Columbia (IBnitoers^itp mtl)e€itpof3JfttigDrk LIBRARY ;^."jriai-..^A^o A HISTORY METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH BY NATHAN BANGS, D. D. VOLUME III. FROM THE YEAR 1817 TO THE YEAR 1828- How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob! and thy tabernacles, O Israel!— Numbers xxiv, 5. Behold. I send an Angel before thee— beware of him, and obey his voice ; provoke him not. — If thou shalt indeed obey his voice, and do all that I speak, then I will be an enemy to thine enemies, and an adversary to thine adversa- ries.—Exodus xxiii, 20-22. NEW-YORK : PUBLISHED BY T. MASON AND G. LANE, FOR THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, AT THE CONFERENCE OPFICS, 200 MULBERRY-STREET. J. CoUord, Printer. 1840. Entered according to act of Congress, in the year 1840, by T. Mason & G. Lane, in the clerk's oiRce of the Southern District of New-York. NOTICE TO THE READER. The favorable manner in which the first and second volumes of this History have been received, induces me to add a third, in the hope that it may increase the stock of useful information in reference to the work which God has wrought in this country by the instru- mentality of the Methodist Episcopal Church. In the conclusion of the second volume it was re- marked, that it was my intention, when the History was commenced, to bring it down near to the present time, in two volumes ; but, as I proceeded in the work, it was found impracticable to fulfil this intention, with- out such an abridgment as would. either compel me to omit some important transactions and edifying incidents, or so to shorten them as to render them uninstructive and uninteresting. I was therefore compelled, contrary to my first design, to close the second volume in the year 1816. That this alteration in the plan at first contemplated has been generally approved of, I have evidence from numerous testimonies. Indeed, the greatest fault I have heard, from those who are disposed to judge chari- tably of my work, has been, that it is not sufficiently particular, or that its details are not as numerous as is desired. This defect, however, if it be one, I am una- ble to remedy, as I have, with but few exceptions, wrought up all the materials within my reach, unless I 3 322461 4 A HISTORY OF THB were injudiciously to encumber the volume with irrele- vant matter. The present volume, however, I consider rich in matter, particularly in relation to the doings of the Gene- ral Conference, and to the enlargement of our work by means of our Missionary Society, and other auxiliaiy appliances. And I have endeavored to give such a de- tailed account of the origin, character, and progress of this society as will, if the history be continued on the same plan, supersede the necessity of a separate history of that institution. Indeed, this society, together with the tract, Sunday school, and education causes, is so in- terwoven in our general plan of operations, that a history of our Church would be quite imperfect which did not embrace a narrative of these things. It being desirable to have the alphabetical list of preachers unbroken, it has been thought advisable to transfer that list from the second to the third volume ; and the more so as that volume is sufficiently large without it, containing, as it does, upward of four hun- dred pages. In adverting to this Hst I consider it proper to men- tion the following facts, as furnishing good reasons for an apology for any errors which have been or may be detected, in the spelling of names, dates, or otherwise. 1. In regard to the orthography of proper names I have found insuperable difficulties. The same name I have in frequent instances found differently spelled in the printed Minutes even for the same year — one way perhaps when admitted on trial, and another in the sta- tions— and then the next year differently from either of the two. In this confusion who is to decide which is right? It is true that some names, particularly those 3 METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 9 foutid in the sacred Scriptures — though these are by no means uniformly alike in their orthography in the Old and New Testaments, owing to the different usages of the Hebrew and Greek languages — and in the Greek and Latin classics, have a fixed orthography ; but in most instances proper names are spelled as whim or fancy would dictate^ some families, even of their own accord, either dropping or adding a letter or letters. And this confusion and difficulty exist in a peculiar degree in the United States, made up, as the citizens are, from almost every nation under heaven, and therefore having names, the orthography of which is peculiar to the seve- ral nations from which they came, or to the ancestors from whom they have descended. If any one can un- ravel this tangled skain, and teach us how to spell every proper name correctly, he will perform a task for which I confess myself inadequate. Or if any one will take the Minutes of our conferences and decide which of the varying orthographies of some names is the correct one, he shall receive my thanks, and will merit the thanks of all concerned. But as the secretaries of the annual conferences, editors, and printers were not able to con- trol this perplexing business at the times the Minutes were prepared and printed, I hope to be pardoned if I should fail to make every thing of this sort entirely ac- curate. 2. But this is by no means the most serious difficulty which I have had to encounter. In several instances I have found preachers returned located, and in three in- stances expelled* who were never admitted into full * In one instance I found a preacher returned located and expelled in the same year ! In another, located in one year and expelled the next. 3 6 A HISTORY OF THE connection. Such names I have generally omitted al- together, as I have taken no account of mere probation- ers in the traveUng ministry. 3. In numerous instances I have found that certain preachers were located^ readmitted^ and then located again, twice, thrice, and even four times. In such cases I have, as far as I could ascertain the fact, fixed the date of their location the last time mentioned, with a view to give them credit for at least all the years they may have traveled. On this account, those who may compare the list in this volume — which has been tho- roughly revised — with the one appended to the second, will find that several who were recorded as located be- fore, or in the year 1816, are herein returned as having located at a later date, because they re-entered the tra- veling ministry, continued for a shorter or longer time, and then located again. 4. In a few instances persons have been expelled by an annual conference, and afterward, on an appeal, restored by the General Conference. This may have led to some errors in these returns, though I trust but few. 5. In some instances preachers were continued on trial for more than two years ; and not adverting to that fact while preparing the list for the former volume, and taking their names as they stand recorded in answer to the question, " Who are admitted into full connection ?" such were returned as received a year later than was actually the case. So far as this fact has been ascer- tained, the correction has been made in the present hst. 6. In many cases it has been difficult to ascertain the precise year in which a preacher died. In the body of the History I have, in recording deaths, generally fol- lowed the order of the Minutes, and recorded them as 3 METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 7 having died in the course of the preceding year ; but in the alphabetical list I have endeavored to ascertain the year in which each preacher died. As, however, some of the records are indefinite in this particular, I have been guided by the most probable conjecture. There are, however, I believe, but few cases of this character. When the reader duly considers these perplexing dis- crepances and defects, he will be prepared to make some allowance for the unavoidable errors which grow out of them ; and the more so, when he considers that this History has been written by a hand equally fallible as those which prepared the authorized records. Some unintentional omissions of names in the former volume are supplied in this ; and if others should be de- tected, as doubtless they wiU be, the correction will be made with the more pleasure, because it will add to the perfection of the work. The reader may rest assured, however, that no pains have been spared by either the author or printer to make every thing as accurate as possible; and hence, if errors are detected, he must attribute them to a want of ability, under the circum- stances, to avoid them. To God, who alone is absolutely perfect, but whose boundless mercy inclines him to pardon the aberrations of his creatures, for the sake of his Son Jesus Christ, be ascribed the honor and glory for what he has done for this branch of his Church. N. Bangs. New 'York, Jan. 1, 1839. A HISTORY OF THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. BOOK V. CHAPTER III. From the Death of Bishop Asbury to the Close of the General Confer- ence of 1816. In the closing part of the last volume an incidental aUusion was made to a controversy which arose in this country between us and other denominations, but more particularly the Calvinists. It is well known that not long after Mr. Wesley be- gan his career of usefulness, he was joined by Mr. Whitefield, whose stirring eloquence in the pulpits of the Establishment created a great sensation among both clergy and people, and drew such multitudes to hear him, that he ventured, in imitation of his Divine Mas- ter, into the fields, where he proclaimed the glad tidings of salvation to listening thousands. Wesley soon fol- lowed the example, and gieat was the effect produced by their joint exertions in this novel way of preaching Christ and him crucified. Unhappily, to human appearance, a diflference arose between these two great and good men. Whitefield, being much opposed and persecuted by the lukewarm clergy of the Establishment, gradually contracted an in- 1* 3 10 A. HISTORY OF THE timacy with the Dissenters, and, on his coming to America, became acquainted with the pious and talent- ed Edwards — afterward president of Princeton College — then settled at Northampton, Massachusetts. Find- ing among these people more of the appearance of evan- gelical doctrine, and of experimental and practical piety, than with those of the Establishment, Whitefield soon drank in their doctrine of predestination and its correlatives, eternal election and final perseverance. This led to a controversy between him and Wesley, which eventuated in a partial separation — a separation in their respective fields of labor and sentiment, though not in heart and affection — for they always esteemed each other highly as devoted Christian ministers. This took place in the year 1741, Whitefield rallying under the banner of Calvinistic decrees, patronized by Lady Huntingdon, and supported by many of what were called the evangelical clergy of the Establishment in England, and by the most zealous of the Presbyterians and Congregationahsts of America — while Wesley and his brother Charles hoisted the flag of Arminius, fortify- ing themselves with the standards of their own church, and defending themselves by direct appeals to the Holy Scriptures and the dictates of common sense and sound reason. This brought on a protracted warfare between the parties, both from the pulpit and the press, during which the doctrines and measures of Mr. Wesley passed through the severest ordeal of critical investigation, and most heart-searching appeals to Scripture and reason. This brought the vicar of Madeley, the pious and peace-loving Fletcher, from his retreat in the obscure parish where he had chosen to labor for the salvation 3 METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 11 of souls, and obliged him, quite contrary to his pacific disposition, to buckle on the armor of a polemic, in which he acquitted himself with singular success. He, indeed, seemed to be providentially raised up for the crisis, and he entered the arena of controversy fully fur- nished by sound and various learning, by deep and genuine piety, by meekness, patience, and love, and by a power of comprehension and nice discrimination, which peculiarly fitted him to sustain with dignity, firmness, and success, the high and holy cause he was called to defend. It is not saying too much to afiirm, that he vanquished all his antagonists, cleared the field of controversy of the thorns and briers of error, and at the same time maintained the spirit and temper of the Christian, while he powerfully wielded the sword of truth, and brought the warfare to a successful issue, sus- taining through the entire conflict the character of an able divine, a sound moralist, a consistent minister of Jesus Christ, and an acute and conclusive reasoner. Though assailed often by bitter raihng and biting sarcasm, he maintained the gravity of the minister of Christ and the meekness of the consistent Christian. If at any time he turned the weapon of irony upon his antagonists — as he sometimes did with most powerful effect — it was divested of the venom of bitterness, and dipped in the sw^eet waters of brotherly love. His mas- terly defences of Wesleyan theology remain unanswer- ed, and, it is believed, unanswerable, and will long re- main as a monument of his piety, of his devotion to the cause of truth, as well as a lofty beacon to apprize fu- ture mariners who may embark upon the rough sea of controversy, of the dangerous shoals and rocks upon which so many heedless men have been wrecked — 3 12 A HISTORY OF THE at the same time distinctly and accurately marking the channel of truth through w hich the spiritual ark may be safely guided to the harbor of eternal repose. Armed with the panoply thus furnished them, the Wesleyan missionaries who first visited our shores were prepared to promulgate and defend the doctrines and to enforce the discipline of their founder. As before said, however, they mainly insisted on experimental and practical godhness, urging upon all, high and low, rich and poor, the necessity of a change of heart, such a change as should be productive of a reformation of hfe and conduct, in order to insure everlasting salvation. Instead of exhausting their strength in controversial preaching on those debatable points about which they dif- fered from Calvinists, Unitarians, Arians, and Universal- ists, they generally contented themselves with a plain and unvarnished statement of their doctrinal views, with urging upon the people experimental and practical reli- gion, and with defending themselves when assailed by others. This defence, however, often became necessa- ry, more especially in the northern and eastern states, where the people were more accustomed to a critical ex- amination of doctrinal points, and questions of doubtful disputation. For some time, however, the number of Method- ists in this country was so inconsiderable, that other denominations affected to treat them with silent con- tempt ; and if occasionally they condescended to notice them at all, it was more in the way of caricature and misrepresentation than by sober argument, or an at- tempt at a fair and direct refutation of their doctrine and usages. The High Churchman would sneer at our ordination, and, wrapping himself in the cloak of apos- 3 METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 13 tolical succession, with an air of assumed dignity, prate about " John Wesley's lay bishops," as though these jokes were sufficient to put us out of countenance. Others, panoplied in the stern decrees of Calvin, and priding themselves in their exclusive orthodoxy, would tantalize us with "salvation by the merit of good works, the omnipotency of free-will^ and the unsoundness of our doctrine of justification ;" while some would smile at " baby baptism," as an affiont offered to the Deity, and an innovation upon apostolic usage. These all united to ridicule our itinerant plan of preaching the gospel, as a novelty which must soon come to an end ; and, to give point and poignancy to their sarcasms, our itinerant preachers were called " circuit-riders^^'' as if to ride a circuit were their distinguishing badge, not caring to inform the people whether eis preachers or itinerant phy- sicians. These reproaches were borne with as much patience as possible, and our ministers continued to deserve them more and more by persevering in their peculiar work, and by endeavoring to prove their falsity by a faithful exhibition of the true doctrmes of tlieir church, and also to refute the slanderous representations of their mode of life and manner of preaching, by the exemplariness of their conduct. To those who became intimately ac- quainted with them from personal intercourse, they commended themselves for the depth and uniformity of their piety, as well as by the soundness of their doctrine and the laboriousness of their lives. In all such a con- fidence was inspired in the strictness of their integrity, as well as in the wisdom of their plans of doing good to the souls and bodies of men. But, as before said, these controversies and modes of 3 14 A HISTORY OF THE defence were confined chiefly to the pulpit, and to a re- publication of a few of Wesley's and Fletcher's doctrinal and practical tracts and sermons, the reading of which was confined mostly to our own societies and tlieir im- mediate friends ; we had no wTiters of note on this side the Atlantic, and no periodical through which we could speak to the public ear ; for, as I have before remarked, after the discontinuance of the Arminian Magazine, in 1790 — two volumes only having been published — with the exception of a few straggling pamphlets, which scarcely survived the day of their birth, our press was as silent as the grave in respect to uttering a sentiment from an American author, and the Magazine was not resumed until the year 1818, and even then, as its re- spected editor announced, with much fear and trem- bUng for its success. Yet, as the Methodists increased in number and je- spectability, and their influence upon the public mind was proportionately augmented, other denominations began to awake from their slumber, to look about them for other means than those heretofore used for offensive warfare, as well as to defend themselves against the in- roads which Methodism was making upon their con- gregations, and the impression it produced upon the public mind. For these " circuit-riders" were no idle shepherds. They not only rode circuits, but they " went everywhere preaching the kingdom of God," breaking over parish lines, entering into every open door, and with a loud, distinct voice, proclaiming to all they could prevail on to hear them, that they must " fear God and give glory to his name." Hence the opposition to our distinctive doctrines and modes of pro- cedure became more serious and systematical ; our op- 3 METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 15 ponents began to feel the necessity of meeting us in the field of argument with more fairness ; and instead of drawing ridiculous caricatures for the amusement of themselves and their readers, to state our doctrines as we hold them. This, w^e say, became necessary, for the eyes of the public were becoming somewhat en- lightened in respect to what Wesleyan Methodists really believed and taught, and were thence led to hear, and read, and compare for themselves. The consequence w^as, that the offensive features of Calvinism were be- coming more and more repulsive, and the creed by which its nominal followers were distinguished under- went some modifications, better suited, as was thought, to the temper of the times. Thus, instead of ascribing the final destinies of mankind to an omnipotent decree, the subtle distinction was introduced between the natu- ral and moral abilities of men, making the latter the only potent barrier to the sinner's salvation. This the- ory, w^iich for some time was confined to comparatively few, seems to have been an improvement upon Presi- dent Edwards's system On the Will, and was invented by Dr. Hopkins, of Newport, R. I., and thenceforth called, by way of distinction, Hopkinsianism. This, it was thought by many, would enable them to meet and obviate the objections which were brought against the doctrine of unconditional election and reprobation, by placing the criminahty of all sinful actions in the perversity of the human will, called " moral inability," especially as they contended that the sinner possessed a " natural ahiliti/^ to do all which God required. Hence the doctrine of eternal decrees, as taught by John Cal- vin, though still held in theory, was studiously kept out of sight by those who embraced these new views, and 3 i6 A HISTORY OF THE the theory of " natural ability and moral inability" was substituted in its place. This subtle theory, however, by no means answered the proposed end. The Methodists still insisted that this " natural abihty," however potent, could never overcome the efficient operation of an immutable de- cree, which had fixed the destinies of all mankind before the worlds were made — nor would the moral ability or inability alter that which had been made imalterahle by the eternal fiat of the Almighty. These conflicting theories somewhat changed the points of controversy between the Calvinists and Ar- minians. While Wesley and Fletcher were compelled, from theii- position, to meet their antagonists on the old points of controversy which had been mooted in the Protestant world from the days of John Calvin, his sys- tem had now assumed, under the improving hands of some of his most distinguished followers, so many new traits, that new arguments of defence were called for by the advocates of universal atonement and conditional salvation. Under these circumstances, many, on both sides of these controverted points, thought it their duty to enter the field of theological discussion. This they did with all the ardor of new recruits. And among those who distinguished themselves in conducting this theological warfare, might be mentioned men who had grown gray in the cause of Christ, as well as others of younger years, whose youthful temperament may have betrayed them into a harshness of expression, on some occasions, incompatible with the meekness and soberness of the Christian minister — faults of human beings, for which the Christian system alone provides an adequate atonement and mode of forgiveness. 3 METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 17 At length circumstances led the author of this His- \ory into a public debate with a Presbyterian minister, which was held in the town of Durham, N. Y., May 10, 1810. The discussion involved the " Five Points," so long mooted by Calvinists and Arminians, and some of the other subjects of dispute already indicated. Not long after, the pastor of the congregation in whose church the debate was conducted, the Rev. Ralph Wil- liston, published a volume of sermons, in which he en- tered into a discussion of the topics which had been the subjects of controversy in the public debate, and con- cluded the whole with an examination into the charac- ter of " Satan's ministers," in which it was broadly in- sinuated that our ministers, on several accounts, might be classed under that denomination. As it was thought by many that these sermons gave a distorted view of some of our doctrines, and must exert an injurious in- fluence upon our ministry, a reply was published in 1815, in six letters addressed to the author of the ser- mons, in which an attempt was made to rectify his mistakes, to refute his arguments in favor of the Cal- vinistic and Hopkinsian theory, and to vindicate the doctrines and ministry of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Some portions of these letters were severely animadverted upon by the Rev. Mr. Haskil, of Ver- mont, to which an answer was published in a small book, called " Predestination Examined." Soon after, Mr. Williston sent out a second volume, in reply to the " Errors of Hopkinsianism," the title of the book contain- ing the letters addressed to that gentleman, called " A Vindication of some of the essential Doctrines of the Reformation." This attempt to identify the peculiari- ties of Hopkinsianism with the essential doctrines of the 3 18 A HISTORY OF THE reformers, called forth " The Reformer Reformed," the title being suggested by the impression, that if the Re- formation carried with it errors of such a pernicious consequence, ais it was believed must flow from the doc- trine of an ejfficient operation of universal and immu- table decrees, the Reformation itself needed reforming — a sentiment not retracted on more mature con- sideration. It by no means becomes me to express an opinion of the character or results of this protracted discussion, though I may be allowed to indulge a hope that it had its use in bringing our doctrines more prominently be- fore the public, in rectifying some erroneous impressions respecting our ministry and usages, and in awakening public attention to the precise points of difference be- tween us and our Calvinistic brethren. The subject, however, has been thus introduced here, because these things belong properly to the history of the tunes, and also to show the position we occupied in the ecclesias- tical affairs of the country, as well as the duties which seemed to devolve on us to defend, as far as we were able, our doctrines and usages from all unjust imputa- tions. It will be found in the sequel that we were called upon to sustain an arduous conflict with our brethren of other denominations, as well as with some of our own household, who, for various reasons, "went out from us," in order to rescue our ministry from reproach, and our doctrines, government, and usages from the nume- rous objections which were preferred against them. Another thing tended about this time to direct our attention to the general state of the religious affairs in our country. Allusion has already been made to the ^' Charitable Society for the Education of pious Young 3 METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 19 Men for the Ministry of the Gospel," and of the com- mission which was sent to explore the western country, and to report the religious siate of things in that portion of our republic. To awaken public attention to the necessity and im- portance of sustaining this society, Dr. Lyman Beecher, in behalf of the society, issued an address to the churches, calling on them for pecuniary aid, to support and educate indigent pious young men for the ministry, assigning, among other reasons, the peculiar fitness of such young men, from their more hardy character and habits of life, to enter upon this rugged field of labor. To make the deeper and more powerful impression upon the Christian community in favor of the object proposed, the address went into a statistical account of the religious state of the several portions of our country, and concluded by a most rousing appeal to the sympa- thies and liberality of the people in behalf of the Educa- tion Society. In describing the moral and spiritual desolations of these United States, the address disclosed the astounding fact, that, in addition to those already in the services of the sanctuary, there were wanting ^^Jive thousand competent ministers," to supply the entire population of our country with the word and ordinances of the gospel. At the announcement of this fact, the Christian com- munity awoke as from a deep slumber. They began to look around them for the data on which this calcula- tion was founded. On examination, it was ascertained that the address assumed the necessity of one minister to every one thousand souls — that, as there were at the time eight millions of inhabitants in the United States and territories, and as there were, says the 3 20 A HISTORY OF THE address, only three thousand educated ministers in the land, there remained five millions of the inhabitants destitute of a competent ministry. This was an alarm- ing conclusion. Among others who published strictures on this strange production, the late Rev. Freeborn Garrettson wrote a small pamphlet, in which he showed the effect which the statements set forth in the address must have upon other denominations. He, as well as others who ex- amined the statistics of Dr. Beecher, concluded that he meant to exclude all other ministers than those of the Calvinistic order from being " competent" to the work in which they were engaged ; for, on a very moderate calculation, there were even then more than three thou- sand ministers belonging to the Presbyterian, Dutch Reformed, and Congregational churches ; and it is be- lieved that among the Baptist, Lutheran, Protestant, and Methodist Episcopal Churches, without saying any thing of the minor sects, there were more than five thousand ministers, many of whom would by no means suffer from a comparison with their brethren of the other denominations ; hence, allowing the accuracy of this calculation, there was at that very time more than one minister for every one thousand human souls ; the irresistible conclusion therefore was, that the address excluded from the catalogue of competent ministers all except those who belonged to one or the other of the Calvinistic churches above named. And this conclusion is strengthened by the fact, th^^ the address dwelt so emphatically upon the necessity of " an educated min- istry" as being essential to the efficient discharge of its duties, as it is well known that most of the other churches, however highly they might appreciate human 3 METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 31 learning, do not consider it an essential prerequisite to a gospel ministry. Such a disclosure of opinions, so deeply implicating the character and competency of so many ministers, many of whom had furnished the most irrefutable evi- dence of their efficiency in spreading the doctrines of God our Saviour, taken in connection with the report from the commission sent to explore our western coun- try, might well alarm the apprehensions of all con- cerned ; and hence a deep tone of dissatisfaction was heard throughout the churches, and a general burst of indignation against the assumptions of the address was simultaneously expressed by the several denominations who felt that their ministry were proscribed by its un- warrantable conclusions. The zeal, too, with which the address urged its claims upon the churches more immediately interested in its objects, showed that a mighty effort was making to carry into practical effect its comprehensive plans. As an evidence of this take the following extract : — " To produce such a combination and such an effort, the wretched state of our country must be made known. The information contained in this address may with propriety, it is believed, be communicated on the sabbath to all our worshiping assemblies, and the investigation commenced in it be continued, until a regular and minute account be given of the religious state of our land. The newspaper, the tract, and magazine must disclose to our slumbering countrj-men their danger. The press must groan in the communication of our wretchedness ; and from every pul- pit in our land the tmmpet must sound long and loud. The nation must be awakened to save itself by its own ener- gies, py we are undone." a 22 A. HISTORY OF THE We have no right, nor have we any wish, to decide upon the character of men's motives, any farther than their words and actions proclaim it. And allowing that tlie end proposed by the gentlemen who wrote and sanctioned this address was purely the salvation of souls from sin, and the salvation of our country from its ruinous consequences, the means used were highly laudable, and the stirring language of the address, a fair sample of which is found in the preceding extract, was admirably calculated to arouse the slumbering ener- gies of the church to a zealous activity in the cause of reform. Yet it could not but seem somewhat strange to us, that they should not have awakened to this all-im- poitant subject until just then — at a time too when other denominations, and particularly the Methodists, had been blessed with the most extensive revivals of religion which had been witnessed in any age or land since the apostolic days. This is fully attested by the preceding volume of this History. Were the authors of this address ignorant of these facts ? We had reason to believe that it was a knowledge of them which aroused their dormant energies, and led them just then to put forth their strength to counteract the growing in- fluence of Methodism. For it was to the western country chiefly, and in the southern states, that this society were about to direct their efforts to supply the lack of ministerial service. And it was in the west more especially that our ministry had been so abun- dantly blessed. It was here, where the inhabitants from the older states and from Europe were pouring in with unparalleled rapidity, that, through the agency of camp meetings, and a general itinerant ministry, Me- thodism had already wrought wonders, and was still 3 METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 23 going forward, keeping pace with the extension of the settlements, and bowing the hearts of sinners to the yoke of Jesus Christ. Had we not, therefore, reason to suspect that our ministry especially were denounced as incompetent, and that the fear was the country would become deluged with the bitter waters issuing from the corrupt fountain of Methodism ! Whether true or false, such was the impression, and therefore, in con- junction with others who felt themselves deeply impU- cated by the assumptions of this remarkable address, we felt ourselves authorized to enter our protest against its doctrines, and to furnish the people with an antidote to its injurious insinuations. This, as I have before said, was done by Mr. Garrettson ; and the following extract from his pamphlet will show the successful manner in which he exposed and refuted the erroneous calculations of the address. Addressing himself directly to Dr. Beecher, he thus shows the fallacy of his arguments : — " You have placed your church in Connecticut on the highest scale among the several states in the Union. You have given a short history of it, and have, in your way, prostrated the southern part of our country. Probably you are a native of Connecticut; I was born in Maryland; and as you have, among other southern states, imdertaken to degrade the religious character of the people of this state, I am willing to compare them with those of your state. I am well acquainted with almost every part of both ; and as you have fixed your eye on the Congrega- tional Church in Connecticut, I shall fix mine on the Methodist Episcopal Church in Maryland. " You say that you have upward of 200 congregations, averaging 50 members each, making about 10,000 church members. I have looked over our church records, and 3 24 A HISTORY OP THE find that we have in Maryland* more than 25,000 church members, who have the pure word of God preached, and the sacraments duly administered." It was, moreoveFj the opinion of many, that the ad- dress had a political object in view. This opinion was founded on the following extract, taken in connection with the conclusion which seems to be warranted from the general tenor of the address, that ministers of other denominations were proscribed as being incompetent. After speaking of the defective character of the general government, on account of its not containing adequate provisions for its own permanency, the address adds : — " A remedy must be applied to this vital defect of our national organization. But what shall that remedy be "? There can be but one. The consolidation of the state governments would be a despotism. But the prevalence of pious, intelligent, enterprising ministers through the nation, at the ratio of one for a thousand, would establish schools, and academies, and colleges, and habits and insti- tutions of homogeneous influence. These would produce a sameness of views, and feelings, and interests, which would lay the foundation of our empire on a rock. Reli- gion is the central attraction which must supply the defi- * Dr. Beecher had represented the state of Maryland as being in a most deplorable condition. After having said that Virginia, with a population of 974,622, needed 900 ministers in addition to the 60 it already had to make up the one for every 1,000 of the inhabitants, he says, " Of the state of Ma- ryland we cannot speak particularly. But from general information on the subject, we have no reason to beheve the supply any better than that of Virginia;" that is, as 60 to 900. He must therefore have considered either that the Methodists were not worthy to be included among Christian ministers and members of the church, or otherwise greatly depreciated the religious character of the state of Maryland. 