organization and effort. Many reasons could be cited in proof of the wisdom of this view. Among these might be named the following : Many Baptists are practically, if not theoretically, opposed to missions, and a lukewarm or antag onistic constituency would not be likely to devise the wisest policies and methods for advancing missions. No church is so weak financially that it can make no contribution, and fail ure to contribute is clear evidence of lack of interest. Again, representation should be in relation to the interests involved. District Associations discuss many questions in which all the churches are interested, some of them not connected with money contributions. A general missionary body is organ ized for a specifically missionary purpose. Hence the basis of representation need not be the same. Further, the prin ciple of Christian stewardship requires that givers of money should not entrust its administration into the hands of non- givers who are lacking in sympathy for the objects of the gifts. IV. SUBORDINATE AGENCIES. In the employment of subordinate agencies for the ad vancement of their work the societies of the North are much in advance of their Southern brethren. This is particularly true as to the system of district secretaries. There are, of course, defects in the system, but beyond question it is a great gain to have a vigorous agent on every part of the terri tory of the society, whose business it is to look after the special interests of his own society. Northern Baptists are willing to spend money to get money, and their recognition of this principle in missionary operations is usually justified by the fruits. In the South there is no uniform system of auxiliary agen cies for prosecuting the work of the three general Boards. ORGANIZED WORK OF THE DENOMINATION 3OI The method which prevails most widely is for the secretary of the State Mission Board to represent all the general mis sionary organizations as well, and in some cases his salary is paid jointly by the State and general Boards. The State sec retaries of the South are a fine body of men, but in the nature of the case, no one man can represent three or four interests as effectively as he can represent one, however im partial and broadminded he may be. Besides he is liable to blame from his brethren of the State Board if he lays too much stress on the general interests, and vice versa. Of course objections might be urged against both of these arrangements. Against the arrangement of the Northern so cieties the cost of employing so many district secretaries would be the heaviest count, and added to this would be the friction resulting from the overlapping of fields, and the du plication and even multiplication of missionary agencies on the same territory. Against the Southern arrangement, on the other hand, might be urged the anomaly of laying upon the general Boards the great responsibility of prosecuting general hnes of mission work, and then limiting their powers, and preventing their free and direct access to the churches, the tendency of the arrangement being to transform all the Boards into disbursing rather than collecting agencies. The relatively small sum given by Southern Baptists to missions when compared with the gifts to the Northern soci eties is cited sometimes in proof of the superiority of the arrangement of the latter. It must be borne in mind, however, that various causes operate in the South to produce this result. For one thing Southern Baptists have been and are far more numerous in the country than in the city. Country Baptists are not as a rule less liberal than others, but since the war their poverty has been great, and facilities for reaching them have been limited. Then too, Southern Baptists since the war have been compelled to rebuild the material side of their denom inational life from the foundations. Academies, colleges, universities, meeting-houses, and other enterprises besides missions have absorbed vast sums, and this burden is by no means yet removed from their shoulders. It must be owned further by the impartial student of Southern conditions that among the Baptists doctrine has re ceived, if not too strong, at least too exclusive an emphasis. If the intense loyalty of Southern Baptists to doctrine could be enlisted also in the cause of world-wide evangelization there would be scarcely a limit to their ultimate power in this di- 302 ORGANIZED WORK OF THE DENOMINATION rection, while doctrinal interests would not suffer, and unity would follow as a choice fruit of the increased power of love toward Christ and men. The above facts are cited to show that other considera tions besides that of organization and method enter into the question of the amount of money raised for missions. We may conclude our comparison as to subordinate agencies with the general statement that Northern Baptists are in advance of their Southern brethren in their willingness to spend money to get money, and in the freedom with which the societies are permitted to prosecute their work in the various States. V. SPECIAL FEATURES. The ' ' life-membership ' ' feature of the Northern societies, based also on money contributed, is highly valued by those in position to observe its working. It tends to create a per manent constituency of men and women who follow the work of the societies with interest and who contribute lib erally to its needs. In the South the district Associational representative is valued by many as furnishing a means of connection with every district Association in the South. VI. GENERAL CONCLUSIONS. The following general conclusions result from our study : i. Accord with Baptist Principles. All our Baptist gen eral missionary organizations are strictly in accordance with Baptist principles and polity, though none of them are ideal in operation. 2. Ideal General Features. The Southern Baptist Con vention, with its co-ordinate Boards, is more nearly the ideal missionary organization in its general features than are the Northern societies, but less nearly ideal in the matter of subordinate agencies. 3. The Deliberative Element. There is need of more of the deliberative element in the annual meetings of the North ern societies, and there is need of more prearrangement for the adequate presentation of great interests than has been usual in the Southern Convention. Such prearrangement should never prevent full discussion. It is useful as a means of introducing great missionary themes and preventing the loss of a great opportunity often due to lack of speakers who have made special preparation on the subject. 4. Modifications and Improvements. As to modifications and improvements, in the North the chief need is for an ORGANIZED WORK OF THE DENOMINATION 303 increased unity and co-ordination of interests, while in the South it is increased facilities for ' ' eliciting ' ' the energies of the denomination. In the South we are admirably equipped for "combining and directing" the energies of the people, but are sadly crippled in our facilities for eliciting those energies, and it is obvious that agencies for combining and directing do not find adequate play for their powers unless they are attended by agencies for eliciting as well. There is significance in the fact that the general organiza tions, both North and South, have recently appointed gen eral committees to consider questions of unifying on the one hand and eliciting and developing on the other. Then too, the Commission on Systematic Beneficence in the North, with its noble ideals, has in the last few years given fresh emphasis to the great need of regularity and system as well as hberality in our gifts to various denominational enterprises. Finally, it may be remarked that the writer is well aware of the many difficulties involved in making radical changes in our general societies and conventions, and his position would not be understood if it were construed as advocating revolutionary measures. The attempt has been to indicate simply a few hnes along which gradual improvements might be effected. It should be remarked further, that behind all questions of organization and method is the far deeper ques tion of life and spirit. Missionary spirit and life are creative and constructive forces, and, if they can be enlarged and deepened among us, questions of organization will find solu tion with much less of difficulty and danger. E. Y. Mullins. XXII BAPTIST STATE CONVENTIONS PART I NORTHERN As new territory opened up in our country in the earlier period of its history and the tide of immigration set in, streams of settlers from the older portions of New England and New York found their way into the new regions along and beyond the Ohio River, and Baptist churches were rapidly multiplied. Large accessions were made to the growing membership as the result of the wonderful revival of 1790 which swept over the country and continued to the end of the century. It was a period of great transition. The religious life had primarily all been shaped by the idea of the independency of the local church. In the reaction against absolutism Baptists had gone to the other extreme of ultra-independence. The churches were isolated factors and all there was of the denomination was an aggregation of these units. The conditions now were rapidly changing. The idea of extreme independency began to give way and a more spiritual and reasonable view pre vailed. The missionary tours of the ' ' itinerant evangelist ' ' had promoted acquaintance and fellowship. The advantages of Associational union for more effective service were grow- ingly recognized. Churches in close proximity now began to unite in Associations.1 Before the close of the century fif teen had been formed in the New England and the Middle States and one in Ohio. While the missionary activity in England at this period culminated in the formation of the "Baptist Society for the Propagation of the Gospel among the Heathen," at Kettering, in 1792, in this country all the missionary effort was centered 1 The dates of the Associations organized before 1800 are as follows : Philadelphia, 1707; Warren, R. 1., 1767; Stonington, Conn., 1772; Redstone, Pa,, 1776; Shafts- bury, Vt., 1781 ; Woodstock, Vt., 1783; New Hampshire afterward York, Me., 1785; Vermont, Vt., 1785 ; New York, N. Y., 1791 ; Warwick, N. Y., 1791 ; Otsego, N. Y., 1795; Rensselaerville, N. Y., 1796 ; Chemung, Pa., 1796 ; Fairfield, Vt., 1796 ; Miami, O., 1797; Delaware, Del., before 1798. 304 NORTHERN 3O5 upon the new settlements and the Indians. These objects demanded the whole attention and energies of Baptists. The idea of sending missionaries to foreign lands had not dawned upon the churches. The only agencies employed in pro moting this home work were individuals, churches, and Asso ciations. It is remarkable that with so little system and so little co-operation, the growth should have been as great as it was. As the work extended the need became more and more urgent for other agencies that would unite and enlist all the churches in this great home missionary enterprise. There were foundations, but no structure ; luxuriant and spreading growth, but no adequate framework of organization to sus tain it and make it more fruitful ; abundance of material at hand for a denomination, but as yet no denomination. With the opening of the new century there occurred many significant events which gave a new and mighty impulse to education, religion, and civilization. There was intense missionary activity and a deep revival spirit in New England and the Middle States, and the need was keenly felt of addi tional missionary agencies and of a more effectual bond of union in the States. The work of pastors and itinerant evan gelists failed of securing the best results, because they could not remain to gather the fruits of their labors. At the very opening of the century the ministry began to plan for mission ary service larger in scope and more permanent in character than that of the church and the local Association. They be lieved that they might work more efficiently through compact local organizations. In answer to this need and out of the widespread spirit of revival that prevailed were born the do mestic missionary societies. The Baptists of Massachusetts — a State notable for initia tive force in political and religious movements — were the first to move in the formation of a domestic organization. A few brethren voluntarily came together and as a result of their conference, the "Massachusetts Baptist Missionary Society " was organized early in 1802. About this time New York State Baptists were much exercised regarding domestic mis sions, and in 1807 a missionary organization known as the ' ' Lake Missionary Society, ' ' was perfected ' ' for the prosecu tion of the missionary enterprise in the destitute regions be yond. ' ' A similar organization was effected shortly after in Connecticut. The field of labor for the missionaries of these societies was not limited to one State, but comprehended all the new sections in the national domain. It was a period of wide spread revival influences and of unusual missionary activity. u 306 BAPTIST STATE CONVENTIONS There was, therefore, a rapid multiplication in church-mem bership and church and missionary organizations, and amid these deep and fervid influences the denomination took the form and gained the power which has made it the mighty force it is in the life of the religious world. As the century advanced, attention was called more and more to the importance of more closely compacted organiza tion of the churches. In the opening decade there had been a demand in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New York for such an organization, and as interests multiplied and the de nomination expanded, the need was more and more felt for an organization that would enlist in its work all the churches of the State and whose aim would be to care for the small and destitute fields within its limits. The domestic missionary societies, Associations, and churches in the New England and the Middle States, had operated to the extent of their means but without concert, and it was the opinion of some of the fathers that a State organization might be formed that would secure united action of these bodies and that thereby could be raised a greater amount of money and a larger work done than could be secured by the various organizations. They, therefore, advocated the federation of the churches and Asso ciations of the State in a State missionary organization. As a result, in 182 1, the Baptist Domestic Missionary Conven tion of the State of New York was organized, having for its object "to promote domestic missions." The old distrust of any organization which united churches and which might seem in any way to centralize in it or have delegated to it authority outside the local church still remained among the Baptists. But it was argued that if it was possible for indi viduals and churches to unite in an Association, it was equally possible to unite in a State Convention. When the call was sent out in 182 1 for the organization of the New York State Convention, delegates duly appointed by only five of the seventeen Associations met and organized the State Mis sionary Convention. When the Massachusetts State Con vention was organized, in 1824, only six of the nine Associa tions were represented by delegates. At the time of the organization of the New Jersey State Convention in 1829 only twenty-six of the fifty-five churches in the State could be depended upon for any real co-operation. In the Vermont Constitution one of the provisions still is : "It shall not by any of its'acts or agencies infringe on the rights or independ ence of the churches." The New York State Convention shortly after its organization absorbed the Hamilton Mission- NORTHERN 307 ary Society, an outgrowth of the Lake Missionary Society, which carried its history and organization back to 1807. The Connecticut State Convention was organized in 1823, and the State Conventions of Maine, Massachusetts, and Vermont. the year following. In the decade from 1820 to 1830 State Con ventions — or, State Associations as some preferred to call them — were organized in all the Eastern and Middle States.1 Most of these Conventions were the direct outgrowth of the domestic missionary organizations of earlier origin, but less restricted in area and in object. The State Conventions of the middle West, with the exception of that of Ohio, organized in 1826, which is the outgrowth of the Cincinnati Baptist Missionary Society formed two years earlier, were organized directly from the churches and Associations. When the great Western movement began by the opening up of Ohio and the middle West, Baptist missionaries kept pace with the progress of the people west ward, and the Baptist churches of New England and the Middle States furnished their quota of those who went out to build up the new country. They took with them Eastern ideas and methods of missionary operations and, as the needs required, very readily and naturally adopted the same form of organization that had proved efficient in their home States. The Indiana and Michigan Conventions grew out of churches and Associations, the latter being modeled largely after that of New York. The Illinois Convention was formed by the union of the Northwestern and Illinois Conventions. Beyond the Mississippi the State Conventions, as a rule, are the out growth of the splendid work done in all that wide territory 1 The dates of the organization of tbe several State Conventions are as follows : New York Convention, 1821. In 1825 it united with the Hamilton Missionary Society, an organization formed in 1808, incorporated in 1817, and that had absorbed the Lake Missionary Society formed in 1807. This carries the date of the organization of the New York Convention back to 1807; Connecticut Convention, 1823. the outgrowth of a society formed in 1811 ; Massachusetts Convention, 1824, succeeding the Massachu setts Baptist Missionary Society, organized in 1802 and incorporated in 1803 ; Maine Convention, 1824, the outgrowth of a society organized in 1804, springing out of the Bowdoinham Association of 1789, which, in 1799, was known as the "Gospel Mis sion," its purpose being to provide missionaries for the destitute parts of the State ; Vermont Convention, 1824 ; Rhode Island Convention, 1825 ; New Hampshire Con vention, 1826, the outgrowth of a society formed in 1819 ; Ohio Convention, 1826, in corporated in 1834, the outgrowth of the Cincinnati Baptist Missionary Society, formed in 1824 ; Pennsylvania Convention, 1827, growing out of the Domestic Missionary So ciety of the churches ; New Jersey Convention, 1830, the outgrowth of a society formed in 1803 ; Indiana Convention, 1832, from Associations ; Michigan Convention, 1835, from Associations ; Illinois Convention, 1844, by union of the Northwestern Conven tion and the Illinois Baptist Convention ; Wisconsin Convention, 1844, growing out of the Wisconsin Association formed in 1838 ; Minnesota Convention, 1859 -' Kansas Convention, 1859 ; Nebraska Convention, 1867 ; South Dakota Convention, 1882 ; Colorado Convention, 1883 ; North Dakota Convention, 1884 ; Montana Convention, 1899, growing out of the Montana State Association formed in 1883 ; Northwest Con vention, 1887 ; Oregon Convention, 1885 ; Northern California Convention, 1881 ; Southern California Convention, 1889. 308 BAPTIST STATE CONVENTIONS by the earnest and consecrated missionaries of the Home Mission Society. In the organization of the State Conventions the plan was simple, natural, scriptural. In the formation of the church it was the pride of Baptists that the organization was taken ' ' straight from the Bible. ' ' They looked to the same au thority for guidance in the organization of the Associations and the State Convention. They strenuously guarded against anything like a representative or authoritative assembly, or the assumption of authority of one over another. The primal thought of the State Convention was, as the name implies, a coming together of the churches and Associations, through their representatives, for conference and spiritual quickening, something as the churches were associated together in Asso ciations. The object had in view was the same, although they were not ali patterned after the same model. The mechanism differed somewhat, all the. work in some instances being under one Board, in others under committees, and in others, as in the case of Michigan, under the supervision of five "special Boards." In New Jersey the work of the Board is entrusted to four special committees and in southern California to five. In Rhode Island and Massachusetts there are finance committees who greatly facilitate the work. In the State of California, because of the great extent of terri tory, there are two State Conventions. In every other State the field is the same, being co-extensive with the boundaries of the State, the constituency is the same, the membership is the same, and the number of officers and of directors or trustees and their duties are virtually the same. In addition to the usual officers, Connecticut and Michigan have each an auditor and Massachusetts two auditors. Rhode Island, Illi nois, and Northwest Conventions have each a historical secretary or registrar, and Iowa has a missionary secretary and a Sunday-school secretary. In the way of illustration of the internal composition, the New York State Convention, which is the oldest and one of the largest, may be taken as representative of them all. The membership comprised those who paid one dollar and sub scribed to the constitution. By the payment of twenty-five dollars one became a life-member. By the payment of #100 one became a life-director. The officers were president, vice-president, secretary, treasurer, and eight directors. Subsequently the number of directors was increased to thirty. The burden of the work and of the raising of money was committed to the superintendent or secretary. The presi- NORTHERN 309 dent was not expected to preside at the annual meetings, a moderator being chosen at each annual gathering. When the Convention was reorganized in 1874, the objects were declared to be : (1) To promote the preaching of the gospel and the establishment and maintenance of Baptist churches in the State of New York. (2) To encourage the common educational interests of the denomination within the State. (3) The general care and encouragement of denominational Sunday-school work. (4) To promote denominational ac quaintance, fellowship, and growth. The requirements for membership were changed so as to comprise delegates annually chosen by the churches and Associations of the State of New York, the Missionary Com mittees of Associations, together with those persons who have heretofore been constituted life-directors and life or honorary members. Any church contributing to the funds of the Convention may appoint delegates, and every Associa tion shall be entitled to one delegate for every four churches included in it, a part of which delegates shall be laymen. The constitution has been more recently changed so as to include in addition: (1) "the construction and care of Baptist church properties," and (2) "to quicken and de velop interest in the work of our general denominational societies. ' ' The entire work of the State Convention was placed, in 1874, under the supervision of a Board of Managers, num bering thirty, one-third of whom are laymen, and one-third are elected each year. A new feature was the construc tion of an Executive Committee, and the burden of the management and the work during the year were consigned to this committee, chosen by the Board of Managers after the election of the new Board at the annual meeting. The Executive Committee now consists of nine members, the president and treasurer being members ex officio, and the corresponding secretary being the secretary of the committee. The Executive Committee holds monthly meetings, gives careful consideration to all apphcations recommended by the Missionary Committee, makes • all appropriations only after such recommendations, and raises, in connection with the missionary committees, all the funds for the work. The Ex ecutive Committee also receives and passes upon all mission ary reports, and the salaries are only paid after its approval. In the stated services of the Convention are three district missionaries, one each for the Western, Northern, and South eastern districts of the State, seven evangelists and singing 3IO BAPTIST STATE CONVENTIONS helpers, besides the missionary pastors, a portion of whose salaries are paid by the Convention by ' ' piecing-out ' ' the salary paid by the church or churches served. The field em braces the whole State, in which there are forty-three Asso ciations, all of which are working in harmony and co-opera tion with the Convention. The State Missionary Conventions of Massachusetts and New York, which had extended their missionary operations into Canada, and through Ohio and Michigan even to Wis consin, became incidentally the parent of the American Bap tist Home Mission Society. As the result of the report of missionary John M. Peck and special representative Jonathan Going, sent out to the west by the Massachusetts State Con vention, and a conference on their return with the New York State Convention, the American Baptist Home Mission Soci ety was organized in New York in 1832. Up to this date all the home mission work, except what had been done for a little time by the Triennial Convention, was done by the State Conventions or by the local agencies which were com bined in the formation of the State Conventions. When the Home Mission Society was organized the constitution was so constructed that the State Conventions might enter or not into auxiliary relationship with it and thereby the work of each be promoted. A number of Conventions at once availed themselves of this opportunity. There was no con stitutional provision to that effect, but the action was the result of resolutions voluntarily adopted by the several bodies. By 1843 twenty of the twenty-five State Conventions were working on the "auxiliary plan," but embarrassments arising to the national society, this system was abolished in 1846 by a change in the constitution. It was a critical time for many of the Conventions, thus suddenly forced to go alone ; but as they began to grow strong many of them did a larger and more satisfactory work than when in auxiliary relation to the Home Mission Society. Again, in 1864, many of the Conventions entered into a "plan of co-opera tion with the Home Mission Society, but this arrangement, after ten years, was again terminated by that Society. After five years another plan of co-operation was proposed, which has been generally adopted by the Conventions west of the Mississippi, and which has given a great impetus to their work. The missionaries in the service of these Conventions are virtually the missionaries of the Home Mission Society ; they report to its Boaid and are supported wholly or in part by the Society. Until the last ten or twelve years, the West- NORTHERN 3 1 1 era Conventions did but little, the Home Mission Society being the chief evangelizing agency on their fields. These Conventions are not yet strong, but as the country fills up and churches increase they will be to that great region what the Eastern Conventions are in their respective States to-day. It is impossible adequately to estimate the results secured to our Baptist interests in the States or to the denomination at large through the agency of the State Conventions. In cultivating the local home field, the State Conventions have done and are doing a work that no other society has done or can do ; they have laid the foundation upon which every de nominational interest is now building. The State Conven tions have planted Sunday-schools, founded churches, and fostered them until they have become strong ; nourished small and dependent bodies into churches of wide influence and spiritual power ; promoted educational societies and institu tions ; imparted inspiration and enthusiasm to all denomina tional objects, and greatly stimulated the spirit of benevo lence. The existence of the greater proportion of the churches of the Eastern, Middle, and Western States is due to the fostering care of the State Conventions. Along with the organization of the State Conventions, either begotten by them or developed under their auspices, came denomina tional journalism to disseminate information ; women's mis sionary societies, the progenitors of those numerous and helpful auxiliaries to every good work ; educational societies and institutions to provide an educated ministry ; Bible so cieties to furnish Bibles, and in more recent years, State pas tors' conferences, societies for the relief of aged ministers and widows, and young people's organizations. Our almost phenomenal growth, until now we occupy second place among* the great denominations, is due more largely than we are apt to think to the reinforcing influence and systematic work of the State Missionary Conventions. In attempting to estimate the influence of the State Con ventions, it is no exaggeration to say that the effect of the State Conventions in unifying the churches, in promoting harmony, maintaining Baptist standards, preserving universal adherence to the word of God as the only rule of faith and practice, and promoting missionary interest and effort, has not been second to that of the denominational press or the great national societies. The annual meetings, equal in inter est often to the May anniversaries, afford occasions for pro moting acquaintance and Christian fellowship, for bringing together representatives from city and country, from small 3 1 2 BAPTIST STATE CONVENTIONS and large churches, and for the presentation of and confer ence upon all matters affecting the welfare of the denomina tion in the States. It is impossible rightly to estimate the enthusiasm and spiritual quickening given to all Baptist in terests by these gatherings. During the century of church development and wonderful missionary advancement the aggressive missionary spirit fos tered by State Conventions has been the strength and glory of Baptists. In this day of rapid changes in the religious, as in the political and material world, it is difficult to prophesy what changes may take place in missionary methods and organization through federation or greater unification ; but so long as there are new communities to be evangelized, small churches to be built up, and State educational and mis sion work to be promoted, so long will there be need for the existence of the State Missionary Conventions. John B. Calvert. PART II SOUTHERN The English Baptists (1689, 1691, 1692) organized the first General Assemblies. Disclaiming all authority over the churches these bodies claimed no other function than advice and co-operation for the purpose of uniformity in doctrine and practice, raising funds, and assisting gifted brethren, thus "looking, at the start, to an educated ministry.1 This was during the formative or disorderly period of the denomina tion in England. Our present General Assemblies in America originated somewhat under the same conditions and for the same purposes. The first Baptist General Assembly in this country was the Triennial Convention, 1814, organized for the purpose of promoting foreign missions — a work already begun by the Baptists of England in 1792 ; and under the impulse of this and prior movements for the development of denominational life, originated our State Baptist Conventions. All of the Southern State Conventions are constitutional bodies, or de liberative assemblies, organized and governed according to the parliamentary law of Dr. Mell or Dr. Kerfoot, which annu- 1 Crosby, Vol. III., pp. 246-267. SOUTHERN 3 I 3 ally meet for the transaction of such business as involves their State work in missions, education, Sunday-schools, orphan ages, and other benevolences, when they adjourn, sine die, and leave their work, ad interim, to the State Boards or com mittees appointed for the purpose. These Conventions, as already intimated, were uniformly organized for the purpose of promoting missions and education — the work of Sunday- schools, orphanages, or other benevolences having subse quently, as a rule, been added to the work of the earlier Con ventions ; and though originally some of the Conventions assumed to deal in matters of advice regarding discipline or doctrine and practice among the churches, their constitutions now discard such questions. Upon all general moral move ments, such as slavery, temperance, divorce, and other kin dred subjects, these bodies have not hesitated to pass resolu tions expressive of their sense in the creation of denomina tional sentiment. During the earlier and less organized condition of our denomination these Conventions became a unifying power against the anti-missionary movement in most of the Southern States, and much of our denominational uniformity, purity, progress, and power is wholly due to our State Conventions in the South. The Southern State Baptist Conventions now all co-operate with the Boards of the Southern Baptist Convention and with the Southern Baptist Theolog ical Seminary. Each Convention annually allows a subscrip tion to the students' fund of the latter institution, and with each Convention annually, as a rule, the Woman's Missionary Union and the Baptist Young People's Union have an auxil iary session and so co-operate with the Conventions of the States. Besides this, many of the State Conventions foster orphanages, contribute support to aged ministers, and raise funds for ministerial education through separate Boards, or through the general State Board of Missions. Originally the basis of representation in these Conventions was voluntary and then numerical, from the churches, socie ties, and Associations constituting them. At first they were organized by their movers with but little sympathy from the churches or other organizations, which were slow to co-operate in general movements ; but in course of time representation became regularly appointed from constituent bodies and became general as gradually the churches and Associations conformed to the general movement. At a later date the missionary and educational idea, involving the contribution of money, grew into the theory of a financial basis of repre sentation. Justice demanded that the churches, societies, Asso- 314 BAPTIST STATE CONVENTIONS ciations, or individuals that gave the money for denominational objects should represent the distribution of the same through the Conventions ; and while the basis of representation in some of our Conventions is still numerical only, in most of them it is either financial, or mixed, as in the Southern Baptist Con vention. In the States of Kentucky, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Louisiana, the basis is numerical ; in Virginia and Mis souri, it is financial ; in Georgia, South Carolina, North Caro lina, and Florida, the basis is financial, save for Associational representation, which is numerical ; in Texas, Tennessee, Ala bama, and Maryland, the basis is mixed, or both numerical and financial. Virginia provides exclusively for representa tion from the churches ; and in all but two States, Virginia and Maryland, the district Associations are allowed representa tion based upon some provision for co-operation, except in Tennessee and the States having the straight-out numerical basis. Societies, missionary and educational, are admitted in Maryland, Louisiana, Texas, Georgia, South Carolina, Ten nessee, and Florida, in every case upon the financial basis, except in Louisia'na. In some of the Conventions, Sunday- schools and Young People's Unions are allowed representa tion ; but only two State Conventions, after the example of the Southern Baptist Convention, admit individuals, as in Tennessee and Alabama. Ten of these bodies recognize, in some form, the financial basis, while only four are strictly numerical. The only State providing for women delegates is Arkansas ; and only in North Carolina is the word ' ' white ' ' used to distinguish the constituency intended. Maryland alone admits the colored with the white in its representa tion. I. ORIGIN AND PROGRESS OF STATE CONVENTIONS. i. In 1 82 1 South Carolina led in the organization of the first Baptist State Convention, chiefly moved by Richard Fur man, only three of the seven Associations in the State partici pating in the movement. Under the leadership of such men as Oliver Hart, John Stephens, Philip James, John Gano, and others, missionary and educational objects had begun to be fostered by the organization of the Charleston Association in 1 75 1 ; but in 1826, after an effort moved by Richard Fur man, W. B. Johnson, and others, to co-operate with Georgia in the establishment of an institution of learning, the Con vention established the Furman Academy and Theological Institution at Edgefield, which, after many changes and vicissitudes, resulted in Furman University, in 185 1. Out of SOUTHERN 315 this institution, through Doctor James P. Boyce, one of its professors, it maybe said that the Southern Baptist Theologi cal Seminary developed at Greenville, now located at Louis- vill Ky. , and which has been the foster mother of a large por n of the education and effective ministry of the South. 2. The Georgia Baptist Convention, so called in 1827, was organized in 1822 under the name of the General Asso ciation. Only two of the district Associations (the Georgia and Ocmulgee) sent delegates to the organization, Jesse Mercer, W. T. Brantly, Sr. , W. Hilman, James Armstrong, J. P. Marshall, and Cyrus White, assisted by visiting breth ren, among whom was Adiel Sherwood, who took part in the deliberations. Early in 1800, under the influence of Henry Holcombe, Joseph Clay, and Jesse Mercer, the Powelton Conferences were instituted for the promotion of missions and education, especially among the Indians in the western part of the State. Mount Enon College (1 804-1 806) had been established and failed, but, under the continued educa tional agitation, the Mercer Institute was established at Pen- field in 1832, which in 1837 became Mercer University, under the auspices of the Convention. Having early espoused the cause of foreign missions as fostered by the Triennial Con vention, the Georgia Convention has supported all the objects of the Southern Baptist Convention from the time of its origin, and it has done a magnificent work in State missions, Sunday-schools, and other denominational enterprises. 3. In 1823 the Virginia General Association was formed against great and determined opposition. Out of twenty Associations and 40,000 Baptists in the State, only fifteen messengers were present at the organization, among them R. B. Semple, J. B. Jeter, and Daniel Witt. Since 1800 the State had already maintained united action under the General Meeting of Correspondence, and, though the Gen eral Association had vigorously espoused the missionary cause, the Virginia Baptists were slow to attempt educational work. Following Luther Rice, they had centered their in terest in Columbian College. Under the patronage or fos tering care of the General Association the Boards of the Southern Baptist Convention have received their largest sup port among Southern States, and in the State itself it has sustained, in spite of the great destitution occasioned by the war, a vigorous mission, Sunday-school, and colportage work under respective Boards. 4. The Alabama State Convention was organized in 1823, the movement being led mainly by J. A. Ronaldson. The 3 l6 BAPTIST STATE CONVENTIONS body was constituted with twenty members from a few churches and seven missionary societies founded by Christian women. The usual revolt of the anti-mission movement fol lowed ; but the Convention entered vigorously upon mis sionary and educational work, and gradually entrenched itself in the hearts of intelligent and leading Baptists. In 1833 the body began to plan for an educational institution, and in 1834 a manual labor school was established at Greensboro. In 1836 it published a denominational paper and organized the Alabama Bible Society, with John L. Dagg as president. In 1839 the Judson Female Institute was founded in Marion and in 1842 this institution was tendered to the State Con vention ; and in the same year Howard College, for the edu cation of boys, was founded at Marion and took the place of the Greensboro Institute, which had failed. From this date the cause of Baptists in Alabama began to flourish. 5. In 1830 the Baptist State Convention of North Caro lina was organized. Early in the century the State was cursed with the sterility and strife of the anti-mission spirit. In 18 1 5 it was attempted in vain to organize a missionary movement, but the constitution of the Baptist Benevolent Society in 1830, resulted in the organization of the present Convention, due largely to Thomas H. Meredith, who wrote and published the constitution beforehand. Only a small number, against great opposition, entered the organization ; but the courage of the few, coupled with wise plans, resulted in the immediate and efficient introduction of the work contemplated. Soon after its organization, as in Georgia and Virginia, the Convention undertook a manual labor school, the Wake Forest Institute, which was succeeded in 1839 by the Wake Forest College, one of the most popular and influential institutions among Southern Baptists and a mighty educational force among the North Carolinians. Through its Boards and in co-operation with the Boards of the Southern Baptist Convention, this Convention has ac complished a vast work in education, missions, Sunday- schools, colportage, and other benevolence, especially in its mountain regions. 