V. The Synod of Genesee, containing the Presbyteries of 1. Ontario, 2. Rochester, S. Genesee, 4. Niagara, 5. Buffalo.

The Synod of Philadelphia, containing the Presbyteries of 1. Philadelphia, 2. Newcastle, 3. Lewes, 4. Baltimore, 5. The District of Columbia, 6. Carlisle, 7. Huntingdon, 8. Northumberland.

VII. The Synod of Pittsburg, containing the Presbyteries of L Allegheny, 2. Erie, S. Hartford, 4. Redstone, 5. Steubenville, 6. Washington, 7. Ohio.

VIII. The Synod of the Western Reserve, containing the Presbyteries of 1. Detroit, 2. Grand River, S. Portage, 4. Huron, 5. Trumbull.

IX. The Synod of Ohio, containing the Presbyteries of 1. Columbus, 2. Richland, 3. Chillicothe, 4. Lancaster, 5. Athens, 6. Miami, 7, Cincinnati.

X. The Synod of Indiana, containing the Presbyteries of 1. Salem, 2. Madison, S. Wabash, 4. Missouri.

XI. The Synod of Kentucky, containing the Presbyteries of 1. Louisville, 2. Muhlenburg, S. Transylvania, 4. West Lexington, 5. Ebenezer.

XII. The Synod of Virginia, containing the Presbyteries of 1. Winchester, 2. Hanover, S. Lexington.

XIII. The Synod of North Carolina, containing the Presbyteries of 1. Orange, 2. Fayetteville, S. Concord, 4. Mecklenburg.

XIV. The Synod of Tennessee, containing the Presbyteries of 1. Abingdon, 2. Union, S. Holston, 4. French Broad.

XV. The Synod of West Tennessee, containing the Presbyteries of 1. West Tennessee, 2. Shiloh, S. Mississippi, 4. North Alabama. XVI. The Synod of South Carolina and Georgia, containing the Presbyteries of 1. South Carolina, 2. Bethel, 3. Hopewell, 4. Charleston Union, 5. Harmony, 6. Georgia, 7. South Alabama.

The foregoing 16 SYNODS comprehend 90 PRESBYTERIES, under whose watch and government, are returned Twelve Hundred and Eighty Five ordained Ministers; 194 licensed preachers; 242 candidates for the gospel ministry, who are pursuing their studies; 1968 churches; and 146,808 communicants, of whom 15, 095 were added the last year, on examination, or by certificate. If we subtract the communicants removed by certificate from one church to another, and those removed by death, we shall find the actual increase of communicants, in the year ending May 1st 1828, to be 11,025; and the acutal increase in the year ending May 1st 1827, amounted to 7,793. The increase of the last year was greater than in the year previous, by 3,230.

The adults baptized the last year were 3,389; and the infants 10,790; making a total of 14,179 baptisms; which exceed those of the year ending May 1st 1827, by 785.

From six Presbyteries no returns have been made this year, of additions to the church, baptisms and pecuniary collections. In the eighty-four Presbyteries which have reported, are included several hundred churches which have made no returns, last year, to their res pective Presbyteries.

The funds collected and reported in the following tables, are 823,993. 59 for Missionary purposes; 82,851. 56 to defray the tra velling expenses of commissioners to the General Assembly; $516. 13 for the clerk hire, and other contingent expenses of Presbyteries; $3,353.69 in aid of Theological Seminaries; and $8,023.29 for the education of poor and pious youth who have in view the gospel ministry.

The vacant churches actually returned are 591; but we may safe ly say, since six Presbyteries are not brought into the account, that there are now 636 churches, duly organized in our connexion, which have neither pastors nor stated preachers; nor any but occasional Missionaries to break unto them the bread of life. Our licentiates and candidates amount to no more than 456 persons; so that were they all actually settled in our vacancies, 200 congregations would remain destitute of spiritual guides. Before, however, our candidates can be fitted for, and introduced to their work, new congregations will be multiplied more rapidly than preachers; unless our la mentable deficiency in the number of our labourers should discourage their organization in the Presbyterian form. Of our ministers, 226 supply 502 churches; being intrusted with from two to four each. Of our ministers, thirty are pastors of congregational churches, not under the care of any Presbytery.

ADDRESS OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
OF THF BOARD OF MISSIONS OF THE

PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.

To the Churches and Congregations under the care of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States.

FRIENDS AND BRETHREN,-The Executive Committee of the Board of Missions, recently appointed by the supreme judicature of our Church, beg leave affectionately to address you, on the unspeakably important concern of Christian Missions. Among the many and solemn duties devolved upon the committee, we consider this as one of the greatest importance, and as one that first demands attention. We so consider it, because it really depends on you, under

God, whether our appointment shall be useful or useless. Without your countenance and patronage we can do nothing; but if you favour our views and operations, we do hope to be the humble instruments in the hand of our dear and common Lord, to promote his cause and kingdom-may we presume to say extensively.