8 MEf ttODtST EPISCOPAL CHtJftCtt. 25 ciency of political affinity and interest. Religion is the bond of charity, which in storms must u.ndergird the ship.'' We accord to the soundness of these sentiments, pro- vided they apply to Christianity as a system of universal good-will to men, and as designed and calculated to connect the hearts of all together in one common brotherhood, and finally to produce, by its action on the lieart and conductj a conformity to its holy precepts. But the general contents and manifest tendency of the address seemed to forbid such a construction, and to place its authors in the position of strong eectarists, who were laboring to build up a particular denomination at the expense of all the rest. This " homogeneous influ- ence"— ^this "sameness of views, and feelings, and interests," were to be produced by the multiplication of "educated and competent ministers," who should be trained up in the school of this society, who should receive their lessons of instruction from Andover, and thence go out clothed with authority to propagate Cal- vinism, whether under the form of the Old or Nevv School Divinity, whether in the guise of Congregational or Presbyterian theology ; while it appeared manifest that all others were proscribed as heterodox and incom- petent, and therefore could not contribute to throw around the national ship, in time of a tempest, the strong cords of pure religion, and thus save the nation from a political wreck. We do not indeed say that this was the real design of the authors of this address ; but if it were not, it was most unhappily worded, and should have been either corrected or disavowed, neither of which, so far as is known to the present writer, has ever been done, although I believe that the inferences which were Vol. III.— 3 38 A MISTORV OF tME drawn from it, and the general indignation it produced in a great portion of the religious community, caused its authors to withdraw it from circulation.* Thus nuicli I have thought it a duty to say in respect to this contioveray, because of its immediate bearing on the interests of our Church, and its more remote tendency upon its future history. It certainly tended to keep a,live the fire of contention between us and the Calvinistic churches, and thus to widen the breach already existing between the two great families, the Calvinists and Arminians. There was another event of general interest which occurred this year, and which had a favorable bearing upon our affairs, particularly in the state of Connecticut. In this state the original charter, which was received from the king of England on the first settlement of the counUy, had been the only constitution the state had possessed up to the time of which we now speak. It is well known that in the early settlement of that colony, provision was made by law that no person * Dr. Beecher, who wrote the address, in a conversation with the writer of this History, remarked, that he had been misunderstood, and therefore had suffered much abuse from the public press, on account of the sentiments set forth in the address. It was asked, " Why, then, do you not explain yourself, and set the public right ?" The reply was, " I cannot do it without making matters worse." From this it was inferred that he found himself in a dilemma, from which he could not extricate himself without offending one party or the other. I think it, however, but justice to say, that he disavowed any intention of producing any other political influence than what should arise from a religious purification of the moral atmosphere, so that men should come to the polls under the restraints of Christian principles ; and that by an educated ministry he did not mean a collegiate, but only a theological education. 3 METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 27 should vote at an election, or hold a civil office, unless he were a member of the church. This severe and impolitic law was afterward so far relaxed as to allow those who joined the " half-way covenant," in order to obtain Christian baptism for their children, to be eh^ble to civil offices, and to exercise the right of suffiage. Still, however, the law was exclusive in its demands, making it essential, in order to possess civil rights, to be either in the '• half-way covenant," that is, members of the Congregational society, or otherwise to become full members of that church. By these civil regula- tions the Congregationalists were established by law, and were supported by a regular tax, while other sects were held under civil disabilities, being obliged, in addition to supporting themselves, to contribute their quota for the maintenance of tlie established clergy, at the same time that they were disfranchised from the privileges of freemen, by an exclusion from all offices of trust and profit. Nor could the clergy of the Dissenters perform the rites of matrimony even for members of their own congregations. These severe and unjust regulations were so far modified from time to time as to allow those who belonged to dissentient sects the piivilege of depositing a certificate in the town clerk's office of their having separated themselves from the '^standmg order," and they were thereby exempted from paying ministerial tax for the maintenance of the estabHshed clergy. They were also entitled to hold offices in the state, and to vote at the elections. Such was the general state of things in Connecticut, when some circumstances happened which resulted in the overthrow of this legal hierarchy, and placed all the 28 A HISTORY OF THE religious sects upon an equal standing, both in civil and religious affairs. During the war of 1812-1815, the militia of that state were called out, by order of the general govern- ment, to defend the people against the apprehended depredations of the enemy. The authorities of the state, however, refused to let their militia sevwe under United States' officers, but they were marshalled under those appointed by the state. The consequence was, that the general government refused to pay the expense of the campaign. After the restoration of peace, the state of Connecticut petitioned Congress to refund the amount which the state had expended in paying for the services of the militia during the late war, a pait of which was granted by the general government, and paid into the treasury of the state. The legislature of Connecticut, with a view to conciliate all parties, resolved that the money thus refunded should be divided among the several religious denominations, which was accordingly done; but, in the estimation of the Protestant and Methodist Episcopalians and Baptists, the division was so unequal, such an undue proportion being given to the Congregationalists, that they took offence, some of them refusing to receive what was awarded to them, and all united to protest against the proceedings as illiberal, unequal, and unjust. This led to a union of effort between the dissatisfied denominations against the standing order ; and, seizing upon the occasion as an auspicious moment to assert their rights, they suc- ceeded in calling a state convention, by which the old charter of Charles II. was abrogated, a bill of riglits pro- mulgated, and a new constitution framed and adopted, which aboUshed church taxes and exclusive privileges, 3 1816.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 29 and put all sects upon an equality in respect to civil and religious rights; and thus they enfranchised the proscribed portion of the conununity, making all alike dependant on the voluntary principle for the support of the clergy and other incidents of divine worship. This result was hailed as an auspicious period by the friends of equal rights, both in and out of the churches, as it did away the odious distinction between the privileged order, who had been so long established by law, and the various sects which had sprung up in the state, some of whom were nearly as numerous as were the Congiegationalists themselves, and, when united with the others, formed a decided majority. This was breaking the last link of legal tyranny in religious matters in our country — with the exception, perhaps, of some of its relics which are dangling upon the civil code of Massachusetts — by proclaiming to all the rights of conscience, according to the laws of nature, of God, and the fundamental principles of our national constitution. Having noticed these matters, because they had and still have a bearing upon our history, I shall now pro- ceed in the narration of the affairs of our Church in their regular order. The death of Bishop Asbury, as related in the pre- ceding chapter, left us with only one superintendent, Bishop M'Kendree, and he was in a very delicate state of health. He continued, however, to discharge his official duties, and was much supported in his labors by the good countenance of his brethren in the ministry and membership. The number of Church members for 1816 shows that the increase was small, as the country had not yet 3 30 A HISTORY OF THE [1816. fully recovered from the shock it had received fiom the late war, nor was the spirit of revival and reformation in that holy and vigorous exercise, by which it had shown itself at some former periods. Indeed, a dis- putatious spirit, in respect to some points of church government, engrossed too much of the time and atten- tion of many, it is to be feared, to the neglect of the " weightier matters of the law, judgment, justice, and the love of God." Numbers in the Church. Whites. Colored. Total. Preacbere. This year 171,931 42,304 214,235 695 Last year 167,978 43,187 211,165 704 Increase 3,953 Dec. 883 In. 3,070 Dec. 9 It will be perceived from the above that there was a decrease of nearly nine hundred colored members. This was owing to a defection among the colored people in the city of Philadelphia, by which upward of one thou- sand in that city withdrew from our Church and set up for themselves, with Richard Allen, a colored local preacher — an elder in the Methodist Episcopal Church — at their head. We have already had occasion to notice the labors of the Methodist ministry in behalf of ihe colored popula- tion of our country, both free and enslaved. Many thousands had become members of the Church, and were in general orderly and exemplary in their conduct ; and some of those who were free had acquired \vealth and respectabihty in the community. Among these converted negroes a considerable number, possessing gifts for the edification of their- brethren, had received 3 1816.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 31 license to preach, and several had been ordained dea- cons, and a few to the office of local elders. Among the latter was Richard Allen, of Philadel- phia. By habits of industry and economy, though born a slave in one of the southern states, he had not only procured his freedom, but acquired considerable wealth, and, since he had exercised the office of a preacher and an elder, obtained great influence over his brethren in the Church. By his assistance, and the assistance of their white brethren, they had built them a decent house of worship, and were regu- larly organized into a Christian church, according to our disciplinary regulations, and were put under the pastoral oversight of a white elder, stationed by the bishop presiding in the Philadelphia conference. Under this state of things all seemed to go on well and prosperously. Mutual affection and confidence between the white and colored congregations, not in that city only, but also in most of the populous cities and villages in the Union, promised the most happy results of their united endeavors to promote their tem- poral and spiritual welfare. This harmony, however, was, by some untoward circumstances, interrupted. Mutual distrust and dissatisfaction succeeded, until finally Allen, and those who had been brought under his influence, separated themselves from the Methodist Episcopal Church. This occurred in the month of April, 1816. At the secession they organized themselves into an independent body, imder the title of the "African Me- thodist Episcopal Church," adopting our doctrines as their standards, and, as far as their circumstances would seem to allow, our form of discipline for their govern- 3 32 A HISTORY OF THE [1816. ment. At their first General Conference, held in April of this year, Richard Allen was elected to the office of a bishop, and was consecrated by prayer and the imjxisi- tion of the hands of five colored local elders, one of whom, Absalom Jones, was a priest of the Protestant Episcopal Church. Though the circumstances which led to this secession produced some exasperation of spirit on both sides, at the time, yet it is stated by one of their first ministers, that they have prospered considerably in various parts of the country. At their conference in 1828, one of their elders, Morris Brown, was elected and ordained a joint superintendent v/ith Richard Al- len ; and after the death of the latter, in 1 836, Edward Walters was set apart with the usual forms of conse- cration, as a joint superintendent with Mr. Brown. Whether they are better or worse off than they would have been had they remained in connection with the Church and ministry to which they were indebted for their spiritual and ecclesiastical existence, is move than we have the means of knowing. Be this as it may, the secession created for the time considerable uneasiness among our colored congregations in New- York city and some other places, which resulted in their separation also, although they did not all arrange themselves under the banners of Allen. They adopted the itinerant mode of preaching, and have spread themselves in different parts of Pennsylvania, New- York, New- Jersey, Mary- land, and Delaware states, though it is believed that their congregations, out of the city of Philadelphia, are generally small, and not very influential. There are also some in the western states, and a few in Upper Canada. The exact number belonging to this party I have not been able to ascertain. 3 1816.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 33 In the more southern states, the " Allenites^^ as they were called, by way of distinction, could make no favorable impression, as their preachers were not recognized by the laws of the states, and the slave population who were members of our Church had the character of our white ministry pledged as a guarantee for their good behavior. General Conference of 1816. This conference assembled in the city of Baltimore, on the first day of May of this year, and was composed of the following delegates : — New -York Conference. Freeborn Garrettson, William Phoebus, Nathan Bangs, Ebenezer Washburn, Eben Smith, Nathan Emory, Elijah Woolsey, Samuel Draper, Samuel Merwin, Peter P. Sandford, Henry Stead, Aaron Hunt, William Anson, Laban Clark, Thomas Ware, Daniel Ostrander. New-England Conference. George Pickering, Philip Munger, Joshua Soule, Elijah Redding, Oliver Beale, Martin Ruter, Asa Kent, Isaac Puffer, George Gary, Abner Chase, Henry Ryan, George Harman, Joseph A. Merrill, Solomon Sias, Charles Virgin, Eleazar Wells, David Kilbom. Genesee Conference. Dan Barnes, Seth Mattison, Chandley Lambert, Charles Giles, William Case. 2* 34 James Quinn, Charles Holliday, Marcus Lindsay, Jacob Young, Peter Cartwright Samuel Sellers, Lewis Myers, Daniel Asbury, Joseph Tarpley, William M. Kennedy, Thomas Mason, Hilliard Judge, Samuel Dunwody, Philip Bruce, William Jean, Thomas Burge, Edward Cannon, Cannellum H. Hines, Nelson Reed, Enoch George A HISTORY OF THE Ohio Conference. Samuel Parker, Isaac Quinn, David Young, John Sale, Benjamin Lakin. Tennessee Conference. James Axley, Jesse Walker, Thomas L. Douglass. South Carolina Conference. Anthony S enter, John B. Glenn, James Norton, Solomon Brj'an, Henry Bass, Reuben Tucker, Alexander Talley. Virginia Conference. John C. Ballew, Ethelbert Drake, Thomas Moore, Minton Thrift, INIatthew M. Dance. Baltimore Conference. Thomas Burch, William Ryland, Asa Shin, Jacob G ruber, Hamilton Jefferson, Christopher Frye, Beverly Waugh. [1816. Joshua Wells, Henry Smith, Stephen G. Roszel, Alfred Griffith, Andrew Hemphill, Philadelphia Conference. Robert Roberts, George WooUey, 1816.J METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 36 Lawrence McCombs, Stephen Martindale, Solomon Sharp, Asa Smith, Joseph Totten, Henry Boehm, John Walker, John Emory, Sylvester Hill, William Bishop. John Sharpley. The first thing which arrested the attention of all, and which seemed to spread a melancholy gloom over the house, was the absence of our venerated senior bishop, whose death and character I have recorded in the preceding volume. After making preparations for the removal of his remains from the place of their first sepulture, his valedictory address was read to the conference, which appeared to have been left in an unfinished state, con- taining merely the heads of what he would probably have drawn out at greater length, had his declining health permitted. It shows, however, the same intense and enlarged desire for the permanency and prosperity of the Church by which he had so long been character- ized, expressed in his usually sententious style, and con- cluded with an earnest exhortation to the conference to hold fast the doctrines and discipline under the influ- ence of which they had been hitherto bound together, blessed, and prospered. After the conference was organized, by the appoint- ment of a secretary, and attending to the usual prelimi- nary business. Bishop M'Kendree, who, by the death of Bishop Asbury, was the only surviving superintendent, delivered to tlie conference an address — a copy of which I have not been able to find — on the general state of the work, and the necessity of adding strength to the episcopacy. He also made such suggestions as 3 36 A HISTORY OF THE [1816. he thought fit in respect to future movementg for tlie general peace and prosperity of our extended work. This address, and Bishop Asbury's valedictory, were referred to appropriate committees, the reports of which will be noticed in due time. The Rev. Messrs. Black and Bennett, of Nova Scotia, attended this conference as delegates from the British conference, in order to adjust, if possible, certain difficul- ties which had arisen in Canada, particularly in the lower province, out of what had taken place during the late war. As this sanguinary conflict had occasioned a temporary separation between us and the brethren in that country, the societies in Montreal and Quebec had petitioned the mission committee in London to supply them with preachers, and their petition had been granted and preachers sent. This occasioned some uneasiness in the minds of our preachers in that coun- try, and led to unhappy collisions between the two bodies of Methodists, which resulted finally in the sepa- ration of the Methodists in those provinces from the jurisdiction of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and their union with the Wesleyan Methodists in Eng- land. Some correspondence had taken place between our bishops and the Wesleyan Methodist conference, in relation to this unhappy affair; and at this General Conference the following letter was received from the missionary committee of London, and submitted to the conference, in connection with communications from the Rev. Messrs. Black and Bennett, in behalf of the British connection, and Rev. Messrs. Ryan and Case, in behalf of the brethren in Canada. The letter, which foll3ws, it appears, was addressed to Bishop Asbury, in 3 1816.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 37 answer to one they had received from him. It is as follows : — "New Chapel, City Road, London, Feb. 7, 1816. " Very Dear Sir : — It is by the particular request of the last British conference that we, as members of the missionary committee, address you, and our brethren in the United States, whom we very highly esteem as fellow- citizens of the saints, and fellow-laborers in the vineyard of our common Lord ; most fervently wishing that peace, righteousness, and joy in the Holy Ghost may abound in you and by you, to the praise of God and the glory of his grace. " On reading your last very kind and affectionate letter, we sympathized with you, knowing how much it must have affected your mind, after being favored with so much spiritual prosperity, to have to lament a ' decrease of members in your societies ;' but we trust, since it hath pleased Divine Providence to cause the terrors of war to cease, and to restore the invaluable blessing of peace be- tween the two countries, that by this time you hail the dawn of a more auspicious day, and see the returning glory of the Lord revealed, and the quickening power of the Spirit diffusing its reviving influence, and that the voice of joy and rejoicing is heard in the congregations of the righteous. Glory to God in the highest, peace upon earth, and good-will toward men. Our united prayer and suppli- cation for you is, O Lord, we beseech, O Lord, we beseech, send now prosperity ! " It is with gratitude to the Lord of all that we can say, he is still extending his kingdom among us, by the instru- mentality of the preached word ; and his servants have had much consolation in their labors, by seeing sinners powerfully convinced of sin, penitents born of God, and believers sanctified by the Spirit. God has lately been 3 38 A HISTORY OF THE [1816. reviving his work in various places, particularly in the city of Bristol, at SaHsbur>', &c. : in the former place several hundreds have been brought to the knowledge of God their Saviour. We can assure you we love this ' good, old-fashioned religion,' of a deep conviction for sin, a clear sense of justification by faith, and entire sanc- tification of the soul from all moral pollution, as well, if not better than ever. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us, and does even now bless us, with these spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ Jesus : and we ever pray with increasing desire, ' Thy kingdom come.' Our blessed Lord has greatly favored us with success in our missionary efforts, particularly in our new stations in the eastern world, Cey- lon, &;c., though this has been attended with its afflictive circumstances. Since the death of our venerable, highly esteemed, and much lamented friend and brother. Dr. Coke, our beloved brother Ault has been removed from a sphere of useful labor to his great reward. The other brethren are still preserved in their useful labors. A Bud- dhist priest of considerable learning has been converted to Christianity, and is now engaged in translating the Scrip- tures into two of the native languages. Several Moormen or Mohammedans have also received the truth, and are becoming useful preachers of the word of life ; and thou- sands of the poor heathen flock to hear the joyful tidings of the gospel. Our missionaries have begun to build a large chapel, house, school, printing-office, &:c., at Columbo, and have received the liberal support of the inhabit- ants. These buildings are to cost seven thousand dollars, six thousand of which have been already subscribed by the inhabitants. We have lately sent five more missiona- ries to that quarter of the globe, and one more is shortly to sail for Bombay. Thus the Lord is enlarging his king- dom, ' even from the rivers to the ends of the earth.' 1816.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 39 " We rejoice in the ardent Christian affection you ex- press toward your brethren in this country ; and be assured they entertain the same lively feelings and sentiments of brotherly love tOAvard you and your fellow-laborers in the Lord ; and should we be favored with a visit from you or them, it would give us inexpressible pleasure to give you the right hand of fellowship, and every expression of our sincere Christian regard. " To preserve a mutual good understanding, and the unity of the Spirit, and, as far as possible, a co-operation in promoting the good work of the Lord, we feel it our duty to state to you a subject of local difference, which to us has been painful, and which we feel a delicacy in stating, but to which we are compelled from the necessity of the case, that the word of the Lord be not hindered. In consequence of application being made to the British con- ference from the society at Montreal, a missionary was sent to that place, and received as the messenger of the gospel of peace ; but we are sorry to learn that some mis- understanding has taken place between brothers Strong and Williams, our missionaries, >nd brother Ryan, your presiding elder /or Lower Canada.') From the former we have received a statement of their proceedings, and from the latter a letter of complaint. We have also received a letter from brother Bennett, the chairman of the Nova Sdt)tia district, who has visited Montreal, &;c., and reported to us his proceedings. Upon a review of the whole, and from the most serious and deliberate consideration, we are led to conclude that, considering the relative situation of the inhabitants of Montreal and of Canada to this country, and particularly as a principal part of the people appear to be in favor of oiu: missionaries, it would be for their peace and comfort, and the furtherance of the gospel, for our brethren to occupy those stations, especially the former, and to which we conceive we have a claim, as a consider- 3 40 A HISTORY OF THE [1816. able part of the money for building the chapel and house was raised in this country. We trust our American bre- thren will see the propriety of complying with our wishes with respect to those places ; not' to mention their political relation to this country, which, however, is not of little importance, for we are conscious that their general habits and prejudices are in favor of English preachers, being more congenial to their views and feelings, which should certainly be consulted, and will tend to facilitate the suc- cess of the gospel, and their spiritual prosperity. As your and our object is mutually to diffuse the knowledge of Him whose kingdom is not of this world, and by every possible means to promote the immortal interests of men, let us not contend — we have one Master, even Christ — but give place to each other, that the word of the Lord may have free course, run, and be glorified. We cannot but hope, that from the contiguity of the labors of the brethren be- longing to the two conferences, the spirit of unity and love will be promoted, and by this measure a more perfect reciprocal intercourse established. As you have kindly invited our esteemed brethren, Messrs. Black and Bennett, to take a seat in your conference, we have directed them to pay you a visit at Baltimore for this purpose, and to amicably arrange and settle this business, whom we trust you will receive as our representatives and as brethren. " Praying that our mutual love may abound yet more and more, and that we may ever enjoy and rejoice in each other's prosperity, till the whole earth is filled with the glory of God, we remain your truly affectionate brethren in Christ Jesus. (Signed for and in behalf of the committee.) "James Wood, Treasurer^ Joseph Benson, 3 James Buckley, Secretary.''^ 1816.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 41 This letter, together with the written and verbal communications from the brethren above mentioned, was referred to a committee, and the following report, which was concurred in by the conference, will show the result of their labors : — " The committee appointed by the General Conference to confer with Messrs. Black and Bennett, delegates ap- pointed by the London Methodist Missionary Society to represent the British connection to this conference, and, if possible, to make an amicable adjustment of certain dif ferences between our Church and the British connection, relative to Upper and Lower Canada, beg leave to submit the following report, viz. : — " 1. Your committee have had several friendly inter- views with the above-mentioned delegates on those sub- jects, and they are happy to state that there appears to be an earnest desire to have all existing difficulties terminated to the peace and mutual satisfaction of both parties, and to perpetuate the Christian union and good understanding which have hitherto existed. " 2. It appears from written communications, as well as from verbal testimony, that unhappy dissensions have taken place in Montreal between certain missionaries sent (at the request of a few official members of the society in that place, in time of the last war) by the London Missionary Society, and some American preachers, which have ter- minated in the division of that society. " 3. Although the late hostilities between the two coun- tries separated, for some time, those provinces from the immediate superintendency of the Methodist Episcopal Church in America, yet all the circuits (except Quebec) were as regularly supplied as circumstances would admit of with American preachers. "4. It furthermore appears, from written and verbal 3 42 A HISTORV OF THE [1816. cominuiiicalions, that it is the desire of the great majority of the people in Upper and Lower Canada to be supplied, as heretofore, with preachers from the United States. " 5. In the two provinces there are twelve circuits and one station, (Montreal,) which have eleven meeting-houses, which have been hitherto supplied by American preachers. " These things being duly considered, together with the contiguity of those provinces to the western and northern parts of the United States, your committee respectfully submit the following resolutions : " Resolved by the delegates of the Annual Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, in General Conference assembled, " 1. That we cannot, consistently with our duty to the societies of our charge in the Canadas, give up any part of them, or any of our chapels in those provinces, to the superintendence of the British connection. " 2. That a respectful letter be addressed to the London Methodist Missionaiy Society, explaining the reasons for the above resolution." A letter was accordingly addressed to the missionary committee of London, explanatory of the reasons which led to the conclusions stated in the above report, and requesting that the preachers of each connection might be permitted to occupy in peace their respective fields of labor; but, whatever might have been the pacific disposition of the two bodies of Methodists in Great Britain and the United States, and however sincere and ardent their desire for mutual good understanding and brotherly affection, there were local feelings existing in the societies in some places, particularly in Montreal and Kingston, which could not be so easily satisfied ; hence the society in the former place remained in a divided state, one party being supplied from England, 3 1816.