IN BRIEF.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1240, 23 September 1911, Page 9

IN BRIEF.

Iho Rev. W. G. Taylor, of Sydney, has been telling English aiidionccs of tho growth of Methodism in Australia and New Zealand during tho past fortv yeara. He says 'thero wero. then 865 churches, there aro now 2720; there wero only 230 ministers, to-day thero arc 811; there wore 1300 local preachers, now thero aro 4500; then thero wero 800 Sunday schools, to-day 3000; the scholars wore 51,000, there aro now 200,000; church adherents were 155,000, their numbers to-day are 525,000. licsides these wore the Soiith Sea .Missions, where forty years ago there wero 20,000 Methodist Church -members, but now they number 110,000. 1 "

An appointment of groat iniporianco has just been mado in China. Tho Rev. W. E. Soothill, of the United .Methodist Church, who recently relinnuishcd tho post of Principal of tho Chinese Imperial University at Tai Yuan Ivu, has been offered, and lins accepted, the Principalship of tho new Hankow University, which is being organised by <m C&ford and Cambridge committee,..under the leadership of Lord William Cccil. Tho nomination lias been approved by all sections of tho prospective governing body in China, America, and England, and a more apprpprialo selection could not have been made.

Preaching at. St. Paul's Cathedral, Melbourne,- the R?v. E. S. Hughes said that the trim conception of God and His service was based not upon success, but 011 sacrifice. These distinctive principles of religion, li? said, applied with binding; force to tho Bishop-elect of Bathnrst, Canon Long. At the outset of a brilliant career, with every assurance before him of honour and wealth and influpneo, tlio need of-the Church had called upon him to give up the work ho loved, to renounce one-third of his income, to face the weary problems of ministering to the scattered settlers over tho great western plains of Ntw South Wales.

Tlio Bishop of London presided recently at the first meeting of tho English Committee of the Mission of Help to tiio Province of Rupertsland. The Mission is to bo held in October and November, 11)12, and th 6 intervening time is to bo occupied with preparation Tho Canadian Committee have already invited a number of well-known clergymen from England to act as niissioners, ami among those who have so far consented are the Bishop of Edinburgh, Bishop Taylor Smith, tho Dean of Belfast:, Canon G. Thompson, the Revs. A. W. Gough, Paul Bull, C. Lisle Can'. Leonard Strong, T. I Guy Rogers, B. Horner, and Claude Taunton. J