-At the close of the Secretary's address, the Rev. Dr. Andrew Thomson, one of the "Fathers" and founders of the Alliance, responded to the Chairman's call and spoke with much pathos and feeling of his early recollections of the Alliance. The memory of those years, long past, was delightful, but he ventured to say that the work accomplished by the Alliance during recent years had been even more important and interesting than ever. As one of the oldest members of the Alliance now living he was thankful to God for what the Alliance had been permitted to accomplish. He then paid a high compliment to the Secretary of the Alliance, and concluded by proposing a hearty vote of thanks which was seconded by the Chairman, and carried most cordially.-The Rev. Dr. Goold then expressed in the name of the meeting the thanks of all present for the kind hospitality of Sir William and Lady Muir. Sir William Muir stated that it was a great delight to Lady Muir and himself to see such a large gathering, and to find so much interest awakened in a cause which was very dear to them.-The meeting was concluded with prayer and the Benediction by the Rev. Dr. Goold. While tea and coffee were being served to the visitors, Mr. Arnold was able to talk personally with many of those present. A large proportion, however, were already members of the Alliance; but the names of several new members were received, and the total proceeds amounted to over £30, including several donations from members of the Alliance and a collection for the general funds, as well as contributions towards the Persecuted Christians Fund.

In the evening of February 22, Mr. Arnold addressed the congregation at the Grange Free Church (the Rev. J. M. Sloan's), and here he had the opportunity of speaking upon the world-wide work of the Alliance.

On Friday, February 23, a drawing-room meeting was kindly held by Mrs. Eadie at her residence in Chalmers Street. There was not so large a gathering as had been anticipated, owing to the extreme inclemency of the weather which prevailed. The Rev. John Baird presided, and after prayer had been offered by the Rev. R. J. Drummond, the Chairman expressed his warm interest in the Evangelical Alliance and its work, which he considered to be a most important one and deserving to be far more widely known. Mr. Arnold then addressed the meeting, touching upon the principles and aims of the Alliance, and spoke of its work in three aspects, illustrating each by interesting details and incidents. His remarks regarding the defence of persecuted Christians elicited many warm expressions of interest, and at the close, in response to the Chairman's invitation, the Revs. Messrs. Henderson, Balfour, and others, asked various questions eliciting further information regarding the work of the Alliance, and particularly on the subject of the efforts made early last year on behalf of the persecuted and imprisoned Armenian Christians. Several of those present gave their names for enrolment as members of the Alliance, and contributions were received towards the funds.

After leaving Edinburgh Mr. Arnold was able to pay a brief visit to Dreghorn, where Mrs. Macfie most kindly welcomed him and gave renewed expression of her unabated attachment to the Alliance.

Proceeding to Belfast Mr. Arnold fulfilled numerous engagements which he had previously made to address meetings in that city. During his stay in Belfast the Secretary was again the guest of Mr. and Mrs. Hamilton, from whom he received a hospitable welcome. On Tuesday, February 27, the Secretary had an opportunity of meeting the members of the Belfast Committee for a private Conference. In the afternoon of the same day a large number of ladies and gentlemen accepted the invitation of the Lord Mayor of Belfast to meet Mr. Arnold at a social meeting, which afforded an opportunity for much pleasant Christian intercourse. Following this reception the annual meeting of the Belfast Branch was held in the Clarence Place Hall. The Lord Mayor presided, and after the meeting had been opened with prayer by the Rev. Dr. Murphy, the Chairman expressed his pleasure at seeing so large a number gathered together. The annual report of the Belfast Branch was then presented by the Rev. W. L. Berkeley, after which a resolution was passed welcoming Mr. Arnold, who was present at the meeting. In responding to this resolution, Mr. Arnold gave an address touching mainly upon the work of the Alliance during the past year in the promotion of Christian union, in the observance of the Week of Prayer, and in various questions of religious

persecution. He gave details upon some of these points, and many expressions of sympathy were elicited. [A fuller report of this meeting will be found in another column.]

On Wednesday, February 28, Mr. Arnold attended a meeting at Lisburn, which had been convened at very short notice by the Rev. R. W. Hamilton, in the Railway Street Hall. There was a good attendance, and Mr. Hamilton himself presided. After devotional exercises, the Chairman read a portion of Scripture, and, having expressed his deep interest in the Evangelical Alliance, he called upon Mr. Arnold to address the meeting. Much interest was awakened regarding the work of the Alliance in its various departments, and at the close of the meeting the Chairman expressed the warmest thanks of those present for the interesting address of the Secretary.

Proceeding to Dublin, Mr. Arnold was the guest of his Grace the Archbishop, who again showed his deep interest in the Evangelical Alliance by convening a meeting at his palace for private conference regarding details of the work in Ireland.

