Resolved, 4. That the attention of all the Presbyteries and Synods be again called to the imperative need of better arrangements for the reporting of the Narrative, and to that end the Assembly would suggest to each of them that there be a Standing Committee of at least three rotating members, together with the Moderator and Stated Clerk, ex officio, making five, to prepare the Narrative, and that a period of at least one hour be allotted to the Report at the close of a morning session of the judicatory, to be accompanied with exercises of praise and prayer.

Resolved, 5. That the Stated Clerks of Synods be and are hereby appointed as advisory members of the General Assembly's Special Committee on the Narrative of Christian Life and Work, and that the Synods be requested to direct the said Clerks to cooperate with the Committee in the preparation of the Narrative for the Assembly.

Resolved, 6. That the Narrative of the Special Committee, when approved by the Assembly, be printed in full in the Appendix to the Minutes.

Resolved, 7. That the Assembly recognizes, with gratitude to God, what has been done by the Presbyterian Brotherhood, the Men and Religion Movement, and other efforts for the improvement of spiritual conditions in our country, conducted by men's organizations. It is certain, however, that there should be a closer relation between all such movements and the churches, and the Committee on Christian Life and Work is charged with the duty of conferring with the leaders of such movements, with a view to bringing them into closer unity with other departments of church work.

Resolved, 8. That the churches are again advised, wherever the way is clear, to unite with the churches of other denominations in the communities in which they are located, for the purpose of carrying on cooperative Christian work. Resolved, 9. That the Committee is specially charged with the duty of cooperation with all movements within the Church for Evangelistic Work and Social Service.

Resolved, 10. That the Form of the Narrative of Christian Life and Work, with all related Statistical Blanks and Reports, be again referred to the Committee, to report to the next Assembly.

Resolved, 11. That the Committee on Christian Life and Work communicate with the Presbyteries on the subject of the laws of the States and of the United States both as to Marriage and Divorce, recommending action by each, in order to secure proper regulations by the State in connection with Marriage, and also to secure such legislation as will make the laws of Divorce more strict and more nearly in accordance with the law of God.

Resolved, 12. That the Assembly commends to the Synods, Presbyteries, congregations and generous individuals, the various interests of Home Missions, National, Synodical and Presbyterial, within the bounds of this Church, with a view to providing an adequate support for the ministry of the Gospel in the 4,000 weak and mission congregations.

In behalf of the Committee,

*For Resolutions one (1) to three (3), see p. 27.

JOHN F. CARSON, Chairman.
WM. H. ROBERTS, Secretary.

WM. HENRY ROBERTS, Stated Clerk.

CORRESPONDENCE.

I. REPORT OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMISSION OF THE ALLIANCE OF THE REFORMED CHURCHES THROUGHOUT THE WORLD HOLDING THE PRESBYTERIAN SYSTEM.

To the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the U. S. A.:

DEAR BRETHREN: The Western Section of the Executive Commission of the Alliance of Reformed Churches throughout the World holding the Presbyterian System respectfully presents its annual report for the year 1911-1912, under the following heads:

1. MEETING. The Commission, during the year 1911-1912, has held one meeting, the place being the Central Presbyterian Church of New York City, and the time February 6 and 7, 1912. The Chairman, the Rev. James I. Good, D.D., presided; and the Commission was honored first by a reception given to it by the Presbyterian Union of New York City at the Hotel Savoy on the evening of February 6, at which addresses were made by the Rev. Drs. Good, Radcliffe and Scrimger. The Commission was also entertained at luncheon by members of the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church on February 7.

2. OFFICERS.-The officers for the present year are: Chairman, the Rev. John Scrimger, D.D.; Vice-Chairman, Rev. R. H. Fleming, D.D.; Recording Secretary, Rev. J. C. Scouller, D.D.; Treasurer, Mr. Philip E. Howard; Chairman of the Executive Committee, Gen. R. E. Prime. The American Secretary of the Alliance, the Rev. W. H. Roberts, D.D., is Secretary of the Western Section. 3. NECROLOGY.-During the year the Alliance has been called upon to record the departure from this life of two of its members: first, the Rev. Henry C. McCook, D.D., LL.D., Sc.D., one of the oldest and most active members of the body, and one of the chief workers in making the second council of the Alliance, held in Philadelphia, in 1880, a great success. He died October 30,

1911.

The other member whom we mourn, died shortly after the adjournment of the Commission, the Hon. William M. Lanning, U. S. Circuit Judge, one of the most distinguished members of the legal profession, and an earnest and devoted member of the Commission. He died February 16, 1912.

