This point is regarded as of great importance, as the most effectual and economical means of utterly stamping out the plague. Power is also demanded for prohibiting pasturage or exposure in unfenced lots where different herds are likely to mingle together, or stray animals to enter among others. Finally, it is recommended that the task of stamping out the lung-plague be confided to national agents, with power to take all necessary measures and means to carry them out, including payment for slaughtered herds. In summing up their conclusions and recommendations, the commissioners say:

For the extinction of the lung-plague in infected districts, we consider it necessary that the authority -Federal or State-intrusted with the work should be clothed with the following power:

a. To abolish or regulate markets for store-cattle in

the infected districts.

6. To require the slaughter at the fat-markets, in infected districts, of all cattle entering these markets. Fat cattle, for slaughter elsewhere, can be obtained at the bonded market.

e. To prohibit all movement of cattle in infected districts, except under special license.

d. To inspect all cattle in suspected districts. e. To slaughter all infected cattle, and in exceptional cases those that have been exposed to infection.

f. To have the condemned animals appraised, and the owners liberally indemnified.

General Council

General Synod, South. General Synod, North Synodical Conference..

way.

h. To prohibit all pasturage of more than one herd on one pasture in infected districts, unless under special license.

i. To disinfect all premises, fodder, and other articles that have been presumably exposed to inspection. j. To institute and enforce such minor rules as shall be demanded by the peculiar conditions of particular

districts.

k. To provide and enforce suitable penaltics for infringement of orders.

In order to carry out these suggestions, we recommend a liberal appropriation by Congress, to be disbursed by some designated Federal officer. In case the work be delegated to the different States, we advise that a liberal appropriation be made from the Federal exchequer, sufficient to cover the greater part of the outlay; and that this be paid over to the Executive of the infected State, on the approval of the plan and execution of the work in the particular States by a veterinary sanitary organization designated for the purpose by the Federal Government.

This report of the Cattle Commission, which consisted of James Law, E. F. Thayer, and J. H. Sanders, was submitted to the Senate on the 13th of February, 1882, and referred to the Committee on Agriculture; but no action, based on its recommendations, has yet been taken by Congress.

LUTHERANS. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in North America comprises four distinct general bodies, between which considerable differences of views respecting doctrine and ritual prevail, and twelve independent synoris. Its statistical reports are very imperfect. The "Church Almanac" of the Lutheran Bookstore, Philadelphia (General Council), gives statistics of the several general bodies and synods, of which the following are summaries:

Total for the whole Church.. 8,429 6,130 785,787

According to the computations of the "Kalender," the Church gained during the year, net, 130 pastors, 265 congregations, and 47,

485 communicants.

Of eighteen theological seminaries and departments, four are classified as affiliated with the General Council, four with the General Synod, North, four with the Synodical Conference, and one each with six single synods. The literary institutions consist of seventeen colleges, thirteen classical schools, and nine seminaries for young women. The periodicals include eighteen weekly, eleven semi-monthly, thirty-eight monthly, two bi-monthly, three quarterly, and six annual publications, in the English, German, Swedish, and Norwegian languages.

The General Synod, South, was formed during the civil war by the united action of the synods in the Southern States which had separated from the General Synod, North, in consequence of the urgency of the political crisis. It holds fellowship with both the General Council and the Northern General Synod. In its organization, however, it is now like the General Synod, North, having adopted the constitution of that body, with a few modifications, at its formation. Its doctrinal basis is analogous to that of the General Synod; the services of the Church books of the two bodies are the same as to their principal parts; its ecclesiastical usages, church government and life, are of a similar type; and it practices pulpit and altar fellowship with the General Synod, and, as a matter of privilege in exceptional cases, with other evangelical Protestant de

nominations. The subject of reunion with the Northern General Synod had a prominent place in the deliberations of the meeting of the Synod in 1882, but was finally postponed on the ground that such union was not desirable. It was urged against the plan that the Synod was now on terms of fellowship with both the Northern General Synod and the General Council, and that to unite with either of those bodies would separate it from the other, and put it in an antagonistic position as toward it; would be, in effect, more a measure

of division than of union.