On Wednesday, March 14, Mr. Arnold addressed a drawing-room meeting, held at the National Club by the kind permission of the Chairman and committee. A report of this meeting will appear in our next issue.

On Sunday, February 25, the Rev. J. Consterdine preached two sermons on Christian unity at Emmanuel Church, Hove, Brighton, at the invitation of the incumbent, the Rev. J. G. Gregory, a member of the Council, who kindly allowed part of the money placed in the boxes at the door to be given to the funds of the Alliance.

On Monday, the 26th, two meetings were held in the afternoon and evening on behalf of the Alliance, in Emmanuel Church Room, Mr. Gregory taking the chair. Addresses were given on both occasions by General Sir John Field, K.C.B., late Secretary of the Alliance, and by Mr. Consterdine. Collections were made on behalf of the funds, and ten names were given for membership.

On Tuesday, the 27th, Mr. Consterdine went to Worthing, where a public meeting had been arranged and well advertised by the Rev. Dr. Hole, Vicar of Christ Church, an old member of the Alliance, in his schoolroom. About 130 people were present, the chair being taken by Alderman Cortis, who was supported by a goodly number of ministers of various bodies. One of these was the Rev. C. E. Haynes, for some years curate of the Parish Church at Broadwater, who had just been appointed to the Vicarage of Holy Trinity, Worthing. Mr. Haynes is a member of the Alliance, and it was largely due to him that the Week of Prayer was so successfully observed in Worthing last January. A collection was taken on behalf of the Alliance fund, and eleven names given for membership, including the Vicar of one of the churches and three other ministers.

IRISH BRANCH.

A MEETING of the Dublin Council was held in the Christian Union Buildings, Dublin, on Monday, February 12. There was a large attendance of members. The President, Viscount Bangor, occupied the chair.

Prayer was offered by the Archdeacon of Glendalough.

NEW MEMBERS.

The following persons were unanimously admitted to membership :

The Rev. S. J. Carolin, Rectory, Castlebellingham; the Rev. Alexander Hall, B.A., Drogheda; the Rev. Alexander Egan, Drogheda; John Humphrey, Esq., Dublin; John Fullerton, Esq., Larne; T. J. Irvine, Esq., Londonderry; Wm. Cunningham, Esq., Londonderry; Thomas White, Esq., Londonderry; J. Brice Mullen, Esq., Londonderry; John B. Johnstone, Esq., J.P., Londonderry; W. A. Parke, Esq., Clones; Thos. E. Lloyd, Esq., Heathfield, co. Limerick; Mrs. Elizabeth Stopford, Blackrock, Dublin; Francis M. Fitt, Esq., Limerick; James R. Wallace, Esq., Limerick; Charles Howlett, Esq., Dalkey; W. D. Talbot-Crosbie, Esq., Roscommon; Mrs. W. D. Talbot-Crosbie, Roscommon; Miss Penelope Gerrard, Dalkey; Miss Kate S. Gerrard, Dalkey; the Rev. A. B. Grosart, D.D., LL.D.,

Dublin; James Barton, Esq., c.E., Dundalk; George Atkinson, Esq., Dublin; Thomas Crozier, Esq., Kingstown; John Thornton, Esq., Kingstown; Mrs. Kershaw, Blackrock; Wm. Walker, Esq., Kingston; B. W. Fayle, Esq., J.P., Parsonstown; Wm. Carty, Esq., Dublin; the Rev. J. O. Gage Dougherty, M.A., Dublin; Sidney Barron, Esq., Kingstown; the Rev. R. P. Carroll, M.A., Dublin; W. A. Boyd, Esq., Dublin.

The Secretary reported that the Ven. John A. Long, M.A., Archdeacon of Cashel, had cordially consented to act as a Vice-President of the Irish Branch. The Rev. W. J. Birtill, Moravian Minister of Dublin, was unanimously elected a member of Council.

DAY OF PRAYER FOR IREland.

It was unanimously agreed that the usual invitation should be issued to Christian friends in these and other countries, suggesting the observance of Saturday, March 17 next (St. Patrick's Day), as a day of special and united prayer for Ireland.

BELFAST BRANCH.

THE annual meeting of this Branch was held in Clarence Place Hall, on February 27, and was largely attended. It was preceded by a meeting of a social character convened by the Lord Mayor to meet Mr. A. J. Arnold, the General Secretary of the Alliance.

