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March 24, 1909. THE PRESBYTER! THE SUPPLY OF CANDIDATES. Rev. Henry H. Sweets, Secretary. After careful investigation, and by means of correspondence with the chairmen of the Prcsbyterial Committees of Education, stated clerks, the various colleges and seminaries, and the students themselves, we are able to present some interesting and accurate information concerning the supply of candidates of the church, ttp to March 1, 1909. The Number. Last May the Presbyteries reported to the General Assembly 375 Candidates for the Ministry, an increase of 40 over the previous year. January 1, iqoq. the stated clerks reported to us 422 candidates, a further increase of 47. over the report of the Assembly in May, 1908. We have been able to secure information concerning 414 of these. State of Preparation. Of the 414 candidates, 137 are in the seminary, 190 in college, 33 in schools and academies, while 54 for the present are at work. Of the 137 in the theological seminaries, 42 are in the third year class, 36 in the second, and 59 in the first. Of the 190 in college, three are post-graduates, 46 are in the senior class, 30 in the junior, 59 in the sophomore and 52 in the freshman. Whence They Come. We have learned the occupation of the fathers of 392 of our candidates. Of these 197 have fathers who are e iarmers, 50 are the sons of ministers, 34 of merchants, 18 of laborers, 12 of carpenters, 8 of physicians, 8 of manufacturers, 8 of traveling salesmen, 7 of professors, 6 of lawyers, 5 of bankers, 4 of druggists, 4 of mill men, 3 of insurance men, 3 of railroad men, 3 of newspaper men, and three of real estate men, while the remaining 13 are the sons of men engaged in eleven different occupations. Age at Admittance to Communion. Of 412 candidates, 49 were admitted to communion at ten years of age or under, 243 between the years of eleven and fifteen inclusive, 103 between sixteen and iwcuiy, 13 between twenty-one and twenty-five, and 4 between twenty-six and thirty. Age at Decision. Of 410 candidates reporting, 18 felt the call of God to the ministry and decided to give their lives to the work under the age of ten years, 35 between eleven and fifteen, 227 between sixteen and twenty, 99 between twenty-one and twenty-five, 21 between twenty-six and thirty, 7 between thirty-one and thirty-five, and three between thirty-six and forty years. Place of Decision. Of the 410 reporting, 287 decided before the\ entered college to dedicate their lives to the ministry, 88 deci c while in college, and 35 after leaving college. Of the 88 deciding while in college, 5^ ^cre *n our own Presbyterian colleges, 6 in colleges under Presby Iterian influence, 2 in Presbyterian colleges, U. S. A., 2 in Methodist, 1 in Lutheran, 1 in Reform, and 2 in nonsectarian, while 16 were in State institutions. Denominations Whence They Come. Of 413 candidates, 353 were reared in the Presby_ AN OF THE SOUTH. 7 terian church, 21 in the Methodist, 12 in the Baptist, 4 in the Presbyterian church, U. S. A., 4 in the Cumberland Presbyterian, 3 in the Evangelical, 3 in the Christian, 3 in the Catholic, 3 in German Reformed Presbyterian, 2 in the Lutheran, 1 in the Associate Reformed Presbyterian, 1 in the Established Church of Scotland, 1 in the Hebrew, 1 in the Union, and 1 in the Adventist. Character of Churches. Of the 410 candidates, 185 came from country churches, 141 from town, and 84 from city churches. 206 of these candidates came from churches where, services were conducted weekly, 107 semi-monthly, 18 three times a month, and 79 only monthly. Of these, 52 candidates came from churches with a membership of less than fifty, 125 with a membership of 100 or under, 96 of 200 or under, 67 of 300 or under, 36 of 400 or under, 20 of 500 or under, 3 of 600 or under, 4 of 700 or under, and 7 of over 700. Assistance Rendered. Of the 414 candidates, 269 are receiving aid from the Assembly's Committee. Of the 269 thus assisted, 107 are in theological seminaries, and 162 in colleges. No assistance is triven the mnHirlates in cr1ir>r>ic mri academies. The maximum amount of appropriation i- $100 per year for Sach candidate who needs this amount. Already there has been appropriated for the year from September, 1908, to June, 1909, for 269 candidates, $26,953, an average of about $100 each, including some special funds handled. Although there has been a marked increase in the number of candidates, as yet it has not reached the graduating class of the seminaries, and once more we are sorry to record that almost as many ministers have died, or have been retired on account of sickness or old age, as there are candidates who will be graduated from all our theological seminaries in May. Louisville, Ky. \ THE WORKS OF DARKNESS. Two men board a street car, each with a transfer. The one is used within the time limit, and is handed to the conductor without the slightest feeling of fear. The passenger is doing nothing for which detection would cause him to feel ashamed. If the transfer is folded he opens it out full length that the conductor's eye may fall upon the punch mark given. He looks the uniformed man straight in the face because he knows / he is attempting to break no rule. The other man's transfer has been dead half an hour. He is afraid the conductor will find it out and make him pay an extra fare, so he hunts the darkest corner in the car, folds his transfei*to hide the punch mark, and gets very much interested in a newspaper. He does not look up when the conductor approaches him. Why is he so engaged in other things? His mind is not on his newspaper, but on the transfer and the probability that the conductor will note the deception. Even the one on the street car may love darkness rather than light because his deeds are evil.?Religious Telescope. W;