immense amount of labor, the full harvest of which we and our successors are yet to reap and garner, and mark, somewhat our grand vantage-ground over our predecessors over sixty years ago, and still, moreover, those early preachers toiling at the foundations of their work, without even the cost of printing to aid them in disseminating Christian truth. Carry out the parallel in all the other foundations laid-the schools and printing-presses established, the Christian communities and churches organized, and the hundreds of places in every part of the unevangelized world, whose Gospel light has been kindled, and how is it possible, for a moment, to compare our position with that of those early preachers at the inception of their mighty work, without feeling that God has given us facilities for carrying it forward to completion, of which they were able to catch but the feeblest glimpse, and this only in prophetic vision!

Art, VII.-PRESBYTERIAN COLLEGES, AS RELATED TO THE GROWTH OF OUR MINISTRY.*

By REV. A. A. E. TAYLOR, D.D., President of Wooster University, Ohio.

THE preaching of the Gospel is conceded to be the divinely ordained method of propagating true religion upon the earth. It, therefore, becomes one of the fundamental duties of the church to provide the supply of ministers needful for the task, of course subject to the action of the personal divine call to the ministry. There are two principal reasons that make this labor on the part of the church incessant, as they require a constant supply of new candidates for the pulpit. These are, first, the natural waste of the clergy by retirement from active

* Annual Catalogues of Allegheny, Auburn, Chicago, Danville, Lane, Princeton, and Union (N. Y.) Theological Seminaries, for 1875-76.

Annual Reports of the Board of Education, and Annual Minutes of the General Assembly.

duty, by dismission to other branches of Christian work, and such like causes, and by death; and, second, the ever enlarging demand arising from the steadfast increase in number of home churches to be supplied, and in the expansion of the missionary work. In our rapidly developing nation, the home cause of itself requires a large, constant increase of ministers. Confining our attention in this article to the "Presbyterian Church of the United States of America," as distinguished from other Presbyterian bodies, let us take the Minutes of its General Assembly for the current year as the basis of some estimates relating to the demand and supply of its ministry. So doing, we herein discover that during the past ecclesiastical year 85 ministers have died, and 27 have been dismissed to other denominations, while there has been an increase of 78 in the number of the churches. This creates the need for 190 new ministers, not taking into account now the question of any surplus number that may be already on hand. As an offset to this loss, we have, during the same period, ordinations, 137; ministers received from other churches, 53; in all, precisely 190, thus so far balancing these accounts. There is left, therefore, as the deficiency for the year, exactly that number lost to the church by retirement to other duties, or to rest from active labors, and the increased requirement of new missionary fields during the year. This number of retiring clergymen is difficult to estimate with any approximate accuracy from lack of proper data, but that it must be very considerable is shown by the fact, that fully one-fourth of our enrolled ministry is not engaged in direct supply of our churches, and that one-fifth of our churches now stand vacant.*

That there is a serious falling off in the proportionate supply of our ministry, the following comparison will show, as drawn from the Minutes of the following respective years:

Here we find that in five years there have been 63 more

* By an accurate count in the Minutes of Assembly of 1875, it is found that of 4.706 ministers, 1,153 are reckoned as either retired, teaching, acting as agents, or

churches added than ministers, and, also, that while the general average at present yields about 112 communicants for each minister enrolled, the comparative increase of these five years has been but one minister to each 200 communicants. Taking into account, however, the fact already mentioned, that onefourth of the ministry is out of the pulpit, it leaves the present average of one active minister to each 150 members. Thus we have a falling off in these five years in the supply of ministers of at least 25 per cent., or 5 per cent. per annum, in proportion to the increase of membership. If it be suggested that this is no serious loss, since it is remedied by the average increase of membership in each church, the reply is evident that this distribution of increase cannot go on very long, the churches being, on the average, quite large enough for the strength of the ministry now, and it will not do to depend upon it for any length of time, or otherwise than as a temporary expedient. The above result is also indicated by the valuable tables of comparative increase in churches and ministry in the last report of the Board of Education, wherein it is proved, that while the increase of membership for the past five years has been 7 per cent. per annum, the increase of the ministry for the same period has been but 2 per cent. per annum. The comparison of the tables for the last ten years yields a still greater disproportion, while as we run our eye still further back, comparing the growth of the church by decades, the steadfast decline of both ministry and membership is really alarming.

