also a legal connection with some parish. But we are leaving this. The Home Missionary Society was on the basis of helping only men asked for by some church; (1) the church, (2) the minister, was the policy, which was exactly contrary to the gospel method, which is first the living preacher, second the church, thereby made up of converts. It was a church-aid society, not a missionary society. Fortunately a new departure prevails, and men are to go to preach the gospel.

11. The salary question does not, it seems to me, enter much into the thoughts of a young man in his consideration of his duty. Nor the question of hardships. Men of faith are attracted by hardships. Loyalty loves to make sacrifices. Yet a reasonable support must be provided, or men cannot work.

12. The question whether aid from education societies or churches is degrading, or brings in a poor class of ability, is raised. But why disparage it? The results have been good. Besides,

(1) There is no liberally educated man who does not owe one half of his education to charity. College tuition pays only half of the expense of educating. Charitable endowments do the re

mainder.

(2) Grant, Sherman, and Sheridan were charity scholars themselves! The government paid all the expenses of their education, board, clothes (even to so many pairs of white trousers every summer). The army officers were, and are, paupers, as much as ministers helped by the church for its work. Our educational helps must be maintained if ministers are to be had.

13. If there be a lack in numbers or in quality, the remedy will be, not in mere individual urgencies and coaxings, but in a powerful revival of religion, meaning, thereby, deeper and mightier consecration of the churches themselves to Christ. Consecrated churches will make consecrated parents to give their sons, consecrated sons to listen, consecrated helps to educate, consecrated wealth to give, consecrated societies of missions to explore and send, and a land consecrated to God.

14. Yet it may seem wise for this Council to consider the human aspect of this subject of ministerial supply, and see what may be wisely done in its behalf by the ministers and churches.

REPORT OF THE PUBLISHING COMMITTEE.

THE Publishing Committee appointed at the meeting of the National Council, held in St. Louis, in November, 1880, presents herewith its report for the three years since that date. The Minutes of that Council and three Year-Books have been issued, as required by vote of the Council, and a copy of each publication sent to every church and every minister on the rolls of the denomination, as found in the Year-Book. The number of copies issued has been as follows, viz.: Minutes, 8,000; Year-Book for 1881, 8,000; Year-Book for 1882, 8,000; Year-Book for 1883, 8,500. The date on which the several publications were issued has been as follows: Minutes, Jan. 31, 1881; Year-Book for 1881, April 17 1881; Year-Book for 1882, May 9, 1882; Year-Book for 1883, Jan. 16, 1883. The work of classifying and arranging the various statistics from the different State Minutes, preparing the same for the press and reading the proof, is entirely in the hands of the secretary, and involves such care and labor in its details as none can appreciate who have had no experience in editorial work of that character. It has been the wish and aim of the committee to issue the Year-Books as early in the new year as possible, but the secretary, notwithstanding his best efforts, has found a good deal of delay inevitable, as it has been impossible to obtain the Minutes from all the different States in season for that date. Especially in 1882 was there protracted delay in the issue of the Year-Book in consequence of various obstacles which were effectually guarded against the present year.

Both the Minutes and the Year-Books, with slight exceptions, have been sent out by mail, the entire postage on the former being $427.22, and on the latter eight cents to each book, making a total postage bill of $2,326.85 for the three years. The entire cost of the books themselves has been $9,111.00, which, adding the postage, and other items of expense in distribution, makes a total of $11,846.08. In order to reach the net cost the income from advertising must be deducted from this. The net receipts from this source for 1881, both from the Minutes and the Year-Book, were $1,146.17; from the Year-Book of 1882, $684.17; from the YearBook of 1883, $828.72, making a total of $2,659.06. Mr. S. A. Choate, of Boston, has done most satisfactory service in the advertising department, and he states that one serious difficulty in

the way of increasing the income from this source is the delay beyond the New Year, which has seemed to be inevitable in the issues of the Year-Books.

The following tabular statement gives, in compact form, the cost of the four publications, date of issue, and other facts of interest:

Date of No. of Cost of
Cost of Total, includ- Income from
Issue. Copies Publication. Distribution. ing Postage. Advertising.

(Totals) 32,500 $9,111.00 $2,735.08 $11,846.08 $2,659.06

With the exception of certain copies of the Year-Books for 1883, all the publications have been sent out by mail from the office of the printers, Messrs. Alfred Mudge & Son, of Boston, and we have the best reason to believe that their part of the work, as well as the printing, has been done with promptness and efficiency; though it must be borne in mind that no edition of this size can be sent by mail without more or less slips between the office of publication and the home of the person entitled to receive it.

