Methodist Missionary Society.

Annual Meeting Proposes “Cross and Cargill” Memorial.

THE annual meetings of the Methodist Missionary Society were held in Syd ney for four days, beginning on Feb ruary 8. The President General, the Rev.

A. T. Holden, presided.

The centenary of the landing at La keba of Cross and Cargill, the first white missionaries, is to be celebrated in 1935.

To commemorate this event, it was de cided to raise a fund of 10,000 guineas by private solicitations of the secretaries in each State, The objects of the fund will be a new church building and of fices at Suva, an endowment fund for district educational institutions, and a “Cross and Cargill” memorial church at Lakeba.

The Rev. W. H. Cox, giving an ac count of the work of the Society in New Guinea, said that services were held in 350 churches every Sunday, most of them being conducted by preachers trained in the institution. Sixty Chinese

children attended the day school at Ka ibaul and the first convert was recently baptised.

The Rev. G. T. Goldsmith, of the Northern Territory, said that evil in fluences among the natives were largely due to the crews of luggers of foreign nationality which visited the northern waters.

The general statistics of the Society showed that, excluding the Tonga Church, but including Samoa, there are 138 active ministers, 1960 teachers, 1123 churches and 42,907 members under its jurisdiction. Improved finances have made it possible to fill nearly all vacant missionary stations, and it is hoped to place 10 new men in the field in 1934.

The meeting offered its congratula tions to the Rev. R. L. McDonald, chair man of the Fiji district, and the Rev.

Roger Page, president of the Tonga Con ference, on the attainment of 25 years’ service.