The General Synod, South, met in its thirteenth convention at Charlotte, N. C., May 25th. The Rev. J. J. Scherer, of Marion, Va., was chosen president. Resolutions were adopted setting forth the kindly feelings of love entertained by the Synod toward the Lutheran bodies North, and expressing will ingness to co-operate with other Lutheran bodies upon an unequivocal Lutheran basis. A committee was appointed to consider measures for church work among the freedmen. The committee on a common service-book for all English-speaking Lutherans, made a report agreeing with the conditions fixed by the General Council, and was continued. Steps were taken to inquire into the expediency of reviving the old Lutheran vesper service as an evening service; and the committee appointed to prepare a Sunday-school book was instructed to mold its service on the ancient matin and vesper service. Reports were made concerning the missions at Richmond, Va., and Atlanta, Ga. An interesting feature of the meeting of the Synod was the reception of the delegates from the North Carolina Synod, which, after a separation of several years, had determined to resume its connection with the General Synod. On the other hand, the Mississippi Synod had withdrawn from the body, but it was hoped that the separation

would not be final.

The fifteenth convention of the General Council met in Lancaster, Ohio, November 9th. Representatives were present from nine synods, or from all the bodies connected with the General Council, except the Holston Synod. The Rev. A. Spaeth, D. D., was re-elected president of the body. In the proceedings of this assembly, discussions of doctrines, as means of ascertaining, establishing, and communicating religious truth, are considered equally important with the transaction of the practical and administrative business which usually engage the attention of ecclesiastical judicatories; and a summary of theses on some subject of doctrine or government is usually prepared in advance of the meeting, to be discussed by it. The topic selected for discussion at the present meeting was the "Relation of Synods to Congregations, and of Congregations to Synods."

The theses set forth that all power in the Church belongs primarily and exclusively to the Lord Jesus

The con

Christ, and that the Church has no right or authority to ordain or teach except what is taught by the very sary inference from it, and her liberty conceives those letter of God's Word, or derived by just and necesthings only which are left free by the letter and spirit of God's Word." The primary bodies, the theses continue, through which the power of the Church is nominally exercised, are the congregations. gregation, in the normal state, is neither the people without the pastor, nor the pastor without the people. In congregations exists the right of representation. In addition to the pastor, who, by their voluntary ele tion, is already ex-officio their representative, the people have the right to choose representatives from their own number to act for them, under such constitutional limitations as the congregation approves. The representatives of congregations thus convened in synod, and acting in accordance with those conditions of mustitution, are, for the ends, and with the limitations tual congregational compact which are called a condefined in it, representatively the congregations themselves. A free, scriptural general council, or synod, chosen by the Church, is, within the metes and bounds fixed by the Church which chooses it, representatively tively constituting the various district synods may, that Church itself." The congregations representa through those synods, elect delegates to represent them in a more general body, which may bind them, so far as the terms of their mutual agreement make its acts binding. If, however, "the final decision of any general body thus constituted shall seem to any synod within it in conflict with the faith, involv ing violation of the rights of conscience, it is the duty of that synod to take such steps as shall be needed to prevent a compromise on its part with error. To this end it may withdraw itself from relations which make it responsible for departure from the faith of the Gospel, or for an equivocal attitude toward it. Such steps should not be taken on any but well-defined grounds of conscience, not on mere suspicion, nor until prayerful, carnest, and repeated efforts to correct the wrong drawal. have proved useless, and no remedy remains but with

"The obligation under which congregations consent to place themselves, to conform to the decisions of synods, does not rest on any assumption that synods are infallible, but on the supposition that the decis ions have been so guarded by wise constitutional provisions as to create a higher moral probability of their being true and rightful than the decisions in conflict with them, which may be made by single congregations or individuals. All final decisions should be

guarded with the utmost care, so that they shall in no case claim without just grounds to be the judgment of those congregations in whose name and by whose authority they are made-in the absence of which just grounds they are null and void."

In the formation of a general body, the synods may know and deal with each other only as synods. In such case the official record is to be accepted as evidence of the doctrinal position of each synod, and of the principles for which alone the other synods become responsible by connection with it. The leading objects for which synods should be organized are defined to be the maintenance and diffusion of sound doctrine; the decision of controversies in regard to articles of faith; the proper regulation of the human externals of worship; the maintenance of pure discipline; and the devising and executing of wise and scriptural counsels and plans for carrying on the work of the Church, in every department of beneficent labor for the souls and bodies of men, at home and abroad; all in subordination to God's Word and the standards and authority of the Church.

