Board of Domestic Missions.-To the Presbyteries-Letter from a Missionary-Receipts....... ...73 Board of Publication.-An Important Field-Testimony from the Pacific Coast-Colportage Work- ........ 101 THE DAYS RECOMMENDED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY FOR COLLECTIONS IN 1869, ARE THE FOLLOWING: January 3....... For Board of Foreign Missions. FORM OF BEQUEST TO ANY OF THE BOARDS. The State laws differ so much, that no one form will answer in all the States, but in every case it is essential to give the RIGHT CORPORATE NAME, The Board of Domestic Missions is incorporated in Pennsylvania, under the title of "The Trustees of the Board of Domestic Missions of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America." Of the Board of Education the corporate name is "The Trustees of the Board of Education of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America." The Board of Foreign Missions is incorporated under the laws of New York, under the style of "The Board of Foreign Missions of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America." The Board of Publication is incorporated under the laws of Pennsylvania, under the style of “The Trustees of the Presbyterian Board of Publication." The Board of Church Extension of the General Assembly is not incorporated, but the following form of bequest, it is supposed, would be valid:"I bequeath to my executors the sum of dollars, in trust, to pay over the same in after my decease, to the person who, when the same shall be payable, shall act as Treasurer of the Board of Church Extension of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America, located in the City of St. Louis, Missouri, to be applied to the uses and purposes of said Board, and under its directions; and the receipt of the said 'Treasurer shall be a full and legal acquittance of my said executors for the same." The Fund for the relief of Disabled Ministers, and the Needy Widows and Orphans of Deceased Ministers, is under the care of the Trustees of the General Assembly, who give the following form:I give and bequeath to my executors hereinafter named, dollars, in trust. nevertheless that they shall, within months after my decease, pay the same to George H. Van Gelder, Treasurer of the Trustees of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America, or to his successor for the time being in said office, for the use of such disabled ministers and their families as the said the Trustees of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America shall or may designate." When real estate or other property is given, let it be particularly designated. We fear that an impression prevails, that, in consequence of the present improved financial condition of the Board, we are able to grant almost any amount of money that may be applied for. It is true, the receipts of the Board have been unusually large during the last three months, but it should be recollected that we have paid off a debt of more than $15,000, which had been incurred during the past summer and fall; restored the salaries of the missionaries, which had been reduced twentyfive per cent.; made numerous appointments, which had been declined during the former part of the past year, for want of funds; and have also made many new appointments; all which have already greatly increased the liabilities of the Board; so that the balance on hand will not be much more than sufficient to meet those which will mature between this time and the month of November, when the treasury may be expected to be replenished by the usual annual contributions of the churches. In view of the facts above stated, we respectfully request the Presbyteries not to apply, in any case, for more than is really necessary; not to recommend aid to churches which could, and therefore ought to, be self-sustaining; and to refrain from new enterprises which are not promising; and to co-operate with the Board in so husbanding the missionary fund as to be able to occupy fields of present importance and