seen that they may place their representatives in the national capitol. They will certainly send representatives to the great cities and to the great West. It will be a sad day for the cities when their recruits from rural America shall be as ignorant of Christianity and as hostile to it as are many of those from other countries.

What are the neglected portions of Vermont to do for the new West if the churches continue to neglect them? Men and entire families are continually going from these neglected neighborhoods. Consider what they are to carry. Not a love for the gospel, nourished by the experience of its power. Not the abiding faith in the power of righteousness, which comes from the teachings of the gospel to some who do not receive the gospel. Not the enlargement of heart and mind that comes from the contemplation of all men as the children of one Father. But in place of these they will carry a disbelief of the Bible, a belief that righteousness is a pretense and religion a delusion; they will carry a supreme desire for money and place, and the doctrine that a man is worth what can be got out of him. What kind of States will such men build?

. . . If America and Vermont are to be saved, they are to be saved through the churches, for the State as such has no regenerating power. And society has no permanently regenerating power save in the Church. If these dark portions of our State are to become light it must be through the gospel furnished by. the churches. The two-fold commandment is, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul and with all thy mind; and, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." Are not these neglected ones our neighbors?— Prof. Edward Conant, in the Vermont Chronicle.

WOMAN'S DEPARTMENT.

"SHE hath done what she could." What she could, not what she could not do; not what she thought might be done; not what she would like to do; not what she would do if she had more time; not what somebody else thought she ought to do; but what she could.— W. A. Shipman.

WOMAN'S HOME MISSIONARY ORGANIZATIONS.

EXTRACTS FROM THE SECRETARY'S ANNUAL REPORT.

Maine.-"We feel that we have every reason to be encouraged, and we are sure that it (the woman's organization) was a wise thing to undertake.

"At the outset we met with many difficulties, and some opposition.

The feeling that it was unwise to multiply woman's societies was strong, and failure was predicted. It has always been the manifest destiny of woman to be a burden-bearer, and evidently she was intended to be a helpmate; but in this case it has been fully proved that nothing has been left undone by the churches, because she was trying to do something by herself. On the contrary, the general testimony has been that since our Society was formed, the churches have been stimulated to a more active interest, and have increased their contributions."

Maine reports seventy-eight Auxiliaries.

New Hampshire.—The New Hampshire Female Cent Institution has about thirty-four hundred members. It numbers ninety-eight Auxiliaries, or branch societies. It seems to be an institution blessed and prospered of the Lord, and of long continuance, having passed its eightieth year. Receipts of the past year, $1,700.

New York.-The Woman's Home Missionary Union of New York State is in its third year. It has now sixty-three Auxiliaries, and raised last year $1,674.17. Of this amount The American Home Missionary Society received $408.16; The American Missionary Association, $510; The Congregational Union, for parsonage building, $411.14; The New West Education Commission, $308.13; The Congregational Publishing Society $15; while the State expenses amounted to $21.74.

The present year closes the last of October, and it is hoped $2,500 will be raised.

The meetings of the Auxiliaries are conducted in various ways, but usually one hour at least is spent in devotional exercises, and studying the needs of our land. Interest in these meetings has been greatly promoted by bi-monthly letters from three of the teachers supported.

Ohio.—Ohio reports healthful activity in the various branches of missionary labor. Cash contributions have advanced thirty per cent. over the previous year. Ohio emphasizes the value of our missionary literature. Large quantities of leaflets have been distributed with good results, and the opinion is added that the National Society furnishing the most valuable and most abundant free leaflets will receive the largest contribution from Ohio.

Ohio has fifty-four Auxiliaries; and her receipts last year were $2,402.14.

Illinois. Illinois has just held her first annual meeting, and reports fifty-one Auxiliaries and $5,328.49 contributed for home evangelization.

Michigan. Michigan has our earnest sympathy in the loss, during, the past year, of the President of the Woman's Home Missionary Union Mrs. Leroy Warren, a woman greatly beloved, whose example of untiring devotion and cheerful self-forgetfulness was a stimulus to all who

knew her. Her mantle has fallen upon the remaining officers, in whose hands the work has prospered, so that they are able to report fifty-nine Auxiliaries and the sum of $2,725.77 raised in the year. Their courage

has risen to the aim of $4,000 for next year. They rejoice in the conviction that "Interest in the work is gaining among the women of the State, and will increase as they come to know and realize the great needs and demands of the hour."

Missouri. The Missouri Woman's Home Missionary Society is but one year old and reports ten Auxiliaries. Perhaps no other State does better in proportion to the number of its self-supporting churches. Of the eighty-one Congregational churches, over seventy are dependent more or less upon aid from the National Society. The Secretary writes: "I think that in almost every church the women are at work; but as every dollar they can raise must go into their own church, they do not report to the State Society. A cash statement does not fairly represent the women's work. This is not worthy the name of Report, but states our situation, and we hope to grow to reports before long. 'Oh! woman, great is thy faith; be it unto thee according as thou wilt."

