American Missionary | Page 8

because they can be made tributary to the salvation of the people. They are the leaves of the tree of life, and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the people.
We may not close this review of our school system without remembering those institutions now standing alone; great Hampton, in whose rich gifts we rejoice, and Berea, another child of the A.M.A., now grown to strength.
TO HOWARD UNIVERSITY, at Washington, also, we extend the sympathy of a common purpose, together with such financial aid as we may for the support of its theological course.
We point to these great institutions which have been planted and fostered by the A.M.A., together with those which are still upheld by us, with a feeling akin to that of the renowned Cornelia when she said, "Behold my jewels."
Total Number of our Schools South 58 Indian 18 76 Total Number of our Instructors South 266 Indian 50 316 Total Number of our Pupils South 9,896 Indian 580 10,476 Theological Students South 87 Indian ���� 87 Law Students South 73 Indian ���� 73 College Students South 68 Indian ���� 68 Preparatory College Students South 105 Indian ���� 105 Normal Students South 836 Indian 10 846 Grammar Grade Students South 1,996 Indian 43 2,039 Intermediate Grade Students South 2,998 Indian 108 3,106 Primary Pupils South 3,831 Indian 419 4,250
We have, in addition, 17 Chinese Schools on the Pacific Coast, with 39 teachers.
CHURCH WORK.
We turn now to our Church Work.
In every school we have an incipient church; in many of these are organized churches. From all of them there is a continual going forth of a predisposition towards Congregational Churches, which will make for churches in the future.
The statistics are as follows:
Number of Churches South 131 Indian 5 136 Number of Missionaries South 102 Indian 13 115 Number of Church members South 8,065 Indian 397 8,452 Added during the year South 937 Indian 35 972 Added by profession of faith South 721 Indian 30 750 Scholars in Sunday-schools South 16,023 Indian 1,091 17,114
Four new Churches have been organized during the year. These are at Decatur, Ala., Crossville, Deer Lodge and Pine Mountain, Tenn. A fine church edifice has also been erected in Ironaton, Ala., which is soon to be dedicated. The members have sacrificed nobly to secure it. The church at Meridian has united with the Association in the erection of a beautiful house of worship which, with the new school and the teachers' home, will be ready in a few weeks for occupancy. The church at Knoxville has been enlarged and is practically new. It will soon be re-dedicated. The church at Pine Mountain is a year old; is already the center of four Sunday-schools, with an attendance of 415 children, only 10 of whom had ever been in a Sunday-school before.
Revivals of religious interest have been reported from our churches in Washington, Wilmington, Charleston, Talladega, Mobile, Athens, Marion, Selma, Birmingham and New Orleans. Those of the churches which are side by side with our educational institutions are most hopeful; but wherever we have planted churches, they stand forth to represent the ethics of Christianity, the purity and truth of character which must be contained in a worthy discipleship. A large proportion of our pastors are children of the A.M.A. Parsonages have been built for our churches in Mobile, Ala., and in Dallas, Texas.
MOUNTAIN WORK.
This year has laid great emphasis on the fact that we have entered, in the Southern mountains, a missionary field of vast importance, pressing needs and unbounded hopefulness. We have in this region, where a few years ago there was nothing, two normal schools, two academies, five common schools, and twenty churches.
In a territory five hundred miles long, and more than two hundred miles broad--twice the size of all New England--are at least between three and four hundred counties with a population greater than that of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode Island and Connecticut combined, without schools worthy of the name, without Sunday-schools, without prayer meetings, without an educated, spiritual, or even moral ministry, without a weekly Sabbath religious service of any kind, or any of the institutions of the gospel which really elevate them. They have a religion which is not a pure Christianity and which does not even involve morality.
The Christian work, lately introduced and already done among them, demonstrates that they are capable of a rapid and radical change, when once the vivifying touch of the gospel has reached their hearts.
Instead of twenty Congregational churches among them, there is room for a thousand, and instead of nine Christian schools, if there were twenty-five normal schools, it would be only one to each hundred thousand people; and if there were a hundred common schools, there would be one to each three or four counties for models. There should be