BRETHREN,-At the lowest estimate, there cannot be much short of five hundred millions of immortal beings of our fallen race-sinners like ourselves-who have never so much as beard the name of that Saviour in whom is all the sinner's hope. The three hundred remaining millions, which go to make up the population of our globe, are largely composed of Jews, Mahometans, blind adherents to the Roman and Greek superstitions, heretics, formalists, and nominal Christians of all descriptions-leaving the true disciples of Christ, the real children of God, emphatically "a little flock." And if our Divine Redeemer had not commanded this little flock "not to fear," they might well tremble when they contemplate the situation in which they are placed: and if he had not assured them that "it is their Father's good pleasure to give them the kingdom," and that "the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High," they night at once give up the hope that the mighty host of their enemies who are also the enemies of God and of his truth, shall eventually be subdued, and become the willing and obedient subjects of our Lord and Sa viour Jesus Christ. But having such assurance, we faint not; we distrust not; we doubt not Zion's king is Almighty. "Hath he said, and shall he not do it?" When we look to him, and think of his sure word of prophesy and promise, we see, that let the powers of earth and hell be what they may, still there is, by an infinite disparity, more for us than there is or can be against us; and with unwavering confidence, we look forward to the time, when "the kingdoms of the world shall become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ."

But it must be remembered, brethren, that although in accomplishing this mighty and desirable change, "the excellency of the power will be of God," so that his may be all the glory, yet it is equally true, that in performing his great work, he will make use of human instrumentality, at every step. Yes, and he will make it an awakened, active, energetic instrumentality-an instrumentality that will cry nightily to him in the prayer of faith; and will not rest in prayer without alms-without giving much and doing much-without being devoted unreservedly, in talents, character, influence, property, and effort, to the accomplishment of the destined object.

It is a most encouraging fact, that after a sleep of ages, the church

militant has, within half a century, bugun to awake, and that moṛe as been done, within less than that period, for the conversion of the world, than in the fifteen preceding centuries. Every denomination of Christians, holding the leading doctrines of the Protestant refornation, is now engaged in missionary enterprises, both foreign and lomestic. Yet in none of these churches is the missionary spirit o much awake as it ought to be, and as it must be, before the glorius things foretold in scripture prophecy can receive their accomlishment. As a part or portion of the church universal, the church o which we belong is, we verily believe, chargeable with great and riminal neglect; nor are we ignorant that much of this neglect has by some been imputed to that Board of Missions, to which we have ucceeded. But the minutes of that Board are in our possession, and we hesitate not to say, that we are persuaded that no missiontry association in our country, has made a better or more efficient ise, than that Board, of the funds put at its disposal. The truth is, that of late, the greater part of the missionary concerns of our church, from causes which we shall not now investigate-have passed into other hands than their own-into hands, we admit, that have been neither inactive nor unsuccessful in their management; and in whose success we, with others, most sincerely rejoice. But let not the Board of Missions of our church, be censured, for not having done what that church has not hitherto enabled it to do. Nor let a fact, well known to us, be kept out of sight-that a large proportion of the members of our denomination, dissatisfied with existing arrangements, or left in apathy for want of the proper means to stimulate them, have not contributed to any missionary funds to such extent as we are persuaded they would have done, but for the causes here assigned and as we fully believe they will readily do, when those causes no longer exist.

Suspect not, brethren, that we wish to excite or cherish in your minds a bigotted or sectarian spirit. We disclaim it utterly: and that we may not be misunderstood, we beg to make a full and frank avowal of our real wishes and views. We say then, that being on conviction and by choice Presbyterians-having given a decided preference to the doctrine and order of the Presbyterian Churchwe think that, on every principle of consistency, we are bound to support that church. We further say, that it is our wish that this church should send forth missions, both to the heathen and to her own destitute population-believing that the church is bound to this, by the explicit command of her glorified Head "to disciple the nations--and to preach the gospel to every creature;" and that in

obeying this command, the universal church cannot conveniently act, nor at present act at all, but as it is divided into those various denominations, to each of which the members that compose it have formed a special and conscientious attachment-believing also, that our church can be stirred up to far greater exertions in the missionary cause, by her own officers and agents, acting by her appointment, than by any individuals, however personally respectable or influential, whom she does not appoint nor direct, and who owe to her no peculiar responsibility. These, brethren, are honestly our views and wishes; and we have none more sectarian than these, in regard to the duty of our church relative to missionary concerns. If by a wish we could engross the missionary business of our country, that wish should not be formed. We have no desire to hinder, or to interfere with, any evangelical missionary operations, by whomsoever conducted, but te promote them. We are cordially willing to concede to others alt that we claim for ourselves. We are desirous to treat as brethren all missionary associations, which recognize those great principles of the Protestant Reformation to which we have alluded. With all such associations we wish to maintain the most friendly intercourse; yea, we repeat it, to afford them all the aid in our power. And we do firmly be lieve that by each acting with vigour in its own appropriate sphere, and by all mutually cherishing a spirit of fervent christian charity,more may be done in evangelizing the world-far more-than if all were amalgamated. For ourselves, we can truly say, there is not an evangelical mission now in being, in whose success we do not unfeignedly rejoice, and for which we do not give thanks to God. And why should taterference be the subject of alarm or apprehension, when "the field is the world," and when the harvest is so great, and the laborers so few? There is surely rooms enough for us all, without any collision, were we even a hundred fold more numerous than we are. Some amicable arrangement among the different missionary corps may be of use; and we are ready to enter into them with all who are prepared to meet us. With the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, of which some of this committee are members, and with the Home Missionary Society to which many of our dear brethren, both of the clergy and laity, are known to belong, we have already pened, and hope constantly to maintain, a friendly correspond

ence.

We have given the foregoing explanations, brethren, to prevent all misapprehension of our aims and wishes; and we beg that our statement may be kept in remembrance.

Suffer us now to lay before you some of the measures which we