South Dakota.-This is frontier home missionary ground. Of the eight Congregational churches, four are self-supporting, yet they number five Auxiliaries to their Woman's Home Missionary Union. Their force is principally expended on the needs immediately about them, reserving as a special luxury the privilege of helping the national cause outside of their own State. They are engaged in a hand-to-hand fight for the cause of truth and a pure religion, and what they do give in dollars and cents represents vastly more than in the East, of devotion, and interest, and self-denial.

North Dakota.-"Hold the Fort" seems to be the watchword for North Dakota. We see the signals waving over these vast prairies in all directions. Reinforcements are coming in slowly but surely, and there is every reason for thanksgiving and praise. In Harwood every woman in their country neighborhood is a member of the Woman's Home Missionary Society. They report nine Auxiliaries.

OUR FOREIGN POPULATION.

BY MRS. H. M. SHELTON, SECRETARY.

Ar the late meeting in Saratoga of the American Home Missionary Society, the subject of our work among the foreign population thronging our shores filled a large place; their numbers and growing political power in our large cities; their numbers and molding influence too in their more scattered condition throughout the Western States. Particularly in the woman's meeting of June 2d was this subject made

prominent as a practical point, and the support of the Society's work among foreigners was offered to the woman's organization, as a special object for their efforts, prayers and contributions. Let us, by God's grace, be instrumental in the conversion of these multitudes of strangers to a pure Christianity, and we shall thus best solve the problem— "What shall we do with the foreigners?"

ONE State Secretary, in giving report of home missionary work done, says: "The Bohemian Mission has diverted some contributions from the National treasuries, but no one can question the importance of sustaining that work. Better expand than cripple or weaken it." The Bohemian Mission is a part of the general work of the American Home Missionary Society. To it we appropriate thousands of dollars annually. Now why should not all the funds given to this work pass through the hands of the Treasurer of the American Home Missionary Society? All will be appropriated according to the wish of the donor.

The receipts and disbursements of the Society will be justly increased and the individual churches and States will be accredited with a nearer approach to what they are really doing for home missions.

GOOD NEWS FROM IOWA.

BORN at Marion, June 4th, 1886, "THE WOMAN'S HOME MISSIONARY UNION OF IOWA. " This infant of a day will soon call for supplies needed for its growth. All doing well.-T. O. D.

HOME MISSIONS THE HOPE OF OUR COUNTRY.

THE above is the title of an inspiring little leaflet published by the "Minnesota Woman's Home Missionary Society," of which Mrs. E. S. Williams is the President; Mrs. H. L. Chase, Secretary; and Mrs. J. N. Cross, Treasurer. The following brief extracts will be read with interest by those connected with similar organizations:

Do the women of all our churches understand that we divide our contributions with four societies now-the American Home Missionary Society; the American Missionary Association; the American Congregational Union and the New West Education Commission? Please repeat over these names, study what they mean and consider how far reaching our gifts may be. Taking in one hand our home work, we reach from the island-studded shores of old Maine to the orange groves of Los Angeles on the Pacific coast. There, linking hands with our sisters of the Woman's Board, we help carry around the globe the bless

Are

ing of the gospel,which is everywhere the joy and help of woman. we adding to our Auxiliaries? Are more women interested in the work this year than last? Are our contributions increasing? . . Some of you say: "How can we keep up so many meetings? We are few, scattered, busy; our means are small; we have so much to do for ourselves; the women are not interested; they will not come and help us." Dear sisters you do not need many meetings. Doubtless you already have a sewing society or an afternoon prayer meeting; graft upon that your missionary meeting. Sew and plan, pray and study about missions, both home and foreign, in one meeting. Every interest outside your own church is some sort of missionary work. Let your hearts grow large in every direction. Persuade your pastor, if he has not already persuaded you, to revive the old-fashioned missionary concert. It need not be one bit dull. Have the sweetest singing and freshest talks you can get, and never forget the contribution box; for "to give is to live." Often our great duty-and a trying one too-is to teach those about us to love this work.

THE AMERICAN HOME MISSIONARY SOCIETY.

THIS Society, which we most affectionately and appropriately call “the dear mother of us all," does the foundation work in all our country. She sends the missionary to the settlers in the new town and on the prairie, gathers them together for the first church and pays the bills. until they can shoulder the burden themselves. Nearly all our Minnesota churches have started into life and been for several years under her fostering care. Indeed we have now but thirty-seven self-supporting churches, while one hundred and fourteen are still nurtured by this Society. She has expended in this State more than half a million dollars. ($541,174.) We have returned in our contributions less than one-eighth of what we have received. ($60,317.) What a debt remains unpaid! A debt, too, of the most sacred honor. For sixty years this brooding mother has thus generously nurtured her swarming children. With a foreign population of 15,000,000 and a tidal wave of immigration constantly pouring in on us, bringing the heathen to our very doors, with Mormonism, Socialism and Intemperance blighting our best interests, with the dangerous classes massing in our cities, with hireling hordes corrupting the ballot-box and angry strikers warring on property rights, do we not intensely need the welding power of the gospel in our midst? Is it not the one solvent of all earth's most serious questions? Shall we not help this potent society to send its mes-. sengers to our western towns and to the poor and ignorant masses of our cities?

In round numbers there are 100,000 Christian Congregational families in the United States. The Home Missionary Society