6. The Tennessee Baptist Convention was organized in 1833 at Mill Creek Church, near Nashville, under a move ment for the unification of the Baptist interests of the State, led by Elders Garner, McConnico, James Whitsitt, and Peter S. Gale. Three Boards, in conformity with the three divisions of the State, were appointed to conduct its affairs. With the anti-missionary opposition and the impracticability of the SOUTHERN 3 I 7 plan, which continued for about two years, the organization ended by the withdrawal of East Tennessee and the organiza tion of the Baptist General Association of East Tennessee, under the leadership of Samuel Love, James Kennon, Elijah Rogers, the Talliaferros, and others. This became a large and influential body, and under its patronage, in 1850, Carson College, at Mossy Creek, was established, now a flourishing institution of learning under the name of Carson and Newman College, for co-education and under the able presidency of Prof. J. T. Henderson. Upon the dismember ment of the State Convention, Middle Tennessee Baptists organized the Baptist General Association of Middle Ten nessee and North Alabama. The General Association held its sessions, without much efficiency, until 1876, when it dis solved and entered the newly organized State Convention, as subsequently did the East Tennessee General Association and the West Tennessee Convention, which latter body was organized in 1835, after the dissolution of the old State Con vention. This latter body proved to be a progressive mis sionary and educational organization during its existence, co operating with East and Middle Tennessee in the promotion of Union University, fostering the Brownsville Female College and occupying its own fields of destitution. The present Tennessee Baptist Convention grew out of a conference of Tennessee Baptists at Murfreesboro, 1873, to consider the re-establishment or removal of Union University. The result was the establishment of the Southwestern Baptist University at Jackson, Tenn., a flourishing institution now presided over by Dr. G. M. Savage; and in 1874 a gen eral Convention was called at McKensie, West Tennessee, not only to fix the status and destiny of this university, but to unify the Baptist interests of the State in one body. In 1876 the Middle Tennessee General Association and the West Tennessee Convention dissolved and united with the Conven tion. Subsequently the East Tennessee General Association did likewise with the understanding that Carson College should be on an equal footing with the Southwestern Baptist Univer sity in the patronage of the State Convention, which now fosters every Baptist institution in the State under its auspices with out any organic connection whatever. Under the Boards of the Tennessee Baptist Convention the denomination has rapidly grown since 1874 in missionary and educational work. 7. The Kentucky Baptist State Convention was organized in 1832 ; but the opposition of the churches rendered its operations ineffective and unsatisfactory. The State was 3 l8 BAPTIST STATE CONVENTIONS doubly cursed with anti-missionism and Campbellism ; and the elimination of these elements from the Baptists was not com plete till about 1835-1840. The Convention met for several years when it was dissolved, and then, in 1837, the General Association of Kentucky Baptists was constituted, with fifty- seven delegates. Following the organization of the General Association a great revival spread through the State as in 1 800-1 803, and it entered at once upon a vigorous work of missions and evangelization, which has established many churches and added more than 100,000 members to the de nomination. The Association has fostered the institutions of learning in the State and has co-operated efficiently and ex tensively with all the work of the Southern Baptist Conven tion. 8. The Missouri Baptist General Association was formed in 1834. As in other States the Association had early con flict with the anti-mission element. Mission work had begun in the State before its organization ; and at a small and in formal meeting at Columbia, 1833, the anti-mission spirit was so rife as to threaten violent opposition. Through the influence of such strong, true men as Ebenezer Rogers, Roland Hughes, Tilman Bell, William Mansfield, and others, missionary measures were set on foot and greatly blessed, the result of which was the organization of the Central Society, out of which grew the General Association, which entered upon an enlarged mission work, providing also for Christian education and the circulation of religious literature. Its operations were greatly retarded by the war, and in 1862, at Rehoboth Church, in Saline County, its session was broken up by the militia. In 1865 its committee " On Relation to Civil Authorities " pronounced the old position of Baptists against the "Oath of Loyalty." From 1865-1867 there existed the new Convention of "Loyal Baptists" in the State ; but in 1867 this body dissolved and united with the General Association, from which date the body emerged from darkness and entered upon its present career of prosperity. 9. The Mississippi Baptist State Convention was consti tuted in 1836. Its purpose was to create a community of interest in missions and education, and to foster unity and brotherly love among the Baptists of the State. Though or ganized at the period of the great anti-missionary conflict, the Mississippi Baptists do not seem to have been affected greatly by the movement. They were early troubled with Spanish Catholic persecution and Indian hostility, but after the battle of New Orleans, 181 2, the denomination began to SOUTHERN 319 make progress. From the start the Convention entered heartily upon State mission work and co-operated with the Triennial Convention in foreign missions. Since 1845, as in other Southern States, the body has cr operated with the Boards of the Southern Baptist Convention and the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary ; and no State has more greatly prospered under its Convention in home and foreign mission work than Mississippi. 10. The Maryland Baptist Union was formed in 1836. Its history begins with the great anti-missionary contest, and the Union was the result of a split on that issue in the Balti more Association, which, in 1836, passed anti-mission resolu tions. Only six churches were represented in the new organ ization, with only four pastors — Stephen P. Hill, George F. Adams, Thomas Leaman, and Joseph Metham. Against great odds and discouraging circumstances, the Union set for ward with its feeble numbers and resources upon its useful career, and, in proportion to its numbers and wealth, has accomplished perhaps more than any other State body in its work of missions and colportage. In 1876, the Executive Board organized a " Lay Worker' s Association, " which for years reported gratifying results. It started the "Widows' and Superannuated Ministers' Fund" as far back as 1839, which now amounts to #33,000. Nearly every Baptist church in the State has been helped by the Union through the Bal timore Baptist Church Extension and Building and Loan Fund, which originated under the auspices of the Union, 1853— 1869. The work of the Union among the colored people has been most gratifying, and the colored churches of the State belong to the Union. In 1871 the constitution of the Union was so changed as to incorporate the work of foreign missions, and Maryland Baptists are accredited with the largest per cent, in foreign mission contributions to the Southern Baptist Convention. To this body belongs the honor of having originated the Young Men's Christian Asso ciation, in 1852, in Baltimore. In 1870 it recommended the formation of district Associations, four of which now ex ist. n. The Louisiana Baptist Convention was organized in 1848. The purpose of the organization was the union and co-operation of Baptists in the State for the preaching of the gospel to the destitute. The body was first called "The Baptist State Convention of North Louisiana," but in 1853 the word "North" was stricken out. Down to 1852 the work of the body had been chiefly missionary, but in this 320 BAPTIST STATE CONVENTIONS year the foundation of important educational interests was laid. The Mount Lebanon School was established. Out of this institution grew Mount Lebanon University, under the immediate patronage of the Convention, and it flourished with great benefit to the denomination until injured by the fortunes of the war. In 1870 overtures were made by the Mississippi to the Louisiana Baptists to unite in building up the college at Clinton ; and in 1872 terms of union and co operation were agreed upon, and with great advantage to both States this co-operation continued down to 1888, ac cording to Paxton's "History." In 1870 the Conven tion began to co-operate with the Boards of the Southern Baptist Convention, and aid was sought of Northern Baptists through these Boards. Since that period the Convention has done an enlarged work in co-operation with the Southern Baptist Convention, and the Louisiana Baptists have greatly prospered in the State. 12. In 1848 the Texas Baptist Convention was organized. This body continued down to 1885, when it absorbed Gen eral Association (No. 2) and became the Baptist General Convention of Texas, in 1886. In 1853 the Texas Baptist General Association (No. 1) was organized, but this organi zation was dissolved and became the Baptist Convention of Eastern Texas, in 1855. This Convention held fourteen ses sions, and in 1867-1868 changed its name back to that of Baptist General Association (No. 2), holding eighteen ses sions till 1885, when it was absorbed by the Baptist General Convention of Texas, as already seen. Again in 1877 the East Texas Baptist Convention was organized, and dissolved in 1884. There was also a North Texas Baptist Missionary Convention, organized in 1879 and dissolved in 1884; and in 1880 there was a Central Texas Baptist Convention organ ized which also dissolved in 1884. Thus the field was clear for the consolidation of all the Baptist interests in the State, in 1886, when the Baptist General Convention absorbed all the prior Conventions of Texas Baptists. Recently, however, the Eastern Texas Convention has been reorganized. Aux iliary to the General and prior Conventions were such general bodies as the Texas Baptist Educational Society, succeeded by the Texas Baptist Educational Convention in 1868, the Sunday-school Colportage Convention in the bounds of the Baptist State Convention, organized in 1868 ; the Texas Ministerial Conference, organized in 1877 ; the Baptist Women's Mission Workers, 1878, and the Baptist Young People's Union, 1891. Among the great institutions of SOUTHERN 321 Texas, fostered by the Convention is the Buckner Orphans' Home, founded in 18 79-1 880, at Paris, Texas, having a property now worth more than #100,000, and having cared for more than 1,600 orphans since its institution. Texas Baptists have done and are doing a vast work in missions and education not only within their own bounds, but abroad in their co-operation with the Southern Baptist Convention and other agencies. 13. The Arkansas Baptist Convention was organized in 1848, but in the absence of information which I have strenu ously sought but have been unable to secure, it is impossible to give here a detailed history of that body. In addition to the State Convention, the Southeastern General Association was organized in 1874, and near the same period was organ ized the Northwestern General Association. In 1841 anti- mission troubles arose in the State, and resulted in the withdrawal of a number of churches and the organization of an Anti-mission Association. The Convention is in thorough sympathy with the work of the Southern Baptist Convention and co-operates with the work of all its Boards and with the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. It is doing a vigor ous work in State missions, Sunday-schools, and colportage, and the State, under its auspices, is growing rapidly in num bers and influence. 14. The Baptist Convention of Florida was organized in 1854, the only three Associations then in the State sending delegates. The usual objects of such organizations, expressed in the constitution, embraced the unity and co-operation of the denomination in its missionary and educational efforts to promote the gospel. Latterly, the women's missionary societies, Baptist Young People's Unions and Sunday-schools were allowed representation in the Convention. But little real work was done until 1880, when a State Board of Missions was organized. In 1840 there were but few churches in the State, but now there are 460, with 284 ministers. Many, if not most of these churches, have been aided by the Conven tion, which has also planted many new churches in the State. There are now twenty-three district Associations in the State, largely due to the work of the Convention, and the destitute places of the State are being rapidly occupied. 15. The Oklahoma State Convention was organized in 1898, and united with the Southern Baptist Convention, but in the absence of the minutes of the late sessions of that body I am unable to give the details. George A. Lofton. XXIII AMERICAN BAPTIST EDUCATIONAL WORK PART I IN NORTHERN AND MIDDLE STATES The interest of American Baptists in education naturally followed their original interest in ' ' making disciples. ' ' Their early impulse was strongly evangelistic, the immediate access of each soul to God was emphasized, while the organization of individuals or churches in permanent enterprise was al most entirely neglected. With the growth of Baptist Asso ciations, with the increase of denominational coherency, came the possibility of developing institutions which should mold the future. At the same time there sprang up a conviction that fervor and unction could not alone equip the rising min istry, but that genuine schools of the prophets must be estab lished. All early Baptist schools had as their prime object the better equipment of ministers. To the Philadephia Association belongs the honor of lead ing in the establishment of schools both in the North and the South, and to its faith and devotion we owe Brown Uni versity on the one hand, and Columbian University on the other. An academy at Hopewell, N. J., had been estab lished in 1736 by Rev. Isaac Eaton, and here was educated James Manning, the first president of Brown University. Encouraged by the success of Hopewell Academy, the Phila delphia Baptists resolved to found either in the Northern or Southern Colonies a fully equipped college. Two considera tions led to the selection of Providence, R. I., as the loca tion : First, that Rhode Island had no college of any kind within its borders, while it contained many Baptists ; secondly, that it was the only one of the Colonies in which absolute re ligious freedom could be guaranteed to the new enterprise. In 1763, at the request of the Philadelphia Association, Rev. James Manning, who had now graduated from Princeton College, went to Rhode Island to consult with the Baptists of that region. In 1764 the General Assembly granted a 322 IN NORTHERN AND MIDDLE STATES 323 charter for "the College or University in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations in New Eng land, in America ; the Trustees and Fellows at any time here after giving such more particular name to the College, in honor of the greatest and most distinguished benefactor, or otherwise, as they shall think proper. ' ' The ' ' benefactor ' ' was found forty years later in Nicholas Brown, whose gifts to the college amounted to more than #160,000. It is worthy of note that the charter of the new " Rhode Island College " breathes the true spirit of religious liberty, and considering the age in which it was written, is remarkably liberal. While it places Baptists in control by providing that the president must be a Baptist, and that twenty-two out of thirty-six trus tees and eight out of twelve Fellows shall be Baptists, yet it expressly provides against sectarianism by directing that all the leading denominations of that time, Episcopalians, Con gregationalists, and Friends shall forever be represented in the corporation. It furthermore stipulates that "into this lib eral and catholic institution shall never be admitted any re ligious tests." Baptists were obviously as eager to secure liberty for others as for themselves. The institution founded in this broad spirit was destined to become, in a sense, the mother of all Baptist schools in the country. In 1765 James Manning became president of the infant enterprise, and by his personal dignity, winning manner, nobility of character, and devotion to scholarship, gave the university a standing and an aim for all the future. But the material needs were urgent, and gifts came from far and near. South Carolina and Georgia contributed substantial sums to the treasury, several Baptist Associations sent regular contri butions, and the young institution was close to the hearts of all the Baptists of America. After Manning's death, in 1791, Jonathan Maxcy succeeded to the presidency and held office until 1802. At this time 150 students were in attendance. The third president, Asa Messer, served the university for twenty-four years, and witnessed constant growth both in faculty and students. The fourth president, Francis Way- land, entered on his work at thirty-one years of age, coming from the pastorate of the First Baptist Church, of Boston. He immediately showed such insight into the educational needs of his time, such power as a teacher, such fearless leadership in administration, as make his presidency of twen ty-eight years one of the most remarkable in the history of American colleges. Important buildings were erected, the funds were largely increased, great changes made in the 324 AMERICAN BAPTIST EDUCATIONAL WORK course of study, and President Wayland' s famous "Report to the Corporation of Brown University," made in 1850, in its advocacy of the election of studies by the students and its insistence on scientific training, marked out the path which all American colleges have since followed. The next president, Rev. Barnes Sears, came to the uni versity after wide experience, having been professor at New ton Theological Institute and secretary of the Massachusetts Board of Education. Under his administration the univer sity returned more nearly to its original ideal as " a seminary of polite literature, ' ' and the study of the classics received fresh impetus. Doctor Sears was succeeded in 1868 by Rev. Alexis Caswell, who had long served the university as pro fessor, and was thoroughly acquainted with its needs. In 1872 Ezekiel G. Robinson began his service of seven teen years in the presidency. His strong intellect was felt at once in all departments of the university, and the enthu siasm for study led to the establishment of a graduate de partment, which has since become an important feature. In 1889 E. Benjamin Andrews became president, and his ten years of administration modernized and almost transformed the university. The students increased from 268 to 860, and many new departments of study were introduced. The greatest innovation was the addition of the Women's Col lege in 1891, an independent but affiliated institution, which has abundantly justified the high hopes of its founders. After the resignation of Doctor Andrews, Rev. William H. P. Faunce was chosen to the presidency, and entered on his duties in 1899. Recently a movement to increase the en dowment of the university by #1,000,000 has been carried through, and to-day the venerable university, surrounded by the affection of 3,000 living alumni, stands on firmer foun dation than ever before. It has trained fifty-two college presidents and nearly 900 ministers. It now possesses a fac ulty numbering seventy-five, and nearly 900 students. Colby College obtained its charter in 1813, and opened its doors at Waterville, Maine, in 1818, under the name of the "Maine Literary and Theological Institution." It sprang out of a deep sense of the need of better education for the Baptist ministry of that region. Rev. Jeremiah Chaplin began his work as professor of theology in 1818. But in 1 82 1 the name of the institution was changed to Waterville College, and Doctor Chaplin became president, retaining that position until 1832. After him came a long line of presidents, the longest term of service being that of James IN NORTHERN AND MIDDLE STATES 325 T. Champlin, who presided from 1857 to 1873. During his administration Mr. Gardner Colby became deeply interested in the college, and before his death he gave to it about #200,- 000. In 1867 the name was changed to Colby University, now Colby College. Governor Abner Coburn was another munificent friend, and by his will left #200,000 to the col lege. Since 1873 the presidents have been as follows : Henry E. Robins, 1873-1882 ; George D. B. Pepper, 1882-1889 ; Albion W. Small, 1889-1892 ; Beniah L. Whitman, 1892-1895 ; Nathaniel Butler, 1896-. Since 1871 Colby has opened its doors to young women, and is to day doing a most valuable work. No longer a theological school, it possesses and perpetuates the best tradition of the American college. The most notable attempt at theological education in New England was made when in 1825 the " Newton Theological Institution ' ' began its work at Newton Center, Mass. For three-quarters of a century this school of the prophets has quietly pursued its task, and has left an abiding impress on the entire denomination. In its list of teachers are to be found the names of James D. Knowles, Barnas Sears, Hora tio B. Hackett, Heman Lincoln, Samuel L. Caldwell, Alfred J. Ripley, and Alvah Hovey. About 1,300 students have entered the ministry from its halls, and a large percentage of them have become Christian missionaries. Doctor Hovey has had, perhaps, the most notable career among all Newton's teachers. In 1899 he reached the fiftieth anniversary of his service as professor, and the occasion was fittingly celebrated by a great gathering of the alumni. During this half-cen tury Doctor Hovey has by his catholicity of spirit, breadth of scholarship, and devotion to his work, left a permanent impress not only on his own students, but on the entire min istry of the Baptist denomination. Resigning the presi dency in 1900, he was succeeded by Nathan E. Wood. The funds of the institution have recently been largely in creased, and strenuous efforts are now being made in this direction. At the same time the trustees have adopted the requirement of a college course, or its equivalent, as prepar atory to theological study. This requirement is doing much to lift the standard of our ministry. The Baptists of New England have always maintained a number of good academies, which have rendered excellent service. Foremost among them is the "Worcester Acad emy," which ranks with the finest secondary schools in the country. The work of Principal D. W. Abercrombie in lift- 326 AMERICAN BAPTIST EDUCATIONAL WORK ing this school to its present position has been notable, and has made him one of the true successors of the great Eng hsh headmasters, Arnold and Thwing and Quick. The acad emy now has a property and endowment amounting to a half million dollars. The Connecticut Literary Institution, of Suffield, Conn., began its work in 1833. Beautiful for situation, it has pur sued its task with rare courage and persistence, and, in spite of the great growth of public high schools, is full of promise for the future. Vermont Academy was incorporated in 1872, and located at Saxtons River, Vermont. Its excellent buildings stand in the midst of rare mountain scenery, and though sorely ham pered at times by lack of funds, the institution has done noble work. Its standards were never higher, or its outlook brighter than to-day. Maine has four academies under Baptist auspices — He bron, Coburn, Ricker, and Higgins. The funds of these in stitutions are held by the treasurer of Colby College, and the relation between the schools and the college is naturally very close. The Baptists of the Middle States, after planting Brown University, attempted no new educational enterprise until 181 7, when it was voted "when funds of a sufficient amount shall have been contributed for this purpose, to establish a classical and theological seminary." As a result of this movement, Congress granted in 182 1 a charter to what is now Columbian University, in Washington, D. C. The theological work was subsequently merged in Newton Theo logical Institution, but the departments of law and medicine have steadily flourished. Many able men have occupied chairs in Columbian University, and some of the foremost of government specialists are now giving instruction there. If adequate endowment is provided an institution of great power and scope will at once arise to crown the noble efforts of the past. It would require a long narrative to explain why the Bap tists of New York have to-day two colleges and two theo logical seminaries in their one State, and possibly no narrative could make this division of forces seem wise or rational. Each movement sprang out of an educational society. In 181 7 thirteen brethren united to form the Baptist Educa tional Society of the State of New York and began the form ation of a fund for the work of educating "pious young men for the ministry." A school was opened at Hamilton, IN NORTHERN AND MIDDLE STATES 327 N. Y., in 1820. Out of this grew Madison University, char tered in 1846. The subsequent growth of this institution is due chiefly to the devotion and generosity of William Colgate and his two sons, Samuel and James B. Colgate. After mak ing several large gifts, Mr. James B. Colgate finally presented to the university in 1891 the sum of #1,000,000. Its name was fittingly changed to " Colgate University," and large ad ditions were made to its equipment. But by the side of Mr. Colgate stood another man, whose impress on the Baptists of America will never be effaced, Ebenezer Dodge. His presi dency of over twenty years was unique and his power to mold men was undisputed. Colgate University to-day, under the administration of President George E. Merrill, is doing in its three departments — seminary, college, and academy — a most valuable work. It has sent forth a large number of foreign missionaries, while the work of Prof. W. N. Clarke, its professor of theology, has affected the thinking of all denominations of Christians. For a few years prior to 1850 the Baptists of New York State were greatly agitated over a proposition to remove Madison University to Rochester. Without going into the details of the memorable struggle, we may simply state that when removal was legally prevented an endowment of #100,000 was raised to establish a new institution at Roches ter. In 1850 the doors were opened and several professors and a number of students came from Hamilton. The charter was extremely liberal, with no specification as to the religious affinities of the trustees. But as the large majority of the trustees were Baptists, the denomination has always regarded the university as a sacred trust. In 1853 Martin B. Ander son was chosen president, and immediately showed remark able ability as executive, educator, and financier. Like Doctor Dodge and Doctor Wayland, his power was in his personality rather than his information, and he seldom failed to infuse his own energy and enthusiasm into his students. He was in himself, through his long career, the university's best endowment. Following Doctor Anderson, David J. Hill was chosen president, and the university continued to advance. Having resigned to enter public life, Doctor Hill was succeeded in 1900 by Dr. Rush Rhees, formerly of Newton Theological Institution. Rochester University has recently opened its doors to women in response to a demand from the people of the city. The Rochester Theological Seminary was established by the New York Baptist Union for Ministerial Education in 328 AMERICAN BAPTIST EDUCATIONAL WORK 1850. Unfortunately, it was not officially linked with the university, although some of the earlier professors taught in both institutions. Dr. John S. Maginnis and Dr. Thomas J. Conant were able teachers and moving powers in the first years of the seminary. But in 1853 Dr. Ezekiel G. Robin son was called to the presidency, and for nineteen years he held that office, impressing himself on all his students and perceptibly shaping the entire Baptist ministry of the North ern States. None of our theological teachers have ever aroused greater personal regard or left a nobler record. After Doctor Robinson accepted the presidency of Brown Uni versity, in 1872, Dr. Augustus H. Strong was called to the position, and the seminary has steadily maintained its high traditions while greatly increasing its material resources. By requiring a collegiate education as preparatory to seminary work the institution has done much to raise the intellectual level of the Baptist ministry, and its example in this respect has been followed by almost every Northern Baptist semi nary. The gifts of Mr. John D. Rockefeller and his brother, William Rockefeller, and those of Mr. John B. Trevor, en couraged many smaller givers, and the seminary now has over #750,000 in endowment and buildings. Doctor Strong has by his work as administrator, teacher, and writer been one of the leaders of modern Christian thought. The German department of the seminary has done an important service, largely owing to the ability and devotion of Augustus Rausch- enbusch, who took charge of this work in 1858. Crozer Theological Seminary, founded by the beneficence of the family of Mr. John Price Crozer, of Philadelphia, was opened in 1868, and was from the beginning remarkably suc cessful. No small part of its efficiency has been due to the character aiid ability of Dr. Henry G. Weston, who has from the beginning served as president. Crozer has never known the poverty through which other institutions have had to pass, and has achieved in a comparatively short time a place of large influence. Bucknell University, long known as the "University at Lewisburg, " was chartered in 1846. Beginning as an acad emy, it soon took on collegiate features. For a time it main tained a theological department, until the opening of Crozer Seminary. Its success is due largely to the devotion of a few men, among whom Mr. AVilliam Bucknell has been the largest benefactor, and in honor of whom the university assumed its present name. Under its successive presidents, Howard Malcom, Justin R. Loomis, David J. Hill, and John H. IN NORTHERN AND MIDDLE STATES 329 Harris (1889), it has steadily advanced in standards and efficiency and fully justified the hope of its founders. In the Middle States Baptists have now seven academies, all placed in small country towns. Three of these, Hall Institute, Keystone Academy, and the Western Pennsylvania Classical Institute, are in Pennsylvania ; two of them, Peddie Institute and the South Jersey Institute, are in New Jersey ; and two more, Cook Academy and Marion Collegiate Insti tute, are in New York. A most striking example of what one man may do in education is seen in the founding and development of Vassar College, at Poughkeepsie, N. Y. This is the noble monu ment of Matthew Vassar, whose foresight and generosity created the first genuine women's college in America. A Baptist himself in his affiliations, he naturally called together as the first Board of trustees a company of men who were largely Baptists, and made to them such generous proposi tions that when the college was opened in 1865, its property amounted to nearly #750,000. Three presidents have led the enterprise — John H. Raymond, Samuel L. Caldwell, and James M. Taylor, and Vassar College was never a greater power than to-day. Steadily its standards have been raised, its endowment has been enlarged, and the first large building supplemented by noble structures gathering about it. Other women' s colleges have sprung into being, some of them large and flourishing. But the primacy of Vassar is far more than chronological. Its ideal has been from the beginning thor oughly Christian and frankly feminine, and it has exercised on all succeeding women's colleges a wholesome influence. This brief survey of educational enterprise in the Eastern and Middle States shows how much Baptists owe to certain individuals and families who have been fired with ambition to do something for their denomination and their generation. Their names and their work will never die. It also shows how much has been lost through division of forces, duplica tion of institutions in the same region, and lack of broad, general policy. No new institution should be founded for a long time to come in these States, and a closer union of ex isting institutions, binding academies, colleges, and semi naries in a common educational policy, is devoutly to be wished. Independent in origin, these schools must be inter dependent in their future development. If such interdepend ence can be attained and continued, our educational future will be secure. W. H. P. Faunce. 330 AMERICAN BAPTIST EDUCATIONAL WORK PART II IN SOUTHERN STATES Our educational ideals and our educational systems were very largely affected by the beginnings of a social democracy growing out of the American Revolution of 1776. At the beginning of this century culture and the means of education were still largely aristocratic. In the South, a few such men as Mr. Jefferson, Mr. Madison, and others, were highly edu cated, but the great masses of the people were still ignorant. After our pohtical independence had been won, after our Constitution had been formed and adopted, and after a peaceful revolution had committed the United States to a democratic ideal, the leading spirits in the Southern States directed their attention to the establishment of State univer sities, which would prepare young men for careers in law and politics, and which would ultimately lead to a larger diffusion of intelligence and culture among the people. "Among the wealthy planters in the South there was to be seen, along with the simple modes of rural life, a courtliness of bearing, a knowledge of the world and books, and an easy adaptability to the different kinds of society," which has had but few parallels in the life of any people ; but the masses had few educational advantages. Culture was not only limited to a few individuals, but our best educated men, many of whom were graduates of Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard, Yale, and Princeton, had bent themselves to the task of constructing a system of conduct and of devising safe plans of reform. "The South had not come into the possession of either leisure or refinement. Its strength was rough and ready. It had been making history and constructing systems of politics and in such fields its thinking was informed and practical." But culture in the real and true sense, and popular education in our own sense, was practically unknown at this time. "Debarred from manufactures, possessed of no shipping facilities, enjoying no domestic market, Virginian energies nec essarily needed no other resources than agriculture. Without church, university, schools, or literature in any form that required or fostered intellectual life, the Virginians concen trated their thoughts almost exclusively upon politics, and this concentration produced a result so distinct and lasting, and IN SOUTHERN STATES 331 in character so respectable, that American history would lose no small part of its interest in losing the Virginia school." ] "In some respects North Carolina, though modest in am bition and backward in thought, was still the healthiest community south of the Potomac. Neither aristocratic like Virginia and South Carohna, nor turbulent like Georgia, nor troubled by a sense of social importance, but above all thor oughly democratic, North Carolina tolerated more freedom of pohtical action, and showed less family and social influ ence, fewer vested rights in political power, and less tyranny of slaveholding interests and terrors, than were common else where in the South. Neither cultivated nor brilliant in intel lect, nor great in thought, industry, energy, or organization, North Carohna was still interesting and respectable," and was the first State in the South to organize a State Univer sity.2 Her best quahties were typified in her favorite repre sentative, Nathaniel Macon, who retained largely the same relationship to the educational and political problems of North Carolina that Mr. Jefferson did to Virginia. For South Carolina "there was a small society of rice and cotton planters at Charleston, with their cultivated tastes, minds, and hospitable habits, who delighted in whatever re minded them of European civilization. They were travelers, readers, and scholars, and the city of Charleston compared well in refinement with any city of its size in the world, and English visitors long thought it the most agreeable in America. The South Carolinians were ambitious for other distinctions than those which could be earned at the bar or on the plantation. Charleston was more cosmopolitan than any part of Virginia, and enjoyed also certain literary reputa tion on account of David Ramsay, whose works were widely read, and of Governor Drayton, whose ' Letters written dur ing a tour through the Northern and Eastern States,' and his 'View of South Carolina,' gave an idea of the author as well as the country he describes. Charleston also possessed a library of three or four thousand well-selected books, and maintained a well-managed theatre. ' ' 3 In Georgia, while there were a few highly educated men, such as Abraham Baldwin, and others, the masses were even more poorly provided with the means of education and culture than those of Virginia and the Carolinas. While politics had not mastered the thought of North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia so completely as that of Virginia, the largest per- 1 Henry Adams, "History of the United States," Vol. I., p. 138. 2 Ibid., pp. 148, 149. a Ibid., p. 152. 332 AMERICAN BAPTIST EDUCATIONAL WORK centage of the educated men were lawyers, politicians, and statesmen. Law and politics being the leading pursuit of the educated classes, led first to the establishment of State uni versities whose primary object was to provide lawyers and politicians for the South as the New England colleges were established to furnish a trained ministry. The University of North Carolina was founded in 1795, University of Georgia in 1801, South Carolina College in 1805, and the University of, Virginia in 1825. As history repeated itself on Western lines, the State universities in the remaining Southern States were founded between 1831 for the University of Alabama and 1883 for the University of Texas. It may be remarked in passing that nearly half of the State universities in America are located in the Southern States. While the universities in the South were a step toward democracy, making possible an enlargement of the educated classes, compared with the New England standards they were until after the Civil War essentially aristocratic. They furnished an opportunity for the sons of the wealthy planters to prepare themselves for careers in law and politics. While Mr. Jefferson in his scheme of education looked for the establishment of a system of popular education that would furnish a democratic base for the universities, the Southern States took no decided steps for the education of the masses until the overthrow of the slave aristocracy by the late Civil War. In fact, slavery constituted the last phase of our social life which stood in the way of the development of a political, economic, and social democracy. There is a striking parallel between the democratic revolution which brought Mr. Jeffer son to the presidency in 1800 and which has been the con trolling force in Southern political life since that time. In dividualism and democracy applied to the State have been the guiding ideal of American political life, especially that of the Southern States. Individualism and democracy applied to religion have been the fundamental basis of the Baptist denomination. Now the same impulse which led to the rise of Harvard, Yale, and Princeton, as schools primarily for the education of ministers, led to the rise of denominational colleges in the Southern States in the early thirties of this century. As there were representative men in the field of law and politics who stood behind the organization of the State universities in the South, so there was also a group of well-educated and representative men in the field of religion who stood behind IN SOUTHERN STATES 333 the organization of the denominational colleges, and who reached out through a trained ministry to the development of the masses. For example, Richard Furman in South Carolina, Henry Holcombe and Jesse Mercer in Georgia, represent the same type of leadership in religion as was rep resented by Thomas Jefferson in Virginia, Nathaniel Macon in North Carolina, and Abraham Baldwin in Georgia, in pohtics. Mr. Jefferson's idea, in common with other politi cal leaders of the day, was to establish State universities that would provide for an educated office-holding class. The idea of Richard Furman in South Carolina and Jesse Mercer in Georgia, in common with other religious leaders of their day, was to provide for an educated ministry. The original idea to limit higher education to the office-holding and ministerial classes soon broadened, until now an educated citizenship is contemplated by both. The State universities have reached the point in their development where they contemplate the ideal of liberal culture, and denominational colleges, while still retaining a moral and religious ideal, are making an effort to provide for as large and as liberal a culture as that provided by the State universities. The democratization of culture has gone on until there has grown up a system of common schools, high schools, and academies which form the connecting link between the people and the universities and colleges, which are the principal factors in that democratization of culture that is the most significant phase of our civilization. The "great revival" of 1800 that swept over the South and that brought into the Baptist churches an untrained multitude; the return of Luther Rice in 1813 and the consequent organization in Philadelphia of the "General Missionary Convention of the Baptist Denomination in the United States of America for Foreign Missions" ; the large and serious consideration given at the second session of this Convention in 181 7 to the necessity of an educated ministry and denominational progress ; the consequent organization of Columbian College in 1821 to provide literary and theo logical instruction, to promote foreign missions, denomina tional unity and progress; the formation of educational societies in different parts of the country to support Colum bian College — all these different steps in the direction of progress and of organized effort had a large influence on the Baptists of the Southern States. The trained and intelligent leaders of the South were in sympathy with the movements named. They began to turn their attention to organized 334 AMERICAN BAPTIST EDUCATIONAL WORK effort in their own bounds. The union of churches into Associations and of Associations into State Conventions was one of the most important results, and each step brought with it a larger unity and a greater strength. Without exception, these State Conventions in the South, as soon as they were organized, took up, as a question of primary importance, the training of the ministry. The country was becoming more populous, and each new center of population became a fruitful field for the work of the trained minister. Material development of the country brought a certain degree of wealth to many, and much of this wealth was in the hands of Baptists. With the increase of wealth there came leisure, and with the increase of denominational unity and strength there were present the necessary conditions out of which the educational movements of the time took their rise. In South Carolina, it was Dr. Richard Furman who was instrumental in securing a meeting of delegates from the Charleston, Edgefield, and Savannah River Associations at Columbia in 1821. The importance of an educated ministry was the chief interest of this meeting. The following year it was again discussed. In 1826 the Convention of South Carolina established the Furman Academy and Theological Institution. The enterprise was unsuccessful. The theo logical part was moved to another point and continued for two or three years and then abandoned. In 1835 another effort was made in the Fairfield district, but the school thus established was suspended in 1840. With varying success in subsequent enterprises, Furman University was finally estab lished in 185 1. In Georgia, a voluntary committee, known as the General Committee, made up of leading Baptists who came together in an unofficial way for conference at Powelton in 1801, where Jesse Mercer was pastor, and later by the favorable action of the Associations, became, in a measure, a repre sentative body and held its first session at Powelton in 1803. At the session of this committee in 1804, Christian education was the prevailing and absorbing theme. A circu lar on the importance of education was issued by the com mittee and addressed to the churches, and the following year a second circular was issued, this time prepared by Jesse Mercer. The immediate outcome of the General Commit tee's interest in education was Mt. Enon Academy, a large share of whose financial backing was provided by Henry Holcombe. After the removal of Doctor Holcombe to IN SOUTHERN STATES 335 Philadelphia, in 1811, the academy soon failed, but the influence of the educational activity of the General Com mittee was not a failure. It prepared the way for unity of action, which resulted in the organization of the State Con vention in 1822. It also prepared the way for the one supreme purpose of this organization, which, at the first session of the Convention in 1822, was the education of the ministry. As a result of the influence thus put in operation, Mercer Institute at Penfield was founded in 1832. This institute, by an enlargement of its scope, became ultimately Mercer University in 1837. In North Carolina, a well-defined purpose to foster denomi national education led to the formation of the Baptist State Convention. At the session of this Convention in 1832, the committee on education recommended ' ' to purchase a suit able farm and to adopt other preliminary measures for the establishment of a Baptist seminary in this State under the manual labor principle. ' ' Wake Forest Institute was opened in 1834 as a result. The original charter was amended, the name changed