great prospective usefulness. ceived your's. I am deeply indebted to you for the interest you take in me and my field. You deserve a full account of its position and its prospects, and you shall have it. A field more in need of faithful Christianizing labour I believe does not exist in the West. In as far as they have here been almost entirely cut off from ministerial labour of any kind. My field embraces the whole county of Clark, fifty-four by thirty-two miles; so far there is no minister of any kind within it but myself. The northern half of the county is as yet pine forest and unsettled, but the southern half, twenty-five by thirty miles, is pretty well settled; the population amounting to upward of five thousand. The county is of splendid soil, well adapted to agriculture when cleared, and the timber is valuable. But the distance of sixty miles from the nearest railroad station, and that through miserable soil, has prevented that influx of population which might be expected from the local advantages. A railway is now about to be started from Green Bay to Lake Pepin, to commence this fall, which will pass through the county, when this cannot possibly but become one of the most thickly settled and enterprising sections in the Northwest. There are one hundred miles of the finest pine timber all around us to the northward. So much as to the generalities of the place. As to the particular work in which I am engaged. My headquarters is Neillsville, the county town, a village of about five hundred inhabitants, and increasing rapidly for such an out of the way place. In Neillsville I have on Sundays an attendance of about sixty to ninety at public worship. I have just organized a Sabbath-school and have over twenty pupils, with the expectation of a large increase. smaller village of about one hundred inhabitants lies two miles west called Weston. I have there attendance at preaching of from forty to sixty, and a Sabbath school running from ten to thirty. It being the first time a Sabbathschool was ever tried there, the children are very irregular in their attendance. Farther north, in No. 26, there is a large settlement which I have not yet been able to visit, but where I go tomorrow fortnight; they have been requesting me to visit them, and preach to them. Towards the east I have been twice. One station is about twelve miles, and the other about eighteen miles, where I have splendid meetings of very attentive and seemingly sincere people. But until this summer, although some of them have been there for eleven years, they have never had preaching. Another school-house about six miles distant on the same road east, is a good station where I have been asked to preach. To the northeast about eight miles, there is a preaching station where they are very anxious to have service. To the west about four miles distant is a good station where any preacher who have chanced to come A along have had good attendances, where I go next Sunday. To the south there is a field worth cultivating, but I have had as yet no request from them and I have thought it the wiser plan to go quietly to work, allowing them first to express a wish that I should visit them, rather than to force myself upon them. Altogether there are in what is now my diocese, no less than nine preaching stations at which an average attendance of sixty at each is certain, and which I am trying to get into some sort of plan so that I can visit them regularly in rotation. As to the inhabitants, they are from all countries. American, Scotch, and English are the chief, then a few Dutch. The Scotch and English together comprise about a third of the whole, the Dutch about a fourth, and the American the rest. From all that I can gather in my visiting, I conclude that fully one-half of the population have before coming here attended Presbyterian churches, and been brought up as Presbyterians. Here there have been almost no baptisms administered; except in one family, I have not come across a child that is baptized. Families who