Religious News and Notes.
By Editor
—A party of Catholic missionaries have reached Lake Nyanzy, Africa. —A Congregational church in Illinois has refused a candidate for its pulpit because of his use of tobacco. —The Free Church of Scotland enjoins its ministers to discountenance raffles or bazar lotteries, to raise money for religious purposes. —The Archbishop of Canterbury asks for two young clergymen to send to Kurdistan, to give instruction to the Nestorians, who desire to revive their church. —The Southern Presbyterians are organizing colored churches in their communion. They have just opened Berean Church, in New Orleans, as a colored Presbyterian church. —The death is announced of the Rev. Dr. Lorimer, Principal of the Presbyterian College of London and the author of several well known works, including a memoir of John Knox. —The new Methodist paper to be published in Boston is to be called the Methodist Episcopalian. It will be of a liberal stamp, advocating various reforms in the church polity. Dr. Sherman is to be its editor. —The annual meeting of the American Methodist Mission in Japan has been held in Tokio. Four natives were admitted to the ministry on trial. There were reported 438 members (a gain of 209), 170 probationers and 54 children. The natives contributed for various purposes $445. There are 773 scholars in the Sunday schools and 346 in the day schools. —Robert College, an American missionary institution in Constantinople, has graduated a large class. Ten young men delivered orations in English, French, Turkish, and Bulgarian. President Washburne stated that, despite the disturbed condition of the country the past two or three years, the college had a larger number of students than in previous years. —At the first annual meeting of the Chinese Tract Society held at Shanghai, five of the native pastors and assistants spoke with great earnestness of the importance of organizing auxiliary societies in connection with all the native churches, and of the need of faithful, devoted, unpaid tract distributors to go through each neighborhood, and seek to bring the people to Christ. —It is reported from Mexico that the Catholic Church authorities have sanctioned the printing and distributing in that country of the New Testament in Spanish. A Mexican correspondent of the Methodist says: "It is looked upon as one of the most remarkable things that have occurred in that country for years. It is undoubtedly due to the evangelization carried on by Bishop Riley and other leaders in the Protestant Church work there, by whom the Bible has been translated and placed for the masses." —In the belfry of the Episcopal church at Ellicottsville, N. Y., there is a bell which was cast in Moscow in 1708, and was one of a chime for the cathedral which was burned during Napoleon's Russian campaign. Along with other old metal this bell was brought to New York by a sea captain, as ballast for his vessel. Eventually it was carried to Troy, and became the property of a well-known bell founder of that city. It was there discovered by a member of the Ellicottsville parish, who purchased and gave it to the church. Its condition is sound and its tone still good. —Dean Stanley, preaching in Westminster Abbey on a recent Sunday on the Book of Common Prayer, maintained that there are two modes in which the book may be improved, namely, by giving greater elasticity and freedom to forms of worship, and by removing stumbling-blocks which contract the limits of the Church of England and give offense to persons outside its borders. The Dean proceeded to show how many useful improvements could be introduced into the prayer-book, condemning the rules which enforced the recital of the Athanasian Creed, and prevented the Burial Service being read over "the most saintly member of the Society of Friends, or the most innocent child of a Baptist." —The telegraph brings a rumor that a number of French Catholics intend, if the Ferry bill should pass, to emigrate to the Island of Papua or New Guinea; but this proposed migration is about twice as large as California, and lies nearly under the equator. To establish a settlement where white men could enjoy life, would cost much time, toil and money, with no prospect of compensation. It would be much cheaper for them to buy up a few Federal townships of public land in California, or Oregon, and make their homes where the State does not meddle with the Church. The adoption of the Ferry bill would not necessarily be final. In a year or two the Republicans might repeal it; and even if the colleges should have the State should have the exclusive privilege of conferring degrees entitling persons to become lawyers, physicians or officials of certain grades, even such restrictions would not destroy Catholicism. So long as the education of the women is under the control of the clergy—as it is now in France, directly or indirectly—the faith is in no immediate danger. A proposition has recently been introduced in the French Assembly to dissolve all connection between Church and State, and if adopted, it as it probably will be, will tend to remove occasions of discord, and help, rather than harm, the church.