4. WORLD EVANGELISTIC MOVEMENT.-The work connected with the movement for a world-wide revival of religion has been continued through the year, and with increased prospect, from a human viewpoint, of success. The need is everywhere regarded as deep. During the fall the American Secretary visited Great Britain and Switzerland, and found that the Churches of these lands were in full sympathy with every movement having in view the spiritual awakening of the unconverted masses in their own and other nations. Committees have been formed, as already intimated, for the Churches of Australia. Canada and Ireland. Communications have also been addressed to several other Churches in the Alliance asking the appointment of committees, and drawing attention especially to the fact that what is proposed is not great meetings in the large centres of population, but a quiet, patient work in very congregation, with a view of deepening and strengthening the spiritual life of Christians and of securing the conversion of the unconverted. It has also been suggested that so far as committees shall have been appointed by the Churches of the Alliance, that the chairman, or other representatives of such committees, should meet at Aberdeen, Scotland, June 18, 1913, for conference as to this proposed world-wide work. Such a conference would enable the committees entrusted with this work to arrive at general conclusions which would be of practical value in connection with the movement in every country; and, as has been often said, no grander monument to the lives and works of the great reformers, such as Calvin and Luther, would be more appropriate, than a world-wide revival in religion.

5. WORK IN EUROPE.-France.-The tremendous outgoing from the Roman Catholic Church is still in full force. Never since the Reformation has there been such an exodus. The constituency of that Church in this nation has been reduced from about 35,000,000 to 6,000,000. The serious feature is, however, that the exodus is away from religion to indifferentism or infidelity.

Germany and Switzerland.-Rationalism still continues its insidious work in these lands. There are, however, signs of change wich are gratifying and hopeful. In the National Church of Geneva at present only eight ministers are rationalists out of forty. The Christian world is to be congratulated that, after one hundred and fifty years of Unitarian control, the ministers of this Church are now so largely returning to the Evangelical faith. What is true in Switzerland, is, to a considerable extent, true in Germany. The Orthodox Protestantism of these countries is beginning to realize the seriousness of conditions, and has begun to move aggressively for a change, which shall bring about an increase in spirituality and make Europe what it was in early Reformation days-a great reservoir of genuine religious and spiritual forces.

Bohemia. The Protestant Christians of this land are very busy preparing for the five hundredth anniversary of the martyrdom of John Huss. There will be three celebrations in the anniversary year 1915-one Protestant, a second Catholic and the third Bohemian. Of course the great public celebration will be the chief one, and in connection with it there will be erected a great monument to the Reformers. There can be no question that the Presbyterian and Reformed Churches of the world, should aid the Reformed Church of Bohemia in its efforts to erect a Huss House, a building for a theological seminary and to secure an endowment. This is the psychological moment to do something for Bohemia.

English Summer Services.-Services have been held during the summer under the auspices of the Churches connected with the Western Section; at the Hague, in Holland, by the Reformed Church in America, at Frankfort, Germany; by a committee of the Presbyterian General Assembly and by Dr. Good, at Zurich, Switzerland. We desire to emphasize that there is no more important or imperative mission work than that of taking care of the spiritual needs of the increasing number of Americans who are tourists or who reside temporarily in Europe. These brethren are not at home in churches of other lands and can be best ministered to by Americans.

6. FOREIGN MISSIONS.-The Committee on Foreign Missions draws attention in its report to the extraordinary and highly significant upheavals taking place in widely separated parts of the world, the most notable being the revolution in China. The transformations which are in progress deepen greatly the responsibility resting upon the Christian Churches and their missionaries. The Churches represented in the Western Section of the Alliance are doing a large work in all the non-Christian lands. They are belting the globe with the message of salvation, and prosecuting the work of missions in 24 different countries. The work is in charge of 1,727 white missionaries; there are 7,160 native workers; the communicants number 178,629, and the sums expended aggregate more than $3,000,000, but the situation demands a large increase both of the number of missionaries and of financial resources.

Some of the chief obstacles in the way of the progress of Foreign Missions are to be found in the anti-Christian influences at home and the conduct of a certain class of white men in Asia and Africa. The peoples of these two continents regard every white man as a Christian, and the evil lives of dissolute whites constitute a very great barrier to the spread of Christianity among them. This injurious contact is not confined to individuals. It is unhappily true that the relations of the governments of the West to the governments of Asia and Africa have not always been characterized by the Christian spirit. The irritation developed by the misconduct of individuals has been intensified by the commercial and political aggressions of so-called Christian nations. It is also greatly to be regretted that officials of our own nation should give dinners and receptions on Sundays to high officials of Asiatic nations visiting the country. These pagan officials consider America a Christian land, where Christian ideas are dominant, and many of them find that Christian teachings are wholly ignored by their officials entertainers, so far as the observance of the Sabbath is concerned. This condition of things should not continue.

Especial attention is called to the fact that while the Presbyterian and