At the conclusion of nine months service with the church of Westford, I can see many things to encourage-things which perhaps it is easier to recognize than it is to describe. One noticeable change is in the spirit of the people. They have passed the period when the having of services is an experiment. They look upon it now as a settled fact. Their belief that this church has a future grows stronger every day. It is touching to see the love of some of the older ones for their church. One of the oldest ladies says all she wants to live for is to go to that church on Sunday. During the period of its close the building became quite out of repair. I tried to have them fix it last fall, but they had not faith enough to try it;

but this spring they have gone at it of their own accord. They have raised enough money to shingle it, relay the chimneys, plaster it overhead and paint it outside. This requires about $250, and they have sacrificed a great deal to do this. The congregations keep up to the usual size, and at our last communion there was one addition by letter. I lost one or two services in the months of March and April, owing to the bad going. On Easter Sunday I started for there with a wagon and driver. We got along about half the distance, when we found the roads just impassable. I sent him back home and went on afoot, but the road was so very bad that I did not reach there until so late that the congregation had given up my coming and gone home. Then, after a little rest, I walked home six miles through snow, mud and water, and I thought that I was becoming quite a home missionary. It hardly seems possible now to think that the roads were so bad just a couple of months ago. We are much encouraged about the church and believe that there is still work for us to do in that place.

SELF-SUPPORTING UNDER DIFFICUL

TIES.
NATRONA, PA.

REV. H. R. JOHNSON.

Our church this quarter has been suffering a pretty severe trial on account of the strike at the works of the Pennsylvania Salt Manufacturing Company. Our town is made up of the employes of that company, and as the time of the strike kept nearing, their interest in church matters appeared to decline. Only two of the members of our church are among the strikers, but quite a number belong to families of which some of the members are strikers. We shall lose many of our Sabbathschool children, and probably some of our church members. The strangers who come in will very likely fill their places, so we do not need to feel discouraged. All the churches will suffer.

Just before the strike four persons were about to join our church on profession of faith. I had read, prayed and talked with all of them, and called on them for that purpose at their own request. They had already made great outward changes in their conduct. But when the strike came on they were carried away, and three of them are now probably far worse than they ever were before.

Rev. A. F. Walker, of Tarentum, and I are con

ducting a very prosperous Sunday-school in the town between us (Avenue). It was only lately started, but there were 109 persons present last Sabbath.

My church has been well attended notwithstanding the strike and the fact that many persons dread to leave their homes and be on the streets. Only one person has joined this quarter-an adult, on profession of faith. It is very difficult to accomplish much here at present.

Thanks to the Board for the help of last year. We shall not apply this year.

SELF-SUPPORTING.

SAN LUIS OBISPO, CAL

REV. WILLIAM M. HERSMAN.

You have heard from a member of the finance committee that this church has resolved to ask no aid from the Board this year. They have paid me up in full for last year and promise $1200 for the year to come. May our heavenly Father bless our efforts for the future as he has in the past.

Now let me most heartily thank you for your kindness to me and to the church. I shall ever have the highest esteem for the officers of the Board for the gentlemanly and Christian conduct they maintain toward their brethren to whom they minister of the church's worldly substance. May

God bless you and long spare you in your useful work, is my prayer.

I think you owe me $100. Please take $50 and use it as the exigencies of the Board may require, and send me the other $50.

General Miles has lately occupied the new headquarters of his department at Los Angeles. While on the way, with his family, to take possession, he said to representatives of the press that he looks for a speedy solution of the Indian problem in the plan of granting the Indians land in severalty, and thinks that placing them in families and houses will in five years civilize them. That system, which he says he has advocated for the past fifteen years, will do away with the agencies.

The reports of the Indian commissioners for years past have contained most complimentary acknowledgments of the part performed by the different missionary societies in civilizing the Indian, and the government now assists all these societies in their school work by contracting to pay a certain sum per annum for each Indian child cared for and taught. This branch of the work would be facilitated if Congress would appropriate enough money to enable the department to pay these societies the bare cost of the food, clothing and care of the pupils. At present only about one-half the expense is met by the government.

absolutely a Roman Catholic country to-day. Romanism girdled our land at the start. It had earliest chance of unchecked possession, from ocean to ocean, from the great lakes to the Gulf. Roman Catholics were the early explorers of this continent. British America and South America were theirs. Jesuits pioneered the exploration of our magnificent Mississippi valley. In a long southern belt-from Florida to California, including Texas, Louisiana and New Mexico-missions of the papal church were once the only religious stations with a Christian name upon them. So it continued until almost within the present generation. Then in a northern zone, covering Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, and reaching from Missouri's western edge far out into the wilderness that now is blossoming, the Roman Catholic Church held all the ground. Not a Protestant church of any name was known there until within the present century; while Maryland, on the Atlantic, was a papal colony from the first. French and Spanish Romanists bade fair to parcel out the land between them, at a time when a papal decree was as good a title as any king could show. Only by unforeseen victories for Protestantism, as providential as when Wolfe conquered at Quebec, have papal expectations been thwarted.