We give the following account of the proceedings condensed from The Belfast News Letter :

The annual meeting of this Alliance was held yesterday afternoon in Clarence Place Hall-the Lord Mayor (Mr. William M'Cammond, J.P.) presiding. The attendance, which was very large, included the Revs. Dr. Williamson, Dr. Watts, Dr. Murphy, Dr. Riddall, Dr. M'Cutcheon, James M'Granaham, T. Elliott, Joseph Northey, W. J. M'Caughan, W. L. Berkeley, A. Cuthbert, T. R. Ballantine, J. C. Ferris, J. Lynd, James Martin, John Waddell, J. Robertson, S. L. Wilson; Messrs. A. J. Arnold (general secretary), W. R. Patterson, William Greenhill, and Dr. J. Milford Barnett and Dr. Wadsworth.

Letters of apology were received from the Revs. William Park, Dr. Leitch, H. W. Brownrigg, James Cregan, James Grubb, J. M'Connell, J. Greenless, J. W. Jones, Wm. Witherow, R. Cooney, D. K. Mitchell, Wesley Guard, and R. Cole.

The meeting having been opened with prayer by the Rev. Dr. Murphy,

The Lord Mayor said he could assure them that the work in connexion with the Evangelical Alliance was one which recommended itself to every Christian, and he was pleased to see such a large number present, most of whom were no doubt engaged in Christian work. It was a great blessing to see in the city of Belfast such large numbers of ladies and gentlemen connected with work which would, he was sure, give them peace and joy. He trusted that in the future the work of the Alliance would be even more successful than in the past.

The Rev. W. L. Berkeley then read the annual report, from which we extract the following sentences: "Early in the year the community was much agitated and the minds of many of God's people were filled with apprehension as to the probable results of threatened legislation for this country. Under these circumstances of disquiet and alarm a suggestion was made during the Week of Prayer that the meetings for united prayer should be continued for some time. Your Committee gladly adopted the suggestion, and accordingly, from January until the end of June, a weekly gathering took place under the auspices of the Alliance, at which earnest supplication was made that the Almighty would so guide and control national affairs that the interests of His Kingdom would be advanced in Ireland, and that civil and religious liberty might be preserved in our midst. We believe these meetings did something to calm public feeling at what many felt to be a national crisis, and we thankfully recognise how truly God has again proved Himself the Hearer and Answerer of prayer."-" Your Committee felt it desirable during the year to draw the ties somewhat closer that unite the Belfast Branch to the Parent Society in London. Accordingly, out of the funds at their disposal, £15 was remitted to the British Organization, thus bringing us more closely into touch with the world-wide

"In

work of the Alliance, one of the most interesting and useful features of which is its interposition in defence of persecuted Christians in many lands. Numerous examples of such intervention successfully carried out, as well as an account of the general operations of the Evangelical Alliance both at home and abroad, will be found in the pages of Evangelical Christendom."-A touching reference is then made to the death of the Rev. W. Johnstone, D.D., and the report closes as follows: conclusion, the committee earnestly commend the work in which they are engaged to the sympathy and support of Christians of all denominations, as affording a basis for that united action which is so much in accordance with the spirit of Christianity, and as helping in some measure towards the realisation of the Saviour's prayer, That they all may be one that the world may believe that Thou hast

4

sent Me."

The Dean of Connor, in moving the adoption of the report, said it appeared to him that the Evangelical Alliance met in a very efficient manner the great want of the age, which was the union of orthodox Christians for the purpose of meeting and overthrowing the efforts of those who attacked their common Christianity.

Rev. Dr. McCutcheon seconded the motion, and it was carried.

Mr. W. R. Patterson proposed the appointment of the office-bearers for the ensuing year, and moved a vote of thanks to the Rev. W. L. Berkeley for his services for many years as honorary secretary. He stated that Mr. Berkeley had, owing to the press of other duties, asked to be relieved from the office, and the Rev. T. R. Ballantine had kindly consented to take his place. The thanks of the friends of the Alliance were due to Mr. Berkeley for the care and trouble he had devoted to the duties of the office during the time he had held it.

Mr. William Greenhill, in seconding, endorsed the remarks which Mr. Patterson had made regarding Mr. Berkeley. The motion was adopted.

The following resolution was carried, on the proposition of the Rev. J. Robertson, seconded by the Rev. Dr. Riddall ::

"That we welcome the presence amongst us of Mr. A. J. Arnold, general secretary of the Evangelical Alliance, and we trust that the result of his visit will be to draw closer the ties that unite us to the British Organization, and to increase our interest in the world-wide work of the Alliance."

Mr. Arnold, in responding, gave a very interesting account of the work done by the Evangelical Alliance in various countries.

The meeting terminated with the Benediction, pronounced by the Rev. W. J. M'Caughan.

THE WEEK OF UNIVERSAL

PRAYER.

FURTHER REPORTS FROM DISTANT LANDS.

