A Falling-off in Ministers.
Among Presbyterian and Congregational institutions for developing and training preachers, the following items are noted:— In 1893 [the Congregationalist tells us] Andover had 79 students, this year 15; Bangor in the same two years, respectively 43 and 23; Chicago, 192 and 80; Oberlin, 80 and 30; Pacific, 23 and 12; Yale, 110 and 96; Hartford, the one that adheres most closely to the standards, is the only one that shows any increase, and it stands 38 in 1893 to 81 for the present year. The statistics of Presbyterianism the Congregationalist quotes from The New York Observer; the highest number in recent years at Princeton was 264, this year 137. As compared with 1901, the figures for Auburn Seminary are 123 and 72; Western, 103 and 60; Lane 54 and 50; McCormick, 212 and 139. The summing up shows that in nine years the number in Congregational seminaries has declined from 565 to 334; in Presbyterian seminaries, in four years, from 1,508 to 917.