FRIENDS’ PRESENTATION OF THEIR FAITH, WORKS AND HOPES IN THE World’s Parliament of Religions PROCEEDINGS IN THEIR DENOMINATIONAL CONGRESS Ninth mo., 19th, 20th, 21st and 23d. 1893 w. B, Conkey Company, Printers and Binders, CHICAGO. a f^ ^ f. s«. U) £33 {- History of the Movement and Work of Preparation. /I T HE Religious Congress for Friends, held in connection with the World’s Parliament of Religions, from the 19th to the 2 1st of Ninth mo., inclusive, was an occasion of such inter- est and importance in the minds of those favored to attend, that it has been thought by many of our councillors and Friends con- sulted, desirable to preserve in a permanent form a report of the proceedings, together with some notice of attending incidents, for its possible influence upon the welfare of the Society in gen- eral that may follow in after years. Although those who shared in the deliberation came without official authority, probably no convention of our Society has ever been held in which the representation of influential members of our different yearly meetings was more general, or a deeper in- terest felt in the outcome of the occasion. The Congress was the offspring of a movement begun late in the year 1889 at the suggestion of Charles C. Bonney, who, as he assures us, felt the command laid upon him to labor to inaugurate a series of con- gresses as a part of the Columbian Exposition, covering a review of women’s PROGRESS, THE PRESS, SCIENCE OF MEDICINE, TEMPER- ANCE, MORAL AND SOCIAL REFORM, COMMERCE AND FINANCE, MUSIC, LITERATURE, EDUCATION, ENGINEERING, ART AND ARCHITECTURE, GOVERNMENT AND LAW REFORM, SCIENCE AND PHILOSOPHY, LABOR, SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC SCIENCE, RELIGION, SUNDAY REST, PUBLIC health, labor and agriculture, and to meet the call for “some- thing higher and nobler, as demanded by the spirit of the present age, than all even of the great material achievements anticipated in the Exposition proper.” The Department of Religion, considered in its results one of the most important branches of this Congress Auxiliary, as Pres- ident Bonney’s inspiration was officially designated, was early 3 687843 4 RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. organized by the earnest response of leading representatives of the various religious denominations of the city. The following committees of men and women were appointed under the author- ity of the Exposition auxiliary, namely:” Rev. Dr. John Henry Barrows, Presbyterian, Chairman; Rt. Rev. Bishop Wm. E. Mc- Laren, D. D., D. C. L., Prot. Episcopal; Rev. Prof. David Swing, Independent, Vice-Chairmen; His Grace Archbishop P. A. Fee- han, Catholic; Rev. Dr. F. A. Noble, Congregational; Rev. Dr. Wm. M. Lawrence, Baptist; Rev. F. M. Bristol, D. D., Meth- odist; Rabbi E. G. Hirsch, Jew; Rev. Dr. A. J. Canfield, Uni- versalist; Rt. Rev. Bishop C. E. Cheney, Reformed Episcopal; Rev. M. C. Ranseen, Swedish Lutheran; Rev. J. Berger, German Methodist; Mr. J. W. Plummer, Quaker; Rev. J. Z. Torgersen, Norwegian Lutheran; Rev. L. P. Mercer, New Jerusalem, Swed- enborgian; Rev. Jenkin Lloyd Jones, Unitarian, Secretary; Rev. Augusta J. Chapin, Universalist, Chairman; Mrs. C. B. Farwell, Presbyterian, Vice-Chairman; Mrs. Martha H. Ten Eyck, Bap- tist; Mrs. Fred A. Smith, Baptist; Mrs. J. A. Mulligan, Catholic; Mrs. George W. Smith, Catholic; Mrs. George Sherwood, Con- gregational; Mrs. F. B. Little, Congregational; Mrs. J. M. Flower, Episcopalian; Mrs. J. N. Hyde, Episcopalian; Mrs. F. Q. Ball, Independent; Mrs. J. R. Wilson, Independent; Mrs. Henry Soloman, Jew; Mrs. I. G. Moses, Jew; Mrs. C. A. Evald, Lutheran; Mrs. J. J. Esher, Lutheran; Mrs. Arthur Edwards, Methodist; Mrs. Solomon Thatcher, Methodist; Mrs. John Henry Barrows, Presbyterian; Mrs. Emma R. Flitcraft, Quaker; Mrs. Joseph Sears, Swedenborgian; Miss Lillie Scammon, Sweden- borgian; Mrs. Henry B. Stone, Unitarian; Mrs. Celia P. Wooley, Unitarian; Mrs. M. H. Harris, Universalist.” In First mo., 1892, the preliminary address of this committee was issued, inviting the religious world to join in an effort “to unite all religion against all irreligion; to make the golden rule the basis of this Union; to present to the world in the religious congresses to be held in connection with the Columbian Exposition of 1893 the substantial unity of many religions in the good deeds of a relig- ious life; to provide for a World’s Parliament of Religions in which their common aims and common grounds of union may be set forth, and the marvelous religious progress of the nine- teenth century be reviewed; and to facilitate separate and inde- RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. 5 pendent congresses of different religious denominations and organizations, under their own officers, in which their business may be transacted, their achievements presented, and their work for the future reviewed.” Responding to this call, able and worthy representatives of the various sects and religions accepted the appointment by authority of the Auxiliary, and organized their local committees to have the care of the preparations needed to secure the proper representation of each religious body in the parliament. And finally, in completing the organization by which this remarkable event was to be directed, thousands of men and women in all parts of the globe were appointed as Councilors by the same authority, acting upon the suggestions and advice of the auxiliary committees in this department. These men and women, selected for their ability, their philanthropy and devotion to the cause of human progress, were to constitute the advisory councils of the central or local committees. In the organization of the denominational committees, Jon- athan W. Plummer, a member of the general committee, was assigned the chairmanship of the special committee “to repre- sent the separate denominations of Friends.” An address was sent out by this committee in Fourth mo., 1892, setting forth the objects of the movement, and an outline of the grounds Friends had for a part in the congress, as shown in the following extract: “Friends have a history, and have made an impress upon the world. They are now doing a work worthy of a concise but comprehensive report by the most searching, critical, judicious and spiritual minds we can command, for presentation clearly and earnestly to this congress. Our origin, history, doc- trine, organization, government, statistics, worship, liberty to women, missions, evangelization, schools — all may be made to yield the choicest material for the proposed religious exhibit. Our relation to the questions of peace and arbitra- tion, oaths, human freedom, temperance; the influence we have had upon the Christian church during the last two centuries in securing religious liberty and molding religious thought; the result of our suffering and testimony in securing the present noble heritage of civil liberty in this country and Great Britain, are questions inferior in importance to nothing likely to be discussed before the congress.” This address further contained a list of prominent Friends in the United States, Canada and Great Britain who were invite ( d to act as advisory councilors. 6 RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. As the work of preparation for the congress advanced, a feeling arose “that the work would be more harmonious and suc- cessful if committed to the charge of two distinct committees,” and in Eleventh mo. the special committee was by mutual consent divided. The organization for the work in behalf of our own society was then finally completed, with the appointment of the following central committees and advisory councils: General Committee of the World's Congress Auxiliary on a Friends' Re- ligious Congress. J. W. Plummer, Chairman. Benjamin Smith, Secretary , Allen J. Flitcraft, Edward Speakman, James McDonald, Edwin Green, Woman's Committee on a Friends ' Religious Congress. Emma R. Flitcraft, Chairman , Phebe W. Brown, Elizabeth T. Law, Mary Poulson, Elma Louise Brown, Hannah A. Plummer, Mary W. Plummer, The Advisory Council on a Friends’ Religious Congress. Men’s Branch. Robert M. Janney, Philadelphia, Pa. Howard M. Jenkins, Philadelphia, Pa. Isaac H. Clothier, Philadelphia, Pa. Joseph Wharton, Philadelphia, Pa. Isaac Roberts, Conshohocken, Pa. Edward H. Magill, LL. D., Swarth- more, Pa. Aaron M. Powell, Plainfield, N. J. *Robert S. Haviland, Chappaqua, N. Y. William M. Jackson, New York, N. Y. John W. Hutchinson, New York, N. Y. John L. Griffin, New York, N. Y. Joseph A, Bogardus, New York, N. Y. Harry A. Hawkins, New York, N.Y. Henry B. Hallock, Brooklyn, N. Y. *Sam’l B. Haines, New York, N. Y. Jonathan K. Taylor, Baltimore, Md. Joseph J. Janney, Baltimore, Md. Edward J. Farquhar, Washington, D. C. . Eli M. Lamb, Baltimore, Md. Charles M. Stabler, Sandy Spring, Md. Benjamin Miller, Sandy Spring, Md. *John J. Cornell, Baltimore, Md. *Ezekiel Roberts, Emerson, Ohio. *Joseph S. Hartley, Alliance, Ohio. William C. Starr, Richmond, Ind. ^William W. Foulke, Richmond, Ind. Aaron Gano, Richmond, Ind. Aaron Morris, Milton, Ind. Jesse Wright, Springboro, Ohio. *Elwood Trueblood, Salem, Ind. *Thomas E. Hogue, Webster City, Iowa. ^Benjamin F. Nichols, State Centre, Iowa. * Ministers of the Gospel. •RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. 7 Ellwood Burdsall, Port Chester, N. Y. Benjamin D. Hicks, Old Westbury, N. Y. Prof. Arthur Beardsley, Swarthmore, Pa. Edward Stabler, Jr., Baltimore, Md. The Advisory Council on a Woman’ *Edward Coale, Holder, 111. *Isaac Wilson, Bloomfield, Ontario. Charles Thompson, J. P., Westmore- land, Eng. *Allen Flitcraft, Chester, Pa. *Job S. Haines, Mickleton, N. J. *David Bullock, Salem, N. J. riends’ Religious Congress. Branch. *Louisa J. Roberts, 634 N. 12th Street, Philadelphia, Pa. Lydia H. Hall, Swarthmore, Pa. Elizabeth Powell Bond, Swarthmore, Pa. *Lydia H. Price, Green and Harvey Streets, Germantown, Pa. Martha Schofield, Aiken, S. C. Sarah B. Flitcraft, Chester, Pa. Susan J. Cunningham, Swarthmore, Pa. Mary J. Turner, Idlewood, Pa. Elizabeth Lloyd, Lansdowne, Pa. Beatrice Magill, Swarthmore, Pa. Florence Hall, Swarthmore, Pa. Anna M. Jackson, 335 W. 18th Street New York City, N. Y. Phebe C. Wright, Manasquan, N. J. Marianna Chapman, 160 Hicks Street, Brooklyn, N. Y. Anna Rice Powell, Plainfield, N. J. Emily P. Yeo, Chappaqua, N. Y. Anna C. Field, 158 Hicks Street, Brooklyn, N. Y. Eliza Hutchinson, Fordham Heights, N. Y. Mary W. Wright, 73 Remsen Street, Brooklyn, N. Y. Sarah T. Miller, Sandy Spring, Md. Eliza Rawson, Lincoln, Va. Rebecca D. Wilson, Johnson City, Tenn. *Martha S. Townsend, 1923 Park Avenue, Baltimore, Md. Anna W. Lamb, 1432 McCulloh Street, Baltimore, Md. Sarah E. Lippincott, Mt. Auburn, Cincinnati, Ohio. Susan Cunningham, Mt. Auburn, Cincinnati, Ohio. Mary Pine, Mt. Auburn, Cincinnati, Ohio. Mercy G. Hammond, Sterling, Kan. Sarah C. Fox, Salem, Ohio. Abigail Hirst, Richmond, Ind. Mary Reeves Foulke, Richmond, Ind. Caroline M. Reeves, Richmond, Ind. Frances M. Robinson, Richmond, Ind. Elizabeth Davis, Waynesville, Ohio. Elizabeth H. Coale, Holder, 111. Lauretta H. Nichols, State Centre, Iowa. Hannah Mills, Mt. Palatine, 111. Ruth Wilson, Bloomfield, Ont., Can. *Serena Minard, St. Thomas, Ont., Can. Alzina Zavitz, Cold Stream, Ont., Can. Rebecca Schooley, Sparta, Ont., Can. It will be noticed that primarily the committees of men and women Friends were separate — a point yielded in deference to the uniform rule of the Auxiliary, In very few of the con- gresses, however, did it result in separate action, and in our own there was practically but one joint committee. *Minieters of the Gospel. 8 RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. Our preliminary address to the councilors was issued in First mo., 1893, the following extracts from which indicate the scope of work proposed: “The program of the parliament will be fourfold. The first part will consist of the presentation, in one of the large audience rooms of the Art palace, on the lake front park of Chicago, of the grounds of sympathy and fraternal relations among the religious bodies of the world. The second part will consist of the concurrent presentation to the world in another large audience room of the Art palace, of the faith and work of the different partici- pating religious denominations. Separate sessions will be assigned to each denomination for this purpose. The third part of the program will consist of informal conferences in the small halls of the Art palace, in which further information in regard to any of the religious denominations may be sought by persons interested therein. The fourth part of the program will consist of denominational congresses proper, in which each denomination will, in such way as it may deem best, set forth more fully its history, achievements and purposes. These denominational congresses are expected to continue for one week each; and to accommodate them it is expected that more than one hundred Chicago church buildings will be called into requisition. “It is practically settled that our denomination will have from two to three hours for its presentation in the parliament of religions. This, we believe, will give us time for a concise statement of our history, our religious faith, and the testimonies springing out of it; our past work in the world, and our thought as to the best basis for the co-operation of differing faiths in a common contest with jointly recognized evils. “Our separate congress will admit of anything that we believe will be helpful to our society and mankind. It may be an occasion not only for happy intermingling, but also for the consideration of our faith and testi- monies in their application to the world; giving us a better sight of our fields; increasing our conviction of duty toward our fellowmen outside of our own membership, and leading to a more general consecration to this duty in preaching by deed and word, a Christianity that rests in its Christlikeness of temper and purpose, rather than in an adherence to a special form of expres- sion of faith.” The interest and co-operation of our councilors was solicited in arranging the topics and in the selection of persons who might satisfactorily tell to the world our rightful position as a moral and religious people. The responses to our appeal were general and thoughtful, and earnestly sympathetic with the movement. The appointments for our share of the exercises forming a part of the general parliament were completed in accordance with the advice received, and the program announced in an ad- dress issued in Fifth mo., 1893. RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. 9 Inasmuch as the department of religion had primarily made provisions for distinct denominational congresses, the local committee and Friends consulted felt “the opportunity offered for an inquiry into our denominational needs oughf not to be lost.” In response to this feeling a second address was issued in Fourth mo., asking further advice. In this inquiry Friends were invited to give “the fullest expression of counsel to the end that our action may prove wise, and open the way to a spiritual baptism and inspiration to renewed life among us.” A common feeling seemed to arise that in these exercises the Spirit need should receive first consideration; that we should prayerfully consider whether there might be any failure on our part in the past to maintain our vital testimonies, and how “we may in any way increase our faithfulness and efficiency as an organized power in hastening their full and general acceptance.” A program to occupy three sessions was arranged in harmony with these thoughts and as wide information extended to Friends in the seven yearly meetings, as information at the command of the central com- mittee would permit. That Friends not privileged to be in attendance may know of the interest and thoughtfulness of the meetings, catching, if may be, somewhat of the spiritual yearning for a closer service that per- vaded the entire season of the congresses, this report is hopefully offered. SUMMARY OF THE EXERCISES. Four sessions especially devoted to the dissemination and consideration of Friends’ principles and a review of their educa- tional and missionary labors were held — one session in the Gen- eral Parliament of Religions in the hall of Washington and three of the denominational congress. In addition there was given in the hall of Columbus, Seventh day, the 23d, by our representa- tive, Aaron M. Powell, of New York, an address for Friends “of the grounds of Sympathy and Fraternal relations among the Re- ligious bodies of the World.” In arranging the program for each session, it was thought best originally to provide for exercises for about two and a half hours with a short recess. The intensity of interest, however, 10 RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. was such that each session was prolonged to three hours without recess, the closing one continuing four hours with an audience increasing in numbers to the end, made up of Friends, and many not in membership who were attentive listeners. This brief summary of the occasion would be incomplete were no reference made to the meetings on First-days, the 17th and 24th. In anticipation of the promised presence of many Friends from a distance, it was deemed necessary to secure more ample quarters for the First-day meetings than afforded by the regular place of meeting. Through the favor of Illinois’ Yearly Meeting and the courtesy of the managers of Willard hall in the W.C.T.U. temple, that place was secured. The meeting of the 17th drew together a company of over six hundred Friends and others. The impressive silence of the opening was broken by Allen Flitcraft in supplication. Lydia H. Price, Aaron M. Powell, Isaac Wil- son, John J. Cornell, Mary Trevilla, Charlotte Cocks, Benj. F. Nichols and others followed in brief and earnest testimonies, call- ing us to the need of individual consecration and pointing out the opportunities presented at this time for a deeper insight into the principles of the universal Fatherhood of God and the broth- erhood of man. The meeting of the 24th, though probably not much exceeding four hundred, owing in part to inclement weather and the appointed departure on that day of the eastern excursion, was impressively addressed by Serena Minard, Margaretta Wal- ton, Joel Borton, John W. Onderdonk and others, and proved an occasion of deep satisfaction. In concluding the summary, the central committee would express their obligation to the Councilors and Friends generally, for the generous advice and assistance in arranging for the de- tails of the congress, as well as for the presence of so large a representation of Friends from all parts of this country and Can- ada. RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. •I I Presentation in the Parliament of Religions. Hall of Washington, Ninth mo. 19th, 2:30 P.M. A T the hour appointed, Charles C. Bonney, president of the Congress Auxiliary, having invited a brief silence, opened the meeting with a few impressive remarks, in substance as follows: It was not always in his power to be present at the beginning of the various congresses, but when this invitation came, the voice of his sainted mother, who had been a Friend, seemed to bid him accept the call. In reviewing the varied con- ditions and situations of religious communities, one must feel that the barriers heretofore existing between sects and religions must stand in the way of our highest success in seeking to ad- vance the cause of humanity. The very simplicity in the forms and requirements of Friends must be a power in the movement to bring the professors of religion nearer together. A thought had gone abroad that as a society Friends were decaying. He was rejoiced to have in the evidence of the large company present, the glad tidings of their continued or renewed vigor. At the conclusion of President Bonney’s remarks the follow- ing program was presented: Opening Address Jonathan W. Plummer, Chicago. Introduction and Response of the Chairman Robert M. Janney , Phila. Reading of Portions of Whittier’s “Our Master” . .’ Aaron M. Powell, New York. A Statement of the Faith of Friends Howard M. Jenkins, Phila. Read by Robert M. Janney. Our Mission Work Joseph J. Janney, Baltimore. Our Institutions of Learning . . . Edw'd H. Magill, LL.D., Swarthmore. The Position of Woman in the Society Elizabeth Powell Bond , Swarthmore. Read by Hannah A. Plummer. Our Thought as to Co-operation of Distinct Faiths in Labor Against Jointly Recognized Evils Robert S. Haviland, Chappaqua, N. Y. 2 RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. Opening Address. By J. W. Plummer. H OLDING as our fundamental principle the doctrine of the Divine or Spiritual Indwelling in every accountable soul, constituting the divine image in which God created man, we also hold to the belief that all men are brothers, children of the same Spiritual Father; hence, we enter joyfully into co-operation with our brethren from every land and of every religious faith, in the effort to combine the power of all religions in opposition to the sin and evils that afflict man and prevent his reaching the stand- ard of righteousness, that gives peace, joy, content, with a pure and noble manhood and womanhood. Therefore, in full harmony with the spirit and purpose of the occasion, I extend greetings of welcome and fellowship not only to you who are known by the denominational name of Friends, but al^o to you, our friends of other faiths, who are with us this afternoon. An occasion like this has been unknown heretofore in the religious history of the world. A new day is dawning. A day of clearer vision in which we can see that all human beings, wherever living, and holding whatever religious faith they may, are children of the same Spirit- ual Father, however differently we may name Him. Under this common Fatherhood, we are all brothers, and may be brothers at peace with each other, under a common hope and common aspi- rations. Holding faithfully to our differing beliefs and church customs, so long as they seem to us the best exponents of relig- ious truth and practice, we may fellowship in work against com- monly recognized sin or evil. We may give to each other credit for sincerity and good purposes, and breathe a common prayer that peace and good-will may increase among men. Under the light of this new day, which we hope will rapidly grow brighter, we may work each in our appointed fields for the lessening of vice with its penalties, and forthe increase of righteousness of daily life among all men, to the end, that they may rise to a higher RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. 3 standard of purity and integrity, and human life pass from its too frequent wretchedness and poverty of body, mind and spirit, to that happiness, content and comfort which is our inheritance under the Divine law. May we not hope, too, for greater helpful- ness and co-operation among all faiths, that will increase our power to do the Divine will and bring the kingdom of justice and love into greater rule in the hearts of men? As this spirit of peace and fellowship increases among us, may we not expect to see the real essentials of all religion become clearer to our vision, and the non-essentials that have separated us gradually grow dim and lose their separating power? Will we not thus find a line of common faith, though differently voiced, leading to the same righteousness of life and binding us nearer together in our con- tests with the powers of evil? It is under such hopes as these that we, as Friends, have met in this session, to present to our brethren of other faiths a statement of the faith that has led us to feel God’s love flow into our hearts, and out from our hearts toward the whole brotherhood of the race. This love has led us to be pioneers in the effort to abolish intemperance, ignorance, slavery, war and vices that lead men downward. As a result of this faith, we lived at peace with the Indians of Pennsylvania as long as the State was under the control of the Friends. We advocated in our earlier days that liberty of con- science for all, which we asked for ourselves, and called for the arbitration of differences between individuals, as well as between nations. Our papers following will present to you in fuller state- ment the fruitage of this faith, as it has guided our lives during the two and a half centuries of our denominational existence, and we ask for our presentation, that which we give to others, a kindly spirit of fellowship and inquiry that will allow whatever we present to meet a welcome, so far as it may seem true, or worthy, in the kindly hearts that receive our message. 14 RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. Address of Robert M. Janney, Chairman for the “Presentation.” I N assuming the chairmanship of this session of the religious congress, I desire to say, briefly, on behalf of the Society of Friends whose presentation is now to be made, that we have looked forward to, and rejoiced in this opportunity for making known to the world, here represented by those of all faiths and of every clime, the simple belief which we hold, and which to us is so vitally true and so tenderly dear. But we have rejoiced much more in this, that by our presence in this great congress, and by our participation in its deliberations, we can testify our abiding interest in its purposes and our deep sympathy with the thought for which it stands. That thought, as we apprehend it, is a fuller recognition of the universal Fatherhood of God and the all-embracing brother- hood of man. If then, one is our Father, even God, and all we are brethren, must we not go forward as children of that common Father, and under the influence of His Spirit, to the accomplish- ment of His purposes? Shall we not strive to bring in that bet- ter day — “When all men’s good, is each man’s rule, And universal peace lies like a shaft of light across the land, And like a lane of beams athwart the sea, Through all the circle of the Golden Year.” Our aspiration is that, individually, our lives may be con- formed to and concerned with those things that are true — those things that are honest — those things that are just — those things that are pure — those things that are lovely — those things that are of good report; and that, denominationally, putting aside all clamor and evil speaking, we may go forward unitedly against all forms of evil and wrong, and to the support of all that is true and good, until God’s righteousness shall cover the earth as the waters cover the sea RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. Our Master. J. G. Whittier. Read by Aaron M. Powell. Immortal love, forever full, Forever flowing free, Forever shared, forever whole, A never-ebbing sea! Our outward lips confess the name All other names above; Love only knoweth whence it came, And comprehendeth love. Blow, winds of God, awake and blow, The mists of earth away! Shine out, O Light Divine, and show How wide and far we stray! Hush every lip, close every book, The strife of tongues forbear; Why forward reach, or back ward look, For love that clasps like air? We may not climb the heavenly steeps To bring the Lord Christ down; In vain we search the lowest deeps For Him no depths can drown. In joy of inward peace, or sense Of sorrow over sin, He is His own best evidence, His witness is within. But warm, sweet, tender, even yet A present help is He, And faith has still its Olivet, And love its Galilee. 1 6 RELIGIOUS CONGRE.SS FOR FRIENDS. Deep strike Thy roots, O heavenly vine, Within our earthly sod, Most human and yet most divine, The flower of man and God! Thy litanies, sweet offices Of love and gratitude; The sacramental liturgies, The joy of doing good. We faintly hear, we dimly see In differing phrase we pray; But, dim or clear, we own in Thee The light, the truth, the way. m up RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. A Statement of the Faith of Friends. Howard M. Jenkins. HE Religious Society of Friends, represented in part by this 1 gathering in the congress of religions, arose in England in the middle of the seventeenth century. Its first and most emi- nent minister, George Fox, the son of a weaver, himself a shoe- maker and shepherd, was born in 1614, and began his religious labors somewhat earlier than 1650. Dying in 1690, his forty years of activity had served to awaken, to gather, and to organize the religious society for which we speak, and which has now had an existence and a history for nearly two centuries and a half. Friends, or Quakers, are an outgrowth from the Protestant movement, and are identified almost entirely with the English- speaking nations. Not now united in one body, those who claim the name and who regard themselves, notwithstanding variations in views and usage, as having the right to employ it, are found in Great Britain, the United States,. Canada and Australia, with a few scattered companies elsewhere, mainly the result of mission- ary effort. Altogether their actual membership is less than 150,- 000, and in the body which this gathering particularly represents, and which is organized in seven yearly meetings, all in America, there is a membership somewhat less than 25,000. Whether con- sidered then as a whole, or in their several divisions, the Friends are in numbers so few as to be almost insignificant when com- pared with the greater churches of Christendom. Nevertheless, Truth must be weighed, not measured. It does not depend on numbers. What, then, was the truth which in 1650 George Fox was de- claring? It was that which Jesus signified in His declaration to the woman of Samaria by the brink of Jacob’s well: “God is Spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in Spirit, and in truth.” The young preacher called his hearers to a spir- i8 RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. itual knowledge of God and to a real life of religion. He de- nounced, therefore, the outward and summoned to the inward. He testified against form in order that substance might be possessed and enjoyed. William Penn says of the early Friends: “They were directed to the light of Jesus Christ within them, as the seed and leaven of the kingdom of God; near all, because in all, and God’s talent to all. A faithful and true witness and just monitor in every bosom. The gift and grace of God to life and salvation that appears to all, though few regard it.” Such a conception of the Truth is simple, but it is far-reaching. Thrown into the crucible with this powerful solvent, much that was thought, and still is thought, essential in the systems of religion is consumed. For if religion is simple, and not complex, if it is a practical work, and not a formula of doctrine, or program of ritual, if we may turn away from cloister and cathedral to hear the voice of God within our own souls, a great structure ecclesi- astical, ceremonial must decay and disappear. “Too late I loved Thee, O Beauty of ancient days, yet ever new!” says Augustine himself. ‘ And lo! Thou wert within, and I abroad searching for Thee! Thou wert with me, but I was not with Thee.” George Fox did not proclaim a new scheme of salvation, or propose a more elaborate or more attractive system of religion. He conceived that his mission was altogether different. He pro- posed to return to first principles. He wished to call mankind home. He saw them distracted by confusing voices, such as the Master Himself had warned against, the “ Lo, here is Christ!” and “ Lo, there He is!” and he cited them therefore to the knowing of Christ within. “ For, lo,” declared Jesus, “the kingdom of God is within you!” This, then, is that which Quakerism regards as supremely the Truth, the conception of the Inner Light. It is that which has been called by many names, as the thought, exquisitely simple and beautiful, has unfolded to many minds. It is the Divine Immanence, the Divine Inshining, immediate revelation, or, in the words of Penn, “The light of Christ within, God’s gift for man’s salvation.” Such a gift, conferred by a just God, must be universal. It must be of every age and all lands, It can be no private property RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. 19 or exclusive possession. So the Quaker believes. To him the touch of man with man, and of nation with nation, results from God’s creative act, and God’s universal saving Light. Such Light shone upon the patriarchs, it dwelt with Moses, it enlightened the prophets, it appears in the psalms. Nor yet in Palestine was it confined. The world’s life, growing toward the consciousness of its presence, responds to its power in every land, feebly and slowly, but yet evidently. “ O Beauty, old yet ever new! Eternal voice and inward word, The Logos of the Greek and Jew, The old sphere-music which the Samian heard! “ Nor bounds, nor clime, nor creed thou know’st, Wide as our need Thy favors fall; The white wings of the Holy Ghost Stoop, seen or unseen, o’er the heads of all.” Self-evident, self-proved, the Light Within demands no con- firmation, convicting and convincing, it shines alike for prince or pauper, for savant or savage, in palace or desert, on land or on sea. It must not be thought that the Quaker doctrine of the Inner Light is a doctrine merely, an intellectual conception, to be theoretically held. Bancroft, when he says in his noble chapter, “the Quaker has but one word, the Inner Light, the voice of God in the soul,” speaks truly, and yet not fully. We must follow his next words, when he says: “That Light is a reality, and, there- fore, in its freedom, the highest revelation of Truth; it is kindred with the Spirit of God, and, therefore, in its purity should be listened to as the guide to virtue; it shines in every man’s breast, and, therefore, joins the whole human race in the unity of equal rights.” “The bent and stress of their ministry,” William Penn says of the early Friends, “was conversion to God, regeneration and holiness; not schemes of doctrine and verbal creeds, nor new forms of worship, but a leaving off in religion the superfluous, and reducing the ceremonious and formal part, and pressing earnestly the substantial, the necessary and profitable part to the soul. They directed people to a principle by which all that they asserted, preached, and exhorted others to, might be wrought in them, and known, through experience, to be true.” This is the fullness of the great principle of Quakerism; that it is not dog- 20 RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. matic, but practical; not barren, but fruitful; not held intellectu- ally, but experienced livingly and exemplified in life. “Whoso- ever heareth these sayings of Mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man which built his house upon a rock.” These are the words of the Master. “He hath shown thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?” These are the words of the Prophet. ‘T'or as the body without the Spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead, also.” And these are the words of the Apostle. True Quakerism, then, means both the knowledge of God spiritually, and the practical manifestation in this life of the Divine influence. In so far as Friends fall short in either of these particulars, so far they fail to reach their own ideal. Little or much, so they must be judged. Friends were called to a particular work. So long as they are entitled to their name they must pursue the course which Fox laid out, and continue to summon the world home. The sub- stance of Truth does not change. The duty of calling mankind back to it remains. As the muezzin never tires and never fails, but repeats unvaryingly from age to age his summons to prayer, so forever, while it lives, Quakerism is bound to cry, “Turn with- in! Turn within!” Is this war? It is peace. It is the appeal to the common tie and common ground of all religions. Such a demand goes out in Christian love to lay gentle hold upon every system, every fold, every communion. If, as in the days of P'ox, acceptance of the call requires a sacrifice, a surrender of the ceremonial and outward, who shall be blamed for this ? The Chris- tian, when he reached the place of the cross, found the burden which he had been bearing roll from his shoulders. Will the world, then, coming to the cross, embrace the Truth, and cast off hindering things, or rail, as of old, at the prophets? It must be said that the appeal made by Friends has never been without hopeful response. From the beginning they found fresh courage, as they learned that the principle of truth which appeared to them had appeared to many before. Its germ they found in the philosophy of Plato, and in the writings of the Christian fathers they rejoiced to see it clearly set forth. Tertul- lian, Justin Martyr, Clement of Alexandria, were among those RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. 