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 43 and the other from the United States : and thus Judah continued to vex Ephraim, until, after a lapse of some years, an amicable arrangement was made between the British and American connection. It was beyond all controversy that the present state of the work required an additional number of bishops. Accordingly the com- mittee on the episcopacy reported as follows in reference to this subject, which was concurred in by the conference : " 1. It is the opinion of your committee that the state of the superintendency, in consequence of the ever to be lamented death of our venerable father. Bishop Asbury, and the impaired state of the health of Bishop M'Ken- dree, and the increasing extent of the work, is such as to require immediate and adequate strengthening ;" and hence they recommended that ^- two additional bishops be elected and consecrated." On May 14, Eiioch George and Robert Richford Roberts were elected by ballot, the former having fifty-seven and the latter fifty-five votes out of one hundred and six that were cast. They were accordingly consecrated in due form, and, after the adjournment of conference, entered upon their pecuhar work with zeal and energy. The effect of the numerous locations on the ministry, and the want of more efficient means for its intellectual improvement, induced this conference to appoint a com- mittee to take these subjects into consideration, and, if practicable, provide an adequate remedy. And as the report of this committee, and the action of the confer- ence thereon, had a very important bearing upon these interests, the report, as it was adopted by the conference, is given entire. " The committee of ways and means, appointed to provide a more ample support of the ministry among us, to prevent 44 A HISTORY OF THE [1816. locations, and the admission of improper persons into the itinerancy, have taken the subjects committed to them under serious consideration. They have found, with se- rious concern and deep regret, that, in the present state of things, there exist many evils, which threaten to under- mine that system of itinerating preaching which, under the blessing of God, has been so successful in spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ. " 1. The small pittance allowed to our preachers, and, in many places, the inefficient means used to insure even that, we conceive to be one reason why so many of our useful ministers are induced to locate. Groaning under the pressure of poverty now, and looking forward to a su- perannuated state, without adequate means afforded them for a comfortable support in the decline of life, they sink under the melancholy prospect, and reluctantly retire from the field, that they may provide a morsel of bread for them- selves, their wives, and children. " 2. The many locations, from these and other causes, have a manifest tendency to weaken and embarrass the itinerancy, by obliging us to fill up the vacancies with per- sons not competent to the work assigned them, and to commit the administration, in some of its important branches, to the hands of young and inexperienced men. " 3. To the same causes we may attribute the many partial locations, that is, families of traveling preachers which are immovably fixed. Their scanty allowance fur- nishes an excuse (whether justifiable or not, your com- mittee presume not to determine) for combining farming, mercantile business, &c., with the ministration of God's word. This practice, in the opinion of your committee, exceedingly embarrasses the general superintendency, in the frequent changes which, in the discharge of its duty, are unavoidable. In consequence of this, either those whose families are thus located must be subject to distant 1816.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 45 removals from their families, or others must be exposed to the inconvenience of frequent and distant removals, to make way for those who are in this partially located state, " 4. We perceive a manifest defect among us, occa- sioned in some measure by the multiplicity of locations, in regard to ministerial qualifications. Although a collegiate education is not, by your committee, deemed essential to a gospel ministry, yet it appears absolutely necessary for every minister of the gospel to study to show himself ap- proved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed. Every one, therefore, who would be useful as a minister in the Church, should, to a sincere piety and laudable zeal for the salvation of souls, add an ardent de- sire for useful knowledge ; — he should strive by every lawful means t^ imbue his mind with ever)-' science which is intimately connected with the doctrine of salvation by Jesus Christ, and which will enable him to understand and illustrate the sacred Scriptures. But the early de- parture of many from the work of the ministry among us^ of those whose piety, zeal, talent, and mental improve- ment justified the expectation of their extensive usefulness in the Church, and the manifest indifference of some who remain with us to this important branch of ministerial duty, thus stripping the Church of some of its brightest orna- ments, not only exposes her nakedness, but loudly calls for the prompt and vigorous interference of the General Con- ference. To obviate these evils, and to secure to the Church a succession of holy, zealous, and useful minis- ters, becomes at this time, in the humble opinion of your committee, the imperious duty of this conference. To accomplish these very desirable objects, your committee beg leave to recommend the following resolutions, viz. : — " Resolved, 1. That it shall be the duty of the presiding elders and preachers to use their influence to carry the rule of Discipline relating to building and renting houses 46 A HISTORY OF THE [1816. for accommodation of preachers and families into effect. In order to this, each quarterly meeting conference shall appoint a committee, (unless other measures have been adopted,) who, with the aid and advice of the preachers and presiding elder, shall devise such means as may seem tit to raise moneys for that purpose. And we furthermore recommend to each annual conference to make special inquiry of its members respecting this part of their duty. " 2. That those preachers who refuse to occupy the houses which may be provided for them on the stations and circuits where they are from time to time appointed, shall be allowed nothing for house-rent, nor receive any thing more than their simple quarterage for themselves, wives, and children, and their traveling expenses. Never- theless, this rule shall not apply to those preachers whose families are either established within the bounds of their circuits or stations, or are so situated that, in the judgment of the stewards, or the above-mentioned committee, it is not necessary for the benefit of the circuit to remove them. " 3. That that part of the Discipline which relates to the temporal economy of our Church be so altered as to make the annual allowance of preachers one hundred dol- lars, and that of their wives and widows one hundred dollars. " 4. That there be a committee appointed by the quar- terly meeting conference of every circuit and station, con- sisting of members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, whose duty it shall be to make an estimate of the amount necessary to furnish fuel and table expenses of the family or families of the preachers stationed with them, and that the stewards shall provide, by such means as they shall devise, to meet such expenses, in money or otherwise ; — provided that the quarterly allowance of the preachers shall first be paid by the stewards. " 5. That there be a meeting in every district of one 3 1816.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 47 Steward from each station and circuit, to be selected from among the stewards by the quarterly conference, whose duty it shall be, by and with the advice of the presiding elders who shall preside in such meeting, to take into consideration the general state of the district in regard to temporalities, and to furnish a house and provision for the presiding elders' families, in conformity to the first and fourth resolutions of this report. " In order more effectually to provide for the distressed traveling, superannuated, and supernumerary preachers, their wives, widows, and children, your committee ear- nestly recommend, " 6. That each annual conference, in such way and manner as they may think proper, raise a fund for these purposes, according to the 6th article of the 5th section of the temporal economy of our Church. " Thinking the Discipline sufficiently explicit on those points which relate to the Christian experience, practice, &-C., of preachers, your committee deem it needless to add any thing on these subjects. But they beg leave to re- commend, " 7. That it be the duty of the bishop or bishops, or a committee which they may appoint in each annual con- ference, to point out a course of reading and study proper to be pursued by candidates for the ministry ; and the pre- siding elders, whenever a person is presented as a candi- date for the ministry, shall direct him to those studies which have been thus recommended. And before any such candidate shall be received into full connection, he shall give satisfactory evidence respecting his knowledge of those particular subjects which have been recommended to his consideration." The adoption of this report, it is beheved, had a salu- tary influence upon the ministry and membership, by 3 48 A HISTORY OF THE [1816. exciting a spirit of liberality) and leading to a more vigorous action in respect to acquiring a greater amount of ministerial qualification. From that time forth a regular course of study hag been prescribed by the bishops for those on trial in the annual conferences, to which the candidates must at- tend, and give satisfactory evidence of their attainments, especially in theological science, before they can be ad- mitted into full membership as itinerant ministers. Though the course of study at first was very limited in some of the conferences, and the examinations compa- ratively superficial, it has been gradually enlarged and improved, so much so as to require a great compass of knowledge to be able to pass an approved examination. Still there is much wanting to give that thorough train- ing which is most desirable for the full and profitable development of the mental powers, and their energetic application in the field of usefulness. A committee of safety was also appointed, who re- ported that doctrines in some instances adverse to the standards of our Church were insinuating themselves among us — that the building churches with pews to rent or sell was gaining an ascendency in some places, and that the rules on dress and the manner of ministe- rial support were but negligently enforced : whereupon the following resolutions were adopted : — • " 1. Resolved by the delegates of the annual conferences in General Conference assembled, That the General Con- ference do earnestly recommend the superintendents to make the most careful inquiry in all the annual confer- ences, in order to ascertain whether any doctrines are embraced or preached contrary to our established Articles 3 1816.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 49 of Faith ; and to use their influence to prevent the exist- ence and circulation of all such doctrines. " 2. Resolved, cfec, That it be specially recommended to all the presiding elders and stationed and circuit preach- ers to take particular care that all our houses of worship be secured on the principles of our deed of settlement, in the form of Discipline. " 3. Resolved, &:c., That the manner of building houses of religious worship with pews is contrary to the rules of our economy, and inconsistent with the interests of our societies. " 4. Resolved, &c.. That it is the opinion of this confer- ence that the practice of assessing and collecting taxes by civil law for the support of the ministers of the gospel is contrary to the temporal economy of our Church, and in- consistent with apostolic example ; that it goes to impede the progress of experimental religion and destroy the itine- rant plan. And the superintendents with all the annual conferences are hereby desired to take such measures as in their judgment will most effectually cure such an evil. " 5. Resolved, (fee, That the superintendents, together with all the presiding elders and assistant preachers, be, and hereby are, earnestly requested to carry into effect, in their several charges, our rules on dress, family ivorship love-feasts, class and society meetings. " 6. Resolved, Slc, That no preacher having the charge of a circuit shall be allowed to divide or in any way to lessen the circuit, without the consent and advice of the presiding elder. " 7. Resolved, &c.. That it be, and hereby is, recom- mended to the bishops and presiding elders, in the general and particular oversight of their charges, to guard against such divisions and reductions of districts and circuits, as in their judgment may be inconsistent with the temporal Vol. III.— 3 50 A HISTORY OF THE [1816 and spiritual interests of our societies, and the preservation of the energies of our itinerant system." No part of this report was incorporated in the Disci- pUne, but it was ordered that it should be recorded on the journals of the several annual conferences, and, so far as relates to the building of churches with shps to rent or sell, it has remained a dead letter in many parts of our work. The practice of renting pews at that time was limited to a few places, but it has shice extended more and more through the eastern and some of the more northern conferences, tlie people pleading the ne- cessity of the case for a departure in this respect from, the primitive usage of Methodism. It may be regretted that the state of society requires us to reUnquish the mode of building churches with free seats ; but as it is not pretended to be in itself sinful to rent or sell the seats, the expediency of the measure must be determined by the probable utility in any given place of resorting to this method of providing houses of worship. And when the question is put, " Shall we have such a house or none?" as is the case in many parts of our country, it is believed that hesitancy should be at an end, and that we should be guilty of a derelic- tion of duty were we to refuse to avail ourselves of this means to provide houses in which we may preach the gospel to sinners. It is, however, admitted, that houses with free seats, when they can be built and paid for, and the people induced to occupy them, are to be preferred ; but if othenvise, it appears like an inexcusable pertinacity in so cleaving to a usage not expressly enjoined in Scrip- ture, as to refuse to preach the gospel and administer 3 1816.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 61 the ordinances in a house of worship merely because the seats are rented. Sundry memorials from local preachers were pre- sented to this General Conference, praying for an enlargement of their privileges : 1. To have a repre- sentation in the councils of the Church : 2. Be permitted a share in the administration of the discipline ; and, 3. To stipulate with the people who might wish for their services for a certain amount of salary. The commit- tee appointed to take these memorials into consideration reported as follows : — " Your committee are of opinion that the first request is inconsistent with the constitution of the General Confer- ence ; — that the second is inexpedient ; — that as to the third, provision is already made for the relief of local preachers in certain cases, and it is the opinion of the committee that this General Conference ought not to make any further provision, except as is hereinafter recom- mended. " From an attentive inquiry into the state of the local preachers in all parts of our vast continent, we are happy to be able to say, that the great body of that very respecta- ble and useful class of our brethren are, in our judgment, the firm friends and supporters of our doctrines, discipline, and Church government ; and that by far the greater part of them would be much grieved at any radical changes in our present regulations. But upon examining those parts of our Discipline which respect local preachers, your committee beg leave to recommend the following amend- ments." On this recommendation the section relating to local preachers was so altered as to read as follows : — " Before any person shall be licensed to preach as a 3 52 A HISTORY OF THE [1816. local preacher among us, he shall bring a recommendation from the society or class of which he is a member, and be personally examined before the quarterly meeting confer- ence by the presiding elder, or, in his absence, by the preacher having the charge, touching his acquaintance with the doctrines of our Church, to which he shall de- clare his assent, together with his gifts and grace for preaching ; and if he be approved by the quarterly meet- ing conference in these respects, and they believe he will be generally acceptable and useful as a preacher, he shall then receive a license, signed by the presiding elder, or, in his absence, by the preacher having charge, which license it shall be the duty of such local preacher to have annually renewed." After a few other verbal alterations, the section pro- vided as follows : — " Whenever a local preacher shall remove from one circuit to another, he shall procure from the presiding elder of the district, or the preacher having the charge of the circuit, a certificate of his official standing in the Church at the time of his removal, without which he shall not be received as a local preacher in another place." The following item respecting the manner in whicli exhorters should receive authority to exercise their gifts was ordered to be inserted in the Discipline, and was so done accordingly. The preacher in charge, among other duties, was to have authority " To license such persons as he may judge proper to officiate as exhorters in the Church, provided no person shall be licensed without the consent of a leaders' meet- ing, or of the class of which he is a member, where no leaders' meeting is held ; and the exhorters so authorized shall be subject to the annual examination of character in the quarterly meeting conference, and have their license 3 1816.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 53 annually renewed by the presiding elder, or the preacher having the charge, if approved of by the quarterly meeting conference." That part of the Discipline which relates to cucuit stewards was so amended as to make them responsible to the quarterly meeting conference " for the faithful performance of their duties." Hitherto it had been the duty of an annual confer- ence, if it had any surplus money on hand after paying its own claimants, to send it to the next conference. This regulation was so altered at this conference as to make it the duty of the annual conference to " send such surplus forward to that conference they judge to be most necessitous." As the two bishops who had been elected and conse- crated at this conference were men of families, and as no provision had been made in the Discipline for the support of such families, it was ordered that the " book agents, in conjunction with the book committee in New-York, be authorized to estimate the sum to defray the necessary expenses of the bishops' famiUes, for which they shall be authorized to draw on the editor and general book steward." Joshua Soule and Thomas Mason were elected book agents, and the conference renewed the order for the publication of the Methodist Magazine, in monthly num- bers of forty octavo pages each, and required each an- nual conference to appoint a committee of three to receive and forward communications, and otherwise to furnish materials for the work. The Magazine, how- ever, was not commenced till 1818, and the appoint- ment of these committees answered no valuable purpose, as but little aid was afforded by them to the editors. 3 54 A HISTORY OF THE [1817. These include all the acts of this conference worthy of pubhc record, or which went to affect the general administration. On the 24th of May the business closed by adjournment, to meet again in the city of Baltimore, May 1, 1820. CHAPTER IV. From the Close of the General Conference of 1816 to the Commence- ment of the General Conference of 1820. 1817. There were, by an act of the foregoing Ge- neral Conference, two new conferences, namely, Missis- sippi and Missouri, added to the number, making in all eleven annual conferences to be attended by the three bishops. Though some had contended that it would be most convenient to divide the episcopal supervision so as to apportion a specified district of country to each bishop, yet the majority thought it most advisable to leave these things to be regulated by the bishops them- selves, as they might judge most convenient for an effi- cient oversight of the whole work ; and they concluded that this object could be accomplished most easily and energetically by an interchange of labors, so that each bishop should visit all the conferences at least once in the four years. This, it was contended, would best answer the character of a general itinerating superin- tendency, prevent local interests and jealousies from springing up, and tend most effectually to preserve that homogeneousness of character and reciprocity of bro- therly feeling by which Methodism had been and 3 1817.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 55 should be ever distinguished. The bishops accordingiy commenced their labors on this plan, and, as far as health and other existing circumstances would allow, steadily pursued it until the close of their quadrennial term. The "Tract Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church" was formed this year, by some members of our Church, with a view to furnish the poorer class of the community with religious reading. It is true that a small society, managed by a few pious and benevo- lent females, had been formed a short time previously, but its operations were extremely limited. The society now formed took a wider range, and commenced pub- lishing its tracts and distributing them with spirit and energy. It has gone on from that time to the present, increasing the number and variety of its tracts, and en- larging the sphere of its operations ; and has done much good by diffusing abroad the trutlis of the gospel, by issuing doctrinal, experimental, and practical illustra- tions of the Holy Scriptures. This method of scatteiing among the great mass of the people, in the cheapest possible form, and in a small compass, religious knowledge, was begun by Mr. Wes- ley at an early period of his ministry, and was one of the means to which he resorted to effect the reformation and salvation of the world. Under date of Dec. 18, 1745, he says : " We had within a short time given away some thousands of little tracts among the common people. And it pleased God hereby to provoke others to jealousy. Insomuch that the lord mayor had ordered a large quantity of papers, dissuading from cursing and swearing, to be printed and distributed to the train- band. And this day An Earnest Appeal to Repent- 3 56 A HISTORY OF THE [1817. ance was given at every church doorj in or near London, to every person who came out ; and one left at the house of every householder who was absent from church. I doubt not but God gave a blessing there- with." Here was an example for the distribution of tracts long before any tract society existed either in Great Britain or America ; and Mr. Wesley continued the practice from that time forward with unexampled diligence, furnishing those who were willing to aid him in this good method of " sowing the seed of the king- dom" with short and pithy tracts, such as " A Word to the Drunkard," "A Word to the Swearer," to the "Smuggler," to the "Sabbath-breaker," (fee, Scuteashj together with two of the interpretei-s, Pointer and Armstrong ; the first of whom, Between-the-logs, was one of the chief counsellors of the nation, a man of vigorous in- tellect, w^ho soon became an eloquent advocate for the Christian cause ; nor w^as Mononcue much inferior to him in mental strength and useful labors. In 1819, the very year in which the Missionary So- ciety was formed — a coincidence not unw^orthy of notice — this mission was taken under the superintendence of the Ohio conference, w^hich held its session that year in Cincinnati, August the 7th, and the Rev. James B. Finley, who was appointed to the Lebanon district, took the Wyandot mission under his care. At a quar- terly meeting, held in November of this year, on Mad river circuit, forty-two miles from Upper Sandusky, about sixty of these native converts were present, among whom were the four chiefs above mentioned and the two interpreters. And that the reader may judge for himself in respect to the genuineness of the work which had been wrought in the hearts and lives of these peo- 3 1820.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 169 pie, I will insert the following account of the manner in which some of them related their Christian experience. Between-the-logs arose first in the love-feast, and hfting his eyes to heaven, streaming with tears of penitence and gratitude, said — " ' My dear brethren, I am happy this morning that the Great Spirit has permitted us to assemble here for so good a purpose as to worship him, and to strengthen the cords of love and friendship. This is the first meeting of the kind which has been held for us, and now, my dear bre- thren, I am happy that we, who have been so long time apart, and enemies to one another, are come together as brothers, at which our Great Father is well pleased. For my part, I have been a very wicked man, and have com- mitted many great sins against the Good Spirit, was ad- dicted to drinking whisky and many evils : but I thank my good God that I am yet alive, and that he has most per- fectly opened my eyes by his ministers and the good book to see these evils, and has given me help to forsake them and turn away from them. Now I feel peace in my heart with God and all men ; but I feel just like a little child be- ginning to walk ; sometimes very weak, and almost ready to give up ; then I pray, and my Great Father hears me, and gives me the blessing ; then I feel strong and happy ; then I walk again ; so sometimes up and sometimes down. I want you all to pray for me, that I may never sin any more, but always live happy and die happy. Then I shall meet you all in our Great Father's house above, and be happy for ever.' Tills speech was attended with great power to the hearts of the people. " The next who arose was Hicks, who had become a most temperate and zealous advocate for the Christian re- ligion. His speech was not interpreted entire ; but after expressing his gratitude to God for what he then felt, and Vol. III.-8 170 A HISTORY OF THE [1820. hoped to enjoy, he exhorted his Indian brethren to be much engaged for a blessing, and enforced his exhortation in the following manner : — * When I was a boy, my parents used to send me on errands, and sometimes I saw so many new things to attract my attention, I would say, By and by I will ask, until I would forget what I was sent for, and have to go home without it. So it may be with you. You have come here to get a blessing, but if you do not ask for it you will have to go home without it, and the wicked In- dians will laugh at you for coming so far for nothing. Now seek, now ask, and if you get the blessing you will be happy, and go home light, and then be strong to resist evil and to do good.' He concluded by imploring a blessing upon his brethren. " Scuteash next arose, and, with a smiling and serene countenance, said, ' I have been a great sinner, and such a drunkard as made me commit many great sins, and the Great Spirit was very mad with me, so that in here' — pointing to his breast — ' always sick — no sleep — no eat — walk — walk — drink whisky. Then I pray to the Great Spirit to help me to quit getting drunk, and to forgive me all my sins ; and God did do something for me — I do not know from whence it comes nor where it goes, but it came all over me' — Here he cried out, ' Waugh ! Waugh !' as if shocked with electricity — ' Now me no more sick. Me sleep, eat, and no more get drunk — no more drink whisky — no more bad man. Me cry — me meet you all in our Great Father's house, and be happy for ever.' " At the conclusion of the love-feast there were not less than three hundred white people assembled from the neigh- boring frontier settlements, to whom Mr. Finley preached with great effect. The manifest attention in the appear- ance and general deportment of the Indian converts, toge- ther with the preaching, had a most salutary effect upon the audience. 3 1820.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 171 " The next evening, at the earnest request of the natives, the meeting was resumed. After an exhortation from Mr. Finley, Mononcue arose and exhorted his brethren to look for the blessing they sought now. He then addressed the white brethren as follows : — " ' Fathers and brethren, I am happy this night before the Great Spirit that made all men, both red, white, and black, that he has favored us with good weather for our meeting, and brought us together that we may help one another to get good and do good. The Great Spirit has taught you and us both in one thing, that we should love one another, and fear and obey him. Us Indians he has taught by his Spirit ; and you, white men, he has taught by your good book, w^hich is all one. But your book teaches you, and us by you, more plainly than we were taught before, what is for our good. To be sure we served our Great Father sincerely, (before we were told by the good book the way,) by our feasts, rattles, and sacrifices, and dances, which we now see were not all right. Now some of our nation are trying to do better ; but we have many hinderances, some of which I mean to tell. The white men tell us they love us, and we believe some do, and wish us well ; but a great many do not, for they will bring us whisky, which has been the ruin of our people. I can compare whisky to nothing but the devil ; for it brings with it all kinds of evil — it destroys our happiness ; it makes Indians poor ; strips our squaws and children of their clothes and food ; makes us lie, steal, and kill one another. All these and many other evils it brings among us ; therefore you ought not to bring it among us. Now you white people make it, you know its strength and use, Indians do not. Now this whisky is a curse to yourselves — why not quit making it ? This is one argument used by wicked Indians against the good book ; if it is so good, why do not white men all do good ? Another hinderance 172 A HISTORY OF TJIE [1820. is, white men cheat Indians, take away their money and skins for nothing. Now you tell us your good book for- bids all this ; why not then do what it tells you ? then In- dians do right too. Again, you say our Great Father loves all men, white, black, and red men, that do right ; then why do you look at Indians as below you, and treat them as if they were not brothers ? Does your good book tell you so ? I am sure it does not. Now, brothers, let us all do right ; then our Great Father will be pleased, and will make us happy in this world, and when we die then we shall all live together in his house above, and always be happy.' " At the Ohio conference, which was held this year, 1820, in Chillicothe, the chiefs of the Wyandots pre- sented a petition to the conference for a regular mis- sionary to be appointed over them. It will doubtless be both pleasing and edifying to the reader to know the orderly method by which the whole affair of preparing and presenting this petition was conducted, as it will show that these people were governed by the principles of democracy in coming to a final determination of any important question, while the executive authority was confided to their chief jnen. The following is Mr. Finley's account of this transaction : — " Sunday, 16th July, in the Wyandot council house, Upper Sandusky, at the close of public worship, was my last address to the Wyandots by the interpreter. ' My friends, and you chiefs and speakers in particular, I have one word more to say ; I expect to meet our good old chiefs and fathers in the church at Chillicothe before I come to see you again, and they will ask me how you come on in serving the Lord, and if you want them to keep sending you preachers any longer, to tell you the good 1820.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 173 word, or if you have any choice in preachers to come and teach you.' " The answer. — ' Our chiefs are not all here, and we must have all our chiefs and queens together, and they must all speak their minds, and then we will let the old father know.' " They appointed to meet me at Negro town on Wednes- day evening, on my return from Seneca town ; and, hav- ing returned, found them assembled and prepared to an- swer. On entering in among them a seat was set in the midst of the room, and I requested to take the seat, which I declined ; but took my seat in their circle against the wall, and directed the interpreter to take the middle seat, which was done. After a short silence I spoke. ' Dear friends and brothers, I am thankful to find you all here, and am now prepared to hear your answer.' " Mononcue, chairman and speaker for them all, an- swered : — " ' We let our old father know that we have put the question round which was proposed on Sunday evening in the council house, and our queens give their answer first, saying, " * We thank the old father for coming to see us so often, and speaking the good word to us, and we want him to keep coming and never forsake us ; and we let him know that we love this religion too well to give it up while we live, for we think it will go bad with our people if they quit this religion ; and we want our good brother Steward to stay always among us, and our brother Jonathan too, and to help us along as they have done. Next we let the old father know what our head chiefs and the others have to say. They are willing that the gospel word should be continued among them, and they will try to do good them- selves and help others to do so too ; but as for the other things that are mentioned, they say, We give it all over to 174 A HISTORY OF THE [1820. our speakers ; just what they say we agree to ; they know better about these things than we do, and they may let the old father know their mind.' " The speakers reply for themselves : — " * We thank the fathers in conference for sending us preachers to help our brother Steward, and we desire the old father to keep coming at least another year when his year is out ; and we want our brother Armstrong to come as often as he can, and our brothers Steward and Jona- than to stay among us and help us as they have done ; and we hope our good fathers will not give us up because so many of our people are wicked and do wrong, for we believe some white men are wicked yet, that had the good word preached to them longer than our people ; and our great heavenly Father has had long patience with us all ; and we let the old father know that we, the speakers, will not give over speaking and telling our people to live in the right way ; and if any of us do wrong we will still try to help him right, and let none go wrong ; and we will try to make our head chiefs and all our people better, and we are one in voice with our queens, and we all join in giving thanks to our good fathers that care for our souls, and are willing to help our people ; and we want them all to pray for us, and we will pray for them, and we hope our great heavenly Father will bless us all, and this is the last,' " Their request was granted, and Moses Hinkle, senior, was appointed a missionary to Upper Sandusky. Being aided and encouraged by so many influential chiefs, and others of the tribe who had embraced the Christian faith, the missionary entered upon his woi"k with a fair prospect of success ; nor was he disaj^inted in his ex- pectations, though it required much labor and skill to bring them into gospel order, according to our discipli- nary regulations. 