BRITISH Baptists are not one body in the sense, or to the same extent, that American Baptists are. If a man in America says he is a Baptist, it is known exactly what he means. But if a man in England says he is a Baptist, you need further to know what sort of a Baptist he is before you can form a definite opinion of his belief or practice. All British Baptists are alike in three things. They are, of course, all Immersionists; they believe that the immersion of believers on a profession of their faith is the only baptism of Scripture. They are all Congregationalists; they believe that every separate congregation of believers is a church in itself, apart from any other congregation, and competent to manage its own affairs. They are all Voluntaries; that is, they are opposed to all connection between Church and State, and all endowments for the support of the clergy secured or allotted to them by the law of the land. They neither accept the patronage, nor allow of the interference, of the civil magistrate in matters of religion and conscience. But, while agreed on these things, there are others on which they differ. The first principal difference between them is indicated by the terms Particular and General Baptists. These terms express a difference, not of practice in regard to communion, but of creed. Particular Baptists are professedly Calvinistic in their creed; General Baptists are professedly Arminian. Particular Baptists have existed in England for a much longer period than General Baptists. The first General Baptist church in England was founded in about the year 1612, and had its location in Newgate, London. After a time, an Association of General Baptist churches was formed; and still later, in 1770, the Association was re-organized under the title of the General Baptist Association of the New Connection. The occasion for this new departure was the doctrinal degeneracy of the churches of the old association. “From general redemption,” says Dr. Ryland, “they had gone to no redemption; from Arminianism to Arianism and Socinianism.” This re-organized Association still exists, and it still bears the same name. The churches belonging to it are all Arminian in doctrine. On the question of Communion, they are divided. Some of them practice Close Communion, and some Open. Formerly, the churches were nearly all Close, but Open Communionism has made considerable advances amongst them during recent years. They have a College at Nottingham for the education of young men for the ministry. They have, also, their own Missionary Societies. [Illustration: EDWARD PARKER, D. D.]