21 who had testified to the efficacy and the beauty of the Divine Indwelling — Clement, indeed, with an oriental richness of expres- sion compared with which our own seems poor and meager. After their day the church lapsed; in the words of Pressense, such teaching as Clements’ was too pure and too spiritual for that age; yet the stream, lost then among the arid sands of external authority, was seen to rise again when those desert wastes had been passed. The witnesses to its presence are a goodly com- pany, and their names are not limited to one land or church. Recalling the testimony of Francis of Assisi, of Thomas of Kempis, of Tauler, of the persecuted Spaniard Molinos, of the broad-minded, but too submissive Fenelon, of the German peasant Jakob Bohme, of Madame Guyon, and many more, the Quaker has found in all a spirit confirming and supporting his own. And, as the nineteenth century closes, he hears in the discourse of many earnest and spiritual evangelists the very thought of Fox. The two elements, the two sides of the truth which he proclaimed, are here again — reassertion of the Divine Inshining and the demand for a pure and sincere life. Beset by opponents, afflicted by their own doubts and difficulties, perceiving that the spirit of dogma claims too much and yet realizes far too little, the Chris- tian leaders recur to original principles, and appeal once more to fundamental truth. The preaching of the early Friends is heard again all about us. If we speak of the logical consequences of Friends’ fundamen- tal principle, the question will be asked us, “What are they? What does the conception of the divine inshining necessarily imply?” To answer this at length would unduly extend this paper, and to answer it with completeness would with even more certainty exceed the ability of the present writer. For, as has been said, the doctrine of the inner light, while it is simple, is far- reaching. He would be more than bold who would assign to the Spirit of God its metes and bounds. Yet there are certain results of the principle which seem at once natural and inevitable. Speaking on the point of doctrine briefly and guardedly, we may say that the Truth as Fox saw, and his followers see it, implies a benignant and merciful God, and forbids and dismisses the con- trary thought. He who, as Peter perceived, is no respecter of persons; He who has left none of His children without a witness, 22 RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. but has imparted the principle of Truth to them all, must be a God of love, as John declared Him, and as the world is coming to believe. Whatever, therefore, in the theologies of men, the catechisms and confessions, short or long, of churches or sects, proceeds in harmony with this conception of the Infinite Father- hood, is Quakerism. If it were needful to state more precisely and more compactly the faith of Friends, I should say, and I speak only as an indi- vidual member, that it may be given under five headings. The first of these is fundamental to all religion. The second is the distinctive doctrine of Friends, without which there can be no Quakerism. And it, and the statements which follow it, as they vary from the declared creeds of other religious bodies, separate and differentiate Friends from the “churches” generally. I will call them the first five principles of Quakerism. First. — The Supreme Being. Recognition and worship of God, the Creator and Ruler of all, attributing to Him the supreme qualities of goodness, love and mercy. Second. — The Divine Immanence. Belief that God, thus good, loving and merciful, directly reveals Himself to the perceptions of man; that His light shines into our souls, if we admit it, and becomes thus “ God’s gift for man’s salvation.” Third. — The Scriptures. Confirming this immediate revelation of the divine nature and purpose, the Scriptures record the visitations of God to the souls of men in past ages, and, in the New Testament, present to us the sub- lime and crowning truths of the Christian dispensation. We therefore revere the Scriptures, and desire to become possessors of the truth they contain, through the enlightenment of the same Spirit by which that truth was originally given forth from God; without such enlightenment, we believe, none can obtain a true spiritual knowledge of them. Fourth. — The Divinity of Christ. Convinced that the divine nature in the Christ Spirit, the Word “which was in the beginning,” dwelt in Jesus as an unparalleled, and to our finite preceptions, an immeasurable degree, we regard Him (as John G. Whittier has formulated it) as “the highest possible manifes- tation of God in man.” Fifth. — The Christ Rule in Daily Life. Desiring the guidance of the Divine Spirit which was in Jesus, and embracing, from the force of His exam- ple, and through inward convincement, the infinite truth He illustrated and taught, Friends see in it the ideal of a religious life, and have striven to make real His teachings — the Spirit, not the letter; reality, not form; love, not hatred; brotherly kindness, not oppression; moderation, not excess; simplicity, not ostentation; sincerity, not pretense; truth, hot deceit; economy, not waste; and out of their sincere, if unperfected, endeavor to guide their daily acts by these Christian rules, have logically and directly come their “testimonies,” and most, if not all, of their “peculiarities.” RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. 23 These statements form a body of belief, a positive and de- finite faith. They are not a creed in the ordinary sense; first, because they do not proceed much beyond the simple and essen- tial truths of the Christian religion; and second, because they have never been officially presented as a “confession” or “dec- laration ” of the society. They will all be found distinctly set forth in the works of those who are recognized as the society’s founders and leaders, and all have been recognized by impartial and acute writers outside the society as among the principles which give it character and reason for being. This state'ment of faith, not proceeding to consider those theological formulas which necessarily are abstract and specula- tive, and which therefore are largely determined in each mind by many influences of temperament and surroundings, leaves all such to individual settlement. No one is to be persecuted for opin- ions concerning them. As experience has shown, at every step in recorded history, while there may be a substantial unity of Christian believers so far as concerns the essentials of Christian- ity, it is in vain that complete uniformity of belief is demanded. No measures of severity and cruelty, no shedding of blood or waste of treasure has ever availed to bring about an agreement upon doctrinal opinions which are much removed from primal truth. Variations of view being thus natural and unavoidable, perhaps even desirable, the charity which is so great an element in Christian conduct must cover them all. This body of Friends has happily been preserved by this rule for more than sixty years, finding brotherly love to prevail through “diligence to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” Such a unity of the Spirit is, indeed, a visible sign of the Qua- ker system. Such unity existed among the Christian societies of the apostolic time. To revive the spirituality, the simplicity of that day has been a Quaker aspiration. The doctrines and testi- monies of friends, when faithfully maintained, says Samuel M. Janney, “constitute in their view a revival of primitive Chris- tianity.” The early and uncorrupted church had, he says, these characteristics: “A pure spiritual worship; a free Gospel min- istry; Religious liberty; a testimony against war and oppres- sion; a testimony against oaths; a testimony against vain fashions, corrupting amusements, and flattering titles.” To the 24 RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. analysis thus made the system of Friends distinctly corresponds. The two are practically identical. The worship of Friends, in silence, without form or ceremony, or pre-arrangement of services; their adherence to a free ministry, qualified by spiritual baptism and enlightenment; their charity and forbearance, as to the non- essentials of doctrine; and their several testimonies against war and oppression, the taking of oaths, and the vanities and cor- ruptions of the world, are a near and close revival of the primitive church. Friends, it is true, have never observed the “ordinances” of water baptism and the supper. Both seem to them outward, tending to the worship of the symbol instead of the thing sym- bolized. So far as either of them has virtue or value it must be spiritual, not external or formal, and it is to the spiritual baptism and communion that Friends aspire. Finally, then, let us speak of those “logical consequences” of the Quaker principle which are expressed in conduct. As to these there has been little variation of opinion among the dif- ferent bodies of Friends. They have agreed that those who seek the divine guidance, and profess a submission to it, must give evidence of the fact in their daily walk. It is asked, says Samuel M. Janney, “How are we to know the real Friend?” “How shall we distinguish the members of Christ’s spiritual body from those who merely pretend to His name?” There have been those who appeared in sheep’s clothing, but in fact were ravening wolves. The test is easy. Jesus Himself has supplied it. “By their fruits ye shall know them.” “By this shall all men know ye are My disciples, if ye have love one to another.” Conduct, then, not profession, must be the proof of faith. A people spiritually minded must show spiritual fruits. “The fruit of the spirit,” says Paul, “is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kind- ness, meekness, temperance.” “If we live in the Spirit,” he adds, “let us walk in the Spirit.” Judged, then, by their fruits, where do Friends stand? It is not for them to assert their own merits. Yet they cannot shrink from the test — that test, indeed, by which all profession of relig- ion must ultimately be tried. The unfruitful tree, that cumbereth the ground, will be cut down. To that walk in life which Paul describes, Friends have endeavored to attain. Moved thereto by the teachings and the example of the Divine Master and by the RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. 25 promptings of the divine influence within themselves, they found them to be evidences of the same truth, supporting and confirm- ing each other. It has resulted, therefore, that the real Friend has been so- ber, earnest, upright, and kindly. The world thus knows him. Happily there have been enough such in the society to prove the practicability of such living, even under conditions far harder than those of today, and there have been enough, also, to exert an appreciable influence upon the opinion and action of the civil- ized-world. Friends have persevered. Their ethics, conforming to the list which Paul declared to the Galatians, have been those of love, of peace, of long-suffering, of kindness, of meekness, and of temperance. Would this be anywhere denied? I think not. They have dwelt in peace, and have testified to it. They have opposed war and have testified against it. They have suf- fered for the truth’s sake, whenever persecution arose. They have shown brotherly kindness among themselves, and have rebuked the spirit of oppression wherever their voice could reach. They have upheld the beauty of a simple and sincere life, with- out vanity, without ostentation, without intemperance. Long ago they began to cleanse their own house of the evils which strong drink brought in. Long ago they declared and began practically to establish the equal rights of woman. It would re- quire an extension of this analysis far beyond present possibili- ties to do justice to all these things. Each of the testimonies of Friends deserves its chapter, for each has its seed of life and virtue. Pn the main Friends have been faithful to them all. Look- ing upon the world, with its shams and frauds, its methods of cruelty, deceit and oppression, its worship of Baal, its tribute to Ashtaroth, its bondage to Bacchus, we have the right to say that the Quaker testimonies have not only pointed the way to a better state, but have carried those who were faithful to them a good distance toward it. To such a system, by whatever name it may be called, to whomsoever its origin may be referred, the world we believe must ultimately come. Relief for the ills it suffers lies no other way. It can be saved only by the divine processes. No mechanical re-adjustment of refractory and unregenerate ele- ments will avail; there must be a sublime chemistry by which all will yield to the solvent of love. In that day, who can doubt what power has supplied the solvent? 26 RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. A Report upon the Mission Work of the Society of Friends. Joseph J. Janney. O condense a statement purporting to give an account of the 1 work of the Society of Friends upon the lines indicated, so that it will occupy only half an hour in its delivery, is a task of some difficulty. If this report should require for its presentation a few moments more than the time limit allowed, I trust it will be overlooked. ARBITRATION. By reference to the earliest book of discipline of the Society of Friends, compiled by the London Yearly Meeting in 1692, it will be seen that it contains a rule providing for the settlement of all differences between members by arbitration, and the code of discipline adopted by every other yearly meeting since established makes this equitable and rational mode of adjustment compulsory upon its members. * George Fox, the founder of the society, as early as 1679, in one of his epistles to the new church, said: “ If there happen any difference between Friend and Friend, let them speak to one an- other, and if they will not hear, let them take two or three of the meeting they belong to that they may end it if they can. Or they that are at difference may choose three friends, and the meeting choose three more, and let them stand to their judgment.” This recommendation, it will be seen, is based on the law laid down by Jesus in His admonitions to His disciples. Arbitration as a means of adjusting civil cases only was recog- nized by the early Romans, and was also used by the magistrates for the settlement of equity cases during the Elizabethan era in England, but its practical use to any extent in commercial cases RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. 27 was not known until established in New Castle, England, in 1793, by members of the Society of Friends, who were quite numerous at that time and who were largely engaged in maritime pursuits. Through the efforts of these Friends the “New Castle upon Tyne Association for General Arbitration” was formed in that year. This was a regularly organized court, and convened four times in the year to receive and decide cases arising in shipping concerns, most of them questions not covered by existing laws. Through the efforts of Friends in Great Britain all previous legal regulations of arbitration were consolidated by an act of parliament in 1824, entitled “An act to consolidate and amend the laws relative to the arbitration of disputes between master and workman.” This condensed statute has been generally availed of during the past twenty-five years, and is the only method used to determine questions that are delicate and intricate, and which are constantly occurring between employer and employe in the mining districts of England and Wales, by which they can be and are settled rationally and amicably. There are no laws govern- ing these cases, and attempts to settle trade disputes by law or by a resort to force only widens the breach between capital and labor and keeps alive the apparently irrepressible conflict. The steady growth of the application of the system of arbi- tration, inaugurated by Friends in Hull and New Castle, has been consistent with the progress cf all genuine reform. From its ac- ceptance by the individual membership of the society, as repre- senting the true and Christlike spirit in which the settlement of a difference should be approached, to its acceptance and use by the commercial bodies of the large centers of population, was not a long step. But to trace its progress from that epoch, on through the various stages of its growth up to its culmination in the re- cent award of the Behring Sea tribunal of international arbitra- tion, is to take a long stride in the, advancement of the human family toward the goal of “Peace on earth and good will to men.” There are those living now, who know that this development has not been the result of chance, or that it has been achieved without effort. Societies composed of the best and purest men and women of the present century have, under the banner of peace, given their time and best effort to the establishment of 28 RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. this system. Co-operating with these societies or working inde- pendently through its own dedicated messengers, the Society of Friends in both the old and the new world has labored consist- ently and unceasingly to bring about and permanently establish a court of international arbitration. To this end the British par- liament and the congress of the United States have been memo- rialized from time to time and successive administrations have been appealed to, to favor the enterprise. In response to these efforts the British Mouse of Commons passed a resolution in 1872 instructing the foreign secretary “to enter into communication with foreign powers with a view to the further improvement of international law and the establishment of a general system of international arbitration.” Other important differences, national and international, be- sides the one relative to the Behring Sea seal question, have been satisfactorily determined by arbitration, but our time limit pre- vents their being rehearsed here. These have demonstrated, be- yond any question, the practicability of the system, and in view of the readiness with which all awards have been accepted and complied with, we are forced to the conclusion that the crime of war can scarcely ever be expiated. It is proper to record that courts of arbitration are established in some of the large cities of the United States, and in a very large proportion of the industrial organizations and commercial exchanges throughout our country tribunals of arbitration are provided, before which differences among members may be settled without resorting to the state courts. Referring to the adjudication of commercial questions by this method, Chief Justice Story observed that it was “based upon principles of equity and good conscience and not necessarily upon the mere dry principles of law applicable to the case.” Faithful to the testimonies and traditions of our fathers, Swarthmore College in Philadelphia has established as a regular and permanent branch of study, “The elements of international law with especial attention to the important objects of peace and arbitration.” In view of what has been accomplished in the past, and in the light and knowledge of the present upon this subject, may we not confidently hope that war is even now a barbarous relic of the RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. 29 past, and that we are growing toward that condition so beauti- fully expressed by Tennyson — “Then shall all men’s good Be each man s rule, and universal peace Sit like a shaft of light across the land, And like a lane of beams athwart the sea Through all the golden circle of the year.” PRISON REFORM. In no department of philanthrophy have the results of labor been more important and salutary than in the effort to establish a correct prison discipline. The prison is a result of the advance- ment of civilization, and the growth of the philanthropic impulse among the people has elevated the system of prison manage- ment to a science. There is nothing in the earlier methods of punishment that is of value to us as a comparison, so that in our report on this subject we need not regard conditions that existed prior to the eighteenth century, Indeed, the prison management in force in England and on the continent of Europe, about the time of our Revolutionary war, was as bad as it could have been at any previous time. Eriends entered the field of prison reform work in this country in 1786, when a penitentiary was built in Philadelphia, through their influence, and the method of management adopted and used is now known universally as the Pennsylvania system. It has stood the test of more than a century, and is now consid- ered the best system ever adopted for unruly or incorrigible prisoners. It provides for separate confinement, but not solitary. The prisoners are prohibited from communicating with each other, but are accessible to persons whose influence would be ele- vating, and who would endeavor to awaken a desire for a better life. A Prison Association was organized in Philadelphia some years before the Revolution, composed almost entirely of Friends, and it is in existence today. The object of this society was to secure the improvement of prisons and bring about a reform in the care and management of prisoners. Piison reform work among Friends in England commenced about the year 1813, when Elizabeth Fry entered the field, and 1 30 RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. with a courage and determination, quite remarkable in a woman of such retiring disposition and gentle breeding, wrought a won- derful improvement in the condition of prisons in many parts of the country. Her attention was called to the subject by Stephen Grellett and William Forster, who visited prisoners awaiting exe- cution in Newgate prison, London, and, moved by their report of the wretched condition of those confined there, she went with Anna Buxton to see for herself. The horrible sights that these women beheld have been recorded in history, and need not be dwelt upon here; but Elizabeth Fry discovered that her life work was to alleviate the sufferings of these miserable people, and to bring to the attention of those in authority the pressing need of reform in the management of prisons. In 1817 she was instru- mental in forming an “Association for the Improvement of the Condition of the Female Prisoners in Newgate.” There were twelve members of this association, all women, and all but one members of the Society of Friends. It was emi- nently successful, and secured the approval and assistance of the government. Soon after this another association for prison discipline was formed, composed of men, and all were members of the Society of Friends. These, with singleness of purpose and unfaltering courage, went about the country visiting prisons and reporting as to their condition. Sir Fowell Buxton says, in reference to the inmates of prisons about this time, “ all were in ill-health, almost all were in rags, almost all were filthy in the extreme, the state of the prisons, desperation of the prisoners, broadly hinted in their conversation and plainly expressed in their conduct; the uproar of oaths, complaints and obscenity, the indescribable stench, presented together a concentration of the utmost misery and the utmost guilt.” The Friends laid bare the existence of these terrible evils and by strenuous effort compelled the introduction of great improve- ments, their recommendations being ultimately effective. They demanded that women officers only should have charge of women prisoners, and that there should be, at all times, a separation of the sexes, and that both should be constantly employed. The wonderful achievements of Elizabeth Fry in connection with prison reform, briefly alluded to here as they must neces- RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. 3 sarily be, have placed the communities wherein she labored under a heavy debt of gratitude. She was the central figure in that small group of philanthropists, and it was her steadfastness of purpose, untiring energy and great personal courage, that enabled her to bring order, sobriety and neatness out of riot, idleness, licentious- ness and filth. In 1845 Isaac T. Hopper, a prominent Friend and philan- thropist of Philadelphia, was appointed agent for the Prisoners’ Aid Society, of New York. He assisted in the establishment of the “Home,” which was designed to be a temporary refuge for released convicts. This Friend was most active and vigilant in the field of prison reform, and to his practical mind we are indebted for some important legislation upon the subject of prison discipline. From 1841 to the close of the Civil war, the work of Dorothea L. Dix stands out in full prominence as the most effective and comprehensive of any reformer of her time. Although not a Friend, she called out the cordial co-operation of Friends, and they gave her encouragement and substantial help in some of her most important enterprises. In more modern times the subject of prison reform has received attention from the various bodies of Friends, and committees have been appointed to work in that field in nearly all their communi- ties. During the last ten years especial attention has been directed to the appointment of police matrons at the station houses in our large cities. Co-operating with other bodies, Friends have done some important work in this direction. The legislatures of New York, Maryland and Illinois were successfully appealed to, Friends doing their full share of the work, and laws were enacted in those states providing for matrons at the station houses in the larger cities. This was not accomplished without the most persistent effort and after years of earnest labor. Although so much has been accomplished in this field of labor, and those who have been workers therein can reflect upon their efforts with a feeling of satisfaction, yet there is still room for improvement in the prison discipline now in operation in many parts of the land. As long as wardens and keepers are appointed as a reward for political activity and not with regard to their fit- 32 RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. ness for the delicate and responsible duties they are called upon to perform; as long as prisoners are kept in herds and allowed unrestrained communication; as long as insane paupers are con- fined in almshouses; as long as any boy or girl can be committed to the jail; as long as there is a station house without a matron; just so long will there be need of the reformer. Friends are giving this subject very careful thought, and they will bring to bear the full quota of their influence in favor of a wholesome prison discipline whenever it is practicable to do so. INDIAN DEVELOPMENT. The development of the Indian race from a condition of sav- agery to one of partial enlightenment has been the work of cent- uries. Contact with the Anglo-Saxon, the constant pressure of a superior intelligence and the operation of the law of the sur- vival of the fittest are agencies that have culminated in the present improved status of the red man. The force of these ac- cidental conditions has been augmented by individual effort in various directions, and in this work of elevating the Indians Friends have always taken an advanced position. The society had barely secured for itself a foothold upon the shores of the new world, before it recognized the existence of a problem in the management of the Indian question that would not be easy of solution. Friends made no mistake in their first attempt to negotiate with the Indians, as the provisions of the William Penn treaty in 1682 will demonstrate. The Indians, though little versed in the white man’s methods of business, recognized in this document of Penn the principles of fairness and justice. This treaty was the foundation upon which Friends built an Indian policy that has endured to the present day. When Friends have undertaken to teach the Indians, they have, as a rule, adopted the most practical methods of instruction. While not overlooking the necessity of a thorough school education for the children, the older Indians under care of Friends have been encouraged to use their farming implements and learn the arts of agriculture, as being the most important acquirement iii the struggle for an existence that seemed to be coming upon them. Industrial education for the men and boys RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. 33 appeared to be the need of the hour. Model farms were estab- lished by Friends on some of the reservations as early as 1800, and intelligent farmers placed there who gave practical lessons in the different branches of agriculture. Much attention w r as given to the department of mechanics through the establishment of machine shops, where competent instructors were at hand to give the men and boys lessons in the use of machinery in its applica- tion to the requirements of the farm. An earnest effort was made throughout all the intercourse that was maintained between the Friends and the Indians, to inculcate the idea of the dignity of labor, also, to induce the Indian man to release the Indian woman from the shackles of inferiority and from the position of a menial, and elevate her to her proper station as his equal and helpmate. Religious instruction was not neglected, although Friends considered it proper to direct the attention of the Indian first to those subjects relating to his temporal elevation. No effort was made at any time to build up the church, numerically, by accessions to membership from among the Indians. To proceed chronologically, the first point of contact between members of the Society of Friends and the'Indians was in 1682, under the historic elm tree on the banks of the Delaware. From this incident has proceeded a train of events that forms a record, and while it is far from startlingor prominent, it is creditable to the energy, the self-sacrifice and the sense of justice of the one, and to the discernment and honesty of purpose of the other. Until about the middle of the eighteenth century a condition of peace prevailed generally between the colonists and the Indians. Now, however, owing to the rapid increase of the white population, the narrow strip of land along the Atlantic Qcean, which was all that the whites could honestly claim, became urn comfortably crowded, and they undertook to move the westerq boundary line over into the Indians’ hunting grounds, taking in q liberal slice of their territory. Naturally, the Indians resisted this arbitrary advance into their domain, and thug was inaugur^ ated a condition of hostility between the races that has prevailed with greater or less intensity to the present day. The wrong wa§ on the part of the white man, the Indian the injured party, and Friends, while they could not justify the Indian in forcibly re r sisting or help him do his fighting, used every peaceable means* 3 34 RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. in their power to prevent the arbitrary encroachment of the whites upon his property, and brought all the influence to bear that they possessed upon the authorities to compel an honest Indian policy. The irrepressible movement westward of the boundary line of the Anglo-Saxon dominion was now, however, the most evident of all tendencies. Itwasonly a questionof method, and whilemethods were being discussed the thing was being done. A steady press- ure was kept up, the Indians offering an ineffectual resistance until they were pushed across the Ohio river and into the forest beyond. In 1791 the Indians of the northwest resolved that a limit to the encroachment of the whites upon their territory must be fixed, a permanent line established, beyond which toward the setting sun the white man must never come. They were unani- mous in the conclusion that the Ohio river should be this line, adhering to the terms of the treaty of 1768, wherein this bound- ary line was fully agreed upon and ratified, but nothing could now stop the “Course of Empire” as “westward it took its way,” and the government proceeded to enforce its view of the question by sending a brave general against the Indians with enough soldiers to insure success. In the war which followed, Friends, of course, took no part, but they used every endeavor to secure for the In- dians the best possible terms, when the inevitable surrender took place. Friends rendered valuable assistance to the Six Nations of New York, in their effort to save their lands from the encroach- ment of the white people of that state. In this contest there tvas no actual warfare, and the government pretended to acknowledge the justice of the appeal made by the Indians, which was cor- dially seconded and presented by Philip E. Thomas of Baltimore and other Friends. But the avarice and cunning of the white men, who were engaged in this systematic attempt at robbery, were of a superior order, and they were able finally to secure such legislation by Congress as had the effect to alienate all the lands of the Six Nations in the state of New York and to expatriate the members of those tribes from the country of their forefathers forever. The four yearly meetings of New York, Genesee, Philadelphia and Baltimore, appointed a joint committee at once and united with the Indians in a determined effort to prevent the RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. 35 ratification of the proposed treaty. In this they were partially successful, being enabled to save to the Six Nations a large por- tion of their domain. During the twenty years from 1848 to 1868 Friends were un- remitting in their oversight of the Indians. Many delegations visited them on their reservations in the far west, personally in- vestigated their condition and reported as to their needs. These journeys, undertaken often by men of advanced age, were made under conditions of great personal sacrifice and amid extraor- dinary privation and discomfort. Through the formation of aid societies, in the different communities of Friends, a large amount of clothing, and other needed supplies, was forwarded to the Indians. In 1868 Friends entered with great cordiality into President Grant’s peace policy and co-operated fully with the movement. During the continuance of this most admirable system, many of our members engaged in the work in various stations under ap- pointment by the President. Other denominations were also repre- sented and a marked improvement in the personnel of the Indian service was the result. There also followed, a§ a consequence, a faithful discharge of the duties devolving upon those who were called upon to enforce the details of all contracts between the Indians and those with whom they had to deal. This effort of President Grant to lift the Indian department out of the realm of politics and, while retaining control of it, permit the machinery to be run by pronounced and acknowledged friends of the Indians, called forth the active hostility of the politicians. It was as clear as any demonstration could possibly be made that, if that method of work was continued, the solution of the Indian problem was not far distant; but, notwithstanding this, the enemies of the sys- tem united in an effort to secure its overthrow, which was grad- ually, but surely, accomplished. Since the re-introduction into the service of political methods, Friends have not taken an active part in agency work. During the past fifteen years Friends have directed their efforts mainly to having a general oversight of the subject, to in- fluencing legislation by congress in the direction of wholesome laws and in endeavoring to secure a compliance with treaty obli- gations. They have also during the past eight years advocated 36 RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. a system of field matron work, by which the Indian women may be taught the art of housekeeping. This has been considered by the best friends of the Indian one of the most important fields of labor now open to the philanthropist. In their intercourse with the Indian department of the gov- ernment, which has ever been most cordial and pleasant, Friends have stood for that policy which implies the ultimate full citizen- ship of the Indian; the breaking up of the tribal relation, and the establishment and maintenance of the family relation. They have insisted that the Indian shall be made to understand that in shar- ing the privileges of citizenship he must also help to bear its bur- dens, and that he ought speedily to be convinced that it is im- possible for the old conditions to continue much longer, that the tide of civilization sweeping ever onward will crush and utterly destroy him unless he accepts the generous offer of education held out by the government. If they see and accept these facts, there is no reason why they may not as integral elements of society become prosperous and happy. NEGRO DEVELOPMENT. The circumstances that have marked the progress of the negro race from slavery to freedom form an interesting study for the student of human nature. The barbarity of their capture in Africa, the horrors attending their transportation and the cruelty and oppression of their captivity in America, make a foundation for the story that, no matter what the subsequent events ma^ be, must ever be one of shame and humiliation to the Anglo-Saxon. How glad we would be, if, in our report of the connection of Friends with the work of negro development, we could claim for them that consistency and that faithfulness to the full significance of the testimonies that fell from the lips of their earliest preach- ers, as marked their conduct in matters less practical. In the clearer light which in this day shines about our path- way, we marvel that any faithful member of the Society of Friends could hold his fellowman in bondage; could live in contentment upon the fruits of his unrequitted toil. But it is a fact that up to the year 1770 Friends had not taken a positive and unequivocal Stand upon the slavery question, although prior to this date the RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. 