emigrated with children, have all those born before they came here baptized; but it seems when they stepped into this section of country they stepped outside the pale of the Church's care. In the Scotch and English settlements especially, I have found devoted adherents of the Presbyterian Church. If all were actuated by a sincere desire for the support of gospel ordinances among them, they would have very little difficulty in supporting a minister, but they have been so long neglected that all are careless. In a few years, with the blessing of God and the expected increase of population, I have no doubt but that we can have a strong self-supporting church in the country. The material is good; an intelligent, enterprising, thinking people they are, and withal kind; but profane swearing and Sabbath-breaking are rampant evils. In addition to the population mentioned, about three thousand lumbermen pass through this place fall and spring, from the pineries, for whom nothing has as yet been done by the Church. Winter after winter they congregate in the woods, and for four or five months never hear of such a thing as religion. My intention is to visit them once or twice during the winter, to circulate religious literature, and preach as I can get opportunity. Altogether the field. is a very necessitous one, and one in which, if the Lord bless our labours, a rich harvest may be expected. Concerning myself I have little to say, I am labouring as I can, but have not yet thought it prudent to bring before the people generally the subject of my support. Some of my friends say they will have no difficulty in raising between two and three hundred dollars. Meantime nothing has been done, and I begin to be very much straitened. I have gone to expense in moving my family here, and am pecuniarily in such a position that if I wished to give up the field and move away I could not do it. But I trust in the Lord, and I am trying to do good. I do hope that the Board will be able to make an allowance for this field, else I, looking to the future, see only darkness as to the support of my little family. I trust I have made the state of this field pretty well known to you. Again I thank you for your interest in it and me, and hope the Church will not be under the necessity of casting us off. I shall try and organize Sabbath-schools throughout the country sections, but teachers there are scarce. I may mention that a melodeon has been provided specially for Presbyterian meetings, to lead in the praise of God. My hopes for the field, after a year or so, are very good. Believe me, Yours very sincerely, RECEIPTS FOR DOMESTIC MISSIONS IN FEBRUARY, 1869. SYNOD OF ALBANY.-Pby of Albany-Northamp ton ch 4 50; Northville ch 2 50; State St ch, Albany, add'l 50. Pby of Mohawk-Oneida Castle ch 14; Dunhamville ch 4. Pby of TroySandy Hill ch 25; Cambridge ch 17 70 $117 70 SYNOD OF ALLEGHENY.-Pby of Allegheny-Union ch 15; Concord ch 15 30; Clintonville ch 7 40; North Butler ch 5 20. Pty of Allegheny CityBridgewater ch 55 39; Fairmount ch 7; 1st Ger ch, Allegheny 4 16; North ch, Allegheny, add'l 10 Ply of Beaver Mt Pleasant ch 20. Phy of Erie-Mercer 1st ch, "dying gift of Mrs S B Nickum" 25, from a member 15 40; Waterloo ch 4 183 45 SYNOD OF BALTIMORE.-Pby of Atlantic-James Island ch 5; Goodwill ch 10. Pby of CatawbaLexington ch 5. Pby of Baltimore-Baltimore 1st ch 1500; Westminster ch, Baltimore, add'l 500; Broadway ch. add'l, from the Sab-sch 13 25. Poy of Carlisle-Mercersburg ch, Female Miss'y Soc'y 34; Millerstown ch 29 35; Newport ch 18 10; Mouth of the Juniata ch 10; Dickinson ch 13; Fayetteville ch 18. Pby of Lewes-Rehoboth ch 5 50; Pitts Creek ch 37 75, of which 17 from Newtown Sab-sch; Greensboro ch 2 25; Coolspring ch 12; Blackwater ch 6 60. Pby of Potomac-Bridge St ch, Georgetown 46 97 2.266 77 SYNOD OF BUFFALO.-Pby of Ogdensburg-Oswegatchie 1st ch 70. Pby of Rochester City-Wheatland ch 31; Phelps 1st ch Sab-sch 25; Webster ch. add'l 10 75 136 75 SYNOD OF CHICAGO.