3 1820.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 175 While these prospects were looming up before us in this and some other places, the Church in the city of New- York was convulsed by an eruption which had been secretly working, and sometimes venting itself in low murmurings and disputings, for a considerable time before it broke forth in the manner now to be described. It would doubtless be tedious, and probably uninterest- ing to the reader, for me to enter into a minute detail of all the circumstances which led finally to a secession of a travehng preacher and upward of three hundred memliers, including three trustees and quite a number of class-leaders. In contests of this character there is generally more or less of blame on both sides in respect to the manner in which the controversy is conducted, while only one can be right in regard to the main principle contended for, or as it respects the measures and things to be sus- tained or sacrificed. And that in the discussions which arose on the present occasion there were hasty expres- sions and precipitate measures on the one side as well as the other, I have good reason to know, while I am equally well convinced that the seceders themselves had no just cause for their complaints, and the means which they employed to accomplish their ends. The origin of the difficulty may be traced to the re- building of John-street church, in the year 1817, although long prior to this there had appeared a jealousy between the up-town and down-town people, and more particularly between the east and west portions of the city. But the manner in which this church was re- edified, being a httle more neat and costly than the other churches in the city, furnished a plausible oppor- tunity, for those who seemed to want one, to censure 3 176 A HISTORY OF THE [1820. the conduct of the trustees and those preachers who fa- vored their plan of building, and thus the spirit of discontent among the members of the Church was much increased. Unhappily for the peace of the Church, the malecontents were strengthened in their opposition at the first by at least one preacher, who made no se- cret of his dissatisfaction at the measures which had been pursued in relation to the John-street church, and other matters connected with the administration of dis- cipline. These things continued to distract the councils of the Church, and to disturb its peace and harmony more and more, until the session of the New- York conference in 1820, when the conference adopted measures to re- move, if possible, the source of the difficulties, by advis- ing our people to petition the state legislature for such an act of incorporation as should " recognize the pe- culiarities of our form of church government," and thereby protect the administrators of discipline in their ecclesiastical rights and privileges. Though the con- ference meant nothing more than the removal of legal barriers, which they then thought existed, out of the way, yet the dissatisfied party seized hold of this cir- cumstance with peculiar avidity, and made it subserve their purposes by raising the cry of "legal establish- ment," an " attempt to coerce the people by civil laws," &c., (fee. Though all this was but idle gossip, yet it had its effect in raising a prejudice in the minds of many sincere members of our Church, and induced them to believe that their preachers were adopting mea- sures to enslave them, or to deprive them of their just rights and privileges. It is believed that the measures of the conference, 3 1820.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 177 though well meant, were unnecessary, even for the attainment of the end proposed, as subsequent experi- ence has proved that the constitutions, both of the general and state governments, amply secure to all de- nominations the full enjoyment of all their peculiarities, and the free and unrestrained exercise of their discipli- nary regulations, provided they behave as peaceable citizens, and do not infract any law of the land. This principle has been settled by the highest tribunals of justice, and therefore no special act is necessary to re- move any legal barrier out of the way of the exercise of discipline, provided as above, because all such bar- riers, did they exist, are unconstitutional, and are therefore null and void. But this act of the New- York conference, perfectly innocent in itself, and which was never carried into effect, furnished a plausible pretext to the discontented party, and was used with adnurable effect in raising a prejudice against the constituted authorities of the Church. It finally ended, as before remarked, in the secession of a preacher, William M. Stillwell^ and about three hundred members of the Church, some of whom were men of long standing and considerable in- fluence. They formed themselves into an independent congregation, adopting the substance of our general rules for their government, and our doctrines as articles of faith, professing at the same time an attachment to the itinerating mode of spreading the gospel, and, draw- ing others after them iu some portions of the country, formed an annual conference, made up chiefly — for I believe no traveling preacher joined them except Still- well — of local preachers, and those who had been exhorters in our Church. Their itinerancy, however, 8* 3 178 A HISTORV OF THE [1820. was of short duration, for those who seceded in the city of New- York soon settled down upon the Congrega- tional plan of church government, allowing even the females a voice in all matters of administration. As it will not be necessary to advert to these things again, except incidentally, it is proper to remark here, that most of those who left us at that time have since returned to the church of their first love. Having suf- ficiently tested the quality of the " new wine'' to find it unsavory, and becoming restiflf under their new regi- men, they made application to l)e restored to the privi- lege of drinking again the "old wine,"' and to the government from which they had expatriated them- selves. Some afterward joined the "Reformer," im- properly so called, and a few only of those who seceded remain attached to Still well. Two out of the three tiiistees who left us, most of the class-leaders, together with their members, have been, at their own request, restored to their former fellowship, in a way equally satisfactory to all concerned. Mr. Stillwell, however, remains over a congregation, made up chiefly of those who have been gathered in since the secession, and, so far as they may promote "the common salvation," we wish them success. Notwithstanding these difficulties occurred in the city of New-York and a few other places which were af- fected by these movements, by which many a sincere heart was made to palpitate with sorrow, and some of our ministers to suffer a temporary reproach, the work of God was generally prosperous, and great peace reigned among those who remained unmoved in the city of New- York. It was no small satisfaction to the projectors and 1820.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 179 friends of our Missionary Society to find that their la- bors were duly appreciated by their brethren, and that the spirit of missions was gradually diffusing itself throughout our ranks, exerting in its course a hallow- ing influence in the Church, and calling forth a spirit of liberaHty highly creditable to all concerned. Many of the annual conferences formed themselves into aux- iliary societies, and adopted energetic measures to esta- blish branches throughout their bounds, with a view to supply the pecuniary means needful to support those men of God who volunteered their services for the sal- vation of men. Numerous testimonies in favor of these measures, sent to the managers to cheer them on the way, might easily be adduced ; but I shall content my- self with inserting the following from the Rev. Thomas L. Douglass, of the Tennessee conference : — " The plan," he remarks, " proposed in the Address of the Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church, places things on very advantageous ground. The men to be aided and sanctioned as missionaries are to be approved by our annual conferences, and to act under the direction of our bishops. Men who, renouncing ease and worldly prospects, devoted to God and his Church, and qualified for the divine work in which they are engaged, will spread the word of life ; and by uniting precept with example they will plant the standard of Immanuel, and difiuse light to thousands in regions where darkness now reigns. O! could our venerable father. Bishop Asbury, the apostle of America, have witnessed such a plan matured and carried into operation by his sons in the gospel, his great soul must have felt such rapture, that, like Simeon, he would have exclaimed. Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace! Admirable system! The strength of Jehovah 180 A HISTORY OF THE [1820. must be felt by the powers of darkness in the operation of such a plan. " I think the publication of the Methodist Magazine and the establishment of the Missionary Society, both ingrafted on the old itinerant missionary plan, are calculated to im- part such energy and spirit to the whole connection, that we shall not only keep up the life and power of religion where it is already planted, but renewed exertion and un- equalled success, since the apostolic age, in saving souls from death, will be the resulting consequences. " Nashville is certainly the most central as well as the most populous town within the limits of this conference, and therefore ought to be the place for the location of an auxiliary society, which I shall use my endeavors to establish as soon as possible." Events have verified the truth of these anticipations respecting the blessed results of this society. An en- lightened zeal distinguished the conduct of those who entered the most heartily into the missionary work, and the spirit of revival pervaded many portions of the Church during this and succeeding years. An auxi- liary missionary society had been formed in Lynn, Mass., and the Rev. J. A. Merrill, who was appointed by the bishop as a missionary in the bounds of the New-England conference, went to the upper Coos, along the upper waters of the Connecticut river, a tract of country almost entirely destitute of the gospel. God accompanied his labors with the energies of the Holy Spirit, so that many sinners were awakened and brought to the knowledsre of the truth. He extended his labors into Vermont, some parts of New-Hampshire, and Maine, and everywhere found a people eager to hear the word. The following extract from one of his letters will show the extent and effect of his labors : — 3 1820.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 181 " Since my last communication I have made two visits into the upper Coos country, and am happy to state that the prospect still brightens. In Lunenburgh there is a gracious work of religion. I have attended a number of meetings in that place, and the power of God was evi- dently manifested among the people. The tears and sighs of mourners clearly discovered that the word was not de- livered in vain. At one time nearly the whole assembly rose and requested prayers, and after the congregation was dismissed a number of mourning and weeping souls tar- ried, and still desired we should pray for them. They readily prostrated themselves at the foot of the cross, while our prayers were offered to God in their behalf. Several have professed faith in the Lord Jesus, and others are still struggling for deliverance. " There is a good work in the Congregational society in this town. At a meeting not long since, the preacher, after giving an invitation to the people to rise to be prayed for, and counting forty, urged the importance of their kneeling, from the example of Christ and the apostles ; he then kneeled, and was joined in this Scriptural and rational act by nearly all the congregation. " About one hundred have been added to the societies on Stratford circuit since the last conference, and perhaps more than that number on LandafF circuit. " I have made a tour of about five weeks into Maine ; preached in the towns of Shelbourn, Rumford, Bethel, Livermore, Augusta, Sidney, Gardner, Litchfield, and Vi- enna. In some of these towns I preached four and five times, and have reason to think the labor will not be lost. The prospect in several towns is good ; — in Vienna about sixty have experienced religion of late, and the attention in most of these places is considerable. " You observe in your letter that several wished to know how many miles I have traveled and how many scr- 3 182 A HISTORY OF THE [1820. mons I have preached since my appointment. I am not much in favor of this practice, generally ; but as it is the wish of my friends, and has been a practice among mis- eionaries, I shall here state, for the satisfaction of the society, that I have visited and preached in seventy towns, traveled three thousand six hundred and seventy miles, (in about eight months,) and preached two hundred and forty sermons ; but how many families I have visited I cannot tell." In the town of Bristol, R. I., there was a gracious work of God. The following particulars respecting the commencement and progress of Methodism in this place will doubtless be interesting to the reader. About the year 1791 a sea captain, a citizen of Bristol, was brought to the saving knowledge of the truth under Methodist preaching in the city of New-York. On his return to his native place he made known to some of his neighbors what God had done for his soul. Though many who heard these things treated them with con- tempt, others believed his testimony and received it with joy. Being encouraged by these, the captain, whose heart burned with love to the souls of his fellow- men, invited the Methodist preachers to visit Bristol ; and though much opposition was manifested by some, yet others received the word with joyful and believing hearts, and a society was soon formed, consisting of eighteen persons. This was the beginning of Method- ism in that place, and the society gradually increased in numbers and strength, so that in 1805 they were enabled to build a commodious house of worship. In 1812, under a powerful revival of religion, about one hundred were added to their number. This year, 1820, they were favored with another outpouring of the Spirit, 3 1820.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 183 during which not less than one hundred and fifty gave evidence of a work of regenerating grace^ so that the whole number of Church members was four hundred and eight, including twenty-two colored. In Provincetown, Massachusetts, also, there was a remarkable work of God ; — so powerful was it in its ef- fects, and 90 rapid in its progress, that it changed the entire moral aspect of the place. As this work began while many of the men were absent at sea — the inha- bitants living chiefly by fishing — on their return they were astonished at the change which had taken place ; but they soon became convinced that it was the power of God which had produced the reformation, and they also were soon made '• partakers of like precious faith," whole families rejoicing together " for the consolation." About one hundred and forty in this little town were brought to God during this revival. Chillicothe, Ohio, was also favored with manifest dis- plays of the power and grace of God. In 1819 there had been a revival here which eventuated in the addi- tion of three hundred and twenty to the Church. This year the work continued w^ith increasing power, and, among others, the man who had been employed in finishing their house of worship, together with all his family, and all the hands employed on the house, Avere made partakers of the grace of life. Many other places, too numerous to mention, were blessed with revivals, so that it may be said the Church very generally was in a prosperous condition. Thirty-five preachers were located this year, fifteen were retuined supernumerary, and forty-two superan- nuated, and three had been expelled. Two, John T*. Brame and George Burnet^ had died in the Lord. 184 A HISTORY OF THE [1821. Number of Church ineinhers. Whites. Colore J. Total. Preachers. This year 219,332 40,558 259,890* 896 Last year 201,750 39,174 240,924 812 Increase 17,582 1,384 18,966 84 1821. The mission wliich had been commenced among the Wyandots continued to prosper, and the reports of its success had a most happy influence on the cause of religion generally. This year the Rev. James B. Finley was appointed to tlie superintendence of this mission. In addition to preaching the gospel to the adult Indians, he was instructed to establish a school for the education of the children, both in letters and in domestic economy — to teach the boys the art of agri- culture, and the girls to sew, spin, and knit, and all the duties of the household. It is a coincidence worthy of notice, that about the time this good work commenced among the natives of our forests, the government of the United States made an appropriation of ten thousand dollars annually for the support of native schools, in which it was ordered that the children should be taught the arts of civilized life, as w^ell as to read, write, and keep accounts. This annuity w^as to be divided among the several schools which might be established among the aboriginal tribes by missionary societies, and the Wyandot school re- ceived its quota. To accomplish his object Mr. Finley commenced building a house, which might serve the double purpose of a house of worship and for teaching the children, and likewise inclosed a large farm, the * There is an error in the total number in the printed Minutes of 385, the whole number there stated being 2iB0,275. 3 1821.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 185 land having been granted by the chiefs to the mission, on which he labored with his own hands, for the pur- pose of setting an example to the Indians, that they might habituate themselves to an agricultural Hfe. These movements had a salutary effect upon their physical and moral condition. The converted natives were formed into classes, and the chiefs who embraced Christianity were appointed leaders. At the first offer that was made to receive them into class twenty-three came forward, with tears of mingled sorrow and joy, desiring to become members of the Christian church, while others stood trembling and weeping, crying aloud, " O, Shasus, Ta-men-tare !" that is, " O, Jesus, take pity on us !" In this way the good work went on during the year. With a view to send the gospel to the Creek Indians, who inhabited a tract of country lying within the bounds of the states of Georgia and Alabama, then under the chieftainship of M'Intosh, the celebrated half- breed warrior, the Rev. William Capers undertook a tour through the state of Georgia, to ascertain the feel- ings of its citizens toward an attempt to establish a mission among that tribe of Indians. He was favora- bly received by the people generally, and the proposed mission was viewed w'ith a friendly eye. He visited and preached in the most populous towns and villages in the state, and made collections for the support of the contemplated mission, which was begun the succeeding year. The feelings of the managers of the Missionary So- ciety, in view of what God had already done through their instrumentality, may be seen by the following extract from their third annual report : — 3 186 A HISTORY OF THE [1821 " It is now only about three years since this society commenced its operations. Combining so large a field of labor, and comprehending in its plans so large a circle, as the whole of the Methodist conferences in the United States, it was but reasonable to expect that its progress would be slow; but it has been sure. Time and patient perseverance are necessary to set so many wheels in mo- tion, to communicate life and vigor to each, and so to direct the movements of the whole as to produce a simul- taneous and harmonious co-operation. But, blessed be the God of missions ! the God of Wesley and Whitefield — those eminent missionaries of the old world — who inspired them with sufficient energy to set the mighty machine in motion — of Asbury and Coke, who gave it such an impulse in the new world — blessed be his holy name for ever, that he hath so far given success to the experiment. Already the impulse is felt more or less strongly from the centre to the circumference of our connection. The mustard-seed first sown about three years since has taken deep root, has extended its branches, and many are reposing under their shadow. Young branches are shooting forth in various directions, and, instead of exhausting the strength of the parent stock, are daily adding to its growth and stability. As you have already heard, the heathen tribes of our wilderness are partaking of its fruits. " The time, indeed, is not far distant, when every man who shall have engaged in this godlike enterprise will esteem it as the happiest period of his existence, the high- est honor ever conferred upon him, when he embarked in the cause of missions. The loiterers, those who have •looked on with cold indifference, and with envious eye have waited the doubtful result, will stand abashed, filled with confusion at their own supineness ; and will, if their zeal for God be not quite extinguished, petition the privi- lege to redeem their lost time, by being permitted, at last, 1821.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 187 to participate in the grand work of conquering the world by the power of truth." The work of God was generally prosperous through- out the bounds of the several annual conferences, not- withstanding a spirit of disaffection was manifesting itself in some places among a few restless spirits. Through the agency of camp meetings in some parts of South Carolina much good was done, and a new cir- cuit which was formed in the neighborhood of Bush river was blessed with an encouraging revival, under the labors of R. L. Edwards. An effort was also made to carry the gospel into a new field in the south-west, in what was called Jackson's Purchase, which embraced portions of the states of Kentucky and Tennessee, and Lewis Garrett and Hezekiah Holland were appointed to this service. That they were successful in their la- bors is evident from the fact, that there were returned on the Minutes for 1822 one hundred and forty-two whites and thirteen colored. In the Nashville district also, through the agency of camp meetings, there were extensive revivals of religion throughout nearly all the circuits within the district, so much so that the nett increase, after deducting expul- sions, deaths, and removals, was one thousand three hundred and five members. The writer of this ac- count, the Rev. Thomas L. Douglass, thus concludes his remarks : — " The character of this reirival is the least mixed with what are called irregularities or extravagances of any that I ever saw. We have had nothing of what is called the jerks y or dance, among us. The work- of conviction in the hearts of sinners has been regular, powerful, and deep ; their conversion, or deliverance from sin and guilt, clear 3 188 A HISTORY OF THE [1821. and bright ; and their rejoicings Scriptural and rational. I think fully half of those who have been the subjects of the work are young men, and heads of families ; many of them among the most respectable in the country, men of education, men of talents. We anticipate help and use- fulness from some of them in the Lord's vineyard. Upon the whole, it is the greatest work, the most blessed revi- val, I ever saw. The whole country, in some places, seems like bowing to our Immanuel ; religion meets with very little that can be called opposition ; and many who neither profess nor appear to have any desire to get reli- gion themselves, manifest an uncommon degree of solici- tude that others should obtain it, and express a high satisfaction at seeing the work prosper. May the Lord continue to pour out his Spirit, and may the hallowed fire spread, until all the inhabitants of the earth shall rejoice in his salvation ! To God be all the glory ! Pray for us, dear brethren, that this year may be as the past, and much more abundantly. We look for it and expect it. The dis- trict is well supplied with preachers, men of talents, men of zeal, and in the spirit of the work. May the Lord bless their labors !" In Carter's Valley circuit, Holston conference, there were added, during a revival that year, not less than three hundred to the Church. In Pittsburgh, Pa., the work of reformation had been going forward without interruption for about eighteen months, during which time not less than fiv^e hundred had been added to the Church, of whom about two hundred and sixty had been received in the course of six months. The writer of this account of the work of God in Pittsburgh, the Rev. Samuel Davis, who was at that time stationed there, closes his naiTative in the following words : — 3 1821.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 189 " To those who have been conversant with the history of Methodism in this place from its rise, and who, with lively interest, have marked its progress down to the pre- sent, the retrospect must afford matter for the liveliest feelings of gratitude to God. Yea, when they look back but a few years, and compare what they then were with what they are now, their souls, in pleasing astonishment, must cry out, ' What hath the Lord wrought !' When they consider that, about ten or twelve years ago, an apartment in a private house was sufficient to contain the society, and all who chose to assemble with them to hear the word preached ; and that now that little society has swelled to a church of near seven hundred members, possessing two meeting-houses, (one of which is large,) which are well filled, on sabbath evenings especially, with serious and attentive hearers — a review of these circumstances con- strains them to acknowledge that it is indeed ' the Lord's doings, and marvelous in their eyes,' — ' that they who were not a people should become the people of the Lord.' ' The Lord reigneth ! Let the earth rejoice.' " In some portions of North Carolina the camp meet- ings were rendered a great blessing to the people. In the town of Hillsborough, where the Methodists had been but little known, having only two Church mem- bers in the place, there was a society of forty raised up as the fruit of one of these meetings, and they immedi- ately adopted measures for erecting a house of worship, much to the gratification of the people of Hillsborough. Other places shared largely in the blessed effects of these revivals, and upward of three hundred were added to the several societies in that region of country, besides a number who connected themselves with other deno- minations. In the more northern conferences also the work of 3 190 A HISTORY OF THE [1821. God was prosperous. In the New-Hampshire district, in New- Haven, Conn., Providence, R. I., New-London district, Well fleet. New- Windsor, and Rhineheck circuits, the Lord poured out his Spirit, and blessed the lalxjr of his servants in the conversion of many sinners and the sanctification of believers. In 1819 Alabama was admitted as a state into the American confederacy. It had been filling- up, like the other territories in the west and south-west, with inha- bitants from Europe and the older states in the Union, most of whom were destitute of the ordinances of Chris- tianity. Into this country the Methodist itinerants had penetrated, and succeeded in forming circuits and esta- blishing societies among the scattered population. This year, as the following account will show, there were encouraging revivals of religion in many places in that part of the country. The presiding elder, the Rev. Thomas Griffin, writes as follows : — " At a camp meeting held on the 6tli of July last, on Pearl river, a few miles from Monticello, the congregation was large and attentive, many were awakened to a sense of their need of Christ, and five or six gave evidence of a change of heart. " On the 20tli we held another meeting on the river Chickasawhay, about fifty miles from the town of Mobile, where we have a large, flourishing society. There were two traveling and four local preachers, and one Presbyte- rian minister at this meeting. On Friday and Saturday the Lord favored us with a solemn sense of his presence. Sinners were struck with awe, and stood with respectful silence, while believers rejoiced in God their Saviour. On sabbath we administered the Lord's supper. All were solemn as night. The word of God was heard with great 3 182L] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 191 attention, and I believe much good was done. About ten professed justifying grace. " On the 27th of July we held another meeting, about thirty miles from St. Stephen's, near the Tombeckbee and Alabama rivers. Though the principal part of the people were irreligious, yet they behaved with great order and decorum, and five or six professed to be converted. " On the 2d of August we commenced a camp meeting on the banks of the Alabama river, thirty miles below the town of Cahawba, the seat of government for this state. From the paucity of the inhabitants, and the affliction many were suffering from a prevailing fever, there were not many that attended this meeting. Some disorder was wit- nessed ; but He that commanded the boisterous wmds to be still appeared in our behalf, and before the exercises closed some were brought, as we have reason to believe, to the knowledge of the truth. " August lOlh another meeting began, thirty miles above Cahawba, on the bank of the above-mentioned river. A numerous concourse of people attended, and much good was done. On Tuesday morning I requested all who had obtained an evidence of their conversion to God to come forward to the altar, when thirty-seven presented them- selves. The last two meetings were held in a forest, and the Indians were fishing in the river while we were preaching and praying ; the bears were ravaging the corn- fields, and the wolf and tiger were howling and screaming in the very woods in the neighborhood of our meeting. " These accounts may seem unimportant to those who are accustomed to more numerous congregations, and who have the privilege of assembling in convenient houses ; but to us, who are struggling with many difficulties in this newly settled country, it is highly gratifying, and fills us with a pleasing hope of yet seeing the desert blossom as the rose" 192 A HISTORY OF THE [1821. Fifty preachers were located this year, twenty-two returned supernumerary, fifty-five superannuated, and five expelled. Three, Daniel Ireland, William M. Stilwell, and Willia?n Barton, had withdrawn, the last of whom joined the Protestant Episcopal Church. Six, namely, Samuel Parker, Charles Dickinson^ Archibald Robinson, John Robertson, Richard Emory, and Alpheus Davis, had finished their course in peace. Samuel Parker was eminently useful in his day and generation. He was a native of New- Jersey, ten in 1774, of poor parents. At the age of fourteen he was brought from darkness to light, and became a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. In 1805 he entered the traveling ministry, and was appointed to labor in the western country. It soon appeared that God was with him. " By his deep devotion to the work of God, and his eminent talents as a preacher of righteousness, he acquired the confidence of his brethren, and com- manded the respect of the community generally. In 1815 he was appointed the presiding elder of the Miami district, and from thence, in the next year, was trans- ferred to the Kentucky district, in which he continued four years. In this station he was greatly blessed in his labors, during which time he was married to Miss Oletha Tilton. Being called by the bishop to fill an important post in the bounds of the Mississippi conference, though his health was evidently declining, he consented to be trans- ferred to that more distant field of labor. He soon, however, sunk under the influence of disease, and on the 20th of December, 1819, he died in peace. The Rev. Samuel Parker was a man of deep expe- 3 1832.