to Wake Forest College, and the present institution began its period of usefulness in 1838. In Virginia, the proximity of Columbian College, and the general relations which it sustained to the denomination, postponed for some time an organized effort for the develop ment of an institution of higher learning. But the need of such an institution came to be felt to such an extent that, in 1830, the Virginia Baptist Education Society was formed. A committee of leading Baptists from this society was selected and instructed to outline and recommend a plan for the edu cation of the ministry. The committee suggested that stu dents preparing for the ministry, who were to be aided by the society, should be placed "in families whose libraries afforded an opportunity to give useful instruction and to enable them to render essential service to their younger brethren. ' ' This plan did not work satisfactorily, met with opposition, and ultimately failed. The Virginia Baptist Seminary, a manual labor school, was the next effort. After two years the manual labor feature was abandoned and prop erty was bought within the city of Richmond. On this new site Richmond College was founded in 1840. In Kentucky, the Baptists early realized the importance and necessity of denominational education. A college was organ ized at Georgetown in 1829, but a division of the Baptist forces of the State imperiled its usefulness and almost its ex istence. From 1838 to 1840 the institution prospered and 336 AMERICAN BAPTIST EDUCATIONAL WORK entered upon a permanent and successful history. The charter for Georgetown College, known at the time of its foundation as the Georgetown Literary and Theological In stitution, was procured in 1829. In the same State, Bethel College, organized and founded by the Bethel Association, received its charter in 1 840. In Tennessee, what is now Carson and Newman College at Mossy Creek, received its charter in 1850, and the South western Baptist University, at Jackson, in 1847. In Alabama, similar conditions and similar reasons that in duced the Baptists in South Carolina and Georgia to estab lish denominational schools, led to an unsuccessful attempt between 1830-1840 to provide a literary and theological school. For a number of years the project was abandoned, but in 1 84 1 Howard College was founded at Marion, Ala. It is now located at East Lake, near Birmingham. In Mississippi, it was again the question of education and missions that brought the State Convention into being. Hempstead Academy, a State institution, chartered in 1826, became Mississippi College in 1830. In 1842 it passed into the hands of the Presbyterians. It was surrendered to the State after five years and by the State tendered to the Bap tist Convention of Mississippi in 1852. It is located at Clinton. In Louisiana, efforts were made by the Baptists to organize a university, to be known as Mt. Lebanon University. The discussion of this project was begun in 1847, but while a cer tain provision was made for theological instruction, and a preparatory department was organized in 1853, nothing was done in the way of collegiate instruction until 1856. The opening of the war found an enrollment of 127 students, but after the Civil War the school was suspended, and finally, after ineffectual attempts to revive it, abandoned. The Bap tists of Louisiana made another attempt to found a university at Shreveport in 1870, but this was a failure. In Missouri, the Baptist General Association of the State began as early as 1839 to discuss the question of the educa tion of the ministry. In 1843 Dr. William Jewell tendered to the General Association #10,000 as a nucleus for the en dowment of the college. This led to the founding of Wil liam Jewell College in 1849. In Arkansas, the Baptist State Convention in 1883 began the discussion of a denominational school, which finally re sulted in the founding of Ouachita College at Arkadelphia in 1886. IN SOUTHERN STATES 337 In Texas, the Union Baptist Association, at its meeting in 1842, resolved to found a Baptist university. A charter was obtained in 1845, and the school was first located at Inde pendence. In 1886, Baylor University, at Independence, and Waco University, at Waco, were united under the name of Baylor University, at Waco, and placed under the control of the General Convention of Texas. In Florida, through the benevolence of John B. Stetson, of Philadelphia, there was founded for the Baptists of Florida, at Deland, the John B. Stetson University in 1883. The denominational colleges in the South now under Bap tist control are as follows : Georgetown College, Kentucky, 1829; twenty-three instructors; property and endowment, #375,000. Richmond College, Virginia, 1832 ; eighteen in structors; property and endowment, #970,000. Wake For est College, North Carolina, 1834; fourteen instructors; property and endowment, #307,000. Mercer University, Georgia, 1837; fifteen instructors; property and endow ment, #400,000. Howard College, Alabama, 1841; seven instructors; property, #60,300. Baylor University, Texas, 1845 ; twenty-two instructors ; with property and endow ment amounting to about #250,000. Southwestern Baptist University, Tennessee, 1847; twenty-one instructors ; prop erty, #65,000. William Jewell College, Missouri, 1849 ; twenty-three instructors; property and endowment, #353,- 000. Carson and Newman College, Tennessee, 185 1 ; four teen instructors ; property and endowment, #100,000. Fur man University, South Carolina, 185 1 ; eleven instructors; property and endowment, #165,000. Mississippi College, Mississippi, 1852 ; eight instructors; property and endow ment, #89,000. Bethel College, Kentucky, 1854; six in structors ; property and endowment, #250,000. John B. Stet son University, Florida, 1883 ; twenty-eight instructors ; prop erty and endowment, #500,000. Ouachita Baptist College, Arkansas, 1886 ; twenty- three instructors ; property, #100,000. The total value of property and endowment in the institu tions named is nearly #4,000,000 ; the total number of stu dents in attendance, 3,500; and of these, 400 are minis terial students. The total number of volumes in the libraries is 100,000. Only a small per cent, of the institutions named are co-educational. The South has been conservative in the matter of co-education, and has been slow to consider or to adopt suggestions to open her universities and colleges to co-education. The principle is a general one and applies to State institutions as well as to denominational colleges. w 338 AMERICAN BAPTIST EDUCATIONAL WORK As a result of this condition there are at least twenty-three colleges for women under Baptist control in the Southern States. As a rule, there has been little organized effort through State Conventions to found and support schools for the education of women. Without exception the denominational colleges founded as a result of organized effort had the one well-defined purpose to train young men for the ministry. Each institution had therefore at first a theological department. As the educa tional interest in the denomination became more general, and as the need of trained men in other vocations came to be understood, all these denominational schools in a com paratively short time after they were founded were opened to all classes of students. The number of ministerial students while comparatively large was nevertheless small as compared with the number of students who entered these schools. The educational effort being in some measure divided between literary and theological instruction, did not provide a suffi ciently comprehensive scholarship for either class of students. In consequence a number of ministerial students began to seek the Northern institutions for better facilities. One of the first questions to come before the Southern Baptist Convention after its organization, in 1845, was the advisability of founding a special institution for the training of the ministry. Furman University, South Carolina, and Mercer University, Georgia, were presented in turn as offer ing a desirable beginning for such an institution. From 1 845-1 854 the matter was discussed in the denominational papers, and at the sessions of the Southern Baptist Conven tion. An inquiry was made through a committee as to whether the theological departments at the different denom inational institutions and the funds in their control might not be combined to found such an institution. This hope failed. Prof. James P. Boyce, of the theological department of Fur man University, began to assume the leadership of this im portant movement. In 1857 he submitted to the Educational Convention which preceded the meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention at Louisville, Ky. , a proposition in behalf of the State Convention of South Carolina to found such an institution in Greenville, and that the South Carolina Baptists would raise #100,000 provided the Baptists of other States would raise a like amount. These conditions were fulfilled in subscriptions, and the Southern Baptist Theological Sem inary was opened in Greenville in 1859, the faculty being made up of James P. Boyce, John A. Broadus, Basil Manly, IN SOUTHERN STATES 339 Jr., and William Williams. The seminary was suspended during the Civil War, and the endowment was lost. Years of heroic sacrifice followed, and the removal of the seminary was felt to be necessary in order to raise an endowment. It was removed to Louisville, Ky., and opened its first session there in 1878. It prospered from the beginning, and is now one of the greatest seminaries of theological learning in the world. Its influence on the Baptist ministry of the South is important and far-reaching. The value of its property and endowment is now #824,000. It was said in a preceding paragraph that there are at least twenty-three colleges for women in the South under Baptist control. The value of property and endowment in these institutions is not less than #1,125,000. In the case of the denominational colleges for men, it is the exception if the institution is not endowed ; in the case of the colleges for women under Baptist control, it is the exception if they are endowed. Another important educational fact in the South is the de velopment of institutions for the education of the colored race since the Civil War. The colored Baptists of the South have at the present time about thirty schools of fairly high grade, with the somewhat special purpose to prepare their students for teaching and for the ministry. The first of these institutions to be organized was the Roger Williams University, at Nashville, in 1864. The amount of money in vested in such institutions is at least #1,500,000. Only a very small per cent, of them have any endowment. The larger proportion of them were founded as a result of North ern beneficence, and are maintained by the American Bap tist Home Mission Society. Nearly 6,000 graduates have been sent out from the denominational colleges, whose history has been sketched. It is safe to say that at least 18,000 students have attended these institutions, have come under Baptist influence, and have gone out to every corner of the South as ministers, teachers, statesmen, lawyers, physicians, farmers, etc. These institu tions have therefore made a contribution beyond estimate to Church and State in the South — a contribution vital and sig nificant, since Christian character and culture have joined hands through these graduates for the regeneration and re demption of society. Some of the institutions named may not live, because they are not as yet endowed ; and some may not live, because they are not sufficiently endowed ; not any, indeed, are 340 AMERICAN BAPTIST EDUCATIONAL WORK endowed in proportion to the ability of the great constituency that should support them. Ample endowment, at least to such an extent as to protect against fluctuations in financial conditions and in patronage is absolutely necessary to insure permanency. Again, the South has the somewhat special problem of the State university and the denominational college side by side. The State is not in the field of higher education to any great extent in the New England and Middle States, and it may be added that the denominational college has found it diffi cult to enter the field of higher education in the Western States. The problem of the South, therefore, in the field of higher education, is a special and peculiar one. The question of taxation of the endowment funds of the denominational colleges, of free tuition at State universities, and the support of these from the public treasury, and other questions grow ing out of competition, have not yet in many sections been equitably adjusted, and these questions relate themselves to the prosperity and permanency of our denominational schools. Christian education has been a powerful factor in the South, and has been the inspiration and source of Baptist power and usefulness in every great interest and movement of the denomination, whether in foreign missions, State mis sions, home missions, or in the various forms of our charita ble work. The struggles of many of our denominational schools in the South have not fallen short of the heroic, but a better day is dawning. Our economic life is settling down on a more permanent basis. Our industries, once largely agricultural, with but little ready cash, are becoming more varied, and there is now much wealth in the South. The number of Baptists who appreciate and realize the powerful and constructive forces that go out from these Christian schools is steadily increasing in the South, and the outlook is generally hopeful ; but there is much pioneer work still to be done. Great is the reward of the faithful pioneer ! P. D. Pollock. PART III IN WESTERN STATES One of the most prolific and attractive writers on education in the West says : ' ' These colleges represent logic made into IN WESTERN STATES 341 history. The logic of those early settlers was ' We have come to this new territory to make it Christian ; we cannot make it Christian without a ministry ; we cannot have a ministry without a college. ' Therefore they founded the college, and sacrificed for it. ' ' The men who first came to the West were pioneers in both education and missions. They saw the vital relation of edu cation to the promulgation of the gospel, and this is why in the midst of great poverty they were willing to make great sacrifices in planting institutions of learning. The two men who more than any others must be accorded the honor of leading in this work are Elders John M. Peck and Jonathan Going ; and they gathered much of their en thusiasm from fellowship with Luther Rice. It is impossible to decide upon exact dates for the beginning of various edu cational enterprises, but we can say that 1830 was the center of a period of college planting in the West. We know from Elder Peck's own journal that he came to the West, arriving in Shawneetown, Illinois, on October 6, 181 7. After some years of missionary labor, and a year spent in the East visiting institutions of learning and consulting with acknowledged educators, he called a meeting of brethren most likely to be interested, and founded a seminary at Rock Spring, Illinois, his own home. Mainly through his own planning, energy, and sacrifice, the school was kept up, and a large number of young men enjoyed its advantages. But the effort to provide necessary funds was very great, and progress was slow. In 1 83 1 Dr. Peck's long-time friend and brother, Elder Jonathan Going, came to the West and to Rock Spring. He soon found himself in sympathy with those who thought Upper Alton a better prospective educational center than Rock Spring. A man with less force of character and clearness of conviction could never have persuaded Elder Peck of the wisdom of the change as to location ; but Elder Going succeeded and the change was finally made. Even after that it was not smooth sailing for the school. It was difficult to raise the necessary funds. Poverty, inertia, and opposition were the obstacles constantly met, not only at Upper Alton, but in all the West and everywhere. Elder Peck disposed of part of his property at Rock Spring and followed his school to upper Alton, and worked for it as hard and constantly as he had before the removal. Amid all the delays and discouragements there were real reasons for cheer and courage. One such was the gift of #10,000 from Dr. Benjamin Shurtleff, of Boston. In recognition of this 342 AMERICAN BAPTIST EDUCATIONAL WORK liberality the name of the institution was changed to Shurtleff College, the name that it has ever since borne. The Civil War came on and most of the students went to the front. Shurtleff furnished at least two major generals, two brigadier generals, three colonels, five majors, and seven captains, besides scores of men in the ranks. In 1876 a strenuous effort was made to add #100,000 to the endowment of the college. The amount was subscribed, but much of it was never collected. The endowment fund is now about #130,000, and about 300 students have been graduated during its career, many of whom are in the min istry and some in the foreign mission field. As Elder Jonathan Going was on his tour to the West in 1 83 1 he stopped at Lancaster, Ohio, and attended the meet ings of the Ohio Baptist State Convention. He took deep interest in the plans proposed for founding a college for the Baptists of that State. It was at first called Granville Lit erary and Theological Institute, and was located on a farm about a mile and a half from the village. In 1845 the name was changed to Granville College, and in 1856 the school was removed from the farm to "the hill" in the village of Granville and the name changed again, this time to Denison University. The last name is in honor of William S. Deni son, of Adamsville, Ohio, a liberal benefactor. For some years the finances were in a straitened condition, but in recent years the friends of the university have rallied to its support in a most beautiful way. Among the larger con tributors to its funds are Mr. W. H. Doane, of Cincinnati ; the Threshers and Barneys, of Dayton ; and the Rockefellers, of Cleveland. It is the best equipped Baptist college in the West, reporting assets amounting in the aggregate to nearly #1,000,000. In November, 1829, Thomas W. Merrill, after graduation at Waterville College (now Colby) and Newton Theological Seminary, made his way into Michigan as a missionary. He soon became a leader in Baptist educational work. He first opened a classical school in Ann Arbor. Next he undertook to found the Michigan and Huron Institute at Kalamazoo. A charter was obtained in 1833. In 1837 the legislature authorized the change of name to Kalamazoo Literary Insti tute, and the citizens raised #2,500 for the benefit of the school. It became Kalamazoo College by another act of the legislature in 1855. One building was erected in 1847 and another in 1857. Its campus has 115 acres of ground, and no college in the West has a more beautiful location. Its IN WESTERN STATES 343 struggles with poverty have been as marked as those of its sister colleges. President Brooks had the longest term of service, and the college prospered well under his administra tion. President Slocum, the present incumbent, has been greatly encouraged of late. John D. Rockefeller's generous offers, made through the American Baptist Education So ciety, have been accepted and made the basis of advance in the direction of buildings and endowment. Kalamazoo is now in affiliation with the University of Chicago. Very early in the year 1833 the brethren who met and formed the Indiana Baptist General Association were the most aggressive men of the State, and naturally became the leaders in the matter of higher education. In June, 1834, a meeting was called at Indianapolis to form an Education So ciety. This Education Society soon projected the "Franklin Manual Labor Institute. ' ' Many of those who came to study lived by manual labor indeed. Some of them built the cab ins they lived in. A cooper shop was built for the sake of such as knew how to make barrels. Instruction was begun in 1837 ; a college charter was ob tained in 1844. Many attempts were made to raise an endow ment but they did not signally succeed. Financial agents could scarcely collect enough to meet current expenses. Franklin, in common with some others of our colleges, sold scholarships at entirely too small a price. In 1861, when the fall term was as full as usual, almost every student was using a scholarship, and so the income from fees was cut off. One of the benefits of the suspension and dissolution of the organ ization in 1872 was the elimination of the scholarship system. In the early part of 1872 the Board was obliged to close mat ters up and transfer the property to the creditors. Much was lost — but not all. Many young men and women had been educated, and their love for the institution had not died. Before it was time for the fall term of 1872 to begin, a new organization had been formed, #50,000 had been subscribed, and a faculty had been elected. From that time to this (1901), while progress has not been rapid, it has been constant. The total assets are now about #400,000. Here also the aid of Mr. J. D. Rockefeller, through the American Baptist Education Society, has been timely. Franklin College, now under the presidency of W. T. Stott, d. d., since 1872, has graduated over 300 young men and women, ten of whom have done, or are doing, service on the foreign mission field. During the Civil War but two young men were left in the college, and they were both lame. 344 AMERICAN BAPTIST EDUCATIONAL WORK McMinnville College, Oregon, obtained a charter in 1852. G. C. Chandler, d. d., who had been president of Frank lin College for eight years, was elected president. The col lege has done a good work for the Pacific coast. The total assets of the college are reported to be #90, 000. Iowa has the fortune or misfortune to have two Baptist colleges — Central University, at Pella, and Des Moines Col lege, at the capital of the State. Central University was established as a college in 1858 and Rev. E. Gunn was elected president. When the Civil War came on many of the students enlisted. At the close of 1862 there was not an able-bodied student of military age left in the institution. Twenty-six of those who enlisted be came commissioned officers. Ottawa University, Kansas, had its origin in the missionary work Baptists did for the Ottawa Indians. It is in a flourish ing condition, with Rev. J. D. S. Riggs, ph. d., as president. Nearly 500 students were enrolled last year in all depart ments. Nebraska Baptists have a college at Grand Island, founded in 1892, and having G. C. Sutherland, d. d. , as president. The college for California Baptists is at Oakland and was founded in 1874. T. G. Brownson, d. d., who was at Mc Minnville College for nine years, is president. The University of Chicago in its present form was begun in 1892, but is closely connected with the old University of Chicago, which had its beginning in 1857. Hon. Stephen A. Douglas, whose wife was a Baptist, gave a tract of land in the southern part of the city, valued at the time, at #60,000. A large building was erected. J. C. Burroughs, d. d. , was chosen president. The pressure of the times, the city's great fire, and other untoward circumstances, made it exceed ingly difficult for the university to meet its current expenses. Before the time for the fall opening in 1887 the instructors had gone and the old University of Chicago was no more. But, as often occurs, apparent failure was real success. The Baptist Educational Commission, organized through the very efficient labor of S. S. Cutting, d. d., in 1870, was clear ing the way for larger things. The commission did not have a very long life, but it led the way to the organization of the American Baptist Education Society in 1888. When the old University of Chicago had gone down and the brethren were casting about for something larger and better than the old, the Education Society was at hand to offer advice and essential aid. IN WESTERN STATES 345 Dr, W. R. Harper, for several years connected with the Baptist Union Theological Seminary (and others with him), felt a deep interest in the matter of higher education for the Northwest, and he had the advantage of close relationship with Mr. John D. Rockefeller. Discussions in reference to a college or university in Chicago, culminated in the forming of a committee of thirty-six, and the new institution was launched with a beginning of #1,000,000, of which Mr. Rockefeller gave #600,000. A charter was speedily secured and the new university of Chicago began its career, with Dr. W. R. Harper as presi dent. Its expansion has been a wonderful one, and in its great faculty, its superb equipment, and its unrivaled accumu lation of means, aggregating (1901) #10,000,000, it stands bearing testimony to the wise and large liberality of Mr. John D. Rockefeller and the remarkable organizing power of Presi dent W. R. Harper. This brief glance at the history of Baptist education in the West, emphasizes in our minds the greatness of the struggles that were made to found these schools, and the firmness of the faith that bade the workers hold on to their purpose ; and one might be led to suppose that while such men as President Read, of Shurtleff; President Talbot, of Denison ; President Brooks, of Kalamazoo ; and President Bailey, of Franklin, were strenuously working to keep their colleges afloat, the standard of scholarship in the institutions would not be of a very high order. It was otherwise. The young men who came out from those halls came rapidly to the front as capa ble leaders in the churches and in civil life. While Presidents Moss and Anderson were walking the streets of Chicago to ask contributions for current expenses, their pupils were taking the first places in the State and inter- State contests in oratory. The students of those days are the educational leaders of these days. The subject of co-education in our institutions has been earnestly discussed in the last fifty years; and as a result young women are admitted to all, or almost all, our colleges in the West. Courses of study have been constantly ad vanced as the facilities warranted. The public schools of the country have helped to push the colleges forward. In the best high schools the curriculum covers the work that once belonged to the Freshman and Sophomore years of the col lege. The support of universities by the State has brought some new problems to the denominational colleges. Com petition for patronage has become so strong that no institu- 346 AMERICAN BAPTIST EDUCATIONAL WORK tion can count on its natural patronage unless it works for it. A result is that our colleges are providing the best facilities possible and the best instruction possible. In this purpose of making ' ' our own the best ' ' the aid extended by the Ameri can Baptist Education Society is most opportune and most welcome. We know that higher education obtained in a distinctly Christian atmosphere is worth more to our youth than words can express ; but that is no reason why our schools should not be models in respect to all appliances. This sketch would not be complete without reference to the efforts of Baptists of the West to provide distinctly theo logical instruction. Theological departments were connected with many of the colleges, as Shurtleff, Denison, and Kala mazoo. Many of our ablest scholars have done work in these departments. In some instances theological chairs were en dowed. At least in Shurtleff it seems to be obligatory to provide instruction in theology, to comply with the charter of the college. By slow stages, however, the conviction grew that, as other learned professions had separate schools, so ought the ministry to have. Newton Theological Institution was in operation as a separate school for the ministry in the year 1825, but the earliest attempt in the West was that to estab lish the Western Baptist Theological Institute in Covington, Ky. , in 1840. It was hoped to equip and endow the semi nary by a real estate transaction. The plan seemed for a while to promise success. A building was erected, and an able faculty, with E. G. Robinson, d. d. , as president, was elected. But the slavery agitation was growing more and more intense, and it became clear that a theological seminary dependent for patronage and support on both the North and the South was an impossibility. Accordingly, after some litigation the assets were equally divided. The portion be longing to the South was given to form a theological depart ment in Georgetown College, Kentucky. The Northern portion was expended in founding Fairmount Theological Seminary, Cincinnati, Ohio, but the library came into the possession of Granville College. Fairmount did not succeed and soon passed out of notice. A more successful attempt to provide for theological in struction in the West originated in a meeting held in the First Baptist Church, Chicago, in i860. The object of the meeting was to discuss the need and possibility of a theo- IN THE DOMINION OF CANADA 347 logical institution for the Northwest. Another meeting was called in 1861, but the movement did not take final shape until 1863, when the Baptist Theological Union for the Northwest was formed. The existence of the Civil War prevented rapid development of plans. In May, 1867, the Baptist National Anniversaries were held in Chicago, and the occasion afforded an opportunity to emphasize the need of the seminary. G. W. Northrup, D. D., then in the chair of church history in the Rochester Theo logical Seminary, was elected president, a full faculty was chosen, and instruction began in October, 1867. The in stitution has had constant and increasing success. A Scan dinavian department was added, a hbrary building was erected, and the endowment was increased. In 1892, when the new University of Chicago was fully outlined, part of the plan included the removal of the Baptist Union Theological Seminary to the university grounds and making it the divinity school of the university. It has prospered in its new relation and prospers still, with Eri B. Hulbert, d. d., as dean. Upon the whole, Baptist education is progressing in the West, and the future promises much more rapid development than has characterized the past. W. T. Stott. PART IV IN THE DOMINION OF CANADA In 1 80 1 the numbers and possessions of the Baptists of British North America were not sufficient to warrant an edu cational undertaking. Nor did their convictions lead in that direction. Education in general they did not value, and the importance of an educated ministry they had not yet learned. One hundred years later the Baptists of Canada were distin guished for their zeal and success in the promotion of higher education. Educational institutions of a permanent charac ter were opened to students in the Maritime Provinces in 1829, in Ontario in i860, and in Manitoba in 1899. THE MARITIME PROVINCES. During the first quarter of the century the Baptists of the Maritime Provinces were hostile to the education of ministers. 348 AMERICAN BAPTIST EDUCATIONAL WORK Their acquaintance with certain ministers of other denomina tions led them to associate arrogance and worldliness with college-bred preachers, while the pastors to whom they listened with reverence and delight were uneducated. Early in the second quarter of the century a movement began which destroyed this prejudice, and lifted the Baptists from obscurity to conspicuous prominence. On June 23, 1828, a meeting was held in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, at which was formed the Nova Scotia Baptist Educa tion Society. The purpose of this society was two-fold, to establish a "suitable seminary of learning" and to give financial aid to students for the ministry. The word ' ' suit able ' ' was doubly significant : it looked toward literary efficiency and a non-exclusive educational policy. Pictou Academy, founded by Presbyterians in 181 6, was at this time inefficient, and Kings College, Windsor, estabhshed in 1788 and liberally aided by the imperial and provincial governments, was open only to those who would subscribe to the Thirty-nine Articles of the Church of England. Concern ing the Horton Collegiate Academy, the school which was established in pursuance of the resolution adopted by the meeting in Wolfville in 1828, the following record, covering the years in which it was the only Baptist school in British North America, has been made : " During this period (1829- 1839) Horton Academy educated a large number of young men of all creeds and representing all parts of the province, and grew to be recognized as a classical school of a high grade. ' ' Asahel Chipman, of Amherst College, Massachusetts, was the first principal of Horton Academy, serving one year. He was succeeded in 1830 by Rev. John Pryor, who held the principalship until the founding of Acadia College, nine years later. Mr. Pryor was a graduate of Kings College, and was one of a group of Anglicans who two or three years before had become Baptists. J. W. Johnston, afterward attorney-general of Nova Scotia and a stalwart helper of the educational work, and E. A. Crawley, the first educational leader and the founder of Acadia College, were other mem bers of this group. Ten years after the opening of Horton Academy the first lectures were given in connection with Acadia College. There were two professors and twenty matriculated students. The professors were Rev. John Pryor, m. a., who since 1830 had been principal of the academy, and Rev. E. A. Crawley, m. a. Two influences led to the enlargement of the work in IN THE DOMINION OF CANADA 349 Wolfville, the desire of the students of the academy for higher education and the determination of the Baptists to secure by means of an independent school the rights and privileges which were denied them at the provincial college at Halifax. In September, 1838, Mr. Crawley's application for a professorship at Dalhousie College was rejected because he was a Baptist, the governing Board having determined that none save members of the Church of Scotland should be appointed to professorships in the provincial college ! In November the Baptists met in Wolfville and resolved to establish a college forthwith, and in January, 1839, the college was opened. The early years of Acadia College were marked by struggle and discouragement. Deficits multiplied. The first applica tion for a charter failed, and though a charter was granted in 1840, it was not until 185 1 that the charter was made per petual. There were no college buildings for some years. In 1842 Professors Crawley and Chipman began a canvass for contributions for a building. Money was accepted if offered, but they asked for materials. The people, though poor, gave liberally, and the building was begun in 1843, but was not finished until 1854 ; it was burned in 1877. Participation in this enterprise of "building a college without money" ap pealed to the imagination of the people of all classes, and from the hour of the laying of the foundations of the "old college building ' ' their hearts were knit to the school. In 1850 Acadia College was on the brink of disaster. Great difficulties had been encountered, the most dangerous of these being dissension. In 183 1 the Baptists sought, and received, from the province for their educational work a grant of ^500. This was followed by an annual grant of ^300. The acceptance of State aid led to controversies which at length became bitter. State aid ceased in 1850, but was re newed in 1865 and continued until about 1880. John Mockett Cramp, d. d. , who had been relieved of the principalship of the Canada Baptist College by the collapse of the latter in 1849, was in this year called to the presidency of Acadia College. His acceptance of the call indicated that he was heroic. This was abundantly manifested during the nineteen years of his presidency. Wise in administration, tactful in his relation to the churches, an able teacher, of wide experience and varied learning, and withal generous in gifts of his own means, he won the title of the "second founder" of the college. Doctor Cramp was succeeded in 1869 by Artemas Wyman 350 AMERICAN BAPTIST EDUCATIONAL WORK Sawyer, d. d. , an American by birth, who had served as a member of the teaching staff some years before. Doctor Sawyer proved himself to be a teacher of remarkable ability, a wise administrator, and a far-sighted leader. In the twenty- seven years of his presidency the faculty increased from four to ten, and the students from forty to three times that num ber, while the endowment more than doubled. He was suc ceeded in 1896 by Thomas Trotter, d. d., who undertook at once, successfully, to raise #75,000 to pay accumulated de ficits, to increase the buildings, and to add to the endowment. At different times attempts were made to give theological instruction. The chief of these dated from 1874 and covered nine years, during which period D. M. Welton, d. d., was professor in that department. In 1883 Doctor Welton be came a professor in the Toronto Baptist College and theologi cal teaching was discontinued at Wolfville. A few years be fore the close of the century #100,000 was left to Acadia by Godfrey Payzant for the revival of theological teaching. Besides Horton Academy and Acadia College the Baptists have at Wolfville Acadia Ladies' Seminary, a school of excel lent reputation. Although Wolfville was the center of the Baptist educational work of the Maritime Provinces, there were two attempts in New Brunswick which deserve notice. Because New Bruns wick had no public school system, and on account of the Anglican narrowness of the University of New Brunswick, the Baptists of Fredericton felt that there was an opening for a school under their direction. Charles Spurden, d. d. , was the first principal. In 1873 conditions had changed, and the principal at that time, Calvin Goodspeed, D. D. , thought it not wise to continue the school longer. In 1881 or 1882, under the leadership of J. E. ' Hopper, d. d. , a seminary was opened in St. John. This was moved to St. Martin's in 1888, where a costly building had been erected. It was called the Union Baptist Seminary, the Free Will Baptists having joined with the Regular Baptists in the enterprise in 1884. From the first there were great difficulties. Many New Brunswick Baptists thought the undertaking premature. Heavy debts were incurred and principals were changed fre quently. The end came in 1896. ONTARIO AND QUEBEC. The Baptists of the upper provinces were ten years behind their brethren by the sea in starting educational work, and thirty-two years behind them in establishing a school on a IN THE DOMINION OF CANADA 35 I permanent foundation. The earlier date, 1838, marks the opening of the Canada Baptist College in Montreal, which came to an end in 1849, and the later date, i860, the open ing of the Canadian Literary Institute in Woodstock, Ontario. The Canada Baptist College owed its birth chiefly to Rev. John Gilmour, a Scottish Baptist, who on coming to Canada, discovered that a school was greatly needed. He secured financial support in Great Britain. The school was well taught, but spent its twelve years of life in a storm, owing to the hostility of the Baptists of the West to the English Bap tist ideas that were dominant in the school. This college did a noble service in educating certain pioneer preachers and in emphasizing the need of Baptist educational work. While the Canada Baptist College was still alive, though near dissolution, the Baptists of Canada West, now Ontario, were planning to establish a school. The Montreal College was intended for theological students only, and the Baptists of the West, in their several early attempts, made plans of a similar character. After the failure of several attempts to found a theological school, Rev. Robert Alexander Fyfe, a native of Quebec Province, who had been educated partly in Canada and partly in the United States, came forward with a proposal to establish a school in which young men and women, whatever the vocation to which they looked forward, could be taught under Christian influences. This idea won its way. Woodstock was chosen as the site of the new school. A building was erected by means of the offerings of the people. Dr. Fyfe was persuaded to accept the principalship, and in July, i860, the Canadian Literary Institute was opened with forty pupils. In January, 1861, the building was destroyed by fire, but undaunted by this calamity, Doctor Fyfe organ ized his forces for an advance. ' Sympathy and subscriptions were given freely. Among those who helped generously was William McMaster, of Toronto, who subscribed #4,000 to the fund for rebuilding. From this date William McMaster, later a senator of Canada, had a new interest in the educational work of the denomination, an interest which led him to es tablish the Toronto Baptist College in 1881 and in 1887 to bequeath for the founding of McMaster University nearly #1,000,000. The early history of the Canadian Literary Institute is one of great struggle and large influence. For eighteen years, or until the time of his death, Doctor Fyfe lived out his great life in this school. On the literary side the institute was of academy grade, at one time attempting to carry students as 352 AMERICAN BAPTIST EDUCATIONAL WORK far as the end of the second year of an arts course. Theo logical teaching was given to students for the Baptist ministry. In 1 88 1 the theological department was removed to To ronto, Senator McMaster having erected there McMaster Hall and announced his willingness to contribute the greater part of the salary fund. The Toronto Baptist College was opened in October, 1881, with John Harvard Castle, D. D., as principal and twenty students in attendance. A charter for an institution having full university powers was secured from the provincial government in 1887. On the nineteenth of the September following Senator McMaster died, leaving about #900,000 for an endowment. Not many months later his widow offered to the governors of McMaster University her Toronto residence for a ladies' school. This offer was accepted, co-education was discontinued at Wood stock, and Moulton Ladies' College was opened in 1888. The Arts College was opened in 1890. There were sixteen students in arts and twenty-five in theology in 1890-1891. In 1899-1900 there were 145 in arts and forty-eight in theology. The chancellors of the university have been Malcolm Mac- Vicar, PH. D., ll. D., 1 88 7-1 890 ; Theodore Harding Rand, m. a., d. c. l., 1892-1895, and Oates C. S. Wallace, d. d., ll. d., since 1895. In the interval between the retirement of Chancellor Mac Vicar and the appointment of Chancellor Rand, the faculties of arts and theology were organized under the chairmanship of Doctor Rand and Dr. Calvin Goodspeed respectively. On the appointment of Doctor Rand as chancellor the two faculties were united and the chancellor was made principal ex officio. At the close of the century the faculties of the several departments of McMaster University numbered as follows : The university proper ; the chancellor and seventeen others ; Woodstock College, Prin cipal A. L. McCrimmon, m. a., and six others ; and Moulton College (not including the departments of music and art), Principal Adelaide L. Dicklow, m. ph., and six others. At Woodstock there were buildings sufficient to accommodate about 200 in residence, all the buildings being of brick. Moulton College will accommodate about sixty girls in resi dence. McMaster Hall, a fine stone building, besides chapel, classrooms, and laboratories, has dormitory accommodation for seventy-five students. In the closing year of the century subscriptions were se cured for the purchase of land for an athletic field for the university and the erection of a building for chapel and library. The corner-stone of the new building was laid De- IN THE DOMINION OF CANADA 353 cember 20, 1900. The cost of the land and buildings will be about #40,000. Within the bounds of the Convention of Ontario and Quebec another educational work has been conducted with large success, but since it belongs in strictness to a missionary rather than an educational undertaking, it does not call for extended notice in this sketch. In 1836 Madame Feller began to teach a few French Canadians at Grande Ligne. This school now has 125 pupils, ten teachers, an endowment of #30,000, and school property valued at #35,000. An enlargement of the building will be made early in the pres ent century at a cost of about #35,000. The present able principal is Rev. G. N. Mass6, m. a. MANITOBA AND THE WEST. A college was opened in Brandon, Manitoba, in the au tumn of 1899, with Archibald P. McDiarmid, d. d., as prin cipal, and in July, 1900, the corner-stone of a fine college building was iaid. The beginning of this work was made possible by the generous help of Baptists in other parts of Canada, especially Ontario. Mr. S. J. McKee had conducted a private academy some years in Brandon. The good will of this passed over to the Baptists, Mr. McKee, himself a Bap tist, being retained as one of the teachers. The college is modeled after the Canadian Literary Institute. This college has begun work with every promise of permanency. This is the second educational attempt made in Manitoba. In 1880 John Crawford, d. d., opened Prairie College, at Rapid City. The school for five years had an average attend ance of twenty pupils. On the spiritual side blessings were large. In 1885 Doctor Crawford, who had impoverished himself for the sake of the school, was compelled to abandon the enterprise, financial support from brethren in the East not being sufficiently large to make it possible to continue. Three or four years before the close of the century the Baptists of British Columbia began to plan for the founding of a university in that province. A. J. Pineo, m. a., is at the head of this educational movement. SUMMARY. At the beginning of the century the Baptists (church-mem bers) numbered about 600 and had no schools. At the close of the century they numbered about 100,000 and had the following schools : Acadia University, including Horton Collegiate Academy 354 AMERICAN BAPTIST EDUCATIONAL WORK and Acadia Ladies' Seminary, with an attendance of 320 ; Feller Institute, with an attendance of 125 ; McMaster Uni versity, including Woodstock College and Moulton Ladies' College, with an attendance of 550, and Brandon College, with an attendance of no. All of these schools are distinct ively Christian in name and in fact. O. C. S. Wallace. XXIV BAPTIST CONTRIBUTIONS TO LITERATURE DURING THE NINETEENTH CENTURY1 Accepting Dr. William R. Williams' interpretation of lit erature as " that which comprises all the intellectual products of a nation, from the encyclopedia to the newspaper, the epic poem and Sunday-school hymn, the sermon and epi gram, the essay and sonnet, the oration and street ballad," we may consider the more recent literary achievements of the Baptists under two heads : Religious and Secular. Each of these divisions demands special attention and separate investigation. I. RELIGIOUS. In the realm of Bible translation and exegesis Baptists have been notably conspicuous and successful. It is a significant fact that years before the publication of Luther's Bible two Anabaptists, Denck and Haetzer, in 1526, did some noble work in this direction. Prior to 1834, Dr. William Carey, of whom the distinguished Wilberforce, in the British House of Commons, said, " His proficiency in Sanscrit is acknowledged to be greater than that of Sir William Jones or any other European," translated the Bible into more than a score of dialects and languages. The work of Doctor Judson' s Bible translation for the Burmese, of Doctor Marshman's for the Chinese, of Dr. Nathan Brown' s for the Japanese, of Doctor Mason's for the Karens, of Cushing' s translation of the Bible into the Shan language, and of Dr. H. F. Buckner's self- denying toil in translating the Gospel of John into the lan guage of the Creek Indians, are each a grand monument of consecrated industry and ability which the Christian world may well acknowledge, and for which every Baptist heart should be devoutly grateful to God. Besides this, we have Bowen's "Vocabulary and Grammar of the Yoruban Lan guage, ' ' proof of the excellence of which is found in the fact that it is a publication of the Smithsonian Institution. 