Until we traverse the peculiar reasons for its increase, the phenomenal growth of Romanism will appear surprising. It must be remembered that no country, either in modern or ancient times, has ever matched the increase of population in these United States during the present century. From five and a third millions in 1800 we advanced in 1880 to 50,153,000, and in 1887 to 60,000,000-more than eleven-fold increase in eighty-seven years! But Romanism has increased relatively far faster than that. Beginning with its 100,000 adherents in 1800, its growth in some decades has been three times faster than the unparalleled growth of the nation at large.

For instance, the ratio of increase for the total population from 1840 to 1850 was 36 per cent., while for the Roman Catholic portion it was 125 per cent. From 1850 to 1860 the popular ratio of increase was 35 per cent., while

Romanism increased 109 per cent. Suffer another comparison. In 1830 the Romanists were one-twenty-ninth of the entire population; in 1840, one-eighteenth; in 1850, oneeleventh; in 1860, one-eighth; in 1870, over one-eighth. We shall presently see what they are in 1887. A like amazing increase of property has occurred in the accumulations of the Romish Church. In proportionate growth, it has cast the increase of national wealth into the shade. Two hundred millions of dollars would not cover the property of these ecclesiastics to-day-property wherein the people who paid for it have no title or authority whatsoever. We see a closely-banded hierarchy, under absolute central control, with unparalleled organization, perfected by experience of centuries for the ends it has in view; moved from Rome as by machinery, keeping its own secrets, consumed with zeal for propagandism; shrewd, able, aggressive, untiring, changeless in dogma, yet with practiced adaptation of its methods to every grade of human nature, every changing environment, every phase of human society, holding its adherents from the cradle to the grave with a grasp that never slackens in its purpose or its effort.

That old corrupted church has in bright vision the repair in this land of her shattered throne in Europe. Her grand rally is here. And we must not forget that the hiding of her power is in the amount of essential scriptural truth she holds in her doctrinal system as a visible church. In this point she excels some denominations that are ordinarily classed among the Protestant ranks. Here she stands, pushing with all her might, not at all reticent about her expectations, in feverish eagerness for conquest, in asserted, often confident, exultant hope of one day controlling the majority of our population, and so, one day, ruling this land. We know their purpose. How near are they coming to it? Let us see.

Such figures of numerical increase as I have given need to be translated by a mention of associated facts. The unprecedented growth of the United States has not occurred from natural increase merely, but by bodily importation of fresh material. The old world has been un

loaded upon us. No such immigration was ever known before on the face of this earth. What has composed this influx? Why, in vast proportion it has come from Celtic nations, and has consisted in large part of Roman Catholics. This element, with its descendants, covers undoubtedly about half of our present population. Yet we find, by careful examination of their latest statistics, they have less than seven millions of Romanist population-counting men, women and children-to show for a papal immigration of as many as that during the past generation-to say nothing of their natural increase, or the descendants of that million and a half who were here thirty-five years ago. If they had merely held their own, they would have numbered twenty-two millions to-day, instead of less than seven.

When the Romish authorities are not playing games of bluff, haranguing for popular effect, but writing for their own people, they deplore enormous losses which have been fully as great as they confess. Some institutions never could healthily endure a voyage across the Atlantic Ocean. Romanism is one of them. Our very atmosphere, oxygenated as it is with influences of religious freedom, must be unfriendly to Romanism. The second generation can hardly breathe it without some chilling toward the Romish faith. In the assault of that church upon our country to capture it, as many have fallen away as would have dropped from the ranks of a forlorn hope in some desperate charge on hostile batteries. They emigrate from lands where they were securely fastened under papal dominion, to a continent where they melt out of papal hands like snow in a warm palm. As a scheme for killing off Romanism from the face of the earth, facts go to show that emigration to America is a pronounced success. They were much more than one-eighth of our people in 1870. Now they are considerably less than one-eighth, and the falling off is powerfully suggestive.

Every source of information points steadily to the fact that the relative increase of the Romish Church has reached flood tide already. The ebb is upon her now. Sisyphus has rolled his stone to the top of the hill. Immigration

has done more for that church than it is likely to do again, and without immigration she would have wellnigh died out of the land. Growth is the custom of this country, and so she will grow; but never so fast again, unless some wholesale importation of new material should unexpectedly occur.