37 concern upon the subject was kept alive in the meetings and claimed their earnest and unceasing care. In 1774 the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting reached the point of advising its members to “ release from captivity such of their slaves as shall be found suitable for liberty.” Two years afterward, “ under the calming influence of pure love and with great unanimity,” it reached the conclusion that slaveholding among its members could no longer be permitted, but that “ where any continue to reject the advice of their brethren and refuse to execute proper instruments of writing for releasing from a state of slavery, such as are in their power,” Monthly meetings after having discharged a Christian duty to such should testify their disunity with them. Thus, in the year 1776, coincident with the declaration of the American people that “ all men are created equal and endowed by their Creator with the inalienable right of liberty,” Friends reached the conclusion that “ those of the African race who were under their control must be granted the same rights that they claimed for themselves.” In New England Friends labored earnestly to clear themselves from the stigma of a complicity with slavery, and many testi- monies were issued upon the subject; but it was not until 1782 that the meeting could make this statement. “ We know not but all the members of the meeting are clear of that iniquitous prac- tice of holding or dealing with mankind as slaves.” In New York, Friends reached the point of positive action on the slavery question in 1777, after many years of patient labor with its slaveholding members. In Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina the progress of this testimony was more gradual than in the northern colonies. As late as 1760 the yearly meeting held in Maryland declared that “Friends were not fully ripe to carry the minute further than against being concerned in the importing of negroes.” It was not until about 1790 that Friends were induced to manumit all their slaves, and thus clear themselves as a people from participation in the slave system. The society was now deeply concerned about the spiritual and temporal condition of the negroes who had been set free, and committees were appointed in many of the meetings to have a care of them. The protection and improvement of the colored 38 RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. race from this time on formed an important part of the philan- thropic work of the society. Many of the most prominent and influential Friends joined the anti-slavery societies that were formed about the opening of the present century, and gave their time and talents to the cause of freedom. About the time of the Civil war the condition of ignorance and degradation of the freedmen became a living concern in the society generally. The comprehension of the term “freedom,” by the average southern negro, differed from that intended to be conveyed. He understood it to mean absence of work, the opportunity to exist without labor, provision for all his wants in some mysterious way; in a word, idleness. From this dream he had to be awakened, roused to the necessity of labor and enlightened to the importance of education. No organized action was taken for the establishment of schools for the freedmen in the south until the formation in Philadelphia of “Friends Association for the Aid and Elevation of the Freed- men.” This association established twenty-five schools in the south for the education of the freedmen and provided teachers for them, although it was with difficulty that qualified persons could be persuaded to enter the field in the face of the social ostracism that awaited them. A very large amount of clothing and other supplies was col- lected and forwarded to the neighborhoods where these schools were, as the negroes were entirely dependent upon sources of supply beyond themselves for even the barest necessities of life. From 1863 to 1871 about $60,500 were expended in providing for these schools, over 48,000 garments having been forwarded to the south. In addition to this, a very large amount of clothing was contributed and sent by Friends outside of the association and in other places, of which no record can be found. Since 1871 about $20,000 in money and 500 packages of clothing have been sent south for the support of these schools by this association. The number of the schools has decreased to thirteen. The “Pennsylvania Abolition Society,” a majority of whom are Friends, provides about $1,200 annually for the support of the southern schools, and has also the “ Parrish fund ” in its charge, the income from which is applied to the assistance of institutions for colored people in Pennsylvania. RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. 39 It will not be denied that the progress of the Afro-American toward good morals and a higher mental development has been disappointing. How far he is himself to blame for this is a ques- tion we need not discuss, but we do not hesitate to say that our government cannot escape a large share of responsibility for the ignorance and immorality of the colored -people of the south today. The first duty of the nation, after the freedom of the negro was accomplished by its act, was to qualify him for its enjoyment. Freedom was no blessing to an ignorant and dependent negro. Friends have, in a quiet way and to the extent of their means, as members of a Christian church and as citizens, endeavored to discharge their duty to the freedmen in these particulars, but we feel they still have strong claims upon our sympathy and substantial help. TEMPERANCE. About the time of the rise of the Society of Friends the use of alcoholic liquors as a beverage was as common among its members as any other body of professing Christians, but instances of intoxication thereby were rare. Its membership was composed of thoughtful, earnest and devoted people, not addicted to ex- cesses of any kind, except it may have been in some instances an excess of zeal for the establishment and prosperity of their church. Their preachers denounced wine bibbing and drunkenness, and called the people to moderation and temperance in the use of all those things which a benificent Creator had bestowed upon His creatures, among which bestowals wine, beer and other alcoholic liquors were regarded as having an innocent place. The excess- ive use of strong drink was a clearly recognized evil, and against the practice Friends bore a testimony; but the promulgation of the doctrines of the Society, during the earlier years of its exist- ence, so fully absorbed the attention of its preachers that this subject seems to have been otherwise disregarded. Almost entire indifference to the importance of the matter, and its bearing upon the welfare of the human family by teachers and preachers of all denominations, was felt for many years, in fact up to the opening of the eighteenth century 40 RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. The first instance of a realization by Friends of the necessity of taking action upon the subject, occurred in the year 1679, when they undertook to prevent the delivery of rum to the Indians of Pennsylvania in exchange for their lands. Not having ques- tioned the propriety of its moderate use among themselves, it is not strange that they had failed to foresee the terrible destruct- iveness of its introduction among the Indians. Having been convinced that the traffic was wrong and demoralizing Friends proceeded at once to arrest it. In 1685 the following rule was adopted: “This meeting does unanimously agree, and give as their judgment, that it is not consistent with the honor of truth, for any that make profession thereof, to sell rum or other strong liquors to the Indians, because they use them not to moderation but to excess and drunkenness.” The agitation of this phase of the subject was continued for more than twenty years; the dif- ferent meetings of Friends urging upon their members the impor- tance of taking some measures to protect the Indians against the terrible effects of strong drinks. Finally, in 1710, in a council held for the consideration of the matter, at which eight of the principal Indian chiefs were present, it was fully agreed that the practice should be discontinued. We have no reason to believe that this agreement was ever violated by Friends, but the Indians had now formed an appetite for liquor and there were many ways by which they could obtain it. In the year 1711 Friends became exercised concerning the sale of liquor near the meeting houses, and memorials were pre- sented to the legislature asking that this be prohibited by law. These appeals were not successful and it was not until recent years that this kind of legislation was favored. It was at this period that Friends began to feel a concern about the habits of their own members in this direction, and to consider if even the moderate use of alcoholic liquors did not lead to evil results. They issued officially the mild advice, “that none accustom themselves to vain and idle company, sipping and tippling of drams and strong drink in inns and elsewhere, for though such as use that evil practice may not suddenly be prevailed upon to be drunk to the greatest degree, yet they often influence themselves thereby so as to become fitted for the greatest trans- gressions.” This minute was the commencement of an effort by RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. 41 the society to clear itself of the stigma of a participation in the habit of drinking, and the business of selling alcoholic beverages. That effort has been earnest and unremitting. In 1795, 1799, 1803 and 1810, repeated injunctions were issued to subordinate meetings to do all in their power to have their members abstain from the distillation, use of, or traffic in spirit- uous liquors, and in 1812 it was made a disownable offense. From 1820 there was a continually increasing concern on the subject, and about 1870 the phraseology of the testimony was changed from “spirituous liquors” to “intoxicating drinks,” thus including malt liquors. The agitation of the subject in the different yearly meetings, and the increasing caution extended by those whose minds were now fully awakened to the importance of the matter,, gradually produced a sentiment almost unanimously hostile to' any recognition or indorsement of the sale or use of liquor as a beverage. It was the work of many years; for, although Friends readily admitted the terrible evils that grew out of it, they did not as. readily unite upon the proposition that the only method by which these evils could be prevented was the total suppression of the traffic. It was not until 1881 that the following minute was adopted by one of the eastern yearly meetings: “Believing as we do that much of the suffering in this life is attributable to a violation of the physical laws of our being, and deeply impressed with a sense of the importance of a more thorough diffusion of knowledge with regard to the poisonous effects of alcoholic stim- ulants upon the human system, it is proposed that the yearly meeting take into serious consideration the appointment of a committee, whose aim shall be to aid by every means in their power the accomplishment of this great end. It is proposed, for the sake of the mothers, that they may not, by the administration of stimulants, injure the tender plants committed to their care; for the children, that they may, in their ripening years, be shielded from the temptations that surround them; for ourselves, that we may, as a people, stand before the world clean handed, setting an example of faithfulness in our testimony against the use of intox- icants.” About this time similar statements were made by several yearly meetings, and the society soon assumed a radical position on the questign. 42 RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. It can be reported now that, except in a very few cases of grocers selling bottled liquors, the members of the Society of Friends are not implicated in the sale of intoxicants. In the general work of temperance reform, the Society of Friends brings its influence to bear mainly through its Philan- thropic Union. This organization represents our entire body of Friends in the United States, and acts officially on the temper- ance question through a sub-committee, whose duty it is to enter specially into that field of labor. Through this orgaization, the society has used all proper means, acting independently or in co- operation with other bodies having similar objects, to secure the passage, by state and national legislatures, of laws for the restric- tion or prohibition of the sale of liquor. Whenever any influence could be brought to bear by the employment of lecturers or the dis- tribution of literature, this committee has seized the opportunity and has been awake to the duty of creating temperance sentiment in all possible directions. Friends have been thoroughly convinced that the hope of the country is in the children, and with that view, have advocated the introduction of temperance text books in all the schools. By earnest and persistent effort, a large majority of the state legisla- tures have been induced to enact laws compelling the use of these text books, showing the effects of alcohol upon the human system. That this will tend to the establishment of a healthy public sentiment there can be no question, for the mind of the child fortified in advance with instruction from a scientific stand- point, as to the evil effect of alcohol upon blood and brain and tissue, will not readily submit to its use as a beverage when the temptation shall have been presented. At the present time it is the (almost?) unanimous sentiment among Friends that this question is the most important one that is presented to the people of this nation, and in view of the dis- astrous effect of the liquor traffic upon the moral and physical wellfare of our citizens, its complete suppression is imperatively demanded. It is clear, from this review, that the Society of Friends, as an organization during the past twenty-five years, has been far more active in the various fields of philanthropy than it ever was in the distant past, although many of its members have been con- spicuous in those fields individually. RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. 43 As a body, it has advanced from words alone, to words and works combined; it has progressed from theories alone to theory and practice allied. This is the growth that we are conscious of today, and it may be stated, as a leading thought of the society, that its membership may perfect their own lives, and, while doing so, contribute whatever they may to make better and happier the lives of their fellowmen. mik W 44 RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. Education in the Religious Society of Friends.* Edward H. Magill, LL. D. I PROPOSE to give some account of the principal colleges, boarding schools and other educational institutions con- ducted by Friends, from the time of the rise of the Society, about 1647, to the present day. I shall treat of these institutions in the chronological order of their opening so far as it can be ascer- tained. In this account I shall attempt to include all of the most important educational institutions of Friends, and it should be observed that I use the beautiful and simple term Friends un- accompanied by any qualifying word, to which divisions in the society have sometimes given rise. All branches of the Society claim the name of Friends, and I prefer to accept their claim, and this is done with no desire to arrogate for any particular branch of the Society any of the credit which may be due for the influ- ence of any of the educational institutions named. I have ear- nestly endeavored to treat all impartially, and I sincerely hope that Friends will be satisfied with the result. When it is consid- ered how widely the materials for this historical account are scat- tered, and that no attempt at any systematic collection has ever been previously made to my knowledge, I may reasonably ask for kind consideration for any errors or omissions which may in- advertently have occurred. After presenting the various institutions in their chronological order, with such brief consideration as they may seem respect- ively to claim and as the limit of this paper will permit, I pro- pose to close by a general summary and the presentation of such salient points in the methods and results of education among Friends as shall have been suggested by the consideration, in de- tail, of the different institutions. *This article, owing to its length, was read only in part, but from its historic value we print the entire paper. RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. 45 RISE OF FRIENDS, 1647. It was in the year 1647 that George Fox, at the age of twenty-three, began to assemble large bodies of seekers after the Truth by his earnest preaching of the simple faith of the early Christians. From the very first, Friends have felt a deep and abiding in- terest in the proper education of their children, and to secure this most desirable result schools under their own care were early established. FIRST BOARDING SCHOOLS, 1667. The first of these, of which we have any account, are men- tioned on page 316, of the Folio Edition of the Journal of George Fox, printed in 1694. The time referred to was 1667, or only twenty years after the first congregations of Friends had been assembled, and the reference is made in these words: “Then returning toward London by Waltham, I advised the setting up of a school there for teaching boys, and also a woman’s school to be set up at Schacklewell for instructing girls and young maid- ens in whatever things were civil or useful in the creation.” This comprehensive language reminds us of the words of Ezra Cornell in establishing, in these later days, Cornell University, where “any one may study any thing on any subject.” But the training of the intellect alone was never made, with Friends, a primary object. The head of this school for boys was Christopher Tay- lor, who is described as “a man of learning and piety.” (Annual Monitor, 1843, P- n6.) But in his responsible duties he found a most valuable co-worker in John Matern, of Germany, who “ap- pears to have been a man of learning, having been educated in the colleges of his country, and designed for the office of a priest.” He was one of those who were turned to the principles of Friends by the preaching, in Germany, of the despised and persecuted Quakers. It was through the influence of the Spirit that Matern came over to England, where he soon entered the family of Christo’- pher Taylor, in 1674, and remained with him in the school (sub- sequently removed to Edmonton) until his death, in 1680. Of him it is said by William Pennington, who was then a student in the Edmonton school, “He was a man that truly feared the Lord, 46 RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. and was an instrument in His hand in his day for the help of others. He labored daily for us, his scholars, both for our souls and bodies. He taught us with diligence, that we might not frustrate the intent of our coming to the school as to our learn- ing*, and prayed continually to the Lord that we might be edified ag to our inward condition.” From the language of Samuel Tuke, in a paper read at Ackworth, in 1838, on “The past proceedings and experience of the Society of Friends in connection with the education of youth,” it is clear that throughout its history there were, as he says, in active operation at the Edmonton school, “the three most powerful means by which good men have been en- abled to promote the work of grace in others, namely, example, precept and prayer.” I have dwelt somewhat fully upon this first boarding school of the Society of Friends, because I deemed it important to thus emphasize, in the beginning, the fact that the primary object of schools among Friends has been, not the giving of the needed instruction in the languages, the mathematics and the sciences, however important these studies may be in their place, but the training up of good men and women. It will also be observed that the equality of facilities for instruction offered to both sexes among Friends, which has always been characteristic of their methods of education, is hinted at in this first movement of George Fox, in which he also sug- gests the establishment of what he calls a “women’s school.” It was left for these later days of greater advancement to incorpor- ate with this idea of equality that of complete co-education, now being so successfully carried out. In a very few years after the establishment of the first board- ing school, by the advice of George Fox, there were at least fifteen others set up in England, of which two were for girls only and two (perhaps four) for boys and girls. FIRST CORPORATE ACTION ON EDUCATION, 1672. In 1672 a proposal was brought before the so-called “ six weeks’ meeting,” in London, to erect a school for teaching poor Friends’ children, “ gratis.” This proposal was unanimously agreed to, and a committee was appointed to carry it out. The master was to be “ well skilled in Latin, writing and arithmetic.’ RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. 47 This appears to be the first corporate action of the society on the subject of education. EDUCATION OF POOR GIRLS, GRATIS, 1677. In 1677 a committee was appointed by the same meeting to provide for the admission of girls to the school at Shacklewell on the same terms (“gratis for poor children”), and each monthly meeting was directed to pay for the cost of the education of the poor of its own members. SUGGESTION OF GEORGE FOX. The same meeting (about the same time, date not given) con- sidered a proposition made by George Fox, that a school should be established “to teach the languages, together with the nature of herbs, roots, plants and trees.” It will thus be seen that the practical instruction, so characteristic of Friends’ schools, was shadowed forth thus early in this proposition of George Fox to introduce the study of natural history. SETTLEMENT OF PHILADELPHIA, l 682 . And in this country, Friends had no sooner effected their early settlement in Pennsylvania, in 1682, than they began to take public measures for the promotion of education. The fol- lowing minute of. a council in Philadelphia, held on the 18th of Tenth mo., 1683, is of sufficient interest and importance to claim a place in this paper. EARLY ATTENTION OF FRIENDS TO EDUCATION, 1 683. The governor (William Penn) and council having taken into their serious consideration the necessity there is for the instruc- tion and sober education of youth in the town of Philadelphia sent for Enoch' Flower, an inhabitant of said town, who, for twenty years past, hath been exercised in that care and employ- ment in England, to whom having communicated their minds, he embraced it upon the following terms: To learn to read English 4 s. by the quarter To learn to read and write 6 s. by the quarter To learn to read and write and cast 8 s. by the quarter “For boarding a scholar, that is to say, diet, washing, lodging and school- ing, .£10 for the whole year.” 48 RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. FRIENDS PUBLIC SCHOOL, 1689. What was first denominated the “ Friends Public School ” was opened in Philadelphia in 1689, and incorporated by Deputy Governor Markham in 1697. Three successive charters were granted this school by William Penn in 1701, 1708 and 1711. These three original charters all state that the school is founded “at the request, cost and charges of the people of God called Quakers,” and they carefully provide that while “ the rich are re- ceived or admitted, taught and instructed at reasonable rates, the poor are to be maintained and schooled for nothing.” The care of Friends in this respect in all of their educational work is worthy of special attention. THE WILLIAM PENN CHARTER SCHOOL, 1689. The William Penn Charter School, of Philadelphia, is the lineal descendant of the original “Friends Public School,” and it is now managed by corporators holding their appointment under the third charter, granted by William Penn in 1711. Although this charter does not restrict membership in the corporation to any particular denomination, the present corporators are all Friends, and the school is managed in accordance with the prin- ciples of Friends; and the students, as is usual in Friends’ schools, regularly attend midweek meeting. The whole number of stu- dents the past year, 1892, was 406. The organization is modeled after the best English schools, the instruction is thorough and comprehensive, and between thirty and forty boys are sent from the graduating class to the various colleges every year. It holds a rank today among the best of our secondary schools. REORGANIZATION OF THE WILLIAM PENN CHARTER SCHOOL, 1875. There was a reorganization of the school on a higher grade under the head mastership of Richard M. Jones in 1875, although the real date of the foundation of the school was, as has been Stated above, 1689, COLLEGE OF INDUSTRY AND TRAINING OF TEACHERS RECOMMENDED, 1697. The tendency of Friends toward the practical in their edu- cation is again observed in the action of the “Morning Meeting” pf London, which, in 1697, advised at monthly and quarterly meet- RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. 49 ings that “Friends of estate” should subscribe to the founding of a “College of Industry.” It also recommended that the sev- eral meetings should establish, in the several counties, schools “for instruction in French, in languages and sciences, and in con- nection with labor.” It also advised the training of teachers, and this advice was given, it will be observed, nearly two hundred years ago. By continual care of the yearly and the subordinate meetings, schools were supplied with good teachers; so that, as a rule, Friends were, until considerably later after the public atten- tion was drawn to the proper preparation of teachers, better edu- cated, as a class, than the average of the community. CLERKENWELL SCHOOL, 1702. In 1702 the Quarterly Meeting of London opened a school at Clerkenwell. This was the first of the public endowed schools of the Society of Friends, and it has been carried on, practically without intermission, now for 191 years. In 1823 it was removed to Croydon, and in 1879 again removed to Saffron Walden, and it is at present one of the most flourishing public schools of Friends in England. An important item in the curriculum of this school in the earlier days, as well as of others which followed its example, was “ manual labor,” although, in the language of a recent writer in the “ Friends Quarterly Examiner,” of London, “the idea of combihing labor with mental instruction in our schools is now one of past generations.” Manual labor was the largest part of the occupation of the students in the earlier history of the school, so that it received the name of the Clerkenwell workhouse, but this labor was gradually diminished, and after the removal of the school to Croydon it was practically dis- continued. On its removal to Saffron Walden it was established upon sub- stantially the same basis as Ackworth, in the very year that the Ackworth school celebrated its centenary. At this point, I fear that there must be a wide hiatus in my list of dates. The difficulty of the task which I have undertaken will be appreciated on considering the fact that so few reliable records are to be found. We know from tradition, and in a general way, that the cause of education, on both sides of the Atlantic, is largely indebted to Friends; but, as they have ever been more 4 50 RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. interested in doing than in talking or even writing of what they have done, we cannot, for these earlier times, name so fully as we would desire persons, places or dates. ACKWQRTH SCHOOL, 1 779. We come now to a very important date in the history of edu- cation in our Society. This was the year 1779, the date of the foundation in England of the Ackworth school, which has now during more than a hundred years continued to occupy the place at the head of Friends’ schools in England, unless we are to ex- cept a few institutions of comparatively recently origin. So far as the existence of so important an institution can be said to be dependent upon the influence of one man, Ackworth may surely claim to owe its existence to the enlightened energy of Dr. John Fothergill. Among early Friends were a number of leading spirits who had enjoyed the advantages of a collegiate education. As these passed away, Friends came to be satisfied with the edu- cation afforded by their own schools which, although sufficient in those days to give Friends even pre-eminence among those around them, in a common education were, however, not of a suf- ficiently advanced grade for the best preparation of those intend- ing to enter upon the. important duties of teaching. (I should say, in passing, that this is doubtless one of the important causes of the lack of dates through the middle of the eighteenth century, of which I have complained.) A great dearth of properly qual- ified teachers for Friends’ schools, both in England and in this country, was the result. The consciousness of this weakness gave birth to the Ackworth schooL, and a few years later to Westtown and other boarding schools in this country. Ackworth was opened Tenth mo. 17th, 1779, and within a year it had 256 pupils, and in the following year, three hundred. It has been maintained at about this size now through more than one hundred years, and has done a great work for general education among Friends in England. It has a property now valued at about $1,000,000, and in 1879, when its first centennial was celebrated, it had received nine thou- sand fivehundred pupils. Although the education received by these pupils during the first one hundred years of the existence of the school would be considered meager in comparison with the crowded RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. 5 curricula of these later days, still, in the language used at the Ack- worth Centenary, “it was, as a school, in advance of other middle class schools, both in education and training.” The young people of these times, who feel that they must have long summer vacations (even in other than centennial years), will be surprised to learn that “Ackworth had pursued its operations with unbroken con- tinuity for sixty-seven years, when, in the summer of 1847, the great household broke up for the first vacation.” Although this vacation was an experiment the results were so satisfactory that it became a permanent institution. Ackworth was liberally sup- ported by Friends of means, thus enabling children to receive an education there at very reasonable rates; but the more modern method of allowing a large share of the annual deficiency to be made up by the liberal managers of our educational institutions, seems not always to have been practiced there, for we are told that there was, at least, one of its managers “whose methodical economy led him to omit his annual subscription on the years when he served on the committee.” Ackworth is now under the excellent management of Frederic Andrews, superintendent, and is governed by a very large committee, eight of whom are nomi- nated by the meeting for sufferings, ancf all elected by the general meeting of the school — men and women from every part of the country. This committee is constantly mindful of every point where the moral, religious, or intellectual culture offers an oppor- tunity for improvement, and are ever watchful over its spiritual well being, and its prospective influence over the future of our religious society. In the opinion of competent judges among English Friends, it is now, has long been, and still promises to be, the back-bone of the Society of Friends in England. NINE PARTNERS BOARDING SCHOOL, 1 796. Nine Partners Boarding School, at Washington, Dutchess Co., N. ¥., under the care of the New York Yearly Meeting, was opened Twelfth mo. 20th, 1796. It had, in the beginning, a mod- erate endowment of $10,000, and for many years it numbered about one hundred and fifty pupils of both sexes. In accordance with the ancient practice, the school was kept for a long time through the entire year, without any vacation. Plainness and sim- plicity were required, and the object aimed at was, primarily, a 52 RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. good moral character; and, secondarily, the training of the intellect. At first, for a number of years, the boys and girls studied and recited separately; but under some of the later teachers they were instructed in the same class, which, as their teachers testi- fied, was greatly to their mutual advantage. After a time the school became less popular and “suffered in numbers from the rivalry of the superior city schools.” Some time prior to 1865 it was removed to Union Springs, New York, where, under the care of the New York Yearly Meeting, after many vicissitudes, it is once more a successful and useful school, and now numbers 125 stu- dents, of both sexes, the school continuing, as in the beginning, co-educational. Goold Brown, the grammarian, received a part of his education at this school; and Lucretia Mott was at one time a pupil, and afterward a teacher in the school. Few who knew her have not heard her speak with satisfaction of her early years spent at Nine Partners’ School. WESTTOWN BOARDING SCHOOL, 1799- It was during the year 1790, that a project for establishing a boarding school on a larger scale than any yet attempted by Friends, was started in this country. A pamphlet published by Owen Biddle in this year set forth the need of such a school for Friends’ children in America as that which had been estab- lished eleven years before at Ackworth, in Yorkshire, England. In this pamphlet attention is called to the minutes of the New England Yearly Meeting, earnestly directing the attention of Friends to the need of suitable schools for their children as early as the year 1690, and in an epistle in 1780 they had placed be- fore their members the encouraging example of the then new Ackworth school, it having been opened for students in the pre- vious year. A detailed plan for the new school is drawn out by Owen Biddle in his pamphlet, and this was largely instrumental in turning the attention of Friends practically to this subject. The result of this movement was, that after the necessary prelim- inaries intended to arouse the general attention of Friends to the im- portance of the subject, an estate of 600 acres, in Chester county, Pa.» was purchased for the site of the school, and nine years after the publication of the pamphlet of Owen Biddle, on the 6th of Fifth mo., 1799, the school was first opened to students. Both sexes RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. 53 were to be admitted on equal terms, but they were to be kept almost as distinct as though placed in different institutions. Al- though 133 applicants presented themselves at first, with the characteristic caution of Friends, only twenty of each sex were at first admitted as an experiment, and this number was to be in- creased by ten of each sex monthly, if it was found to be advis- able. The number was soon increased, and before the close of the year 1799 there had been admitted 155 students, 80 boys and 75 girls. The price of board and tuition was fixed at $64 per annum, that all might freely partake of the benefit offered by the school. The course of study was liberal for those times, a third of a century before the opening of Haverford school for higher education, and it has ever occupied an honorable place among the institutions of this country for secondary instruction. From the foundation of the school to the present time it has averaged nearly one hundred of each sex, the whole number admitted to date being 1 1,324. Although for many years the sexes were taught in separate classes, mixed classes in Latin were first introduced some years ago, and the advantages of the method became so obvious that it was tried in other classes, and now, since 1890, co-education has been fully established, and practically the same course of study is pursued by both sexes. Although Westtown has never aspired to be a college, there now go out from its walls annually a number of young persons whose advanced work covers, in general terms, the first two years of an average college course. And by its training of suitable teachers for Friends’ schools, and the instruction which it has given, under guarded religious care, this school has been largely instrumental in promoting the interests of general education among the members of our religious society. During the past few years entirely new and commodious buildings have been erected, and the courses of study have been gradually remodeled and improved to adapt them to the times. SIDCOT SCHOOL, l8o8. Sidcot school, in Somersetshire, England, was established in 1808, in the same year that Joseph Lancaster, a Friend, intro- duced into the schools of London his Lancasterian or monitorial 54 RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. systefn of instruction, so much encouraged and aided by Friends both throughout Europe and in this country. Sidcot is a school of a grade about equal to that of Ackworth, and now numbers 1 15 pupils, and its school property is valued at $115,000. ELI AND SAMUEL HILLES* BOARDING SCHOOL, 1809. The brothers Eli and Samuel Hilles established in Wilming- ton, Del., in 1809, a boarding school for girls, which was largely attended by Friends, and those of other religious denominations. Its course of study was well advanced, and the opportunities afforded for the higher education of women were quite excep- tional for those times. The school became so widely known for its excellent management, and the ennobling influence which it exerted upon the manners and character of its students, as well as for the practical and useful instruction given, that parents sought it for their daughters from most of the United States and the West Indies. It was continued until 1832, when its principal, Samuel Hilles (his brother having resigned a few years before), accepted a position in the new Haverford school, then being organized. WIGTON SCHOOL, l8 1 5. Wigton school, in Cumberland, England, was established in 1815. This is also a school of about the same grade as Ackworth, and now numbers about sixty pupils. FRIENDS BOARDING SCHOOL, PROVIDENCE, R. I., 1819. I have said that the New England Yearly Meeting of Friends was early active in promoting the education of its members, and that as early as 1690 they had issued an epistle upon this subject. It was during the war of the Revolution that this meeting agitated the subject of a school for higher education, and in 1780 a subscription was taken for such a school, headed by Moses Brown, for the sum of $575. He put forth an earnest pamphlet appeal to the Society in 1782, thus preceding by eight years the pamphlet of Owen Biddle on the establishment ' of Westtown boarding school. In 1784 the school was opened in a little upper chamber in the old meeting house, in Portsmouth, R. I. It struggled on for four years, and was then dropped, but only to be reopened under better auspices in 1819, after forty-three acres RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. 55 of land in Providence, R. I., had been generously donated by Moses Brown for a site, and Friends of means had come forward with liberal subscriptions. This latter date, 1819, is regarded as the date of the foundation of the school, and it was the begin- ning of what, after the lapse of a little more than half a century, is now so widely and favorably known among Friends through- out the country as the “ Friends Boarding School,” of Providence, R. I. In the language of its present principal, Augustine Jones, “this school has sent out thousands upon thousands of students, to influence countless thousands who never saw it. Its founder, Moses Brown, had the limitations of his sect, as all other people were more circumscribed then than now. But he had liberal and broad ideas both as to the means and methods of education. He approved of thorough classical culture. He wished the advan- tages of the school to extend beyond the bounds of sect, and to be useful to mankind.” And it is not too much to say today, that his wishes in this respect have been fully realized. FRIENDLY REPRESENTATION IN BROWN UNIVESITY. It should also be said, in this connection, that Moses Brown was one of the founders of Brown University, toward which he made liberal contributions, and it was largely through his influ- ence that the clause of its charter was secured which required that various denominations be represented in its management, and that in this adjustment a proper proportion of the trustees should always be members of the Religious Society of Friends. FAIR HILL BOARDING SCHOOL, 1819. As early as the year 1746 an earnest effort made in the Balti- more Yearly Meeting to establish schools under the care of the monthly meetings, resulted in the establishment of several schools. In 1769 an attempt was made to establish a Yearly Meeting boarding school. This effort was continued in 1777, 1778 and 1799, which last date it will be noted is that of the opening of Westtown boarding school by the Yearly Meeting of Philadelphia. Baltimore Friends continued to agitate the sub- ject of a Yearly Meeting boarding school of their own, and some active steps were taken in 1815, followed by subscriptions, and in 56 RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. 