-Pby of Bureau-Osco ch 10; New Boston ch 5. Pby of Chicago-Zion Ger ch 10; Harvard ch 3; Oswego ch 5. Ply of Rock River-Galena South ch 34 08. Ply of SchuylerWestminster ch, Quincy 20 50; Vermont ch, add'l from Astoria 5; Fountain Green ch 23; Carthage eh 33. Pby of Warren-Monmouth ch Sab-sch 33: Prairie City ch 5 186 58 SYNOD OF CINCINNATI.-Pby of Chillicothe-Greenfield 1st ch 29. Pby of Cincinnati-Cumminsville ch 11; Seventh ch, Cincinnati Sab-sch 107 92; Walnut Hills ch, a balance 11; Pleasant Run ch 10. Pby of Miami-Dayton 3d ch Sabsch 45; Dick's Creek ch 12 75; Clifton ch, 102 10, of which 10 from the Ladies' Benevolent Soc'y. Pby of Oxford-Hamilton ch, add'l 36 16. Phy of Sidney-Turtle Creek ch, 19 15. of which 8 60 from Sab-sch; Piqua 1st ch 60; Urbana 1st ch 16 30; Sidney ch 10; 1st ch West Liberty 12 69 483 07 SYNOD OF ILLINOIS.-Pby of Bloomington-"C" 10; Brenton ch 10; Corell ch 5 85; Cheney's Grove ch 1 85; Salem ch 20. Fby of KaskaskiaElm Point ch 14 30; Carlyle ch 6 10. Pby of Palestine-York ch 3 20. Pby of Peoria-DelaVan ch 45; Canton ch 20. Pby of Saline-Pisgah oh 10; Friendsville ch 23; Sharon ch 2 25; J. M. Carmi ch, add'l 1 30; Timberville ch 3. Pby of Sangamon-Petersburg ch 75; Taylorville ch 4 254 85 SYNOD OF INDIANA-Synodical Collection 38. Pby of Indianapolis-Acton ch 6. Pby of Madison -Lexington ch 16 65; Union ch 10; Graham ch 7 15. Pby of New Albany-Jefferson ch 53 25. Pby of Vincennes-Indiana ch 18. Pby of White Water-Dunlapsville ch 6 50 155 55 SYNOD OF IOWA.-Pby of Dubuque-Independ ence ch 12. Pby of Vinton-Toledo ch 10; Tama City ch 2 50; Buckeye and York chs 2; West Irving ch 2 50 29 00 SYNOD OF KANSAS-Pby of Highland-Geary City ch 5. Pby of Leavenworth-Leavenworth let ch Sab-sch 9; Paola ch 5. Pby of Topeka-Topeka ch 10 29 00 SYNOD OF KENTUCKY.-Pby of Ebenezer-Maysville ch 36 07. Pby of Louisville-Shelbyville ch 55. Pby of Muhlenburg-Salem ch 5. Pby of West Lexington-Lexington 1st ch 30 126 07 SYNOD OF MISSOURI.-Pby of Lafayette Warrensburg ch 27. Pby of St Louis-Emanuel ch 5 65; Carondelet ch 14. Pby of Palmyra-Kirksville ch 15; Hannibal 1st ch 50; Clarence ch 5; Shelbyville ch 10. Phy of Southwest Missouri-Ebenezer and Mt Vernon chs 18 40; Mission Field of Rev John McFarland 1. Pby of Upper Missouri-Blackbird Hills ch 7; Savannali ch 30; Graham ch 6; Sullivan ch 7; Hamilton ch 5 201 05 SYNOD OF NASHVILLE-Pby of Holston-Madisonville ch 15. Pby of Nashville-Nashville 2d ch 107 76. Pby of New Orleans-Maguolia ch 5 127 76 SYNOD OF NEW JERSEY.-Pby of BurlingtonAllentown ch 250. Pby of Elizabethtown-New Vernon ch 30. Pby of Luzerne-Scranton Ger ch 3; Tamaqua ch 20; Northmoreland ch 3 70; Port Carbon ch 25. Pby of Monmouth-Tennent ch 200; Red Bank ch, add'l 20; Holmanville ch 6; Toms River ch 5 80. Pby of New BrunswickHightstown ch 33 02; Trenton 3d ch 111 30; Cranberry 1st ch 155 70. Pby of Newton-Stillwater ch 33 77; Stewartsville ch 80 88; Greenwich 1st ch 147 29; Upper Mt Bethel ch 2; Harmony ch 71 25. Pby of Raritan-Amwell 1st ch 25; Lambertville ch, a special col 86 25; Amwell 2d ch 29. Pby of Susquehanna-Towanda ch, add'l 4; Fall Brook ch 5 70; Rome ch 3; Stevensville ch 6; Rushville ch 4. Pby of West Jersey→→→ Absecon ch 6; Brainerd ch 10; Woodstown ch 11 05 1391 71 SYNOD OF NEW YORK.-Pby of Connecticut→→ South Salem ch, W F Benevolent Soc'y 37 50; Bedford ch, Ladies' Miss'y Soc'y 50. Pby of Hudson--Bloomingburg ch 9. Puy of Long Island -Fresh Pond ch 24. Pby of New York-First ch, New York 6002 75 of which 3750 from JL; Fifteenth St ch, New York 60; Westminster ch, New York 86 60; Stony Point ch, add'l 10; Fourth ch, New York 700 28; Nyack ch 16 67. Ply of New York 2d-First ch. Hamden 25. Poy of North River-New Hamburg ch 20 7041 80 SYNOD OF N. INDIANA-Pby of Crawfordsville-Union ch 8 60; Bethel ch ch 7 95; Carpentersville ch 5; 1st ch. Thorntown 23 85; Darlington ch 6 90. Pby of Fort Wayne-Highland ch 2; Princeton ch 6 50; Pleasant Grove ch 4 50; Bluffton ch Sab-sch 5; Eel River ch 7 10. Pby of Lake-Laporte 1st ch, add'l 10; Crown Point ch 19 61; Hebron ch 3; Constantine ch 15 50 125 51 SYNOD OF OHIO.