1 The basis of this chapter is my paper on " Baptists and Literature," found in a vol ume entitled, "Gladstone and other Addresses, and published in 1898. 355 356 BAPTIST CONTRIBUTIONS TO LITERATURE In addition we have John Gill's "Commentary" ; Robert and James A. Haldane's "Expositions," respectively of Ro mans and Galatians; Ripley's "Notes on the Gospels, Acts, Romans, and Hebrews"; Spurgeon' s "Treasury of David"; Mitchell's "Revised Davies' Hebrew Lexicon"; William Jones' " Dictionary of Sacred Writings"; Green's "Hand book to the Grammar of the New Testament ' ' ; Hutchinson's " Syriac Grammar and Chrestomathy"; Clifford's " Old Tes tament Characters " ; Pattison's "Ephesians" and Hinton's "Daniel"; Keach's "Parables" and Clark's "Commenta ries ' ' ; Sherwood' s " New Testament, Explanatory and Practi cal " ; Johnson' s ' ' Quotations of the New Testament from the Old"; Kendrick' s "Olshausen's Commentary on the New Testament"; Stevens' and Burton's " Exegetical Studies"; Whitney's "Revisers of the Greek Text"; Conant' s "Ge- senius' Hebrew Grammar " and " New Translation of the Book of Job"; King's "Our Gospels" and Henderson's "Devel opment of Doctrine"; Hackett' s "Original Text of Acts," "Chaldee Grammar," and edition of Smith's Dictionary; the ' ' American Commentary, ' ' by Baptist scholars like Hovey, Hackett, Broadus, and Clarke; Malcom's "Bible Diction ary," with its immense circulation of nearly 200,000 copies ; and lastly, of the valuable service rendered from time to time by our scholars in the revision of the word of God. Surely Baptists have accomplished, in the matter of expounding and translating the Bible and giving it in intelligent form to the nations, a work unique and magnificent. In sermonic literature Baptists have not been so prominent as in the exposition and translation of the Scriptures ; still the place they hold here is quite creditable. The one name, Charles Haddon Spurgeon, confers upon our denomination a grand distinction. It may be with a feeling of commenda ble pride that a single body of the great Christian fraternity is able to class among the defenders of its principles Milton, the poet, Bunyan, the allegorist, and Spurgeon, the preacher — three names than which no other names in English annals hold higher position in their respective spheres. So popular have been Mr. Spurgeon' s sermons that many of them have been translated into German, Welsh, Swedish, French, Dan ish, Italian, and other European tongues. But Spurgeon stands not alone in the history of the Bap tist pulpit, a great preacher of righteousness. Before him and along by his side there have been, and to-day are, men of our pulpit pre-eminent for piety, intellectual power, and oratorical talent of the highest order — men whose spoken and DURING THE NINETEENTH CENTURY 357 published thought has done no little in influencing and mold ing the thought and literature of our day. Noble successors of such men as Christmas Evans, the brightest ornament of the Welsh pulpit ; and Robert Hall, who as Dugald Stewart says, combined in his writings the beauty of Johnson, Addison, and Burke, without their im perfections ; and the noted Stillman, whose sermons on the Stamp Act (1776) and before Congress and on the French Revolution (1794) made him so conspicuous a personage, are 1 men like Brantly and Parkinson, Richard Fuller and Leland, Elton and Staughton, Wayland and Stow, Manly and Fur man of more recent days, with McLaren and Clifford, Robin son and Armitage, Winkler and Burrows, Henson and Board- man, Lorimer and MacArthur, and others of our own time. And in this connection should be mentioned Armitage' s " Preaching : Its Inner and Ideal Life " ; Pattison's "The Making of the Sermon "; Robinson's "Lectures on Preach ing ' ' ; and Broadus' ' ' Preparation and Delivery of Sermons. ' ' Among theological and religious works by Baptists, follow ing such a work as Gill's "Body of Divinity," etc., we may mention with pride Marshman's " Deity and Atonement of Christ ' ' ; Brown' s ' ' Encyclopaedia of Religious Knowledge ' ' ; Andrew Fuller's extensive works ; Dagg's " Moral Science " and " Manual of Theology " ; Pendleton's "Christian Doc trine" ; Brine's " Vindication of Natural Religion " ; Parkin son's " Ministry of the Word " ; Howell's "Way of Salva tion"; Boyce' s " Systematic Theology " ; William's "Lord's Prayer and Religious Progress ' ' ; Strong' s ' ' Philosophy of Religion " and " Christ in Creation and Ethical Monism " ; Magoon's " Republican Christianity" ; Winkler's "Spirit of Missions" ; Hovey' s "Systematic Theology and Christian Ethics ' ' ; Smith' s ' ' Canon of Scripture and Its Inspiration ' ' ; Northrup's "Sovereignty of God" ; Angus' "Handbook of the Bible"; Lorimer' s "Argument for Christianity and " Christianity in the Nineteenth Century " ; Boardman' s " Creative Week ' ' and " Mountain Instruction ' ' ; Johnson's "Outlines of Systematic Theology" ; Stevens' "Harmony of the Gospels " ; Keach's " Gospel Mysteries Unveiled " ; the six volumes of Archibald McLean's works; Merrill's "Parchments of the Faith"; Robinson's "Ethics and Theology" ; Wayland' s "Essays on Questions Educational, Philosophical, and Religious"; Robins' "The Christian Idea of Education " ; Spurgeon' s "Devotional Writings"; Pattison's "History of the English Bible"; Belcher's " Re ligious Denominations ' ' ; and TurnbulP s ' ' Christ in History. ' ' 358 BAPTIST CONTRIBUTIONS TO LITERATURE It may be well just here to specify a few of the more polemical treatises that have come from the pens of Baptists, for much of their literature has, of necessity, been of a dog matic and denominational character : "Philosophy of Athe ism, " by B. Woodwin ; ' ' Anti-Pedobaptism, ' ' by John Tombes ; Jeter's "Campbellism Examined"; "Baptism in its Mode and Subjects," by Alexander Carson; Williams' "Apostolic Church Polity"; Cathcart's "Baptism of the Ages"; Cote's "Baptism and Baptisteries"; "The Posi tion of Baptism in the Christian System," by H. H. Tucker; Broadus' "Church Discipline"; Reynolds' "Church Or der" ; Wayland' s "Principles and Practices of Baptist Churches"; Curtis' "Communion "; Hague's "Eight Views of Baptism"; Gotch's "Baptism"; Hosken's "Infant Baptism" ; Jones' "Spirit, Policy, and Influence of Bap tists " ; Howell's " Evils of Infant Baptism" ; Anderson's "Vindication of Baptism" ; Jones' " Plea for Baptist Prin ciples"; Bates' "Defense of Baptism"; Conant' s "Mean ing and Use of Baptizein Philologically and Historically Con sidered, ' ' which is without question the most scholarly and convincing production on the subject extant; and Newman's "Anti-Pedobaptism," named last, but far from least. But it has not been alone in defense of our distinctive views that Baptists have used their pens with vigor and learn ing, but also in behalf of the great fundamental principles on which the whole fabric of evangelical Christianity stands. With simple mention we point to Holcombe' s "Anti-Mission Principles Exposed" ; Cathcart's " Papal System " ; Curry's ' ' Establishment and Disestablishment ' ' ; Andrews' ' ' Moral Tendency of Universalism " ; Parker's "Harmony of the Ages"; Waffle's "Sabbath" ; Faunce' s "Prayer" and "Inspiration as a Trend" ; andDowling's " History of Ro manism." From the above it will be observed that the literature of Baptists has been predominantly a religious literature. Our most eminent scholars have been among our most consecrated men. And from the peculiarities of our faith it need hardly be said that our religious literature is eminently biblical. The Scriptures are not only our rule of faith, but the only allowed source of authoritative teaching. We rejoice that it is in behalf of literature of this pure and exalted kind that Baptists have produced their most noted and far-reaching works. Only the light and ages of eternity can reveal the cheer and consolation borne to weary, burdened spirits through such Baptist works as Spurgeon' s "Morning by Morning" and DURING THE NINETEENTH CENTURY 359 "Evening by Evening"; Fuller's "Power of the Cross" ; Fish's "Primitive Piety" ; Carson's "Knowledge of Je sus"; Hoyt's "Gleams from Paul's Prisons"; Gordon's "Ministry of the Spirit ' ' ; MacArthur' s ' ' Attractive Christ ' ' ; and Montague's " Heaven," each with message so tender. Of the many biographies or biographical sketches by Bap tists which might here be enumerated, the following are the most important and best known: "Memoir of Adoniram Judson," by Francis Wayland; "Life of Luther Rice," by J. B. Taylor ; "Life of Richard Fuller," by J. H. Cuthbert ; "Life of Adoniram Judson," by Edward Judson; Fuller's "Memoir of Andrew Fuller" ; "Life and Correspondence of John Foster," by J. E. Ryland; Belcher's "Baptist Mar tyrs" ; "Eras and Characters of History," by W. R. Wil liams ; lives of Carey, Marshman, and Ward, by J. C. Marsh- man ; ' ' Memoir of Christmas Evans, " by D. W. Phillips ; "Life of Martin Luther," by B. Sears; Hill's "Washington Irving and William Cullen Bryant " ; " Life of John Bunyan, ' ' by Ira Chase; Wyeth's "Judsons" (Mrs. Ann H., Sarah B., and Emily C), and his "Galaxy in the Burman Sky" ; "Life of Mrs. Emily C. Judson," by A. C. Kendrick; Ivi- mey's "Life of Milton"; Pattison's "Making of William Carey" ; Knowles' "Life of Roger Williams " ; "Life and Times of James Manning," by Reuben A. Guild ; " Life and Times of Backus," by A. Hovey; Kendrick' s "Biography of Martin B. Anderson" ; "Life of James P. Boyce," by John A. Broadus; "Life of J. B. Jeter," by William E. Hatcher; "Life of George Dana Boardman," by Alonzo King; Gregory's "Life of Robert Hall" ; and "Life and Letters of John A. Broadus, " by A. T. Robertson. These biographies, though largely denominational, are full of infor mation and of thrilling interest to the whole Christian world, furnishing as they do telling accounts of the life and deeds of noble servants of God, some of whom gave up home and comfort and even life itself for the glory of our common Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. The contribution of Baptists to history and historical re search has neither been so extensive nor so satisfactory as we might desire. We need the talent of some strong intellect to be devoted for years to thorough research in the libraries of our land and of the old countries, determining what Bap tists have been and done, and thus become prepared to fur nish the world with a scholarly, unbiased standard work on Baptist history. This I beheve to be a great desideratum of the Baptist denomination at this period of its life. 360 BAPTIST CONTRIBUTIONS TO LITERATURE But Baptist pens have not been idle in this work of con tributing to history. All along the track of our progress are noble monuments of historical investigation : Robinson's ' ' Historical Researches ' ' ; Vedder' s ' ' Dawn of Christianity ' ' and ' ' Short History of the Baptists ' ' ; Chowles' edition of Neal's "History of the Puritans" and Foster's "Statesmen of the Commonwealth" ; Newman's "History of the Bap tist Churches in the United States" ; Banvard's "Plymouth and the Pilgrims" ; Burrage's " Anabaptists of Switzerland " ; Hinton's" History of the United States" ; Mrs. Conant' s "New England Theocracy"; Smith's "Modern Church History" ; Ross' "Civil and Religious History of Rhode Island " ; Anderson's " Annals of the Enghsh Bible " ; Tup per' s "Decade of Foreign Missions" ; Moss' "Annals of the Christian Commission"; and Newman's "Manual of Church History," the second volume of which is now in press ; not to speak specifically of the works of Keach and Orchard, of Backus and Semple, of Cutting and Crosby, of Cathcart and Curtis. In these valuable labors of love there is furnished to the world a wealth of material which thus far has been too little recognized. Nor can we forget that it was Robert Haldane, a Baptist, who was instrumental in the awakening and conversion of D'Aubigne, and who therefore was indirectly connected with the production of the noblest history of the sixteenth century Reformation. Did time permit we should like to dwell at length and separately upon the poems, religious and other, of such Bap tist authors as Fawcett, Steele, Beddome, Wallen, Medley, Fellows, Turner, Swain, Stennett, Rippon, Mote, Turney, Washburn, Knowles, Furman, S. F. Smith, Thurber, Brown, Phelps, Curtis, Gilmore, Lowry, Richards, Dyer, Doane, Robinson, Wilkinson, and others, poets who have given the world no fewer than a thousand productions in verse, some of them of great poetical value, all of them breathing the lofty spirit of Christian consecration and faith. It is no small source of gratification to us that some of the most popular and soul-stirring of church hymns are the com position of Baptists. As illustrative of this, recall these : "Come, Holy Spirit, come," by Benjamin Beddome; " Jesus, thou art the sinner's friend," by Richard Burnham ; "Oh, could I find from day to day," by Benjamin Cleav- land ; "Safe in the arms of Jesus," by W. H. Doane ; "Ye Christian Heroes, go proclaim, " by B. H. Draper ; ' ' Blest be the tie that binds," by John Fawcett ; "He leadeth me, oh, blessed thought," by J. H. Gilmore; "Come, humble DURING THE NINETEENTH CENTURY 36 1 sinner, in whose breast," by Edmund Jones; "How firm a foundation, ' ' by George Keith ; " My hope is built on noth ing less," by Edward Mote ; "Come, thou Fount of every blessing," by Robert Robinson ; "My country, 'tis of thee," by S. F. Smith; "The Saviour, oh, what endless charms," by Anne Steele. Besides all these, Ballondi, of Venice, a Baptist evangelist, has given to the world a collection of sacred songs which has already a wide circulation and promises to receive recognition as a work of great merit. It is a noteworthy fact that to Baptists the world is indebted for the most popular national hymn of our language, ' ' My country, 'tis of thee " ; for the two most popular hymns per haps of the church, if we except "Jesus, lover of my soul," and "Rock of Ages," viz, "Come, thou Fount of every blessing " and " Blest be the tie that binds." The influence of these hymns will never be known in this world. They have charmed more griefs to rest than all the philosophy of earth. In eternity alone we shall witness the extent of their beneficent power. II. SECULAR. Among the names of American essayists that of William Matthews author of "Orators and Oratory," "Use and Abuse of Words," and of several other interesting books, ranks most creditably. Dr. William R. Williams, of New York, was one of the most chaste and charming writers of our age. It is to be regretted that he gave to the public no more works of the order of his ' ' Miscellanies, " " Conserva tive Principle in our Literature," and " Eras and Character of History." No mean rank may be assigned to Angus' ' ' Handbook of English Literature ' ' ; Gregory' s ' ' Hand book of History " ; Ash's "Grammar and Dictionary of the English Language ' ' ; Shute' s "Manual of the Anglo-Saxon ' ' ; Lechman's "Logic"; Gilmore' s "Art of Expression"; Kendrick' s "Our Poetical Favorites" ; Hill's "Elements of Rhetoric and Genetic Philosophy" ; Morey's "Roman Law"; and "Hinton's "History of the United States." One is surprised, also, at both the literary industry and hterary finish of Rufus W. Griswold, who "gave to the world from time to time, without his name, partly or entirely written by himself, six or eight works on history and biography, a novel, seven discourses on historical and philosophical subjects, and contributions to magazines and newspapers sufficient to fill a dozen octavo volumes." His "Curiosities of American 362 BAPTIST CONTRIBUTIONS TO LITERATURE Literature" and "The Poets and Poetry of America," are of a high literary order. Besides these there are some rather widely read works of fiction by Baptist authors : Banvard's "Priscilla"; Dayton's "Theodosia Ernest"; Ford's "Grace Truman"; Chaplin's "Convent and Manse"; Eddy's "Saxenhurst" ; and the attractive works of Mrs. E. C. Judson, as " Fanny Forrester, " some of whose writings have had a gratifying circulation. As in literary, so also in linguistic studies and writings not bearing on the Scriptures, Baptists have reached and main tained no ordinary position. Carey's Mahratta, Sanskrit, Punjabi, and Tellinga grammars, together with his four foreign dictionaries; Judson' s "Burmese Dictionary"; Wade's "Karen Dictionary" ; Buckner's "Grammar of the Creek Indians "; Gill's " Hebrew Language " — these are all works the worth and influence of which are universally recognized, "the precious life-blood of master spirits embalmed and treasured up to a life beyond life." In addition to these we have Hackett' s translation of Winer's " Chaldee Gram mar" and " Plutarch on the Delay of Deity " ; Sears' "Cice ronian" ; Kendrick' s "Study of the Greek Language" and his edition of the ' ' Anabasis ' ' ; Richardson' s ' ' Orthoepy ' ' ; Staughton's "Virgil" and "Greek Grammar" ; Boise's seven volumes of Greek text-books ; Harkness' eight volumes of Latin and Greek text-books ; Harper' s ' ' Linguistic Studies" ; Lincoln's edition of Livy and Horace; Knapp's "Spanish Grammar and Chrestomathy " ; Robinson's trans lation of Neander's "Planting and Training" ; Champlin's edition of Demosthenes and ^Eschines, each evincing a high order of scholarship. " It may be said with justice that lead ing Baptist scholars have been second to none in thorough ness and breadth of learning, and that the standard by which attainment in all departments of knowledge is tested has been set and kept at a high point. ' ' How far this judgment quoted is just in the direction of scientific productions may be seen in part in the splendid contributions of Daniel H. Barnes, some of which were made use of by Humboldt ; Loomis' writings on anatomy, physi ology, geology, and philosophy; MacGowan's "Chinese Horology"; Coles' " Treatise on Physiology " ; Comstock' s " Notes on Arakan," a contribution to the "Journal of the American Oriental Society" ; Clarke's "Differential and Integral Calculus " ; Davis' "Deductive Logic"; Sanford's series of arithmetics ; Olney's series of mathematical text books ; the ornithological collections of J. H. Linsley ; the DURING THE NINETEENTH CENTURY 363 works of Dr. A. A. Gould on natural history ; Willet's ' Won ders of Insect Life " ; and the contributions of Rufus Griswold to American bibliography. It is worthy of note that during the last two years Baptists have appeared quite prominent in the sphere of literature. Unquestionably one of the fine books of the last decade is "The Great Poets and Their Theology," by President A. H. Strong, of Rochester Theological Seminary. ' ' Justice to the Jew," by Dr. Madison C. Peters, has had a deservedly wide sale. Lillian Bell's "A Little Sister to the Wilderness " is full of fine description and keen characterization. ' ' The Lady of the Flag Flowers, ' ' by Miss Florence Wilkinson, and "A Wind Flower," by Mrs. Caroline A. Mason, are charm ing stories, as is also Tomlinson' s ' ' Prisoner in Buff, ' ' while ' ' To Have and to Hold, ' ' by Miss Mary Johnson, may be said to rank with the very best works of its kind. In view of such an array of learned and widely circulated works, who will not admit that Baptist literature has rendered noble service to the best interests of man, " to the defense, the exposition, and the propagation of Christianity ; to the advancement of science, of education, of culture in its most liberal extent ; to the arts that support and adorn life, and to the advocacy of enlightened charities. It includes books without which the scholar would find his resources impaired, and such also as address the common mind and have moved men in masses. The amount of activity and the worth of achievement are alike fairly equal to the measure of a reason able expectation." That in the hterature of the English tongue God has given to our fathers and brethren so exalted and noble a place should call forth from the whole Baptist brotherhood thanksgiving profound and constant. In hu mility and joyousness of soul we record our gratitude at this hour for this one token of divine favor, both in this and in preceding centuries, gratitude for men like Judson and Carey and Marshman, Brown and Mason and Buckner, with all their consecrated and successful labor in Bible translation ; for the biblical lore of Gill and Ripley, Clarke and Haldane, Weston and Broadus ; for the linguistic attainments of Hackett and Conant, Green, Lincoln, and Kendrick; for the clear and massive theological teaching of Fuller and Hovey, Johnson and Strong ; for the preaching power of Spurgeon and Evans, Robinson and McLaren, Hall and Fuller ; for the scholarly productions of Foster and Matthews and Williams, and the learned disquisitions of Wayland and Dagg ; for the historical researches of Keach and Orchard 364 BAPTIST CONTRIBUTIONS TO LITERATURE and Benedict and Robinson ; for the poetical genius of Mil ton and Fawcett and S. F. Smith ; for the scientific treatises of Loomis and Olney, Barnes and Clarke ; for the strong defense of Baptist principles and practices from the pens of such men as Carson and Gill and Mell and Cathcart ; and along with this, the exposure of ecclesiastical and theological error by such lovers of truth as Godwin and Dowling, Hol combe and Andrews ; and last, for the sweet, elevating, and ennobling writings of Bunyan and Spurgeon, and the innu merable host of others who, though of our communion, have sent out their works among all the nations to the glory of God, the comfort of the saints, and the uplift of the race. Kerr Boyce Tupper. XXV THE BAPTIST PULPIT OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY PART I BRITISH In a paper as brief as this must be, only the most con spicuous names of the British Baptist pulpit can be mentioned. For the sake of convenience chiefly, the leading ones may be arranged into three groups : the Initial Group, the Mid- Century Group, and the Group of the Closing Decades. I. THE INITIAL GROUP. To the Initial Group, Wales and Scotland as well as Eng land contribute names which demand a place. At the opening of the century Wales was aflame with the testimony and fame of Christmas Evans. Born in 1766, of poor parents, unable to read at fifteen, he was converted at eighteen, and forthwith was quickened in mind as well as in heart. Through his study of the New Testament, he became a Baptist, and united with the Baptist church at Aberduar. Before long he evinced remarkable preaching powers. His overmastering gift of a flaming imagination, coupled with in tense evangelical fervor, made his preaching, in its effect upon the warm-natured Welsh, as fire to tow. "The one- eyed man of Anglesey," they said, "is a prophet sent from God." His famous sermon on the demoniac of Gadara, preached at a meeting of the Association, held the people spell-bound for three hours. The effect reported would be incredible but for the ample testimony which is on record. Most of his pastoral work was done on the island of Angle sey, where under his ministry the preaching stations increased from eight to scores, and where the ministers increased from one to twenty-eight. He preached at Associational gather ings 163 times, and made forty evangehstic tours through South Wales. He took a foremost place in the Welsh min- 365 366 BAPTIST PULPIT OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY istry, gave an immense impetus to the evangelic revival of the times, and could rejoice in thousands who owned themselves his children in the Lord. He fell asleep in 1838. The Scotsmen whose names demand record are the Hal- dane brothers. No more inspiring biography exists in Bap tist literature than that of Robert and James Alexander Haldane, written by Alexander Haldane, the son of the former. Sons of parents of rank and fortune, belonging to the Established Church of Scotland, Robert was born in 1 764, James in 1 768. Both studied at Edinburgh University, both entered the navy, saw actual service, and estabhshed reputations for superior intelligence and indomitable cour age. Both abandoned the sea in their twenties, and in 1795, by gradual processes of thought and reflection, both were brought to a knowledge of Christ, and to the acceptance of deeply evangelical views of Christian truth. In the face of moderatism which had blighted the religious hfe of Scotland, these influential and gifted young men consecrated their wealth, their talents, their lives to the cause of evangelical truth. Robert, though never becoming an ordained minister, preached much, and became noted as a writer and Christian philanthropist, giving #350,000 for charitable and evangehstic purposes within fifteen years, and during his hfe educating 300 ministers of the gospel at an expense of #100,000. His visit to Geneva in 1816 was one of the notable incidents of his useful life. It was there he lectured to the students on the Epistle to the Romans, having among his delighted lis teners D'Aubign6, Malan, Gaussen, and others, and deeply influencing religious thought and life at that important center. James was ordained as pastor of an independent congrega tion in Edinburgh, which had its home in a large Tabernacle built at the expense of Robert. There he ministered for nearly fifty years with great success. From first to last, how ever, he mixed with the work of a pastor that of an itinerant preacher, traveling throughout Scotland and the Orkney Islands preaching to multitudes. His biographer says : " It would be difficult to name any town or important village in Scotland where, at one period or another, James Haldane did not, with all the energy of heavenly truth, give utterance to a full, free, and impressive invitation to ' Behold the Lamb of God who taketh away the sin of the world. ' ' While Robert was mild of manner as a preacher, James was aggressive ; both were men of great intellectual force, mighty in the Scriptures, and given to preaching sermons which made the great doc trinal verities the fulcrum of their every appeal. BRITISH 367 It was in 1808, thirteen years after their conversion, that the brothers espoused Baptist views and were immersed. There after, their great influence was exerted in favor of what they deemed to be the truth. At the beginning of the century Baptists were a feeble folk indeed in Scotland. Their re markable growth in that country is directly and chiefly due to the personal efforts and munificent gifts of Robert and James Haldane, the former of whom died in 1842, the latter in 1851. It is when we pass to England, however, that the greatest names of the initial group appear. Andrew Fuller and Robert Hall were at the zenith of their influence as the century opened. Fuller was born in 1754. Five years after his conversion, and without any academic training, he was, at the age of twenty-one, ordained pastor of the little Baptist church at Soham, in Cambridgeshire. The times were controversial, pastoral duties were right, and the young pastor gave himself to study. In a seven years' pastorate, he made considerable progress in Greek and Hebrew, digested a whole library of theology, and became estabhshed in those truths with which his name is associated. In 1782 he removed to Kettering, Northamptonshire, where he spent the rest of his life. He was secretary of that first Baptist missionary society by which Carey was sent to India, and, as has been said, "while others nobly aided, Andrew FuUer was substantially the society till he reached the realms of glory. " Long before his death, in 1815, his name, through his voluminous writings, had become a household word in England and America. As the ' ' Frank lin of Theology" he gave hyper-Calvinism its death-blow, and reconstructed theology for Enghsh and American Baptists. He was a man of deepest spirituality. His sermons, while lacking imagination and the adornments of oratory, are models of deep thought, presented with absolute lucidity and with the glow of a burning heart. His influence was immense. Princeton and Yale each conferred upon him the degree of D. D. , and in each case the honor was declined. Readers of " Rab and His Friends " will remember the tribute of Dr. John Brown: "You must have often observed," he says, "the likeness of certain dogs to men. Now I never looked at Rab without thinking of the great Baptist preacher, An drew Fuller. The same large, heavy, menacing, combative, sombre, honest countenance, the same deep, inevitable eye, the same look, — as of thunder asleep, but ready, — neither a dog nor a man to be trifled with. ' ' Robert Hall was born ten years later than Fuller and sur- 368 BAPTIST PULPIT OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY vived him sixteen years. He was extraordinarily precocious, and, unlike his friend, enjoyed excellent advantages in his youth, being the son of a minister and a graduate of Bristol College and Aberdeen University, while yet only twenty-one years of age. He was less of a systematic theologian than Fuller, his peer in devotion to evangelical truth, a man of exalted character and great personal dignity, and an orator of overwhelming authority. It was in this last respect that he was unique in his own age and must rank with the fore most of any age. At Cambridge, men of the highest rank and intellect went to his chapel as a matter of course. John Foster, who took a higher place in literature than Hall him self, and of whom as a preacher Chalmers said when com paring him with Hall, he ' ' fetches his thought from a deeper spring," declared him to be "unquestionably the greatest preacher in the world. ' ' Macaulay was his warm admirer, and in the "Caxtons" Bulwer Lytton devotes a chapter to the great preacher's praise. Bristol, Cambridge, Leicester, and Bristol again, enjoyed his pastoral ministrations. He did not read his sermons and seldom wrote them entire. Though beginning in a low voice he gave promise from the first that he would soon break away and expand and kindle with his theme. One who heard him said that when the liberty arrived the preaching became ' ' like an impetuous mountain torrent in a still night." Large knowledge, vigorous philo sophic grasp, great analytical power, an imperial imagination, marked energy and felicity of style, great depth of evangelical passion, and general sensibility born of lifelong suffering, were all elements in his almost unparalleled pulpit power. II. THE MID-CENTURY GROUP. Passing to the period in which the mid-century group flourished, clear marks of progress are noticeable. The earlier controversies with Socinianism had largely accomplished their work; Fullerism had liberated the energies of the churches from the iron bondage of hyper- Calvinism ; the gospel was a message of redemption, it was to be pressed with urgency upon all men, and to be applied as the cure for all moral and social ills. The typical minister in the higher ranks was a product of these changes. He was, moreover, cultured and widely influential. In the constellation of prominent names that shine out from these central decades of the century there is no star of the first magnitude answering to the lustrous name of Hall, or to certain names that will appear as the third group comes BRITISH 369 into view. The time was marked rather by the large number of solid, noble men, of whom there were so many that, con sidering the scope and purpose of this chapter, it will be pos sible to do little more than enumerate the names of the more conspicuous of them. Among the most honored may be mentioned : John How ard Hinton, the influential pastor of the Devonshire Square Church, London, whose preaching, according to Newman Hall, was "a combination of stern logic and tender emotion," and who was besides a voluminous theological writer of great native ability and superior culture ; John Eustace Giles, au thor of the baptismal hymn, ' ' Hast thou said, exalted Jesus, ' ' whose pulpit talents, during his ministry at Leeds in the prime of hfe, were of the highest order ; Dr. William Brock, the biographer of Sir Henry Havelock, and the famous pastor for twenty years of Bloomsbury Chapel, London, which be came under his ministry ' ' a center of Christian evangelization and philanthropy, the hke of which could not then be easily found in London ' ' ; the Hon. Baptist W. Noel, pastor of John Street Church, London, simple, graceful, persuasive, whose secession in the forties from the Established Church, in which he had been regarded as one of the most eminent preachers, was the ecclesiastical event of the times ; Hugh Stowell Brown, for forty years the pastor of Myrtle Street Church, Liverpool, than whom it would have been difficult to find a man broader, truer, stronger, or more full of fresh ness and force ; Dr. William Landels, pastor successively at Circus Chapel, Birmingham, Regent's Park, London, and Dublin Street, Edinburgh, of whose ' ' powerful preaching ' ' the British papers wrote in warmest praise at the time of the aged preacher's death ; Charles Vince, the erratic, but bril liant preacher of Birmingham ; J. P. Mursell, of Leicester, for many years the recognized leader of the denomination in the midland districts ; not to speak of others scarcely less notable in England, or of an array of more than ordinary men who exercised their ministry in the pulpits of Wales. III. THE GROUP OF THE CLOSING DECADES. Coming now to the third group, fuller treatment must be accorded. It was hinted at an earlier stage, that names would present themselves in this group of the closing decade which shed a lustre upon the Baptist pulpit not less brilliant than that of the opening years. That the prediction was j ustified will not be questioned in the presence of the names of Charles Haddon Spurgeon and Alexander McLaren. Y 370 BAFUST PULPIT OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY Spurgeon' s earlier ministry was contemporaneous with the later work of the mid-century group, but since the century was more than half spent before his great career in London was begun, and it was in 1892 when his ministry was closed by death, he may be appropriately classed with the men of the closing years. The general facts of his boyhood and youth, of his settlement in London at the age of twenty, and of that wonderful ministry of thirty-eight years as pastor of the same church, are so familiar as to need no restatement here. The good-natured, burly presence has been familiar by his portraits throughout the length and breadth of Chris tendom, and of his sermons who has not read at least a speci men ? His fame, during his life, was worldwide, and while the pulpit lasts his place among the foremost prophets of the church will be secure. The analysis of his amazing power over men, a power which he displayed as a mere boy, and which he held to the last, discloses many important elements. He was an orator of the first rank, with a marvelous voice, clear as a silver bell and winning as a woman's, with an un failing command of that lucid Saxon which somehow goes warm to the hearts of men, with a powerful imagination, a rare gift of humor, and a heart overflowing with compassion and yearning sympathy for humanity. He was a man of perfect sincerity, swayed by simple and holy motives, and commending himself to men everywhere as a genuine servant of God and lover of his kind. He was, moreover, a man of astonishing ability. He did not solve any theological pro blems ; speculation was, in his judgment, a waste of time and a weariness to the flesh ; but within his range of thought and activity he was a man of immense strength. Doctor Clifford said of him after his death: "For solid, enduring, harmoni ous strength, set to work, and kept at work for highest ends, he surpasses all other preachers of whom I can think. ' ' Dr. Robertson Nicoll said at the same time : " Many talk still of his 'crab-apple fertility,' and compare him compassionately with such men as Liddon. In truth there was no compari son ; in point of sheer ability, Spurgeon was as far above Liddon as Liddon was above Farrar. ' ' But with all his elo quence, his sincerity, his ability, he would never have won the place he secured, nor have done the work he did if it had not been, as Doctor Brown, of Bedford, said in his' Yale Lectures, that he was "a preacher of Christ's gospel." No other minister of the New Covenant since the days of Paul ever preached the great catholic truths of the gospel and those BRITISH 371 which spring from them with diviner understanding of their con tent, with a more exulting sense of their preciousness, or with more utter conviction that they are life to a sinful and dying world. With equal certainty it may be affirmed that never before in the history of the Christian church was any man privileged to address so many of his fellow-creatures on the things of God, or to see such obvious results from his min istry. Not only will his fame abide, but his influence also is bound to be gloriously perpetuated through the great church which was gathered under his ministry, through the converts in every land reached by his printed sermons, through the hundreds of ministers who were trained in his Pastor's Col lege, through the many volumes which preserve his pulpit testimony, and through his great expository work on the Psalms, the ' ' Treasury of David. ' ' Of a very different type in many important respects, yet only less notable in his way, is Dr. Alexander McLaren, of Manchester. It is no light honor which God has put upon the British Baptists, to have given them within the same period two such men as these. McLaren began his public ministry eight years before Spurgeon burst upon the public view, and to-day in the closing months of the century, him self seventy-four years of age, he is still at work, ranking easily as the foremost preacher in Britain. Hailing from Scotland, where he was born in 1826, and where he was con verted and baptized at the age of eleven, he removed with his parents to London in 1841. In 1842 he entered Stepney College, now Regent's Park, and in four years had completed the course there, and obtained the B. A. degree of the Lon don University. His first settlement was at Southampton, where he labored from 1846-1858, steadily gaining in power, and creating the conviction more and more that a man of 1 ' right and leading ' ' was in training. He left Southampton to assume the pastorate of Union Chapel, Manchester, from which center his influence has been radiating in steadily widening circles ever since. To explain his power is a more difficult task than in the case of Spurgeon. To contrast him with that great preacher for a moment : he is not an orator in the popular acceptation of the term ; unlike Spurgeon he received a severe academic training and exhibits severity in all his processes ; he has also through his life exhibited more pronounced scholastic instincts than his great contemporary, and a truer understanding of modern modes of thought. His peculiar power must be attributed in the first instance to those gifts of heaven, ' ' the 372 BAPTIST PULPIT OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY sovereign bestowal with which he started life " — an unusually keen, incisive intellect, a peculiarly penetrating gift of imagina tion, and great nervous force which quickens and intensifies all his speaking and thinking. Then his preaching is intensely biblical. The Scriptures are a revelation from God. To discover the mind of the Spirit and to bring this home to the hearts of men is his conception of the preacher's business. The sermon is bathed in the atmosphere of the text and con text. The preaching, therefore, is invariably charged with the potency of divine authority, expressing itself through a convinced, and utterly reverent spirit. The form and style of McLaren's sermons constitute a further cause of power. Fresh in thought and expression, animated, not grand nor mighty, they are very interesting and easy to listen to. The structure is chiefly textual, the divisions are often final and irresistible. The style is, moreover, simple, very pure, bright, and engaging. There is a singular felicity and originality in the illustrations used. " Logic on fire " is the apt expression which has been used to describe this preaching, so vigorous in thought, so bright in expression, so charged with the fer vor of mind and spirit. The crowning cause of McLaren's great influence, how ever, is found in the fact that, like Spurgeon, he too has ever been a preacher of Christ's gospel, the gospel of the New Testament, without abatement. Take up his sermons when and where you will, in his earliest or his latest ministry, there is no hesitation, no wavering, for example, as to the doctrine of the cross ; that cross is the utmost revelation of the divine love, and it is this because it is the propitiation for the sins of the whole world. The sermons of McLaren are almost as well known in America as in England. Nearly twenty volumes of them are now in circulation, and single sermons of his are continually appearing in the religious periodicals. He is sometimes styled the preacher's preacher, having become in his influence over other preachers what F. W. Robertson was in the earlier part of the century. His expository volumes in the Expositor's Bible are among the best of that very valuable series. Besides these two outstanding men there are, living and toiling as the century closes, many others whose conspicuous ability and influence would entitle them to more than passing notice did space permit. There is Dr. John Clifford, of Westbourne Park Chapel, London, able, learned, versatile, hospitable to the scientific and critical spirit of the age, yet passionately loyal to the central truths of the gospel, a most BRITISH 373 effective preacher, and one of the most influential leaders of nonconformity in England. There is Dr. Richard Glover, of Bristol, a patriarch among his brethren, a man of great personal dignity, of wide reading and culture, a pastor with a noble record, and ranking in the general esteem as one of the foremost ministers in the West. There is Charles Wil liams, the able and popular preacher at Accrington. There is F. B. Meyer, of London, so well known throughout Chris tendom by his devotional and expository writings. There is John Thomas, of Myrtle Street, Liverpool ; Archibald Brown, of East London fame ; E. G. Gange, of Regent' s Park, Lon don ; J. G. Greenough, of Victoria Road, Leicester ; James Thew, of Belvoir Street, Leicester ; John Robertson, of Glasgow ; Thomas Spurgeon, the successor of his father in the pastorate of the Metropolitan Tabernacle — all men of individuality, of devotion to the holy calling, and of masterful influence in their respective spheres. The nineteenth century is the golden age of the British Bap tist pulpit. Whether the new century shall outshine it in the glory and power which the pulpit shall develop, cannot be fore told. The possibility of equal or heightened power will be largely a matter of God's sovereign ordaining. Hall, Spur geon, McLaren, with their wonderful endowments, were God's gifts to the age. Will he give the like again ? Beyond this, however, it is certain that much will depend on what shall be the future substance of the preaching. The note of the passing century has been the note that makes great preaching possi ble. It has been the note of the cross. Said Christmas Evans, when dying: "I have labored in the sanctuary fifty- three years, and this is my comfort, that I have never labored without blood in the basin." Alexander McLaren said re cently, "Christianity without a dying Christ must soon become a dying Christianity." Should this note be lacking in the future nothing else can make amends. Pulpit power has many secrets, but its deepest secret is the passion of the cross. Thomas Trotter. PART II NORTHERN At the beginning of the century the one conspicuous figure in the Baptist pulpit is at the same time the most unique and 374 baptist pulpit of THE NINETEENTH CENTURY picturesque of the century. Dear to the Baptist heart is the thought that liberty of prophesying should extend to the un lettered. A great glory of the denomination has been the number of its able preachers who were to a large extent self- taught. It seems fitting then that the two brightest lights at the dawning of the century were men who had not had the highest advantages of technical education. In 1800 John Leland had already been preaching for twenty-three years ; but as he lived until 1841, and continued to preach until a week before his death, at the age eighty-seven, his work belongs chiefly to the nineteenth century. Born in New England his first min istry was in Virginia, where during fifteen years he preached from place to place, averaging more than 200 sermons and nearly fifty baptisms a year, and establishing two large churches. Then he returned to Massachusetts and passed the rest of his days as a peripatetic preacher, delivering more sermons than most settled pastors and baptizing multitudes. Mr. Leland was a man of commanding stature, with a massive forehead, a vigorous and slightly aquiline nose above a firm, straight mouth, about which lurked suggestions of tender sentiment and mirthfulness. He had large and beau tiful blue eyes, which. sometimes flashed with electrical ex pression. His bearing was dignified and gracious, as of one who, though unpolished, had yet the heart of a gentleman. He preached the old gospel of the grace of God, and from whatever part of the Bible he took his text he always ended in the third chapter of John. One cannot help feeling that he must have established the type for many of the quaint and racy Baptist preachers of the century. In Boston Doctor Stillman in his fine old age still lingered. Dr. Thomas Baldwin, when the century dawns, has been for ten years pastor of the Second Baptist, now the Warren Avenue Church. Previously to that he had been pastor at Canaan, Conn., for seven years. In 1801 he is forty-eight years of age, and has yet twenty-five years to serve. From the backwoods to the large and polished city was a great change. Like Leland, he had known but little of schools, yet he had a mother of refined intellectual tastes, and he had eagerly perused all the classic writings that came within his reach, and he was not unprepared for the transfer. In stature he is somewhat above the ordinary, with a dignified but mild and engaging countenance. He never soars on the wings of imaginative eloquence. His style is not rhetorical, but is strong and perspicuous. His power lies in clear statement and careful reasoning. He impresses his audiences as being NORTHERN 375 earnestly solicitous for their highest good, and ' ' his expostu lations with the young are in a remarkable degree affectionate, parental, and pathetic." Meanwhile, in Philadelphia another luminary has arisen. William Staughton was born and reared in England. Thence by special appointment he goes to South Carolina for a brief pastorate, from which he drifts to New Jersey. In 1805, having been twelve years in the ministry, he comes to Phila delphia for six years' service as pastor of the First Church, and twelve years at Sansom Street. His labors in the ministry are something marvelous. On some Sabbaths he preaches three or four sermons. He preaches twice during the week. He also lectures to young ladies in two seminaries ; and at the same time he directs the studies of several young men, who constitute what has been called ' ' the first Baptist theological school in this country, in which some of the brightest lights of the denomination were educated. ' ' At the same time he is quite active as an editor. After a few years' service as president of the Columbian College, in Washington, D. C, Doctor Staughton died in 1829, aged fifty-nine. Meanwhile, his pupil, Daniel Sharp, has begun a pastorate in Boston, at the Charles Street Church, which continues from 1812 until 1853, when he died, aged seventy. He is not above the middle size, but is erect and commanding in appearance. His high forehead is crowned in his later years with silvery locks, and his well-cut features indicate a refined and vigorous character. His appearance before an audience immediately fixes attention. His voice is ' ' full and strong, always pleasant and sometimes musical." Sometimes the tenderness and dignity of his utterance made his words strik ingly effective. Generous and transparent in character, ab horring all indirection and dissimulation, frank and cordial in manner, with a dignified urbanity, it is not strange that Doctor Sears should say of him, "Perhaps no clergyman in Boston was more universally respected. ' ' And now New York City attracts our attention, for there has appeared one of the most striking figures in our galaxy. Spencer H. Cone, whom we find beginning his metropolitan ministry in 1823, has had thus far a checkered and somewhat romantic life. Advancing rapidly in the studies of his boy hood, he is, as a student at Princeton College, giving unusual promise of a brilliant career, when the death of his father throws upon him, at the age of fourteen, the care of his mother's family. He becomes a successful teacher; but 376 BAPTIST PULPIT OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY necessity drives him to the stage. As an actor he wins popular favor and gives promise of a star ; but he loathes the occupation with a noble ambition for something worthier. He turns to other occupations, as bookkeeper, journalist, government clerk at Washington. He wins a young lady of Philadelphia, who has been attracted by his appearance on the stage, and they are married. When he is converted at the age of twenty-nine she is surprised by this unexpected turn of affairs, but soon joins him in his Christian profession. He begins his career as a preacher in Washington, where crowds throng to hear him. He is made chaplain of the House of Representatives. Seven years later he begins his work in New York, to continue for eighteen years at the Oliver Street and fourteen at the First Church, in Broome Street. His power lay largely in his personality and his elocution. Six feet in height and with a very engaging countenance, he had a marvelous voice, with a ringing, silvery quality. Noth ing of the theatrical clung to him, yet his experience on the stage had given him a habit of clear enunciation and sus tained utterance which rendered every word to the end of each sentence and of the sermon effective. With such a presence and delivery, with no affectation of scholarship or sub-soil thinking, addressing the average rather than the cul tivated mind, with a fervent spirit and an evangelical method, he achieved distinction in New York, and was known as " the most active Baptist minister in the United States, and the most popular clergyman in America. ' ' Our attention is turned again to New England, to con template the noblest figure of all, the grand old man, Francis Wayland. It is true that his great reputation is that of an author and educator rather than a preacher. His experience as a pastor included but five years' service as a young man at the First Church in Boston and a year and a half as an old man at the First Church in Providence ; but during the twenty-eight intervening years of his presidency at Brown University he was the most frequent preacher at the weekly chapel services and was practically the students' pastor, thus undoubtedly exerting an influence more profound and wide- reaching than that of any other minister who will claim our attention in this paper. In his early ministry he was somewhat elaborate and rhetorical, but in later years his style became the perfection of simplicity, employing the plainest Anglo-Saxon words and making lucidity and directness the supreme aim. His manner NORTHERN 377 in preaching was not in the least oratorical. His gestures were very few and undemonstrative. His power was not that of conventional eloquence ; it was the power of a large and rich personality, a fervent and childlike devotion, a comprehensive grasp of essential truth, and an absolutely transparent mode of expression. Before us appears now one of the most peculiar characters in the Baptist pulpit of the century, one who is entitled to a place among its great evangehsts. Jacob Knapp was edu cated at Madison, now Colgate University. For a few years he held pastorates in the interior of New York State ; then for forty years he preached from New England to California, his ministry being attended with great power and with many conversions. Short and thickset in person, with a broad face and square forehead, having a curious habit of inces santly winking or blinking with his eyes as he spoke, he was a powerful orator, and excelled in the command of an audience. Usually his preaching was a steady flow of rapid discourse, with but httle gesture or action. He might have taken as his motto, "Knowing the terror of the Lord I persuade men, ' ' for he was unsparing in his denunciation of doom to the impenitent. When interest flagged he had dreadful stories to tell of death-bed scenes and dreams of perdition. He was accustomed to assail Universalism, until its adherents were excited to bitterest antagonism. This served his pur pose, for it aroused the community and increased his congre gations. "I am not at my best unless there is a vigorous opposition," he said to a friend. If an objector sprang to his feet to contradict him, he would turn upon him a torrent of rebuke that would quickly suppress him. When inter rupted at one time by a specially venomous opponent he addressed him with an appeal that God might blast him. It is related that the man sank into his seat paralyzed and dumb from that instant. His prayers were the utterances of one who felt that he had a mission from on high, and who talked with God. Even his most eccentric expressions were uttered in a tone of solemn earnestness which suppressed mirthful ness. Yet, withal, in his afternoon discourses to believers he abounded in helpful instruction and comfort. It should be said that the violent methods of " Elder Knapp," as he was commonly called, by a large number of Baptist churches were entirely disapproved ; but prominent place is given to him here as a type of an order of things which had wide prevalence, and which has so completely passed away as to be almost forgotten. 378 BAPTIST PULPIT OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY We breathe a very different atmosphere when we turn to Dr. Bartholomew Welch, pastor for seven years of the First Church, and afterward for fourteen years of the Pearl Street, now Emmanuel Church, in Albany, N. Y. A brief pastorate in Brooklyn, at the Pierrepont Street Church, was a small part of his life-work. President Martin Van Buren, Secretary Marcy, and other eminent men, statesmen, judges, capital ists, and families of high social position attended his ministry. As his discourses were not written but httle remains to in dicate his style. It is said to have been a happy blending of the doctrinal and the practical, kindled into hfe by a glow ing oratory such as was held in highest estimation in that day. In reaching the consciences of his hearers, rebuking sin, and awakening backsliders, Doctor Welch was bold with out rudeness and faithful without wounding his hearers or losing their respect. He had a large and vigorous physique, a dark complexion with black eyes, and his manner was dig nified and self-possessed. Dr. Nathaniel Colver, like Doctor Welch, was a native of New England, and both were born in 1794. He held many pastorates in New York State, Boston, Cincinnati, and Chi cago. His last work was done in Richmond, Va. , as presi dent of the Freedmen' s Institute. His most notable service was performed in Boston from 1839-1852 during which he was the pastor of the noted Tremont Temple Church, which was founded by him in connection with Timothy Gilbert and other aggressive characters. His ministry is said to have been "unique in the history of Boston, and scarcely equaled at any time in this country for boldness, energy, the mastery of formidable difficulties, and its hold upon popular interest. ' ' Dr. Colver had an imposing presence, with a massive frame and a powerful voice. His denunciations of whatever he dis approved, masonry, slavery, moral or doctrinal aberration, were fearless and unsparing. He preached the modified Calvinism of Andrew Fuller with incessant iteration. With his plain and direct language and his impressive manner he was a favorite preacher to thoughtful hearers. Among the eminent Baptist ministers of Boston none ever held a higher position of respect and influence in that city than Baron Stow (1801-1869). After a pastorate of five years in Portsmouth, N. H., he came in 1832 to Boston. For sixteen years he was pastor of the Baldwin Place Church, and for nineteen years of the Rowe Street Church. In his earlier ministry his preaching attracted multitudes. Students at Newton Theological Seminary and at Harvard College NORTHERN 379 deemed it a light task to walk to the city to hear his Sunday evening sermons. He was full of energy ; his clear bass voice fell delightfully upon the ear ; there was a resistless power in his eloquence like the swell and sweep of the ocean wave. So testifies Dr. Rollin H. Neale, who was then a student at Newton. He was of a vigorous physical frame, though not tall, and had large features, with black and lus trous eyes. His pulpit style was the product of a well-stored and highly cultivated mind and of painstaking elaboration. The name of Dr. George B. Ide (1804-187 2) belongs to this period. Although not pre-eminently eloquent, his sturdy frame and vigorous delivery gave great power to his pulpit utterances. Doctor Ide did not profess to excel as a logician or an orator ; he claimed rather to possess the quality of a poet. He loved to expand such a topic as ' ' The House of the Soul," the effect of which depended on his ability to bring the imaginations of his hearers into sympathy with his own. Yet his preaching was often intensely practical and effective. Doctor Ide was for fourteen years pastor of the First Church in Philadelphia (1838 to 1852), and from that time until his death he was pastor of the First Church in Springfield, Mass. He had previously held pastorates in several places in Vermont, at the First Church in Albany, and at the Federal Street Church in Boston. He was every where recognized as a man of commanding personality and of unusual power. The appearance of William Hague (1808-1887) indicates a new note in the Baptist pulpit of the Northern States. Doctor Stow marked a transition stage. He had given special attention to literary style in pulpit discourse. Fre quently he wrote his sermons a second time. This refine ment may have detracted from the power of his ministry in his later years. Doctor Hague brings clearly to the front the method of structure that is distinctively literary. His dis courses sparkle with allusion, quotation, incident, select illus tration. Spontaneous he is, with much of the fire of oratory, but his hearer is not likely to lose the sense that he is listening to a college-trained man, a man who has breathed an atmos phere of books. He shines as an author in various volumes and as a contributor to the newspaper and the periodical. He is in demand as a preacher and platform orator at anni versaries. His sentences are crisp and ringing. His delivery is spirited and stimulating, though somewhat too explosive and "jerky." Such characteristics look toward compara tively brief pastorates. He is found in nearly a dozen sue- 380 BAPTIST PULPIT OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY cessive ministries to churches in Boston, Providence, Albany, New York, Newark, N. J., and other places. He carries with him to the last the high regard of the entire denomi nation. Dr. E. L. Magoon (1810-1886) was one of the best known and most popular of preachers. The son of an architect, and himself practising for a time the art of a bricklayer, he obtained an academic and theological education and acquired great skill as a rhetorician. Making pulpit oratory a careful study, and possessing an unusually alert and elastic physical frame, with great felicity in illustration and marked facility in the use of sparkling words, he was always popular with the multitude, and drew throngs wherever he preached. He was a favorite speaker at anniversary meetings. He held successful pastorates at Richmond, Va., Cincinnati, New York City, Albany, and Philadelphia. Through his oratorical proclivities and his taste for the fine arts Doctor Magoon was brought into friendly relations with persons of distinction, Edwin Forrest, the famous tragedian, John Ruskin, and others. The line of literary development which we have been fol lowing from Doctor Stow onward, finds its consummation in Dr. William R. Williams, 1804-1885. The son of a Baptist minister who preached in New York City, he was baptized by Doctor Cone. From legal studies his purpose was turned toward the ministry, and being ordained as pastor of the Amity Street Baptist Church in 1832, he continued in that relation until his death. Seldom in the history of the Chris tian church has a position as a noted and influential minister been attained by one who had so little vocal power as Doctor Williams possessed. His voice was so feeble that he could not easily be heard by more than a hundred persons ; yet such was the refinement of his thought, the purity of the spiritual atmosphere in which he lived, and the fascination of his literary style, that he kept his position firmly and with ever-increasing hold upon his denomination and the general public for half a century. A spectacle never to be forgotten was that of this scholarly preacher delivering the jubilee ser mon at the fiftieth anniversary of the Missionary Union in the First Baptist Church of Philadelphia in 1864. The vast congregation which thronged the auditorium remained in re spectful silence throughout, although not more than one-third of them could distinguish a word that was uttered. They seemed to be hushed by the spell of his personality and his great name. Doctor Williams has sometimes been called the NORTHERN 38 1 Robert Hall of America. His style, however, was less ora torical than that of the Enghsh preacher, and possessed more of the flowing and mellifluous qualities of Addison, or of his American successor, Washington Irving. His sermons were, as a rule, read from the manuscript, and they were rich in treasures of wide research, of hterary culture, and of spiritual light. Dr. Thomas Armitage (18 19-1896) was born in England. He preached his first sermon in a Methodist church, at the age of sixteen. It led to the conversion of three persons. Three years later, in 1858, having come to this country he began a career in the Methodist ministry, in which he achieved distinction. In 1848 he became a Baptist and assumed the pastorship of the Norfolk Street, afterward known as the Fifth Avenue Baptist Church of New York City, which he con tinued to hold until his death, being made pastor emeritus in his later years. Doctor Armitage' s power lay not in any one pre-eminent quality. He was not distinctively an orator or a scholar or a literary artist. He was sufficiently gifted, how ever, in these several directions to make his pulpit work always interesting and effective. With a warm-hearted and vigorous personality and an art of unfolding scriptural themes in a sug gestive and pictorial manner, he maintained a strong grasp on his hearers. His sermons were written and delivered from manuscript, but in an easy manner, free from formality or monotony. He was widely known in New York and through out the land. President E. G. Robinson (181 5-1894) was in many re spects the most remarkable preacher whom this paper con siders. He was not evangelistic in method or spirit ; he was not a popular orator. He was rather in thought a critic, and in preaching a herald of God and his law. Born in Massa chusetts there was in the vigor of his character a strong sug gestion of New England granite and of Puritan influence. Yet in his breadth of view, his hospitality toward all fresh and vigorous thinking and his apprehension of theology as a pro gressive science, he was far from the likeness of an old Puri tan divine. With his tall, lithe form, his large and impressive features, his head crowned during much of his life with snow- white hair, he was a commanding figure in the pulpit. Speak ing, except on rare occasions, entirely without notes, his style was extremely concise, his diction was exceedingly choice and forcible, and his matter weighty. Said the noted orator, Frederick Douglass, to this writer, commenting on a brief ad dress made by Doctor Robinson to a popular audience in 382 BAPTIST PULPIT OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY Rochester, N. Y., under the profound emotion occasioned by tidings of the assassination of President Lincoln, " He said to us just what we wanted to hear in the most fitting possible words. ' ' In preaching Doctor Robinson began in a slow and measured style, with short, crisp sentences, ere long intro ducing some striking thought which would fix attention, ad vancing his proposition and divisions in the clearest terms, never indulging in rhetorical embellishment, sometimes pro ceeding in the calmest manner through a discourse rich in thought and transparent in expression, sometimes wrought into a passion of powerful oratory, which met his own favorite definition of eloquence, derived from Bautain, "thought on fire," he left on the minds of those who heard him often the impression that he was a remarkable man, and in his way in comparable. It is quite fitting that next to this distinguished man should come Dr. George Dana Boardman (1828-), for though greatly differing in methods and mental characteristics, they moved on the same lofty intellectual plane. In his younger days, at Rochester, Doctor Boardman' s preaching was highly rhetor ical. With easily flowing sentences and fine literary effects, emphasized by a delivery which expressed a peculiarly at tractive personality, he captivated his audiences. His finest discourses seemed models of art. In entering upon his pas torate of thirty years at the First Church, in Philadelphia, he dropped this rhetorical method, and chose a more mature style, in which elegance of expression was strictly subordi nated to clearness and vigor of thought. Adopting also a theory that the highest aim of pulpit discourse should be to throw fresh light on some passage of God's word, he became unusually skilled in a high order of expository preaching. Many of his sermons were printed in pamphlet form, present ing models of lucid arrangement, thoroughness of treatment, and striking expression. He gave to his people a series of about 500 lectures on the entire New Testament, 184 of which dealt with the life of our Lord. He also delivered in a public hall of Philadelphia, to crowded audiences, on successive Tuesdays, fourteen noonday lectures on ' ' The Creative Week." Doctor Boardman has attained a wide celebrity in and be yond his own denomination, and through his refined, gentle, and manly nature has won the affection and respect of all who know him. At this date (1901), he is pastor emeritus of the church which he so efficiently served during three decades. NORTHERN 383 Not far from the ideal ministerial life, as to personality, in fluence, and truest success, was that of A. J. Gordon (1836- 1894). Born and reared in a village in New Hampshire, he bore with him through life the unspoiled nature of his boy hood, free from ambition and self-consciousness and con tinuously enriched with the ripened culture and the deep spiritual experiences of a highly favored manhood. Gradu ated from Brown University and the Newton Seminary, he began his ministerial career with an unusual endowment of literary finish, scholarly taste, and high spiritual ideals. His two pastorates, at Jamaica Plain and at the Clarendon Street Church in Boston, extending over periods of six and twenty- five years, were practically one. Beginning with the use of the manuscript, in later years, with deepening earnestness, he adopted the extempore method, though with most faithful preparation, and retaining always the rich results of his early careful literary training. A fervent, mystical spirit dominated his theological tendencies, and accounted for what some would call his aberrations. In so copious a nature, however, these eccentricities were of little moment. They may have somewhat increased his intensity. His preaching was as the flow of a clear and full stream, spiritual and practical in thought, and replete with suggestions from a wide range of reading. At frequent intervals sentences might be expected which con densed ripe results of thinking into striking apothegms, to be written down and treasured. A manly presence, a deep and rich voice, an utterly simple and unaffected manner, ener getic, yet with no obtrusive action, gave great power to his discourse. His ministry was largely fruitful; the church became ac tively evangehstic, it reached the poor, the fallen, the out cast, it reclaimed the intemperate. It wrought a glorious missionary work at home and abroad, pouring tens of thou sands of dollars into the mission treasury. A more signifi cant and impressive tribute could not have been paid to the power of a great and good man than the tears of more than a score of Chinese converts weeping at the bier of their friend and pastor as in the great church they took their last look at his silent form. Doctor Gordon was in large demand in every direction. He had a special power over young men. He wrought a great work in Brown and Princeton Universities and in other institutions. He was an earnest worker in Mr. Moody's meetings at Northfield. In great anniversary meetings which he attended in England, he was called out at every 384 BAPTIST PULPIT OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY opportunity. He had the power of a gifted utterance, a large mind, and a great soul, whose life was hid with Christ in God. We have been walking among princes, men of royal quality, the peers of any preachers in any land. We have still to note several who may be classed among the eminent popular preachers of the century, — popular indeed in the best sense. We are now among the living, but only those are chosen whose work is to be chiefly identified with the century that is past, and whose reputation is national within and without their denomination. P. S. Henson, d. d. (1831-), is a Virginian by birth; but his work as a minister has been wrought almost entirely in the Northern States. For a short time a student at the law, then for several years a teacher, he became pastor of the church at Broad and Brown Streets in Philadelphia. In 1867 he estabhshed the Memorial Church in the same city, remaining there as pastor until 1882, since which date he has been pastor of the First Baptist Church of Chicago. Doctor Henson had an academic, but not a theological education. Hence his preaching has not a theological cast. Yet in doctrine he is soundly orthodox, laying the foundation of his teaching in the maxim that "the upper story of man's nature is a death chamber." His preaching, however, is not, as this saying might suggest, in the least sombre, but rather, bright and buoyant. Indeed, his style is much af fected by the abounding wit which sparkles in his private life and his platform utterances. Doctor Henson' s delivery is unstudied, full of action, with gestures not learned in any school of oratory, and with a sus tained and vigorous vocal power suggestive of untiring strength. There is never in his speaking a trace of languor or of dullness. His manner is natural and animated. He fills not only the pulpit but the platform. The sparkling brightness and the spontaneous eloquence of his addresses make them popular everywhere. Doctor Henson' s minis terial work has abounded in evangelical earnestness and has been fruitful in the best results. Dr. George C. Lorimer was born in 1838, near Edin burgh. When about eighteen years of age he came to this country. In the pursuit of his profession as an actor he drifted to Louisville, Ky., where he came under the influence of Rev. Dr. W. W. Everts, and was converted. He de voted a few years to special studies, and held several minor NORTHERN 385 pastorships, until called to Louisville, where he was pastor for eight years. His subsequent career lay in Albany, Bos ton, and Chicago. He is now known everywhere as the pas tor of the Tremont Temple Church in Boston, this being his second term of service in that relation. Doctor Lorimer is small of stature, a fact which is speedily forgotten in the sense of the manly vigor of his personality. He is an omnivorous reader over wide ranges of literature, and on account of his native cast of mind and his marvel- ously retentive memory, perhaps also because of the practice of carefully writing, his sermons are distinctively literary in tone. It has been his custom to have his manuscript discourse on his desk in preaching, although he seldom, if ever, refers to it. The dramatic training of his early years has been of great service to him. It has given him a mastery of attitude, of effective movement, of vocal intonation. Indeed, his pulpit action is a fine illustration of the art that imitates nature. His thought is simple in form and popular in quality, with frequent suggestions of discriminating reading. The arrangement of his discourse also takes into account the effect of climax, and often at the highest point some felicity of illustration, or of tone, or of mimetic action, will vividly flash upon the hearer's mind a sense of the supreme purpose of the speaker's thought. With such qualities Doctor Lorimer has been extremely popular as a preacher wherever he has appeared. In the great auditorium at Tremont Temple, seating several thou sand persons, frequently every place is filled before the ap pointed time, and in such instances it is not unusual to have the service begin before the hour has arrived. Doctor Lorimer is well known in London, England, where for several seasons he has supplied pulpits. Dr. Robert S. MacArthur (1841-) is notable for having had but one pastorate during his ministry of thirty-one years, and that in the heart of the great city of New York, and for having advanced his church to the front rank in numbers and efficiency. Doctor MacArthur is Canadian by birth, and, as his name indicates, is of Scotch descent. He was educated at the University and the Seminary of Rochester, N. Y. When he assumed the pastorship of the Calvary Church, in 1870, it occupied a location in the lower part of the city, near Union Square, and was in the depressed condition of a downtown church. With the coming of the young pastor new life began to appear in its services, the congregations in creased in size, the finances improved, and a new epoch of z 386 BAPTIST PULPIT OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY prosperity was inaugurated. A few years later a large and fine church building was erected more than twenty blocks northward, and here the church has continued to grow in numbers and power. By the long duration of his pastorship, the influence of his church and his facihty as a public speaker, Doctor MacArthur has become widely known, and for many years has been recognized by the pubhc of New York City as the most prominent Baptist minister of the metropolis. The pulpit is the minister's throne. And there has been found in this instance the sceptre that sways. New York is the city of excited competitions, strained nerves, and over taxed brains. It wants on the Sabbath, not metaphysical subtleties or philosophical disquisitions, but the simple mes sage of God's word presented in an attractive style. Doctor MacArthur has something of the Spurgeon quality in the se lection and treatment of scriptural themes. Making the most of the freshness of biblical truth, and bringing it home practically to the consciences and moral insight of his hearers, he becomes their spiritual leader. With fresh illustration from foreign travel, or from wide reading, from art and science, or from homelier sources, he keeps the old message ever alive to the hearts and imaginations of his auditors, and they walk beside the still waters and into the green pastures. Doctor MacArthur has won the wholesome success of the faithful and accomplished Christian minister. Wayland Hoyt, d. d. (1838-), is well known to the Baptists of the Northern States. By his writings and addresses he has also become known to other denominations. He is an es pecially popular speaker at the anniversaries of the Christian Endeavor brotherhood. Doctor Hoyt has held pastorships in Boston, New York, Brooklyn, Philadelphia, Cincinnati, and Minneapolis. He excels in the clear statement and in the enforcement of Christian doctrine. He is unusually abun dant in illustrations and in unexpected combinations of words. He has carefully studied the art of continual surprise in dis course. His sermons, lectures, and publications for the Christian life are especially interesting and helpful. Short and sturdy of stature and gifted with a rich and vigorous voice, he has been a very acceptable speaker. With con siderable histrionic power and a keen sense of effect he has held a place for many years as one of our Baptist orators. One of the striking characters of the last third of the cen, tury has been Dr. Justin D. Fulton. He is especially notabls for his nine years' service as pastor at Tremont Temple, from 1863 to 1872. He brought to Boston a much needed ele- NORTHERN 387 ment, a native, unconventional force which broke up the in crustations of respectable formality in the Baptist churches. It was the opinion of one of our most eminent leaders that he rendered in this way an invaluable service and introduced a new era in Boston. Dr. Fulton showed great power as an evangelist. His death has occurred since this writing. Dr. Russell Conwell, of Grace Church (the Temple), in Philadelphia, at the opening of the new century stands forth as one of the striking products of the times. A native orator, with extraordinary power over the multitude, he has remark able qualifications as a popular leader. His great church, with its varied activities of the institutional order, is per haps as significant as anything in the Baptist denomination of what the twentieth century is to bring forth. Those who remember Kingman Nott will wish at least a paragraph devoted to his memory. No young minister of the century gave finer promise than he. For two years, 1857-1859, he served the First Baptist Church of New York, as Doctor Cone's successor. Then he came to an untimely end, beloved of man and of God. In the brief review of these great names the words " elo quent" and "eloquence" may have a misleading influence on some young minister. A closer study of these lives would disclose the fact that the best successes for the true purpose of the ministry have been with those to whom eloquence, if they possessed it at all, was an incident, not an art sought as an absorbing end. The supreme successes have been won by those who had sharply defined thought, whose spirits glowed with the truth, and who sought in every way to bring that truth home to their hearers. The century has taught that the highest quality of style is clearness. The survey of these brilliant names may have satisfied the reader that the Baptist pulpit of the Northern States in the nineteenth century did not lack power and greatness. And there may have been observed a decided advance in its quality and style. The eminent preachers of the earlier years were as consecrated and probably as able as those of the last quarter of a century. Perhaps there was, in propor tion, more of eloquence in that day than in this, for the older eloquence is out of date. The men of late years have had the advantages of more extended vision, richer stores of biblical learning, ampler literary culture, and wider fields of usefulness. Many a Baptist minister of to-day, whose name will never shine among the great, is doing a mightier work than the giants of the olden time. The minister's sphere to- 388 BAPTIST PULPIT OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY day is grander than ever. With the dawn of the new cen tury let us heed the Master's words : " Pray ye the Lord of the harvest that he send forth labourers into his harvest. ' ' A. J. Sage. PART III SOUTHERN The American pulpit in general, and no less the American Baptist pulpit in particular, presents in the course of its his tory and in its present state a very remarkable variety as to persons, quality, character, and effects. Anything like gen eral characterization is well-nigh impossible. We have had, and now have, all sorts of preachers and all sorts of preach ing, good, bad, and indifferent. But upon the whole it is well to note the judicious words of Dr. Wm. B. Sprague in the introduction to the Baptist volume of his valuable "An nals of the American Pulpit " ; " Many of the sketches con tained in this volume will show that the Baptists have had less credit as the friends and patrons of learning than they have deserved. Not a few of their preachers have been eminently accomplished as well as useful men, and some who have long since passed away have left enduring memorials of both their scholarship and eloquence. ' ' Further on Doctor Sprague quotes the following sentence from "Baird's Re ligion in America " : " Although not a third, perhaps, of the ministers of this denomination of Christians have been edu cated at colleges and theological seminaries, it comprehends nevertheless a body of men who, in point of talent, of learn ing and eloquence, as well as devoted piety, have no superior in the country." The history of preaching among Southern Baptists easily falls into three obvious and clearly marked periods of varying length. The first and longest is that from the opening of the century to the formation of the Southern Baptist Convention in 1845, when the Southern Baptists began their separate missionary and organized history. This separation intensified the already existing characteristics of Southern Baptists as dis tinguished from others, and had its influence upon the pulpit as well as upon other elements of the denominational life. The second period, short, but intense and fruitful, includes the SOUTHERN 389 twenty years from the organization of the Southern Baptist Convention to the close of the Civil War in 1865. The third is the time from the beginning of the new order of things in the South, at the close of the war to the end of the century, that is, from 1865 to 1900. In the following discussion the most important things about preaching and the characters of the leading preachers will be considered with reference to these periods, but it is evident that some men and methods lap over from one period into another. No sharp dividing line can ever be made in the current of his tory, but for convenience of grouping and clearness of view such periods may help. i. from 1801 to 1845. There were several notable features in the preaching of these early days. One was that a very large number of the preachers were uneducated men. They had little opportu nity for education. Colleges and seminaries were not estab lished or not accessible, and the higher education was a thing scarcely dreamed of except in a very few cases. And besides the difficulty of obtaining education, it must be also acknowledged that among the people, and to some extent among the preachers themselves, there was prejudice against an educated ministry. The "hireling" ministry under the Virginian Estabhshment had been cordially disliked among the early Baptists of the Old Dominion, and the ' ' Separates ' ' of New England had also brought into the South some preju dices of the same sort. But notwithstanding these two unfavorable tendencies, a respectable number of these early preachers earnestly desired, and by faithful personal efforts obtained a considerable culture. A few, indeed, were schol arly and accomplished men. Another striking characteristic of the preaching of the times, throughout the whole period, and lasting even into those later, was the prominence and power of rural preach ing. Prior to the Civil War the South was mostly agricultural, and many of its best people lived, and preferred to live, in the country. There were few cities of any special size or im portance. The Baptists had churches at the opening of the century in Baltimore, Richmond, Charleston, and Savannah, but the strength of the denomination lay in the country churches. And hence it has happened that a large number of the most distinguished and highly useful ministers in the South