The report of the Committee on Home Missions related what had been accomplished in the missions in Germany, Canada, Michigan, Texas, and in the State of New York, and stated that nine laborers had been sent to sixteen different fields during the past year, and sixteen young men were securing aid in preparation for mission work. Stress was laid, in the discussion of the subject, on the division of the missions in the United States between the German and Scandinavian immigrants, and on the importance of using the English language as the language of the country. The council approved a plan for the home-mission work which contemplated the appointment of three committees, one for the English, one for the German, and one for the Swedish languages, to be equally responsible to the General Council and to have co-ordinate powers; constituted the (Swedish) Augustana Synod's Central Committee on Missions, the Swedish Committee of the General Council, and provided that the English and German committees should consist of twelve persons each, ten of whom should be elected by the General Council and two by the committee. The object of the committees was declared to be to plant and sustain Lutheran churches, but it was forbidden to establish or have control of missions within the territory of a synod in regular connection with the General Council, except in co-operation with and through the agency of the Executive Committee of Missions of such synod, or with its consent. A report on the sources of supply of men for German mission work showed that most of the missionaries had received their preparation for the ministry at German institutions. Of these students, sixteen still remained here under the care of the committee in preparation for the ministry. The Rev. Mr. Paulson's Institution, in Kropp, Schleswig, was recommended as a suitable institution, it being in doctrinal position and in its aim most in accordance with the wants of the General Synod to look to for students. The committee was, however, authorized to select suitable men at its discretion for immediate employment. The committee was further instructed to consider whether it is necessary to establish any additional institution or department in any existing institution in the United States to meet the special wants of the Church. A special committee was appointed to open correspondence with the committee appointed by the General Lutheran Conference in Germany for the purpose of securing the transfer of the emigrants who are members of Lutheran churches into regular connection with the churches in America. A committee to secure sites for churches and schools along the line of the Northern Pacific Railroad was continued.

The East Tennessee Synod, an independent body, has been reorganized on a basis which declares that the congregation alone has the right to call or depose pastors; refuses fellowship with "the sects"; prohibits membership

in oath-bound secret societies; and holds that the Lutheran Church only teaches the pure Word of God.

LYNCH, PATRICK WILSON, born March 10, 1817, at Cheraw, S. C.; died February 26, 1882, at Charleston, S. C. Bishop Lynch studied theology first at the Catholic Seminary at Charleston, acquiring at the same time a knowledge of the classics, science, and mathematics. Subsequently he went to Rome and diligently pursued his education in the historic college of the Propaganda, having access also to the library of the Vatican. In 1840 he was ordained priest, and zealously devoted his time and talents to the advancement of Catholicism in Charleston. Soon he became Professor of Theology and rector of the seminary of that city, his great scholarship and ecclesiastical attainments enabling him to fill the position with distinguished ability. In 1850 he was made Vicar-General of the diocese, much to the delight of his people, whose love and confidence he had won. Eight years after, he was consecrated Bishop of Charleston. Immediately after his consecration, he began the work of acquiring funds for building a cathedral: his plan of procedure was so perfect, and he inspired such enthusiasm in behalf of his work, that in a very short time he collected a sufficient sum to begin the building, which in time was finished, and valued as one of the most ornamental buildings of Charleston. His labors for his church did not end with the completion of the cathedral; he founded an Ursuline Convent, an orphan asylum, and several schools. In the late war some of these buildings were destroyed, among them the beautiful cathedral. The Bishop identified himself very conspicuously with the cause of the Confederacy; he made a special visit to Rome to try and induce the Pope to recognize the Southern States, and worked unceasingly with his associates in that direction. Pardoned by the President at the end of the war, he returned to Charleston and began his work with renewed energy. The best years of his life were devoted to the arduous task of liquidating an enormous debt contracted by the diocese before he was made bishop; his efforts were so successful that at the time of his death only a small sum comparatively remained of the indebtedness. Only the people of his diocese know the hardships and distresses through which he passed during the accomplishment of this work.

For the same object, he delivered a lecture, in 1870, in New York city, on the "Vatican Council," and again in 1873 on "Bismarck and the Church." His fame as a learned and accomplished orator had preceded him, and vast audiences crowded to hear him. These were only two of the many lectures he delivered for the same object, not alone in New York but in most of the large cities of the United States. As a controversialist Bishop Lynch was eminent, as he proved on numerous occasions, in his able arguments with opponents of his church.

