FISK UNIVERSITY, at Nashville, Tenn., is one of the oldest and most complete of all our Southern colleges, and has no superior among all the institutions in the country devoted to the education of the Negro.  Giving relatively less attention to the industries, it models itself after our Northern colleges, and emulates them in the rigor of its intellectual studies and in the thoroughness with which it seeks to make good teachers and preachers; educators in the larger way for the race.  It also has a department of theology.  It has made its place, which it holds with enthusiasm and fidelity.  If some one would give us, or leave us, money to endow this institution, he could scarcely send his influence further down the centuries than in this way.  It would tell upon the race and upon the Nation.

In this glance at our schools, we see Christian schools.  But they are more, they are missionary schools.  We are bearing the torch of Christ into places of darkness.  We teach the industries to them because they can be made tributary to the salvation of the people.  They are the leaves of the tree of life, and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the people.

We may not close this review of our school system without remembering those institutions now standing alone; great Hampton, in whose rich gifts we rejoice, and Berea, another child of the A.M.A., now grown to strength.

TO HOWARD UNIVERSITY, at Washington, also, we extend the sympathy of a common purpose, together with such financial aid as we may for the support of its theological course.

We point to these great institutions which have been planted and fostered by the A.M.A., together with those which are still upheld by us, with a feeling akin to that of the renowned Cornelia when she said, “Behold my jewels.”

Total Number of our Schools     South      58  Indian  18     76
Total Number of our Instructors   South     266  Indian  50    316
Total Number of our Pupils      South   9,896  Indian 580 10,476
Theological Students         South      87  Indian  ——­     87
Law Students             South      73  Indian  ——­     73
College Students           South      68  Indian  ——­     68
Preparatory College Students     South     105  Indian  ——­    105
Normal Students           South     836  Indian  10    846
Grammar Grade Students        South   1,996  Indian  43  2,039
Intermediate Grade Students     South   2,998  Indian 108  3,106
Primary Pupils            South   3,831  Indian 419  4,250

We have, in addition, 17 Chinese Schools on the Pacific Coast, with 39 teachers.

 CHURCH WORK.

We turn now to our Church Work.

In every school we have an incipient church; in many of these are organized churches.  From all of them there is a continual going forth of a predisposition towards Congregational Churches, which will make for churches in the future.

The statistics are as follows: