Great Britain by N. Z. Town

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Apr 30, 1914

Great Britain

By N. Z. Town

IN planning for their annual conferences for 1914, the British brethren planned for a short canvassers' institute to follow the meetings in Wales, Ireland, Scotland, North England, and the Midlands. March 4, I sailed from New York to attend these conferences and institutes. After an uneventful voyage on the "Olympic," I landed in Plymouth, England, the evening of March 10, reaching Watford, the headquarters of the work in Great Britain, the following morning. During the next two days I had the privilege of attending the annual legal meetings of the International Tract Society, Limited; the International Health Association; the Good Health Association, Limited; and the Seventh-day Adventist Union, Limited. The annual reports from these associations were very encouraging indeed.

The balance sheet of the International Health Association, which handles the health food business in the United Kingdom, showed the net gain of $3,930. Brother W. H. Johnson, the traveling agent for the health food business, gave a very interesting report of his experiences during the year, and told of six persons who had come into the truth directly from his efforts.

Out of its gain, this institution turned over to the British Union £700, or $3,500, for the advancement of the work. Since moving to Watford in 1907, this institution has wiped out a deficit of $7,000 and now shows an annual net gain of $3,000 to $4,000.

The Good Health Association, under the auspices of which the sanitariums in the union are operated, also showed a gain of over $1,500. The sanitariums are enjoying a good patronage, and have the heartiest sympathy and support of our own people.

The International Tract Society had a good year during 1913. Its total literature sales for the year amounted to $71,888. This is a small gain over the previous year. The net financial gain of the publishing house for the year was $5,800. By a vote of the board, $5,000 of this was turned over to the British Union for evangelical work. During the past eleven years this publishing house has given to the union £1,000 annually, or a total of $55,000.

As there are no organized tract societies in the British Union, the publishing house sets aside the ten per cent which ordinarily goes to tract societies, for the support of the general agent and his assistants, to aid needy canvassers, and to endow a bed at the sanitarium for canvassers, and the remainder is divided pro rata among the conferences for supplying the evangelical workers with free literature to use in their tent and hall efforts.

The school also had a prosperous year, the balance sheet showing a small gain. There are at present about seventy earnest young people attending the college, many of whom will enter some part of the work when school closes. A list of all these students was read in a meeting of the union committee, and definite plans were made for each one to have some part in the work. Thirty will enter the canvassing work.

The balance sheet of the Seventh-day Adventist Union, which owns all the institutions in Great Britain, showed a net gain, including institutional donations, of nearly $10,000 for the year.

It was very encouraging indeed to listen to the excellent reports from these institutions, and to see the balances at the end of the year on the right side of the ledger. Our brethren in the British field are very much encouraged by the outlook for 1914.

While the union committee was in session, Elder L. R. Conradi presented an earnest call for three workers from Great Britain for East and West Africa. Notwithstanding the great need of workers in the British field, the conference presidents are responding to Elder Conradi's call. Before he left, one young man was selected for West Africa.

The day Elder Conradi left London, I had the privilege of accompanying him on a visit to see two of the secretaries of the London Missionary Society regarding Madagascar. After we had had our interview with these gentlemen, Brother T. Baker and his fiancée met Elder Conradi in that historic room of the London Missionary Society, where definite arrangements were made with him to go out to West Africa. The young lady will follow later.

The brethren and sisters in the European Division are responding very enthusiastically to the calls from the mission fields, and funds are coming into the treasury faster than men can be secured to send out in response to the demands.

N. Z. Town.