was forty years ago. It is now $600, and thirty years ago he took an average circuit at $700. This Guelph Conference paid $7,000 for Superannuation Fund, and were deficient in salaries over $5,000, so that it paid little more into the Superannuation Fund than what it had pledged itself to pay; and since the union there had been a deficiency of over $1,000,000. Now, if the circuits will pay this deficiency, the Church can afford to abolish the Superannuation Fund.

In all the Conferences there was a gratifying increase in the membership of the Church. In six of the Conferences of which we have heard, the aggregate increase exceeds seven thousand. The Sunday-school report of Toronto Conference contained many items of encouragement. The number of schools is the same as last year, but there are thirtyfour more teachers and 1,214 more scholars; 7,845 are reported meeting in class, which is 652 more than was reported last year. We are pleased to find that there is an increase of 125 in the number of those learning the catechism. In the number of volumes reported in the libraries, and the number of our own periodicals taken by the schools, there is a very gratifying increase.

As the General Conference will soon be held, all the Conferences were disposed to recommend various changes in the polity of the Church. Mr. Wesley's admonition seems to be almost everywhere forgotten, "Mend not our rules but keep them." Should all the recommendations made by the Annual Conferences be considered by the General Conference, the delegates may be sure that they will have a session of several weeks. Some want the ministerial term extended to five years. A few request more superintendence of the missions. Others recommend an amalgamation of some of the Annual Conferences. A goodly number think that the Conferences are large enough already. There seems to be a consensus of opinion for an alteration in the constitution of the Stationing Committee.

All will be agreed that the greatest desideratum seems to be an increase of spiritual power, which can only be obtained by an entire personal consecration to God. The reports given respecting the Epworth League movement were very gratifying, and not a few are of the opinion that one minister should be set apart to give his whole time to look after this important department of church work.

It is to be regretted that in all the Conferences there should be such large deficiencies reported in respect to ministers' salaries. In one conference the total amount of deficiency exceeded $6,000, and the average salary in the said Conference for married ministers did not exceed $660.

It is exceedingly gratifying to find that in Manitoba and British Columbia, buildings are in course of erection for collegiate purposes. In the latter the present writer was exceedingly gratified to find that one of his former neighbours, who was one of the pioneers in British Columbia, has donated a valuable property to the college. Our wealthy friends should not forget the institutions of the Church under whose fostering care they have been brought to God and kept with their faces Zionward.

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Victoria University has had a prosperous year. The Convocation services were exceedingly interesting. The baccalaureate sermon preached by Professor Reynar, in the Central Church, and was highly commended. As the chancellor is absent in England, the vice-chancellor, William Kerr, M.A., Q.C., presided at the Convocation. addition to the members of the Board and Senate who occupied seats on the platform of the college chapel there were President Loudon of the Provincial University, Vicechancellor Mulock, Professor Goldwin Smith and Professor Satoh from Japan, took part in the proceedings. A large number of students ceived diplomas, and the following received the honorary degree of D.D. Rev. Robert Boyle, James Henderson, A. C. Macdonald, J. S. Ross;

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M.A., W. P. Dyer, B.Sc., W. I. Shaw, M.A., LL.D.

The Wesleyan College, at Montreal, feels keenly the loss of its valued Principal, Dr. Douglas. His successor, Dr. Shaw, as Principal, and the addition of Dr. Antliff to the faculty is a guarantee that efficiency will still characterize that seat of learning.

All rejoice to hear of the onward career of Albert College, Belleville. The professoriate of this institution have contended most successfully against the most formidable difficulties, and are to be congratulated on their success.

Mount Allison Educational Institutions give a good account of the year's proceedings. Last year the jubilee of the first building was celebrated, when a munificent sum was contributed by its friends for advancement. Not coutent with what was then accomplished, greater things are now contemplated. "Give us room," is a cry that is heard in all the departments of the University. The corner-stone of a substantial addition was recently laid, and great hopes are entertained that the future history of Mount Allison will be even more brilliant than the past.

The ladies' colleges at Stanstead, Whitby, Hamilton, and St. Thomas, have been favoured with a year of abundant prosperity. Those which have been oppressed with the incubus of debt are feeling their burdens less intolerable. The closing exercises were as usual exceedingly pleasant. The Governor of Ontario, Hon. Geo. Kirkpatrick, and Lady Kirkpatrick were present at Whitby, and by their presence and urbanity greatly endeared themselves to the hundreds who were there.

Our beloved evangelists, Revs. Messrs. Hunter and Crossley, have been visiting some of their former fields of successful toil, among others, Belleville, where their children in the Gospel received them right royally. Their late visit was eminently successful. Hundreds declared their intention to become earnest Christians. At one meeting

an unusual incident occurred. Lord Aberdeen, Governor-General, was visiting the city, and accompanied by some friends attended one service, and received the Chautauqua salute. His Lordship took a seat on the platform, and was evidently greatly interested in the proceedings. He addressed a few words to the assembly which indicated how much he approved of the methods adopted to increase the religious fervour of the people.

WESLEYAN METHODIST.

The oldest Welsh minister of the

Mr.

Gospel now living is the celebrated Hughes is in his ninety-second year 'Hughes, Machzulleth." and has been in the ministry seventythree years.

The parent missionary society of Methodism has been compelled to The report a decrease of income. severe depression of all branches of trade in England is doubtless the cause of this sad state of things. A similar calamity has befallen all Great Britain, not excepting the the great missionary societies of Church of England, many of whose generous supporters are to be found in the ranks of the wealthy classes, surely in this time of extreme need they will arise and do their duty.

METHODIST EPISCOPAL.

Bishop Thoburn has purchased an abandoned tea plantation in the Himalaya region, covering 1,000 acres, for $4,000, and plans to make of it a vast industrial establishment," where men and women, boys and girls, shall be taught useful occupations.

Miss Hu King Eng, the daughter of one of our native Chinese missionaries. graduated from the Woman's Medical College, in Philadelphia, last May. She has been trained in literature and medicine, and hopes to return to her own land and perform the duties of a medical missionary among her people.

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Miss Imhoff, of Japan, injured in her right eye by a stone which was thrown at her as she was returning from an evening

meeting which she had been conducting. Her gentle spirit of complete forgiveness of the perpetrator, like her loving Saviour, has called out the affection of both Christian and non-Christian Japanese in Yonezawa.

Three large surprises lately occurred in the Foundry Church, Washington. Mr. W. J. Shibley gave $10,000 to the Woman's Missionary Society, to build a hospital in connection with the Lucy Webb Hazes Home. A brother of Mr. Shibley also paid off a mortgage of $10,000 on the church, which had been a source of trouble for twenty years. The last surprise was that the people should then and there raise $900 to pay off some floating indebtedness, which was quickly

done, and thus the grand historic church is clear of debt.

PRIMITIVE METHODIST.

The great advance of this body in London is shown by the cost of churches erected in the metropolitan area, principally on the Middlesex side, the cost of which is given at $524,917, the present debt of which is $194,700. The amount of debt paid last year was $10,517.

Mr. W. P. Hartly, J.P., whose generous gifts have lately been very numerous, has just given $5,000 to reduce the debt of the church in which he worships at Aintree. He has also given $5,000 to his workpeople's benevolent fund. What a noble example Mr. Hartly has thus set to other men of wealth.

The Epistles of Paul the Apostle: a sketch of their origin and contents. By GEORGE G. FINDLAY, B.A., tutor in Biblical Literature and Exegesis, Headingly College. New York: Wilbur B. Ketcham. Toronto: William Briggs. Price, $1.50.

St. Paul was the great organizer and theologian of the early Church. His writings will ever be the subject of the profoundest study by all who would know the mind of the Spirit in Christian doctrine and practice. This volume claims “to weave the Epistles together into an historical unity, to trace out the life that pervades them, alike in its internal elements and external movements and surroundings." It is a comprehensive task and is marvellously well executed in the limits of space which the author has assigned himself.

We hear much nowadays of inductive Bible study. This book is constructed on the true inductive principle. The author seeks to understand the environment and circumstances under which the Pauline epistles originated, and the

condition of the new Christian communities to which they were addressed. These letters are regarded as an organic whole, having an internal unity and one common pervasive spirit. The style of the Apostle the author asserts to be at once attractive and difficult. He says:

"There is nothing hazy, nothing loose or nebulous, in St. Paul's theology. His leading terms, the great watchword of his doctrine, are framed to last forever. They are as crystalline in definition as they are massive and deep in significance. His governing ideas are developed and applied with matchless logic,--a logic, indeed, more Rabbinical than philosophical in form, but that goes straight as an arrow to its mark, and that welds into its argument as it moves onward things highest and lowliest, and seizes at each point the readiest expedient to clear its course and to build up the highway for the ransomed of the Lord.

"Bold as are St. Paul's methods of reasoning, they are no less sure. His subtlety is the subtlety of truth

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itself. His obscurities are those of depth, not of dimness or confusion; the obscurities of a mind profoundly sensible of the plexities of life and thought and sensitive to their varying hues, their crossing lights and shadows,of a man who, with all he knows, is conscious that he only knows in part. If we must speak of defects, they are the defects of a teacher who is too full of the grandeur of the truth he utters, and too much absorbed in the divine work of his calling, to make words and style his 'If I am rude in speech,' he gently says, yet not in knowledge,' (2 Cor. xi. 6). In this, as in his other infirmities, well might the Apostle glory."

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The several Epistles are taken up seriatim; their date, occasion, connections, character and affinity are given and an analysis of their contents. The book will be an important aid to the better comprehension of these important Christian documents. A separate treatise is given to the Epistle to the Hebrews which, however, the writer does not think to be of Pauline origin. The author seems to incline to the theory that the author was possibly Silas or Barnabas, excluding the theory that it was probably written by Luke. Our ignorance of the person of the writer in no way diminishes the value of this book, but rather, as Bishop Westcott says, "enlarges our sense of the spiritual wealth of the apostolic age.'