1 8 16 about $25,000 having been subscribed, a tract of 358 acres, near Sandy Spring meeting house, in Maryland, was secured as a site, and upon this necessary buildings for sixty to eighty pupils were erected, and the boys’ department of the school, called “Fair Hill Boarding School,” was opened early in 1819, and the girls’ department in the autumn of the same year. The school, for some reason, seems not to have been a successful one, and it was consequently suspended in 1826, and the property was rented at a nominal sum for some years. In 1850 it was leased for a term of years to Richard L. and Mary W. Kirk, who, with William Henry Farquhar, opened a private boarding school for girls, un- der the original name of “Fair Hill.” They kept a good school, and a few girls, named by the yearly meeting’s committee, were educated there each year free of charge. The school was closed on the breaking out of the Civil war, and the property sold in 1865 and converted into a fund to aid in the education of poor children among Friends; and it is at present used to aid the schools under the care of the monthly meetings of the Baltimore Yearly Meeting. ALEXANDRIA BOARDING SCHOOL, 1824. Among the schools not under the care of any meeting, but which were conducted by Friends and must be regarded as Friends’ schools, was the “Alexandria Boarding School,” at Alex- andria, Va., kept by Benjamin Hallowed. It was opened Twelfth mo. 1st, 1824, and continued thirty-four years, closing in 1858. During that time 1,509 boys and young men were in attendance at the school, some of them remaining several years. Among these were many sons of slaveholders from our southern states, upon whose ardent temperaments the mild and paternal influence of Benjamin and Margaret E. Hallowed had a most beneficial effect. The school was an excellent one in ad respects, and had a national reputation, especially for its superior instruction in advanced mathematics. Many of its students afterward engaged in teaching, and there were others who distinguished themselves in quite a different field, for not ad the benign and friendly influence of the school was able to prevent some (arnong whom were Gen. Robert E. Lee and Gen. Kirby Smith) from engaging in the fratricidal struggle of our Civil war. RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. 57 CLERMONT ACADEMY, 1828. About this time, 1828, a Friends’ boarding school, called “Clermont Boarding Academy,” was opened for boys and young men near Frankford, Pa., by Samuel L. Griscom. Although not directly under the care of a meeting, it was, like many others of its kind, strictly a Friends’ school, being conducted by Friends upon Friends’ principles, although, as usual in this country, mem- bers of all denominations were freely admitted. It was a thorough school in its day, and gave excellent instruction, especially in English, mathematics and the ancient and modern languages. Good courses of lectures on natural philosophy and natural his- tory were also given, and the thorough instruction and friendly training there received have been a life-long source of satisfaction to many Friends still living. TOTTENHAM SCHOOL, 1 828. A school was established at Tottenham, near London, in 1828, by a syndicate of wealthy Friends, where “the sons of Friends would receive a complete literary education.” The price was fixed at $500 a year, and a school of twenty-five young men was successfully carried on for a number of years, when the principal joined the Established church and the school passed out of the society and has since ceased to exist. BOOTHAM SCHOOL FOR BOYS, 1828. Bootham school for boys, at York, England, under the care of Yorkshire Quarterly Meeting, was established in 1828. It is an excellent school, socially and intellectually, and prepares for business and the universities. It was among the earliest of the schools of England to make an important part of its curriculum the various branches of natural history. John Bright obtained most of his early education at this school. THE MOUNT SCHOOL FOR GIRLS, I83O. The Mount School, for girls, was established at York in 1830. It is under the same care as the Bootham School, for boys, also of York, and like that, is socially and intellectually an excellent school. It also may be said to prepare for “business and the universities,” as university education in England is now gradu- 58 RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. ally opening to women. Statistics as to the actual number of students of this school availing themselves of this privilege would be of interest, but no such statistics are in my possession.* In connection with the Mount school there is carried on an excellent training school, or “College for Teachers,” which has now for a number of years been doing valuable work for Friends’ schools in England. RAWDON SCHOOL, 1832. Rawdon school, in Yorkshire, England, was opened in 1832, for the poorer classes of descendants of Friends, not members, and has been maintained by contributions at a very low rate of tuition. In literary standing it does not claim to compare with Ack- worth, but it has done a great service for general education among the classes for whom it was especially designed. friends’ select schools, 1832. A group of well organized and efficient schools, called “ Friends’ Select Schools,” under care of the three monthly meet- ings of Philadelphia, which meet at Fourth and Arch streets, Sixth and Noble and in Twelfth streets, was first established in 1832. These schools are an offshoot from the original “Friends Public School,” founded in 1689, an d now called the William Penn Charter School. Their course of study includes a primary, secondary, in- termediate, and high school course, which courses cover a period of twelve years, students being admitted to the primary course at five years of age. The completion of the entire course gives a liberal high school education, or a thorough preparation for col- lege. The diploma of the young men graduates of the school admits them to Haverford College without examination. There have been one hundred and fifty graduates since the schools were established, and the number of students the past year has been 265, of both sexes, under the care and instruction of twenty-three teachers and a superintendent. Both sexes have equal educa- *In this connection the following extract from a letter recently received from Henry Thompson, of England, will be found of interest: “A movement is now actively in operation, the object of which is to obtain the establishment, on Friends’ lines, of some institution which shall offer to the young women of our society an education parallel with that obtained at Girton and Newnham. The demand among the more leisured young women who have success- fully passed through schools like the Mount school at York, cannot long be delayed if they are to be withheld from the schools at Cambridge, now so much esteemed for their intellectual culture, though in some respects so little likely to encourage a young Friends’ attachment to her own church. RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. 59 tional opportunities, and now recite together in most of the classes. A department of manual training has recently been added to the curriculum with great advantage to the school. There is also connected with the school a finely equipped gymnasium, and the students have access to a library of several thousand volumes. About one-half of the students are Friends, but all regularly attend midweek meeting with their teachers, who are usually all, or nearly all, members of the Religious Soci- ety of Friends. In the language of the last circular, “The orig- inal purpose of these schools was to afford to our youth a liberal as well as a guarded education, under conditions that will develop Christian character with proper home influences.’/ The experience of these excellent schools for the past sixty- one years is sufficient evidence that this original purpose of the founders has been happily realized. HAVERFORD SCHOOL, 1 833, AND COLLEGE, 1856. About thirty years after the opening of the Westtown Board- ing School, the subject of a more advanced education among Friends began to be earnestly discussed. The feel ing which then prevailed is well expressed in these words from an article signed “Ascham,” in the columns of “ The Friend,” of Philadelphia, which appeared in the spring of 1830. “I do not hesitate to ex- press my conviction that when the results of the plans of instruc- tion which now prevail among Friends are compared with the progress of society, the achievements of science, and the in- creased influence of letters, we shall be found to have made no advance in anywise commensurate with the advantages we have enjoyed, or with the responsibility which our standing in the com- munity imposes upon us.” For the three following years the attention of the Yearly Meetings of Philadelphia and New York was directed toward “the establishment of a seminary for teach- ing Friends’ children the higher branches of learning.” To this end the sum of about $60,000 was secured by subscription, a farm of nearly two hundred acres in Delaware county, Pa., was secured for a site, the necessary buildings were constructed, and “Haverford School” was opened for students on the 28th of Tenth mo., 1833. It suffered the usual difficulties and dis- couragements apparently inseparable from new enterprises, but 6o RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. by wise direction, and the liberality of its managers, it sur- vived them all. It secured a competent corps of educated men as instructors, and twenty-three years later, in 1856, it was regu- larly chartered as a college, becoming the first institution of Friends which claimed this rank on either side of the Atlantic. It adopted liberal courses of study, both in letters and in science, for the completion of which it gave the regular college degrees, and it was managed strictly in accordance with the principles of the Religious Society of Friends. It has now, for nearly forty years, maintained an honorable place at the head of Friends’ colleges in this country, and its course of study compares favor- ably with that of other colleges not under the care of Friends. Its graduates are admitted regularly on their diplomas to the senior class of Harvard, or at their option to the graduate depart- ment in full standing.* ERA OF THE BOARDING SCHOOL. Westtown having been opened in 1799, and Haverford College in 1856, followed soon after by other Friends’ colleges, the first half of the nineteenth century may be called the era of boarding schools among Friends, while the last half is characterized by the development of the college idea. But this is true of this country only, for English Friends are still passing through the era of the boarding school, although they are gradually preparing the way for the development of the college idea among them, by the introduction into their system of such an institution as Dalton Hall, and by the movement now on foot toward furnishing for young women Friends, facilities like those offered to women at Girton and Newnham. PENKETH SCHOOL, 1 834. A school for the poorer classes of the descendants of Friends, like the Rawdon School, was opened in 1834 at Penketh, near Warrington. It differed from Rawdon in admitting also those who are members, and, at first, in adopting the plan of intermix- ing manual labor with literary instruction. It takes about the same rank as the Rawdon school. * It should be mentioned in this connection that Jacob Jones, of Philadelphia, a few years since, left an estate of about half a million dollars which, at the death of his widow, is to revert to Haverford college without conditions. RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. 6l BROOKFIELD SCHOOL, 1 834. About the same time as the opening of Penketh School, 1834, a similar school was opened at Brookfield, in the county of Antrim, Ireland. It soon admitted both members and non-mem- bers, like the other schools of its grade in England, and it is the only school at which the industrial or agricultural training is still given. It now accommodates about two hundred and thirty children. PROPERTY OF IRISH FRIENDS’ SCHOOLS. The three other principal Friends’ Schools in Ireland are those of Lisburn, Waterford and Mount Mellick. The property in- vested in these four schools is estimated at about $ 200 , 000 . NEW GARDEN BOARDING SCHOOL, 1 837. Four years after the opening of “ Haverford School,” in 1837, the most important literary institution among Friends in North Carolina was opened at New Garden, Guilford county, under the name of “The New Garden Boarding School.” In the language of L. Lyndon Hobbs, the present president of Guilford College, “ This institution had its origin in a deep religious concern for the education of the members of the North Carolina Yearly Meeting, and for the promotion of the Society of Friends.” The General Assembly of the State had granted it an act of incorporation in 1833, and on the 1st of Eighth mo., 1837, the school was opened with fifty students, twenty-five boys and twenty-five girls. Among the various difficulties with which this school has had to contend, was the prejudice existing against Friends in the South, especially during those years which immediately preceded our Civil war, on account of their anti-slavery sentiments. For the follow- ing interesting statement I am indebted to Mary Mendenhall Hobbs, the wife of the present president of Guilford College: “ Friends were looked upon with suspicion, and despised by the party in power. As a consequence many of the strongest and most thrifty left the state to find homes on the fertile free soil of the west. As it became evident that war was inevitable, and would come, many more fled, leaving land and property unsold. At this time Dr. Nereus Mendenhall, the principal of New Garden Boarding School, had all of his goods packed, and at the railroad 62 RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. station, the family ready to follow in a day, when the word of the Lord came to him, distinctly bidding: him remain here and stand by the school, come what would. The prospects in the west were flattering from a worldly standpoint, but true to his convictions of duty he remained, and, with Jonathan E. Cox, kept the school open through all the war, thus affording a shelter for many young men during those perilous times, and being the means, in the Divine hand, of assisting many who were conscripted to escape through the lines.” I may add that it is said that this is the only school in the South which was kept open entirely through the war, and never lost a class. It is surely a worthy record for the Friends of North Carolina. GUILFORD COLLEGE, 1 888. The New Garden School, like Earlham, was one of the pio- neer schools in the country in the co-education of the sexes (really preceding Earlham by ten years), and notwithstanding the opposition in North Carolina to this method of education, it has now successfully practiced it for nearly sixty years. In its early history the school passed through many serious financial difficulties, but it was aided by the contributions of English Friends, and largely by the liberality of Friends of Baltimore and Philadelphia. It has done a very important work for educa- tion among the Friends of North Carolina for the past half century, and five years ago, in 1888, it was regularly chartered under the name of Guilford College, and its standing now enables its grad- uates to enter Haverford, or Swarthmore in the senior class. SHARON FEMALE SEMINARY, 1 838. One of the institutions of learning among Friends which belong to “ the Era of the Boarding School,” called “Sharon Fe- male Seminary,” was opened near Darby, Delaware county, Pa., in 1838, by John and Rachel T. Jackson. These PTiends were among the earliest to claim for young women educational facil- ities equal to those of young men. In their own language they felt that “the defective standard of education for girls has, in a great measure, shut out from them the light of science, and pre- vented them from entering the portals of this temple, not made with hands, to explore its vast dimensions, and to contemplate RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. 63 the beautiful symmetry and perfection of its parts.” John Jack- son’s school became distinguished for its excellent courses of popular lectures on philosophy, chemistry, geology and as- tronomy, which were freely open to all. “When he imported his large equatorial telescope from Munich, he was the only indi- vidual in the United States who had so large and expensive a refracting telescope.” (Jas. Andrews’ Memoir of John Jack- son.) This excellent school was not under the care of any meeting, • but was strictly a Friends’ school, while with a liberality common among Friends, and now almost universal, members of all relig- ious denominations shared its privileges. About six hundred young women, mostly from the Middle States and Maryland, were students at the school from the time of its opening until it was closed in 1856, after the death of John Jackson. The influ- ence of this school was widely felt in these and adjacent states, and this influence was, doubtless, one of the instrumentalities which resulted, thirteen years later, in the founding of Swarth- more College, offering identical opportunities to both sexes, and giving to women an equal share with men in its management. SIBFORD SCHOOL, I84I. Sibford school, in Oxfordshire, England, was opened in 1841 for poor children, and is intellectually and socially of the same class as Rawdon. AYTON SCHOOL, 1 84 1. In the same year as the opening of the Sibford school, 1841, the North of England Agricultural School was opened in York- shire. It is of the same class as Rawdon and is known as the Ayton school. FRIENDS CENTRAL SCHOOL, 1 845. One of the largest and most flourishing of Friends’ schools at the present time is “Friends Central School,” of Philadelphia. It was first opened forstudents in the autumn of 1845, under the joint care of three monthly meetings of Philadelphia. From the beginning it has offered equal facilities for instruction to both sexes, although they have always been taught separately, a boys’ and a girls’ department having always been maintained. Its course of study has steadily advanced with the times, and it can 64 RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. now claim to rank among the best of the schools of this country, denominational or otherwise, for secondary instruction. A num- ber of its graduates have been admitted to the sophomore class of Swarthmore College, and some have maintained an excellent standing at Bryn Mawr. No denominational test is required for the admission of students, but the greater part of the instructors are members of our religious society. The school now numbers six hundred students, and these regularly attend midweek meeting with their teachers. FRIENDS BOARDING SCHOOL, RICHMOND, IND., 1847, AND EARLHAM COLLEGE, 1859. It was in the year 1829, a quarter of a century before the in- auguration of the free public schools of Indiana, that the Indiana Yearly Meeting of Friends took the first steps toward the gen- eral education of its members. Thus in this state, as in Pennsyl- vania and elsewhere, in tracing the history of education, we find early initiatory steps taken by our religious society. Nine flour- ishing academies in Indiana, Ohio and Southern Michigan, with courses of study preparatory to Earlham College, are the result of this early movement for education among the members of the Society of Friends. In 1832 the Yearly Meeting of Indiana be- gan to take steps for establishing a boarding school of high grade, to be the head of their system of denominational schools This school, called “Friends Boarding School,” was established by the united efforts of Friends, both in America and Great Britain, and in 1847 was fi rst °P ene d to students in Richmond, Ind. It was maintained as a school of exceptionally high standard for twelve years, when, in 1859, it received a charter from the state under the name of Earlham College. During the forty-six years of the existence of Earlham as a school and college, more than six thousand students have been in attendance upon its classes, and more than twenty per cent of this entire number have been engaged as teachers in public and private schools and colleges. It has thus exercised a wide and profound influence, not only upon the Relig- ious Society of Friends, but also upon the community at large, especially at home and in the adjacent states. It will be observed that its organization as a college, in 1859, was three years after the organization of Haverford College, and RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. 65 ft that it thus stands second on the list of Friends’ colleges in this country. Unlike Haverford, which is open only to young men, Earlham has from its first existence as a boarding school admitted boys and girls, young men and women, on equal terms, and taught them together in the classes, and can thus claim to be one of the pioneers in the work of co-education. FLOUNDERS INSTITUTE, 1 848. Flounders Institute (now generally known as Flounders Col- lege), “designed as a training college for young men teachers,” was established on a part of the Ackworth estate in England in 1845, under the bequest of Benjamin Flounders, of Yarm, who en- dowed it with tli£ sum of $200,000. It has prepared many teach- ers for their work, and been a most valuable supplement to, and co-worker with, the Ackworth school for nearly half a century. (Ackworth [Centenary, p. 158.) The original endowment has been increased by liberal Friends in more recent times, until it now amounts to over $250,000. The ancient and modern lan- guages and mathematics receive especial attention in this school; but as yet little or no provision has been made for the study of the sciences. The demand for the excellent training for the teachers’ profes- sion given at Flounders has fallen off of late years. The reason is to be found in the fact that Friends, while acknowledging the great value of such training, have not generally arrived at a per- ception of the fact that larger culture and abler service will event- ually be better rewarded. Teachers’ salaries continue low, and there is recently a very distinct evidence of a growing disinclin- ation on the part of young men of ability to enter upon a profes- sion so slenderly remunerated. This difficulty is to day even greater in England than in our own country. DARBY FRIENDS SCHOOL, 1 854. In the year 1854 the late John Hunt Bunting donated to the Monthly Meeting of Darby, Delaware county, Pa., the sum of $10,- 000, on condition that their school should be made free to the members, and children of members, belonging to that meeting. This arrangement took effect at the opening of the following year. It appears to have been the first Friends’ school in this 5 66 RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. country thus free to the children of Friends. This excellent ex- ample for Friends of means seems well worthy a place in this his- torical record. FRIENDS SEMINARY, 1 86 1 . “Friends Seminary,” of New York, which succeeded other Friends’ Schools, under the care of the monthly meeting, was opened Ninth mo. 9th, 1861. Before the end of the following year the school numbered two hundred pupils, about an equal number of each sex. From the beginning this school, unlike those which preceded it in this respect, has been entirely co- educational. The greatest number of students in attendance during any one year has been two hundred and forty, and the average number has been somewhat below two* hundred. There has been a diminution in the attendance since the opening of “Friends School” in Brooklyn, in 1867. This Brooklyn school numbered about ninety last year. Friends Seminary prepares students for Swarthmore College, where they are admitted to the freshman class on the testimonial of the principal. The New York and Brooklyn schools are aided by an endowment fund of about $100,000. In these schools especial care is taken to induce the attendance of the children of Friends. There is no charge for the tuition of such children, if they are members of the meetings having the schools in charge. The New York Yearly Meeting now appropriates annually about $500 for educa- tional purposes. FRIENDS ELEMENTARY AND HIGH SCHOOL, 1864. In 1864 an important school for secondary instruction among Friends was opened under the care of the Baltimore Monthly Meeting, and called “Friends Elementary and High School.” Like “Friends Central School,” in Philadelphia, opened twenty years before, it was to be, what was sometimes called among Friends, “A Finishing School.” It will be borne in mind, however, that what has been called “the Era of the Boarding School” belongs to the first half of this century, while the last half has been characterized by the development of the college idea; hence, the term “finishing school” soon began to be inappropriate for all institutions for secondary instruction. This school soon num- bered three hundred students, of both sexes, taught together in the RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. 67 classes, and afforded equal educational facilities in all respects. At the end of twenty-four years of successful experience, a change in the character of the neighborhood of the meeting house where the school had been held, having been made, it seemed best to remove it to a more healthful and favorable location in the upper part of the city, the committee in charge of the school was released, and the whole responsibility of it thenceforth devolved upon Eli M. Lamb, so long its successful principal. The school is continued under the same name, and ranks among the best of our schools fitting students for college or for the duties of active life. It was one of the first schools to meet the requirements of the Johns Hopkins University in fitting students for its under- graduate classes, to which it has continued to furnish well pre- pared students every year. The school is conducted upon the same principles as when under the charge of a committee, and, like various other educational institutions thus governed, it is essentially a Friends’ school. During the past four years, since the Friends’ Elementary and High School has ceased to be under the care of a committee of the Monthly Meeting, a Monthly Meeting School has been estab- lished with kindergarten, primary and intermediate departments. It has ninety pupils, instructed by seven teachers, and an abate- ment of one-half the price of tuition is made to children of Friends, or those who have one parent a member. Departments of a higher grade are to be added when accommodations can be provided. SWARTHMORE COLLEGE, 1 869. A concern for the higher education of their children, under guarded religious care, originating with some members of the Yearly Meeting of Baltimore, and soon extending to those of Philadelphia and New York, began to be widely felt among Friends soon after the middle of the present century. Addresses were issued to Friends, and many meetings were held, at which plans of organization were presented and discussed. As the movement which originated Westtown Boarding School, at the close of the last century, contemplated a school upon a larger scale than any previously established by Friends, so. this move- ment, accepting the situation imposed by the growth of the col- lege idea (which has characterized this second half of the century), 68 RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. contemplated the establishment of a college in which “an educa- tion could be received equal to that of the best colleges in the land.” Nor was it to be under the control of any of the three yearly meetings within whose limits the movement was at first confined, nor yet of the three meetings conjointly; but it was proposed to make it national in its character, although its charter was so drawn that it should always be controlled and directed by members of our Religious Society. And in its management, from the beginning, women were included in an equal number with men, having the same voice with them, and the institution was to be strictly co-educational, offering equal facilities to both sexes, who were to be taught together in the classes. The necessary funds were raised by subscription, and although in this paper persons cannot generally be named, it should be stated here that the largest subscriber was the late Samuel Willets, of New York, who has, first and last, given more than a quarter of a million dollars toward the foundation of the college; and it should also be said that but for the indefatigable and well directed efforts of the late Edward Parrish, of Philadelphia, who was made the first President of the College, it is very unlikely that the great work now undertaken by Friends would so soon have been crowned with success. About two hundred and fifty acres of land were secured in Delaware county, Pa., for a site, a principal college building erected at an expense of $225,000, and Swarthmore College, thus named after the home of George and Margaret Fox, in Eng- land, was opened in the autumn of 1869 with about one hun- dred and sixty students of both sexes. This number, however, reached 188 before the close of the year. Of these, twenty-six were members of the Freshman Class, all the rest belonging to the Preparatory School. Each year a class was added to the college proper, until there was the usual number of college classes, and after a time the preparatory school was gradual- ly diminished, by raising the standard of admission; and now, at the end of a little more than two decades, the college proper only remains, with five classes, and its standard of scholarship is such that it compares favorably with many of our older col- leges, and its graduates, like those of Haverford, are admitted on their diplomas to the Senior Class of Harvard. Since the kELIGiOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. 69 organization of the college a number of good schools under the care of Friends in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Dela- ware and Maryland have so arranged their courses of study as to prepare students for the Freshman class, and students from these schools are admitted on the certificate of the principals without examination. The main building of the college was totally destroyed by fire in 1881, and by the energy of Friends was restored in one year, by subscription, without incurring any debt. The value of the land, buildings, apparatus, etc., is now estimated at more than half a million dollars, and it has a permanent endowment fund of nearly the same amount. CHAPPAQUA MOUNTAIN INSTITUTE, I87O. In the year following the opening of Swarthmore College, 1870, a Friends’ boarding school was opened at Chappaqua, New York, and named the ‘‘Chappaqua Mountain Institute.” It was erected at a first cost of $40,000, since increased to $72,000 after its destruction by fire, which sums, in both cases, were raised by subscription, chiefly among Friends within the limits of the New York Yearly Meeting. Friends of the Purchase Quarterly Meet- ing were the principal subscribers, and the school is under the care of this meeting. It was opened in Eleventh mo., 1870, with about fifty pupils of both sexes, and for more than twenty years it has had an average attendance of about seventy-five pupils, and has been doing a good work for education among Friends and others, especially those in limited circumstances, and occupies today an honorable place among our schools for secondary in- struction. WILMINGTON COLLEGE, 1 87 1 . Wilmington College, in Wilmington, Ohio, was first opened under care of Friends in 1871. The college had originally been incorporated under the care of the “Disciples” or “Christian Church.” It was re-incorporated under the laws of the state in 1874, at the opening of the Presidency of Benjamin Trueblood, who personally bore the financial responsibility of the college for the first four years, and whose ability and personal sacrifice in the management did much in those earlier years to place it upon a secure foundation. It graduated its first class of four RELIGIOUS CONGRESS EOR ERIENDS. students in 1875. It has continued to graduate small classes each year, and its whole number of students at present, including pre- paratory classes, is 140. It confers two degrees, the classical (A. B.) and the scientific (B. S.). The Master’s degree in each of these courses is conferred only after a satisfactory thesis, or examination in some line of work approved by the faculty. During the past year the faculty has consisted of eleven professors and instructors, of whom six are college graduates. Several of these are active in mission and institute work in Ohio and adja- cent states. PENN COLLEGE, 1873. Prior to 1866 there existed in Iowa, for a few years, an or- ganization known as “The Spring Creek Union College Associ- ation of Friends.” In 1866 the name was changed to “The Iowa Union College Association of Friends,” and the Yearly Meeting of Iowa was accorded the privilege of appointing a part of the directors. On the 9th of the Ninth mo., 1873, the name was changed to Penn College, and the college was opened to students in that year. Both sexes have been admitted from the beginning, and are taught together in the classes. The members of the faculty are mostly members of our religious society. As in Friends’ col- leges generally, students are expected to attend religious services, and are encouraged to attend those of our own religious denom- inations. I find these words in their recent announcement: “The curriculum is not quite as advanced, in every respect, as those of eastern colleges, but it is practically about their equal.” It has a permanent endowment fund of $30,000. DALTON HALL, 1 876. An institution scarcely educational in the ordinary sense, but of great importance to the interest of higher education among Friends in England, was established in Manchester by Friends of the Manchester Preparative Meeting in 1876. This was a “Hall of Residence,” subsequently enlarged and called “Dalton Hall,” where young men in attendance upon Owens College, a part of Victoria University, should have all the benefits of a home and the assistance of competent tutors, and feel that they were under RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. 71 the care of the Religious Society of Friends. Owens College had been selected as suitable for Friends (they having no college in England of their own ) , because in their own language it is a liberal seat of learning “untrammeled with old standing rules and cus- toms which have grown up around the ancient universities.” This home for young men is supplied with all of the modern conveniences, separate rooms for students, class-rooms for the tu- tors, and a residence for a principal. Since the new hall was erected in 1882, accommodating thirty students, one hundred and ten have been admitted, of whom sixty-four were members of the Religious Society of Friends. By this late movement, English Friends have taken a most important step toward giving their members all of the advantages of full college and university courses of in- struction, without actually possessing any colleges of their own. It has been said of the movement that “it has added a top-stone to the educational structure, which was wanting to make it more complete.” I may add: When a similar provision to that of Dal- ton Hall is made in England for the young women of our relig- ious society (in Cambridge or elsewhere as may be deemed best), the educational system of English Friends, although different, may be considered practically equal to our own. THE CENTRAL EDUCATIONAL BOARD. For the following interesting description of a very important educational factor now at work among English Friends, I am indebted to Henry Thompson, one of the ablest authorities upon all educational matters among English Friends at the present time. “An exceedingly important educational influence which has arisen among English Friends within the past few years, is what is called ‘The Central Educational Board.’ This holds its meet- ings in London, and is constituted of representatives of the yearly meeting, representatives of the committees of most of Friends’ public schools, and of the superintendents of those schools. Its duty is to act as a sort of vigilance committee, in regard to all things educational. The reports of the schools come under its inspection, and their prominent points are scheduled for the yearly meeting, and commented upon. It has hitherto main- tained a quiet attitude toward established methods, but has now 72 RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. some important business on its books, and its well wishers are hopeful that it will prove a serviceable instrument in the removal of effete ways, and the provision of well devised schemes for meeting the demands of the rapidly developing science of edu- cation.” PICKERING COLLEGE, 1 878. Pickering College, at Pickering, Ontario, Canada, was opened to students in 1878. It is the only college under the care of Friends in Canada. For forty years previous to the opening of this college, the educational center of Canadian Friends had been at Bloomfield, where they had kept open, during that period, a successful boarding school. When the Canada Yearly Meeting was organized in 1866, steps were taken to remove the seat of Friends’ educational interests to Pickering, and the subsequent establish- ment of Pickering College was the result. The course of study, as shown by its announcement in its catalogue, does not equal that of most other colleges under the care of Friends on this con- tinent, and carries students no further than is required for matric- ulation at the University of Toronto. Both sexes are admitted to the classes, and during the past year the number of students enrolled was ninety-four. Without an endowment fund, denom- inational schools in Canada cannot compete with the high schools and collegiate institutes fostered by government pat- ronage. ROCKLAND SCHOOL FOR GIRLS, 1 8/8. Another Boarding School conducted by Friends, but not under the care of any meeting, called “ Rockland School for Girls,” was established by Henry C. Hallowed, at Sandy Spring, Md., in the same year as Pickering College, 1878. It was continued for fourteen years, closing in 1892. During this time, 234 differ- ent girls and young women enjoyed the advantages of the school, many of them returning year after year. The school was always an excellent one, and the principal, like his father Benjamin Hallowed in Alexandria, gave especial attention, even in a girls’ school, to instruction in the higher mathematics. This school (in connection with the “ Stanmore School for Girls,” which pre- ceded it for several years, under the charge of Carolina H. Miller, a daughter of Benjamin Hallowed) has done its full share in this generation in the work of the advanced education of women. RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. 