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 193 rience, of fervent piety, of stern integrity, and possessed talents of the most useful character as a minister of Je- sus Christ. His method of preaching was well calcu- lated to sooth the mind of the believer by the sweet and rich promises of the gospel, as well as to inspire hope and faith in the broken-hearted, penitent sinner. And his general deportment as a Christian minister, among his brethren and the people of his charge, inspired such confidence in his wisdom and the purity of his motives as gave him a pow^erful influence over others, and he exerted it at all times for their present and future wel- fare. Had he lived to " threescore years and ten," no doubt he would have ranked among the first ministers in the Methodist Episcopal Church ; but that God who "seeth the end from the beginning"' saw fit to call him in the prime of life from the militant to the church tri- umphant, where he rests from his labors, and his works do follow hijn. Of the others whose death is recorded, it is said that they also filled up the measure of their days in usefiil- ness, and ended their lives in the full hope of the gospel. Number of Church members. Whites. Colored. Total. Preachers. This year 239,087 42,059 281,146 977 Last year 219,332 40,558 259,890 896 Increase 19,755 1,501 21,256 81 1822. This year two more Indian missions were commenced, one among the Mohawks in Upper Ca- nada, and the other among the Creeks, called the Asbiiry mission. As the latter, after much expense and labor, failed in the accomplishment of its objects, perhaps it may be as well to give the history of its com- VoL. ITL— 9 194 A HISTORY or THE [1822. mencemeiit, progress, and termination, once for all, in this place. As before stated, the charge of this mission was con- fided, by Bishop M'Kendree, to the Rev. William Capers, of the South Carolina conference. After travel- ing extensively through the state of Georgia, endeavor- ing to awaken the missionary spirit, and collect funds to defray the expense for an outfit of the mission, in the month of August of this year, in company with Colonel Richard Blount, a pious and intelligent member of our Church, he arrived at the Creek agency, on FHnt river. After witnessing some debasing scenes of amusement among the females, and one of those Indian playg which was conducted with a rude display of Indian dexterity, and daring feats of ferocious gallantry, he obtained an introduction to General M'Intosh, the prin- cipal man of the nation. As an instance of the lordly bearing of this chief, who prided himself for having fought the battles of his country, as a general in the ranks of the Indian allies, under the command of the hero of New-Orleans,* may be mentioned his refusing * M'Intosh accompanied General Jackson in his campaign against the Seminole Indians. In a more private interview with Kennard, another Indian warrior, the latter related the manner in which the army was arranged at the time the descent was made. While he adverted to his command in one wing of the army, his eye sparkled with conscious pride at the recollection of the honor which had been conferred upon him. " In the middle," said he, " was General Jack- son ; on the right. M'Intosh ; on the left, me." This man was sick at the time the talk was had with M'Intosh, which, however, was held near the bed on which he reposed. As Mr. Capers offered a dime to one of his children, he asked, "Is that httle girl big enough to go to school?" On being informed she was, he eagerly replied, 3 1822>3 METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 195 to converse with Mr, Capers, though he perfectly un- derstood the Enghsh language, only through the me- dium of an interpreter, assuming, in the mean time, all the etiquette of a stately prince in the reception of an ambassador. The interview resulted in an agreement between the parties for the estabhshment of a mission, with liberty to use so much land only as should be found necessary to raise provision for the mission family, and for build- ing the needful houses ; and the Rev. Isaac Hill, an old, tried, experienced minister was appointed in charge of the mission. But notwithstanding the favorable be- ginning of this laudable attempt to convey the blessings of the gospel to these heathen, so long neglected by the Christian church, difficulties of a formidable character soon made their appearance. Some of the chiefs, who were not present at the council when the above agree- ment was ratified, raised objections against the enter- prise, and thus created so many jarring sentiments in the nation, that for a time it was doubted, among the friends of the cause, whether it was best to continue the effort. It was, however, continued. A school was opened for the instruction of the children, but the mis- sionary was forbidden, through the influence of the opposing chiefs, to preach the gospel to the adult In- dians. It was also strongly suspected that the United States agent lent the weight of his influence against " I have seven of them ; and when you come back and begin your school I will send four." What a pity that a love of heathenism should have defeated the benevolent project of teaching these young immortals letters and the Christian religion ! And much more that white men, born and edu- cated in a Christian land, should have contributed to its defeat ! 196 A HISTORY OF THE [1822. the prosecution of the mission, though an investigation of his conduct resulted in his justification by the govern- ment of the United States. And the following extract from the letter of instructions whicli was sent to the In- dian agent will show that the officers of the government took a lively interest in the objects of this mission. The secretary of war, the Honorable John C. Calhoun^ after expressing his regret that any difficulties should have arisen between the missionaries and Colonel Crowell, the Indian agent, expresses himself in the following language : — • " The president takes a deep interest in the success of every effort, the object of which is to improve the condi- tion of the Indians, and desires that every aid be furnished by the Indian agents in advancing so important an object ; and he trusts that your conduct will be such as to avoid the possibility of complaint on the part of those who are engaged in this benevolent work. " You will give a decided countenance and support to the Methodist mission, as well as to any other society that may choose to direct its efforts to improve the condition of the Creek Indians. It is not conceived that they can have any just cause of apprehension against the privilege of preaching the gospel among them ; and you will use a decided influence with them to reconcile them to its ex- ercise on the part of the mission. The department feels confident that, by proper efforts on your part, you may se- cure to the mission the right of preaching among the In- dians, which is deemed to be so essentially connected with the objects of the society." Notwithstanding this favorable regard toward tlie mission by the government of the United States, and the persevering efforts of the missionaries themselves, 3 1822.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 197 the mission was destined to undergo a sad declension in its affairs, and, after lingering for a while, was finally abandoned in despair. In addition to the barriers thrown in the way of the missionaries by the hostile chiefs and their partisans, were the troubles arising out of the treaty made by M'Intosh and his party, by which the lands included in the chartered limits of Georgia were ceded to the United States, for the benefit of the state of Georgia, for the consideration of the sum of four hundred thousand dollars. This gave great offence to the majority of the nation, who affirmed that M'Intosh and those who acted with him executed this treaty con- trary to a law which had been promulgated in the pub- lic square, and they arose against him with violence, and massacred him and some others under circum- stances of great barbarity. This threw the nation into great confusion, and exerted a most deleterious influ- ence upon the interests of the mission. The school, however, was continued under all these discouragements, and by the judicious manner in which it was conducted, and the manifest improvement of the children, both in letters and religion, it acquired the confidence and respect of all who made it an object of inquiry. And the restraints against preaching the gos- pel being removed in 1826, owing, in a great measure, to the interference in behalf of the mission by the United States government, tlie mission presented a more flat- tering prospect, so that in 1829 there were reported seventy-one Church members at the Asbury station, namely, two whites, twenty-four Indians, and forty-five colored ; and the school consisted of fifty scholars. Under this state of things the friends of the cause fondly anticipated a final triumph over infidelity and heathen 3 198 A HISTORY OF THE [1822. superstition among this nation of Indians. But, alas ! how often are all human expectations blaytecl ! Such were the difficulties thrown in the way of this mission, that in 1830 it was entirely abandoned. Their confirmed habits of intemperance, their predilection for savage life, the persevering opposition of most of the chiefs to the self-denying doctrines of the gospel, toge- ther with their proximity to dissipated whites, whose interest was promoted by furnishing the Indians with means of intoxication, combined, with the troubles aris- ing out of the murder of M'Intosh and others, to para- lyze the efforts of the missionaries and their friends, and they were reluctantly compelled to abandon the enter- prise in despair. The labor, however, was not lost; lasting impressions were made upon some minds; and some who w^ere removed to the west have been ga- thered into the fold of Christ, and others^ who have been since that time converted to the Christian faith, have traced their first impressions to the instructions of " fa- ther Hill" and his pious associates. Another aboriginal mission was commenced this year. This was among the Mohawks of Upper Canada. They had been partially civilized, and imperfectly instructed in the Christian religion ; and yet their moral and re- ligious state was very far from being improved. They were settled principally on an Indian resei-va- tion of land, sixty miles in length and twelve in breadth, on each side of the Grand river. At the head of this tribe was the celebrated Mohawk chief, Colonel Brant, whose name carried such terror into our frontier settle- ments during the revolutionary war. Soon aftei' the termination of this severe struggle, chiefly through his solicitation, the Society for the Promotion of Christian 3 1822.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 199 Knowledge adopted measures to furnish these people with Christian instruction. A missionary was sent to preach to them, and the Gospel of St. Mark and the Prayer Book were translated into the Mohawk lan- guage, the former by Colonel Brant himself. But little permanent good, however, resulted from these efforts. Instead of producing any radical change in the heart and life of the people, they were merely initiated into an observance of the external rites and ceremonies of the church, while, like all other tribes who had mingled with the unconverted whites, they had become addicted to intemperance and its kindred vices. In this state they were when visited by a Methodist missionary this year. It is true, that from the time the Methodist itinerants first visited that country, they were in the habit of preaching occasionally to these people, but with little apparent effect. As early as the year 1801 an Indian youth was baptized at a quarterly meeting held at the house of Mr. Jones, the father of Peter Jones, whose conversion and labors will be here- after noticed ; and it is remembered well that when Mr. Joseph Sawyer, the administrator of the ordinance, con- cluded the ceremony by prayer, he prayed most fer- vently that this youth might be the first-fruits of a harvest of souls from among these natives. The wife of Mr. Jones also, who was a Mohawk princess, was baptized about the same time, and received into the Church with her husband. These were all the abori- ginal conversions known to the writer before the re- formation of which we now speak commenced. The mission was begun under the patronage of the Genesee conference, to which Upper Canada was then attached, and Alvin ToiTy was appointed to its charge. 3 200 A HISTORY OF THE [1822. The following extracts of letters received from brother Case will fully explain the manner iii^ which this good work began and was carried forward : — " When I visited and preached to these Indians last June, I found several under awakenings ; for they had heard occasionally a sermon from brothers Whitehead, Storey, and Matthews ; and had for some time been in the habit of coming together at the house of T. D. to hear prayers in the Mohawk. Several manifested much con- cern, and appeared very desirous of the prayers and advice of the pious. These, with two youths who had lately re- ceived religious impressions at the Ancaster camp meet- ing, I formed into a society, giving charge of the society to brother S. Crawford. His account of the progress of the revival during my absence to conference I here insert, from his letter to me. We must beg some indulgence for being particular, considering that the subjects of this work are the first-fruits unto Christ, and that this revival may be seen in the native simplicity of these artless Indians. Brother C.'s account is as follows : — " ' During your absence to the conference I have con- tinued to meet with our red brethren every week, giving them public discourses, as well as answering their anxious inquiries concerning the things of God. The Lord has indeed been gracious to this people, pouring out his Holy Spirit on our assemblies, and thereby giving the spirit of penitence, of prayer, and of praise. About the first who appeared deeply concerned for their souls were two wo- men. One of them had, about fourteen years ago, known the way of the Lord, and had belonged to our society in the Alleghany. Having been a long time without the means of grace, she had lost her comforts and her zeal for God ; but now, being again stirred up to return to the Lord, she became useful to others of her sex who were 3 1822.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 201 inquiring for the way of life. The other was a woman of moral deportment, and of respectable standing among her nation, but of great and painful afflictions : by a series of family trials she had been borne down with overwhelm- ing sorrows. To this daughter of affliction the other wo- man gave religious counsel, urging that if she would give her heart to the Lord he would give comfort to her mind, as well as direct and support her in her worldly troubles. She listened to these things with much concern, and as she went to the spring for water she turned aside several times to pray. At length, under a sense of her unworthi- ness and sinfulness, she sunk to the earth, and was help- less for some time. When she recovered strength she came into her house, and calling her children around her, they all kneeled down to pray. While at prayer a weight of power came on them — the daughter of fifteen cried aloud for mercy, and the mother again sunk to the floor. The daughter soon found peace, and praised the Lord. While the mother was yet mourning and praying, the youngest daughter, not yet four years of age, first kneeled by her mother, praying : then coming to her sister, she says, " Onetye ragh a gwogii nos ha ragh ge hea steage ? Onetye ragh a gwogh nos ha ragh ge hea steage ?" that is, " Why don't you send for the minister ? why don't you send for the minister ?" showing thereby a religious con- cern and intelligence remarkable for one of her age. The mother soon after obtained peace. She with her children are now a happy family, walking in the enjoyment of the Holy Comforter. Thus did the Lord bring these sincere inquirers to the knowledge of himself, while they were alone, calling on his name. " ' Another instance of extraordinary blessing among this people was on sabbath, the 27th of July last, when one of our brethren came to hold meeting with them. During singing and prayer there was such melting of heart 9* 3 202 A HISTORY OF THE [1822. and fervency throughout the assembly ; — some trembled and wept, others sunk to the floor, and there was a great cry for mercy through the congregation. Some cried in Messessaugah, " Chemenito ! Kitta maugesse, chemuche nene," &c. ; that is, " Great good Spirit! I am poor and evil," (fee. Others in Mohawk prayed, " O Sayaner, souahhaah sadoeyn Roewaye Jesus Christ, Tandakwean- derhek ;" that is, " O Lord, the only begotten Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us !" Others were encouraging the penitents to cast their burdens on the Lord. Others again were rejoicing over their converted neighbors. In this manner the meeting continued throughout the day. While these exercises were going on a little girl ran home to call her mother, who came directly over to the meeting. On entering the room where the people were praying she was smitten with conviction, and fell down crying for mercy. While in this distress her husband was troubled lest his wife should die, but was happily disappointed when, a few hours after, her sorrows were turned into joy, and she arose praising the Lord. From this time the husband set out to serve the Lord, and the next day he also found peace to his soul, as I will hereafter relate. During the day several found the Saviour's love, and retired with great peace and comfort ; while others, with heavy hearts, wept and prayed as they returned comfortless to their habita- tions. The next day I visited them, when they welcomed me with much affection, declaring what peace and happi- ness they felt since their late conversion. A number soon came together, among whom was the Indian who, the day before, was so concerned for his wife. His convictions for sin appeared deep, and his mind was in much distress. We joined in prayer for him ; when I had closed, an In- dian woman prayed in Mohawk. While she was with great earnestness presenting to the Lord the case of this broken-hearted sinner, the Lord set his soul at liberty. 1822.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 203 Himself and family have since appeared much devoted to the service of the Lord. The next morning, assisted by an interpreter, I again preached to the Indians. After the meeting, observing a man leaning over the fence weeping, I invited him to a neighboring thicket, where I sung and prayed with him. I then called on him to pray ; he be- gan, but cried aloud for mercy with much contrition of spirit ; but his tone was soon changed from prayer to praise. The work is spreading into a number of families. Sometimes the parents, sometimes the children, are first brought under concern. Without delay they fly to God by prayer, and generally they do not long mourn before their souls are set at liberty. The change which has taken place among this people appears very gTeat, and, I doubt not, will do honor to the cause of religion, and thereby glorify God, who has promised to give the Gen- tiles for the inheritance of his Son.' " On my return from conference I called and preached to the Mohawks, and have it on my plan to continue to attend to them in my regular route. After having ex- plained the rules of society to them, twenty were admitted as members of society. It was a season of refreshing to us all. On the 28th of September I again preached to them. The crowd was now such that they could not all get into the house. Their usual attention and fervor were apparent, and near the conclusion of the discourse the hearts of many were affected, and they praised the Lord for his power and goodness. In meeting them in class they appeared to be progressing finely, advancing in the knowledge and love of God. Several who had been under awakening, having now returned from their hunting, re- quested to be received, and were admitted into the society. The society now consists of twenty-nine members, three of whom are white persons. We have also a sabbath school of Indian children, consisting of about twenty, who 204 A HISTORY OF THE [1822. are learning to read. Some young men have kindly of- fered their services to instruct them. This good work is about fifty miles from the mouth of the Grand river, about six miles from the Mohawk village, and four miles north of the great road leading from Ancaster to Longpoint. About twelve miles from the mouth of the Grand river another gracious work is commenced, among both Indians and whites.* About twelve have found peace to their souls, among whom are four of the Delaware tribe. This awakening first took place in the mind of a white man — a notorious sinner. It was in time of preaching that the power of God arrested him. He wept and trembled like Belteshazzar. After meeting he came to me, saying, ' I don't know what is the matter with me. I never felt so before : I believe I am a great sinner, but I wish to do better : what shall I do to be saved V I told him the Spirit of the Lord was upon him, to convince him of sin, and he must repent and turn to God. There is evidently a great change in this man, who we hope may be an honor to the cause of religion in this wicked part of the reserva- tion. The awakening is prevailing in several families. We have twelve in society here. In the townships of Rainham and Walpole there are still good appearances. Indeed, at most of my appointments we have the presence and blessing of the Lord ; so that our missionary friends will have no occasion to repent the prayers they have of- fered, the money they have expended, and the tears they have shed in behalf of the once miserable and forsaken sinners, but now happy and bless ?d converts, on the Grand river. Much labor is now necessary, and I would gladly have assistance ; but my health is good, and I would not increase expenses. In weariness my mind is comforted, * A small settlement of white people on the Indian lands here borders on a settlement of the Delaware Indians. 3 1822.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 205 and my soul is delighted in feeding these hungry natives with the provisions of the gospel. O, I could endure hunger, or sit down thankfully to their humble fare, or lie down in Indian wigwams all my life, to be employed in such a work as this, and especially if favored with such consolations as at times I have enjoyed since I commenced my labors in this mission. I hope for ever to be grateful for His mercy in thus blessing his word for the conver- sion of these poor perishing sinners. Dear sir, a letter of instruction and counsel would be thankfully received. I hope I have an interest in the prayers of my brethren. Farewell. Very affectionately yours in the gospel of Christ." *' Letter from the Rev. William Case, dated Niagara, U. C, October 7, 1823. " In my letter of the 27th of August I mentioned that an awakening had taken place among the Indians on the Grand river, and promised a more particular account of this work after my next visit among them. But as brother Torry has sent you a pretty full account, a few remarks will suffice. On the 24th of September, in company with a religious friend, we passed into the woods, and arrived at the Indian dwellings about nine o'clock in the morning, a time at which they generally hold their morning devo- tions. We were received with cordial kindness, and the shell was blown as a call to assemble for religious service. Soon the people, parents and children, were seen in all directions repairing to the house of prayer. When they arrived they took their seats with great solemnity, observ- ing a profound silence till the service commenced. Having understood that they were in the habit of singing in the Mohawk, I requested them to sing in their usual manner, which they did melodiously. The following verse is taken from the hymn, and the translation into English is annexed : — 3 206 A HISTORY OF THE [1822. ' 0 sa ya ner Tak gwogh sni ye nough Ne na yonk high sweagh se, Ne o ni a yak hi sea ny, Sa ya ner tes hegh sm'yeh.' ' Enlighten our dark souls, till they Thy sacred love embrace : Assist our minds (by nature frail) With thy celestial grace.' " After the sermon several addressed the assembly in the Mohawk, and the meeting was concluded by prayer from one of the Indians in his native tongue. The use of ardent spirits appears to be entirely laid aside, while the duties of religion are punctually and daily observed. The hour of prayer is sounded by the blowing of the shell, when they attend for their morning meetings with the re- gularity of their morning meals. The Indians here are very desirous of obtaining education for their children, and they are making such efforts as their low circumstances will allow : for this purpose a school-house is commenced: a sabbath school is now in operation, where about twenty children are taught the rudiments of reading, and we are not without hope of seeing a day school established for the ensuing winter. Certainly this mission has been at- tended with the divine blessing beyond every expectation. It was not at first commenced with the professed design of converting the natives, (though they were had in view,) but for the benefit of the white inhabitants scattered over the Indian lands. The merciful Lord, however, has been pleased to endow the mission with abundant grace, and the friends of missions may now renew their songs of gra- titude and joy over thirty more converted natives of the forest, together with an equal number of converts among the white population." The Cherokee mission was also commenced this year. The Cherokee Indians inhabited a tract of country 1822.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 207 included in the slates of Georgia and North Carolina oq the east, Alabama on the west, and that part of Tennessee lying south of Hiwassee and Tennessee rivers, compris- ing not less than ten millions of acres. These natives had been partially civilized ; some of them had become wealthy, possessing domestic cattle in abundance, and were thriving agriculturists. ) White people had settled among them, intermarriages had taken place, so that there were many half-breeds of respectable standing and character, who could speak both the English and Cherokee languages, and many of the children were well educated. And had they been left undisturbed in their possessions, they doubtless would hav^e risen into a wealthy, intelligent, religious, and respectable com- munity. The American Board of Missions commenced a mis- sion among these people as early as 1817, which has been much assisted in its funds by the government of the United States, and has, no doubt, exerted a salutary influence on the Indian character. It was in the spring of this year, at the request of a native Cherokee, by the name of Richard Riley, that the Rev. Richard Neeley, of the Tennessee conference, visited the nation, and preached in the house of Mr. Riley. In the course of the summer, being assisted by the Rev. Robert Boyd, Mr. Neeley formed a society of thirty-three members, and Richard Riley was appointed a class-leader. At a quarterly meeting which was held there a short time after, by the Rev. William M'Mahon, presiding elder of Hunts ville district, the power of God was displayed in a most signal manner, during which several of the natives found peace with God through faith in the Lord Jesus, and became members of the 3 208 A HISTORY OF THE [1822. Cliuich. Ill December following (lie Rev. Andrew J. Crawford, who had been appoiiiled to the charge of this mission, arrived there, and met a council composed of the principal men of the nation, who approved of the mission, and, with their consent, a school was com- menced on the 30th of that montli. This was the be- ginning of the good work which terminated in the conversion of many of the Cherokees to the faith of Christianity. In reporting the state of this mission to the Tennessee conference, in 1822, the committee use the follow^ing language : — " Your committee look upon these openings of Divine Providence as special and loud calls to our conference, our superintendents, our ministers, and members in general, to unite their zeal and exertions, to afford this destitute peo- ple the means of salvation. 0, brethren ! come up to the help of the Lord against the mighty. What has God al- ready wrought, and how plain and simple the means by which he has performed the mighty work! Only con- sider, but two years ago a Methodist preacher had never preached in this part of the Cherokee nation. Our worthy and pious friend, Mr. Riley, as has been stated, invited brothers Neeley and Boyd to cross the Tennessee river and preach at his house, and these zealous and pious young men, who had just been called, like Elisha, from the plough to the pulpit, embraced the invitation, and flew upon the wings of love to plant the gospel among the In- dians, believing that a Methodist preacher is never out of his way when he is searching for the lost sheep of the house of Israel, and bringing sinners home to God. Robert Boyd is no more ! he is gone to his reward ; but he lives in the hearts of these pious Indians, and never, no, never, while their memory is left them, will they cease to re- member Robert Boyd. ' 3 1822.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 209 " We now have one hundred and eight regular members of society in this part of the nation, and a number of the children can read the word of God, and some of them can write a tolerably good hand ; and the whole amount of moneys expended does not exceed two hundred dollars. Indeed, your committee are of opinion, that a great parade about missionary establishments, and the expenditure of many thousands of dollars to give the heathen science and occupation, without religion, is of but little advantage to them. For, after all their acquirements, they are still sa- vages, unless their hearts be changed by the grace of God and the power of the gospel ; but this blessed gospel, which is the power of God to the salvation of all that be- lieve, whenever and wherever its divine influences are implanted in the heart by the efficient operations of the Holy Ghost, makes man a new creature, and fits him for his place in society." The success which attended these efforts among the aborigines of our country acted as a divine charm upon the members of the Church generally, and contributed not a little to diffuse the spirit of revival, and to excite a generous liberality throughout our entire borders. It tended also to silence the objections of those who had doubted the expediency of forming the society, or of the feasibility of reclaiming the wandering savages of our wildernesses from their heathenish superstitions and vicious habits. Besides these Indian missions, others were undertaken for the benefit of the destitute parts of the white settle- ments. Last year the Rev. Fitch Reed, of the Genesee conference, was appointed to York, (now Toronto,) in Upper Canada, with Rev. Keneth M. K. Smith as his helper. Their mission extended into the settlements in the neighborhood of Toronto, which, at that time, were 3 210 A HISTORY OF THE [1822. new, poor, and destitute of the gospel. Some idea may be formed of the difficulties with which they had to contend in traveling through particular parts of the country, from the fact that brother Smith, who devoted himself chiefly to the back settlements, was in the habit of carrying an ax with him, so that when he came to a stream of water that he could not ford, (which was fre- quently the case,) he felled a tree across it, on which he passed over. In some instances, it is stated, where the trees stood opposite to each other on the banks of the creek, and formed a junction at the top, he would climb one tree and descend another, and thus pass on to his appointments among this scattered population. Their labors were blessed, and a foundation w£is laid for the establishment of societies which have subsequently much prospered. When they first went among the people they found them engrossed in the cares of the world, desecrating the sabbath for purposes of amusement, idle recreation, or secular labor ; and some who had once professed re- ligion had cast off the fear of God, and were hnmersed in the pleasures of sin. It was not long, however, be- fore the word took such effect that the houses were crowded with attentive hearers. The sabbath espe- cially, instead of being devoted to profane revelry, was spent in religious devotion, and many were inquiring what they should do to be saved. The result was, that this year, 1822, there were returned on the Minutes in this mission one hundred and four ; thirty-four in York, and seventy in the new settlements. To aid the missionaries in their work, the American Bible Society made a generous donation of Bibles and 3 1822.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 211 Testaments for gratuitous distribution among the poor in that district of country. Many parts of our general work were blessed with revivals of the work of God. Among others, the follow- ing may be mentioned : — Brooklyn, Long Island, was powerfully visited with the refreshing influences of the Spirit, under the labors of the Rev. Lewis Pease. This work commenced at a camp meeting held at Musquito Cove, Long Island, and was productive of the conver- sion and addition to the Church in that place of not less than one hundred souls. Several towns on the Amenia circuit were visited by powerful revivals, which terminated in the conversion of about two hundred souls, one hundred and seventy of whom joined our Church, and the rest were divided between the Presby- terians and Baptists. Among these converts, several, at a place called Oblong, had been Universalists. Being convinced of the excellence of the power of religion, they cast away their dependence upon a mere specula- tive belief in Christianity, and yielded to be saved noiOj by "grace, through faith." A work of God also pievailed on the Tolland circuit, New-England conference, which eventuated in the con- version of about two hundred and fifty, of almost all ages, and of both sexes. At a camp meeting held at East Hartford, which was numerously attended, there were manifest displays of the power and grace of God in the awakening and conversion of souls. The fi*uits of this revival Avere divided among the Methodists, Con- gregationalists, and Baptists, about one hundred being added to the Methodist Church.