have occupied country fields. We shall find as we go along that not a few of our greatest preachers have declined 390 BAPTIST PULPIT OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY calls to cities and preferably remained in charge of these rural churches. All through our history due acknowledgment must be given to the self-sacrificing, earnest, and fruitful labors of many of our uncultured but devout and useful brethren. A few of the leading and useful preachers of the denomination within this period will be selected for special mention. But it is evident that many who are worthy of notice will have to be omitted. Perhaps the most prominent figure in the Southern Baptist pulpit in the year 1801 was that of the revered Richard Fur man, of South Carolina (1 755-1825). He was at this time pastor of the First Baptist Church in Charleston, having come from the country to that post in 1787. Doctor Furman was a man of considerable attainments, his father having given him the best advantages then accessible. He was a man of forcible character, of gentle manners, of strong intelligence. As a preacher he had the necessary gifts for effective speech, and, while not soaring, was forcible, chaste, and moving in his eloquence. As a denominational leader he stood in the front rank. The promoter of every good cause, it fell to him to be made the first president of the old Triennial Con vention, which was established in 18 14. Of him Doctor Newman says : ' ' Furman became pastor of the Charleston church in 1787, and was, from this time till his death in 1826, easily the foremost Baptist of the South and un surpassed in denominational influence by any Baptist of America." The influence of Doctor Furman has always remained among South Carolina Baptists one of their price less heritages. In the person of his distinguished and worthy son, Dr. James C. Furman, of blessed memory, that influ ence was prolonged in direct line nearly through the century. Along with Furman should be mentioned Henry Hol combe (1762-1824), pastor at the opening of the century of the Baptist church in Savannah, Ga. , but ending his career in Philadelphia later. Born in Virginia, brought up in South Carolina, chiefly active in Georgia, Holcombe be longs to the whole South. He was a man of tremendous force of character — progressive, large-minded, courageous, great as a leader, and with marked gifts of oratory in the pulpit. His work in Georgia has been of abiding value. Next, it is natural to speak in this connection of Jesse Mercer (1769-1841). Though he lived longer than the two previously named, his earnest co-operation with Holcombe and his work in building up the educational enterprises of Georgia Baptists makes it proper to mention him here. SOUTHERN 391 Born in North Carolina, he spent his life chiefly in Georgia as pastor of country churches in Wilkes and Oglethorpe counties until 1828, when he moved to the town of Wash ington, and was pastor there till the end of his life. He was the successful and earnest promoter of Baptist progress in his State. Organization, education, missions, all received his care, and Mercer University fitly perpetuates his name. As a preacher he was original and forceful, rather than elegant, pleasing, or moving. Coming back to Virginia, we find that the great name in the early days of the century among the preachers was that of Andrew Broaddus (1770-1848). Caroline County, Vir ginia, was the scene of his birth, activity, and death. For a brief period he served reluctantly the First Baptist Church of Richmond, and declined overtures from leading churches in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore, to con secrate his energies to the country field, where he had been brought up. He preferred his native air. He was a shrink ing and timid man, not gifted in leadership. He was en dowed with the artistic temperament, and might have been a painter or poet had he chosen those lines of work. But he was pre-eminently a pulpit orator, his reading and culture were ample, and as an expositor of the Bible he was skillful and earnest. He was favored with a sonorous voice, a mild and beaming eye, and possessed an appropriate gesticulation and manner. He excelled in pathos and in that moving eloquence which held the hearer enraptured and left him warmed and stirred with the purest sentiments. A word should also be given here to Robert Baylor Semple (1 769-1 831). He was through life a co-laborer with An drew Broaddus, living in a neighboring county, and for years pastor of the famous old Bruington Church, in King and Queen County. He did not possess striking oratorical gifts, but was earnest, faithful, and persuasive as a preacher. Un like Broaddus, he was born for leadership, and used it to his Master's glory. He is • best known as the historian of the Virginia Baptists. We cannot leave the Old Dominion without mention of the fervid and impassioned John Kerr (1 782-1842). Born and brought up in North Carohna, after some earlier services he became pastor of the First Church in Richmond. He was a marvelous orator of the pathetic and imaginative type. He was not a great scholar, nor a profound student of Scripture, but had that nameless quality of possessing and mastering his audiences. He was at his best at some Baptist Association 392 BAPTIST PULPIT OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY in the country, in the open air, where for hours he held people spellbound under his moving appeals. Of a different type was W. T. Brantly, Sr. (1787-1845), born in North Carolina, the son of a farmer and of a devoted Christian mother. He was sent to South Carolina College, then under the presidency of the eloquent and memorable Jonathan Maxcy, where he graduated with distinction in 1808. It is worth noting that his college expenses were paid in large part by an education society of the Charleston Association. Doctor Brantly was very cultured ; was pastor in Beaufort, S. C, eight years; then in Augusta, Ga. ; then in Philadelphia ; and later in Charleston, where he also was president of the Charleston College. He was a man of admirable gifts and cultivation, much beloved as pastor, and very even and effective as a preacher. His name and quali ties were brought over into our own times by his cultivated, courteous, and pious son, William T. Brantly, Jr. , of blessed memory, who died as the sucessor of Fuller in the pastorate of the Seventh Church in Baltimore. Another son, John J. Brantly, was for many years the accomplished professor of English literature in Mercer University. Among the earlier Georgia preachers, mention should be made of Abraham Marshall (1 748-1819), son of Daniel Marshall, the famous pioneer evangelist. He was born in Connecticut, but was chiefly active in Georgia. His father had established the Kiokee Church, in Columbus County, Ga., and served it as pastor until his death, when he was succeeded by his son, who also retained the pastorate until his own death. Abraham Marshall was not educated in the schools, but was a natural orator, with a clear and " bugle like ' ' voice. He was mighty in the Scriptures, a faithful pastor, and wise in winning souls. Among the pioneer preachers in Kentucky, two names must be mentioned, and others are worthy of it. Ambrose Dudley (1750-1823), was born in Virginia, but in 1801 he was living at Bryan's Station, Ky., pastor of the church of that name, and of others in the neighborhood. His labors were principally in the Elkhorn Association. He was very use ful and greatly beloved. Dr. J. E. Welch says of him : "Asa preacher, he was zealous, dignified, and solemn. No one who heard him could doubt that he was deeply impressed with the truths which he delivered, and that the great object at which he constantly aimed was not to gain the applause of his hearers, but to save their souls. ' ' The other, a typical pioneer preacher, was Jeremiah Var- SOUTHERN 393 deman (1775-1842). He was of Swedish ancestry, born in Wythe County, Va. , but his father early moved to Lincoln County, Ky. His parents were pious. He was converted in 1792, but fell into worldly ways, following the youth of his time, and was excluded from the church for dancing and fid dling. He was re-awakened about 1799, and at the same time his wife was converted. He was restored to the church, and soon began to preach, being ordained in 1801. Without education, but mighty in the one Book, powerful in exhorta tion, blameless in hfe, and wholly intent on serving his Lord and saving the souls of his fellow-men, he was blessed with a fruitful ministry. In central Kentucky, where he chiefly labored for a long time, the fruits of his ministry were ample. Many were added to the churches, and new churches were formed. In 1816 he held a meeting in Louisville, wherein many were converted, and the foundations for Baptist growth laid in that city. In 1820 he did a similar work in Nash ville, Tenn. There were only three Baptists' there when he began to preach, and they belonged to Mill Creek Church in the country, but several months later in that year a church was formed which soon grew to about 150 in number. In Cin cinnati, also, meetings were held, and great results followed. About 1830 this noble old pioneer moved to Missouri, and was greatly useful in laying the foundations and building up churches in that territory. He had great natural gifts, was quite an orator, deeply in earnest, with a fine presence and voice. Thousands of persons were baptized by him. Among the Tennessee preachers, mention should be made of James Whitsitt (1 771— 1849), the grandfather of Dr. Wil liam H. Whitsitt. He moved to Tennessee in the latter part of the last century, from Virginia, and was the successful and useful pastor for many years of the Mill Creek Church, near Nashville. He was a man of striking gifts and ways, and was a trusted leader in denominational hfe and work. Two who were distinguished for leadership rather than preaching gifts, should be mentioned among the fathers in North Carolina. Both were Northern men by birth, but their names are inseparably associated with the educational and missionary development of North Carolina. These were Samuel Wait (1789-1867), pastor in Newbern for a while, but especially noted as the first president of Wake Forest College, and Thomas Meredith (1797-1851), also pastor at Newbern, but the founder and editor of what is now known as the "Biblical Recorder." These two men were greatly useful in the Old North State. 394 BAPTIST PULPIT OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY During the middle and toward the close of this early period younger men of vigor and power were growing up. These were building upon the foundations of the pioneers in all the Southern States, and carrying forward with strength the work of their fathers. Prominent among these younger men was Jeremiah Bell Jeter (1802-1880). Born and reared amid the mountains of Bedford County, Va. , without the advantage of early education, his strong and vigorous nature, indomitable pluck, and admirable native gifts, made him a marked man through all his long life. In 1845 he was pastor of the First Baptist Church at Richmond, after having had a ministry of distinguished success in the country, in the "Northern Neck" of Virginia, between the Rappahannock and Potomac rivers. At this time Doctor Jeter was in the first vigor of his manhood. He had some drawbacks as a preacher. His voice was unpleasant, being pitched on a high key, and he was not an orator, but his preaching was sensible, direct, scriptural, and faithful. His gift was leadership. He was wise in counsel, fearless in championship, and persevering in endeavor. He was one of the leaders in forming the South ern Baptist Convention, having been made famous for his speech, or rather, his effort to get the floor, at the last stormy meeting of the Triennial Convention. In later life, as pastor of the Grace Street Church, in Richmond, and in his old age as editor of the ' ' Religious Herald, ' ' his activity and influence lasted into both the periods that follow ; but it has seemed best to mention him now, as at the close of this first period he was prominent, both as pastor and leader. This comparatively long period was for our denomination in the South one of foundations and growth: Great and good preachers molded the course of its history, and left their impress upon Baptist institutions and Baptist churches through out all the Southern States. No man can estimate the value and the enduring fruitage of these years of faithful ministerial labor on the part of our fathers and grandfathers. 11. from 1845 to 1865. It was a gathering of noble men who assembled in Augusta, Ga., May, 1845, to organize the Southern Baptist Conven tion. A new force in the religious life of the century was there set in motion. During the two decades following, the preaching of Southern Baptists takes on some influences from the stirring times. It is a virile ministry, full of large hope and strenuous endeavor, that meets us in these days. There is yet great variety as to advantages, location, culture, SOUTHERN 395 and power. In some places opposition to missions and edu cation still shows itself, but the progressive forces of the de nomination are triumphant, and there is a forward march in all hnes of denominational life through this tense period. There is conservatism, but vigor and energy. There is pa triotism as Southerners understood it — devotion to State and section. There is fullness of power, force of character, con sciousness of strength, dignity, popular respect, and above all, deep-toned piety. It was a period of great preaching among the Baptists of the South. While there was more tendency toward the hfe of cities, the rural element was still observably strong and prominent. There was great enthusiasm in the missionary cause — the es tabhshment of missions of the Southern Baptist Convention at home and abroad. There was abundant energy devoted to education, both general and theological. In the great heart and brain of James P. Boyce the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary finds birth, and many earnest co-labor ers with him, after years of earnest thought, succeed in get ting that institution estabhshed. The founding of the semi nary is a distinct advance in theological education and minis terial efficiency within the bounds of the Southern Baptist Convention. Never was a people and denomination at a fairer and more hopeful stage of their progress than were Southern Baptists, when, in 1861, the storm of civil war fell upon our country. Then for four years sectional polities found their culmination. Passion and strife prevailed, and the cause of religion necessarily languished. Yet in this dark time the preachers stood to their posts at home, encouraged the people, set the example of self-sacrifice, buried the dead and comforted the bereaved, and even amid these desolating times conducted many glorious revivals of religion. In the Southern camps the earnest chaplains labored and prayed and fought with the Confederate soldiers, and thousands of noble men were converted to God amid those distressing scenes. Some of the greatest preaching that Southern Baptist preach ers ever did was done in camp. Distinguished among these, as everywhere, was our peerless John A. Broadus. It is a strange and mingled record of war and demoralization where yet the preaching of the gospel had such a place. During this flourishing period which ended so disastrously in the war, there were too many great and good men for long discussion. It was in some respects the flourishing period of the Southern Baptist ministry. Some of its most distinguished representatives were then in the prime of their powers, and 396 BAPTIST PULPIT OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY others in the promise of a vigorous youth. Confessedly the leading figure among them all was that prince of pulpit orators and kingliest of men, Richard Fuller. Born in Beaufort, S. C, in 1804, of a cultured parentage, he enjoyed the advan tages of the best education and most cultured society of that place and time. He was graduated with distinction at Har vard University, and began the practice of law in his native town, with the highest prospects of success. For several years he excelled in his chosen profession, but God had higher things in store for him. He was converted, baptized, or dained to the ministry, and called to the church in his native town. Here among his kindred, companions, and slaves he preached with rare and commanding eloquence the simple gospel of Jesus Christ, and won many converts to his Lord. He also conducted protracted meetings in different parts of the country, one of the most notable of these being at the First Baptist Church in Charleston. This was in 1846, and at this time James P. Boyce, H. A. Tupper, and B. C. Press- ley were brought into the church. In 1841, at a meeting of the Triennial Convention in Baltimore, he had preached his famous sermon on the power of the Cross, — one of the great sermons of history, — and had won imperishable fame as a preacher. This led to his call to the pastorate of the Seventh Baptist Church in that city, which he accepted in 1847, and from then on to the end of his life he was pastor in Baltimore, of the Seventh, and later of the Eutaw Place Church. Doctor Fuller was singularly gifted for the great work of preaching. He had a commanding presence, a noble voice, an imperial imagination, a liberal culture, a great, warm-hearted, gen erous nature, a courage as true as steel, the instincts of a gentleman, and the piety of a true Christian. His published sermons indicate all these excellences, but no printed page can ever convey any worthy notion of his majestic power over his audiences. In all essential respects he was one of the greatest preachers who have ever spoken on American soil. Along with Fuller in Baltimore must be mentioned the genial John W. M. Williams, who for more than half a cen tury was the beloved pastor of the First Baptist Church of that city, delighting in the sobriquet of "the Old Shep herd." In Virginia, Jeter was now at the Grace Street Church, and the beloved and eloquent J. L. Burrows ministered at the First. Doctor Burrows' useful life was spared far into the last period, but he comes to be mentioned here, because he was then at the height of his powers and usefulness. For SOUTHERN 397 twenty years he was pastor of this historical old church. Noble-hearted, generous, genial in his bearing toward his brethren, wise and sympathetic in the pastoral relation, de vout, well-read, sometimes soaring in his pulpit work, he was an excellent and faithful preacher of the gospel. His name and fame are well perpetuated in the character and work of his gifted son, Lansing Burrows, at this time pastor of the First Baptist Church in Nashville, Tenn. In Virginia also were the magnetic Poindexter, now doing agency work, and an eloquent platform speaker and pleader ; the saintly James B. Taylor, relinquishing the pastorate of the Second Baptist Church of Richmond, to become the first and greatly beloved secretary of Foreign Missions of the Southern Baptist Convention ; in the country, still prolific of great and good men, were Daniel Witt, Cornehus Tyree, and Barnet Grimsley, all great and useful preachers ; while at Charlottesville was the young and already promising John Albert Broadus. In North Carolina, we find one of the most cultivated scholars of the age, and at the same time gifted Baptist min ister, in the distinguished professor, writer, and preacher, Wilham Hooper. As president of Wake Forest College dur ing this time there is the beloved, sweet-spirited, persuasive W. M. Wingate. At Wilmington, building the noble edifice of the First Baptist Church, is the diligent, greatly beloved, and winsome John Lamb Pritchard, who fell a victim to the yellow fever during the Civil War. Going down into the Palmetto State, we find in Charles ton — part of the time at the First Church, part of the time at the Citadel Square — the scholarly, literary, but devoted and eloquent J. R. Kendrick. At the Wentworth Street Baptist Church, and afterward at the Citadel Square, when those two were consolidated, the pastorate was held by Edwin Theodore Winkler. Born in Savannah, and having received an excellent education, he became one of the most widely read and scholarly of all our Southern Baptist preachers. As a pastor he was much beloved and faithful in his work. But the pulpit was his throne. Master of a chaste, ornate, and fervid style, glowing with the love of God and of souls, he was a superb preacher. He afterward moved to Marion, Ala. , where for a number of years he was pastor before his death, about 1884. In Greenville, for a large part of this time, Dr. Richard Furman, grandson of the famous preacher of that name in the earlier time, was pastor of the Baptist church, while his 398 BAPTIST PULPIT OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY uncle, James Clement Furman, was president of the univer sity named for his father. Both uncle and nephew were men of liberal culture, admirable mental and pulpit powers, and of sweet and unblemished character. The name of Furman is a benediction in South Carolina to this day. Among the country preachers in that State, mention must be made of the sturdy, long-lived, powerful John G. Landrum, of 'Spar tanburg County. Before a country congregation he was a powerful pleader for the Cross ; hundreds were baptized by him, and his name abides in the upper part of the State as one of the most useful and noblest of men. And perhaps filial love may be pardoned for naming here John O. B. Dargan, for forty years pastor of the Black Creek Church in Darlington County, but known and useful throughout the State as a helper in revival meetings, and for part of the time as secretary of State missions after the war. Among Georgia Baptist ministers, there are many dis tinguished names which invite extended notice, but which must be dismissed with brief mention. There was Charles D. Mallary, born in the North, but identified with Georgia from young manhood — pious, winsome, gifted with pen and tongue, a preacher of uncommon ability. There was also N. M. Crawford, son of the famous senator and secretary, William H. Crawford. He was highly cultivated, had en joyed the advantages of Washington during his father's public service there, a gifted man of letters, president of different colleges, pastor of churches in city and country, he consecrated his highest gifts to the preaching of the gospel. Crossing over into Alabama, we find as president of the State University, Basil Manly, Sr. He was born in North Carolina, pastor twice of different churches in Charleston, S. C, but at the beginning of this period occupying the posi tion already mentioned. Doctor Manly was one of the noblest men that God ever gave to Southern Baptists. Wis dom and goodness, along with uncommon pulpit and pas toral talents, marked him as one of the best preachers among his brethren. Even yet the older people in Charleston re member his ministry with a warm affection. And he too, like others already named, has lived long in the pure lives and consecrated talents of his sons, Basil, Jr. , long time pro fessor in the seminary, and Charles, pastor and college pres ident in Tennessee, South Carolina, Virginia, and Missouri. We also here find the tall, vigorous Samuel Henderson, worthily honored among his brethren as preacher and coun- SOUTHERN 399 selor. There was also William H. Mcintosh, long pastor at Marion and afterward secretary of the Home Mission Board ; while at Montgomery, the capital, before and after the war, then in the splendid vigor of his early manhood, was he whom we now love to recognize as the "old man eloquent," I. T. Tichenor. Mississippi presents us with a brother of Northern birth who devoted his life to building up the country churches of his adopted State, and has given to the later time two worthy sons. This was the beloved and useful E. C. Eager, the father of George B. and John H. , well-known in our own days. Along with him must be named another Northern man, Wal ter Hillman, though he was more identified with the cause of education. There were also other excellent leaders and preachers in that State, among whom may be mentioned Lomax, Whitfield, Freeman, Hackett, and others who must be passed by. In Louisiana, Dr. F. Courtney, a physician but also a preacher, was doing admirable work, having brought with him from Virginia the teachings of the fathers there. He was ably helped by Hartsfield and others, whose records are on high. Over in Texas, building on the foundations of Morrell, Baylor, and others, we find the nobly eloquent and highly useful, both as pastor and educator, Rufus C. Burleson ; likewise Wilham Carey Crane, the scholar and educator ; and J. W. D. Creath, the pioneer and church builder. In Missouri, the beginnings of the work were made by J. M. Peck, J. E. Welch, and Jeremiah Vardeman in the for mer period. Within the period we are now discussing there was a number of useful preachers, among whom special mention should be made of A. P. Williams, H. W. Dodge, A. H. Burlingham, and John Hill Luther. In Tennessee, R. B. C. Howell held two pastorates at the First Church in Nashville, having been at the Second Church in Richmond, Va., in the interval. Doctor Howell was one of the formative forces in the Baptist life of Tennessee — scholarly, logical, and weighty as a preacher. Here also was his opponent on many points of Baptist doctrine and prac tice, the distinguished J. R. Graves. Doctor Graves' largest influence, perhaps, belonged in the next period, after the war, but he was at this time in the prime of his powers as a preacher. Known as a great and sometimes bitter contro versialist and editor, his just merits as a preacher of wonder ful ability are not so commonly recognized. 400 BAPTIST PULPIT OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY In Kentucky, the venerable William Vaughan, belonging largely to the previous period, is still exercising his accepta ble and useful ministry, now at Bloomfield. At Bowling Green, in the full success of a twenty years' pastorate, was J. M. Pendleton, in his later years pastor at Upland, Pa., and widely known as an author on Baptist doctrines. For a brief period during the war the Walnut Street Baptist Church, of Louisville, enjoyed the ministrations of the famous, learned, and eloquent George C. Lorimer. hi. from 1865 to 1900. The end of civil strife found a sad and desolate South. No braver spectacle is seen in history than the way in which the Southern people took up the burden of a life marred by failure and needing to be adjusted to new social conditions. The part which the preachers played at this time was no in significant one. Amid the demoralization and wreck that followed the war their work was one vastly needed and vastly useful. Through -this period we meet with three kinds of preachers among all the denominations as well as among the Baptists. First, there were those whose life and activities belonged to the old state of things, who tried, how ever, with earnestness and faith to adapt themselves to the new order. One after another they passed away, but some still linger with us. Brave, true, noble old men, how much we owe you, how much we honor you ! Then there were those, many of them returning soldiers, of the younger sort, whose young manhood had been tested on the battlefield and inured to hardship through four years of tremendous strife. Seasoned and yet battered, they came home to begin a new era, with no delusions, standing midway between a wrecked past and a dubious future. Their education had been interrupted by the war. A few went back to school ; some took up the work at once. In towns, but mostly in the country, from Maryland to Texas, these soldier preachers have been holding fast the things that remain in our worn and wearied South. The third class is the new generation, brought up amid the changed conditions, with here and there one whose boyish memories dimly recall the days of war and reconstruction, but whose maturing life is in the New South. Educational methods are improved, colleges and the theological seminary reopened and better equipped ; the tendency to town life is increased and emphasized, but even yet the rural life is strong and influential. These young men enter and hold a time pulsing with great movements, SOUTHERN 40 I bright with attractive outlooks. They too, the grandsons and sons of a mighty past, are a vigorous and hopeful min istry. All these are the men of the writer's own time, and, as their names and the faces of many of them crowd bewil- deringly upon him, how can he select from among his older brethren, his mates, and his younger brothers, those whose characters and successes he would delight lovingly to sketch ? Only a few of the representative may be chosen for special mention, and these not all of equal fame or powers. The name which comes first when we think of the great preachers of this period is that of John Albert Broadus. Born of good Virginian ancestry, brought up amid refine ment and culture, educated at the University of Virginia under Gessner Harrison, pastor in Charlottesville, professor and president in the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, the story of his hfe is familiar. The qualities and character istics of the man we may leave unmentioned ; the marvelous power and success of the teacher others may speak of. These few hnes may only — and oh, so imperfectly — take note of the preacher. Where lay his power ? The question is not easily answered, for, as in all such cases, it is a complexity. Not only did it he in the wealth of his scholarship, the breadth of his culture, the keenness of his intellect, the strength of his logic, the clearness of his conceptions, these intellectual qualities and others were only a part of his power. Sympa thy is the keynote. He was a man among men. He knew human nature ; he felt with it and for it ; he knew how to talk to it, to tell it what it was and what it was not and what it knew it ought to be. The orator' s power was easily his : kindling rush of emotion, the splendor of high conceptions, the soaring reach of imagination, — yet restrained by sound common sense and stable judgment, — the power to show, to kindle, and to move. There was also the thoroughness of acquaintance with his subjects. He knew the Bible. He loved to open out the inner meaning of the sacred word, to be the live interpreter between God's thought and man's need. Yes, and back of all this, the heart that rested on the Saviour, the soul in touch with its God, and that yet reached out in human love toward his fellow-men. In style he was very simple and unaffected, oftentimes carelessly familiar, yet rising to sublimity and to poetry when he chose. Sometimes he could scathe with the keenest sarcasm and invective, sometimes batter with sledge-hammer logic, some times again melt with the tenderest pathos, and anon amuse with the swift play of humor. Indeed, he could play with a 402 BAPTIST PULPIT OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY master hand upon all the keys of that subtle instrument, human nature, his own and other people's. Doctor Broadus' published sermons are worthy of him, and yet to those who knew and heard him they seem tame in comparison, and to those who never heard him they cannot convey a tithe of his personal power. There was another preacher in the seminary faculty not so widely known as Broadus, but within the circle of his acquaint ances, in different ways, no less great than Broadus himself. This was William Williams. The oft-quoted but expressive phrase ' ' logic on fire ' ' was never more suitably applied than to him. Clearness of conception, force heightened by depth and warmth of feeling, made his sermons, as delivered by him, masterpieces. He was very useful among country churches in the neighborhood of Greenville, S. C. , where the seminary, during his lifetime, was located, and his name will linger long in the recollection of those who knew him as pastor and preacher. Somewhat like him in Virginia, serving country churches for the most part, was A. B. Brown, a very tornado of logi cal, impassioned, and stirring speech. At Washington, Ga. , the typical pastor in a small town, the cultured gentleman, the refined and courteous Christian, the faithful pastor, the loving preacher to children, must be men tioned the greatly beloved Henry Allen Tupper, better known to the denomination in his later life as secretary of the Foreign Mission Board, having succeeded the beloved James B. Tay lor. A word must be said also of the gentle-spirited, ten derly eloquent Henry McDonald, whom Kentucky, Virginia, and Georgia unite to love and honor for his warm heart, his moving speech, and his gentle ministry of sympathy and affection. Erect in person and in soul stands the brilliant and rhetorical J. B. Hawthorne, pastor in Alabama, Virginia, Georgia, and elsewhere. Doctor Hawthorne is very careful of his preparation and delivery, brave and fearless in his speech, polished and eloquent in style, and withal a lovable and successful pastor. William E. Hatcher, now for a quarter of a century pastor of the Grace Street Church in Richmond, Va. , and widely known as a denominational leader of singu lar tact and wisdom, is also a gifted preacher, and greatly excels in the delineation and analysis of Scripture characters and in impressing the lessons of these upon his hearers. One of the more brilliant, thought-provoking, and incisive of our preachers is James C. Hiden, pastor at various times in Vir ginia, North Carohna, South Carolina, and elsewhere ; while SOUTHERN 403 the genial and beloved Thomas H. Pritchard, lately deceased, has left behind him many who loved him as a man and preacher. During this period two useful and greatly beloved minis ters of Florida must be mentioned : the genial and warm hearted N. A. Bailey, who died suddenly, leaving behind him a revered and honored memory ; and also the still living and highly esteemed W. N Chaudoin, for many years the beloved John among his brethren. Among country preachers who, in the time since the war, have still exerted great influence among their brethren and preserved the best traditions of the older time, must be named J. A. W. Thomas, of South Carolina, pastor of dif ferent churches in Marlboro County in that State all his life. Noble in character, strong and sometimes over-powering in the pulpit, he was one of the types of the soldier preacher who came back from the war to carry on the work of the gos pel ; and with him belongs for similar mention the well-known and inimitable J. B. Gambrell, of Mississippi, Georgia, and Texas. Doctor Gambrell' s singular felicity in platform address goes with him in the pulpit, where his sound sense, quaint humor, and deep spirituality make his message impressive to his hearers. Straight and tall, both physically and morally, among his brethren stands B. H. Carroll, of Texas, a self-educated man, an omnivorous reader, a splendid leader of the forces ; yet his chief title to fame is in his admirable powers as a preacher of the word of God. For many years he was pastor of the First Baptist Church in Waco, Texas, where the influence and fruits of his ministry will abide for generations. Noted and honored among his brethren in Missouri for the qualities of his manhood and the fruits of his ministry is W. Pope Yeaman, identified for years with the Baptist progress in that State. Another among the soldier preachers is Henry F. Sproles, of Mississippi, whose scholarly pulpit expositions of the Bible are the delight of his congregations. W. W. Landrum, the warm-hearted son of a useful and venerated father, stands high among us for his gifts and graces as a man and as a proclaimer of the truth. Among the younger breth ren many hopeful ones are rising about us. They are too many to name, but a few at least, as samples of their kind, may claim a brotherly notice : Charles A. Stakely, late of Washington, D. C; George W. Truett, of Texas; A. J. Barton, of Arkansas ; R. P. Johnston, of Missouri ; and Car ter Helm Jones, of Kentucky. 404 BAPTIST PULPIT OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY A type of minister which ought to be mentioned is that of those who have combined with preaching other work. Among these are our secretaries and educators, many of whom have already been mentioned. Besides there are numbers of dis tinguished brethren who have identified themselves with other pursuits, and yet have been greatly useful as preachers of the gospel. Among these was the learned judge and useful citi zen, R. E. B. Baylor, of Texas ; the upright and popular James P. Eagle, for several terms governor of Arkansas ; and the eloquent and greatly gifted J. L. M. Curry, of Alabama, Virginia, and Washington, once professor in Richmond Col lege, then United States minister to Spain, and now superin tendent of the Peabody and Slater Educational Funds. In concluding this imperfect outline of the Southern Bap tist pulpit, a few matters of importance suggest themselves. Where so much variety and so many exceptions are found, it may be deemed useless to attempt any general characteriza tion of the preaching of a century ; but there are some traits which have been so common among the Southern Baptist ministers as to make it possible in a general way to point them out. 1. As to doctrine. The Calvinistic type of evangelical doc trine has been and remains prominent in the Baptist preaching of the South, though in the earlier days there were some traces of Arminianism. The peculiar tenets of the denomination have at all times been presented with force and clearness — at first and during the developing days with more asperity than now. The Baptist preachers have been usually very conservative in their theology. They have stood earnestly and firmly upon the inspiration and authority of the Scrip tures, and upon the great fact of the vicarious atonement. They have not gone astray on the doctrines concerning the future life. In the earlier and middle periods future punish ment was very terribly preached. In our later times, while the doctrine is still believed and presented, it is not so much. emphasized as formerly. 