-Pby of Columbus-Columbus 1st ch 61 43. Pby of Hocking-New Plymouth ch 8; Gallipolis ch 10; Portsmouth Ger ch Sab-sch 2 75, F Hoesh 13 75. Pty of Marion-Marion ch 16. Pby of Wooster-Berlin ch 10; Jeromeville ch 8 08; Jackson ch 21 30. Phy of Zanesville -Salem Ger ch 11 12; Zanesville 1st ch 27 30; Rush Creek ch 10; Bethel ch 10 196 98 SYNOD OF PACIFIC.-Pby of California-Larkin St ch, San Francisco 24 75. Pby of OregonBrownsville ch 19 50; Diamond Hiils ch 6 50 50 75 SYNOD OF PHILADELPHIA.-Pby of DonegalColumbia ch 82 20; Slate Ridge ch 32; New Harmony ch 15 60. Pby of Huntingdon-Waynesburg ch 69; Mifflintown and Lost Creek ch 101 25; Lick Run ch 10: Shirleysburg ch 21; Bethel'ch 12. Phy of New Castle-Kennett Square ch 15; Oxford ch, add'l 2. Pby of Northumberland-Great Island ch 109; Lewisburg ch, add'l 11, Milton ch 161; Shamokintown ch 63 50; Williamsport ch, add'l 100; Bloomsburg ch 131 50, of which 12 from Infant Sab-sch class. Pby of Philadelphia-Second ch Phila, from a member 200, of which 100 for California; Arch St ch, Phila, add'l, from W ES 5; 10th ch Phila, from a lady 20; 6th ch Phila 38; Rev A Heberton 5; 7th ch Phila 379 28. Pby of Philadelphia Central-Spring Garden ch Sab-sch 44 05; North ch 216 69; Princeton ch 64 53. Pby of Philadelphia 2dBrainerd ch, Easton, Juv Miss'y Soc'y 300; Catasauqua ch 20; Easton 1st ch, add'l 100; Plumsteadville ch 9 29, of which 75 cts from little Loutia, aged 8 years; Neshaminy ch, add'l 7 35, of which, 3 25contents of Ettie's and Jimmie's missionary box;" Pottstown ch 30; Frankford ch 160 2,535 24 SYNOD OF PITTSBURGH.-Pby of Blairsville-Unity ch 94. Ply of Ohio-Temperanceville ch 10; Lawrenceville ch 51 28; 6th ch Pittsburgh 298 44; Mingo ch 32; Fairview ch 12. Pby of Redstone-Mt Washington ch 6; Connellsville ch 115 30; Spring Hill ch, from Mary J Stentz 3 622 02 SYNOD OF ST PAUL-Pby of Chippewa-Hixton ch 3; Black River Falls ch 3 70; Houston ch 12. Pby of St Paul-Big River ch 5 50; Vermillion ch 16; Farmington ch 19; Empire ch & South Bend ch 10; Harrison ch 3. Pby of S Minnesota -Fremont ch 11 65; Preston ch, in part 5; Stewartsville ch 8; Eyota ch 1; Plainview ch 1; Utica ch 1; Janesville ch 1; Waseca ch 1; Lake City ch 20; Kasson ch 2; Rushford ch 12 143 85 SYNOD OF SANDUSKY.-Phy of Findlay-Arcadia ch 7; Johnstown and Riley Creek chs 2. Phy of Maumee-West Unity ch 5; Napoleon 1st ch 9 23 00 SYNOD OF SOUTHERN IOWA.-Pty of Des MoinesOskaloosa ch 20; Hartford ch 9; Indianola ch 8 30; White Oak ch 5 25. Phy of Fairfield-- Bentonsport ch 16 10; Bloomfield ch 2 50; Crawfordsville ch, from Wm Brown 10 37. Pby of IowaTrenton ch 5; Mt Pleasant ch 94 69. Pby of Mis souri River-Bedford ch 5; Brownville ch 38; Pawnee City ch 10 224 21 SYNOD OF WHEELING.-Pby of New Lisbon-New Lisbon 1st ch 20. Pby of Steubenville-Steubenville 2d ch 318 30, of which 43 30 from Sab-sch; Ridge ch 24 25; Two Ridges ch 82; Centre ch 5; Smithfield ch 5. Pby of Washington-Holliday's Cove ch 12; Three Springs ch 6; Waynesburg ch 7 43: West Alexander ch, in part 5: Fairview ch, add'l 2; 1st ch Wheeling 64; Burgettstown ch 45. LEGACIES.-Balance of legacy of Eleanor G Scott, late of Baltimore, Md 53 48, less expenses 251 48; Legacy of Mrs Mary Cotterall. late of Fox Chase, Pa 1,138 37, less taxes 124 66 = 1,013 71; Estate of Chas Smith, dec'd, late of Jamaica, Long Island. N Y 336 75; Patterson estate, Pittsburgh, Pa 11 32 1,413 26 MISCELLANEOUS.-A T Williams, Esq. Washington, Ohio 1.000; P," through Rev H R Wilson, D.D., 100: S M, Thompsonville, Pa 12; A V CS5; A C and Maria Gilchrist 1 each 2; Anonymous, Monticello, Ind 20; Fannettsburg, Pa, from CC 4, and G S 15: Rev NS Lowrie, Gorham, NY 3; A widow, 1st ch Harrisburg, Pa 3; Sundry persons, through Alfred Martien, Esq 259 45; Mrs E R King 20; Mrs Louisa J Bruen 500; Religious Contribution Soc'y of Princeton Theological Sem'y 78 75; Mrs E 8 Bell, Hillsboro', Ohio 3; Mrs M A Urmston 5 2.016 20 Total Receipts in February, 1869, $20,884 86 No. 907 Arch Street, Philadelphia. |