73 Friends’ select school, Washington, d. c., 1882. A Select School was opened in Washington, D. C., by Thomas W. Sidwell,in the autumn of 1882. The number of Friends in Wash- ington was very small, but it was thought that such a school was desirable, and that it could be supported under Friends’ care. It opened with but eleven students, but the number reached forty- five before the close of the year. It has made a steady increase, and now numbers nearly two hundred students, of both sexes, taught together in the classes by eleven teachers, five of whom are members of our Religious Society. It has established a thorough high school course of study, and sends several students each year, well prepared, to the different colleges of the country. Like a number of the successful schools among Friends, it is not directly under the care of any meeting. bryn mawr, 1885. It was in the year 1877 that the will of Dr. Joseph W. Taylor, of Burlington, N. J., was executed, by which nearly $1,000,000 was appropriated to the founding of a college for young women, at Bryn Mawr, Pa. It was originally the intention of Dr. Taylor, as he personally informed me a few years before his death, to offer to establish upon Haverford College grounds a college for women on a plan similar to that of Sage College, at Cornell University, and thus make Haverford a co-educational college, as are all others under the care of Friends of this conti- nent. His plan, for some cause, was changed, but the result today is one of the foremost institutions in the country for the advanced education of women. Buildings were erected for the accommodation of the students, upon what is known as “ The Cottage Plan,” and the college was opened with appropriate in- auguration exercises in 1885. It is essentially a Friends’ college, although, like Haverford and Swarthmore, it is not under the care of any meeting. By its charter all of its managers must be members of the Religious Society of Friends. It also pursues the excellent prac- tice of offering scholarships to the best prepared students from other Friends’ colleges. Although assuming the more humble name of a college, it has been from the first, at least, partially deserving of the title of a university. It has adopted the group 74 RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. system of studies as practiced at Johns Hopkins University, and maintains a high standard of scholarship. It began with forty- four students the first year, of whom eight were fellows or graduate students from other colleges, and during the eight years of its existence it has made a steady increase, until the present year it numbers 202 students, of whom thirty-four are fellows or graduate students. The average age of the young women upon admission has been nineteen years, and during the present year they have been assem- bled from twenty-four states, the District of Columbia, Canada, England and Japan. The fellows and graduate students of the college already fill important positions in the faculties of ten of the colleges of the country, both our own colleges and those not under the care of our religious society. Of the sixty-six bache- lors of arts, nineteen are engaged in teaching in colleges and higher schools in various parts of the country, from Massachu- setts to California. Few institutions of learning, for either sex, among Friends’ or*elsewhere, can claim such a record before the close of their first decade. LEIGHTON PARK SCHOOL, 1 889. In 1889, four years after the opening of Bryn Mawr, “ Leigh- ton Park School,” near Reading, England, was opened for boys and young men. It is under the care of the Yearly Meeting, and was founded to draw away the rich young men from such schools as Eton, Harrow, etc., where they were in danger of losing their Quakerism. It has now about forty-five students, and seems to be succeeding in its object. Although not claiming the name of a college, its grade is about equal to that of our colleges among Friends in this country. HOBART BOARDING AND DAY SCHOOL, 189O. English Friends were instrumental in having established three years ago, in 1890, a boarding and day school, at Hobart, Tasmania, and it is already a great success, being a large and flourishing school. Like nearly, or quite, all Friends’ schools in this country at the present time, it is a mixed school, consisting of students of the various religious denominations. RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. 75 PACIFIC COLLEGE, I89I. “Friends Pacific Academy” was founded in the delightful Willamette Valley, at Newberg, Ore., on a tract of twenty- three acres, donated by Friends, in 1885. It was organized and opened as a college six years after, in 1891. It will be of interest to Eastern Friends to know that the Oregon Yearly Meeting, which was opened in Sixth mo. of the present year, numbers more than thirteen hundred members. The whole number of students of Pacific College enrolled for the present year is 147, of whom twenty- nine are Freshmen, the rest being members of the Preparatory Department. The college faculty consists, at present, of nine members, five of whom are college graduates, and all are teachers of experience. The course of study is equal to that of other col- leges in that part of the country, of which there are several, belonging to various religious denominations, but it would not yet be expected to compare favorably with the colleges of the older states. That those having this youngest of our colleges in charge fully appreciate what a college should be, is evident from the frank and full statement of the “ needs of the college,” which they sent out in a circular, appealing to Friends east and west for aid. Like all other Friends’ colleges, except Haverford and Bryn Mawr, it is co-educational. GEORGE SCHOOL, 1893. The last on this list of Friends’ schools is the “George School,” to be opened at Newtown, Pa., the coming month. This school is established in accordance with the will of John M. George, of Overbrook, Pa., who left most of his estate, amounting to nearly three-fourths of a million of dollars, to erect and maintain a “boarding school for the education of children, members of the Society of Friends and such others as a committee appointed by the Yearly Meeting may think proper.” A faculty of ten mem- bers has been secured, five men and five women, of whom four are college graduates, and all are members of our religious so- ciety. Grounds containing 227 acres have been chosen near Newtown, Pa., as a site, and suitable buildings erected upon them (plain but substantial and well suited to the needs of a school) at an entire cost of about $150,000. Both sexes are to be ad- mitted and taught together in the classes, and instruction will y6 RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. be given in all branches, including manual training, to both boys and girls. Three courses of study are provided, the scientific, the classical and the literary, covering a period of five years, students being admitted at twelve years of age. These courses will be found an ample preparation for college, or for most of the avocations of life. Children, who are members of the Religious Society of Friends and those having one or both parents mem- bers, are to receive from the income of the endowment of the school an abatement of one-third of the regular charges. This school promises to be a valuable instrumentality toward the ad- vancement of general education in the Religious Society of Friends. SOME ADDITIONAL SCHOOLS OF THIS CENTURY. We have now said more or less of forty-three educational in- stitutions of Friends in this country and Great Britain, which have taken their rise between 1667 and the present year, or dur- ing a period of 226 years. In this enumeration doubtless a num- ber of excellent schools, equally worthy of mention with some of those named, have been omitted. Without giving dates and details, which I have not always been able to obtain with cer- tainty, I might mention some of these belonging to the present century. SCHOOLS OF THE FIRST HALF OF THIS CENTURY. First, I will name some originating in the first half of the cent- ury, or what I have characterized as the Era of the Boarding School. Such are: John Bullock’s and Samuel Smith’s schools for boys in Wilmington, Del.; John Gummere’s boarding school for boys and young men, at Burlington, N. J.; and Joseph Foulke’s for boys, at Gwynedd, Pa.; Spring Dale Boarding School for girls, in Loudoun county, Va., kept by Samuel M. Janney; The Deptford School, until the present year a flourishing school, under joint care of members of both branches of Friends, at Woodbury, N .J.; Caleb S. Hallowell’s school for boys, at Alexan- dria, Va., removed to Philadelphia, when the Civil war broke out; James S. HallowelPs school for girls, at the same place, continued in Sandy Spring, Md., for some years after the war; Mary S. Lippincott’s boarding school for girls, at Moorestown, N. J., and Henry W. Ridgway’s for boys, at Crosswicks, N. J.; and a number of good schools for girls, in Philadelphia, kept by Sarah Pugh and RELIGIOUS CONGRESS- FOR FRIENDS. 77 Sarah Lewis, John Simmons, Mary Anna and Susan Longstreth, Catharine Robinson and sisters, the Thomas sisters, Annie Churchman and Susan and Mary Cox. SCHOOLS OF CHESTER COUNTY. To this list must be added a number of excellent boarding schools in Chester county, Pa., which, being the seat of Westtown, the first boarding school among Friends in this country, seems to have been especially well supplied with such schools through the Era of the Boarding School. The principal of these were kept by Joshua Hoopes, at West Chester, a botanist of some note, and author of the “Flora Cestina” (Chester Co., Flora); Jonathan Gause, at Unionville, and Benjamin Swayne, at West Grove, all for boys; and for girls, schools were kept by Philip and Rachel Price, at West Chester; the Darlington sisters, also at West Ches- ter, and the Kimber sisters, at Kimberton. SCHOOLS OF THE PRESENT HALF CENTURY. Among those belonging to the present half century, mostly still in existence, are: Martin Academy, at Kennett Square, Pa., for boys and girls, endowed by Samuel Martin; Ercildoun Acad- emy, at Ercildoun, Pa., for boys, taught by Smedley Darlington, now removed to West Chester, and for girls only, under care of Richard Darlington; Attleboro Boarding School, Bucks county, Pa., under .Wm. T. Seal, and afterward Israel J. Graham; T. Clarkson Taylor’s school, at Wilmington, Del., of which the successor is the large and flourishing school of Isaac T. Johnson, under the care of the Monthly Meeting; Maple Institute, in Del- aware county, Pa., kept by Joseph Shortledge; Friends Academy, Long Island, endowed by Gideon Frost; Miami Valley Institute, at Springboro, Ohio, endowed by Jason Evans, and carried on for some years as a manual labor school by Dr Aaron Wright; and Spiceland, Fairmount and Bloomingdale Academies, in In- diana; also Friends Academy, at Richmond, Ind., with a num- ber of other academies, especially throughout the Western States, where students are prepared for business or for entering upon a college course. FRIENDS’ SCHOOLS AT CAPE TOWN AND NISMES. We have now mentioned in all seventy-eight different edu- cational institutions under care of Friends, to which should be 78 RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. added a Friends’ school established in Cape Town, Africa, in 1842, and one at Nismes, in Southern France, established in 1847, of which schools we have no further particulars. GENERAL REVIEW OF THE SUBJECT. We have completed the detailed review of the principal edu- cational institutions which have been conducted by Friends, either individually, or in the capacity of the meeting, for a period of 226 years, including in all referred to about eighty institutions, cover- ing almost the entire time of the duration of our Society. From this view certain characteristics of the methods and results of an education, as given by Friends, cannot fail to have been impressed upon the mind. For clearness, and in the way of review, some of these prominent characteristics may properly be stated here. First. It has been clearly shown that, in all of their educa- tional efforts, Friends have considered first of all the cultivation of the religious element implanted within every human soul, and, as a consequence, the development of a manly and womanly character. To this, all of the training of the intellect has ever been understood to be secondary and subservient. No education, however liberal, has been deemed to be of value, unless at the same time that education has been strictly a guarded one, in the expressive language so familiar among Friends. Second. It has ever been the aim of Friends to secure a good ordinary education for all, and, through the middle period of their history, they even sacrificed to this aim all attempts at a higher education. But this was an error which is being diligently cor- rected in modern times. It must have been observed again and again in this history, that, beginning with educating poor Friends gratis in the first schools set up by the advice of George Fox, great care has been taken to bring an education within the reach of all, and in thus aiding the poor, or as Friends prefer to say, “those in necessitous circumstances,” it has ever been done with a scrupulous regard for their feelings, prompted by a true spirit of brotherly love which prevails among Friends. Third. Even in earlier times Friends were very careful to educate girls as well as boys, although at first in separate schools; but gradually the favorable influence of the sexes upon each other when educated together has been acknowledged, until now RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. 79 in most Friends’ schools, mixed classes are introduced, and the principle of co-education is very generally recognized. As a result of this recognition of the equality of the sexes, in schools as elsewhere, for several generations woman occupies in the Society of Friends a place of honor and usefulness which another pen than mine has clearly and forcibly set forth uoon this occasion. Fourth. Friends have been so deeply interested in the edu- cation of their children as a primary duty, that, as is observed in newly settled countries [See the example of Pennsylvania and Indiana, especially referred to in this paper], they have been in advance of the community around them in establishing schools, and in the professional training of teachers. Fifth. Friends, as a plain and practical people, have ever cultivated in their educational systems the useful and the prac- tical, rather than the superficial and the ornamental. CONCLUSION. In a general survey of the entire ground covered by this paper, we see Friends, at the time of their origin, influenced by a number of educated leaders, who had enjoyed the benefit of a full collegiate and university training. As this earlier generation passed away, and Friends began to depend upon schools of their own and teachers of their own training, who had never enjoyed the benefits of the higher education, a dearth of teachers who were properly qualified for their work intellectually was the nat- ural result. As a consequence, through the first part of the eighteenth century, there was a manifest decline of education among Friends, as compared with the community by which they were surrounded. The growing consciousness of this fact, as we have seen, gave birth to the Ackworth school, in England, in the last half of the eighteenth century, and at the close of the century, to Westtown school, "in this country. The “Boarding School Era” followed, covering the first half of the present century, during which the standard of education and the re- quirements of the teaching profession steadily advanced. This advance has received a new and powerful impulse in the last half of the century, which has been characterized by the develop- ment of the college idea, so that now the college is no longer 8o RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. what it once was, merely the stepping stone to what was called one of the learned professions; but, by the generally practical character of its studies, and by the number of electives introduced into its curriculum, it has become a real necessity for all who would aspire to the higher positions in any of the varied walks of life. The minds of Friends, ever a practical people, are now becoming thoroughly imbued with this idea, and rich fruit in the educational field, in the generation immediately to follow, is sure to be the result. I cannot close this paper without expressing my great obliga- tions to the numerous Friends who have so kindly rendered me aid that was truly invaluable in making a collection of these statis- tics, and I should especially mention among these Charles and Henry Thompson, of England; President James E. Rhoads, of Bryn Mawr; President Isaac Sharpless, of Haverford, and Pres- ident L. Lyndon Hobbs, of Guilford College. w * RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. 8l The Position of Woman in the Society of Friends. Elizabeth Powell Bond. I T was a part of the illumination of George Fox that “Christ had enlightened all men and women with His divine and saving light;” that “In Christ there is neither male nor female.” Consistently with this view of truth, he saw man and woman possessed of the same spiritual endowment, holding the same in- dividual relation to their Divine Creator, charged with the same commission on earth as children of the Most High, and alike commanded to work as hitherto the Father has worked. Con- sistently with this view of truth he was quick to recognize the exercise of soul experienced by women no less than by men, in those days of earnest protest against the authority assumed by the church, and of earnest vindication of the individual responsi- bility of the soul to its Creator. Consistently with this view of truth, he acknowledged that the voice of the Lord might be heard in the soul of woman, calling her to every service that would further His work in the world. As the leader of a relig- ious movement that should bring the world nearer to the mind of Christ, he consistently organized the efforts of his co-workers among men and women upon a basis of entire equality. In the history of primitive Christianity there are records of women who were active in the missionary work — by their preach- ing converting many souls to Christianity. To George Fox it seems to have been appointed to reinstate woman in the serv- ice to which the early church had welcomed her. The message which he bore to the world, of the immediate communion of each soul with the Divine, met a quick response in the souls of women. One of the earliest recorded results of his labors was the con- vincement of Elizabeth Hooten, the first woman to appear in the 8 2 RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. ministry among Friends. Again, it was early in 1654 that two women Friends, Isabel Buttery and her companion from the north of England, undertook to distribute in London a paper then recently issued by George Fox, on “The Kingdom of Heaven.” This labor was assisted by Simon and Robert Dring, who opened their houses to such as were inclined to come to- gether in the new way. “These were the first meetings of Friends held in London, and were mostly seasons of silent waiting, ex- cept that now and then Isabel did speak a few words.” It is also recorded that a large proportion of those who opened their houses as places of worship were women. While it is apparent that in the mind of George Fox there was never any question that women were called, as men were, to be the ministers of God, it is also true that he was nearly alone in this clear view of the Truth — that most men of his time accepted as their authority the words of Paul to the Corinthians. When, therefore, women appeared in the public ministry, they added another element of irritation for those who bitterly opposed the teachings of the early Friends. A history of the London meetings contains the statement that “some women Friends were from the first engaged with the brethren in the work of the ministry, but during the early evan- gelizing periods the public meetings were frequented by too mis- cellaneous an assemblage to offer suitable scope for the exercise of this class of gifts, and it is observable in the minutes of the meeting of men ministers which has charge over such service, that the assistance of their sisters in public ministry was rather discouraged than promoted.” Not only the troublous condition of the times was a hindrance to the public service of women, but a party arose in the society itself, opposed to separate meetings for women who, they considered, had far too much power in the church. It was doubtless to answer such objections, that, in “a letter of encouragement to all the women’s meetings in the world,” George Fox has very explicitly set forth his views. In this letter, he writes: “Some men, now-a-days, may be against women’s meetings or assemblies in the Gospel times, and against women's speaking or prophesying, but they are ignorant of the Universal Spirit, and of their service and labor to God, in His grace and Gospel, and are of a niggardly, narrow spirit, and are RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. 83 not the true servers of God themselves; for if they were, they would have all people to serve God in His power, and to keep the true religion, which is to visit the fatherless and the widows, and to keep themselves from the spots of the world.” “And some men and women there are that fear, if women should meet in the order of the Gospel the power of God, they would be too high ; but such men and women are too high already, and would be a ruling spirit over men’s and women’s possessions, and waste their own; for if they were in the Power and Spirit of God they need not fear any one getting over them; for the Power and Spirit of God gives liberty to all; for women are heirs of life as well as the men, and heirs of grace, and of the Light of Christ Jesus, as well as the men, and so stewards of the manifold grace of God.” “And they must all give an account of their stewardship, and are to be possessors of Life and Light and Grace, and the Gospel of Christ, and to labor in it, and to keep their liberty and free- dom in it, as well as the men.” “And they are believers in the Light, as well as the men, and so children of the Light and of the Day, as well as the men.” The present position of women in the Society of Friends has been attained by a process of evolution. In the beginning, reluc- tantly accepted by many of the brethren as co-workers; finally, the pressing need for their help, brought them to their heaven- appointed places. According to the testimony of Gilbert Latey, addressed to the women’s meeting of London in 1705, it was three or four years after the settlement of the men’s meeting, about 1669, that it became apparent from the increasing labors attendant upon caring for the needs of those suffering and im- poverished from persecution, that women must be enlisted in this work. A company of men Friends met to consider how these pressing needs could best be supplied, when, to quote the quaint language of Gilbert Latey, “ it was opened in our hearts plainly, that the women, being added to us as helpmates, would answer the service which was so needful, and that we could no longer do without their help, care and assistance.” He further states, “ the matter being proposed to George Fox and the rest of the brethren, they very well approved it and consented we might be joined to- gether in the work and service of the Lord among His people. 84 RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS It was forthwith ordered that the names of the ancient women Friends from all parts of the city and suburbs should be taken, which was done, and some from every quarter met, who readily associated; and there was a heavenly union in our being thus joined together, and the Lord was with us and among us, and continued His good presence, both with them and us to this day.” The meetings of the women in this service were known as the two weeks’ meetings, and they seem to have been a first step toward the establishment of women’s fneetings for discipline. The box meeting in London, named from the custom of placing at the door a box for contributions of money to be used for the necessities of the poor, was another meeting of women only, and wholly unallied with men’s meetings. This meeting was estab- lished by George Fox, in response to the urgent appeal of a woman Friend who felt that this was a further provision for suffer- ing members. In 1790 a fusion of these two meetings was agreed upon, a meeting to be held once a month, to be named hence- forward the “ Meeting of Woman Friends of London for trans- acting the business of the two weeks’ and box meetings.” From the establishment of monthly meetings it was the prac- tice for women to sit with men Friends in these meetings for discipline, sharing in the discipline. The several monthly meet- ings of the London quarterly meetings, in 1755, seem to have acted independently of each other in the matter of separate meet- ings. In the meetings in which women in no wise shared the responsibility, their attendance greatly diminished. At this time, 1755, the “London Yearly Meeting is found earnest in its desire and advice for women’s monthly meetings to be established, which, so far as London is concerned, then took place; and a joint meeting for worship of men and women Friends came to be held previously, as is now the case.” When, finally, the women’s quarterly meetings proposed the establishment of the women’s yearly meeting, it was eight or nine years before the men’s meet- ing consented to it. Thus we see, how the clear and consistent view of George Fox, concerning the position of women in the Society of Friends, gradually prevailed over a narrower view, until there came a day in which men’s and women’s meetings were very nearly co-ordi- nate in privilege and power Today they share equally in the RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. 85 declaration of the Truth; they act jointly in all the great interests of the society; they work together in philanthropic and educa- tional concerns; together they discharge the obligations im- posed by large trusts committed to the society. The question, which now deeply agitates some sections of the Christian church, concerning the position of their women, was long ago settled in the Society of Friends; and “the Lord was with us and among us and has continued His good presence to this day.” Not only as a member of the society has woman’s position of equal privilege and responsibility been assured, but her woman- hood has been delicately respected. George Fox declared women to be “Believers in the Light as well as the men, and so children of the Light and of the Day.” In the sacred relationship of marriage, these “children of the Light and of the Day” have been spared the humiliation of an exacted promise of obedience, and instead, have been welcomed to an equal partnership in which the mutual promise is given to be “loving and faithful.” In Margaret Fell, who, seventeen years after her convincement by his preaching, became his wife, George Fox found his peer. The spiritual doctrine which he taught met a ready acceptance from her clear sight. Whither the acceptance of this doctrine led, she was prepared to follow into the king’s presence, or his chancellor’s, to plead for the sufferers in prison for conscience’ sake, into the loathsome prison itself, where for five years she bore brave convictions. She is one of many women who shared the persecutions that were the price of this day’s freedom. More than a hundred years later came Elizabeth Fry, great- granddaughter of Robert Barclay, a co-worker with George Fox. The day of persecution has gone by. Not as a prisoner in bonds for conscience’ sake did she find herself in Newgate; but remem- bering, “as bound with them,” the distressed and degraded prisoners, this cultivated and elegant woman, wife and mother in a refined home, turned her efforts toward the horrors of the En- glish prison system, never to rest from her labors until imprison- ment should be not only for punishment, but also for. reform. On this side the Atlantic, closely allied by association and by ties of blood to some here present, lived and labored our revered Lucretia Mott, one of the standard bearers of Truth. Her gen- 86 RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. eration was not without its test questions. She, too, was the center of beautiful home-life; she was rarely gifted as a religious teacher, and she was quick to ally herself with those who made themselves of no reputation in the labors for the nation’s despised and rejected race. She, a “child of Light and of the Day,” radi- antly led the way for all women toward the largeness of destiny, the fullness of life, to which womanhood is called of God.” Margaret Fox, Elizabeth Fry, Lucretia Mott, like many others called to the public service of the Truth, were public min- isters on the days that demanded that service; and when that labor was accomplished straightway retired to the home, there to meet every requirement of the faithful wife and devoted mother. To be acknowledged a worthy minister of God’s Truth, an acceptable worker in the church, a helpmate in all the vineyards of the Lord, an equal partner in the home, this is what Quakerism has brought to woman; this is the emancipation wrought by that “Light which lighteth every man coming into the world.” It is an incalculable debt which all womanhood owes to George Fox and to those who worked and suffered with him, and have con- tinued his testimonies from generation to generation. For, the consecrated liberty of womanhood in the Society of Friends, the liberty to respond to every call of the Father in behalf of His children, the liberty to grow in the service of Truth, is a leaven at work everywhere in the Christian world, emancipating woman from ignoble social tyranny, and enlisting all her powers of mind and heart and soul in behalf of the world’s vital needs. When George Fox wrote the pregnant words: “Women are heirs of Life, as well as the men, and heirs of grace, and of the Light of Christ Jesus, and so stewards of the manifold grace of God,” he foretold the day whose dawn is already upon us, “in which woman shall have come to her inheritance, and put on the whole armor of God, in which to be true wife, wise mother, noble woman, in the home, in the church, in the state.” RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. s; Our Thought with Regard to Co-operation of Distinct Faiths. Robert S. Haviland. UpAN two walk together except they be agreed?” was the V_y query of the ancient prophet. The query of today is no less pertinent: Should two walk apart in the things wherein they are agreed? These great gatherings, in which earnest, devoted men of all shades of religious opinion may find a common interest and a common purpose, speak well for religious growth and develop- ment. I am asked to present to you some thought with regard to co-operation of distinct faiths in labor against jointly recognized evils. Labor, in whatever direction we may apply it, should ever seek the most effective channels, and the most efficient means to employ its powers. All force expended, which is not necessary to accomplish, the purpose intended, is wasted energy, and the great question of the world today is, to so attach the car of human progress to the Powers of the Universe, that we may attain the greatest results with the least expenditure of human energy. To utilize the vital Powers of the Universe we must co-operate, not alone with those forces, but with the human forces as well, instead of working upon independent lines as in the earlier days. The powers of steam and of electricity have compelled men to mass their efforts in joint action for a common end, and machinery has been so adapted to human action as to supple- ment and supplant the labor of man, and require of him a higher degree of intelligence, and a lower degree of physical strength, than was formerly required. 88 RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. The steam engine and the dynamo have added untold power, and wealth and advancement to the nations which have availed themselves of those powers. The greatest of the natural forces, electricity, so silent, yet so powerful in its effect upon matter, is comparable to the spiritual force in its effect upon the mind of man — a power seemingly mysterious and but little understood, but no less definite in its action, no less powerful in its results — moving under laws no less certain and requiring, if we would attain its greatest results, the co-operation of human mind, and human effort for their accomplishment. Shall it be said of us today “The children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of Light?” There should be nothing in our religion that keeps us from co-operating with those of other faiths in anything which we recognize as good, or against anything which is evil. If there is, let us see if it be not a barnacle that has attached itself from without rather than an outgrowth from the spirit- ual life within, which impedes progress and does not impart strength. Is it not irreligion, rather than religion, which keeps us apart? Every great movement for a worthy purpose should have the cordial co-operation of every religionist, the hearty indorsement of every sect. We, of the Christian name, need only to refer to the Founder and Perfector of our faith for guidance in this direction. He who proclaimed to the woman of Samaria, at Jacob's well, the great Truth of religion, “God is a Spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and in Truth,” proclaimed it to one whose life had been sinful, whose faith was heterodox from the Jewish standpoint, she being a Samaritan, and yet without endeavoring to correct her theology he recognized the change of heart and purpose, and permitted her to go forth as a Gospel messenger, with the availing invitation, “Come see a Man which told me all things that ever I did. Is not this the Christ?” He who rebuked His disciples because they were disturbed at one who was casting out devils in His name, but was not His follower, said that such could not lightly speak evil of Him, “for he that is not against us, is on our part.” RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. 89 He, who in loving invitation extended to those who had min- istered to the needs of the suffering and the sinful of earth, said, “Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was a hungered, and ye gave Me meat; I was thirsty, and ye gave Me drink; I was a stranger, and ye took Me in; naked, and ye clothed Me; I was sick, and ye visited Me; I was in prison, and ye came unto Me." “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these, My brethren, ye have done it unto Me.” Service for our fellowmen, who need our aid, is service for Christ, and if we fail in such service the sentence of -dismissal is ours for wasted opportunity. “Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not unto Me.” Religion does not consist in finely woven creeds and defin- itions of how God saves men. It does consist in availing ourselves of His power and love, in attaching our lives to the great spirit- ual force of the universe and working in harmony with it and in obedience to it; by listening to the Divine voice which speaks within each soul, which calls us to deeds of mercy and helpful- ness and love, and by being obedient to these spiritual revealings. This will give us a service and a power which will be in har- mony with all who are brought under the same Divine influence of whatever name or denomination, and will be “mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds.” So far as creeds and definitions give us a true conception of God and the wonderful workings of His power in man’s redemp- tion and salvation from everything that is evil, and bring a fuller realization of His love, they are of service in our religious progress. God holds the universe, the world we inhabit, the sun, moon and stars in their courses, not by the rigid power of a single force, but by the elasticity of opposing forces, by laws of attraction and repulsion, by centrifugal and centripetal forces. A head religion standing alone ever separates; a heart religion ever unites; work in the service of humanity binds together by the unity of a common purpose those who otherwise would be at variance, and head, hand and heart combined makes the complete and perfect service. 