RELIGIOUS ACTIVITY.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1265, 21 October 1911, Page 9

RELIGIOUS ACTIVITY.

WORLD'S CONGREGATIONALISM. INCREASE OF 7178 MEMBERS. Mr. John Minshull, of the Congregational I'liion oi England and Wales, lias compiled llic figures uf World Congregationalism, the statistics of tho American Congregational Year-ljoak and the figures from piuot-slicots of the L.M.S. Report having niado this calculation possible, it should he added that tho L.M.S. has native adherents, in addition to fhe SI,16") church member-*. The statistics indicate Hint World Congregationalism has 39.'> more churches, chapels, and stations, and 7178 more church members. I nlortunately, there is an alarming decrease of It.l'.H Sunday School scholars. Last year there was a Sunday School decrease of J'jS7. Sunday Church School Members. Scholars. Groat Britain 493.55U 700,041 London Missionary Soeielv 61,185 79,709 Canada and Newfoundland 10.900 8,014 British Guinea and Jamaica 7.595 5,982 Australia and New , Zealand 20,03G 32,553 South Africa. Natal, and Sierra Leone ... 19,152 9,350 American Zulu Mission 2,408 2,225 China, India, Japan, and Syria 20,395 11, j;)United States of America 735,503 634,050 Ameriran Board of Ciimmissioners for Foreign Missions ... 73,114 <3.508 Total 1,467,220 1,504,304 Incrrn«e Doercnse 7,173 H.m The total numl.er of churches, chapels, ; and stations is 10,209.

BAPTIST DEMONSTRATION IN SYDNEY.

FUTURE OF TIIE CHURCH. In connection with the annual conference of the liantist Union, held in Sydney recently, a public demonstration was hold, ivlien l.Vv. F. C. Spun-, of the Collins Street liapti-t Church, Melbourne. delivered a.ll address on the future ol the Ohi'rcit. Mr. ITujjh Dix-on occupied the chair. Mr. Snurr said I hat there were two wavs of preaching. One was to tuKO a text'and prcacli from it—owl some preachcd a long way irom it. (Laughter.)The other way was to announce a topic awl preach upon it. Speaking as an opiimist, whatever happened to the Church as a. whole must nticct Ihom pcr.wvally. Tf the Church as a whole was mulci-iiik not dismiss the difficulties that the Cluirch was meetins with m attempting to ram- out the mission of Fivinc law, tint aJtlioug-h conditions might bo bad at tho nresvii't lirn-3 they 1 nhnitoiy worse in pa-'l ayes Still, the Church was r-t now in so lxid a position as'in the d.-vs of John Wesley. The real Chinch was (lie fa-.fhfal b:>;ly of hue Christian men and women. In a piace like Australia, where (here was 110 State Church, thov should not use such tonus as i\oneonlormist." As churclimcn they bclicy-p.-l they were part of the. holy Catholic Church, that their ministry was valid, and their orders holy orders, and the h-ad of tlu Church, Jesus Christ. They repudiated the two extremes, one, that Ih'ev should limit the Chuicli to any particular denomino4in, or 011 the other hand to be so indefinitely extended as to include in the Church evervlw.lv who ehosj to male.; it a Ui/id of Noah s Aik, containing all sorts and conditions. J lie time lin-1 gone by lor upland thouglits about sister Ciiurchos. 'J lie Clirisiian Church was pr-siug through fire and was beiiu; challenged now as it had never been V-of'ii-e. Il.s sacred books had been over-haul'.-d bv both pious and ether people. Hut all tiiat, had been heard More, there wnro for mor? r-oonk' oul«i\te <ho Cluirch win belonged to it than they had any idea cf. ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. PROGIIFSS IN TOE UNITED STATES. Tlio "Catholic Times" (London), of Sep- ' lonthe.r 1, states:—liccently published re- - tarns shov the strides boil),,' made bv the Church in the United States. In ITS!) there was one bishop and thirty priests, caring- for about 25,000 fouls. Jo- ' day, besides an Apostolic Delegate, there are thirteen archbishop?, ninety-seven bishops, two vicarf-apcstolic, mid one prefect npostolic. The *25,000 souls have grown to nearly fifteen million Catholics, out cf ninety million inhabitants of the United Stites-ono to evciy six of all the people. Thirty years ago there wore in the Catholic Church in the United States 5510 i)ri?.n!s, fftU ehurolic-s, 1117 chapels and stations, 75 colleges, 510 academics, 2130 parochial schools, 210 orphanages, and 102 hospitals. In tlw present year there are in the Unite:! States thirteen archbishops, ninety-seven bishops, 12,050 diocesan priests, and -113-1 rclision«, mak'-rg a total of 17.05J priests; churches with resident priests lU'inl-er IM'l7; missions with churches, 4111, giving a total of 1.3,401 churclif.s. There are cighty-I'm seminaries, 225 colleges for boys, and GOO academics for frirls: 1072 parishes have schools, with 1,270.1:11 children in attendance. The Catholic population is about 11,C15,701. Comparing the present numbers with this-j of thirty years ago, wo have an increase of 933G priests, or 3200 fer each decade. There is an increase of 7827 churches, 151 colleges for boys, 177 academies, and 2812 parochial schools.