* * The Rev. Daniel Dorchester, who was the presiding elder of the district, in giving an account of this work, relates 3 212 A HISTORY OF THE [1822. Tlie Upper Canada district, then under the charge of the Rev. William Case, is thus described by him : — " Blessed be the Lord, we are prospering finely in this country. Our congregations, sabbath schools, missionary collections, a church-building spirit, as well as conver- sions, and order and harmony in the societies, all demon- strate the rising strength of Zion in these parts. There are now finishing or commencing twenty churches in this upper half of the province. We have more than forty sab- bath schools, and one thousand scholars. These nurse- ries of virtue and religious information promise much to the prosperity of the rising generation, both in a civil and religious point of view. A great and happy improvement is visible since the close of the late war, which, in many places, by the confusion and calamities it introduced, had broken down the barriers of vice. Churches are crowded with listening hearers. Youth and children, instead of wandering in the fields, or loitering in the streets, are in many places thronging to the schools, with their books in their hands, and learning to read the book of God. One man, who has a large family of children, a few days since observed to me that, ' since sabbath schools began, he had had no trouble in the government of his family.' " the following affecting and mournful incident: — A young man. about eighteen years of age, who attended the meeting, was earnestly solicited by some of his young associates, who had recently embraced the Saviour, to seek the salvation of God. He constantly resisted their importunities, though they were seconded by preachers and other friends, by say- ing, " I will wait till I get home." On his way home he suddenly sprung from the wagon, and exclaimed, "Mother, I am dying ! I am dying ! I shall not live an hour ! O that I had sought religion at the camp meeting!" Though a physician was procured, it was in vain. His flesh soon as- sumed a purple hue, and the next day, at about eight o'clock, P. M., he breathed his last. 3 1822.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 213 On the Smyrna circuit, Delaware, there was an out- pouring of the Spirit, which resulted in the conversion of many souls ; one hundred and twenty were con- nected with our Church, forty of whom were colored people. Before this revival the colored members of the Church had been much divided in spirit, by the efforts of the Allenites to form a party ; but this good work had the happy effect of uniting them more closely together, and of cementing their union with the Church which had nursed them from their infancy. In Surry county, in Virginia, through the agency of camp meetings and other means of grace, about three hundred souls were brought to the knowledge of God by faith in Jesus Christ, and the geneial impression made on the public mind was most favorable to the cause of truth and love. In Lynchburg also, in this state, there were added to the Church upward of one hundred members, as the result of a revival in that place. At a camp meeting held in the Scioto district, Ohio, tlie work of God prevailed powerfully, and from thence spread in different directions through the country. This meeting, which was under the superintendence of the Rev. G. R. Jones, was attended by about sixty of the converted Indians of the Wyandots, among whom were several of the chiefs Avho had embraced Christianit}% These spoke in a most feeling manner of the work of God in their own hearts, and among the people of their nation, while tears of grateful joy bespoke the interest which the congregation felt in their spiritual and eternal welfare. On the Northumberland district, under the charge of the Rev. H. Smith, by means of various camp meetings 3 214 A HISTORY OF THE [1822. which were held in the several circuits, not less than two hundred souls were brought to God, while a con- viction of the necessity of being reconciled to him through faith in his Son spread extensively among the people in that region of country. The Hudson river district, New- York conference, through a similar agency, shared largely in the good work this year. The New-Rochelle circuit. New- York, was blessed with a great revival of religion, under the labors of the Rev, Elijah Woolsey and his colleagues. White Plains, Rye, Sawpit, and New-Rochelle all shared in the bene- jfits of this glorious work : and so earnest were many to attend the meetings, with a view to seek the salvation of their souls, that some came from ten to twelve miles, and many such returned rejoicing in God their Saviour. In consequence of this work, the nett increase in this circuit among the whites was one hundred and nine.* In Washington city, D. C, God poured out his Spirit In a remarkable manner, in answer to the prayers of his people. During this work, in little more than two months, one hundred and fifty-eight were received into the Church as probationers. There was also a good work in the city of New- York, about three hundred being added to the Church. This was encouraging to those who had mourned over the departure of so many two years before. I have before remarked, that during this period of our history we were called upon to sustain a new war- fare to defend ourselves against the assaults of our opponents. Whether it was from jealousy of our rising prosperity, or from a real belief that our doctrines were * The exact number of conversions was not reported. 3 1622.) MfitHOblST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 2l5 dangerous to the souls of men, other denominations, more particularly the Calvinists, seemed to rally to the charge against our ministry) the economy of our Church, and our modes of carrying on the work of God. Hence a spirit of controversy was infused into the sermons which were delivered by our preachers, much more than formerly, the necessity for which was urged from witnessing new modes of attack. Indeed, a new system of divinity was rising into notice, differing in som.e respects from the Calvinism of former days, in which a universal atonement was recognized in connec- tion with the doctrine of eternal and universal decrees, the force of which, however, it was attempted to avoid by inculcating the doctrine of a " natural ability and a moral inabiHty." By the use of this subtle distinction, and the doctrine of universal atonement, keeping out of view the old doctrine of universal decrees, some were induced to believe that the difference between this new divinity and Methodism was but slight, and therefore they might, so far as these doctrines were concerned, embrace one as well as the other. Our preachers felt it to be their duty to imravel the sophistry of these ar- guments, by showing that, so long as that doctrine of universal decrees, which involved the notion of uncon- ditional election and reprobation, was held fast, the two systems were at variance, and could never be made to harmonize. We were also frequently denounced as Arminians. And Arminians were represented as denying the doc- tiine of human depravity, of regeneration by the effi- cient grace of God, and the necessity of divine aid in working out and securing our eternal salvation. As this was a most unjust imputation, we felt called upon to 3 216 A HISTORY OF THE [1822. make a lull and fair statement of our doctrinal views, and to defend ourselves against such manifest perver- sions of our real, published, and acknowledged senti- ments. In doing this, though there may have been occasional exhibitions of heat on both sides, and a con- troversial spirit indulged, in some instances, to too great an extent, yet truth was elicited, and our doctrines and usages became better understood, and more highly and generally appreciated by the community. With a view to secure a more commodious and per- manent location for the Wesleyan seminary in the city of New- York, a site was this year procured in Crosby- street, by leasing three lots of ground, on which the trustees erected a brick building, sixty-five feet in length and forty in breadth, the upper part of which was occupied as a place of worship. Here a male and fe- male academy was kept until the premises were pur- chased by the agents of the Book Concern, in the year 1824, when another building was procured in Mott- street. The academy at the White Plains grew out of the one first commenced in the city of New- York ; and when the property of the latter was disposed of, after discharging the debts of the institution, the balance was given to the White Plains academy, which has con- tinued to the present time. Though the Wesleyan seminary did not fully an- swer the benevolent designs of its original founders, it is believed that its establishment gave an impulse to the cause of education which has gone on increasing in power and influence to the present day. Thirty-seven preachers were this year located, twenty- four returned supernumerary, and seventy-one superan- nuated, and four had died, namely, Hamilton Jeffer- 3 I823i] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. Sl7 soii^ Edward Orein^ William Early ^ and John Pitts^ each of whom died in the full assurance of faith, Number of Church members. Whites. Colored. Total. Preachers. This year 252,645 44,377 297,022 1,106 Last year 239,087 42,059 281,146 977 Increase 13,558 2,318 15,876* 129 It will be perceived that there was a more than usual increase to the number of traveling preachers, owing to a diminution in the number of locations, and a propor- tionate increase to the list of superannuated preachers. This was probably owing to the better provision which began to be made, in consequence of tlie regulations of the General Conference of 1816, for the support of the famiUes of preachers, and the furnishing parsonages for their accommodation. This last remedy, however, was but partially provided as yet, though the work was happily begun, and has been gradually going forward to tlje present time. 1823. The work of God this year was steadily ad- vancing within the bounds of the several annual con- ferences. Some of the circuits in the older parts of the work, in consequence of the increase of members and societies, were much contracted, and the number of stations was necessarily multiplied. In this manner the work was becoming more and more compact, pas- toral labor more easily and punctually performed, and the local interests of each society more minutely at- * There is an error in the printed Minutes for this year, there being 700 less in the increase than what appears in the Minutes. Vol. IIL— 10 218 A HtSTOHY OF THE [1823. tended to. Still, new circuits were formed in the fron- tier settlements, new missions opened, and some villages and neighborhoods not before occupied by our ministry, through the aid of the Missionary Society, were supplied with the word and ordinances of God. These 1 shall endeavor to notice, so far as authentic documents and other sources of information will enable me to do it correctly. The Missionary Society, having been recognized by the General Conference, Vvas now considered as an in- tegral part of the general plan of carrying on the work of God, and was becoming more and more identified with the other institutions of the Church. Its blessed results, also, which were seen and felt, more especially among the wandering savages of our countr)^, entwined it around the affections of our people, and called forth their liberality for its support. The cause of missions was also much aided about this time by the eloquent appeals of the Rev. John Summerfield, a young minister who came over from Ireland and joined the New- York conference in 1821. He had attracted much attention since his arrival among us by the sweet and melting strains of his pulpit ora- tory, and as he entered into the spirit of our Missionary Society with great zeal and energy, he contributed much to the diffusion of its benevolent principles among the people at large. While stationed in the city of New- York, in 1822, where he drew vast multitudes to listen to the accents of redeeming love, which fell from his lips in the purest strains of gospel eloquence, he adopted the practice of delivering lectures to the children at stated times, at which he made collections to aid the Missionary Society. And the hearty and efficient man- 3 1823.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 219 ner in which he espoused this noble enterprise led the Young Men's Missionary Society of New- York to elect him as their president. His zeal in the cause of God, and the popularity of his talents for addressing public assemblies on anniversary occasions, induced so many applications from the benevolent and charitable societies for his services, to which he yielded with perhaps too great a readiness for his strength, that he found himself wearing out by the intensity of his labors. This in- duced him, by the advice of his physicians and friends, to make a voyage to France for the benefit of his health. While there he sent the following address to the society of which he was the president, and which, as a sample of the writer's manner of communicating his thoughts, and an evidence of the ardor with which he eniered into this subject, I think worthy of preserva- tion. It is as follows : — <' Marseilles, February 20, 1823. " Mv Dear Brethren': — You are too well acquainted with the circumstances which prevent my filHng the chair upon this pleasurable occasion, to require that I should dwell upon them ; indeed, it would be irrelevant to those important objects which have assembled you together : not private sympathies, but the public good, will be your pre- sent theme ; and in this I realize my full share of joy with you, for although in a far distant land, and that a land of strangers, my affections point to those ' whom I love in the truth,' and with whom I glory to be in any wise associated in carrvins on the cause of our common Lord. " Upon the occasion of an anni^^ersary like yours, ex- hortation to renewed zeal might be deemed impertinent ; the pulse of every heart beats too high on such an occa- sion to anticipate any decay in your future exertions. This 3 220 A HISTORY OF THE [1823. is rather a season of congratulation and rejoicing ; and in commencing another year of labor and reward, I devoutly implore for you a continuance of that grace which has enabled you to remain ' steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord.' " In common with all who love the interests of the Re- deemer's kingdom, I rejoice at witnessing that increase of missionary zeal and missionary means which the past year lays open, not only in your auxiliary and its parent society, but among other denominations of the Christian church ; in this ' you also joy and rejoice with me,' for ' whether Paul, Apollos, or Cephas, all are ours ;' — so that in what- ever part of the vineyard the work is wrought, we view it ' not as the work of man, but as it is in truth, the work of God ;' lor ' neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth : it is God that giveth the increase.' We may collect from different funds, but we bring to the same exchequer ; and have no greater joy than in the accumu- lation of the revenue of that relative glory of the divine character which redounds from the salvation of men, ' through Christ Jesus, unto the glory and praise of God the Father.' " But, abstracted from general views of the mighty work of missions, I regard the branch to which you are attached with peculiar pleasure on this occasion. You know that, from the beginning of our existence in the religious world, Methodism has always been a ' history of missions ;' its venerable founder, considering that this was the first cha- racter of the Christian church, ai^d believing it would be the last, even at that day when ' many shall run to and fro, and knowledge be hicreased,' wisely instituted a ministry which should be a standing monument of what God could do by this means. ' And what has God wrought V Some there are, whom the frost of many winters has not chilled to death, to whom our father's words may still be spoken. 1823.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 221 * Saw ye not the cloud arise — Little as a human hand V " Its present state we ourselves have lived to see : * Now it spreads along the skies — Hangs o'er all the thirsty land ! When he first the work begun, Small and feeble was his day ; Now the word doth swiftly run, Noio it wins its widening way ! More and more it spreads and grows ; Ever mighty to prevail. Sin's strong holds it now o'erthrows, Shakes the trembling gates of hell!' " Indeed, there are seasons wherein the overwhelming influence of these reflections so rests upon the mind, that unless we heard the warning voice, ' What doest thou here, Elijah?' we should stand at the base of this mighty struct- ure, and wholly spend our time for naught, in admiring the symmetry and proportion of all its parts, beholding ' what manner of stones and buildings are here !' But, thus warned, we too ' arise and build.' Thus ' instead of the fathers are the children, and the children's children shall yet add thereto, till the topstone be raised, shouting, Grace, grace unto it !' " My dear brethren, if there is a scene within the uni- verse of God calculated to lift our minds to heaven ; if there is a scene calculated to bring down the heavenly host to earth, it is that which portrays in anticipation the final triumph of the ' gospel of the grace of God.' Yes, the gospel must ultimately and universally triumph ! Well may we exclaim, What an object is this ! It is the fairest scene that the pencil of heaven, dipped in the colors of its own rainbow, can delineate ; and even the great voice is- suing from the eternal throne can utter nothing more exhi- larating and sublime than the consummation of this event, ' Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men !' Yes, my brethren, 8 222 A HISTORY OF THE [1823. 'Jesus shall reign where'er the sun Does his successive courses run.' " The glow which pervaded the apostle's mighty mind did not cause his pen to aberrate ; the spirit of inspiration sat upon him when he declared that Jesus ' must reign till he hath put all enemies under his feet.' That day will come! Do we expect to swell the number who shall grace his triumph ? Do we bum with seraphic ardor to be among his train ' when he shall be revealed from heaven with power and great glory V Then ' gird up the loins of your mind ; be sober, and hope to the end, for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ !' Wherefore ' comfort one another with these words,' for truly ' it is with the same comfort wherewith I myself am comforted of God.' " You, my dear brethren of this auxiliary, who are the managers of its concerns, I hail. I am also one of you. * I write unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you.' Early separated from the world, and ardently employed in seeking the interests of ' a better country, that is, a heavenly, God is not ashamed to be called your God, for he has prepared for you a city.' ' Walk therefore by the same rule, mind the same thing.' 'Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world.' ' Set your aifections on things above, and not on things upon the earth.' Soon you shall hear it sounded, * Because thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things ; enter thou into the joy of thy Lord !' " The friends and subscribers of this auxiliary are enti- tled to your thanks ; they have merited them well ; by means of the numerous little streams which have been di- rected to our reservoir by the friends of missions, our 'water-pots,' if not always full, have never become dry. on this occasion, however, you look to have them ' filled 3 1823.J METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 223 even to the brim ;' and may He who can convert our base material to subserve his glorious purpose of saving men, * draw forth' therefrom that ' wine of the kingdom which cheers the heart of God and man.' " I remain, my dear brethren, your fellow-laborer and servant, J. Summerfield." A mission was commenced this year among the Pot- tavvatamy Indians, a small tribe settled in the neigh- borhood of Fort Clark, on the Fox river, in the state of Illinois, and the Rev. Jesse Walker was appointed to prosecute its objects. But though he succeeded, after much toil and ex- pense, in establishing a school and conciliating the friendship of some of the adult Indians, yet the mis- sionary was compelled, after seven years of hard labor, to abandon the enterprise as hopeless. Their strong attachments to savage life, and incurable suspicions of white men, together with their final determination to remove west, frustrated the benevolent attempts to in- troduce the gospel and the arts of civiUzed life among them. A fragment of the Wyandot tribe of Indians was set- tled in Upper Canada, on the banks of the river Car- nard. These were first visited by Mr. Finley, and were afterward transferred to the care of Mr. Case, to whom the superintendence of all the aboriginal missions in that province was committed. About twenty of these Indians embraced the Christian faith, and became members of our Church. In the bounds of the Tennessee conference there was a missionary district formed, embracing that part of Jackson's Purchase that lies in the states of Tennessee and Kentucky, which was committed to the charge of 3 224 A HISTORV OF THE [1823. the Rev. Lewis Garrett. This was a new country, rapidly filling up with inhabitants, and there were no less than nine preachers appointed to supply them with the means of salvation. As before remarked, Mr. Gar- rett was first appointed a missionary to this region of country, v/hich contained not less than ten thousand square miles, in 1820, and he succeeded in forming a four weeks' circuit, in which he was assisted, by the ap- pointment of the presiding elder, by Andrew J. Craw- ford. And so successful had they been in 1821, that in 1822 there were returned on the Minutes of the con- ference one hundred and fifty-five members, thirteen of whom were colored people. The inhabitants gene- rally received the messengers of the gospel with joyful hearts, opening their doors and making them welcome, and also contributing, according to their scanty means, for their support, for as yet the Missionary Society was able to appropriate but little for the furtherance of domestic missions. These men of God, though they had to contend with poverty, bad roads, and to preach in log huts, or under the foliage of the native trees, penetrated into every part of the country where settlements had been formed, and succeeded in establishing seven circuits, in which they returned for the Minutes of 1823 one thousand one hundred and twenty-six members, one hundred and one of whom were colored, chiefly slaves. This year the gospel was more extensively intro- duced into the territory of Michigan, which was erected into an independent state and received into the Union in the year 1836. This country was originally settled by the French, who sent Catholic missionaries there as early as 1648, 3 1823.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 225 and the city of Detroit was founded in 1670, by a few French families. Its growth was slow, but the people gradually enlarged their borders on each side of the De- troit river, a strait about twenty-four miles in length, which connects Lakes St. Clair and Erie. In 1763 this country, together with Upper Canada, passed, by the right of conquest, from the French into the hands of the British, and so remained until the war of the revolution separated it from the British empire and connected it with the United States. After this, emi- grants from different parts of the Union began to mingle with the original settlei^. When this country was first visited by a Methodist missionary, in 1S04, it was in a deplorable state as to religion and morals.* In Detroit there was no preach- ing except by the French Catholics, and their influence in favor of the pure morality of the gospel was ex- * When the writer of this history visited Detroit, in 1804, he obtained an old building called the "Council House" to preach in. On his second visit, while preaching in the even- ing there arose a tremendous storm, accompanied with the most vivid lightning and awful peals of thunder. He conti- nued his sermon, however, reminding his hearers that this war in the elements was but a faint resemblance of that day when " the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up." He was af- terward informed that some of " the baser sort" of the young men, after the candles were lighted, deposited some powder in them at such a distance from the blaze that they supposed it would take fire and explode during the sermon. They were disappointed. The exercises closed without any ex- plosion, because the candles had not burned down to the powder. These wags, after all was over, informed their as- sociates of what they had done, and remarked, that while the peals of thunder were bursting over the house, they 10* 3 236 A HISTORY OF THE [1823. tremely feeble. The few Protestant emigrants who had settled in Detroit and some of the adjoining places were entirely destitute of a ministry of their own order, and were fast assimilating into the customs and habits of those with whom they associated. And though re- peated eflforts had been made, from time to time, to es- tablish Methodism in Detroit, they must have been attended with but little success, for we find no members returned on the Minutes of conference for that place until the year 1822, and then the number was only twenty. This year, 1823, the Rev. Alfred Brunson was sta- tioned on the Detroit circuit, which stretched through the country for four hundred miles. This he and his colleague, the Rev. Samuel Baker, surrounded each once in four weeks, giving the people a sermon every two weeks ; and their labois were so far blessed, that in 1824 the number of Church members had increased to one hundred and sixty-one. This year a small society was formed at St. Mary's. This was a military post belonging to the United States, situated on the strait by that name, about eighty miles in length, and which connects Lakes Superior and Hu- ron, and is about four hundred miles in a northerly direction from Detroit. The most of this distance, at that time, was a wilderness, infested with beasts of prey, and dotted with here and there an Indian village. It was at this place that a few pious soldiers, who had been converted at Sackett's Harbor, were removed, and, were fearful that the Almighty was about to hurl a bolt at their heads, as a punishment for their wickedness, and hence they sat trembling for their fate during the greater part of the sermon. 3 1823.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 227 being almost destitute of every religious privilege, formed themselves into a class, chose a leader, and met together for mutual edification and comfort, holding their meet- ings in the woods until the barracks were erected, when they were allowed the use of the hospital. They were much assisted by the good countenance of Lieutenant Becker, a pious member of the Presbyterian Church, to whom they were attracted by a congeniality of feeling, and they were mutually refreshed and strengthened in their social meetings. In the course of the winter their number increased to about fourteen, which much encou- raged them to persevere in their work of faith and labor of love. This state of things in that part of the country in- duced Mr. Brunson to call loudly for help, and this led to the establishment of St. Mary's mission a short time after. The territory of Florida had recently been ceded to the United States, as an indemnity for the spoliations committed upon our commerce by Spanish cruisers ; and as it is the policy of the Methodist Episcopal Church to enter every open door for the spread of the gospel, a missionary, the Rev. Joshua N. Glenn, was sent this year to St. Augustine, the oldest town in North America, and capital of East Florida. Most of the in- habitants of this place and the surrounding country are of Spanish descent, and members of the Roman Ca- tholic Church. There w^ere, how^ever, a few Anglo- Americans settled among tlie Creoles, to whom our missionary addressed himself in the name of the Lord, and he succeeded in raising a society of fifty-two mem- bers, forty of whom were people of color. This, how- ever, has been a barren place for the growth of Method- 3 228 A HISTORy OF THE [1823. ism ; for even now, (1840,) after continued efforts of seventeen years, St. Augustine is scarcely represented among- our stations. This, however, is owing to other causes than the want of a disposition on the part of the people to receive the gospel. The late Indian warfare has exerted a most destructiv^e influence upon the reli- gious state of the population through all that region of country, and more particularly upon the citizens of St. Augustine, the chief rendezvous of hostile armies. Chatahoochee, in the bounds of the Florida territory, was also selected as missionary ground, and its cultiva- tion was committed to Messrs. John J. Triggs and John Slade. They entered upon their work with zeal and perseverance ; and notwithstanding the newness of the country, and the scattered state of the population, there were returned on the Minutes for 1824, as the fruit of their labor, three hundred and fifty-six members, sixty- four of whom were colored people. The Rev. Alexander Talley was appointed a mis- sionary this year to Pensacola, Mobile, and Blakely. Though no immediate fruit of his labor in these places Avas seen, yet he opened the way for the introduction of the gospel into that region of country, which has since flourished under the labors of those who suc- ceeded him in his work. St. Mary's, situated near the mouth of St. Mary's river, in the state of Georgia, near the frontier of Flo- rida, was visited this year with a revival of the work of God, under the ministry of the Rev. Elijah Sinclair. Though there had been in this place once a flourishing society, it had become scattered abroad, so that when Mr. Sinclair arrived there, in 1822, he could scarcely find a "place for the sole of his foot:" but he soon 3 1823.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 229 obtained favor in the eyes of the people, and God so blessed his faithful labors, that in 1823 there were re- turned forty-one members of the Church ; and the good work has gradually increased from that time to this. Cumberland mission, in Kentucky, was commenced this year by the Rev. William Chambers. He so far succeeded in his efforts as to return two hundred and sixty-one members, two hundred and fifty-one whites and ten colored, in 1824. In 1821 Methodism was introduced into the town of St. Louis, by the Rev. Jesse Walker, who went there as a missionary under the direction of the Missouri con- ference. St. Louis is the largest town on the west bank of the Mississippi river, and second to New-Orleans in importance as a place for commercial pursuits. Its original settlers were French Roman Catholics, this be- ing another in the range of settlements which they estabhshed along the course of the waters from duebec to New-Orleans. It had been, for some time before this, rising in importance, and increasing in its popula- tion by emigrations from different parts of the United States and from the old world, and was considered the centre of commerce in that part of the country. In this mixed population the missionary had some prejudices to encounter, and the more so on account of the indiscreet conduct of some who had represented the citizens of that place to the eastern churches as being but little removed from barbarians. Mr. Walker, how- ever, was kindly received by a few, and he gradually gained the confidence of the community, raised a so- ciety of about one hundred members, and succeeded in building a house of worship thirty-five feet in length and twenty-five in width. The Rev. Alexander M'AI- 3 230 A HISTORY OF THE [1823. lister, in giving an account of this work, adverts to the Missionary Society in the following words : — " It is yet in its infancy, but its growing importance portends greater good to mankind than any institution of the kind hitherto known. I am induced to beheve that there will be both numerous and liberal contributions to support the institution, since the money so raised is to be deposited in the hands of men who will, no doubt, distri- bute it with an economical hand for the support of those missionaries whose zeal is not a transient blaze, but a constant flame, consuming vice and iniquity before it, and with a gentle hand leading the penitent sons and daughters of men up to the throne of grace, where they may obtain the mercy and salvation of God."" Mr. Walker was reappointed to St. Louis in 1822, at the end of which year there were returned, including the station and circuit, one hundred and sixty-six white and forty colored members of the Church. He was succeeded this year by the Rev. William Beauchamp, whose labors were acceptable and useful, and the cause has gradually gone forward from that time to this. The aboriginal missions, which had been begun under such favorable auspices, and which promised so much good to the wandering tribes of our wildernesses, continued to prosper this year more than ever. These, together with the exertions which were made in their behalf, tended powerfully to awaken a deep and lively interest through the ranks of our Israel in favor of pro- secuting the cause with increasing zeal and energy. The Wyandot mission, which had been committed lo the care of Mr. Finley, was this year visited by Bishop M'Kendree, who entered most heartily into the cause of missions, contributing to its support, and giving, by 3 1823.