He states these as rules,--that no church is to be organized without a native pastor; that no church is to receive aid from the mission for more than one half the salary of the pastor, and none for more than five years. Eighteen churches have been formed in the district, with six hundred and fifty members, and most of them on this plan. The church at Harpoot was self-supporting from the outset. Wherever a fully organized and self-supporting church existed, the peculiar work of the missionaries was regarded as completed in that place; the church and pastor, rather than the missionaries, being henceforth held responsible for the evangelization of the surrounding community. The missionaries aid, if necessary, by their counsel and in other ways, but what they do is through the church. His response as to the character of the churches, which I necessarily abridge, is deemed applicable, substantially, to the seventy-four churches among the Armenians. He says:-- "1. They are becoming intelligent. Making the Bible a study, they become established in Christian doctrine. "2. Church discipline is better maintained than it is in American churches. Their 'watch and care' are delightful to witness. Many of these Christians came out of the grossest corruption, but the fellowship of the church is a shield and a support. "3. They are self-denying. The support of their own institutions, including the building of their school-houses and houses of worship, with very little missionary aid, necessitates the sacrifice of comforts which they cheerfully forego. Experience in Turkey has abundantly proved, that dependent churches are nearly worthless for evangelizing agencies. When the institutions of the Gospel are supported for them, they regard the work of extending it as belonging especially to the missionaries; and hence, however lavish the expenditure, they often complain that money is not more freely spent, and the work prosecuted on a grander scale. Complaints against missionaries come chiefly from churches doing little for themselves. On the other hand, self-supporting churches regard the work of propagating the Gospel as their own, and whatever is given them, they gratefully receive as aid in doing their own work. "4. These churches resemble the primitive churches in their disposition to work for others. They are imbued with a spirit of labor. They go from house to house, reading and preaching the word. This is the theme in the shop, the field, and by the way-side. "The chief source of discomfort is in the Armenian character itself, in which there is a lack of stability, and a want of perseverance. But there is ground for hope, that even this national trait may be overcome by the power of the Gospel.