state of man, but simply as God's determination "from the beginning to save all who should comply with the conditions of salvation."

The Freewill Baptists have quarterly and yearly conferences, and a general conference meeting once in two years. The quarterly conference consists of delegates representing a number of churches. It inquires into the condition of the churches, and is empowered to advise, admonish, or withdraw fellowship from them. It may not, however, "deprive a church of its inpependent form of government nor its right to discipline its members, nor labor with individual members of churches as such"; it may only deal with the churches as churches. The yearly meeting is composed of delegates elected by quarterly meetings. It occupies the same relation to quarterly meetings as quarterly meetings do to the churches. The general conference, which is charged with the care of the general interests of the denomination, is composed of delegates from the yearly meetings. It may discipline yearly meetings, but not quarterly meetings or churches. It is expressly forbidden to reverse or change the decisions of any of the subordinate bodies. Those desiring to become ministers are licensed for a year by the quarterly meeting and ordained by a council of the meeting. Each church, besides its pastor, clerk, and treasurer, has a board of deacons, who assist at baptism and the Lord's Supper, which is observed monthly, have the care of the poor, and conduct religious meetings in the absence of the pastor.

The denomination has 51 yearly meetings (some are called associations), with 1586 organizations, 1225 edifices, valued at $3,115,642, and 87,898 communicants. It also occupies 349 halls, etc., having a seating capacity of 37,260.

It is represented in thirty-three States, chiefly Northern and Western. It is strongest in New England, where it originated. In Maine there are 16,294 members. This is the banner State of the denomination.

The average seating capacity of the churches is 285, and the average value $2543.

7. THE ORIGINAL FREEWILL BAPTISTS.

In the first half of the eighteenth century a number of General Baptist churches were organized in North Carolina. These, with some which had been formed in Virginia a little earlier, constituted an association in 1729. Thirty years later many of these General had become Calvinistic or Regular Baptist churches. Those who did not unite with the Calvinistic associations were popularly called "Freewillers," because they held to the doctrine of the freedom of the will. Accepting that term, they became known eventually as Original Freewill Baptists, the word original" probably referring to their early history.

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Their doctrines are set forth in a confession of faith consisting of eighteen articles. It declares that Christ "freely gave himself a ransom for all, tasting death for every man"; that God wants all to come to repentance; that "all men, at one time or another, are found in such capacity as that through the grace of God they may be eternally saved"; that those "ordained to condemnation" are the ungodly who refuse to repent and believe the gospel; that children dying in infancy are not subject to the second death; that God has not "decreed any person to everlasting death or everlasting life out of respect or mere choice," except in appointing the "godly unto life and the ungodly who die in sin unto death"; that only believers should be baptized, and the only baptism is immersion. They believe in washing the saints' feet and in anointing the sick with oil.

The churches hold for business purposes quarterly conferences, in which all members may participate; they have a clerk, a treasurer, deacons who prepare for the communion service and care for the poor, and ruling elders to settle

controversies between brethren. Communion and feetwashing are as a rule held quarterly. Members of churches are forbidden to frequent the "race-track, the card-table, shooting-matches, or any other place of disorder." In church trials it is provided that "no person of color within the pale of the church shall give testimony against any person" except one " of color." Only male members shall occupy the offices of the church. Annual conferences, composed of all the elders (pastors), ministers (ordained), and preachers (licentiates) in good standing, and of delegates from the churches, have power to "silence" preachers, try and disown or discontinue elders, receive new churches, and settle difficulties in churches.

There are three conferences, with churches in the two Carolinas. The number of organizations is 167, with 125 church edifices, valued at $57,005, and 11,864 communicants. The average seating capacity of the edifices is 331, and their average value $455. Forty-three halls, etc., afford seating capacity for 4650 persons.

8. THE GENERAL BAPTISTS.

The General Baptists are thus distinguished because originally they differed from the Particular or Regular Baptists in holding that the atonement of Christ was general, not particular; that is, for the whole race, and not

simply for those effectually called. There were General Baptists in England early in the seventeenth century. Indeed, some of their historians claim that they appeared both in England and America before the Particular or Regular Baptists.

General Baptists in New England associated themselves in a yearly meeting at the beginning of the eighteenth century. Churches of the same faith and order were also organized in the first half of that century in Maryland, Virginia, and the Carolinas. Most of these early churches, it appears, subsequently became Regular or Calvinistic.

churches.

The first association of General Baptists in the West, where the denomination now has its entire strength, was the Liberty, of Kentucky, organized in 1824. In 1830 it adopted the practice of open communion, and about 1845 changed one of its articles of belief, which had been formulated at its organization, so as to embrace "infants and idiots" in the covenants of God's grace, and another so as to say that "he that shall endure to the end, the same shall be saved," instead of declaring that "the saints will finally persevere through grace to glory." These changes indicated the desire to eliminate such elements of Calvinism as had been introduced when the articles were adopted a few years before.

In 1870 the General Baptists formed a general association, in which all General Baptist associations are represented. The purpose of the general association was to bring "into more intimate and fraternal relation and effective coöperation various bodies of liberal Baptists." The denomination has received accessions of Freewill churches, but some of its churches have in turn joined Freewill and