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 231 his example, an impetus to the work in every direction. And as his testimony is that of an eye-witness, capable of estimating the nature and importance of the reforma- tion which had been effected among these people, the reader will be pleased to read it in the bishop's own words. It is as follows : — "On Saturday, the 21st of June, about ten o'clock in the morning, we arrived safe, and found the mission family and the school all in good health ; but was much fatigued myself, through affliction and warm weather, which was quite oppressive to me in crossing over the celebrated Sandusky Plains, through which the road lies. " In the afternoon we commenced visiting the schools, and repeated our visits frequently during the five days which we stayed with them. These visits were highly gratifying to us, and they afforded us an opportunity of observing the behavior of the children, both in and out of school, their improvement in learning, and the whole order and management of tbe school ; together with the profi- ciency of the boys in agriculture, and of the girls in the various domestic arts. They are sewing and spinning handsomely, and would be weaving if they had looms. The children are cleanly, chaste in their manners, kind to each other, j eaceable and friendly to all. They promptly obey orders, and do their work cheerfully, without any objection or murmur. They are regular in their attend- ance on family devotion and the public worship of God, and sing delightfully. Their proficiency in learning was gratifying to us, and is well spoken of by visitors. If they do not sufficiently understand what they read it is for the want of suitable books, especially a translation of English words, lessons, hymns, &c., into their own tongue. , " But the change which has been wrought among the adult Indians is wonderful ! This people, ' that walked in 3 232 A HISTORY OF THE [1823. darkness, have seen a great light ; they that dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.' And they have been ' called from darkness into the marvelous light' of the gospel. To estimate correctly the conversion of these Indians from heathenish darkness, it should be remembered that the Friends (or Quakers) were the first to prepare them in some degree for the in- troduction of the gospel, by patiently continuing to counsel them, and to afford them pecuniary aid. *' The first successful missionary that appeared among them was Mr. Steward, a colored man, and a member of our Church. The state of these Indians is thus described by him, in a letter to a friend, dated in June last : — *' * The situation of the Wyandot nation of Indians when I first arrived among them, near six years ago, may be judged of from their manner of living. Some of their houses were made of small poles, and covered with bark ; others of bark altogether. Their farms contained from about two acres to less than half an acre. The women did nearly all the work that was done. They had as many as two ploughs in the nation, but these were seldom used. In a word, they were really in a savage state,' " But now they are building hewed log houses, with brick chimneys, cultivating their lands, and successfully adopting the various agricultural arts. They now manifest a relish for, and begin to enjoy the benefits of civilization ; and it is probable that some of them will this year raise an ample support for their families, from the produce of their farms. " There are more than two hundred of them who have renounced heathenism and embraced the Christian reli- gion, giving unequivocal evidence of their sincerity, of the reality of a divine change. Our missionaries have taken them under their pastoral care as probationers for mem- bership in oiir Church, and are engaged in instructing 3 1823.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 233 them in the doctrine and duties of our holy religion, though the various duties of the missionaries prevent them from devoting sufficient time for the instruction of these inquirers after truth. But the Lord hath mercifully provided help- ers, in the conversion of several of the interpreters and a majority of the chiefs of the nation. The interpreters, feeling themselves the force of divine truth, and entering more readily into the plan of the gospel, are much more efficient organs for communicating instruction to the In- dians. Some of these chiefs are men of sound judgment, and strong, penetrating minds ; and having been more par- ticularly instructed, have made great proficiency in the knowledge of God and of divine truths ; and being very zealous, they render important assistance in the good work. The regularity of conduct, the solemnity and de- votion of this people, in time of divine service, of which I witnessed a pleasing example, is rarely exceeded in our own worshiping assemblies. " To the labors and influence of these great men, the chiefs, may also in some degree be attributed the good conduct of the children in school. Three of the chiefs officiate in the school as a committee to preserve good or- der and obedience among the children. I am told that Between-the-logs, the principal speaker, has lectured the school children in a very able and impressive manner, on the design and benefit of the school, attention to their stu- dies, and obedience to their teachers. This excellent man is also a very zealous and a useful preacher of righteous- ness. He has, in conjunction with others of the tribe, lately visited a neighboring nation, and met with encou- ragement. " On the third day after our arrival we dined with Be- tween-the-logs and about twenty of their principal men, six of whom were chiefs and three interpreters, and were very agTeeably and comfortably entertained. After dinner we 234 A HISTORY OF THE [1823. were all comfortably seated, a few of us on benches, the rest on the grass, under a pleasant grove of shady oaks, and spent about two hours in council. I requested them to give us their views of the state of the school ; to inform us, without reserve, of any objections they might have to the order and management thereof, and to suggest any alteration they might wish. I also desired to know how their nation liked our religion, and how those who had embraced it were prospering. " Their reply was appropriate, impressive, and dignified, embracing distinctly every particular inquiry, and in the order they were proposed to them. The substance. of their reply was, that they thought the school was in a good state and very prosperous ; were perfectly satisfied with its order and management, pleased with the superin- tendent and teachers, and gratified with the improvement of the children. It was their anxious wish for its perma- nence and success. They gave a pleasing account of those who had embraced religion, as to their moral con- duct and inoffensive behavior, and attention to their reli- gious duties. They heartily approved of the religion they had embraced, and were highly pleased with the great and eflfectual reformation which had taken place among them. " In the close they expressed the high obligations they were under to all their kind friends and benefactors, and in a very respectful and feeling manner thanked their visitors, and the superintendent and teachers, for their kind attention to themselves and to their children; and con- cluded with a devout wish for the prosperity and eternal happiness of them and all their kind friends. It was an affecting scene, and tears bespoke their sincerity. " To this school there are Indian children sent from Canada. Others which were lately sent were detained and taken into another school, at the rapids of Maumee, 3 1823.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH.* 235 under the direction of the Presbyterians. An apology was written by the superintendent thereof to ours, stating that the detention was made on the presumption that our school was full, &c. " When we reflect upon the state of the Wyandots, compared with their former savage condition, we may surely exclaim, ' What hath God wrought !' ' The parched ground hath become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water ; the wilderness and the solitary place is made glad, and the desert blossoms as the rose.' The marks of a genuine work of grace among these sons of the forest ac- cord so perfectly with the history of the great revivals of religion in all ages of the Church, that no doubt remains of its being the work of God. " That a great and effectual door is opened on our fron- tier for the preaching of the gospel to the Indian nations which border thereon, and that we are providentially called to the work, I have no doubt. The only question is, Are we prepared to obey the call ? The success of our mis- sionary labors does not depend on the interference of mi- raculous power, as in the case of the apostles, but on the ordinary operations and influences of the Holy Spirit, through the instrumentality of a gospel ministry, supported by the liberality of a generous people. " We have lately received an invitation from a distin- guished officer of the government to extend our missionary labors to a distant nation of Indians. A gentleman of this state who has visited New-Orleans has taken a deep inte- rest in its favor ; and from the great increase of population from other states, and the great probability of doing good at least among them, he urges another attempt. And from his influence, his ability, and disposition to minister to its support, we entertain a hope of success. " From a general view of our missions, and of what the Lord is doing by us, we certainly have abimdant cause to 3 236 A HISTORY OF THE [1823. • thank God and take courage,' and to persevere faithfully and diligently in the great work, looking to the great Head of the Church, that he may bless our labors and crown them with success. "Yours in the bonds of the gospel of peace." Nor is the following account less interesting and illus- trative of the power of gospel truth. It is from the pen of the Rev. G. R. Jones, who was present and witnessed tlie ceremony wliich lie describes in the following words : — " At our late Ohio annual conference, held in Urbana, there were several of the red, and one or two of the colored brethren present, from the Wyandot mission at Upper San- dusky, Several interviews took place between our gene- ral superintendents and them, during the sitting of the conference, at Bishop M'Kendree's room, at one of which I was present part of the time. " A few friends were invited to be present at this inter- view. As breaking bread together has been a token of hospitality and friendship among most nations, a cup of tea was prepared by the family, and at a suitable time they were waited on with it. Bishop M'Kendree, without any pre^^ous arrangement or design, appears to have been made a kind of master of ceremonies — he was waited on first. The sagacity of the red brethren was quite observa- ble ; they kept their eye on him, and conformed in every particular. Jonathan, a man of color, (who has served the mission from the beginning as an interpreter, and who, while engaged in this work, became convinced of sin, and happily converted to God,) was one of the company ; he modestly declined partaking with them, but, being press- ingly solicited by Bishop M'Kendree, yielded. After the repast was over, the red brethren joined in singing several hymns in their own tongue, during which a number in the 3 1823.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 237 house within hearing crowded into the room, until there might have been as many as forty present \ Mononcue (a chief) rose, and, approaching Bishop M'Kendree respect- fully, held out the hand of friendship, which was cordially received, and a warm embrace took place ; this appears to have taken off all restraint. Between-the-logs (another chief) followed his example, and they proceeded round to all in the room, while sighs and tears witnessed the feel- ings of most who were present ; but they were sighs of gratitude and astonishment, and tears of joy. The spirit of hostile foes in the field of battle was lost in the spirit of harmony and Christian love, which appeared to fill the room. I have witnessed few scenes which earned stronger conviction to my heart of the truth and excellence of the religion of the meek and humble Jesus. I was ready to cry out and say, ' What hath the Lord wrought !' " A worthy gentleman, high in office and respectability, had received an invitation, and was present at the inter- view. It seems he had imbibed an opinion, which is per- haps prevalent among politicians, that it is irapTacticablc to Christianize the aborigines of our country. He was placed in a part of the room farthest from the door. When the chiefs approached him all his unbelief appears to have given way, his arms were open to give the friendly em- brace, while the flowing tear bore witness to a reciprocity of feeling. He was heard to exclaim, a day or two after- ward, ' I am fully converted !' At the close of the singing by the red brethren Bishop Roberts made a few appropri- ate remarks, and we all joined him in singing, at the close of which, from the fulness of his heart, he offered up a fervent prayer. We again joined in singing, and one of the chiefs, (Between-the-logs,) being called on, prayed in a very feeling manner, while every heart appeared to respond the hearty amen ! The meeting was then drawn to a close," 3 238 A HISTORY OF THE [1823. The mission now contained one hundred and fifty- four members of the Church and sixty scholars, who were taught letters and the duties of domestic life. This year Mr. Finley, in company with some of the converted chiefs and an interpreter, set off on a visit to the Chippeways, on the Saganaw river, with a view, if practicable, to establish a mission among them. They at length arrived at the Wyandot reservation, on the Huron river, where they were cordially received and entertained by a white man called Honnes, who had lived with the Indians for many years, having been taken a prisoner when quite a lad. He was now sup- posed to be not less than one hundred years of age, could remember nothing of his parentage, nor of his days previous to his captivity, only that he was called Honiies. He was now much crippled and nearly blind, but was very intelligent and communicative. He sat upon a deer-skin, and, through an interpreter — for he had lost all knowledge of his vernacular language — he addressed our missionaries in the following manner : — " My children, you are welcome to my cabin ; and I now thank the Great Spirit that he has provided a way for us to meet together in this world. I thank him for all his mercies to me. He has fed me all my life. He has saved me in the field of blood, and has lifted up my head when I have been sick, and, like a kind father, has protected and provided for me." These affecting remarks from this patriarch of the woods were listened to with great attention and respect, being interrupted now and then, by those Indians who were present, by the expression, tough, which signifies, all true, and then the pipe of peace was lighted, passed around the company, and returned to the aged sire. This cere- 1823.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 239 mony being ended, Mr. Finley informed him that, hav- ing often heard of him, he had come some distance out of his way to see him, and then proceeded to explain to him the gospel of Jesus Christ. The tears which coursed down his withered cheeks, while he listened with solemn attention to the words of truth, bespoke the deep feeling of his heart, and the Uvely interest which he took in the subject. The discourse being closed, he took Mr. Finley by the hand, and, calHng for blessings on him and his associates, said, " I have been praying for many years that God might send some hght to this nation." After hearing, the next day, some historical anec- dotes of the Wyandots from this aged man, who had been for so many years shut out from civilized life and immured in the dungeon of heathenism, Mr. Finley bade him an affectionate adieu, and continued his jour- ney in search of other lost sheep of the house of Israel. These men of the woods, however, were not forgotten by the Christian missionaries, but were sought out and provided with the means of salvation, the benefits of which some of them received. Of the destiny of Honnes, whose simple story is so affecting, I have not been in- formed, but trust the God of all the famihes of the earth did not forget him in his lonely retreat, nor reflise his prayers for more light to the nation who had adopted him as a brother. He seemed, indeed, Hke the Nestor of his tribe, and to be preserved to this good old age to welcome the harbingers of peace and good-will to the borders of his land and nation. For that abandoned class of females who have been seduced from the paths of virtue by the wiles of the other sex, many ef!'orts had been made by the pious 3 240 A HISTORY OF THE [1823. and benevolent in the city of New- York, as well as in other places where this destructive vice had become so predominant, but witliout any permanent e fleet. It seems, indeed, that among all the vices wiiich infect mankind, this, when its corrupting sway has been once permitted to gain an ascendency, is the most inveterate, and of course the most difiicult to eradicate. Not, how* ever, entirely despairing of success in attempting to effect a reformation even among these unhappy subjects of seduction, a mission was undertaken this year for their special benefit, and the Rev. Samuel D. Fergu- son was appointed to its charge. Though he labored indefatigably, in conjunction with some local preachers and cxhorters who volunteered their services to aid him, and some good impressions were made upon a few, yet they were soon effaced, and they were compelled, after using every exertion to accomphsh their object, to aban- don their enterprise in despair ; and though subsequent efforts have been more successful in a few instances in which reformations ha,ve been effected, it would seem that more powerful means must be resorted to before this soul-destroying vice can be banished from the community. In consequence of this failure in the primary object of the mission, the missionary, in the latter part of the year, turned his attention to some destitute portions in the west sections of Long Island, where he was more successful. Here he formed a regular circuit, and raised two classes of fifty-two members, which have continued to flourish, less or more, to the present time. As it was one object of our missionaiy societies to supply destitute places in the older settlements where the people were either unwilling or unable to support 3 1823.] MEtHODiST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 241 the institutions of religion, some such were either par- tially assisted from their funds or wholly supported for a season, as the case might be. Among others may be mentioned, as showing the good effects of .this policy, the town of New-Brunswick, in the state of New- Jersey, This, though an old settled place, had been a barren soil for Methodism. Our preachers had long preached there occasionally to a feeble few, but under great dis- couragements. In 1821 the Rev. Charles Pittman was gent there as a missionary, under the patronage of the Philadelphia Conference Missionary Society, and again in 1822. He met w4th much opposition, owing to the deep-rooted prejudices cherished against the peculiari- ties of Methodism. His congregation was small, not amounting to more than thirty for some weeks during the first year of his ministry. He and the little flock, however, persevered in the strength of faith and prayer until a revival of religion commenced, which terminated in the conversion of quite a number of souls, so that in the month of February of this year they numbered about one hundred communicants. From that time the work has steadily advanced, and we have now a flourishing society and a commodious house of worship ill that place. In many other places, too numerous to mention, the work of God prevailed in the older circuits and stations. On the New^-Bedford circuit, Mass., where a good work had been progressing for some time, in the month of August of this year it had extended for twenty miles, so that an entire new circuit had been formed, large enough to employ three preachers. The camp meetings continued to be held with profit to the souls of the people. At one held in the Ogeechee Vol. III.-ll 242 A HlStORY OF THE [1823. district, in the state of Georgia, not less than one hun- dred white and upward of forty colored people were made partakers of the grace of life. At one held in the same ♦place last year a work of God commenced among the students of Tabernacle Academy, a hterary institution under our care, and the reformation was ad- vancing among the students this year most encou- ragingly. At five camp meetings held in the Baltimore district for this year the Lord poured out his Spirit, and about one hundred and twenty, white and colored, professed to find the pearl of great price, among whom were two females, one eighty and the other sixty years of age. The latter w\is a (Quakeress, whose charming simplicity of manners and conversation, after her conversion, re- minded one of the primitive days of Christianity. Such evidences of the power of grace were not unUke the Pentecostal showers of divine mercy, and they tended mightily to strengthen the faith of God's people, and to baffle the speculations of an infidel philosophy. We have already seen that the cause of education began to engage the attention of some of the annual conferences, and that two academies had been put in operation. This year I find on the Minutes of the Kentucky conference that John P. Flnley was ap- pointed to the charge of Augusta College^ though I believe the college edifice w^as not erected until 1825. Our brethren, therefore, west of the mountains have the honor of founding the first college in the United States under the patronage of the Methodist Episcopal Church ; and I am happy to say that this institution has gone on prospering, though sometimes depressed from pecuniary embarrassments, shedding on that region 3 1823.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 243 of country the blessings of science and religion, greatly to the joy of its friends and patrons. Forty-four preachers were located, forty-seven re- turned supernumerary, and fifty-nine superannuated, and nine had died during the past year. These were, Philip Kennerly^ Walter Griffith^ John Dix, S^a- muel Davis, William Wright^ William Ross, Alon- son Gifford, James Griggs Peal, and William Perm Chandler. A strong testimony is given in favor of these devoted men of God, that in their last days they maintained their integrity, triumphing in the hour of dissolution, and died in hope of the glory of God. Dr. Chandler* was appointed the presiding elder on the Delaware district in 1801, about the time the camp meetings were introduced into that part of the country, and his talents were peculiarly adapted to promote their objects. His zeal in the cause of Christ was ardent, and his talents as a preacher were more than ordinary, and often the most astonishing effects were produced under his powerful appeals to the consciences of his hearers. In consequence of his devotion to the cause, and the character of his talents, he exerted a command- ing influence upon his district, winning the affections and inspiring the confidence of the people committed to his charge. The ardency of his zeal and intensity of his labors so exhausted his physical strength, that in 1808 he was returned superannuated. In 1813 he received a location ; but his warm attachments to his brethren in the traveling ministry led him back to the Philadelphia conference in May, 1822, where he re- * He was educated for a physician. 244 A HISTORY OF THE [1823. mained in the relation of a superannuated preacher until his death. Wliile preaching the gospel of the Son of God in the Ebenezer church, in the city of Philadelpliia, on the first sabbath of May, 1820, lie was suddenly prostrated by a paralytic stroke in liis left side. Though he par- tially recovered from this, yet while at the island of St. Eustatia, whither he had gone for the l>enefit of his health, a second stroke deprived hiin of the use of his right side also, which took from him and his friends all hope of his recovery. He returned home, however, and lingered for about twelve weeks, when he exchanged a world of labor and suffering for a world of rest and reward. His expressions upon his death-bed were no less consolatory to his friends than they were satisfac- tory to himself. On being told by a friend that it was Sunday, he replied, " Go then to the meeting, and tell them that I am dying, shouting the praises of God !" Then, turning to his wife, he said, '• My dear Mary, open the window, and let me proclaim to the people in the streets the goodness of God !" The following testimony is from an affectionate bro- ther, a physician, who attended him much in his last sickness : — " I visited Dr. Chandler daily during his last illness, which was of long continuance. His disease was an al- most universal paralysis. The attack had at first been confined to one side, and after a partial recovery only of that side, the other became affected in like manner with the first. His mind as well as his body felt the efl!(ects of the disease, which at times caused a considerable de- rangement of intellect : but notwithstanding the confusion that was apparent in his mental operations, his constant 1823.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 245 theme was his God and the salvation of his soul ; and on these subjects it was truly surprising to hear him converse. Although Dr. Chandler seemed incapable of rational re- flection on other subjects, yet on that of religion, at inter- vals, he never conversed with more fluency, correctness, and feeling at any period of his life. He appeared to be exceedingly jealous of himself, and occasionally laboring under fear lest he might have deceived himself, and that he should finally become a cast-away ; but of these appre- hensions he was generally relieved whenever we ap- proached a throne of grace, which we were in the habit of doing on almost every visit. In this state he remained until within a few days of his death, when the Lord was graciously pleased, in a most extraordinary manner, to pour out his Spirit upon his servant ; and although his body was fast sinking, his mind, for two days, was restored to perfect vigor and correctness. During this time he seemed to be in the borders of the heavenly inheritance. He spoke of the glories, the joys, and the inhabitants of heaven as though he had been in the midst of them. He remarked to me, at the time, that he felt that his soul had begun to dissolve its connection with the body ; and that there was a freedom, a clearness, and ease in its views and operations that was entirely new to him, and that he had never before formed a conception of — ' in fact,' said he, ' I know not whether I am in the body or out of it.' Soon after this he sunk into a stupor, in which he remained to the last. On the sabbath following his funeral sermon was preached, by the author of these lines, to a large and deeply affected congregation, from these fine words of the apostle : But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren^ concerning them that are asleep^ and that ye sorrow not even as others which have no hopeP The account of his death concludes in the following words : — 3 246 A HISTORY OF THE [1823. " As a Christian, and as a Christian minister, W. P. Chandler was a man of no ordinary grade. In his deport- ment, dignity and humility, fervor and gentleness, plain- ness and brotherly kindness, with uniform piety, were strikingly exemplified. In the pulpit his soul was in his eloquence, his Saviour was his theme, and the divine unc- tion that rested upon him, and the evangelical energy of his sermons, gave a success to his labors that has been exceeded by few. He studied to show himself approved unto God, a workman that needed not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth : and how good a proficient he was in this study, thousands who were blessed under his ministry can heartily testify, many of whom are living witnesses of the happy effects of his labors, while he is now reaping his eternal reward." Among others who departed to another world this year was JoJui Steward, who first carried the gospel to the Wyandot Indians. Of his early hfe we have seen something in our account of the Wyandot mission. He seems to have been peculiarly fitted for his work. Sin- cere, simple-hearted, much devoted to the cause in which he had engaged, he adapted himself with a ready and willing mind to the condition and circumstances of those people, won their confidence and affection by his honest simphcity, and, by the blessing of God on his exertions, conducted them away from the absurdi- ties of heathenism by the charms of gospel truth and love. His entire devotion to the interests of the mission, his intense application to meet its spiritual wants, and the privations to which he was subjected in his early resi- dence among them, so wore upon his constitution, that in the course of this year it becaine manifest that his 3 1823.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 247 health was fast declining, and that the days of his pil- grimage were near their end. When so exhausted in his physical powers as to be unable to labor for his support, his temporal wants were provided for by his friends, about fifty acres of land, on which was built a cabin for his accommodation, being secured to him in fee-simple. Here he lived the re- mainder of his days, and on his demise the property was inherited by his brother. In this place, loved and honored by those who had been benefited by his evan- gelical labors, he lingered along the shores of mortality until December the 17th, 1823, when he fell asleep in Jesus, in the thirty-seventh year of his age, and the seventh of his labors in the missionary field. On his death-bed he gave the most consoling evidence of his faith in Christ and hope of immortality, exhorting his affectionate wife to faithfulness to her Lord and Master, and testifying with his latest breath to the goodness of God. In the contemplation of such a man, we cannot but admire the wisdom of God in the selection of means to accomplish his designs of mercy toward the outcasts of men. Born in humble life, destitute of the advantages of education, unauthorized and unprotected by any body of Christians when he first entered upon his en- terprise, influenced solely by the impulses of his own mind, produced, as he believed, and as the event proved, by the dictates of the Holy Spirit, Steward sets off on an errand of mercy to the wandering savages of the wil- derness. Here he arrives, a stranger among a strange people, and opens his mission by a simple narration of the experience of divine grace upon his heart, and of Ihe motives which prompted him to forsake home and 3 248 A HISTORY OF THE [1823. kindred, and devote himself to their spiritual interests Having gained their attention, he explains to them, in the simplest language of truth, the fundamental doc- trines of Jesus Christ, contrasting them with the ab- surdities of heathenism and the mummeries of a cor- rupted form of Christianity.* No sooner does the word take effect, than a violent opposition arises against this humble and unpretending servant of Jesus Christ, which he meets w ith Christian courage, and bears with the fortitude of a well-trained soldier of the cross. By the strength of God resting upon him, he manfully buffets the storms of persecution which raged around him, and calmly guides his httle bark over the threat ening billows until it is conducted into a harbor of peace and safety. Seeking for the wisdom that cometh from above, he is enabled to unravel the sophistry of error, to refute the calumnies of falsehood, to silence the cavilings of captious witlings, and to establish firmly the truth as it is in Jesus. Did not God " choose the weak things of the world to confound the things w hich are mighty ?" Who does not look on with a trembling anxiety for the result, while the umpire was deliberating upon his fate, at that memorable time when he submitted his Bible and Hymn Book to the inspection of Mr. Walker, that he might determine whether or not they were ge- nuine ! And who can forbear participating in the general shout of exultation when the momentous ques- tion was decided in his favor ! During these anxious moments the heart of Steward must have beat high amidst hopes and fears, while the fate of his mission * The Wyandots had been taught, to some extent, the religion of the Roman Catholics. 3 1823 ] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 249 apparently hung poised upon the decision of a question which involved the dearest interests of the nation for whose welfare he had risked his all ! But the God whom he served pleaded his cause, silenced the clamor of his enemies, disappointed the machinations of the wicked, and gave a signal triumph to the virtues of honesty, simplicity, and godly sincerity.