2. As to manner. The preaching of Southern Baptists has been mostly extemporaneous in delivery, though some of our best preachers, particularly in the earlier and middle periods, read their sermons. Very few, if any, do so now. The preaching has been mostly hortatory and experimental, often with fine oratorical flashes. The influence of Broadus, alike by his book on preaching, his teaching, and his example, has been felt against the tendency to spiritualize the Scriptures, and largely to induce more expository preaching. Our preach- SOUTHERN 405 ing has often been rhetorical and ornate, fervid in delivery, and often not very exact in style. In the earlier day the preaching was sometimes quite stately and dignified ; now there is more flexibility, more familiarity perhaps. Of sen sational, political, and social preaching we have had very httle. Our preachers have been mostly intent on setting forth the gospel of grace, and in winning and edifying the souls of men. 3. As to effect. The pulpit has been held usually in very high respect among the people of the South. It has been a great .force for good — a strong and forceful presentation of divine truth. There have been thousands of conversions through the ministry of Southern Baptists, and much unper- ceived fruit in the molding of character and life, in the shaping of institutions, in the promotion of all that is good among the Southern people. Take it all in all, the Southern Baptist ministry of this century, with all its faults and fairings, — and they have not been few, — has been a powerful one. It has upheld the truth of God ; it has yearned over the present life and the future state of human souls ; it has been full of bless ing to the age, and it leaves a rich heritage for the study and imitation and respect of the coming century. "Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory. ' ' E. C. Dargan. XXVI BAPTIST BUSINESS MEN AND PHILANTHROPISTS God believes in mathematics. The proof of this is that he judges by ratios. The parables of the Talents and the Pounds express statements such as, " to whom much is given, of him will much be expected ' ' ; the affirmation that the measure of punishment is the degree of knowledge with reference to both the servant who knew his master's will and did it not and the heathen, make it certain that the law of proportions is supreme in his estimate of success in the stewardship of knowledge, money, power, time, and all things else. It is not at all sure that the Hebrew decimal fairly covers Christian responsibility. Often a literal application of that ratio pro duces enormous sacrifice to a trifling income and yields a comparative trifle from an enormous income. And so it comes to be that in the divine lexicon the word proportion itself oozes from the grip of our hard and fast vulgar fractions and becomes defined only in the dictionary of conscience. The widow' s mite was more than the great gifts of the wealthy because both the earthly and the heavenly mathematics de clared the greatness of its ratio to possessions. Philanthropy is, in its heft, a matter of the spirit and not of the substance. The gift, after all, is only the material exhibition of the consecration of personal energy. Earning capacities differ both inherently and by virtue of variation of external conditions. This double limitation for some, or double advantage for others, is a seed of which wealth is the plant. How many blooms shall be plucked for a sweet smelling savor to God? The determining factor is dispo sition. Therefore, any account of the Baptist business men and philanthropists of the nineteenth century must begin with a tribute to those countless multitudes of men and women in whose hearts the fires of altruism have burned brightly, but who have been short of financial fuel. It is the aggregation of raindrops that makes the dry earth fertile and fills the reservoirs that supply the thirst and needs of the myriads. When the roll of ratios is accurately made up by the celestial 406 BAPTIST BUSINESS MEN AND PHILANTHROPISTS 407 accountant, ' ' many that are last shall be first and the first last." Both the poor widow and the rich young man have had long hnes of progeny, and many to-day will find their names on the genealogical tree of one or the other. It is a weird and fascinating picture which the imagination paints when it sees the perennial century shower of drops of green and gold, silver and bronze, falling from the clouds of count less hands into the treasuries of numberless local, national, and international philanthropies. Behind these clouds is the pure sunshine of those hearts that are the light of the world. Let us not forget this in our estimate of the worth of the financial element to the kingdom of God. None the less beautiful is it all because in so many cases these absolutely small gifts have been so relatively great that they have been expressions of devotion that have turned the heart into an altar and the pittance into a genuine sacrifice upon it. Those who have left all and followed shall reign. All honor to the memory of these who now have sceptres placed in the hands that were literally emptied that they might cover at least the scar in the pierced palm whose extended gesture said to scanty possessions, ' ' I have need of thee. ' ' And so our first monument shall be to those ' ' unknown ' ' who, by sink ing self in the mass, joined with all their kindred spirits to found and support the various ministries through which the bride of Christ serves soul and body in this day. No name stands out in any mention of the collections taken for the saints in Jerusalem. Behind the stream that flowed through an apostle's hand there was a union of Asiatic, Mace donian, and Achaian tributaries, whose individual rivulets are anonymous. The record of the last century is likewise apostolic. God knows, and that is enough. And yet it must not be thought that those whose innate abilities and favoring opportunities have made them stewards of large wealth, are any the less worthy of gratitude and praise where they have apphed the same principles of steward ship. It is a sin not to be rich if one can acquire honestly. It is a crime against both inner and outer conditions which providentially indicate the direction of the amplest exercise of personal energy. A double compliment is due to the generous wealthy in that they have not only used their op portunities well, but have also resisted the strong seductions which the possession of wealth always brings. The great world power is Mammon. When one devotes riches to God and one's fellows, he is making the deity of this world bow down to Christ. Whenever this is done, Dagon falls in his 408 BAPTIST BUSINESS MEN AND PHILANTHROPISTS own temple once more before the ark of Jehovah. " Every penny I have belongs to God," said one of the richest men in America a few years ago to the writer. Behind the image and superscription of the realm he saw another face and dedication. That this is not an isolated spirit the record of great gifts amply demonstrates. Neither if a man has not is he the better, nor if he has is he the worse. Christianity reaches below the accidents of affluence or penury, as truly as beneath those of homeliness or beauty. Misers may be either millionaires or mendicants. The love of money is independent of either its possession or absence. Both pov erty and opulence may be sanctified, and both may be curses. To write only the names of persons who have given large sums of money to the kingdom of God as supported by Bap tists would consume more than the entire space allowed for this chapter. The records of every educational, missionary, philanthropic, and ecclesiastical institution would have to be searched to tell the story of the noble men and women who have regarded themselves as God's trustees. The directory of these administrators of their Lord' s wealth would be huge in size, and bewildering in details. The very few who may be mentioned are only samples of that unnamed and vast majority who will not feel envious because the general pros perity of our enterprises is presented rather than the adver tisement of individual factors in this achievment. No anount of effort could produce a complete list. To give the sums is manifestly also impossible. Accuracy could not be attained. Uncertain approximation would be our only reward, for in most cases no information could be had from the donors, whose reticence is usually as great as their benevo lence. Many letters have been written to living contributors of large sums asking for figures. In only one case has this request been granted. "I would greatly prefer that the amounts of my contributions for the various purposes enu merated in your letter should never be made pubhc." "As to my own giving, I have never kept any account, and know no more about it, so far as amounts are concerned, than you do." "It is impossible to approach at all the amount my honored father contributed pecuniarily in the several ways you have indicated, for such a large portion of it was given in secret." "Father has always preferred to make his gifts in an unostentatious way, and to have as little known of them as possible, and in accordance with this feehng is loth to give the information for which you ask." "When it BAPTIST BUSINESS MEN AND PHILANTHROPISTS 409 comes to writing up one's own doings along benevolent lines, the task is anything but agreeable. " " I do not see that it is at all possible to give you the information desired. It may be that the use of our name had better be dropped from the article you intend to write. ' ' These are only a few samples of the polite and modest declinations which have been unanimous. The one, who shall be nameless here, whose son has given the information desired, contributed considerably over #5,000,000 during his lifetime, for educa tional, charitable, and ecclesiastical purposes. The media of bestowment may be roughly classified as ecclesiastical, missionary, educational, and philanthropic. Others have written of the first three particularly. The last category includes private generosity, of which we have no means of knowing ; sums given through local church channels for the relief of distress of every species ; superb benefactions to institutional philanthropy, such as educational enterprises (for none of these is self-supporting), homes of various classes, as for the aged, for children, for ministers, for specially needy ones, and hospitals. To undertake even a sketch of the streams that have flowed through these chan nels, from trickle to torrent, would be a wild effort fore doomed to ridiculous failure. We are forced to generalize with the facts constantly beating against verbal confinements in the struggle for even fractional expression. We, there fore, content ourselves with pale hints, and leave for some well-qualified future census taker and statistician the roll of givers, and the arithmetic of the gifts. The large number of schools named for generous benefac tors bears witness to the generosity of the wealthy. The names of Baylor, Benedict, Bishop, Brown, Bucknell, Colby, Colgate, Hardin, Hartshorn, Mercer, McMaster, Pratt, Shaw, Stephens, Stetson, Vassar, William Jewell, have been given to colleges. The names of Hollins, Peddie, Pillsbury, are among those given to academies and institutes. The Crozer family is linked to one of our theological seminaries. The contributions made by those who have not conferred their names upon the objects of their benevolence are in some cases far larger. It is noticeable that when an institution is blessed with the name of a contributor, it is burdened for the same cause. Others are only too willing to allow those whose name it bears to enlarge its endowment and attend to its financial prosperity. Seats of learning without a patro nymic have had large gifts from many sources. Think also of the millions of dollars given by Mr. J. D. Rockefeller to the 4IO BAPTIST BUSINESS MEN AND PHILANTHROPISTS University of Chicago, and through the American Baptist Education Society to scores of other Baptist institutions, and also without the mediation of this society to many other edu cational enterprises; of Mr. J. B. Trevor's gifts to Roches ter Seminary ; of the handsome endowment of the unde nominational Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, by Mr. Charles Pratt ; of the hundreds of thousands of dollars given to New York institutions by the Milbank family ; of the large gifts of the Leverings, of Baltimore, Md., and the Nortons, of Louis ville, Ky. , to the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary ; of the generosity of Mr. J. A. Bostwick to Southern colleges ; the liberality of Mr. James Thomas and Mr. T. C. Williams to Richmond College, Virginia ; of the equally noble benevo lences of hosts of others to provide buildings and endow ments for all the long catalogue of Baptist educational enter prises. And yet opportunities are not exhausted. Purely philanthropic institutions are necessarily mostly local. These are scattered over the whole land. The very incomplete hst in the ' ' Baptist Year-Book ' ' mentions ten homes for the aged, fifteen for the care of orphans and chil dren, three societies for the assistance of ministers who are worn out or unable to work, and six hospitals and sanitari ums. Were that list by any means an exhaustive index of all that exists along these lines, it would be in itself a con demning commentary upon the neglect of our brotherhood to realize the compassion which begat the philanthropic min istry of our Lord. But it does not tell the whole story, — far from it. And yet, when all the industry of compilers shall have overcome the negligence of those who ought to furnish complete information, there is no doubt that a perfect roster would reveal that the number of these institutions is pitifully inadequate for anything like the full discharge of our sacred obligations to minister to the physical and temporal well- being of the distressed members of our household of the faith. The institutions alluded to above are mostly all of. them in the large cities. Two are in New England, thirteen are in the Middle Atlantic States, four are in Western States, and fifteen are in the enormous territory covered by the Southern Baptist Convention. The luxurious Home for Min isters, given and endowed by Deacon George Nugent, at Germantown, Pa. , is national in the scope of its invitation to the needy whom it can help. Other societies for the same purpose cover one State, or several, or only the territory of a district Association. Trie other charitable enterprises are all local, and must needs be so. Philanthropies for the care of BAPTIST BUSINESS MEN AND PHILANTHROPISTS 4 1 I special forms of suffering are scarce. Perhaps the growing governmental paternalism has had something to do with this condition, but the chief cause for the sparseness is no doubt insufficient financial resources. Righteous Christian pride should be too great to thrust the care of our afflicted ones upon the humiliating grace of mu nicipal consolation, or the imi table hospitality of other eccle siastical families. Hospitals are greatly needed. Homes for incurables are temporary havens to their inmates, and the source of hearty doxologies to many who can offer their hopelessly diseased dear ones only the crudest home com forts. Other specific forms of institutional philanthropy will occur to every one. The opportunity for consecrated Baptist wealth in these directions is practically boundless. The United States ought to be well freckled with such buildings. The question is often raised in the minds of many pastors who are daily brought face to face with needs for the rehef of which no provision exists among us, whether, after all, it is wisest to encourage what suspiciously resembles a fad of fortune, the lavishing of abundance upon already prosperous educational institutions to piece out the expense of the cul ture of many who are able to meet the entire cost, and to neglect the less fortunate multitude whose bodily needs clamor for the gentle ministry of food, clothing, and the healing art. "These ought ye to have done, and not to have left the other undone. ' ' It will not mar this book if, in the maze of hazy chronicle, there should appear one fiery spot of appeal for the removal of the real reproach of our in commensurate philanthropic facilities. It would be a congenial task to write of the lives and good deeds of such representative business men as Charles H. Banes, R. E. B. Baylor, Nathan Bishop, A. D. Brown, Joseph E. Brown, William A. Cauldwell, Holbrook Chamber lain, Governor Coburn, Gardner Colby, William, Samuel, and James B. Colgate, S. S. Constant, Mr. Converse, John P. Samuel, Lewis, Robert, and George Crozer, and the like- minded women of that noble family, L. B. Ely, Mr. Estey, Governor Fuller, Daniel S. Ford, whose food and drink i't was to do good, Robert O. Fuller, Stephen Greene, C. H. Hardin, James L. Howard, W. M. Isaacs, William Jewell, Amos Kendall, Chester W. Kingsley, W. W. Keen, the Knowles brothers, the Levering brothers, William McMaster, Joseph Milbank, George Nugent, Thomas B. Peddie, H. K. Porter, Charles Pratt, J. D. Rockefeller, J. L. Stephens, J. B. Stetson, James Thomas, W. H. Hills, J. B. Trevor, and 412 BAPTIST BUSINESS MEN AND PHILANTHROPISTS Pierce N. Welch, and a host of others like them. Each of these was or is a reservoir oi spiritual and financial strength to local denominational interests. Their sagacity, their well- deserved personal influence, their money, and all that they represented, has gladly been used for Christ in the largest opportunities as well as locally and denominationally. Such as these divide evenly with a consecrated ministry the honor of all our progress in the century. They have kept pace with the most brilliant clerical leadership we have had, and for- bearingly supported mediocrity when it has officered the hosts of the Lord, and neutralized the blunders of stupid in feriority. Such as these have devised our policies, harnessed mammon to the King's chariots, fostered intensity of our denominational life and extension of our principles, and made a story of Baptist advance of which we need never be ashamed. At the opening of the century we were weak in numbers, social position, political influence, intellectual energy, both personal and institutional, and pecuniary possessions. We were strong only in faith and in scripturalness of position. Colonial prestige was denied us, nor did we have the aid of any foreign establishment. No tale is more romantic than that of the reversal of this situation. Now we are a host, we have our share of public office, own a wonderful educa tional apparatus, have made at least a start in philanthropic ministrations, claim a portion of every social stratum, and have become the stewards of a fair proportion of the riches of the land. Myriads of Baptists have contributed to the chari ties of other denominations, partly because we had no such appealing enterprises, and partly because our spirit is large enough to ignore rigid sectarianism. In this our business men have set an example, which, though worthy of imitation, has been seldom followed. A reasonable estimate of the money now devoted to the plants and endowments of our educational and philanthropic institutions yields at least #50,000,000. The value of our meeting-houses greatly exceeds that sum. The contributions for missionary work in all its forms in city, State, nation, and abroad is still in excess of the latter figure. The sums given for the support of public worship during the century vastly surpasses the last expenditure. If all these are added, and it is remembered that these items are far from exhaustive, the stupendous contributions of our business men and women for utterly unselfish purposes during the last one hundred years may be imagined. That every one has done what he BAPTIST BUSINESS MEN AND PHILANTHROPISTS 413 could no one will affirm. But as a revelation of the possibil ities that underlie the century upon which we have entered, the dream of the past begets the larger offspring of the reverie of the future. All honor to these, both obscure and con spicuous, unknown and well known, forgotten and memorial ized, who alike, by means of the wise use of the mammon of unrighteousness have made friends, who, when it fails, will receive them into everlasting habitations. W. C. Bitting. XXVII BAPTIST WOMEN OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY In selecting women for presentation in this article we have made no attempt to show a list of names in any sense com plete. Our limit of space forbade this. Our purpose is to indicate the work that women have done and are doing for the cause of Christ in this land and in other lands. We have chosen a few representative names, scattered along somewhat evenly through the century, and distributed over various fields of work. Among the very first of American women to devote their lives to the conversion of the heathen in foreign lands was Mrs. Ann Hasseltine Judson. The influence of her life is incalculable. Her courage and endurance in caring for her husband through his long imprisonment, in keeping him alive in spite of the cruelty of his persecutors, her skill and her almost superhuman exertions that were finally rewarded by his release — the whole heartrending story of the young wife's suf ferings and self-abandonment, made known to the world through her own artless narrative, has perhaps done more than any other one thing to awaken an interest in America in the cause of foreign missions. Ann Hasseltine was a bright, vivacious girl, fond of social pleasures, and popular among her friends and schoolmates in the town of Bradford, Mass. , where her early years were passed. At the age of seventeen she had a very profound .religious experience. Perhaps modern readers of the young girl's diary, written at the time, would be inclined to the opinion that she was even morbid in the intensity of her emotions. The result of an agonizing struggle was a per manent renunciation of the vanity of the world. With all the ardor and strength of her nature Ann entered upon a life of service to God. A few months later she united with the Congregational church at Bradford. When she was about twenty-one years of age, her hand was sought in marriage by Mr. Judson. At this time he had recently been graduated 414 BAPTIST WOMEN OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY 41 5 from Brown University, and had received an appointment as a foreign missionary from the American (Congregationalist) Board. They were married in February, 1812, and in the same month sailed for Calcutta, where they were welcomed on the eighteenth of June by the venerable Dr. William Carey, the great founder of modern missions. The story of the long voyage and its investigation of the subject of baptism has been so often told that it need not be repeated here. Both Mr. and Mrs. Judson became Baptists, and were immersed in Calcutta. They made this change knowing that they would thus cut themselves off from their home support, and lose the sympathy of their dearest friends. Mrs. Judson at this time wrote to her parents : ' ' We are both confirmed Baptists, not because we wish to be, but because truth compelled us to be. A renunciation of our former senti ments has caused us more pain than anything that ever hap pened to us through our lives. ' ' After passing through many perils and perplexities in search of a permanent sphere for their labors, the young couple finally settled in Rangoon, a seaport town, then the capital of the Burman empire. Here for about ten years they persevered in one of the most discouraging tasks ever undertaken by man and woman. Part of this time they were assisted by other missionaries sent out from America, but often they were alone in their labors. The difficulties of a barbarous language, ill-health brought on by the climate, the interfer ence with their work by the Burman government, the loss of their darling firstborn, isolation, loneliness, the meagreness of the result of their costly sacrifice, were among the things that called for faith and Christian courage of the highest order. It was about six years before a single convert had been made. Mrs. Judson' s special share in the work was the instruction of girls and women in the truths of the Bible, for which purpose she conducted either a Sunday-school or a day school as soon as she had become sufficiently acquainted with the language. Toward the close of the period of their ten years' stay at Rangoon, Mrs. Judson was obliged by the condition of her health to repair to America. While here she visited some of the leading cities, where she endeavored to awaken an in terest in foreign missions. Her powers of graphic narration and eloquent appeal were reinforced by her engaging per sonality and she accomplished much. No part of our denominational history is more familiar than is that which connects itself with these devoted missionaries 41 6 BAFPIST WOMEN OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY during the years that followed. The Burman War, the hor rible sufferings of Doctor Judson, the unconquerable devo tion of the heroic wife and the sad ending of her life at Am herst, in 1826, during the absence of her husband, has all been told over and over again. We might search the records of history in vain for another such example of female hero ism and endurance, of Christian faith and fortitude, in the midst of such crushing calamities and misery. The far- reaching influence of her sad life can never be estimated. She left behind her a husband broken by grief, and her death threw a gloom over the Europeans in Amherst who had learned to love her during the brief space of her sojourn with them. Eight years after the death of his first wife Mr. Judson was married to Mrs. Sarah Hall Boardman, who will be the next subject of this sketch. The life of Sarah Boardman Judson has been charmingly written by Mrs. Emily C. Judson (Fanny Forrester), Mr. Judson' s third wife. Sarah Hall was born in the year 1803, in the State of Mas sachusetts, the eldest of thirteen children. Her parents' means were scanty and Sarah early learned lessons of self- sacrifice and patience. She was a beautiful child in person, and in character, a gentle, unassuming nature, endowed with a true poetic gift. In her childhood she wrote poetry of a deeply religious tone, revealing at times an intense interest in the conversion of the heathen. When the young mission ary, Coleman of Arakan, died in the midst of his labors among the heathen, Sarah was deeply affected by the sad event. One evening, not long afterward, she returned home from a prayer meeting joyful with the news that a successor to Cole man had been found — a young man in Maine, named Board- man. Sarah gave expression to her feeling on this occasion in an elegy, commemorating the death of Coleman, beginning : 'Tis the voice of deep sorrow from India's shore, The flower of our churches is withered, is dead, The gem that shone brightly will sparkle no more, And the tears of the Christian profusely are shed. The poem fell under the eye of the young man from Maine, who recognized the noble enthusiasm of the author, and found means of meeting her. In July, 1825, Sarah Hall and George Dana Boardman were married, and left their native country to join the American missionaries in Burma. The young couple resided for some time in Calcutta and BAPTIST WOMEN OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY 4I7 Moulmein, and finally settled in Tavoy, 1828. Both Mr. and Mrs. Boardman suffered severely from ill-health in the new climate, and within about two years after their coming to Tavoy, they lost two of their children, one only, George Dana, a delicate boy, remaining to them. In 1831 Mrs. Boardman was left a widow. She bravely decided to remain at Tavoy, however, and carry on, as well as she could, the work begun by her husband. Speaking of herself and her fellow-missionaries, she writes, the year after her husband's death : "Last April I opened a school, with five scholars, under the care of a respectable and intelligent Tavoy woman. We met with much encouragement so that other schools have since been established, and our number of day scholars is now about eighty. These, with the boarding schools, two village schools, and about fifty persons who learn during the rainy season, in the Karen jungle, make upward of 170 un der our instruction. ' ' The day schools were supported by the English government, whose pohcy it was to exclude the teaching of Christianity from the course of study, but Mrs. Boardman, through her good management, her firmness, and the tact which she used in her correspondence with the civil commissioner in au thority, won for herself the privilege of giving Christian in struction in her schools, when it was prohibited in others. We have not space to describe Mrs. Boardman' s tours through the Karen jungles and marshes, when she sometimes gathered about her several hundred of the Karens, for whom she would conduct worship with the help of a Burman inter preter. Such perilous labors were difficult for one of her re tiring disposition. Her tastes were decidedly domestic. About four years after the death of her husband, Mrs. Boardman was married to Doctor Judson, and removed to Moulmein. She at once commenced the study of the language of the Pequans, a people numerous in Moulmein, and soon organized female prayer meetings, a maternal society, and classes for the instruction of women. She also, as soon as she had gained sufficient command of the language, made a translation into Pequan of the New Testament and of a life of Christ. At last her health began to fail under her heavy burdens, and a voyage to America was decided upon as afford ing the only hope of recovery. Her husband and three eld est children were to accompany her. On reaching the Isle de France, Mrs. Judson was so much improved that it seemed no longer necessary for Mr. Judson to continue the journey 41 8 BAPTIST WOMEN OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY with her. It was on this occasion, when it had been bravely resolved that he should return to his missionary labors, and she and the children pursue their way alone, that Mrs. Jud son wrote the beautiful and touching verses : We part on this green islet, Love, Thou for the Eastern main, I for the setting sun, Love — Oh, when to meet again ? But the promise of recovery proved false. The ship bore on the husband with his dying wife. Mrs. Judson breathed her last when the ship was anchored at St. Helena, and her body found a resting-place in the lonely island. Mr. Judson proceeded upon his journey, and reached America in October, 1845, after an absence of nearly thirty- four years. Two months later, at the house of Dr. A. D. Gillette, he met a young author by the name of Emily Chub- buck, better known by her pen name, Fanny Forrester. He had been attracted by a volume of her sketches, and, in accordance with his direct and earnest nature, he entered without preliminaries into a serious conversation with her by asking how she could reconcile it with her conscience to employ such noble talents in such trifling sketches as he had read from her pen. The result of the conversation was that Mr. Judson secured Miss Chubbuck' s consent to write the memoir of his recently deceased wife. The two met fre quently after this. The friendship so suddenly begun ripened into love, and when Mr. Judson returned to Burma a year later he took with him Emily Chubbuck to share his labors and be a mother to the two boys left behind. Mr. Judson only lived about four years after his third mar riage. During this time Mr. and Mrs. Judson were either at Rangoon or at Moulmein. Mrs. Judson, from her arrival in the new climate, suffered much in her health, which had always been delicate, but in spite of this and her many duties as housekeeper, wife, and mother, she executed the memoir of Mrs. Sarah B. Judson with great rapidity, six weeks only elapsing from her first examination of the mate rials put at her disposal to the completion of the work. She also made rapid progress in the study of the language and became actively useful in the mission by conducting prayer meetings and giving instruction in the Bible. After her husband's death Mrs. Judson' s first purpose was to remain in Burma and continue, as far as she was able, her husband's work, but her failing health compelled her to BAPTIST WOMEN OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY 419 return to America. A little more than five years after she had left her native country she found herself once more in the home of her childhood. When she first took upon herself the responsibilities of a missionary's wife, many who admired her for her clever maga zine sketches feared that she might prove wanting in the qualities demanded by the arduous duties of her new life. But she had abundantly proved such misgivings groundless. She had been a faithful wife, a devoted mother, and an earnest worker in the mission field. She lived for three years after her return to America, and during this time occu pied herself in collecting materials for the life of her husband, to be written by Doctor Wayland, and in caring for the mate rial and spiritual welfare of her husband' s children and her own httle girl. Mr. and Mrs. Francis Mason came to Tavoy a few days before the death of Mr. Boardman. Mrs. Mason's efforts were largely directed toward the education of Karen children. She had at one time under her management twelve jungle schools among the southern Karens. The teachers in these schools were natives, trained for the most part by Mrs. Mason. She frequently visited the schools, and besides looking after such practical details as supplies of pencils, stationery, books, etc. , by her wise encouragement and sug gestions of improvement did all in her power to keep up a high standard of instruction. Many valuable assistants to the missionaries were equipped for a useful work in these schools. The estabhshment of a school in a heathen village usually resulted in the introduction of Christianity into the place and an entire change in the aspect and character of the people. When the theological seminary for Karen preachers was founded, in the year 1842, Mrs. Mason gave much of her time and strength to it, superintending the domestic arrange ments of the boarding department and assisting in the work of instruction. She was especially successful in the teaching of geography. A school geography in the Karen language written by her has been widely used by the Karen children of Burma. Other books prepared by Mrs. Mason are short histories of Samuel, David, and Elijah in Burmese. Some of the work done by Mrs. Mason among the wilds of the Karen region required heroism and endurance of the highest degree. She accompanied her husband in some of his expeditions to remote and inaccessible Karen hamlets, perched sometimes like an eagle's nest upon a craggy summit 420 BAPTIST WOMEN OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY or hidden in a secret mountain glen. She herself went from cabin to cabin among the settlements, and by her instructions and exhortations prepared the way for the first establishment of churches in regions hitherto unexplored. While the Boardmans and the Masons were laboring for the Karens and Burmans, Mrs. Nathan Brown was doing a noble work as her husband's helpmate among the Assamese. With womanly heroism she endured the hardships, perils, and sorrows that usually make up the lot of a missionary. Her most fruitful work in Assam was begun about the year 1850 at Sibsagor, some sixteen years after her arrival in India. She had just returned to the field after a voyage to America, where she had undergone that severest trial of the missionary's wife, the parting with her children. She decided now to adopt and bring up as her own a few little Assamese girls. "These girls," she said, " I shall hope to train up, by the blessing of God, to know and love the Saviour, and I hope that they will become the wives of native Christians and the most promising of native preachers, and that they may live to do good to their fellow-countrymen long after I am gone." A few months after this resolution had been taken, a Mus sulman beggar appeared at her door, with two children in his arms. Their mother, such was his story, had been de voured by a tiger, and prostrating himself at her feet, he begged that she would receive the younger of the children. Mrs. Brown needed no urging. She opened her empty, motherly arms to the bright-eyed little girl of three. This was only the beginning. It was not long before she had a family of fifteen. There was a variety of castes and nation alities — Mohammedan, Hindu, Brahman, and Eurasian. Her means for the support of this family were limited, but she trusted God. ' ' My faith fails not, ' ' she said ; ' ' my Father in heaven, who of his good providence gave them to me, is rich, and I do not think he will withhold the necessary support. ' ' Very touching is the story of the conversion, one by one, of these missionary waifs. They were very responsive to the tender influence of their foster-mother' s love. Mrs. Brown had the happiness of seeing ten of them received into the fold, and of the whole number there was not one but finally yielded to the claims of Christianity. Mr. and Mrs. Whiting had joined the Browns at Sibsagor, and after the latter had been compelled to leave the field, Mrs. Whiting assumed the care of the little family school. BAPTIST WOMEN OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY 421 For a whole year, 1858, Mrs. Whiting did not see a white woman's face. Later, the Whitings were joined by the Rev. Cyrus F. and Mrs. Mary Bronson Tolman. At Thongze, in Burma, a very flourishing mission station is the fruit of a woman's life labor. Fifty years ago this place was a jungle village, stagnating in almost absolute hea thenism. Now there are nine native preachers there, and two churches with about 400 members. Mrs. Marilla B. Ingalls is the human agency that has accomplished this transformation. She and her husband came to Burma as missionaries in 185 1. Left a widow six years later, she selected Thongze for her home and bravely took up her work. She has met with marked success in winning Buddhist priests to Christianity. She has trained many native preach ers. She has founded schools and hbraries, often herself ful filling the functions of architect and builder. She has ad ministered medical aid to hundreds of sufferers. She has gone from house to house carrying the glad tidings of the gospel. Many perils and privations has she bravely endured in following her calling. Her home has twice been burned, and a price has been set upon her head. Miss Evans, who was appointed a missionary in 187 1, has been for many years a co-laborer with Mrs. Ingalls. A field that presents peculiar difficulties to the Protestant missionary is a Roman Cathohc community, where the peo ple rive in superstitious ignorance under the complete domi nation of the Catholic priesthood. Such a field, unattempted by missionary effort, existed in Canada in the first quarter of this century. Perhaps there was not then a French Cana dian Protestant in the whole country ; to-day there are thou sands of them. Several Protestant denominations have had a share in bringing about this result. Among the missionary workers who opened the way for others by driving the enter ing wedge into the unbroken front of Romanism, the leading spirit was Madame Feller. There is no human skill that could now estimate the extent of Madame Feller's influence in all its radiations. Following is a brief sketch of the life and work of this remarkable woman : Henrietta Odin was born in Switzerland, in the year 1800, of Protestant parents. Although she joined the national church of her country at the age of sixteen, she had at that time no knowledge of the doctrine of regeneration. She felt a lack in her religious experience, but as the church which had become spiritually dead could offer her no help, 422 BAPTIST WOMEN OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY she sought happiness in society, where her naturally vivacious temperament, her brilliancy, and her quick sympathies made her very popular. After her marriage, a religious revival in Lausanne, the city where she lived, threw society into a ver itable commotion. Those who received the newly expounded evangelical truth became subjects of government persecution. Madame Feller was deeply moved by the preaching which she heard, and at last, after passing through a period of intense darkness, she found perfect peace in God. Madame Feller was still a young woman when she lost, first, her only child, and soon after, her husband. Her grief was extreme, but she bore bravely up. She now began to devote her time and strength to works of charity. She be came so well known for the instruction and consolation which she administered to those in trouble that she often received letters from the distressed in other cities asking for help and advice. In the year 1834 she received from a very dear friend of hers, Madame Olivier, who had recently gone with her husband on a religious mission to Canada, letters describing the pitiable condition of the French Canadians. The year fol lowing the Oliviers found themselves reinforced by Madame Feller and a Mr. Roussy, a fellow church-member of hers. Madame Feller had since her husband's death, through independent study of the New Testament, adopted the Bap tist principle, triat only believers are proper subjects for bap tism. The question of immersion, however, had not occurred to her. The Oliviers had become Baptists on their voyage across the ocean and after their arrival in Montreal had been immersed. So it happened that from the first the mission aries naturally identified themselves with Baptists. When the Oliviers, before the plans of work were matured, were obliged by considerations of health to return home, they left Madame Feller and Mr. Roussy to carry on the undertaking, as best they could, alone. A village called Grande Ligne, about twenty miles from Montreal, became the seat of their mission. Madame Feller opened a school in the garret of a friendly house. She began with about twenty children, whom she instructed all day, while in the evening she conducted a class for adults. Such was the beginning of the Feller Insti tute. Meanwhile, Mr. Roussy established a number of preaching stations in the vicinity, one of which was at Grande Ligne. Conversions from Romanism took place rapidly, in spite of opposition from the priests. Financial support for Madame Feller's school, after she had exhausted her own private fortune, was received from BAPTIST WOMEN OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY 423 various sources. The Baptists of Montreal interested them selves in her work, and as time went on, Madame Feller, with friends of her mission, made tours in the United States, collecting funds. She was also generously aided by her church in Switzerland. In 1840 a mission house was built for her use, containing a chapel, schoolroom, and accommodations for boarding pupils. One of the greatest difficulties that Madame Feller had to contend with was the bitter opposition of the priests and often the violence of mobs. The conversion, however, of a very intelligent and well-educated young priest, and the addition of his influence and labors to the mission force, greatly in creased its strength. As the work widened, and schools and churches were established in neighboring towns, it became more difficult to meet the increasing expenses. Assistance was sought and obtained first from the Canada Baptist Missionary Society, and later from the American Baptist Home Mission Society. Although Madame Feller and Mr. Roussy had never formally connected themselves with the Baptist denomination, they had acted in accordance with Baptist principles, and now their choice of patronage seemed entirely appropriate. In November, 1855, the Feller Insti tute, so called, a school for girls, was opened at Longueil with twenty-six pupils. The school at Grande Ligne was reserved for the education of young men. Madame Feller, exhausted at last by her almost super human labors, died at the age of sixty-eight, in 1868. She had been engaged in her mission work for over thirty-two years. She and Mr. Roussy came to Montreal unknown, unbefriended, alone, and without definite plans of work. Now fifteen mission stations, and nine churches had been established. The school at Grande Ligne was attended by thirty-four young men, and the Feller Institute at Longueil was prospering. Many day schools in connection with the missions were in operation. The secret of Madame Feller's wonderful power was her large outflowing affection. She had a mother's influence over the hearts of her pupils and associates. An army of devoted and patient women is toiling among the freedmen of the South, bringing the light of the gospel into homes darkened by superstition and ignorance. A leader in this army is Miss Joanna P. Moore. It was not without a struggle that Miss Moore, a recent graduate of Rockford Seminary, relinquished long-cherished hopes and plans to respond to a call from the South. She began her 424 BAPTIST WOMEN OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY life-work on Island Number Ten, in the Mississippi River, November, 1863. When she landed on the desolate shore of the island, where 1,100 Negro women and children were perishing for want of food and clothing, she found plenty of work • for hand as well as heart. There was nothing ro mantic or picturesque to please the fancy of a young girl in the course upon which she was entering. Little was the reward to be looked for in the gratitude of the degraded and ignorant for whom her life was being expended, and often it required courage to bear the contempt of the Southern white people for a laborer among the despised race — contempt which she has long since triumphantly rived down. During the thirty-eight years of her service Miss Moore, desiring to reach as many homes as possible, has dis tributed her labors among various cities and towns of Missis sippi, Alabama, Arkansas, and Georgia. She is- now at Nashville, where she is in charge of a training class for wives and mothers in the Nashville Home. She has done much house-to-house visitation, endeavoring to train mothers to care for their homes and children. In 1885 she started a monthly paper, " Hope," which now goes into 8,000 homes, making them brighter and purer with its words of practical advice, and its message of love and encouragement. In 1888 she established at Baton Rouge, La., a boarding school for the training of mothers. In 1892 she organized "The Fireside School," of which her paper, "Hope," is the organ. The Fireside School is a school conducted at home around the fireside. The pupils are the parents and children, and the parents are also the teachers. The family is expected to read each year an as signed course of study which includes such books as "Peep of Day, " a " Temperance Reader, " " Black Beauty, " " Story of the Bible," etc. Miss Moore, writing of the results of these schools, says: "Thousands of wives and mothers who were sitting in helpless ignorance have through our paper, and other agencies it has set to work, learned how to read." Spelman Seminary, a school for colored girls in Atlanta, Georgia, before it had attained substantial form, was a noble conception in the minds of two women, and to their practical faith in their own ideals the institution owes its present exist ence. These two women were Miss Sophia B. Packard and Miss Harriet E. Giles. In the year 1881, Miss Packard and Miss Giles, being deeply interested in the elevation of the freedmen, opened a school in the basement of the Friendship Church, in Atlanta. Desiring a broader field for their influ- BAPTIST WOMEN OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY 425 ence they soon after this began to interest others in their work, with the result that subscriptions to it, coming slowly at first, and often not without words of wise-headed discourage ment, finally poured in from many sources — from the abun dance of the rich and from the savings of the poor, from the very destitution of the eager Afro-Americans themselves. Miss Packard died in 1891, leaving her friend, Miss Giles, to carry on the enterprise so well begun. The latter secured the services of Miss L. H. Upton, a woman of fine Christian culture, as associate principal, and the good work continues. At present the seminary has eleven buildings and about fourteen acres of land. Of the Baptist women who have made for themselves a name in the field of literature, we have already mentioned two, Mrs. Sarah B. Judson, and Mrs. Emily C. Judson (Fanny Forrester), both of them renowned also as foreign missionaries. Miss Mary Johnston, a young woman recently emerged into the full right of fame as the author of the marvelously popular historical romance, ' ' To Have and to Hold, ' ' al though not known for any distinctively religious contribution to literature, does honor to the Baptist denomination. Mrs. Hannah Chaplin Conant, wife of the Rev. Thomas J. Conant, was the author of a number of valuable and learned books. In 1844 she published a translation from the Ger man of Dr. G. F. A. Strauss' "Lea, or the Baptism in Jor dan." Later followed translations of the commentaries of Neander on the Epistle of Paul to the Philippians, the Epis tle of James, and the First Epistle of John. In 1855 was published her first extended original work, a biography of Adoniram Judson, the great missionary to Burma, entitled "The Earnest Man." In 1857 appeared her translation of H. F. Uhden's "The New England Theocracy," an ex haustive and discriminating treatise on the early ecclesiastical polity of the Puritans. Her most important original work was "A Popular History of English Bible Translation," pub lished in 1856, a work of great erudition, covering the period from Wycliffe's time to the issue of the King James', or Com mon version of 161 1. She was also a frequent contributor to literary and religious periodicals, and the translator of several of Gustav Meritz's stories for children. Amid all her domestic cares she found time not only for her own extensive literary labors, but for aiding her husband in his learned in