90 RELIGIOUS CONGRESS .FOR FRIENDS. In each of our lives we find the opposing elements. “ For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary, the one to the other;” our life work is to so live in the Spirit as to walk in the Spirit and not fulfill the lusts of the flesh. That faith which impels to good works is a saving faith. That faith which fosters and protects the evil is of necessity false. The Apostle James assures us “Faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone,” and citing the works of faithful Abraham, says: “Seest thou how faith wrought with His works, and by works was faith made perfect.” “For as the body without the Spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.” If works, then, be essential for the perfecting of our faith — for the development of our life — it is alike essential that we work as God would have us work, in harmony with His laws and in harmony with all who are workers in a kindred cause. Success crowns our efforts; we receive a reward for our labors, just in the measure that they are brought within the scope of God’s laws with reference thereto. God has so constituted the human brain that there is as much variety of thought as there is variety of countenance, and this interchange of varying thought helps to keep the mind from stag- nation. It is not requisite that we should all be united in one great religious denomination, or that the number of sects should be lessened, but that sectarian jealousy shall cease, that we judge the tree by its fruits, and that we each be found fruitful in good works; that we be found in all our denominations a united body against all manner of evil, and present a solid front in opposition to all forms of iniquity and in the uplifting of the people and the furtherance of every good word and work. Cambridge, Mass., by a seven years’ successful effort, and Ithaca, N. Y., by a more recent one in the same direction, stand before us today as grand object lessons, demonstrating the power of combined effort, to overthrow the giant evil of our land — in- temperance. RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. 91 Let me re-echo the noble words of Archbishop Ireland at an earlier congress in this building: “All methods in themselves legitimate, shall be welcomed by me, and shall receive my heartiest co-operation. “When a giant evil stalks through the land I call for allies from all directions, whatever be their peculiar aims, or whatever their peculiar organization — each and every one of them will do some- thing to weaken and repel the enemy, and this is the end we are seeking. “I have said that I invoke the energies of men and women. I now say, I invoke the energies of people of all forms of Christian belief, and of people who if not Christians have yet to heart nat- ural morals and good citizenship. “It is useless to hope in our present conditions that public opinion can be affected and public dangers repulsed, if we do not bring together, as citizens, all our forces and act as one people, independently of church organizations or other limited influences.” Pittsburg has demonstrated that it is possible for the Catholic priest and the Protestant clergyman to work side by side har- moniously in religious service — to address from the same platform those of both faiths, gathered in the one great congregation — to effectively unite them in earnest work for the benefit of the suffer- ing and the sinful — and to draw to their services a large number of those who are outside of any religious organization. To detail the plans for such co-operation is not so easy a task as to assert its importance. They must indeed take shape from surrounding circumstances and conditions. The simpler and more comprehensive the organ- ization the better the results to be anticipated. The Religious Society of Friends has been in the past one of the most conservative of all the religious organizations in the direction of co-operative work with others — today we extend through our Philanthropic Union the right hand of fellowship and service to all who are engaged in a similar labor for the up- lifting of humanity and of staying the tide of vice and op- pression. Through our committees on peace and arbitration, temper- ance, social purity, prison reform and kindred subjects, we seek the co-operative aid of all who have these interests at heart. 92 RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. From the Society of Christian Endeavor we may at least learn how each may be loyal to their own religious organization and yet contribute to the general good. This congress will have fallen short of its highest achieve- ment, if it shall not have drawn us nearer together in the great work of the world’s advancement, and united us in the one great brotherhood of service for God through service for humanity. I believe the movement here inaugurated is but the forerunner of many such, and that we will yet learn that united services and co-operation of the different faiths will best promote the cause of truth and righteousness in the earth. RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. 93 Not Creed, but Character. Grounds of Sympathy and Fraternity between Religious Men and Women. A ARON M. Powell, of the Society of Friends, of New York, delivered an address on “The Grounds of Sympathy and Fraternity among Religious Men.” He said: “It is in behalf of one of the smaller religious bodies, the Society of Friends, that I am invited to speak to you. In the time allotted it would be quite impossible to cover exhaustively the whole field of my broad subject, “The Grounds of Sympathy and Fraternity among Religious men.” It is altogether natural and proper that in form and method and ritual there should be diversity, great diversity, among the peoples interested in religion throughout the world; but it is also possible, as it is extremely desirable, that there should be unity, fraternity and co-operation in the promulgation of simple spirit- ual truth. To illustrate my thought I may say that not very long ago I went to one of the great Salvation Army meetings in New York with two of my personal friends, who were also members of the Society of Friends. It was one of those meetings full of en- thusiasm with volleys innumerable, and we met that gifted and eloquent Queen of the Army, Mrs. Ballington Booth, to whom I had the pleasure of introducing my two Quaker friends. Taking in the humor of the situation, she said: “Yes, we have much in common; you add a little quiet and we add a little noise.” The much in common between these two very different peo- ples, the noisy Salvationists and the quiet Quakers, is in the ap- plication of admitted Christian truth to human needs. It is along that line that my thought must lead this morning with regard to unity and fraternity among religious men and religious women. Every people on the face of the earth has some conception of the Supreme and the Infinite. It is common to all classes, all races, all nationalities; but the Christian ideal, according to my own 94 RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. conception, is the highest and most complete ideal of all. It em- braces most fully the Fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of mankind. Justice and mercy and love it maintains as due from each to all. There are no races, there are no territorial limitations or ex- ceptions. Even the most untutored have always been found to be amenable to the presentation of this fundamental Christian thought exemplified in a really Christian life. Here I may illus- trate by the experience of William Penn among the Indians of North America. He came to them as their brother and as their friend, to exemplify the principles of justice and truth. It is a matter of history that the relations between Penn and the Qua- kers and the Indians have been exceptional and harmonious, on the basis of this ideal brotherhood of man. Alas, that all the In- dians in America might not have had representatives of this Quaker humane thought to deal with! What a different page would have been written in American history? Many years later another Friend was sent out under President Grant’s administration to labor as a superintendent among the Indians, the noble-hearted, true Quaker, Samuel M. Janney. As he went among the Indians committed to his charge, he not only undertook to deal with them with reference to their material in- terests, but he also sought to labor among them as their friend, and in a certain sense as a religious helper and teacher. He talked with those Indians in Nebraska about spiritual things. They could understand about the Great Spirit as they listened to him, and he told them, furthermore, the wonderful story of Jesus of Nazareth, commending His teaching and the lesson of His life and His death to them. They listened, with regard to the Son, as they had with reverence to the Father, but he could not impress them, in the face of their sad experience, with a so-called Christian Nation, with the virtues of the Son. REPLY OF THE INDIAN. Finally one old chief said to him: “We know about the Father, but the Son has not been along this way yet.” I do not wonder, in the light of the record which this so-called Christian nation had made in dealing with those Indians, that they thought that they had never seen the Son out that way yet. RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. 95 It is, alas, to our shame, as a people, that it must be said as a mat- ter of historic truth, that the very reverse of the Christian spirit has been the spirit shown in dealing with the Indians, who have been treated with bad faith and untold cruelty. A fresh and living instance of this spirit is illustrated in the chapter we are now writing so shamefully in our dealings with the Chinese. We are sending missionaries abroad to China, but what are we teaching by example in America with reference to the Chinese except the Godless doctrine that they have no rights which we are bound to respect? We are receiving lessons, valu- able and varied, from these distinguished representatives of other religions, but what are we to say in their presence of our short- comings, measured by the standard of our high Christian ideal, which recognizes the brotherhood of all mankind and God as the common Father? I want to say that the potential religious life — and it is a lesson which is being emphasized day by day by this wonderful parlia- ment — is not a creed but character. It is for this message that the waiting multitude listens. We have many evidences of this Among the recent deaths on this side of the Atlantic which awaken world-wide echoes of lamentation and regret, there has been no one so missed and so mourned as a religious teacher in this century as Phillips Brooks. Cne thing above all else which characterized the ministry of Phillips Brooks was his interpretation of spiritual power in the life of the individual human soul. The one poet who has voiced this thought most widely in our own and in other countries, whose words are to be found in the afterpart of the general pro- gram of this parliament, is the Quaker poet, Whittier. His words are adapted to world wide use by all who enter into the spirit of Christianity in its utmost simplicity. In seeking the grounds of fraternity and co-operation, we must not look in the region of forms and ceremonies and rituals, wherein we may all very prop- erly differ, and agree to differ, as we are doing here, but we must seek them especially in the direction of unity and action for the removal of the world’s great evils. I believe we stand today at the dividing of the ways, and whether or not there shall follow this parliament of religions any permanent committee, or any general organization, looking q6 RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. to the creation of a universal church, I do hope that one outcome of this great commingling will be some sort of action between the peoples of the different religions, looking to the removal of the great evils which stand in the pathway of the progress of all true religion. Part of my speech has been made this morning by the eloquent ex-governor who preceded me, but I will emphasize his remarks with regard to arbitration. There were two illustrations of my thought to which he did not make specific reference. One is recent in the Behring Sea arbitration. What a blessing that is as compared with the old-fashioned method of settling the differ- ences between this country and Great Britain by going to war. We may rejoice and take courage in this fresh illustration of the practicability of arbitration between two great and powerful nations. I may cite also one other illustration, the Geneva award, which at the time it occurred was perhaps even more remarkable than the more recent arbitration of the Behring Sea dispute. Among the exhibits down yonder at the White city, which you doubtless have seen, is the great Krupp gun. It is a marvelous piece of in- ventive ingenuity. It is absolutely appalling in its possibilities for the destruction of humanity. Now, if the religious people of the world, whatever their name or form, will unite in a general league against war and resolve to arbitrate all difficulties, I believe that that great Krupp gun will, if not preserved for some museum, be literal^ melted and recast into plow-shares and pruning hooks. This parliament has laid very broad foundations. It is pre- senting an object lesson of immense value. In June I had the privilege of assisting here in another world’s congress, wherein were representatives of various nationalities and countries. We had on the platform the distinguished archbishop of St. Paul, that great liberal Catholic, Archbishop Ireland. Sitting near him was Father Cleary, his neighbor and friend — another noble man. Sit- ting near those two Catholics was Adjutant Vickery, of the Salvation Army, the representative of Mrs. Ballington Booth, who was un- able through sickness to be present. Near these there were sev- eral members of the Society of Friends, and along with them were some Episcopalians, Methodists, Baptists, Presbyterians and one RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. 9 7 Unitarian whose face I see here today. All these were tremen- dously in earnest to strike a blow at one of the great obstacles to the progress of Christian life in Europe — state regulated vice. I cannot deal in detail with that subject now, but I may say that it is the most infamous system of slavery of womanhood and girlhood the world has ever seen. It exists in most European countries and it has its champions in America, who have been seeking, by their propagandism, to fasten it upon our large cities. It is one of the most vital questions of this era, and it should be the care and responsibility of religious people everywhere to see that as speedily as possible this great shame shall be wiped away from modern civilization. Let me tell you an incident that occurred in Geneva, Switzer- land, three or four years ago. There jumped out of a four-story window down to the court below a beautiful young girl. Mar- velously, her life was spared. A noble Christian woman, whom I count it a privilege to number among my personal friends, went to this poor girl’s side and got her story. In substance it was this : She had been sold for a price in Berlin to one of the brothel keepers of Geneva, and, as his property, had been imprisoned in that brothel, and was held therein as a prisoner and slave. She endured it as long as she could and finally, as she told this friend of mine, “When I thought of God I could endure it no longer and I resolved to take the chances of my life for escape,” and she made that fearful leap, and providentially her life was spared. What must be the nature of the oppression that will thus drive its victims to the desperate straits of this young girl? It is a slavery worse than the chattelism, in some of its details, which formerly prevailed in our own country. Now, what has America to do on this line? America has a fearful responsibility. Though it may not have the actual system of state regulation, we call ourselves a Christian country, and yet, in this beloved America of ours, in more than one state, under the operation of the laws called “age of consent,” a young girl of ten years is held capable of consenting to her own ruin. Shame, indeed; it is a shame; a tenfold shame. I appeal, in passing, for league and unity among religious people for the overthrow of this system in European countries, and the rescue and redemption of our own land from this gigantic evil which threatens us here. 7 98 RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. I now pass to another overshadowing evil, the ever pressing drink evil. There was another congress held here in June; it was to deal with the vice of intemperance. I had the privilege of looking over forty consular reports prepared at the request of the late Secretary of State, Mr. Blaine. In every one of these reports intemperance was shown to be a producing cause of a large part of the vice, immorality and crime in those countries. There is need of an alliance on the part of religious people for the removal of this great evil which stands in the pathway of practical Christian progress. Now, another thought in a different direction. What the world greatly needs today in all countries is greater simplicity in connection with the religious life and propagandism. The Society of Friends, in whose behalf I appear before you, may fairly claim to have been teachers by example in that direction. We want to banish the spirit of worldliness from every land, which has taken possession of many churches, and inaugurate an era of greater simplicity. The actual progress of Christianity in accordance with its ideal may be stated, in a sentence, to be measured by the posi- tion of women in all lands. The Society of Friends furnished pioneers in the prisons of Old England and of New England in the direction of Divinely inspired womanhood. We believe there is still urgent need of an enlargement of this sphere to woman, and we ought to have it preached more widely everywhere. There should be leagues and alliances to help bring about this needed change. The individual stands alone, unaided, comparatively powerless; but in organization there is great power, and in the fullness of the life of the spirit, applied through organization, it is possible to transform the world for its benefit in many directions. Someone has described heaven as being simply a harmonious relationship between God and man. If that be a true description of the heavenly condition, we need not wait till we pass beyond the river to experience something of the uplift of the joy of sal- vation. Let us band together, religious men and women of all names and nationalities, to bring about this greater harmony be- tween each other and between God, the Father of us all. Then, finally, in all lands and in every soul, to the lowliest as well as the highest, may this more and more become the joyous refrain of each, “Nearer, my God, to Thee; Nearer to Thee.” Denominational Qongress Session of the morning of 9th mo., 19th, HELD IN THE NEW CHURCH TEMPLE. ADDRESS OF WELCOME, - Jonathan W. Plummer INTRODUCTION AND RESPONSE OF THE CHAIRMAN FOR THE MEETING, John J. Cornell, Baltimore A PAPER— “THE STATE OF THE SOCIETY,” ETC. Mercy G. Hammond, Sterling, Kansas Read by Allen J. Flitcraft. A RESPONSE TO THIS PAPER, Lavinia P. Yeatman, Norway, Pa. DISCUSSION OF THE PAPERS. 99 100 RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. Address of Welcome. Jonathan W. Plummer. I N this pleasant home of our friends of the New Jerusalem church (of which Dr. L. P. Mercer is pastor), who have so kindly shown their spirit of Christian fellowship by granting its use for our denominational congress, we extend to you this morn- ing our greetings of welcome. Representatives of most of the religious faiths of the world have gathered in this city under the invitation of the Congress Auxiliary of the World’s Columbian Exposition, to present to each other in friendly spirit their differing religious beliefs. We, as members of the Religious Society of Friends, have met this morning in the opening session of a denominational congress to consider, in the light and under the influence of this brotherly fellowship, our position among the workers for the redemption and salvation of man from sin and its consequences. We wish to look into our condition and discover wherein we can increase our power to uphold the truths we have seen, and gain acceptance for them throughout the world. To discover what we need to do to increase our practical knowledge, through spiritual experience, of those truths and to give such life to our faith as will lead us once more into the world as aggressive advocates of that prin- ciple of religious life, which we believe to be needed in each human heart, to secure daily, practical righteousness and a daily applied Christianity. Our history for the early days of our denominational existence is full of aggressive action followed by large results and rapid growth in membership. We have been pioneers in declaring and practically maintain- ing what we call testimonies, growing out of the impressions made upon our minds by the Divine Spirit, in behalf of truths that uplift, or against vices that depress man in his best in- RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. IOI terests and that increase or destroy his happiness. We have been, and continue to be, opposed to all oppression; to war; to intemperance and all vices that destroy man’s higher nature, and advocates of liberty of conscience, the equal rights and duties of women with men in civil and religious labor, and whatever we believe will secure to each child of God the best chance to de- velop his higher nature and become what our Heavenly Father wishes each to be, an intelligent, strong, pure being, dominated in his actions by the yearning love of Jesus Christ. Our day, with its clearer vision as to what the Gospel of Christ requires in the way of peace and brotherly love between men, calls for a different form and method of work from that of our fathers, but not less energy; oftentimes for a different spirit imour work, but not less consecration. We need to feel in our deliberations here, and in our daily life always, that an intellectual assent to the supposed truth of our declaration of faith does not give us its vision of duty, its wis- dom or its power, unless it is accompanied by a genuine experi- ence of the divine impressions and impulses upon our souls, lead- ing to an earnestness of conviction and a prayerful desire for light and guidance, and for opportunity to realize for ourselves, and help others to realize truly, the “glad tidings” of the Gospel of Christ. This experience can only come when our hearts are open to it, in full integrity and earnest craving. As we realize that now and here, and for the first time in re- ligious history, the teachers of various religions of the world, non-Christian as well as Christian, are assembled together in friendly spirit to find, if possible, the same aspirations, the same spirit of consecration, and the same desires for salvation from sin and its consequent sufferings, running through all our faiths, en- abling us to realize a common brotherhood under the Fatherhood of the one God, we must feel an increased thrill of hope for the coming of the day when love and righteousness shall cover all religions. Under this hope let us feel a renewed dedication of all our powers, to the hastening of its coming. Let us look into the condition of our society with eyes willing to see whatever hinders our growth and power, and while excluding all careless criticism and personal feeling be anxious to see the best ways for present- ing our religious principles to general view, and securing for them, 102 RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. among ourselves and others, an acceptance so far as the witness for truth in each heart approves. May we not consider, among other things, the propriety of joining under proper conditions any, or all, workers of any faith, in labor against evil where we cannot be more efficient alone, and not only thus add power to these movements for the special work in hand, but also open the hearts of all workers thus joined to that Christian love which allows truth to come in from every source and meet its witness in the soul. If we do this, will we not increase the force of that tide that is washing into oblivion the non-essentials and bringing into clearer view those principles which are needed for man’s sal- vation from sin? Which will give him the standard of character that Jesus portrayed? Let us desire to increase our numbers — for the increased power it will give us to work out the problems that the social conditions of our day present to us — in the interest of human advancement and practical righteousness among men. “God is Love” has long been a recorded truth, but today finds the religious world nearer a realization of its truth, and the con- sequent need of love among men than ever before. Under this growing light we may work more efficiently to reach the Divine standard ourselves, and help others to reach it, than we ever could before, if we have a living faith in the Divine impress upon our individual souls and minds, equal to that of Geo. Fox, Wm. Penn and their co-laborers. This Indwelling Christ will show the needed duty of each person and of each hour, and impel us, as it did them, to the fulfillment of every duty in its right time and way. May we in each of our sessions strive for judgment unbiased by prejudices, and be willing and anxious to see the truths that we have not before recognized, and to let go the errors, if any, that we have thought to be truth heretofore, and all in the integrity of heart that asks only for the right, the best, that our hearts can see in the light that God gives to each. Then shall our work be as good seed scattered widely in good soil, with promise of fruitage, even to an hundredfold. RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. 103 The State of the Society. Mercy G. Hammond. I F we accept the justice of the record of the historian, Bancroft, and believe that “the rise of the Society of Friends marks the moment when intellectual freedom was claimed unconditionally by the people as an inalienable birthright,” that “this rise was the consequence of the moral warfare against corruption, the aspira- tion of the human mind after a perfect emancipation from the long reign of bigotry and superstition,” can we justly claim the name of “Friend” except we diligently and reverently seek to maintain inviolate the vantage ground thus won? George Fox, “believing that he was called of heaven to awaken men from their lifeless forms and dogmas to a sense of the vital importance of an inward, living, spiritual religion,” was so en- dowed for this call that, in his own words, “The Lord’s power wrought mightily and gathered many.” Some of us may feel, as we look back through an unbroken line of Quaker ancestry to this time of gathering, that, as an especial inheritance, we are en- titled to claim this name. To these and to all may this council- ing be an occasion of such uplift and illumination, that the name “Friend” may have a more significant value involving deeper per- sonal responsibility. Almost a generation has passed since our revered and beloved poet penned these stanzas: Full long our feet the flowery ways Of peace have trod. Content with creed and garb and phrase — A harder path in earlier days Led up to God. Too cheaply truths once purchased dear Are made our own; Too long the world has smiled to hear Our boast of full corn in the ear By others sown: 104 RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. To see us stir the martyr fires Of long ago, And wrap our satisfied desires In the singed mantles that our sires Have dropped below. Beyond sermon from gallery or pulpit these lines have stirred the heart of a devoted Friend during these decades since “the breath of war on the sweet spring air ” stimulated the soul of Whittier to voice the thought. What heart searchings they have prompted cannot be apparent. That there has been less tendency to depend on traditional service and a more free yield- ing of direct, personal effort does seem apparent. What thin- ning in the ranks of standard bearers have these decades brought. Fostering fathers and mothers, who gave to the church service such gracious presence, such ripened judgment, such gift of speech, such dedication of spirit, have one by one passed away, and our hearts have felt that there must ever remain desolate places where they stood. Men and women in the flower of men- tal and spiritual growth have been called, and we have mourned that for them there should not have been prolonged earthly fru- ition. What wonder if with a sense of increased individual re- sponsibility our membership anxiously queries, What of this hour? Are we content in flowery ways to accept a theory of truth with- out the crucial test that baptizes into saving conviction? Are we Friends only in our pride in a martyr record two centuries old? We cannot fail to recognize that a certain distinctiveness of garb and phrase has faded from our gatherings, that some are held to be less vital than formerly; that some things not in the old rou- tine are accepted. Are we drifting from the essential spirit of Quakerism? Are we a less spiritually minded people? Are we less tenderly solicitous that our conception of moral and Spiritual Truth shall reach the Gospel standard? Are we less watchful that our intercourse with our fellows accords with pro- fession? Are we resting in stagnant waters? Are we drifting toward shoals of dogma on one hand or of materialism on the other, while the religious world at large more and more recognizes an inward spiritual religion? The compass points ever to the magnetic north. We do not doubt but the needle obeys the absolute magnetic law, though the record of centuries is that, as relates to surroundings, there is RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. 105 a steady variation. Neither should we doubt the immutable foundation of absolute Truth, because there need be a certain relativeness in our expression of our relation to Truth. We should not be over solicitous about non-essential details if a Christ-like spirit is nurtured and sustained. While there remains among us, as at present, an abiding faith in the one distinctive belief of Friends, that of the Divine Indwelling; while the impor- tance of our long accepted testimonies is kept, as now, so promi- nent; while the altar fires of worship burn as they continue to do in our religious gatherings, we may justly feel that there is a place for us in the denominational world. What the future may bring for us we may not know, but for a long time there will be those to whom there will be no church home outside of our own. To keep this a harbor of rest and inspiration, where the seeking soul may find satisfying fellowship, is worth dedicated effort. Upon each one holding a right of membership some measure of duty in sustaining the organization devolves. We have no right to hold membership except we accept the responsibility which a church home involves. Confidence in the foundation upon which our Society builds, and in the consequent spiritual life, may well go hand in hand with searching humility, for remissness is indeed sadly apparent. We know that vigor has been lost by inertness. We believe that souls have gone from us hungering who might have been as pillars in the church, but from lack of that nurture which the church owes to its fold. Many have sought other fellowship because none were ready to give the helpful word which should have proved for that soul the “food convenient,” and have made the beautiful strongholds of our faith apparent to the understand- ing. To mourn cannot atone for the past. The present is ours. A desire to rebuild the waste places seems to permeate the entire Society. The opportunity is before us. Are we equal to it? We must accept the evidence that the principles long felt to be distinctively ours have found recognition among many of the spiritually minded in other churches. Our hearts are gladdened when the simplified story of relation between the human and the Divine, and of duty between man and man, as we believe accords with the Gospel pattern, goes out to the world from pulpit and from press. This, to us precious nomenclature, needs not to be 10 6 RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. cited here. It will doubtless spring to thought and lip during the commingling of these favored days. How much of the yielding of faith in ritual and dogma may justly be attributed to currents set in motion by Fox and his coadjutors, how much to the direct inspiration of these pregnant days it matters not to consider. It is wholesome for us to gratefully recognize Truth, come whence it may, while we loyally rejoice in the privilege of our own sim- ple form of worship, and in our emancipation from the hindrances of creed and ritual. While it may more properly be the province of this paper to open the way for discussion than to give suggestion, yet an ex- pression of conviction may, perhaps, be accepted in the spirit in which it is given. Many of us have counciled together in the past, and drawn therefrom renewal of purpose. The power of an inspired ministry to spread a knowledge of Friends’ principles has been accepted since the ministry of George Fox gathered many. The “foolishness of preaching” remains an appointed means for spiritual quickening. Except we give to this service steady sympathy and support, the vigor of the whole body must wane. Open the way for the gift of the Gospel ministry to reach those who may have ears to hear the glad tidings we believe to be so precious, and we set in motion a fruitful sowing. If the true Friend has an appropriate place in the world’s work, it is surely in the sweet ministry of philanthropy. Every service becomes an object lesson among men, if simply done as becomes our profession, without obtruding our Friendly ideas, except when withholding them involves sacrifice of conviction. In the measure in which we can consistently and effectively reach to redress wrong or to ameliorate suffering, in that beautiful dignity becoming the Friend and Christian, we shall surely foster the growth and spread of our principles. Without the force of the two bulwarks, a faithful ministry and a philanthropic exemplifica- tion of our cherished testimonies, we cannot hope to enlist and hold our youth, and this is our only hope for the future. If we have reached the stature of compassing for them a rightly guarded education, the problem of our future and the spread of our principles is solved. How we rejoice in the power of a Barclay and a Penn. The power of neither could have been so far reach- RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. 107 ing, had not intellectual discipline joined forces with spiritual illumination. All honor to those of today who are striving to gather about our schools an atmosphere in which the finest forces of the soul may instinctively expand. The home and the school are determining forces against which the church can illy cope, if in them are tendencies to blunt what the church would cherish. Give to the young that discriminating culture that discerns the fineness in simplicity, and the spirit of our testimony in favor of plainness of speech, deportment and apparel can be readily apprehended. Give the finest sense of justice and honor, and other testimonies will be readily recognized. Give an adequate conception of the value of human life, and the horror of war overshadows its grandeur. In short, give a wholesome soul training to the youth, who hold a birthright with us, and a tremendous force is set in motion — centrifugal to scatter our principles — centripetal to gather to us. As long as we do not in our efforts go before the witness, tread not on ground not hallowed for our feet, we can fearlessly push on. Tender regard for established usage and for the con- victions of others will regulate diversity of thought. A soul strong for truth and right has said, “Our business is not to sail as near the wind of what is popular as we can, but in a brave, manly way to keep our vessel’s head toward the port of everlasting Truth, though the world should think us sailing to destruction.’’ io8 RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. The State of Our Society. Response by Lavinia P. Yeatman. E have listened with the confidence of perfect unity to the V V thoughtful consideration of our Society, its hopes in the past, its needs in the future, that our sister has set before us. That our Society is not a thing of the past; that it is to be a church of the future we earnestly believe, for its principle reflects the purity of that early world, when the morning stars sang to- gether, rejoicing that Life was born. She has given us an onward view of our church that we must sustain. Shall I present some points in the past which have hin- dered its full development, and which may stand as warning points of avoidance for the future? To unlock the thoughts of former years, to uncover results as they followed, is a task full of instruction; and the state of our Society, in the early years of this, our century, has been so unlike the active attitude of its first works, that it challenges our atten- tion. And yet, this century of ours has been one of grand devel- opment. Really, so much darkness has passed away before the clearer light that moves and palpitates through the coming time, that we must stand and wonder at the change one lifetime of years has produced. When it opened over our Society, both here and in England, there laid a lethargy which drew a lingering sweetness from a passive introspection. It was very foreign to the sturdy stock of which we came; but, nevertheless, it shadowed our fuller life. Then came the cradle growth of American literature, born of Puritan ancestry, let us acknowledge, but its rich light thrilled the young hearts even in our well guarded fold. Then came that dark sweep of German mysticism, holding the educated world by an almost magical touch as it appealed to the reasoning faculties of man with its grand scholastic power. And Faith trembled, waiting till the cloud should pass. RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. 