INDIA. Allahabad. Our correspondent writes: "The Week of Prayer was observed with much interest by some of our earnest Christians. For the European residents services were held every evening in three different churches. They were not largely attended, but the addresses were good, and the prayers fervent. In two of the Native Christian Churches daily services were held, led by missionaries and leading men of the Native Christian community. The concurrence of these services with the gathering of an immense concourse of Hindu pilgrims from all parts of India to bathe in the sacred Ganges, gave a special significance to our meetings, and led to many fervent prayers."

Darjeeling. From the monthly records issued by the Rev. H. Rylands Brown we learn that this year, for the first time in the history of Darjeeling, the Week of Universal Prayer was observed: "We have long wished that this institution might be observed, but have never hitherto been able to arrange that it should be. The meetings were held in the Union Church, and though the numbers attending were necessarily small (Darjeeling being at this season regarded as empty), the meetings were well sustained. The subjects suggested by the Evangelical Alliance for daily intercession were strictly adhered to through the whole week."

CHINA-Shanghai.-Dr. H. W. Boone, the secretary of the Shanghai Branch (of which the Rev. William Muirhead, D.D., is president, and the Rev. J. Stevens,

vice-president), writes that the usual Week of Prayer meetings were held here in the Union Church. They were fairly well attended by the missionaries and others. Some very interesting addresses were given and an earnest spirit pervaded the meetings. During the week the annual meeting of the Branch of the Evangelical Alliance was held, and the officers elected for the ensuing year, a contribution of £2 being forwarded from the Branch to the Parent Society in London.

Amoy. The Rev. J. Sadler writes: "We have just completed our Week of Prayer, and feel deeply thankful for many things. The excellent plan of the Evangelical Alliance has been highly approved, being truly comprehensive and well arranged, and containing admirable lists of Scripture passages. There has been a strong call for freedom in prayer, under the conscious presence of our Father, and without being fettered by conventional ideas. Ladies have taken part in the meetings to no small advantage. Thought has been expanded, so that, by the leaders, our minds have been led to the most vast and important movements of the Church of Christ in all the countries of the world, and to the limitless possibilities of the kingdom of God everywhere. Emphasis has been laid on the blessedness of this prayer union. Plans of usefulness are being evolved, doubtless in answer to supplication, and we definitely expect great things."

Kia Kiang.-The Rev. E. S. Little says: "I write to acknowledge with thanks the receipt of the copies of the programme for the Week of Prayer. I arranged a series of services and sent a copy to each of the missionaries in the place. The meetings finished a couple of days ago, and I now write to tell you briefly of them. We met alternately in the houses of the various missionaries and all the meetings were well attended, nearly every missionary being present at every service, and not only these, but, for the first time, several of the residents engaged in mercantile pursuits responded to the invitation given to them and came with us. We followed closely the programme of the Evangelical Alliance and found it quite comprehensive. All were well pleased and said that this was the best Week of Prayer we had ever had, and we all received blessing and encouragement in our work. Will you please send me, next year, thirty of the programmes as soon as you have them ready, and I will get them into the hands of Christians at an early date. I wish to take this opportunity of thanking you for your very great kindness in sending me regularly Evangelical Christendom, I read it with considerable interest and then always send it on to others, that they, too, may enjoy it."

JAPAN. We have received a most interesting communication from the Rev. J. H. Ballagh, President of the Japan Branch of the Evangelical Alliance, giving an account of the observance of the Week of Prayer in that country. This communication will be found in extenso in another part of our present issue.

PERSIA. Our correspondent at Teheran says: "The meetings during the Week of Prayer were held in the Mission Church, and were characterised by unusual earnestness; so much so that we think of holding some extra meetings as soon as the spring gives us better roads."

EGYPT.-Alexandria.-Our correspondent writes that the meetings in connexion with the Week of Prayer were a decided success, and no doubt will be fraught with spiritual blessing. The various branches of Christian work in Alexandria were well represented, and the average attendance was between thirty and forty, including several nationalities.

NATAL. Mr. Meek, who was last year in England and attended the Annual Conference of the Alliance in the autumn, writes from Rorke's Drift, giving a deeply interesting account of the observance of the Week of Prayer among the Zulus. The meetings commenced on Sunday, January 7, when the barn which does duty as a church was crowded, and many of those present wept with joy, realising the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. The meetings were well attended throughout the week, and evidently of unusual interest. Mr. Meek looks upon these meetings not only as an opportunity for Christians to unite together in prayer, but also as a time for giving a clear Gospel message to any who may have been induced to attend from curiosity or for other reasons. In referring to one of the meetings he says: "Again and again are we blessed like a river of blessing, and the dewy morning of springthe Spirit of God encamping round about us, the Saviour saving in love and joy was in the front, goodness and mercy bringing up the rear. Never did I see Zulu