DEATH OF DR. WALLER. A GREAT METHODIST EDUCATIONIST. On September 4, at Deverconrt, where lie hod gone lo recruit his health afi'er > the rocont English Wcsleyau Conference, Dr. David J. Waller passed away, at' the ago of 75. For some time lie had been feeling the pressure of work, and at Cardiff ho asked to be relieved of the Chairmanship of the Second London District, which he had held for many years. _ Dr. Waller was a native of Xunthorpe, North Yorkshire, and became a local preacher in "Whitby Circuit'. In ISafi he entered Richmond* College with a view to becoming a missionary, but his health prohibited this step. The next year ho supplied at Ashford, and then began circuit life, spending three years in the following circuits—"Maidstone, Dover, Yorli, ilull (WalHiam Street), Manchester (Urosvenor Street), Liverpool (Brunswick), and "joutliport. Dr. "Waller was transferred lo London in ISBI as Secretary of the Wesleyan Education Conimii'tce, an office which he discharged right up to lli9 death with great, ability and faithfulness. In ISSS Dr. Waller was elected Secretary of the Conference, and held the position ti.ll 1801, when ho stepped next year to t'he higher rank of President of Conferonce. His election to (lie Legal Hundred was in 18SI, so that he has been a member of the Legal Conference for thirty years. Dr. Waller was a faithful Circuit minister, a good and popular preacher. . a careful and diligent pastor, who visited hi? flock and ruled in the circuit courts with much tact and wisdom. His. greatest work has been in the Kducalion Department. Essentially a denominationalisl. Dr. Waller advocated the ' claims of Weslevan day schools and colleges all these thirty years, ne probably know the inner working of the Education Codes a-~ no oilier.Methodist did. and represented the Committee on many occasions at Ihe Government Education _ Dr. Waller visited the Methodist Episcopal Church South, of America, as the Conference representative once, and also the Unhamas as representing the Missionary Society, and ho was one of tho secretaries nf the Thanksgiving and Twentieth Century I'unds. No man served .on . moro committees. Ho was faithful to all. and carried nut his tasks with cheerfulness. ' Tor years he had lived at Clapham. where he and Mrs. Waller were worshipners at High Street Church.—"Christian World." The greatest activity prevails at Delhi for the Coronation Durbar. Tho canvas camps will cover an area of 2"> srjuaro miles, requiring fill miles nf road. Tho electric light system which, is being inslallwl will-be (lio grealest overhead sys- : tern in the world. Arrangements are being made to connect all tho camps by f railway. For Children's Hacking Cough at Night, ( .Woods' Great Peppermint Cure, Is, Gil, 4 Jj