About 20 years ago the northern and southern Presbyterian. Missiong united in founding a' theological seminary at Nanking, the doctrinal standards of the two churches being practically the same. Some 10 years later after much deliberation it was decided to enlarge the Seminary and the Methodists, North and South, and the Christian Mission were made partakers of the benefits and res-possibilities of the Seminary. The result was an enlargement of faculty and student body, and in the succeeding years the school has been an important religious factor in east central China.
While differences and difficulties arose from time-to time they were solved in the: spirit of fraternal cooperation, until a year or two ago when new problems arose which have to the present time defied settlement. At the formation of the union the obstacles to be overcome were fears lest jhe distinctive doctrines of each denomination be compromised in a colourless school or lost under the domination of another church that might acquire control of its management. As far as is known these fears have not been realized and the pre sent imbroglio has arisen from causes that are said to exist in single denominations to the extent of threatening a split. Tt hag come to be recognized by' many on each side that the present state is intolerable and unless a solution be found there is no other prospects than an early dissolution of the Seminary.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.