109 Then came the after reaction, when spiritual life bounded from the woven trammels of unbelief, and sought to build anew the pathways to the church of Christ. May we not ask what part in that reaction did the clear full testimonies of our Society hold? Has not our freely sustained faith in the “Inner Light” molded more than its followers know? No interval of time that history records, not even the burst of the rennaissance which shook the Catholic world in the fourteenth century, can compare with the advancement of Light, of Christian work, of hopeful consequences, as this era of ours has done. And so “we, the people called Quakers,” can rest on our broad foundation stone and watch the passing hour. We see the principle we hold, the testimonies we have sus- tained, have gradually arrested the higher thoughts of men. Our small, sweet doctrine, “Mind the Light,” found by an un- taught peasant lad amid the jewels of the words of Christ, and kept in the silent depths of his own soul till thought, and prayer, and tribulation had polished its full perfection, is now an ac- cepted belief, a central point in Protestant churches. We see the intense spiritual labor of our forefathers a subject of honored study in devout minds. And when we are asked, “Why have not Friends built a visible church, and worked for wider results?” We query, “Is not the soul of man His church?” “Are we not working there?” Still, history tells us that George Fox’s ideal was to establish a working church, which should present a power- ful front in the future service of humanity. He gathered the en- lightened minds of that Bible-studying age by one annointing question, “Dost thou believe on Jesus Christ, the Son of God?” This was the talisman of entry into the works of early Friends, into the church of George Fox, so simple and so deep. Yet the weight of a singular destiny seems to have rested on George’s ideal. His gift of organization was clear and practical as all his movements show. His method of confirming his minis- try was itself an inspiration. So was that system of lay preach- ing which he developed, and made an arm of mighty strength in his work. Yet these were lost in that lull which followed the ad- vent of the seekers, or followers of Lady Guion among us. These introduced a dreamy tone of passive resignation that was suited only to monastic life or the helpless hopelessness of convent 10 RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. seclusion. But it fitted, perhaps, with a desire for greater rest among a long tried and suffering people, and it found acceptance. But from this time an inert spirit is clearly seen developing in the church of our fathers. A lethargy grew down the years, and lay on the inward life of our people, and culminated in the sepa- ration of 1828. We can clearly see now that had the Spirit of the Christ ruled the exigencies of that time, had the clear spir- ituality of our fathers been with us, that separation would never have occurred. For there was no new doctrine taught. It was only a clearing away of the theologic fungi which had grown upon our structure. That George Fox did not live before his time is evidenced in the wide, unconscious acceptance of his views by the religious minds of his day. He, perhaps, anticipated a Light that was sure to come, for the world has always been ready for the hope that lies in the promises of Jesus. Our fathers bore the suffering that falls to the lot of His followers, and their strug- gle was a triumph for suffering humanity. A wide lessening of numbers has been with us. Emigration and disownments have scattered our members, and the spirit of the seekers engrafted on us has disapproved of proselyting. Yet, our testimonies have been largely kept wherever a member has set the lone altar of his home, and we are gladdened as the cry for remembrance oftentimes comes back from distant points to the parent church. Therefore, we ask, is not the church of our fathers spreading its light through coming years, and soft- ening the hard shell of human judgment over things spiritual and easy to be understood? It is not for us to lay aside the panoply of earlier convic- tions, as we fold around us the beautiful garments of our spiritual awakening. As we hold to our ways of simplicity we may yet fulfill the words of Admiral Penn: “As you keep to your plain ways of living, you may yet reform the world.” This point of simplicity we do hold in loving reverence, for grand and clear is that mind which turns from trifling ornament to the pearl of price within them. We are asked in the paper to which we have just listened: Are we less spiritual? More worldly? I would answer, no! Our spirituality moves now through peaceful paths, and joins in ways of doing good in silent con- secration. RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. Ill I look upon the future of the Society of Friends, as it opens now, as a gathering together for first works. Back to our dear spirituality; onward with our high moral standing; upward with our noble system of educating our youth, unawed and unchecked by the deviations of mankind. We have a destiny yet to fulfill. The clear believers in the words and works of Jesus of Nazareth have much to do, and nothing is dearer to the heart of our people than this prophetic confidence. Clear of superstitious dimness, weighing all by the gentle force of “the Light Within,” let us go on our way. We see a noble band of teachers going in and out among our youth, we see our glad young children born with an inward purity so singularly impressive, that I always feel it a blessing sent down with Quaker parentage. And as we cordially unite with the great throbbing heart of humanity in the works of good, let us still keep our testimonies, and in the far glad future seal with a great seal the bond of our adoption. 12 RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. A Synopsis of the Discussion Upon the Preceding Papers. LLEN FLITCRAFT, Pennsylvania, spoke of the demand of J~\ the home, the school and the church upon our care. Of these the home stands first in importance and influence in mold- ing the youthful mind. If this teaching be right, all else will be well, and we shall be a happy and prosperous people. It is here the mother exerts her power, and we cannot overestimate its value. The school stands next, having a very close claim upon our concern. And if the right influence of the home be followed by a guarded training in the schools of the mental and moral fac- ulties, we may be sure the meeting will find living, concerned supporters. Edward Coale, Illinois. The home and the school are not the only forces needed in the work of giving new life to our meetings. We are suffering from a lack of consecrated and concentrated effort. We know the condition of our meetings — how they are languishing from a need of this combined influence. I see groups of fifty people in this gathering able to go into the weak meetings, and by their united labors build up a new and living church. Nor is it that we lack the time; the desire and willingness to conse- crate ourselves to the work are wanting. Knowing as we do the condition and the need, now is the time to enlist the interest and consecration of our boys and girls. It may soon be too late. A. M. Powell, New York. I rise only to commend both of the papers read. The first was singularly happy in its reference to the past and its hopefulness for the future. May this congress bring out the younger members who are with us. It is the first great occasion on which we have stepped out of our accustomed path into a new and promising field. Matilda Underwood, Indiana, referred to the feeling manner with which our hearts had been touched in considering the needs of our Society. She spoke of the Gospel of Christ as the greatest RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. ”3 need. George Fox calls upon us to till the fallow ground, that the seed may prosper. We must be up and doing for “Behold the fields are white unto harvest and the laborers are few.” This work and influence of the Christian mothers and fathers depends on the consecration of the heart. Joseph Hartley, Ohio. Consecration of the heart meets the witness for Truth within. It is a personal matter. When indi- vidually we have this baptism then we realize the truth that “Seeking first the kingdom of heaven all these things will be added.” This is a most excellent and practical lesson, and when fully in possession of the heart we are ready and willing to labor. The school cannot give us this power and consecration. It is revealed unto babes. Let us have all regard for the children of our Society. Lydia H. Price, Pennsylvania. Consecration is the one great and needful thing, leading us up to a practice of the “golden rule,” to think no evil. We realize the weakness there is among us. We cannot estimate the losses we have sustained. They have been not alone from disownment. We have lost membership through marriage Those who might have come to us, if open arms had been extended, have not only been lost, but have taken others away. Again, how pained I have been at the expressions of lament in our business meetings over our deficiences. To dwell upon these is not the way. We should indeed look well into our own hearts and see how we feel toward all the world. If there were an overflow of God’s love, would it not draw us together in brotherly kindness. Edw. H. Magill, Pennsylvania, said it was not a pleasant thing to discuss our faults, but we are here to query, and we must not ignore them. I was impressed with the remark of the first paper on the relation of the centrifugal and centripetal forces. We have lacked the influence of both in our history as a people. I have sometimes wondered that our Society has held together even as it has with this lack of forces so essential. In the Friendly communities in which I have lived, there have been more who have felt the effects of the scattering process than there have been actual members. We do not need to dismiss all offenders. James Freeman Clarke once said: “A church had no life in it except it had some sin- ners.” 8 1 14 RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. Anna M. Jackson, New York, raised, in a few remarks, the question whether we had a right to disown members who came into the Society through birthright privileges. Isaac Wilson, Canada, was impressed early in the meeting, he said, with feelings he must give voice to. He would acknowl- edge his gratitude to those who have brought us here to enjoy a privilege never before known — attendance upon a great parlia- ment of religions. The outcome of it can only be a greater inter- est in society, an increased love of humanity, a higher respect for the brotherhood of man. We need this greater love of man even though it may carry us out to the work of proselyting. And while to build up the waste places is the duty of the hour, I am not overanxious. We have only on our part to be ready to say, “Lord, here am I,” when the field is ready.! Isaac Roberts, Pennsylvania, said he agreed with the remarks of a previous speaker, that the young people should have an oppor- tunity to be heard, and as one standing between the old and the young he would like to extend the hand of fellowship to them. With reference.to the state of the Society there seemed to be danger of dwelling too much on the dark side of the question. We should turn our faces to the light and see the grounds of hope and con- fidence now apparent. The work for the young in the First Day school, the formation of associations among the young, and the at- tendance of many young people here were all hopeful and prom- .sing facts. The consecration that should be desired, should be that which would prepare not only for the ministry of the Spoken Word, but that of the daily life, for without earnest and consistent Christian living, the ministry of the Spoken Word itself would be of no avail. John W. Onderdonk, New York, expressed his approval of the young speaking, and pointed out the need of the older ones to learn. We share alike the seed and have a common duty in nourishing it, remembering that for all there comes “First the seed, then the blade and then the full ear.” Robt. S. Haviland, New York. It is said that out of the fullness of the heart the mouth speaketh. Sometimes the contrary seems true. I feel thus this morning. I confess with a full heart the value of the papers and the power of the occasion. I look grate- fully upon the past and believe we have an opportunity still before us. RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. I 15 Elias Underhill, New York, was reminded of the old adage that while there is life there is hope. * I am indeed encour- aged this morning. Those are wise who speak in fraternal ac- cord — not finding occasion of fault, looking earnestly not alone to the home, or the school, but to all the forces centrifugal and ^centripetal. I am reminded of the child who asked her grand- mother why she did not thank God so that she, also, could hear; so much do we need the outspoken, heartfelt actions. Fannie Lownes, Nebraska, felt she was not young though young in the meeting. In the west we are widely scattered; we have no ministry. We have had to look directly to the source of all power and goodness. Lydia H. Hall, Pennsylvania, reminded us that we had need to cultivate our intellects that we may the better tell our thoughts and aspirations, as they spring up in the heart truly consecrated. Hannah A. Plummer, Illinois, spoke in confirmation of the ap- peal of Lydia H. Hall. We cannot meet the world unless we have both the thought and the power to express ourselves intelligently and forcibly. She was convinced we have kept too much out of the world. Benj. F. Nichols, Iowa, was deeply interested in this con- gress and rejoiced at the Light set forth. And while he could rejoice for the joy offered for the gray hairs, he was anxious for the young. My concern is not simply for the perpetuity of the Society; there is a higher thought — a longing that Truth may pre- vail whatever and on what occasion may be the assembly. Susan Lippincott, New Jersey, spoke briefly of the need of a proper cultivation of the voice, as well as of the intellect. What- ever has been well learned deserves to be told in the most forcible manner. Jona K. Taylor, Maryland, would plead for a general education, for the right development of all the powers of the mind. He would plead for this that we may be able to do our full duty. A well balanced mind is the lamp by which our feet are to be rightly guided. Samuel P. Zavitz, Ontario, spoke of his deep interest in the papers. They introduce an important thought, the continuance of our Society. Our home training he believed had been good. We have failed as a Society to work for the good of the body. Il6 RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. Numbers are not alone strength. We must look to the True Light that we may grow in power. Expressing his deep interest in the young Friends, he called upon them to return to their homes with renewed hope and determination. Allen J. Flitcraft, Illinois, though rising to call upon Ellwood Trueblood as one experienced with the young, referred to the present opportunity as the grandest and broadest ever offered for inspiration in our work. As in our cultivated fields, careful and constant tilling of the soil in times of drouth becomes a sustain- ing power; so in our decline, the operation of a living concern that proves itself in earnest work may check a downward ten- dency. Ellwood Trueblood, Indiana, said that it seemed to him that one of the needs of the Society was an educated and consecrated ministry, a ministry not only sweetened by the influence of love and mercy, but a ministry in full accord with the times. Some- times we are too careful of getting down to the pale of humanity. Let us be willing to come down to the level of the young and to work with them. Charlotte W. Cocks, New York, declared that all that is es- sential comes from the heart and not the intellect. We can come into this higher power, if we are truly humble and faithful. Denominational Congress ART PALACE, Hall No. 7. 9th mo., 20th. Chairman for the Session, - - Joseph A. Bogardus, New York PAPER— “OUR YOUNG FRIENDS,” Edgar M. Zavitz, Coldstream, Ontario RESPONSE TO THE PAPER, - Isaac Roberts, Conshohocken, Pa. DISCUSSION OF THE PAPERS. 117 RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. 1 1 8 Our Young Members THE DUTY OF THE SOCIETY IN GUIDING THEM TO A CONCEP- TION OF THEIR RESPONSIBILITIES IN MATURER YEARS. THEIR SOCIAL NEEDS AND OPPORTUNITIES AS MEMBERS. WOULD A NATIONAL ORGANIZATION BE AN AID IN PRO- MOTING THEIR INTERESTS? By Edgar M. Zavitz, Coldstream, Ontario, Canada. U S man was not made for the Sabbath, but the Sabbath for man,” so let us ever bear in mind that God’s purpose in religious organizations is to benefit the members. Society is not an end, but only a means to an end. It should ever be looked upon as a means to promote righteousness among men — a God- appointed means. In dealing with our subject, then, we have to concern ourselves with three distinct parties, the youth, the Society, and God. The task appointed us, then, is that of discovering the duty of our Society to its young members; the agencies to be em- ployed; the motive power to accomplish the desired results. Of course, God Omnipotent will furnish the power, but by what more definite name shall we know it? What other than by the title of love? There is more power in love than we know. We need not fear; it is worthy of our entire trust. It is as broad and deep, and high as God Himself, for “God is love.” Now it remains to find out how this motive power is to be applied by our agencies. On the one hand God needs no tutoring. He is All-wise, and All- willing, as well as All-powerful. We can rest assured that He will do His part. The youth, on the other hand, being active and receptive, need the Society’s earnest, effective encouragement to use their opportunities for doing their part of a grand work. Having established the relationship between the different parties, and having found the motive power to be used, the cen- RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. IIQ tral question, the duty of our Society to its younger members is simplified, and can the more logically and intelligently be treated. Society is an aggregate of individuals who are individually re- sponsible for whatever is legitimately done in its name. It, there- fore, becomes the duty of individuals to look after the best inter- ests and promote the highest welfare of society in order that society may return the greatest benefits to individuals again, to those who need help, especially to the youth. It is a spiritual com- munity. All give according to their ability; all receive accord- ing to their need. This benefit is the love that can flow from mind to mind, from soul to soul. There is a spirit world in this life; it surrounds us and fills us. In it we live and move and have our being, our true being, our soul’s life. This spirit world, this necessary and natural environment of the soul is God. Through this subtle medium mind has power to influence mind, soul to in- fluence soul. Men can, therefore, mutually benefit each other, and in this fact is found the reason and duty of the “assembling of ourselves together.” The recognition of the spiritual in us, and around us, is what gives to -Friends meeting its distinctive characteristic. It depends not on outward ordinances or the vocal word. From this view, peculiar to us as a Society, we would nat- urally and necessarily use somewhat different means in gaining the interest of our youth from those employed by other denomi- nations. We firmly believe that love is the one great power that alone can influence for good our fellow mortals. In what ways then may love profitably manifest itself to accomplish the end sought after? It is necessary that we first love God with heart, soul and might. God means good, and if we do not love good we cannot become good and, therefore, cannot do good. The. character of the soul determines the character of the action. It follows as naturally as effect follows cause. Then our first duty is to look individually to the purifying of our own souls. With- out that, all exertion, howsoever great, must be futile. Next, as individuals, we must love our Society, we must from our hearts desire its present good and its future prosperity. Blessed by the inheritance of its benefits we should pass it on endowed with great power to bless. This we cannot do through any selfish desire, such as to glory merely in numbers, or to adhere to it for self-aggrandizement, or because we happen to be 120 RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. birthright members in it. If we shall advance it, we must love it for the good that it can do, not simply to ourselves, but to all its members and the world outside. It has had a glorious mission and has performed it gloriously; it is as necessary in the world today as ever it was, and its future course can be as brilliant as its past. Let us not be satisfied to rest on the attainments of our fathers, or to bask in ancestral glory. That soul is dark that shines with borrowed light. We must not esteem our Society merely for the good it has done, but for the good it may do; looking to the past for experience and enthusiasm; to the future for work and duty. The light that shone on them is spent, but the light that will enlighten us must come directly from the liv- ing source. Open thy soul Godward and the light will flow in that will discover to thee thy duty toward society, toward the youth and in every other matter. No person can know or can tell what all the special duties to our young members may be that the Spirit will prompt in individual hearts; we can but indicate some of the more general ones. We might have shortened our paper by saying love, love; for Divine love is the essence of everything good. Yet we feel that something more is required at our hands. You desire us to be more explicit as to how this love is to manifest itself. Love begets a sense of equality, and our society acknowledges that all men are born equal. Instead of always observing this principle, and also the command to judge not in a sense of cen- suring, and condemn not, the meetings sometimes assume the position of censors over the younger members, and pass judg- ments that are not altogether sweetened by the quality of love. The younger ones, quick to discern this inconsistency, grow luke- warm and estranged from the Society. Our Society has lost many a promising genius and many a brilliant talent because some already enjoying the popular favor could brook no equal. But if we have that love that desires the best for each and all, that can fellowship with rivals, and forgive enemies, instead of driving from our ranks the bright minds and promising talents, we would help them to discover the sphere in society and the world that God designed them for, and is fitting them to fill. Again, the meetings fail in their duty toward our young mem- bers by not being broad enough to recognize the diversity of RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. 21 gifts. This is not so great a crime as the last; it is rather a sin of ignorance, but nevertheless it has been fruitful of disaster to our Society. The broader culture of today is helping us to correct this error, but it still needs our attention and thought. Give all liberty to follow out the bent of their genius, for if we attempt to tutor genius beware lest we be found tutoring God. Each stands responsible to God alone for the fulfillment of life’s work. The Society should be made broad enough for the legitimate exercise of every God-given power. It should not be tenacious about non-essentials. Our Society is peculiarly blessed in that it is not bound together by creeds or confessions of faith. The cementing bond with us is love. To be one in spirit is a greater safeguard to harmony than subscrib- ing to a long catalogue of articles of faith. If there be one spirit, and that one of love, all the conflicting opinions about the Divin- ity of Christ, miracles, or any other subject of contention, will not cause a ripple on the surface of the Society. One of the great secrets in maintaining sympathy and fellow- ship with the young, and with the older as well, is found in the cultivation of a spirit of forgiveness. It is said that youth is way- ward. Experience has not yet taught it all the forbidden paths. If it wander, if it sin, it cannot return except through forgiveness. The forgiving element in love, is the saving principle. In being overanxious and critical toward petty errors, we distrust the power of God’s forgiving love to save. Youth is active, and I conceive it to be the duty of the Society to enlist this spontaneous activity in its important and manifold fields of labor. There was a time when our Society was drifting away from religion into theology, from practical realities into forms and customs; then the opportunities for developing youth- ful interest and labor were scarce, and our Society was ebbing low, but we are waking up to the fact that religion is in doing, as well as in living. The First Day school work came to our aid, opening up new and pleasant fields of labor for the exuberant activities of the young. Following this came the philanthropic work fraught with a multitude of opportunities for labor in His name, who said, “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto Me.” Right here I might answer that I can discover no necessity for 122 RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. any other national, or international, organization, in behalf of the young people, than those already established. It seems to me that the “Yearly Meeting,” with its spiritual concerns; the “First Day School General Conference,” looking after the welfare of the children; and the “Philanthropic Union,” reaching out, on all sides, for the betterment of humanity; these with their sub-meet- ings embrace every subject worthy of an organization, and furnish opportunities enough for each worker. The two latter organiza- tions are but in their infancy, and need active workers every- where to complete their development. The organizations formed by man are unlike those formed by God. The first heart-beat of life sends the blood through the arteries, capillaries and veins al- ready prepared for the flow. But the influence of the F. D. S. and the Philanthropic Union has not yet found its way into many a friendly neighborhood where it would instill new life and hope. I feel that we should utilize and perfect the organizations that are, seeing that they are worthy and efficient, before we lay plans for more. The Yearly meetings themselves, from what I understand, do not all, in their deliberations and workings, accord due liberty to the young people. Their due rights are often violated, and they are not encouraged, as they should be, to enter into the concerns of Society. Genesee, of which I am happily a member, and one or two others, I am informed, do not deserve this criticism. I know there is a reticence on the part of youth in assuming its religious duties. But I am persuaded, from facts that have occurred in my own experience, that that is not the only stum- bling block in the way of its assuming its responsibilities in behalf of the Society. When liberty to think, and speak, and act, as the spirit directs, is freely granted by the older, and freely felt by the younger members, there will be still less cause for a separate organization. Might I tell when I felt my religious responsibilities rest upon me the most weightily of any period or position in my life? It was at a “young people’s meeting” during one yearly meeting week. Ministers and elders were there, but not conspicuous in position or communication. Young people, whom modesty per- haps, or an inward horror on the part of some others lest they might desecrate the gallery, crept only part way up to the facing RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. 12 $ seats, but there was an inspiration in the sweet young faces, and there was willingness in the dear young hearts to utter forth the message of the Lord. Ah, the soul that is thus baptized in the living, flowing stream of God’s sweet, spiritual presence will not soon forget the blessed privilege! Finally, from the dignified and honorable position into which you have chosen me, unequal for it as I am, I would recommend that each Yearly Meeting permit and encourage the young peo- ple to hold a special religious meeting for themselves, and for the most part by themselves, therein seeking to feel a sense of the responsibility that must needs fall upon them in after years. “Seek and ye shall find.” If these things that I have indicated be followed, dear friends’, the social opportunities of “our young members” will be multi- plied; abundantly their social needs will be fully satisfied, and I have no fear but that they will, in their turn, feel the weight of the responsibilities that will devolve upon them, and will be willing to assume their share of the Society’s and the world’s work. RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. 124 The Society of Friends and the Young People. Response by Isaac Roberts. T HE earnest paper to which we have listened, has well pre- sented the relation existing between a Religious Society and its members as a reciprocal relation, with duties owing from each party to the other. If, on the one side, we have a right to expect that the religious organization shall provide for the development of the spiritual life of the individual, we have, on the other side, an equal right to expect a ready acceptance and loyal support of the faith and teaching of the Religious Society by the individual; and it is doubtless true that we will always find a more ready ac- ceptance and a more loyal support on the part of those who have the clearest understanding and the highest appreciation of the religious faith and teaching of the body to which they belong. It has seemed, therefore, that, in determining the duty of the Relig- ious Society of Friends to its young people and the duties of the young people to it, we would be materially aided in reaching a just conclusion by considering the advantages offered to its mem- bers, young as well as old, by our religious body. What is it then that the Society of Friends can offer to its members and to those whom it should strive to reach and help? The Society of Friends, as we who have met here today under- stand it, offers to the young people of its membership, and to the young people everywhere, a religious faith so simple that it can be well expressed in three words — the Divine Immanence; a faith so readily understood that the merest child can comprehend it, yet so far-reaching in its effect on the development of character that the greatest intellect cannot exhaust it or go beyond it; a RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. 125 faith so broad, so Catholic, that every religious system in some degree acknowledges it and builds upon it. “One faith alone so broad that all mankind Within themselves its ample witness find.” A Christian teaching so true, so pure, that we find it repeatedly declared by the founder of the Christian church Himself, and it was made by Him, as we believe, the very foundation truth of the religious system He established; a practical faith, so well-attested by the fruit it has borne in earnest Christian character and noble Christian living that the whole Christian world has owned the worth and loved the character of many of the men and women who have grown up under its influence; a faith so strong in the freedom which the Truth bestows, that it grants to every soul the greatest possible freedom for individual growth, and offers to each the fullest liberty of choice as to forms of serving the Truth. Herein, we think, lies the chief value of our Religious Society to its own membership, to the world, and especially to the young people; in its simplicity of faith and worship, in its entire free- dom as to growth and service. Opportunity for and help toward the greatest possible growth in the knowledge of the Truth; op- portunity for and help toward the highest possible service of the Truth, these must always constitute the chief value of any church organization to its members, and these, we believe, our branch of- the church of Christ offers in the fullest possible measure to all its members, old and young alike. Unwilling as we are to limit the possibilities of Divine action by our own thought or the thoughts of others who have gone before us, we rely chiefly upon God’s power to reveal His will to us now and here, and we claim the right, if some higher Truth than we have known should be revealed in future days, to love and serve that higher Truth even as those which we already know. To do the right, as God gives us to see the right, to stand firm in the freedom with which Christ has made us free, to follow the Truth as the Truth shall show the way and lead us on; these are the claims that our religious body makes for its members, old or young, and for all the world. That such a faith as this, and such a Religious Society as this, have special claims upon the allegiance and loyal support of young people, it should not be difficult to show or to believe. In its early days many of the most earnest workers of our Society were 126 RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. young men and young. women. George Fox, William Penn, Robert Barclay, Edward Burroughs and others of the founders of our body were quite young when they entered upon their active service of the Truth, as members of our Religious Society. And one of our early martyrs for the Truth’s sake, James Parnell — “the little lad,” as George Fox lovingly called him — was but eighteen years of age when death released him from his martyr- dom. So that we may well conclude that youth has,- or should have, its acknowledged rightful place in the Religious Society of Friends. That the young people of our religious body have in the past fully prized, or in the present justly appreciate, the advantages which our faith and methods offer, is hardly to be claimed. But that there has been of recent years an awakening of interest and a growth in appreciation, is well known to those conversant with the facts, and it is not the least hopeful feature of this increased interest, that it is very largely due to the young people them- selves, and has resulted in a large measure from their desire to know more of the Religious Society of which they are members. That their appreciation might be further increased by a more thorough knowledge of our principles and history, is doubtless true, and the formation of associations with that purpose in view is a hopeful ^and gratifying forward movement of the recent past, which holds out great promise for the future. The proposition to form a national association for the better accomplishment of the same purpose seems to be one that should commend itself to the hearty approval and support of all Friends interested in the welfare of the young people and the growth of our Society. With reference to the social needs and opportunities of our young people it seems right to say that the liberty of faith which we enjoy should not be construed as permitting a liberty of social action greater than that enjoyed by other professing Christians. Our standard morality in the past has been the very highest, and should continue so to be. We cannot afford to sanc- tion for ourselves social practices and customs which the church of Christ has always united in discountenancing. Our freedom of faith has opened the door to the charge that we have no faith. Knowing this to be untrue, we should be doubly careful to show that our morality, as shown in our social practices, is of the high- RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. 12 ; est grade, and not inferior to that of any branch of the Christian church. The very freedom of faith which we enjoy should bind us to the strictest and most unquestioned Christian morality in act, so that we may give no support to the charge of laxity in the respect of morals. A good and sufficient rule to decide any dis- puted question of action would seem to be this: Those acts are right for us, in the performance of which we can honestly ask the blessing or the presence of the Master, and all those in the per- formance of which this presence and blessing cannot be sincerely desired, should be avoided. And our young people will find, as so many of their elders have found from experience, that their true peace will be found in the settlement of all such moral ques- tions on the highest planes and under the direction of the highest authority, alone. What the future of our Religious Society shall be, we may not know, but that it will largely depend upon the sincere and loyal support of the young members of today, there can be no doubt. That the Society of Friends has done good work in the past all the religious world bears witness. That its Central Truth finds wider acceptance today than ever before is unquestionably true. That there is a need today for our principles and testimonies, and their practical application to the needs of the world, no intelli- gent mind can doubt God calls us to labor both by ability and through opportunity. A measure of ability has been granted to each of us; the opportunities for labor we cannot fail to see. When ability to labor and the need for labor come together, duty, “stern daughter of the Voice of God,” always speaks, and speaks in tones that the human heart hears. When that Voice makes it- self heard in the souls of the younger members of our Religious Society, who can doubt that the response that they will make in the days to come will be loyal and prompt, worthy of the Society to which they belong, worthy of themselves, and worthy of Him from whom the summons comes? The ideal of the founders of our religious body was a pure and lofty ideal, the formation of a church in which each mem- ber, old and young alike, should know the Truth, and the free- dom of the Truth; in which each should be enlightened by the Light Divine, and be led, through obedience thereto, to higher knowledge, and greater freedom, and truer growth. To help 128 RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. realize that ideal, both for ourselves and others, is the privilege of each one of us. That this high ideal, the fair vision of Christ, and Patriarch, of Prophet and Apostle, shall be some day realized, we may not doubt. With our well-beloved poet we may say: “What though the Vision tarry? God’s time is always best. The True Light shall be witnessed, The Christ within confessed. In judgment or in mercy He will turn and overturn, Till the heart shall be His temple, Where all of Him shall learn.” RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. 