Then, although Romanism has so largely increased upon the population, it must not be forgotten that evangelical Christianity among us has largely increased upon Romanism. Remember that, in order to match the mode adopted by Romanists in their count of population, the number of evangelical communicants must be multiplied at least by threesome will think by four. Yet, if we waive this for the present, our increase of enrolled communicants in the last thirty years has been two millions greater than the increase of the entire Romish population. Single Protestant denominations have greatly outstripped Romanism within that period. From 1850 to 1880 Romish priests increased 5100; but meanwhile Presbyterian ordained ministers increased 4276, Baptists 11,428, and Methodists 15,430, to say nothing of large growth in the other denominations. The aggregate increase was 44,315 evangelic ministers, to match about 5000 priests. Then, estimating the evangelic population by adding only two for each enrolled communicant, it has grown within the past ten years alone more than six times as fast as the Romish population, and the proportion seems to be rising every year.

Romanism is comparatively at a standstill in everything except financial accumulation and political strategy. Even in those favorite departments of her effort she has received many a pronounced arrest, and others stand ready for her upon occasion.*

The two great rivals of evangelical Christianity before our people are Romanism and materialism. They instinctively dislike each. other as much as they both dislike us. By the blessing of God we have been enabled to gain upon them both, and marshal them against each other where we can, in the interest of an open Bible and an unfettered gospel.

Our Washington was not blind when he

solemnly warned us against the advance of Romanism. That hierarchy, so long as they stand absolutely obedient to a foreign ruler, their pope, who curses by every anathema the basic principles of our national life, is the sworn enemy of our institutions, our political rights religious freedom and state neutrality -our civil marriage, our free press, our free public school system, our separation of church and state, and our open Bible. Not one of these has escaped papal denunciation. The hierarchy is more of a secret society than the free, masonry which it inconsistently opposes. Their work is not to elevate the people, but to induce the people to elevate them.

It

Romanism is the smallest contributor to common charities in proportion to wealth and numbers, and it draws more from the community than any other. Its annual gifts for foreign missions will not exceed $25,000, against thirty times that amount from our Presbyterian Church alone, and three millions of dollars from our evangelical bodies combined. leaves the rest of the world to shift for itself, while it bends its energies and spends its funds in strengthening its position in this country. Our institutions are prevailing more on Rome than Rome on us. She makes no systematic attempts to proselyte among Protestants. All her efforts are roundabout and furtive. She

has her hands full to hold her own people and secure their children. In this the hierarchy has conspicuously failed. They have not at all kept pace with their opportunities. Our American people see the world-history of Romanism written in spiritual tyranny, in enslavement of intellect and corruption of morals. They judge the tree by its fruit. History tells no lies.

How shall we meet this subtle foe? By intolerance? Not for an instant. Our policy is not to fight fire with fire. We depend on religious truth to put down religious falsehood. We shall beat them if we work harder, live truer, love stronger, preach Christ more sincerely-not otherwise. Rome may bargain for votes, control venal legislation, rope in multitudes by her seductions, but she cannot conquer the Spirit of the living God. If we break

loose from him and from his truth, we shall be defeated, and deserve to be. All Romanists are not the hierarchy. They are neighbors, fellow citizens, our fortune wrapped up with theirs. Effort is not wasted always upon Romanists. Many a convert from their ranks is in our churches. We remember that converted priests brought on the Reformation, and our hopes are strong.

THE ROMAN CATHOLICS IN OUR LAND.

There are many Protestant Christians, even in our own communion, who undervalue or absolutely oppose and decry evangelistic work for Romanists. They are sometimes very severe upon efforts under the auspices of foreign missions to enter Romish countries. They say the Roman Catholic Church is a Christian church. It may be corrupt, defective, degenerate, but it is not absolutely apostate. It teaches saving truth, and, with all its glosses and additions, supplies enough of it for salvation. If its adherents fail to discern and receive the truth offered through its services and ministrations, and accept only the error joined with it, that is their fault and folly; and we are not called on to ply them with missionary effort, as if they were utterly ads and millions wrapped in a darkness destitute of the gospel, when there are myrcompared with which Romanism is light.

Now no one denies that there is Christian truth taught to Romanists and offered variously in the Roman Catholic Church. Nor is it worth while to insist here on the weakening and corrupting of this truth by human additions and alterations. The true test is to be found in the results of the system. We look at the lands where Rome has had full swing and sway, and a chance to show how she can form a community and build a nation. We see there popular ignorance, degradation of morals, poverty and beggary, impurity and falsehood, and all forms of evil, patent and rife, in spite of the ministers and the forms of religion without number on every hand. And we fairly infer that if