If we now turn to the direct means used for the supply of ministers, we find that our church has made liberal and efficient provision for the theological training of candidates, fully equal in all respects to the demand likely to be imposed upon her. We have eight theological seminaries in active operation. Of these the Pacific Seminary has as yet but very few students (seven last year), and in the absence of a printed catalogue, its data are beyond our reach, and have not been estimated or taken into our account at all.

supplies for churches in other connections. Beside these, many are designated as Evangelists, which seems now to be the popular phrase, of whom a goodly number are agents, or preach but rarely, and without regular appointments. Also, out of our 5,077 churches, the Minutes show 1,074 to be vacant in 1876.

The remaining seminaries report for the last year, as follows:

These figures show an average of about II students to each instructor. However, the first mentioned four seminaries having 27 teachers and 395 students, have nearly 15 students to each professor; while the remaining three seminaries, with 15 teachers and 82 students, average but five and a half students to a professor.

It is aside from our present purpose or desire to comment on these figures, further than to say, that if the church lack candidates it is evidently not from want of sufficient provision under able and renowned professors, and with large endowments and means of pecuniary assistance in the theological schools. Twice the present number of students might be therein accommodated. But now, taking the number of students in these seminaries, and dividing by three, which is the number of years in the seminary course of study, we have resulting a prospective yearly increase of candidates from this source of about 160. It is, however, to be considered, as will hereafter be illustrated, that a goodly proportion of these students are candidates of various other denominations, seeking here the superior educational facilities offered by our schools, which fact seriously lessens the prospective proportion of candidates herefrom for our own supply. But, as already shown, the average annual number demanded by the wants of the church from other sources than that caused by retirement from active duties of the ministry is 190. This makes apparent the necessity of an increase for estimated demands of our churches, of certainly not less than 100, aud probably 150, ministers annually, of whom, if, as last year's figures show, 50 came from other churches, we should have to satisfy the demand of no less than 100 more theological students annually. And this estimate is based upon the present rate of progress in our church without

providing for that enlargement of her work, naturally to be expected, and certainly to be prayed for and looked for in her present position.

Now the grave question inevitably arises, whence are we to reasonably expect this increase, imperatively required to meet the demand which is now steadfast, and that will constantly grow more pressing in its necessity year by year, unless the church decline?

It is a legal requirement of our system, and according to our time-honored custom and inherited principles, that candidates should be prepared, before entering upon their theological training, by a thorough collegiate course, or its full equivalent. It is, therefore, both lawful and expedient to inquire what our church has been doing meanwhile, and what she is now doing, to prepare educated material for her theological schools, by establishing, or fostering, an adequate system of collegiate training preparatory to these technical schools of theology. The answer is as evident as it is damaging, and may reveal, in large part, the secret of this growing insufficiency of candidates. It is a fact that this most important matter has been largely left to provide for itself, in the hands of private educational corporations, often representing her interests, indeed, but very feebly aided by the direct agency and efforts, and, alas! often not encouraged by the sympathies of the church itself. There are a few of these noble collegiate institutions that, through a struggle for many years, a struggle, often, for bare existence, have done most of this preliminary work; but one or two of which have been able to attain, in long years, the rank and power absolutely needed for the demand the church has ever made upon them. The sacrifice has mainly fallen upon a few self-sacrificing instructors, who have devoted their lives, and not unfrequently, besides, their individual means, to the bearing of burdens that justly belonged to the church they were serving.

Now, it is a growing conviction among many of the thoughtful and far-seeing ministers and members of the church, that she has failed, and is failing, just at this point, and that she is suffering, and must suffer more in the future, because of this failure. They feel, that before she can secure to herself such an educated ministry, as she must needs have to insure success