129 Synopsis -of the Discussion upon the Papers. T the conclusion of the reading of the papers, upon the first r\ topic of the morning, the chairman extended an invitation to L. P. Mercer, pastor of the New Church Temple, to address the meeting. In most cordial greeting Dr. Mercer spoke of the pleasure he had in being with us this morning, especially as he was prevented from giving voice to the welcome he felt, during the session the day before in his own church. It was a great privilege to meet Friends. He could not forget that he was nursed in the lap of a mother who was one with us. And though his lines had diverged, there was one principle we must all recog- nize — one which would bring us more and more near to each other — “God is a Spirit and they that worship Him must worship him in Spirit and in Truth.” At my mother’s knee I learned an- other Truth — There is one Father revealing Himself through Jesus to all men; a light in the hearts of men everywhere. Referring to the congress in general he spoke of the one notable thing, a com- mon recognition of great, conspicuous principles. There is one great and All-powerful God* in us and working in each heart that gives Him a place. This work and life is a preparation for the next world. It is a period of character building. In its highest con- ception it means a pure life and a brotherhood of men. Building up this character by experiment what matter if we are walking by different paths, provided always that we are verging finally to- ward the one true path. One caution, however, is needed, walk- ing apart and standing for special testimonies we are sometimes in danger of becoming narrow. Friendly contact alone may cor- rect this and bring us nearer the one true fellowship. Allen Flitcraft, Pennsylvania, bearing testimony to the char- acter of the parents of Dr. Mercer, then spoke of two points in the essays presented this morning — testimonies of our Saviour. Thou 130 RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. shalt have no other God but one. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart. Thomas H. Speakman, Pennsylvania, spoke of the practical needs of our Society, the need especially of increasing the mem- bership. Other churches make the Sabbath-school an influence in this direction. The rules of our discipline tend in many cases to discourage applications. He would have us extend the invitation and waive the usual requirements for those who may shrink from seeking membership by the regular methods. We suffer further from deficiencies of the ministry in many of our meetings and many are without any. He would propose that the meetings be held in two parts, one conducted after the ordinary methods, and another for the younger members. J. Van Vechten Waring, Connecticut, said this was a time for practical inquiry concerning the relations of our younger mem- bers. Those who are brought in from conviction often realize a deeper significance in their privileges than do those of birthright membership. But he would have all cease to rely much upon the written essay and seek rather a deeper spiritual baptism. Young people need an association based upon this principle. If this congress shall take steps looking to an organization offering broader opportunities for our young people, much may be ex- pected. The cultivation of the spiritual ratherthan the intellectual through a national organization would prove a common rallying point. Chas. E. Lukens, Illinois, considered membership in the Soci- ety well worth asking for, and the yaung attenders should be the wards of the society until fitted to ask for membership. Aaron M. Powell, New York, said if he were fifty years younger he would enter very heartily into this subject. One point I deeply sympathize with, the call for opportunities to work. In response to this we should make our business meetings thoroughly alive. I do not object to new organizations when they may prove useful, and yet I would abolish all if the meetings for business could be fully aroused. Dr. Satterthwaite, New Jersey, endorsed the thought of the for- mer speaker, and expressed admiration of the discipline of the Illi- nois Yearly Meeting. Agreeing with you we feel at home. Separate organizations are unnecessary, and to be saved we have only to believe. RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. 131 Samuel P. Zavitz, Ontario. United with the thought that the great obstacle to growth in our. Society lies in the absence of spiritual growth. We have sufficient organization. What we stand in need of today is development of those we do have. The papers are of deep interest, and he would have us inspired to go back to our homes prepared to build up the spiritual powers with- in us. John J. Cornell, Maryland, referred to the character of the meeting for young people mentioned in the first paper. He re- membered well the occasion. As ministers, we have been too much disposed to hold ourselves aloof. The meeting in question where all united in the concern, though the movement was largely in the hands of the youth, was a most tender one. The life of that meeting today is in a large measure due to the interest then in- spired. It is our duty to mingle freely with the young. Dr. Eavenson, Pennsylvania, inquired who the young were. He confessed that in the Lord he felt young. We have but to seek the Lord and we shall know and feel the Life. Why, I ask, do you not attend the meetings for business? Katie Shotwell, Nebraska, spoke of the occasion as having deepest interest for those in the far west. Situated as they were, they needed something that would bring the young people to- gether — something new, something practical and appealing to present interests. We are tired of the histories of the past, and the things fitting to the times and the men of the past. I am glad to be here, and desire that you may give us something we may carry home for our instruction. An organization of the character of the Society of the Christian Endeavor would aid us. The elders must help and guide us. Ada Hartley, Iowa, thought that if we but get our own young people to work in the Society, others would freely come in and unite with us. William M. Jackson, New York. Many would be with us if our doors were thrown wide open. Those who are charitable would join us. Those who are wont to give heed to the Voice within are in sympathy. Those who are obedient and recognize the Divine power in the heart are Lriends, no matter where they are denominationally. Lydia H. Price, Pennsylvania. The inspiration coming to 32 RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. the child we all need. And there are so many of the young so sweet, so good. We all n^ed their help. The hesitancy on their part to speak needs, at times, our earnest encouragement. They hesitate only because of a lack of experience. Let the elders become broader in their tolerance and thus invite the young people to come forward. Robert M. Janney, Pennsylvania, felt the Society could not do a higher work in guiding the young than in directing them to the “ Light Within.” And this means not our light, but the Light that is in each individual soul. This is the whole foundation of our religion. But our opportunities are bounded by our faithful- ness. The ways are open to us. And now to come to our organizations — we need them. Christian people must band them- selves together. They must come, however, in the proper spirit, under the right call. I do not see the way clear now to form a national organization. We cannot go through the land to form such. It can come only by branches spreading out from some center or centers, and I believe the time will come. It is not necessary that the organization should be modeled after the Philadelphia association. We desire you to meet the peculiar wants of your own communities. Robert S. Haviland, New York, had no apology to offer for his age. We are all growing and must all receive the kingdom as little children. I desire to turn back to the meeting for young people mentioned in the paper and referred to by John J. Cornell. One of the most impressive incidents was the testimony of a lit- tle girl of twelve: “God is love.” Each of you that feels a truth be willing to share it with your fellow members. Go to your meetings with this thought. Elias Underhill, New York, said he sympathized with the pa- pers. There should be no dividing line, but all, old and young, work together upon one common platform. Jona. K. Taylor, Maryland. The occasion has been one of deepest interest. It has been the one prayer of my life that I may not grow toward the apex of a triangle, but toward the broad side. That our Society methods have been bad, our empty houses testify. How shall we grow? Guide our young people to work for themselves. In my own dealings with them I have ever tried to place myself in the background. We may preach to our RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. 1 33 children, but if we would enlist their interest, we must employ their services. If they do not stay with us it may be because we do not do what God has given us to do/ Benj. F. Nichols, Iowa. It has been said, we have been blessed as a Society. Is it true? We have been waiting two hundred years for the Spirit of Christ to build up our Society. The decay is going on. We are now laying our foundation, and the return is to be realized in the years to come. That it may be a better harvest we must have a broader ministry and one educated, and as equally important an educated membership. J. Van Vechten Waring, Connecticut. In a national organiza- tion it is not the thought to separate the old and the young. Our aim would be to nurture for the privileges, duties and re- sponsibilities of the general meetings. Anna M. Jackson, New York, explained the plans and oppor- tunities of the Philanthropic Union as arranged for the New York Yearly Meeting. Superintendents are appointed for each subject under the care of the union. Quarterly, monthly or preparative meetings, according to their size, are invited to take up such sub- jects as may best suit their conditions or most demand their efforts, and each individual member is thus afforded opportunity to join in the work and in such lines as may best harmonize with his or her inclinations. John L. Griffen, New York, spoke of the change in the num- ber of meetings in New York, and suggested as one cause the in- creasing tendency of members to move from the limits of the meetings, thereby forming other associations for their children. He spoke further of the need of a literature suited to the present demands. Joel Borton, New Jersey. One Lord, one faith, one baptism. This occasion seems to bring us nearer the realization than ever before. As the hearts of many may beat as one, so that of many nations may beat through the influence of this congress. Love has gone out through the world and brought these different people together. Fanny Lownes, Nebraska. I am young as a Friend, scarcely able to stand alone, but I joy at being here. We of the west need your aid, but be careful how and where you guide us. We all need the guidance of the Inward Monitor. Denominational Congress ART PALACE, Hall No. 3. 9th mo., 21st. Chairman for the Session, Aaron M. Powell PAPER— “RELATION OF SPIRITUAL CULTURE AND DEVOTION TO MORAL PROGRESS,” - - Anna M. Starr, Richmond, Ind RESPONSE TO THE PAPER, - William M. Jackson, New York DISCUSSION OF THE PAPERS. CLOSING WITH A PERIOD OF RELIGIOUS DEVOTION. At the time appointed for the closing session of the congress, Friends and interested visitors assembled in hall No. 3 , of the Art Palace. The impressive silence at the opening was broken by Allen Flitcraft in supplication. Aaron M. Powell, on being called upon to preside for the day, in a few earnest words directed our thoughts to the approaching end of the congress, and the proofs already given us of the wisdom of those who had been instru- mental in calling Friends together. The results of the meeting he felt would be important and far reaching. Jonathan W. Plummer then asked the pleasure of the meeting upon the question of an extra session for the consideration of that part of Fourth-day’s program crowded out by the absorb- ing interest of the first part. After due attention it was decided to adhere to the original plan and close with the morning’s session. The papers introducing the topic of the morning were then read by their authors, Anna M. Starr; Richmond, Ind., and William M. Jackson, New York. 134 RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. 135 Relation of Spiritual Culture and Devo- tion to Moral Progress. Anna M. Starr, HE relation of spiritual culture and devotion to moral prog- 1 ress is a very close, and an intimate one, so much so in fact, that it is the very foundation of all true moral progress. We know it to be true, that a strictly moral life is sometimes pur- sued from no higher motives than self respect, and a desire to be held in high esteem by others, and to such lives the enemies of Christianity point with exultation. But, having its foundation in self, it is the “house built upon the sand” which, when as- saulted by some sudden and fierce temptation, will surely be swept away. The solid rock of a spiritual life and love, alone can lift us above, and beyond, the many temptations to which humanity is liable. Moral progress is a growth in the direction of right liv- ing, and right thinking, under an overshadowing sense of our obligations to the Supreme Being, our Creator, and the Father of our spirits, to Whom we owe allegiance, and Whose righteous laws, set forth in the Sermon on the Mount, and revealed to us by the Inner Light, it should be our pleasure to obey. Mankind in this life is passing through a disciplinary stage, in which we find ourselves possessed of natural desires and propen- sities, which, under right control, are productive of peace and happiness, but, which, when they control us, are our sure degra- dation and ruin. On every hand we are met with duties to be performed, evils to be encountered, obstacles to be overcome, trials to be borne, and temptations to be resisted, and in all these dispensations spiritual culture and unswerving devotion to truth and purity is our only sure dependence. The Divine Father, who is the teacher of His children Himself, opens our minds with direct revelations 136 RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. of His will, and as we open the door of our hearts at His knock- ing, He touches them with a love so intense, and all-consuming, as to destroy evil desires, while we yield to its control. It seems to be the teaching, both of reason and revelation, that we are in entire dependence upon our Creator. He is our Father, and we His children. The parental relationship, as it exists in this life, is the nearest representation of our connection with our Maker. The reverence, honor, and obedience of a dutiful child to its parents, is what is due from us to our Heavenly Father, while the protecting care, loving interest and wise authority of the earthly parent is typical of God’s matchless love and forbearance to us in our waywardness and many mistakes. We are all conscious of the fact that in the gratification of our sensual appetites, passions, and affections, all motives of action appeal to us from outside of ourselves; we are free to choose or reject. But no power outside of ourselves can prevent us from loving God and our neighbor; neither can it prevent us from for- giving all who wrong or falsely accuse us. “Man’s best gifts,” says Cannon Farrar, “lie beyond the power of man either to give or take away,” and herein lies the secret of that sweet inflow of peace and happiness which makes us realize for ourselves that joy is indeed one of the fruits of the Spirit, and that a good man cannot be unhappy, however much the malevolence of others may try to make him so. How true we find it to be, as the mental philosophers tell us, that “rectitude is strength,” and moral uprightness is power, that power which “maketh the righteous as bold as a lion.” Way- land, in his moral science, says: “The very existence of our moral nature, and the ability to love the pure and the good, emanate from the Father. As every object in nature is seen only by the reflecting rays of the sun, so every exhibition of goodness in humanity is only the reflection of Him who is the Father of Lights, in Whom is no variableness nor shadow of turning.” The main obstacle with us is, that in our youth especially, self indulgence is so much easier than self denial, and sensual enjoyment so intense and real, while its penalties seem so remote and uncertain, that a large percentage of our youth are swept into the period called “wild oats sowing,” little dreaming how RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. * 3 1 bitter will be the reaping. Take, for example, one of the many brilliant young men, who has been reared by Christian parents, with both precept and example pointing him in the direction of pure and upright conduct. He finds himself at the threshold of independent manhood, with fine health, pure blood, strong nerves, and happy elastic spirits. He enters the gay world, resolving to put a strong restraint upon appetite and passion, and be a pure, honest and upright man. But he makes the fatal mistake of self sufficiency; he knows what is right, and he means to do it. Spir- itual culture and devotion to the Divine impulses within him are not deemed to be essentials, and so, without the Great Pilot at the helm, he launches his barque upon the untried sea of life, only to meet temptations in such subtle guise that they are not even recognized to be temptations. First the wine cup, of which his gay companions are partaking, and which courtesy demands him to accept, all unconscious of its insidious fascinations. Step by step the ruin is wrought, until the chains of a hopeless bondage, with its unnatural stimulus, has lighted other baleful and un- hallowed fires, which lead him where the pure and good can never go, until too late, he realizes that he is lost to virtue and honor, lost to any true happiness either in this life or in the life to come. Alas! is not this the sad history of many thousands, who are treading the downward path to destruction, and bringing the gray hairs of honored parents in sorrow to the grave. How inexpressibly blessed then and all-important is the cul- tivation of our spiritual nature, and devotion to its pure and peace- ful laws, opening wide the door to moral progress, and as effect- ually closing it upon “those fleshly lusts, which not only destroy the body, but war against the soul.” In all periods of conflict and temptation, when the human will is vacillating between two lines of conduct, one of them at least questionable, a strong ap- peal to that moral sense, which will not suffer the conscience to be violated, even in the smallest matters, will bring the help and guidance of that Higher Power, which is a tower of everlasting strength, and causes a fountain of joy to spring up within us of never-ending freshness. “Conscious virtue brings an invisible protection,” that is as a wall of adamant about us. It is in vain to flatter ourselves that we can violate moral laws, and escape the 1 3« RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. the consequences. The truth remains, “Whatsoever a man sow- eth, that shall he also reap.” Therefore, let us cultivate a devotional spirit through earnest heartfelt prayer, which is the expression of our adoration, thanks- giving, confession of sins, and supplication for much needed bless- ings both spiritual and temporal, always accompanied with en- tire submission to the Divine Will, either in the granting or with- holding of our requests. RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. 39 the Relation of Spiritual Culture and De- votion to Moral Progress. Response By Wm. M. Jackson. HE Gospel of Jesus Christ has suffered great detriment by 1 the additions that have been made to the record by the translators, and its meaning has been greatly impaired by the in - terpretations put upon it by the church. The “Revised Version” has obliterated many oi the additions made to the record by the early fathers, and, fortunately for the progress of pure religion, the interpretations of the church are being brought under crit- icism. In no direction is this more apparent than in the revision of religious opinion concerning the relation of morality to re- ligion. No one who reads the accounts, as given by two of the evangelists (Matthew and Luke), can fail to notice the prom- inence given by the Great Teacher to the laws of morality. In both, the Sermon on the Mount stands almost first in His dis- courses. It is probably true that this Sermon, so called, was not given, as we now find it, in one connected discourse, but that it is a collection of excerpts from various discourses; this, however, does not affect the proposition that, in the mind of Jesus, mo- rality is the fundamental principle in religion. It is the meek, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers that are “the light of the world.” It is the “good works that are seen” that cause righteousness to grow in the world; the righteousness that must be exceeded is the Pharisaical righteousness, that was not, indeed, hypocritical, as theologians are apt to translate it, but which was so ceremonial and superficial that philanthropy found no place in it. The New Commandments were: Not to be angry ; not to think impure thoughts; not to swerve from the truth; not to resist evil but to love one’s enemies. This last was made equal to the first of the Mosaic Commandments, and inseparably bound up with it, as the two most sacred obligations laid upon mankind. 140 RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. And, that there might be no doubt at all as to the application in that beautiful parable of the man who fell among thieves, our “neighbor” is shown to be any human being whom we have the power to help, and not merely our friend or fellow citizen. If this be a correct interpretation of the teaching of the Great Master, then spiritual culture and devotion are dependent upon progress in morals. First in order, is love to man; without it there can be no love for God. “He that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, cannot love God whom he hath not seen. I John iv, 20. Love to God and its fundamental love to man are of the same nature, for as “John the beloved” again writes, “Every one that loveth is begotten of God and knoweth God.” Thus “we climb up to the love of God by our love of man” in the natural order of the learner, from the lesser to the greater, and in God’s order of development, “first the blade, then the ear, and then the full corn in the ear.” The first essential is to put trust in God’s leading. Putting trust in God is not, indeed, to trust what some one has said about God, or what we read about God, or even the best that we have thought about God, but in what we know about God in the pres- ent; in what God inspires us to do each day. Putting trust in God, I understand, is putting trust, intuitively, in the law of God in the heart. This was the message of George Fox, and it embodies the .very essence of Quakerism. As George Fox phrased it, it is sim- ply to “Mind the Light,” or to rely upon the inward motions of the Spirit by which, he said, all “opinions and religions are to be tried.” Fifteen hundred years before this Paul declared that “that which may be known of God is manifest in men” (Romans i, 19), affirming thus that to all people has come this Divine Light, this manifes- tation of God. It is the source of all righteousness; it underlies every feeling of sympathy and friendship among men; it inspires parental love; it is the soul of all integrity, all uprightness, all no- bility. It begets every phase of virtue and goodness and holi- ness. The first and ultimate and only test of our trust in God is the estimate we place upon the moral and social obligations that are revealed unto us. These are the stepping stones that Lead to higher things. These are the rounds by which we mount to heaven, the conditions RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. I4I that bring the soul to God. For in fulfilling these we are assim- ilating our character to the Divine; we are enabling the Christ to triumph in our hearts. This process of growth was recognized by the Society of Friends at an early period in their history, and, as a result of this recogni- tion, there has been drawn up, not a statement of faith, not a system of rituals, but a code of morals; a discipline for the training of its membership in the school of righteousness. Flas a member fall- en into immoral habits, it is assumed without question that he has disobeyed the Light within; he has dishonored a manifested duty and if, under the admonitions of his fellows, he does not amend his life, he has disunited himself from the Religious Society that holds it true that morality underlies righteousness, and that as the disciple emphatically says, “If a man say I love God and hat- eth his brother, he is a liar.” To sum up then, Quakerism recognizes moral progress as fundamental (assuredly dependent upon the power and inspira- tion of God for its existence), and that it leads up to a higher condition where perfect love makes morality automatic and no longer an effort to resist temptation. It is where morality merges into righteousness; that is, where men cease to do wrong, or think evil, not because of a fear of law, or a fear of man, or a fear of anything, but because of a love of truth, of a love of virtue, of a love of goodness, of a love of God. Then it is that moral obli- gations are realized to be an expression of God’s thought in man’s spiritual nature, and perfect obedience to manifested duty, to be the highest form of devotion and the purest method of spiritual culture. 142 RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. Synopsis of Discussion of Papers. OSEPH WILLETS, of New Jersey, in opening the discussion, J expressed his satisfaction with both papers. To him it seemed that individuals under a conviction of needing the Divine help to enable them to overcome the evils that surround them, when seek- ing that help from the one source, realize the fullest measure of love to man. This is the corner-stone of all moral life, and as we seek to become recipients of this love we obey the moral law. Aaron G. Gano, of Indiana, felt that there was nothing to be added to the papers. What we now need is the desire and effort on our part to take them to heart. We must not go back to our homes to forget, but to act. We have the precepts and example of Jesus. Can it be possible that this great congress shall be valueless in its future influence? Let us not commit the too common fault when going home from our periodic gatherings of dwelling only upon the happy social privileges enjoyed. Samuel S. Ash, Philadelphia, approving the sentiments of the papers, wished to emphasize the importance of spiritual culture, and insisted that morality should go hand in hand. It is right- eousness alone that exalteth a nation. Since coming here the sentiment of Dr. Holmes in calling Boston the hub of the world had often found its parallel in his mind. This religious parlia- ment is to be henceforth the hub of religion, and that which is taught is destined to go out as “felloes” to all parts of the world, and these teachings are those our fathers have taught for two and a half centuries. Let us keep in ever present view that center of Light as the source of all inspiration to right action. Hannah A. Plummer, of Chicago, was reminded of a paper by Samuel W. Longfellow, wherein he said some were born pious and some upright. If the choice lay between the two he would choose the way of the upright. One cannot be righteous except he be moral. It had been the desire of her life to have only love for those with whom she might have differences. RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. 143 Fanny Lownes, Nebraska, had been deeply impressed by the thought in the first paper referring to young people. They were not taught sufficiently to look to the Higher power. The remedy was to begin with the child in the cradle. Teach children to adore and to seek aid silently and humbly after the manner commended by Jesus. And this early training will implant righteousness, the love of God, of father, mother, and even love of enemies. William C. Starr, of Richmond, felt his heart too full for words, but was impressed to refer to one point in the papers — a matter for all, old and young — “the Immediate Presence.” “The Kingdom Within.” The world is beginning to know of this, and acknowledge the vital truth. Every drop of water, every leaf, depends upon His care. I could not utter these poor words ex- cept for the help, the dependence upon God. If we could but realize this in its fullness, how could we injure a brother man? If I could only keep the thought in full possession of my soul, I could not utter an unjust or obscene word. God is All-powerful to aid me. Emily P. Yeo, New York, gave expresssion to the feeling that she would not be true to her duty if she did not voice the pleasure, the privilege she had enjoyed in these meetings. And not alone at these, our conferences, but the general meetings of the parliament as well. She then directed attention to the thought of the last paper, that growth in the Divine love meant growth in love to man. Our neighbor, however, was not always the one nearest at hand. He may be the one more remote. He may be farthest removed in sympathy — our enemy. Lydia H. Price, Pennsylvania, spoke of the allusion in the first paper to the sowing of the wild oats, and the distinctions of morals generally accepted for the two sexes. We must come to demand the same standard of morality for all. Religion is equally important for both sexes. She could accept also the thought of the second paper, that love must grow into righteousness. Mary C. White, Iowa, in a few words impressed upon us the thought that in sowing the wild oats we invariably reap the same. Isaac Wilson, Ontario, laid emphasis upon the naturalness of all true religion. God is the author of all nature. He would espe- 144 RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. cially condemn the use of any species of falsehood in the presence of children, and gave as illustration the incident of a child whom a dentist attempted to deceive by the assurance that the operation would cause no pain. The little child maybe impressed with the truthfulness of truth. We must teach the simple honest things in life. Jonathan W. Plummer, of Chicago, would have the child taught to refrain from doing a thing because of the wrongfulness of the deed. The Divine voice within teaches this. When the child is made to see the truth and attend to the voice within there is no fear for the result. Charlotte W. Cocks, New York, expressed unity with what had been said, and spoke of her experience as a child, and of her mother’s teaching. It was the mother’s habit to gather her chil- dren around her for a period of silence and until the words of im- mortal power were given. Those words can never be forgotten. She appealed to the mothers present to consider well the charge before them. Allen J. Flitcraft, of Chicago, believed that our deeds are stronger in their influence than our words. There are object lessons all around us. We must not hold too strongly to the thought that children should be seen, not heard. He further illustrated his thought by the story of a family of boys where the influence within the circle revealed a deed of sin and brought about its correction. A lesson was also impressed that in being a receiver of a share in the spoil, one becomes a partaker in the crime. Wm. M. Jackson, New York, felt he would not be relieved of a burden did he not allude to the saying that the man may be moral and yet not a religious one. Such a definition does not indicate an understanding of what a moral man is. The child that refrains from doing a sinful act, simply because told it is a wrong, is not a moral child. The moral man is he who feels within his own soul the remorse coming from a realization of the wrongful- ness of the deed. Elwood Roberts, Norristown, Pa., expressed a fear that we may not sufficiently adapt this occasion to the needs of our chil- dren. We have had no allusion to the First Day School and its influence. The world is coming more and more to understand the doc- RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. I45 trine of the Inner Light, and is ready to hear of it. Quakerism will do a useful work if through the growing minds of its young it continues to aid in spreading the truth. Jonathan K. Taylor, Baltimore, earnestly inquired how we may get the lasting good from these meetings, and suggested reference of the subject to our various yearly meetings. Samuel P. Zavitz, Ontario, felt we could not divorce the moral and spiritual elements of our nature, and he rejoiced in the thoughts expressed in behalf of the right training of the child. OUR YOUNG PEOPLE. At this point in the discussion it was decided, in response to a general desire, to devote a part of the remaining hour to fur- ther consideration of the topic of the previous day, especially of that phase proposing a national organization for our young members. Robert M. Janney, Philadelphia, was asked to introduce the subject. Reviewing the discussion of yesterday, and giving some explanation of the Young Friends Association, of Phila- delphia, he insisted that this organization need not necessarily be taken as the model. Each neighborhood must consider its special needs and opportunities. And while the time and demands might not be ripe for a national organization he felt assured of one in the future. It could come only through the forma- tion of associations in the chief centers, which would reach out and gradually embrace our entire borders. Jonathan W. Plummer said the voice of yesterday was rather one of discouragement; he would today give the word of encour- agement. If we look back twenty-five years we understand what has been done by the First Day School; we must first make the local meeting the center of interest, and the managenent of this is not the work of a few. We must enlist the interest of the entire membership. The subject was further considered by Fanny Lownes, J. D. Furness, Sarah Flitcraft, Jos. A. Bogardus, Samuel P. and Edgar M. Zavitz, Wm. C. Starr and Joshua Mills, with the general senti- ment that there were other organizations now in existence sup- plying present needs, and especially emphasizing the thought that we must not separate the old and the young. 10 * 146 RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. One of the speakers, however, suggested the important thought that our youth do need further opportunities for spiritual de- votion, in which the responsibility should rest more especially upon themselves under right care. The congress then concluded its labors with a period of de- votional exercises. The silence was broken by Jonathan W. Plummer, appearing in prayer. Mary Trevilla, Joel Borton, Allen Flitcraft, Isaac Wilson, Margaretta Walton, Anna M. Starr and Sarah Flitcraft followed in brief but heartfelt words in behalf of a deeper spiritual life. Isaac Wilson then offered prayer, and the meeting closed after a session of four hours, in which the interest and attendance increased to the close. Thus closed our participation in the parliament of religions. The number of persons present at our parliamentary presentation was larger than anticipated, both of our own members and others, and compared very favorably in every way with that of other de- nominations of much greater numerical strength. We received from the beginning of our work a courtesy and attention from the Auxiliary authorities quite out of proportion to our numbers, and must feel that the work in past years for the purification and advancement of mankind rendered by our pred- ecessors was the basis for this respect, rather than our present numerical power. In reviewing the experiences of these few weeks of religious congresses with their able papers and addresses, and resulting friendships among representatives of heretofore quarreling faiths, we feel justified in saying the gatherings were attended with a kindliness, good will and enthusiasm that was unexpectedly full and free, and with very little that was unpleasant. The repre- sentatives of non-Christian faiths were accorded as free expression and cordial greeting by the Auxiliary and the crowded audiences in the Hall of Columbus as those of Christian faiths, and, for those who shared in this fellowship, there will probably always remain a sympathy with those of differing faiths, grounded on a sense of our common humanity and the Fatherhood of God over all, that came to them more strongly and clearly during these sessions than ever before. While this influence leading to a broader and truer Christian- RELIGIOUS CONGRESS FOR FRIENDS. 147 ity may never die out, we may find much reaction in the feeling and expression of religious people. Many who were not in attendance may respond to the senti- ment that Christianity has been injured or disgraced by associa- tion with non-Christian faiths, and it remains for those who have seen the truth in more Christ-like vision, to quietly, but steadily and patiently carry out the work now commenced that will ulti- mately place all faiths upon a basis, admitting of their presenta- tion and advocacy in kindly feeling and Christian spirit, on the ground of their inherent truth and man’s ability to see and accept that truth, rather than in the spirit of bitterness or by proscrip- tion and unchristian force as in the darker days of religious wars and persecutions. As Friends, we may ask, What is our duty? Should we strive to bring our Society again to the front as a pioneer and aggressive worker for the world’s moral and spiritual progress in the peace- able spirit and Gospel of Jesus Christ? If so, what does the In- ward Light or Indwelling Christ speak to our souls? While we may not abandon any custom or principle that still feels to us to possess life and power, let us be equally willing to let go whatever form or custom has lost its vitality and advocate its underlying principle in forms suited to present needs. With our distinctive faith in daily, divine leading to daily duty, we must necessarily change and progress as new light dawns upon our minds, showing us new fields and new methods of carrying on^he Divine Will as thus seen. Ours is a faith that not only admits, but requires this steady advance as our spiritual and intellectual perceptions broaden; it gives us the grand position of keeping pace with God’s revelation to the growing minds and souls of His watchful children who commune with Him in spirit, and thus, consecrated to His service, become advance guards in proclaiming the Gospel of glad tidings to a needy world.