Notably among these are those directed against Bismarck and Gladstone. One of his most distinguished sermons was preached on the occasion of the laying of the corner-stone of the new church of St. Francis Xavier, in New York. As a writer of scientific articles Bishop Lynch was also distinguished. "The Liquefac

MACDONALD, Sir JOHN ALEXANDER, Prime Minister of the Dominion of Canada, was born in 1815, educated in Kingston at the grammar-school, and was called to the bar in 1835. He entered political life as a member of the Parliament of Upper Canada. He was elected in the Conservative interest in 1844 by the Kingston constituency, which he has continued to represent to the present time. His introduction to office was as a member of the Executive Council and Receiver-General, to which post he was appointed in May, 1847. In December of the same year he took the office of Commissioner of Crown Lands. In March, 1850, the Cabinet of which he was a member gave way to the Reform Ministry under Lafontaine, Baldwin, and Hincks, which remained in power till September, 1854. At that time the difficulty with regard to the reservation of lands for the Protestant clergy and other questions caused a defeat of the ministry, and a coalition was formed to conduct the public business. Macdonald joined the Government as Attorney-General. He retained this office until May, 1862. A part of this time he was the head of the Government. In January, 1862, upon the reorganization of the militia, he took the position of Minister of Militia. The Government sustained a defeat on their militia bill of that year, and all resigned. In May, 1864, Macdonald resumed office as Attorney-General in the ministry of Sir E. P. Tache, which was not, however, in command of a stable majority. At this time the question of federation was under discussion. The proposition had adherents in both parties. Upon a report in its favor by a committee of the Legislative Assembly, a conference of the leading men of both parties was held, which led to a coalition for the purpose of carrying the proposition through. On the death of Sir E. P. Tache, in 1865, Mr. Macdonald again became Minister of Militia, which office, with that of Attorney-General, he retained until 1868. In that year, upon the consummation of the federation, he became Minister of Justice and Attorney-General in the Dominion Government, and in 1869 assumed the premiership. The ministry of which he was the head resigned November 5, 1873. In October, 1878, he was called upon to form another Cabinet. In 1866 he served as one of the delegates appointed to confer with the Imperial Government with reference to the terms of confederation, and

tion of the Blood of St. Januarius," and the "Transit of Venus," are two of his most celebrated. He participated in the Vatican Council of 1869-'70, and ably supported the dogma of infallibility. A short time before his death, the Pope had assigned him a chair in the college at Rome.

was chosen president of the meetings by the delegates in London. He was knighted in 1867, and was honored with a doctor's degree by Oxford University in the same year. Sir John A. Macdonald is the undisputed leader of the Conservative party in Canada, which under his guidance introduced the protective policy, and has almost silenced the formidable opposition of the Liberals. His abilities in debate, in affairs, in political tactics, and in the inception of policy, are so conspicuous that he occupies a most commanding position among parliamentary leaders.

MADAGASCAR, a large island off the eastern coast of Africa. The area is 591,964 square kilometres, or about 227,600 square miles. The population is estimated at from 3,500,000 souls to double that number. The inhabitants call themselves Christians, the Presbyterian Church having been established as the state religion of the Hovas. The capital, Tananarivoo, situated in the interior of the island, contains from 70,000 to 80,000 inhabitants. The chief commercial town is Tamatav, a town of about 3,000 inhabitants, on the eastern coast. The foreign commerce is conducted principally in English ships coming from Mauritius. One of the principal articles of import is rum. American traders have a large share in the foreign commerce. The exports are principally cattle, hides, resins, India-rubber, gums, tallow, oil-bearing seeds, rice, etc. The trade with Mauritius in 1873 consisted of £155,000 of exports and £145,000 of imports. The commerce with other countries was estimated at £100,000. Ships and pirogues also visit Madagascar from the small French colonies adjacent.

The inhabitants belong to two distinct races. The aborigines, known by their mahogany color, have been overrun at a comparatively recent epoch by a Malaysian race, whose type is found in its purity among the Hovas. The new-comers were at first divided into twelve independent tribes, but at the beginning of the present century they merged, and adopted monarchical institutions and such features of civilization as an army, police, taxes, and customs duties. They have constantly opposed the industrial development of the vast natural wealth of Madagascar, declaring fevers and bad roads to be blessings because they protect them from the Europeans. The Hovas have a nobility of various degrees, and privileges. Children take the rank of their mother. There