Witnesses for Christ and Memorials of Church Life from the Fourth to the Thirteenth Century. By EDWARD BACKHOUSE and CHARLES TYLOR. Second edition. London: Simpkin, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent & Co. Toronto: William Briggs. Pp. ix-440.

We reviewed not long since, in these pages, Mr. Tylor's interesting and instructive volume on "The Camisards." In the book under notice we have another volume of admirable historical studies, chiefly from his pen, his co-labourer in the preparation of the material having passed away before it was complete. This is not a consecutive history,

for the field is too great, and the number of actors too many, to receive minute and consecutive treatment. It consists of a series of brilliant studies of the great leaders of the Christian Church and of the great religious movements for nine hundred years from the death of Constantine.

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Among the grand historical characters who pass before us in these pages are the indomitable Athanasius; the great Apostle of the North, Ulfilas; Martin of Tours, the dauntless Ambrose, the goldenmouthed Chrysostom, the great Roman fathers Jerome and Augustine; the ambitious Gregory the Great ; the Venerable Bede, the Apostle of Northumbria; St. Boniface, and the British missionaries to the German nations, and many others. An admirable chapter discusses the development of Roman Catholic doctrine and worship under the early Christian emperors, the growth of monachism, the Nestorian strife, Christian art and Maryworship, and the like. The monastic life of the middle ages, as illustrated at Clugny, Cîteaux and Clairvaux, and especially illustrated in the persons of Benedict and Bernard, form a series of interesting chapters. The story of the Reformers before the Reformation, of the early Waldensian Church, and the Crusade against the Albigenses, complete a volume of special value to students of Church history. A score of etchings and woodcuts enhance the value of the volume.

A Veteran of 1812. The Life of James FitzGibbon. By MARY AGNES FITZGIBBON. Toronto: William Briggs. Methodist Book Rooms, Montreal and Halifax. Price $1.00.

The return of another anniversary of the natal day of our Dominion should be a matter of grateful recognition of every true patriot, who may well exclaim, in the words of Israel's King: "the lines have fallen to us in pleasant places, yea, we have a goodly heritage." If any people on the face of the earth may use these patriotic words of Holy Scripture, surely Canadians may do so.

We fear that there are only here and there those who calmly review the history of the past and consider what the goodly heritage which we possess has cost those who laboured to make this land what it now is. Our fathers laboured and toiled, and many of them even laid down their lives for their country. The present generation can never rightly estimate how much they are indebted to those who went before them and prepared this goodly heritage for us.

We welcome every issue from the press which relates the history of the former times and records the names of those to whom we are so much indebted. James FitzGibbon was a native of "the Emerald Isle,' and in early life gave evidence of the patriotic heart which he possessed. He entered the service of his country, and in the course of time came to Canada, and went through the dangers and exciting scenes of 1812. Again in the troubles of 1837 he was ready to suffer, and if need be even die for his country.

The scenes through which he was called to pass made an indelible impression upon his mind, and often when surrounded by the junior members of his family or old friends, he fought his battles over again. No marvel that he was entreated to publish a record of his campaigns; but this he could not be persuaded to do, though he wrote down his own account of what he had seen. The volume mentioned in this notice has been compiled from the documents which he thus prepared. The compiler has done her work well, and is entitled to the thanks of her readers. We have read the volume with great interest and would rejoice to hear that it has been purchased by thousands of our countrymen. It is gotten up in the best style of workmanship, and is a credit to the Methodist Publishing House, Toronto.-E. B.

The Interwoven Gospels and Gospel Harmony. By the REV. WILLIAM PITTENGER. New York: Fords, Howard & Hulbert. 1893. Price, $1.20.

focussed as never before on the life of Christ. It is found that incomparably the best way to study that life, is to compare the narratives of the Evangelists. In the old-fashioned harmonies in which the narratives are printed side by side, there is often perplexity in referring from one to another. In this volume the narratives are so interwoven as to form a continuous record without repetition. A number of excellent maps are given, which enable one to trace the journeyings of our Lord. The advantage of such a harmony is shown by the fact that this volume, though issued only a few years, has already reached its seventh thousand. Talks About, I. The Soil (141 pp.). II. The Weather (136 pp.). III. Our Useful Plants (149 pp.). Three books by Charles Barnard. 12mo, cloth; per vol. 75 cents, or the set of three, in a box, $2.25. Funk & Wagnalls Company: New York, London, and Toronto.

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These books are of great interest. The fact that they are written in popular style renders them especially valuable. The Talks About the Soil" are in its relation to plants and business. The "Talks About the Weather" are with relation to plants and animals. The Talks About Our Useful Plants" are just what all who are interested in the culture of plants, for pleasure or profit, will be glad to hear. Each of the volumes is a book of observations and experiments for practical use of students, schools, farmers, gardeners and others. The titles of chapters, Vol. I., include such topics as "The Bones of the World; Experi ments with Soils;" "Soil Analysis;" "Experiments in Tillage;" "Making New Soils," and nearly fifty others. In Vol. II. : "The Control of Temperature and Rainfall;"

The Cold Frame;" "The Hotbed;" and kindred subjects. In ing and Budding;" "Plant Habits;" Vol. III. "Plant Lives;" "Graft

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