378
NEGRO BAPTISTS
friends to intemperance, can not better be accounted
for than to attribute it to the answer to the prayers
and the result of the earnest and persistent efforts of
these old pioneers who fought so earnestly and stood
so firmly when the masses were against them. The
following report of the corresponding secretary, Dr.
J. F. Boulden, will aleo add to the history and inter¬
est to this association:
REPORT OF THE CORRESPONDING SECRETARY.
To the General Baptist Missionary Association :
Dear Brethren—At the return of another anniver¬
sary of our general body it becomes my duty to submit to
you my annual report as corresponding secretary, compiler
of the minutes, and as agent, in which capacities it was
your pleasure to place me at your last meeting.
As compiler of the minutes it does not need that I
should say a word, for you have them before you, and you
can judge for yourselves whether that duty has been at¬
tended to properly or not.
As corresponding secretary I have tried to fulfil the
duties of that office to the best of my ability. The rapid
growth and increase of our district and general bodies
necessarily increases tho amount of correspondence. In
the course of this year have been added to our regular
correspondence the union of the Baptists (colored) in the
State, and the union of our educational interests with
those of the Home Mission Society, North. Learning that
they (the Home Mission Board) were about to purchase
property in a portion of our State for educational pur¬
poses, I felt it to be our duty to link our interests with
theirs, and therefore I opened correspondence with them
and kept it up as long as it was necessary. They did not
succeed in getting it at that time, but I have since learned
they have. I have not opened the second correspondence
with them, but I think it highly important to combine
our interests if we can.
I have also been corresponding with that portion of
the Baptists in our State with whom we have heretofore
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