The General Assembly [pp. 545-580]

The General-Assembly.
ever, is principally from various societies outside of our Church,
and from the Government. The receipts from collections alone,
are slightly in advance of last year. It is a melancholy fact,
that out of our 2879 churches, but 1350 have made any contribution during the last year-less than half of all of them;
and yet an instance has never been known by the Board in
which, when this cause was presented to the people, they did
not respond to it. The Board feel some uneasiness as to their
finances for the future. Of necessity they have been compelled
to enlarge their plans, and this will require a larger amount of
funds. The Church can easily furnish all necessary means if
she will. At present, taking the average of all her members,
they do not give one penny a week to this object! He believed
our Church could give $1,000,000 a year to Foreign Missions
-it would be but $5 a year from each member-or taking all
who are accustomed to give into the account, not more than
$2 or $3 from each donor. The financial affairs of this Board
are satisfactorily conducted-three of the largest donors being
members of the Executive Committee, who must know how
things stand. The executive expenses of every kind at the
office at home, are believed to be considerably less than those
of any similar institution in the country. They amount to
about eight per cent. on the whole receipts.
The Rev. Mr. Armstrong, Chairman of the Committee on
the Board of Foreign Missions, presented the following resolutions:
The Committee to whom was referred the Report of the
Board of Foreign Missions, having examined that report with
as much care as the time allowed them would permit, recommend to the Assembly that it be approved, and printed for circulation, as in former years.
They would also offer the following resolutions, as embodying
the results of their examination of this report of the labours
of our Board of Foreign Missions during the year past, viz.
1. Resolved, That in the success with which efforts in the
Foreign Missionary field have been crowned during the year,
there is much occasion for devout thanksgiving to the great
Head of the Church, and for an increase in our faith in the
blessed promise given in connection with the missionary com
548
[JULY,