vestigations. She possessed a thorough mastery of the Ger man language and literature, and a working knowledge of 426 BAFflST WOMEN OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY Greek, Latin, and French, and was widely read in English literature. She was a woman of strong Christian faith, a devoted mother, a true helpmate to her husband, and the center of a choice circle of warmly attached friends. She had unusual breadth of view, absolute sincerity of heart and mind, brightened by a keen sense of humor and a hearty appreciation of excellence in others. Mrs. Caroline Atwater Mason holds a high rank among the authors of the day. The titles of some of her books are, "A Titled Maiden," "A Loyal Heart," "A Minister of Carthage," " The Quiet King, " "A Minister of the World, " "A Wind Flower." Mrs. Mason's latest book, which may be called her first novel of full proportions is entitled ' ' A Woman of Yesterday." Of the general purpose of Mrs. Mason' s literary work this might be said : it seeks to show the inner workings of the spirit of men and women who con tend in various lines for faith and duty with the spirit of self and sin in its various manifestations. Miss Marshall Saunders, by her "Beautiful Joe," a true classic, has won for herself an eager following of little readers. ' ' Beautiful Joe ' ' cultivates a kindly sympathy for dogs, as ' ' Black Beauty ' ' for horses. The family department, entitled "Hours at Home" of "The Standard," Chicago, has for the past twenty-four years been admirably conducted by Mrs. James S. Dicker- son. Mrs. Dickerson is an author of marked ability and earnest purpose. Besides her frequent contributions to her department of ' ' The Standard, ' ' she has written a life of her husband, which for its literary excellence, as well as for the story told, deserves an honored place among the biographies of the century. Mrs. Sallie Rochester Ford is associated with her husband, S. H. Ford, in the editorship of "Ford's Christian Repository and Home Circle, ' ' St. Louis. Mrs. Ford is the author of a number of works of fiction serious in their purpose. " Grace Truman," perhaps the most popular of her books, has done much to make clear Baptist belief with regard to baptism and the Lord's Supper. "Evangel Wiseman" was written to show that believers in Christ are the only proper subjects for baptism. In ' ' Mary Bunyan, The Dreamer' s Blind Daugh ter," the purpose of the author is to set forth the scriptural view of liberty of conscience, and to make manifest the great truth that faith overcomes. ' ' The Inebriates ' ' champions the cause of temperance. We have mentioned only a very few of the Baptist women BAPTIST WOMEN OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY 427 who have helped to make the world better during this nine teenth century. There are a hundred others of more or less general reputation, and thousands known only in their own immediate circles, who by filling well their places, have made possible the progress that has thus far been achieved. Beyond the seas, among the neglected in the home land, in the walks of literature, Baptist women have wielded a steady influence, not the less effective because often obscurely exerted. In all lines of Christian work the qualities that are distinctively womanly are needed, and always will be needed, as long as there are sick people to be cared for, children to be trained, ignorant mothers to be instructed, broken hearts to be com forted, hungry souls to be fed, morsel by morsel, with saving truth. Maud Wilkinson. XXVIII MOVEMENTS OF- BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL THOUGHT DURING THE NINE TEENTH CENTURY Baptists in America in the nineteenth century have been in many ways more like the primitive Christians of the first century than like any other. Simplicity of faith and direct ness of service have been noteworthy characteristics of our life. We have been largely engrossed in preaching the gospel and in planting churches everywhere. The century has been full of pioneer work. We have gone from village to village, town to town, city to city, preaching the call to an immediate repentance and to faith in Jesus Christ. This explains our extraordinary increase in numbers. It has put us in the fore front of the Protestant bodies. It has been also the reason for the comparative simplicity of our faith and life. The thought of Baptists has, therefore, in this century been very largely turned toward practical administration, organization of work, and all that belongs to establishing an ordered church life, and very little toward the framing of specula tive or of theological systems. Philosophies have influenced only in a limited way the great body of our people hitherto. The unexampled growth and development of trie new world, both in material resources and in population, have concentrated our thought and energies upon pioneer evan gelization, and the founding of institutions, philanthropic, educational, and missionary. Each exciting epoch of our Baptist history has for the most part centered in some prac tical reform or in some aggressive action looking toward the regeneration or the betterment of mankind. The pioneer preacher, planting little churches in the great wilderness, his library in his saddle-bags, his study in his saddle, and his meeting-house a log cabin or the shade of a tree, is the typical feature of our life in the first three-quarters of the century. Time was scant for developing theological systems. Men's thoughts were occupied rather with the quick con- 428 DURING THE NINETEENTH CENTURY 429 quest of communities of men for Christ, and in putting into execution the most practical and efficient plans for compass ing that great service. The people had scant appetite for speculation. The subduing of prairies, forests, rivers, and mountains ; the coping with wild beasts, savages, and the strangeness of new surroundings ; the mastery of new condi tions of life ; the building of cabin, schoolriouse, meeting house, and every other evidence of an ordered civilization ; the formulating of new laws and of new political compacts ; the organization of new social relations, new racial neighbor- liness, and a new social future ; the planting of the academy, the college, and the theological school ; all these things were born out of struggle, and the intensest application of shrewd common sense to the every day affairs of human life. The lack of an educated ministry and of an educated laity as well tended toward the same practicalities. Preaching was azoic in its simplicity, literalness, and direct ness. Current philosophies appear to have had little influ ence on our preachers. French infidelity, whose brilliant reign in the United States during the last quarter of the eighteenth and the first quarter of the nineteenth centuries seems to have been a congenial sequel to the social and moral chaos incident to the Revolutionary War, was met by us not with intellectual subtleties of argument, but by a rigid appli cation of biblical truth to the consciences of men. The very words of Scripture were an answer to the scintillating bonmots of Jefferson, Franklin, and a host of small imitators who were hostile to Christianity. Sneers at morality, jests at religion, and the whirl of worldly pleasure were met by a " thus saith the Lord," or the thunders of a prophesied judgment. But the steady mastery of our material resources and the growth of our urban life have been steadily ushering us into the complexities of the older civilizations. Our educational institutions have multiplied. Our ministers who have become educated are already a host. Educated laymen sit in our pews. There are evidences that we are on the eve of a new era in our history, and that we are to take our place in the twentieth century as contributors to organized theological thought and to have a share in molding the profounder intel lectual life of our nation. How this will change the form and affect the growth of our denominational life it is not for me to hazard even a guess, but that it will change our cor porate rife in many ways there can be no doubt. We are already toilers in wide realms of speculative thought and are woven into the cultured life of our time. 43° MOVEMENTS OF BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL THOUGHT It is a notable fact, and confirmatory of what has been said about our lack of share in the thoughtful life of the century, that we have had no published Baptist work in systematic theology until within the last twenty-five years. No school of thought, either philosophic or theological, has developed among us. Nor is it because we have had no profound thinkers, but rather because hitherto our spirit has led us into administrative and executive service. There are some evidences now that this is not to remain true of us, but that there may arise some diversities of thought which can be harmonized only in our consciousness of a larger unity. Our preaching of to-day, whenever it departs from its earlier and simple biblical form, it is to be feared, concerns itself more with the scientific and philosophical explanation of things than with the things themselves. Philosophies of sin and redemption, of guilt and atonement, of spirit and matter, of incarnation and immanence, of man and God, are more discussed and urged than the facts themselves as vital reali ties. A hundred years ago the facts themselves, with little explanation of them, in all their plain and moving reality, were urged upon men and were mightily persuasive. It is doubtful, now that the emphasis has been transferred from the facts to the philosophy of them, if the facts are as vividly real as to the men of earlier generations. Another hundred years may restore equilibrium, and out of the syn thesis of fact and the explanation of fact may give a power and realism to them which is confessedly wanting to-day. The Bible has always been both law and authority among us, but the grounds for such unqualified acceptance have some what shifted during the century. Verbal inspiration, which carried with it the assurance that what it recorded was a divine revelation, because it was so recorded by inspiration, was gen erally held both in the North and the South. It was like the " ten words " of the law written by the finger of Jehovah. The Scriptures were accepted unquestioningly as the very words of God. A crass verbal theory barred the way against any inquiry into the grounds of authority. Inspiration re quired that what it recorded sriould be accepted as revelation ; in other words, inspiration was the primal attestation to reve lation. To-day this position is reversed and revelation attests inspiration. Baptists now appear to accept the authority of the Scrip tures chiefly because of the Christian consciousness of their eternal fitness to be the words of God. God, who has been realized in experience, is the finals critical test which is ap- DURING THE NINETEENTH CENTURY 43 1 plied to everything which purports to be a divine revelation. The real and ultimate grounds of acceptance are the affirma tions of Christian consciousness. The verbal theory itself has been modified so as to allow for the free play of trie human element in inspired utterance. Clearly the inspired writers are not automatons. Man, viewed with a truer conception of his freedom, appears in a new light, both as the receiver and the recorder of a revelation. The dynamic, the religious, and the gracious theories of inspiration all rest fundamentally on the Christian consciousness as the final arbiter of what is or is not a divine revelation. The deep ethical consciousness in man critically attests whether what purports to be a revelation recorded by inspira tion is one or not, and this attestation antedates inspiration. The criterion is that it is consonant with the ethical nature of man which answers to the ethical nature of God. Man in the darkness which he has gathered about himself harks to listen for the voice of God. When he hears him whom he was created to hear, and that message which through creation he is capable of hearing, his sense of fitness, of consumma tion, he calls the evidence of the presence of the supernatu ral. This revelation may be his condemnation or his assur ance of blessedness, but it is the assured presence of the supernatural. It was the call of God to Adam in the garden in the cool of the day. It is the call of God to man in the darkness of sin and guilt. Christian consciousness affirms both God and the call ; both the fitness of the revelation for the soul and our own God given ethical capacity to respond. The key and the lock were made to fit each other. Men do not to-day accept revelation or inspiration upon any external authority either of faith or tradition or history. Hence the methods of his torical criticism, which seemed for a while to its friends a ma gician's wand, both to destroy and to construct, is distinctly a failure, in so far as it either confirms or denies the authority of the Scriptures. It can, in a superficial way, show errors made in transmission through copyists. It can throw interest ing sidelights of historic environment upon the men and times of biblical history ; but it can no more touch the ultimate grounds of the authority of the Scriptures than water can be a sensitive test of golden ore. It is the Christian conscious ness which stubbornly asserts that God has made a revela tion, and recorded it through men in accurate forms which fit it for its use. The treatment of the Scriptures as litera ture ; the free historical criticism ; the grounding of them on 432 MOVEMENTS OF BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL THOUGHT naturalism, however lofty ; the attempts to explain them as merely inspired human utterances — all fail because of the in- contestible evidence in the soul of man that they are really the words which God is speaking to men. It is in this region where the ethical nature of man responds to the ethical na ture of God, harks up to him as its creator and pattern, that the conviction of trie supernaturalism of the book is formed. It is not man speaking to man. That lies in the realm of pure naturalism. That would be literature only, even though it were of an exceedingly lofty type and were the utterance of an ideally perfect man. But it is God speaking to man, and the quick, uncontrollable response of the nature of man to God is the evidence of the revelation. There are manifold theories to explain the co-operative relation of God and man in inspiration, but these concern only the method, and, indirectly, the fact. There seems to be among us something of a drift toward verbalism, which is not the old verbal theory resting on external authority and mechanical in action, but one which feels that there is an ethical fitness and therefore an ethical necessity in reporting the revelation of God in accurate terms which are not left to the caprice of the human writers. The restatement of the doctrine of inspiration is yet to come ; but whatever its form, evidently it is to include the idea of accuracy. There has been little change in regard to the statement of the doctrine of the person of Christ. There has been an increasing enrichment of conception both of his human and of his divine nature. Baptists have not been led very far afield by the widespread humanitarian views of our Lord's person. We have clung tenaciously throughout the century- long controversies to the truth of the real deity and the real humanity of Christ. Many among us are attempting to study minutely the "consciousness of Jesus " and to see if the psychological method will furnish a new interpretation of his deeds and nature. The earlier method was the study of externalities, his words, his acts, and the impressions of his contemporaries.. Little attention was given to his consciousness. Preach ing, therefore, presented Christ in very concrete forms and with a bodily realism which is somewhat wanting in the later method. The only means of knowing the consciousness of Jesus is through his words and acts, and it is possible for men to read into it their own prejudgments. Hence the latest method, fascinating as it may be, is fraught with peril to truth. Men are tempted to make Jesus what they would During the nineteenth century 433 like him to be rather than what he is. The concrete method must always have a use as a test and a restraint upon any psychological interpretation, and, while the latter may add to the breadth and depth of our knowledge of the person of Jesus, it must needs be used with great caution. The doctrine of the immanence of Jesus has been greatly emphasized at the end of the century. It has often been presented in such a way as to make it nothing but an ideal istic pantheism. Dualism is a settled conviction of the race, and all monistic theories seem only a logomachy. The im manence of Jesus does not necessarily require a unity of substance in the universe. The only conclusion which we may be said to have reached with unanimity is that Jesus as creator, preserver, and redeemer of the race of mankind has a more vital relation with the whole organism which we call mankind than was formerly believed. The solidarity of the race and the voluntary union of Jesus with it by incarnation make him to be in the race and of the race in no forensic or fictional way, but in a reality whose full meaning we are still seeking to understand. It is at this point that modern thought, in its struggle for new knowledge, has put forward the teachings of atonement by incarnation, the salvation of all men ultimately by reason of Jesus' vital union with the race, and the probation after death. It is urged that men who have not heard or have not received the gospel may yet have many opportunities to accept Christ through a further hearing of the gospel, and that thus his immanence in the race will in the end insure the salvation of all men. The theory of evolution in the realm of biology has given us a new conception of mankind as one great organism. But Christian thought has not yet reached a satisfactory dogmatic conclusion in regard to our Lord's union with it by incarna tion. It has reached one and a necessary conclusion, that this union is real and vital, not theoretical and mechanical. The reopening of the question of the origin of evil, of race sin as well as individual sin ; of race penalties as well as indi vidual penalties ; of how far the union of Christ with the race lifted both kinds of penalty ; to what extent incarnation marks Christ to be in every man and every man in him ; of the view that, as Adam's sin penetrated efficiently the whole organism of mankind, so will the leaven of Christ' s righteousness pene trate with equal efficiency the same total organism ; that the incarnation of Jesus implies his immanence in the whole race and in every individual of it, so that finally there will be no alienated soul — these form a legacy of questions which the old 2C 434 MOVEMENTS OF BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL THOUGHT century has left in the minds of a multitude of men. The evolu tionary theory in its re-emphasis on mankind as an undivided organism started them, but can by no means answer them. The idea of redemption by incarnation eliminates the cross as a prime factor, and the whole incarnate life of Christ, including his cross, is made the new vitalizing power in the whole body of mankind, once dead in trespasses and sins. To answer these queries a new study of the nature, freedom, and responsibility of the individual human will must be made, and also of the relation of the immanence of God to it. Is there an element of necessity in transmitted sin and also in imparted righteousness, so that men are not wholly free in the one or the other? Stripped of all disguises, these ques tions may all be summed up in one, Will God certainly and finally save all men ? A small group of Baptists is answering this question equivocally, but the great mass of them do not so answer. They adhere unhesitatingly to the Master's words, "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be damned. ' ' They see the awful realism in these two great and eternally separated classes. There is a " great gulf fixed between them. " Baptists are everywhere proclaiming the "cross of Christ " as the central fact in redemption and as the climax of God's self-expression of love in Jesus Christ. The realistic phraseology concerning cross, crucifixion, blood, death, and tomb may not be used in so gross a way as formerly but the sublime facts, the riving truths which he under them, are just as strongly emphasized as of old, and the personal appropriation of Christ is both the ground and the evidence of salvation. The emphasis of formulated dogmatic thinking upon the doctrine of the atonement still rests very largely upon the results of it as a method of redemption. The nature and necessity of it, not as growing primarily out of the fall of man but as having its ethical necessity in the self-unfolding of the nature of God, need a new study and statement. The pres ent moral, governmental, vicarious, and vital theories are chiefly illustrations of how the atonement affects men. They are the varied explications of the method of its working. Naturally this would be an outstanding feature of the doc trine if it is to have influence with men. But broader specu lative thinking, the newer study of mankind as an organism, the vital identification of Christ with it through incarnation, as well as the present insistence of so many thinkers that re demption is by incarnation, are enforcing the necessity of a DURING THE NINETEENTH CENTURY 435 new study of the nature of the atonement and especially of its origin in God. Whatever it is or is not, it is certainly vicarious. There is a theory, which is having some prevalence, that Christ is the evolution of forces which are inherent in man and that he is the climax of a process which is wholly natural and under law. It is affirmed that he and all that he has done and has become was planted in the original creation of the cosmos. He did not "come down from heaven," from without the cosmos, and "come into the world," but he was in the constitution of the world and has simply worked himself out from within by a process of evolution. The "appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ " " in the end of the ages ' ' has nothing of supernaturalism in it, but was the naturalistic outworking of an eternal law. This view in some of its many phases is, undoubtedly, affecting the thinking of some among us and weakens the realism of the cross as a supernatural event and the direct intervention of his wisdom and love for the salvation of men. It is made to appear that the historic evolution of mankind is the evolution of God in Christ, and that the evolution of Christ is the evolu tion of mankind. God is revealed only through the develop ment of mankind. This is the extreme application of the evolutionary theory to the human race. No thorough-going view of the moral freedom of man and the consequent re sponsibility for his actions can be reconciled with this teach ing. It leaves man with no moral responsibility, or at best with only partial responsibility. He is the resultant of forces, whether good or bad, which work out in him whatever he becomes, and God has no sphere for the exercise of his own freedom in the realm of man. The profound and moving personal element in the atonement is eliminated. But it is certain that the great majority of Baptists do not obscure the ' ' cross of Christ ' ' as the supreme manifestation of God in the salvation of men. Whether viewed as starting-point or goal it must be central. The personal element of God in it is what gives it its fascination and its power as well. It was the supreme disclosure of the personal God to the race. Crea tion and final judgment get their significance from that. The whole course of moral history must reckon its latitude and longitude from that " observatory on Calvary." "We preach Christ crucified " and believe him to be "the power of God and the wisdom of God. ' ' Baptists have not lessened, during the century, their em phasis upon the doctrine of the regeneration of the soul by 436 MOVEMENTS OF BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL THOUGHT the word through the efficient work of the Holy Ghost. It is the only door of entrance into the new life of the spirit which is in harmony with God. We have allowed no substi tutions or evasions on this point. We have been insistent from first to last that men must be born again by the Holy Ghost. There has been, however, a marked change in our views of Christian nurture, not as an efficient means, but as affording encouraging antecedents and environments to re generation. That "the greatest saints are made out of the greatest sinners " is not so clear a creedal belief at the end of the century as it was at the beginning. The Sunday-school, the Christian Endeavor Society, and many other organizations for the training of the young, had their genesis in the convic tion that they might be schools which should beget a knowl edge of saving truths, wholesome moral habits, a clean and truthful atmosphere, within which the Holy Ghost will the more effectually work to the regenerating of the soul. Expe rience has justified the conviction. Narrated Christian experiences do not show so keen and vivid a sense of per sonal sin and guilt as in earlier generations. The language of conversion is somewhat differently phrased and has aroused suspicion in some minds that conversion is not so intense a reality as in former times. The reason is largely that con versions now are chiefly among the young, who have not had time to become so hardened in moral revolt against the gracious God as to have learned the severer language of guilt and condemnation. Perhaps the most striking doctrinal change and growth of the century, has been in the enlargement of our conception of the world-wide mission of the church. Not since apostolic times has the apostolic breadth of vision and service been realized so fully. Baptists have grown out of the narrow ideas of a sect and into the world-wide view of a universal brotherhood in Christ and a universal church. The missionary spirit and adventure have wrought the change. We are no longer narrowed into the Anglo-Saxon race. We have carried the gospel to a multitude of nations and races. We have planted ourselves in every continent. The sun never sets on our churches. William Carey was the initial Apostle Paul of our modern missionary movement. Adoniram Judson gave to it an amazing acceleration of power. Francis Wayland in his immortal sermon, "On the Moral Dignity of the Missionary Enterprise, " lifted it into its true place and brought it back again to the lofty ideals of our ascended Lord who said, "The field is the world." We have come DURING THE NINETEENTH CENTURY 437 to a larger vision of ourselves as the saviours of the world, rather than the saviours of a town, a nation, or even a con tinent. A new sense of wide brotherhood, of obligations, and of race uplifting has come to us. These all are signs that the swaddling bands of our childhood and of our sectarian interpretation of our mission in the world are giving place to the broader liberty of our manhood and the larger service which is due from us to the whole world. Once we were content to be hidden ; now we are in the forefront of all great Christian enterprises. Once we despised education ; now we are distancing all competitors in our eagerness to utilize the potencies of the schools. Once we thought mainly of ourselves and of our persecutors ; now we are meditating the salvation of the world. Once we stood conspicuously for the liberating of an ordinance from ecclesi astical perversion ; now we stand for the largest interpreta tion and proclamation of an evangelical faith. Once we pleaded for liberty for ourselves to worship God quietly and freely according to the dictates of our own consciences ; now we are grown bold to plead for all men, liberty, equality, and fraternity. To such breadth of doctrinal views, life, and opportunity has our God brought us in the century now gone, because we have honestly taken for our work " to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature." The missionary enterprise has given us a broader life as well as a broader vision, It has lifted us out of weakness into strength. It has led us out of our hiding to sit in the mountain-tops of the world. The missionary spirit in action is itself a large and safeguarded interpreter of Christ and his truth and in evitably leads into a broad understanding of the kingdom of God among men. There is no exegesis quite equal to that wrought out by a loving spirit and an active, consecrated life. We have insisted in season and out of season upon a plain, simple, and honest translation and interpretation of the Scriptures. We have equally insisted upon the same plain, simple, and honest application of them to the lives of men and nations. If we shall ever be willing to become simply analytical, critical, self-content, and self-conceited, God will bring us low and our crown of glory will be given to another. No one of the great Christian doctrines which we held at the beginning of the century has been abandoned at the close of it. Each one has gained a richer content of mean ing, a wider application, and a larger appreciation. The 438 MOVEMENTS OF BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL THOUGHT century has wonderfully illustrated the fact "that new right is continually springing out of God's word." Baptists have never in all their history had such a point of vantage as at the beginning of the new century for carrying the gospel into all the world and so glorifying their ascended Lord. Nathan E. Wood. XXIX A GENERAL SURVEY OF BAPTIST ACHIEVEMENTS A general survey of anything so vast as Baptist achieve ments in the nineteenth century must content itself with a glance only at the points that present themselves. It must be a rapid flight on the wing and not a tourist's leisurely ex amination. Others in this volume have availed themselves of the latter and it is ours to seek to gather into one composite picture the individual outlines they have limned. The work has been as hard in its details for them as to summarize it is for us. For all modern Baptists are, or have done, or nearly so, is trie product of the nineteenth century. The breaking forth of the fountain was with the fathers, the broadening of the stream and the generation of its multiplying branches have been with us. I. OUR NUMBERS. The century found us a feeble folk, it leaves us a mighty host. Numbering in the United States about 100,000 in 1801, at the dawn of 1901 we have 4,233,226. In other parts of the world, including England, while then we had so few; now we have 779,654. In addition, there are of those who by kinship of doctrine or practice are related to our denomination, such as Freewill Baptists, Disciples of Christ, and the like, 1, 705,672. Statistics are not only dry for the most part, but they are vague as well Few can grasp their real significance. ' ' Million ' ' means little more than ' ' thousand ' ' to most, and where we say 4,000,000 it is the "four" which we can grasp which means increased figures, rather than that which follows, to give it arithmetical worth. Perhaps we shall be better understood if we say that whereas in 1800 in the United States, Baptists numbered one to every fifty-three of the population, in 1900 we had one to eighteen of the vastly increased numbers in our country. If those related to us by similarity of views are counted in, and still further, if those adherents of both ourselves and them are included, then the 439 44O A GENERAL SURVEY OF BAPTIST ACHIEVEMENTS proportion will be, for the former one to sixteen, and for the latter one to eight or thereabout. This proportion of growth would be worth noting for any denomination and be the legitimate cause of fervent thanks giving. But it is especially the case with Baptists. Note worthy for others it is wonderful for them. In the earlier his tory of our country none had a good word for them. They were considered the Ishmaelites of the church. Whipped in Mas sachusetts, fined in Connecticut, imprisoned in Virginia, they were hated in all. Everywhere they were spoken against. They were heroes of faith as truly as were those who form the cata logue in the eleventh of Hebrews. Perhaps it has been be cause of this in part that they have so grown. Somehow in all the history of Jesus Christ's church the reproach of others for him has flamed into glory, and the furrow most made sacred by suffering has lain beneath the most abundant harvests. Mysterious it may be, but such mystery attends the wriole message of the cross. It is not for us to consider causes of this growth which others have done so well. But we may say in a word that these Baptists were, as a rule, a spiritually minded folk, loyal to Jesus Christ, and his truth embodied in precept and ordinance, concerned for the conversion of men and tolerant of all others, keeping their affairs from entangle ment with those of the State ; and God has abundantly blessed them so that small as the mustard seed in the germ they have not been unlike it in their growth. But numerical growth of itself is least to be gloried in. Bigness may be anything but greatness. Bulk may be the reverse of blessing. It is not Persia with its vastness, but Greece in its diminutiveness that has been most beneficent to the world in its philosophy and literature and art. If Bap tists have numbers only, these are of little worth. These are the least portion of their achievement. II. OUR EDUCATIONAL ACHIEVEMENT. The century found us without repute in this regard, it leaves us in the front rank, occupying an honorable position therein. We do not forget that a Baptist substantially founded Harvard University in 1836, and that other Baptists, chief among them Thomas Hollis, ministered to its equipment and endowment. For this Baptists deserve credit often denied them, as were the benefits of the institution they were prompted to establish. But as a matter of fact the cen tury found them with one collegiate institution, Rhode Island College — now Brown University, one of the fruits of the A GENERAL SURVEY OF BAPTIST ACHIEVEMENTS 44 1 Philadelphia Association, and founded in 1764. The cen tury leaves us with seven theological seminaries and 105 uni versities and colleges, with an aggregate endowment and property approximating #40, 000,000.' In addition there are ninety academies and preparatory schools possessing means to the amount of $4,604,019. Of these last there are not so many as there were a few years ago. The public high school has crowded many of them to the wall. Private beneficence cannot compete with public funds. It ought not to try in any extended way. It ought to concentrate upon selected institutions in given sections and make them worthy com petitors of the State establishments and worthily leading to the institutions above them. These have done good work in the past and may do so still. They must, however, in apparatus and teaching force keep pace with the normal or high school just at their side. The stress along this line will constantly increase and only the measures suggested can satis factorily meet it. So much may be said in passing. The struggle to establish the institutions we now possess is one that can never be told. It is a story whose syllables are made up of prayers and tears and brave endeavor and heroic sacrifice. No pages in history glow more brilliantly with the record of these elements than do those that tell of the found ing of Brown and Rochester and the Southern Baptist Theo logical Seminary and others like them. Here and there has been an exception, and the institution has been born without the agony of travail, and established unaccompanied by the keener anxieties of parenthood ; but the other has been the rule. The estabhshment of these and the other schools of our denomination well indicated its growing esteem of the im portance and necessity of education. At first it was content with an uncultured ministry. In the main it was all that could be procured. But to meet its increasing demands and to secure for it permanency of growth a ministry with more thorough preparation was needed. It was to provide this, especially, that our earlier institutions were founded. In those that have followed this object has not been wanting. The same has gone with the denomination as it has dis charged its indebtedness in the gospel to others. On foreign fields it has planted the high school and college and semi- 1 Dr. George C. Lorimer says : " To-day it [the Baptist denomination] has more money invested in property and endowments for educational interests than any other religious body in the land." — *' The Baptists in History," p. 10b. "In these institutions are now gathered 41,000 students and instructors, while their libraries aggregate over 1,000,000 volumes." So says Dr. David Spencer in an address before the Pennsylvania State Convention. 442 A GENERAL SURVEY OF BAPTIST ACHIEVEMENTS nary, that it may train native workers, and among the freed men of our own land it has equipped Spellman and Roger Williams and Benedict and others very largely for the same purpose. No educational work done among us during the century can surpass in importance and beneficence that done among the Negroes of the South. What has been done justi fies the demand of these schools for a more ample endowment of men and means. Few can recall in their review of that ac complished such words regarding foundation work, out. of sight and for the most part unseen, as were often spoken by Dr. M. B. Anderson, without lifting the hat to the memory of these veteran builders of the past. It ought to make the children value the more those institutions they have thus received from the fathers and resolve that, so far as in them lies, they shall not perish from the earth. III. MISSIONARY TRIUMPHS. The nineteenth century has been pre-eminently the mis sionary era of the church. Never since the first century has there been a profounder conviction of the essential missionary nature of the gospel than in it. The Great Commission has caught a new emphasis as the voice of Jesus Christ has been heard afresh, saying " Go ye." Baptists have not been least among those who have heard and obeyed. Nay, few have been more responsive than they. Since that little gath ering at a private house in Kettering, England, in 1792, more than a score of distinct societies have been organized. Since William Carey and John Thomas went forth in 1793 a vast host of missionaries have been commissioned and lent their aid to light up the deep, despairing darkness of heathenism. Whereas the close of the eighteenth century found us with a single convert, Krishna Pal, baptized by Carey in the sacred waters of the Ganges, the nineteenth century left us with 217,100 converts belonging to American missions alone. In India, China, Japan, and Africa these missions have been established at the great heathen strongholds, as well as where, though the darkness is less dense, the need is little less urgent. In connection with these missions there are1 585 missionaries, 4,868 native workers, and 2,088 churches. Schools have been established to the number of 1,468, and property accumulated in connection with these and otherwise to a very large amount. But beyond that indicated by these figures there is an area of results that cannot be measured. 1 " History of American Baptist Missions," E. F. Merriam, p. 352. A GENERAL SURVEY OF BAPTIST ACHIEVEMENTS 443 Allowing five per cent, to each convert as more or less under his influence, and more than 1,000,000 persons are brought within the molding touch of this converted section of hea thenism. But wider still is this area. In their rives, in their homes, in their relations, social and political, these converted heathen are cleaner, better, truer ; and the silent witnessing of this is one of the most powerful factors in the further extension of the Redeemer's kingdom. Not so much has been done, doubtless, as should have been, but still enough to fire us with profound thanksgiving and materially to change the face of the world. IV. SUNDAY-SCHOOL AND YOUNG PEOPLE'S WORK. The planting and growth of the Sunday-school are second in importance only to those of the church itself. When Robert Raikes founded it, in 1780, he builded far more wisely than he knew, and made Christendom his debtor for all time. It has been the fashion somewhat in these later days to decry the Sunday-schooL Its organization and order are demoralizing, it is said, its teaching slipshod and super ficial, its literature paltry and ' ' goody-goody. ' ' and its gen eral results unsatisfactory. Well, doubtless there is some* thing of truth in each count of the indictment Its best friends would not declare the Sunday-school perfect. On the other hand, there are gaps in its formation that cause them concern. But on the whole it has been vastly for good. It has caught and given trend to multitudes of lives. I: has sown seed, the harvesting of which will never end. Eighty- five per cent, of the church's additions come from it, and the proportion is not likely to grow less. It has more than kept step with the general religions advancement of the cer.turr. Numbering perhaps 500 at its commencement, at its end there are in the Sunday-schools of the 00 -.--try ar/jo^g Bap tists alone little if any less than 2,00c. ss^ sciso-ar- and officers and teachers. Critidim of this so vait imthnti'jn may be good, bat co-operation for its ir.cre2jed efficiency ':\ far better. On every hand the 'H^nz^:^ may "r.'Ar the Lord saying, ' • Take this child and nurse it for me ar. d i. wfli g5ve thee thy wages" ; and the wages wfll be measured by the work. Sister to the '^i'Av. -rhoo\ ir, tfceve kter ;esrj, snd v/iae would say its rival, hascooie the yotr.g pe»>pk » orgar.iziMKyfi, Others in this volume have toM tbe -story of iU yptivm aim growth, and a recapitulation k j^arceiy reeded. Salifce it to say that the movement has giver. K/spe *.rtd ?a w zo 1832 i833 18341835 1836 1837 184018421845 185018511853185418551857 i860 1863 18641865 1867 186818701871 18751877 1879 18901891 1895 26,986 Shurtleff College, Illinois. First church, Chicago. First church in Iowa, Danville. 36,460 General Convention Western Baptists at Cincinnati. Kalamazoo College, Michigan. First church, Milwaukee. Franklin College, Indiana. S3.°S6 Iowa Baptist Convention. " The Michigan Christian Herald.' The American Baptist Missionary TJnion. First church in Minnesota, St. Paul. 82,037 134,026 256,242 346,348 448,543 Northwestern Education Society. " The Christian Times," now " The Standard.' Home Mission Society enters Kansas. First church in Nebraska, Nebraska City. Old University of Chicago. First church in Colorado, Golden. First church in South Dakota, Yankton. First church, Denver. >mz d The Baptist Union Theological Seminary. First permanent church in South Dakota, Vermilion. Montana, one church, twenty members. American Baptist Home Mission Society at Laramie, Wyoming. ¦&„„:„„ Home Mission Society begins at Salt Lake City, Utah. The International Lesson System. The Women s Baptist foreign Mission Society of the West. . ^ The Woman's Baptist Home Mission Society. Co-operation " policy inaugurated by Home Mission Society. Fargo, North Dakota, organized. The Baptist Ministers' Aid Society. The American Baptist Education Society. Chapel-car Evangelism. The Baptist Young People's Union of America. The University of Chicago. Centennial meeting of Miami Association at Cincinnati. APPENDIX B STATISTICS OF THE AUSTRALASIAN BAPTIST UNION, 1900 O Ji AUSTRALASIANS u=1 s 0 IN EAST BENGAL. Jl a i-> fl f- C= Names of Unions. D *d 'o •s 0 "K -o s jO 0 'a ¦ 0 « (4 £ ui 3 V) § N "a_o"0O m J3 (J3 2 13 s11 3 a=1 sto&d m c "« 0 fa s u It 3 > New South Wales 1788 1836 1868 "H 26 3>°65 3*653 243 $2,250 2 2 I 1803 1834 1884 1^ 9 662 1.309 44 1,425 1 2 I 1825 l855 21 2,295 266 96 0 I O 1829 1894 1896 8 5 379 21 1 275 ] 0 2 O 1835 i835 18381839 1863 fin 6,979 9,878 208 2 2 1862 64 51 6,053 429 7,200 2 6 2 1840 1851 1883 34 26 3*625 4,891 133 5,000 2 2 2 243 172 20,176 3C.391 1. 1 74 $22,150 9 19 8 >?0MZa 1 These figures estimated, probably below facts, on average of the whole. 4134