The Year-Books for 1883, in case of two States, were sent in bulk to the Statistical Secretaries, viz., to Rev. W. H. Moore, of Connecticut, and Rev. S. L. Gerould, of New Hampshire, who made the distribution for their respective States, and they both testify that the plan has worked well. In case of General Conferences or Associations elsewhere, which have officers equally competent and willing with these two brethren, we suggest that this plan of distribution be adopted in the future.

Your committee cannot consent to conclude this report without alluding again to a matter which received attention in the report of our predecessors three years since. The long period that transpires between the date to which the statistics are brought up in many of the larger States, and the date of issue for the Year-Book when these figures are made available for general study and use, has always evoked complaint and criticism.

Several of the States having the larger number of churches,

like Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, and Vermont, making almost one third the entire number of churches on the list, bring their figures only up to Jan. 1, a date more than twelve months behind that when the Year-Book has been issued. The date of statistics for the different States ranges from Jan. 1 to Nov. 1. Michigan, Illinois, and Ohio, for example, bear the date April 1; Maine and Iowa, May 1; Wisconsin, July 1; New York, Kansas, and California, Sept. 1; Missouri and Nebraska, Oct. 1; Dakota and Colorado, Nov. 1. One has some curiosity to see what year statistics differing ten months in date, and sent out in the Year-Book for 1883, for example, are made to represent as a whole, whether 1882 or 1883; and the most that can be said for them seems to be that they are the figures in the Year-Book issued in 1883.

It may be that we, as Congregationalists, love so well to manage our own affairs in each State, independent of any suggestions from others and irrespective of co-operation with others, that we are indisposed to make any improvement in this matter of statistics. If such be the case, there need be no wonder that it has sometimes been denied that we are a denomination. Certainly it would be difficult to find any other ecclesiastical body in our country that seems to make such unsatisfactory work in the gathering of its statistics, as related to their date and promptness of publication. On the testimony of Rev. J. G. Walker, D. D., of Philadelphia, editor of the Baptist Year-Book, the figures given in that book are for the most part brought up to within about six months of the date of issue; and yet the number of churches reported is 26,931, nearly seven times as many as those of our own order, while at the same time the denomination itself in important respects comes nearer independency than does our own.

Rev. W. H. Roberts, D. D., permanent clerk of the Presbyterian General Assembly, states that the statistics of the Assembly are made up to the 1st of April of the year of publication, and that the usual date of publication, the past four years, has been Aug. 1.

It is at least conceivable, then, that we might make an improvement in the matter. One primary difficulty seems to be that a portion of our State bodies meets in the spring and others in the autumn. But this does not make it imperative that the date of the statistics should remain as at present. While this Council has no power of legislation, it has, nevertheless, the power to recommend,

and the churches of any State have the power to adopt its recommendations if they choose. Your committee, therefore, after giving the matter careful attention, ventures to submit the following recommendation to this Council, viz.:

That all States, the date of whose statistics is now earlier than June 1, be recommended to bring them up to that date, and that the date in no State be placed later than Oct. 1.

To carry out this plan no change of the date of meeting would become necessary in case of any State body, as statistics for the year are by no means essential for presentation at such a meeting. A change of date in the figures from Jan. 1 even to May 1 would be a great gain, but if brought up to June the additions at the May communion would be included. It might be thought that July 1 would be a more natural date, but with the grand summer hegira that now takes place from cities and large towns there would be difficulty, it is feared, in completing the tables for printing during the three months following July 1.

Your committee also recommends that the Publishing Committee for the next three years be authorized to contract for the issue of four Year-Books, thus including the one for the year 1887.

As the matter now stands, with the Council meeting so late in the autumn, it is difficult, even under the most favorable circumstances, to issue the Year-Book on Jan. 1, as no preparation can be made till the new committee is chosen. The preliminary work of gathering and editing the statistics requires time. The early solicitation of advertisements, with the positive assurance that the publication will be in circulation Jan. 1, has great advantage in swelling the receipts from that source, and thus reducing the cost. No new committee of publication is likely to covet the work of arranging for the Year-Book immediately after entering into office, and, for the reasons mentioned, it seems to us that important advantages would be gained by the adoption of the above recommendation.

Your committee also makes one additional recommendation, viz. :

That Section III. of the By-Laws (page 208 of the Minutes, 1880) be amended by the addition of the words "Statistical Secretaries of State and Territorial bodies shall also be entitled to seats in the Council without a vote."

The adoption of this amendment would promote wider interest in perfecting and unifying the statistics, and the opportunity for