policy throughout our actual mission-field is as far as
possible to raise up native agents. Probably the heathen lands will
be won for the great Captain of salvation by native soldiers; but for
a long time they will need officers trained in countries familiar for
generations with the blessings of the gospel. The number of our
missionaries may be stated at 400, more than half being native
agents; there are 2,680 other mission workers, 52,058 Church members;
84,113 children and young people having instruction in the schools.
But these figures would give a false idea of the progress of the work
if compared with the statistics of 1837; for _then_ our missions
included vast regions that have now their own Conferences. When the
Queen ascended the throne Fiji was a nation of cannibals. Two years
before her accession our Missionary Society commenced operations in
those islands. John Hunt laboured with apostolic zeal, and died
breathing the prayer, "God, for Christ's sake, bless Fiji, save
Fiji." The prayer is already answered. All these islands have been
won for Christ, and are trophies of Wesleyan missionary toil. There
are 3,100 native preachers under the care of nine white missionaries;
1,322 chapels, 43,339 members and catechumens, and more than 42,000
scholars. Fiji has become almost a nation of Methodists. But it were
vain to look for traces of this vast achievement in the "Minutes of
Conference" of 1896; for a special feature of our missionary policy
is the establishment of affiliated Conferences, which in course of
time become self-supporting. In 1883 all the branches of the Canadian
Methodists united to form one Canadian Conference. The first French
Conference met in 1852. In 1855 the Conference of Eastern British
America was formed. The same year the first Australian Conference
met, and took charge of the Missions in Fiji, the Friendly Isles, and
New Zealand. The first South African Conference met in 1882, and the
two West Indian Conferences in 1884. Although more or less
independent of the mother Conference, they still retain the
characteristics of Methodism. A distinct branch of Mission work,
known as the Women's Auxiliary, has been established, and sends forth
ladies to engage in educational, zenana, and medical work. They are
doing good service in India, China, and other parts of the world. In
1896 they expended more than L10,000.

The total expenditure last year (1896) was L124,700, incurred by our
own Mission w