* In this triumph was * That the reader may understand the force of this allu- sion, the following incident is related. As Steward fearlessly denounced the absurdities of the Romish Church, and ap- pealed to the Bible in support of his affirmations, those unin- formed natives who had been instructed by Roman priests concluded that there must be a discrepance between his Bi- ble and the one used by the priests. To decide this question it was mutually agreed by the parties to submit it to Mr. "Walker, the sub-agent. On a day appointed for the exami- nation, Steward and the adverse chiefs appeared before the chosen arbiter. A profound silence reigned among the nu- merous spectators who had assembled to witness the scene. Mr. Walker carefully compared the two Bibles, and exa- mined the hymns, each party looking on with intense anxi- ety for the result. At length the examination closed, and Mr. Walker declared to the assembly that the Bible used by Steward was genuine, and that the hymns breathed the spirit of true religion. During the whole transaction Stew- ard sat with great tranquillity, eyeing the assembly with an affectionate solicitude, conscious that innocence and truth would gain the victory — and when it was declared, the coun- tenances of the Christian party beamed with joy, and their souls exulted in God their Saviour — while their opposers stood rebuked and confounded. Though the assembly before whom Steward appeared in Upper Sandusky was less august and imposing than the one before whom Luther appeared, at the Diet of Worms, yet the question to be decided at the former was no less momentous to the interests of Steward and his party than the one which hung suspended during the admirable address of Luther was to him and his party. While, therefore, we may contrast in our minds the two personages who had submitted their cause 11* 3 250 A HISTORY OF THE [1823. fulfilled the inspired and inspiring declaration, "One shall chase a thousand, and two shall put ten thousand to flight." to the decisions of others, we may not unprofilably compare them as behig analogous in their consequences to their re- spective nations. Luther, towering above his fellows in learning, in eloquence, in piety, and in evangelical know- ledge, was pleading the cause of truth before one of the most august assemblies ever convened to decide the fate of an in- dividual. Steward, unlettered, rude in speech, limited in knowledge, though humble and devout, was silently looking on while his fate hung suspended upon the decision of a sin- gle man. How striking the contrast ! And yet how analo- gous the cause and its results ! Luther, surrounded by princes, nobles, judges, bishops, and priests, awed by the presence of the emperor of all Germany and Spain combined, in one of the most magnificent cathedrals in the kingdom, stood firm in the strength of his God, and fearlessly advocated his cause in the face of that imposing array of civil and ec- clesiastical authority which was leagued against him. Stew- ard, on the contrary, accompanied by a few converted Indians, stood in the presence of the chiefs of the nation, most of whom had declared themselves adverse to his doc- trines and measures, surrounded by an assemblage of rude barbarians in the rough cabin of an American Indian 1 Those Germans, however, who had embraced the principles of the Reformation were not more interested in the fate of Luther, than the trembling Indians who liad embraced Christianity were for the result of the deliberations of Mr. Walker. But while Luther and his doctrines were condemned by a decree of the Diet of Worms, Steward was acquitted by the decision of the umpire to whom the question had been sub- milted. Luther, therefore, had to act in opposition to the highest authority of the empire, with the fulminating sen- tence of the pope ringing in his ears, while Steward went forth under the protection of the chief council of the nation, patronized by the Church of his choice, preaching Jesus and him crucified. Was not God's hand alike visible in each case ? Nor was Steward more contemptible in the eyes of the pagan chieftains than Luther was in the estimation of the 3 1823.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 261 In all the subsequent conduct of Steward we behold a combination of those excellences which the Spirit of God alone can ingraft and nourish in the human heart. " The excellency of the power," therefore, which was conspicuous in the life and conduct of Steward, reflected the rays of Him who had most evidently made him " a chosen vessel to bear his name unto the Gentiles" in the American wilds. Humble and unpretending as he was, his name will ever be associated with those men of God who had the high honor of first carrying the light of divine truth to the darkened tribes of our forests. And this record is made as a just tribute of respect to the memory of one whom God delighted to honor as the evangelical pioneer to the Methodist Episcopal Church in her career of usefulness among the long neglected children of our own wide domain. Number of Church members. Whites. Colored. Total. Preachers. This year 267,618 44,922 312,540 1,226 Last year 252,645 44,377 297,022 1,106 Increase 14,973 545 15,518* 120 pope and his obsequious cardinals and bishops. And per- haps the time may come when the name of John Steward, as humble as were his claims in his lifetime, shall be held in as high estimation by the descendants of the converted In- dians, as is that of Martin Luther by the church which bears his name. They both had faults, because they were both human beings ; but let their faults be buried beneath the same turf which hides their mouldering bodies from human view, while their spirits, alike indebted to the blood of the Lamb for their deliverance from the slavery of sin, shall shine amidst the heavens for ever and ever. * There is an error in the printed Minutes of not less than 610, there being that number more in the real increase than is given in the Minutes. 3 252 A HISTORY OF THE [1824. CHAPTER VII. General Conference of 1824. 1824. This conference assembled, on the first day of May, in the city of Baltimore. Bishops M'Kendree, George, and Roberts were present, and the former opened the conference by reading a portion of the Holy Scriptures, singing, and prayer. The following dele- gates presented the certificates of their election by the several annual conferences : — New-York Conference. Freeborn Garrettson, John B. Straiten, Samuel Merwin, Henry Stead, Nathan Bangs, Marvin Richardson, Eben Smith, Stephen Martindale, Daniel Ostrander, Phineas Rice, Ebenezer Washburn, Arnold Scholefield, Peter P. Sandford, Laban Clark, Samuel Luckey, William Ross. New-England Conference. George Pickering, Wilbur Fisk, Elijah Hedding, Elisha Streeter, Timothy Merritt, Ebenezer Blake, Enoch Mudge, Edward Hyde, Joseph A. Merrill, Eleazar Wells, David Kilboum, John W. Hardy, John Lindsey, Benjamin R. Hoyt. Genesee Conference. Fitch Reed, George Peck, Joseph Baker, Israel Chamberlain, Wyatt Chamberlain, George W. Densmoor, 3 1824.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 253 John p. Alverson, Isaac B. Smith, James Hall, Loring Grant, Gideon Lanning, Benjamin G. Paddock. Ohio Conference. Charles Elliott, Jacob Young, John F. Wright, John Sale, Greenbury R. Jones, James Quhm, Martin Ruter, John Waterman, Charles Waddel, Russel Bigelow, James B. Finley, David Young, John Strange. Kentucky Conference. Jonathan Stamper, Peter Cartwright, Thomas A. Morris, Richard Corwine, Charles HoUiday, George M'Nelly, John Brown, Marcus Lindsay. Missouri Conference. William Beauchamp, Samuel H. Thompson, David Sharp, John Scripps, Jesse Walker. Tennessee Conference. Hartwell H. Brown, George Ekin, Thomas Stringfield, Joshua W. Kilpatrick, William M'Mahon, John Tevis, Robert Paine, Thomas L. Douglass, Thomas Madden. Mississippi Conference. Alexander Sale, William Winans, Daniel De Vinne. South Carolina Conference. Lewis Myers, William Capers, Nicholas Talley, James O. Andrew, Samuel K. Hodges, Samuel Dunwody, James Norton, William M. Kennedy, 3 254 A HISTORY or THE fl824 Lovick Pierce, Joseph Travis, Henry Bass. Virginia Conference. Caleb Leach, Henry Holmes, Lewis Skidmore, Ethelbert Drake, Hezekiah G. Leigh, John Lattimore, Benjamin Devaney, William Compton, John C. Ballew. Baltimore Conference. Andrew Hemphill, Henry Smith, James M'Cann, Richard Tydings, Daniel Hitt, Nelson Reed, Joshua Soule, Robert Burch, Stephen G. Roszel, John Thomas, Joseph Frye, Christopher Frye, John Bear. Philadelphia Conference. Thomas Ware, John Smith, Lawrence Lawrenson, Jacob Moore, Manning Force, John Potts, Thomas Neal, Joseph Rusling, Lawrence M'Combs, Charles Pittman, Ezekiel Cooper, Alvard White, James Smith. From the time that Dr. Coke had last visited us, in 1804, no personal intercourse had been kept up between the European and American connections, though friendly epistolary salutations had been exchanged. In 1820; as we have before seen, a delegate, Dr. Emory, had been sent to the Wesleyan conference in England, and had borne with him a request that a personal in- tercourse might be established, at such times as should be mutually agreeable. In conformity to this request 3 1824.J METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 255 our British brethren sent the Rev. Richard Reece as a representative to this General Conference, accompanied by the Rev. John Hannah as his ministerial companion. As these respected brethren had arrived in the city of New- York in the month of March, they had spent the intervening time in visiting Boston, Lynn, New-Haven, Philadelphia, and other places, where they had en- deared themselves to the people by their Christian and ministerial deportment, as well as by their evangelical labors in the pulpit, and on the platform at several of our anniversaries. On the second day of the conference they were in- troduced by Bishop M'Kendree, when Mr. Reece pre- sented the following address from the Wesleyan Me- thodist conference, which was read by the secretary, Dr. Emory : — " To the General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church assembled at Baltimore, in the United States of America. " Dear Brethren : — The time has arrived which calls us, in pursuance of a resolution unanimously passed in the conference of 1820, held in Liverpool, to commission a deputation from our body, to attend your ensuing General Conference, to convey to you the sentiments of our fra- ternal regard and affectionate attachment, and to recipro- cate that kind and friendly office which, on your part, was performed by the visit of one of your esteemed ministers, the Rev. John Emory. " The increased interest in your spiritual welfare which the establishment of this mode of direct and official com- munication between the two great bodies of Methodists has naturally excited in us, and reciprocally, we believe, in you, is to us the first proof of its beneficial tendency, 3 256 A HISTORY OF THE [1824. and a cheering indication of its future advantages. For why should the ocean entirely sever the branches of the same family, or distance of place, and distinct scenes of labor, wholly prevent that interchange of the sympathies of a special spiritual relationship which cannot but be felt by those who, under God, owe their origin to the labors of the same apostolic man, bear testimony to the same great truths before the world, and whose efforts to spread the savor of the knowledge of Christ, on our part, through the British empire, and on yours through the population of those rising states which have derived their language, their science, and their Protestantism from the same com- mon source, Almighty God has deigned so abundantly to bless ? " We received with heart-felt joy the messenger of your churches, the Rev. John Emory, bearing the grateful news of the progress of the work of God in your societies, and were refreshed by the expressions of your charity. We now commit the same charge to the faithful and beloved brethren whom we have appointed to salute you in the Lord, that nothing may be wanting on our part to strengthen the bond of brotherly love, and to call forth mutual and united prayers for each other's welfare, by a mutual know- ledge of each other's state. " We are on the point of closing the sittings of the pre- sent conference, in which the perfect harmony of the brethren assembled has afforded matter for the most devout and grateful acknowledgments to God, both as it is the indication and the result of that entire affection and unity which exist among our societies throughout the united kingdom. Through the mercy of God, we have rest on every side ; the discipline we received from our venerable founder is still enforced with unabated zeal, and, under a conviction of its agreement with the word of God, cheer- fully observed ; the value of those apostolic doctrines 1824.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 257 which distinguish us in the old and new world was never, we believe, more powerfully felt among us, and never were they with greater fidelity exhibited in out public ministry ; and, as a crownhig blessing, numbers are yearly added to us and to the Lord, and the light and influence of the gospel are yearly extending, by the divine blessing upon the labors of the brethren, into the still dark and uncultivated parts of our beloved country. * Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy and for thy truth's sake.' " You will also, dear brethren, partake of our joy in the success with which it has pleased God to attend the labors of our brethren in our different foreign missions. " The leading particulars of their state and prospects you will have learned from our Magazine and annual re- ports, and it will therefore suffice to state, that, in this department of the work of God committed to our charge, upward of one hundred and fifty of our preachers are em- ployed ; and that the zeal and liberality with which our people and the friends of religion generally co-operate with us in this hallowed work, answer to every call, and seem only roused to greater activity and enlargement as the sad condition of the pagan world is by new develop- ments displayed before them. In the formation of regular missionary societies in your Church, to promote the uni- versal establishment of the kingdom of our adorable Sa- viour, and ' to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God,' we have greatly rejoiced ; and in those encouraging dawnings of large success among the abori- ginal tribes of your native continent, which have cheered the early efforts of those devoted men whom you have ordained to this blessed service. In addition to the doctrines in which we have been instructed, God has in his mercy 3 258 A HISTORY OF THE [1824. given to us, as Methodists, a discipline adapted in a very special manner to missionary operations, to build up and establish infant religious societies among heathen, and to call forth in every place a supply of laborers for extending the work, and enlarging the cultivated field into the untilled and neglected wilderness. In the spirit of our great founder under God, who regarded the whole world as his parish, let the Methodists of Great Britain and America regard the whole world as the field of their evangelical labors ; and, mindful of this our high vocation, let us enter in at every open door, trusting in God to dispose the hearts of our people to provide the means necessary to carry our sacred enterprises into effect ; striving together in our prayers, that from us the word of the Lord may ' sound forth to nations and kingdoms of men, of all colors and climates, now involved in the ignorance and misery of pagan idolatry, and sitting in darkness and the shadow of death.' " More fully to declare unto you our state, and to be witnesses of ' the grace of God in you,' we have appointed, and hereby do accredit as our representative to your ap- proaching General Conference, the Rev. Richard Reece, late president of our conference, and have requested the Rev. John Hannah, one of our respected junior preachers, to accompany him on this service. ' Beloved in the Lord and approved in Christ,' we commit them to the grace of God and to your brotherly affection. We earnestly pray that your approaching assembly may be under the special guidance and benediction of our common Head, and that all your deliberations may issue in the lasting union and prosperity of your numerous and widely extended socie- ties ; that you may increase in faith and love ; and that your labors may, year after year, continue to enlarge and establish in the western world the kingdom of our Lord 1824.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 259 and Saviour Jesus Christ, ' to Avhom be glory in the church throughout all ages, world without end. Amen,' " Signed in behalf of the conference, " H. MooRE, President. ''Sheffield, August 11, 1823." After the reading of the address, Mr. Reece delivered the following : — " Mr. President : — The paper which has just been read is an expression of the sentiments avowed by the British conference, and in which I heartily concur ; — sen- timents of affectionate concern for the prosperity and advantage of our brethren on this side of the Atlantic. It afforded us much satisfaction to receive from you, by your excellent deputy, the Rev. John Emory, an overture to more frequent intercourse and closer fellowship of bro- therly love. Wesleyan Methodism is one everywhere, — one in its doctrines, its discipline, its usages. We believe it to be the purest, simplest, most efficient form of Chris- tianity that the world has known since the primitive days. Doubtless it is that which has had the sanction of Almighty God, in its rapid and extended success, beyond any other in modern times. It commenced, nearly a century ago, in the mother country, in one of her universities, with a few young men, ' chosen vessels, meet for the Master's use.' Then it was the ' cloud little as a human hand ;* now it has spread widely, and is still spreading, over both hemispheres, while its fertilizing showers are descending upon Europe, America, Africa, and Asia, producing fruit wherever they fall — the fruit of knowledge and holiness. Methodism is our common property. We are alike int®-- rested in its preservation and diffusion. It is a sacred trust committed to us. It is a heavenly treasure which we have to dispense for the benefit of man. Its spirit is not sectarian, but catholic, and embraces Christians of 260 A HISTORY OF THE [1824. every denomination who hold the essential truths of the vTospel, and Move our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity.' Your brethren in England were never more concerned to preach its distinguishing doctrines of justification by faith, the direct witness of the Spirit in the hearts of believers, and salvation from all sin in this life, with simplicity, fidelity, and zeal, than at present ; — never more concerned to en- force its discipline with firmness and love, and to ' train up' a people in the ' nurture and admonition of the Lord ;' — never more careful that it do not deteriorate in their hands, but that it be transmitted, pure and entire, to * faith- ful men' who shall succeed to their labors : for which purpose they are anxious in their instruction and strict in their examination of the rising race of preachers, that these may be sound in the faith and lovers of our disci- pline. Many of them are all we can hope, young men whose ' profiting' has ' appeared unto all,' and to whom we can commit the deposit without anxiety, believing that they will ' obtain mercy of the Lord to be faithful.' " The result of this care and pains to preserve a pure and effective ministry has been and is seen in the blessing of God upon our labors, in an extension of his work through every part of our country, where ' great and effectual doors' are opening into new places, and the Lord is * adding to his church daily such as are saved.' The members of our society are also improving in personal holiness and zeal for good works. They are more ready to concur with us in spreading the gospel abroad among heathen nations, as well as in tightening the ' cords' of our discipline at home. On the whole, our prospects were never more bright, nor had Ave ever more reason to be encouraged. " My opportunities of intercourse with you since my arrival in this country, together with the satisfaction I have had in attending two of your annual conferences, where I met with many of my American brethren, render this one 3 1824.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 261 of the most interesting periods of my life. I have wit- nessed the disinterested and laborious zeal which distin- guishes your character and conduct. I have seen the fruit of your labors in the excellent societies in New-York, Boston, Philadelphia, Winchester, and this city. The doctrines and discipline of Methodism, when rightly ap- plied, do, under the blessing of God, produce a Scriptural conversion, and form the genuine Christian character everyiohere; and either at home or abroad, I find that a Methodist, who lives according to his profession, is a ' fel- low-heir' of the same * grace of life.' My prayer is, in accordance with the prayers of the body whom I repre- sent, that you may go on and prosper, until, as the honored instruments of God, you have diffused gospel light and life through every part of this vast continent, and every class of its interesting population, that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be everywhere glorified in his disciples. Amen." After the delivery of these addresses, and adopting rules for the government of the deliberations of the conference, the following communication was received from the bishops, and referred to appropriate com- mittees : — " To the delegates of the several annual conferences of the Methodist Episcopal Church, in General Conference assembled. " Dear Brethren : — We have thought it advisable, at the opening of this General Conference, to communicate to you our views in relation to some of the subjects which will properly come before you. Assembled as you are from various parts of the continent, and having been asso- ciated with societies of people not entirely the same in manners and customs, it cannot rationally be expected that your views on every subject should be uniformly the same. 3 262 A HISTORY OF THE [1824. But, after candidly considering and discussing such points of interest to the Church as may require your attention and decision, we trust you will be able to unite in such measures as shall best serve for the prosperity of our Zion and the glory of God. " During the last four years we have not been favored with extraordinary revivals of religion, yet the work of God has gradually advanced, and we have had constant accessions to the Church, both of ministers and members, as well as an increase of circuits and districts. On the whole, we are happy to say, that amidst all our difficulties and obstructions, our prospects are encouraging, and we are permitted to hope that the great Head of the church will prosper our way and crown our labors with abundant success, *' Your superintendents have endeavored to do what was in their power toward supplying the annual conferences with their official services, and have in most instances succeeded ; but, owing to a failure of health in some of them, and to other uncontrollable circumstances, two cases have occurred in which the conferences were under the necessity of providing for themselves. And as the present health of your superintendents is more likely to decline than increase, while their labor will become every year more extensive, the subjects of administration, and the propriety of increasing the number of superintendents, will claim your early attention. " In the progress of this work new doors have been opened for the spread of the gospel, the borders of our Zion have been enlarged, and the number of circuits and districts so increased as to render it necessary that there should be some alterations in the form of the annual con- ferences. The way seems to be prepared for dividing some in order to form new ones, and for making some 1824.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 263 changes in the boundaries of others, so as to render them more convenient. " On the subject of Church government some of our friends have entered into various speculations, and it seems probable that memorials will be laid before you both from local preachers and private members. In order to give full satisfaction, as far as possible, on this point, it may be expedient to appoint a committee of address, to prepare circulars in answer to such memorials as maybe presented. " In fixing the boundary lines of the annual conferences, it must not be forgotten that a part of our charge lies in Canada, beyond the limits of the United States. The situation of our brethren in that remote part of the country seems to present to view a subject distinct in itself; and the most judicious measures to secure their prosperity and welfare will claim the exercise of your united counsel and wisdom. " The Book Concern, considered in a moral and pecu- niary point of view, is an important establishment in our Church, and will be, if proper exertions should be made in the circulation of books, not only a source of relief and support to our itinerant ministry, but a most effectual me- dium of conveying light and knowledge to the thousands among whom we labor, and perhaps to multitudes who do not attend our preaching. If any improvement can be made in its present plan of operation, so as to render it more extensively useful than it now is, it is desirable that it should be done. " In the course of your deliberations, the local district conference, the financing system, and the proper instruc- tion and education of children, may require some attention, as well as several other subjects not necessary now to mention. " The importance of supporting the plan of an itinerant ministry, and of maintaining union among (mrselves, can- 364 A HISTORV OF THE [18*24* not have escaped your recollection. They are subjects involving the vital interests of the Church, and our prayer is, that the wisdom of the Most High may guide us in such a course as shall be favorable both to the one and to the other." Among other things which engaged the attention of this conference, was the subject of a lay delegation. This came up for consideration by the presentation of a number of memorials and petitions from local preachers and lay members, praying for the General Conference to grant them " the right,'' as they termed it, of a voice in the legislative department of the Church. The committee to whom these documents were referred pre- sented the following report, which, after an able and full discussion, was adopted by the conference : — " Resolved, by the delegates of the several annual con- ferences in General Conference assembled, " 1. That it is inexpedient to recommend a lay dele- gation. " 2. Resolved, &c., That the following circular be sent in reply to the petitioners, memorialists, &c. " Beloved Brethren : — Several memorials have been brought up to the General Conference, proposing to change the present order of our Church government. By one or more of these it is proposed ' to admit into the amiual con- ferences a lay delegate from each circuit and station, and into the General Conference an equal delegation of minis- ters and lay members:' or, 'to admit a representation of local preachers and lay members into the General Confer- ence, to be so apportioned with the itinerant ministry as to secure an equilibrium of influence in that body :' or, ' that the General Conference call a convention, to consist of representatives from each annual conference, and an equal number of representatives chosen bv the members 3 1824.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 265 of each circuit or station, to form a constitution which shall be binding upon each member of our Church :' or, * that a representation of the local preachers and the mem- bership be introduced into the General Conference,' either by electing delegates separately, or that the membership be represented by the local ministry, they being elected by the united suffrage of the local preachers and lay members. " To these memorials, as well as to others praying the continuance of our government in its present form, we have given an attentive hearing in full conference, and, after much reflection, we reply : — " We are glad to be assured that there exists but one opinion among all our brethren respecting the importance of our itinerant ministry, and that they who desire a change, whether of the form of the General Conference alone, or of the annual conferences also, are moved to so- licit "it rather by their zeal to support the itinerancy than for want of attachment to it. They would relieve the preachers of the delicacy of fixing the amount of their own salaries ; and as in this matter they could act more independently, so they would also provide more liberally, " We respectfully acknowledge the candor of brethren, who, although they intimate that it is unseemly for the preachers to determine their own salaries, yet do not pre- tend that their allowance is excessive, or that they claim a right to demand it. It is true that the deficiency of quarterage is so general, in such large proportions, that the conference collections and the dividends from the Book Concern and chartered fund have never been sufiicient to supply it ; and, indeed, the conference stewards usually settle with the preachers at a discount of from thirty to sixty per cent. " But we presume that these facts have been generally known ; so that whatever injury may be sustained from Vol, 111,-12 ^66 A HISTORY OF THE [1824. the scantiness of our support is attributable, not to the im- providence of the rule which limits the amount, but to some other cause ; and whatever that cause may be, we at least have no information that the people refuse to con- tribute because they are not represented. Indeed, it would grieve us to knov/ this : for even though they should re- fuse to acknowledge us as their representatives in the General Conference, they cannot do less for the love of Christ than they would oblige themselves to do out of love for authority. " We rejoice to know that the proposed change is not contemplated as a remedy for evils which now exist in some infraction of the rights and privileges of the people, as defined to them by the form of Discipline ; but that it is offered, either in anticipation of the possible existence of such evils, or else on a supposhion of abstract rights, which, in the opinion of some, should form the basis of our government. " The rights and privileges of our brethren, as members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, we hold most sacred. We are unconscious of having infringed them in any in- stance, nor would we do so. The limitations and restric- tions which describe the extent of our authority in General Conference, and beyond which we have never acted, vin- dicate our sincerity in this assertion. By those ' restric- tions' it is put out of the power of the General Conference * to revoke, alter, or change our articles of religion ;' or to revoke or change the general rules, or ' to do away the privileges of our members of trial before the society or by a committee, and of an appeal.' The general rules and the articles of religion form, to every member of our Church distinctively, a constitution, by which, as Method- ists and as Christians, ye do well to be governed ; and we, assembled together to make rules and regulations for the Church, most cheerfully acknowledge that the restrictions 3 1824.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 267 above mentioned are as solemnly binding upon us as the general rules are upon both us and you individually. " These restrictions are to you the guarantee of your * rights and privileges ;' and while we shall be governed by these, as such, we will also regard them as the pledge of your confidence in us. " But if by ' rights and privileges' it is intended to sig- nify something foreign from the institutions of the Church, as we received them from our fathers, pardon us if we know no such rights — if we do not comprehend such pri- vileges. With our brethren everywhere we rejoice, that the institutions of our happy country are admirably calcu- lated to secure the best ends of civil government. With their rights, as citizens of these United States, the Church disclaims all interference ; but, that it should be inferred from these what are your rights as Methodists, seems to us no less surprising than if your Methodism should be made the criterion of your rights as citizens. " We believe the proposed change to be inexpedient : "1. Because it would create a distinction of interests between the itinerancy and the membership of the Church. " 2. Because it presupposes that either the authority of the General Conference ' to make rules and regulations' for the Church, or the manner in which this authority has been exercised, is displeasing to the Church, the reverse of which we believe to be true. " 3. Because it would involve a tedious procedure, in- convenient in itself, and calculated to agitate the Church to her injury. " 4. Because it would give to those districts which are conveniently situated, and could therefore secure the at- tendance of their delegates, an undue influence in the government of the Church. " With respect to lesser matters mentioned in the me- 3 268 A HISTORY OF THE [1824- morials, we respectfully refer you to the revised copy of the Discipline, forthwith to be published." The subject of education carne before this conference with increased weight, and its importance was duly appreciated. The views of the conference in relation to this subject may be seen by the following extract from the report of the committee to whom it had been referred, and which met with the hearty concurrence of the conference : — " In considering this subject, your committee have been happy in believing that no arguments were necessary to impress this conference with a sense of its importance. The cultivation of the human mind, with a view to pre- pare it for the full exercise of its powers, and thereby to render it capable of answering the noble purposes of its creation, may be reckoned among the first and greatest ob- jects of a civilized community. The nature of this work is such that it requires an early commencement, and hence, in every enlightened nation, the education of chil- dren has been deemed necessary to the well-being of societies as well as individuals, and Christian people have held it among their most sacred duties. In the early esta- blishment of Methodism, in the very beginning of our reli- gious institutions as a Christian denomination, it was recommended to our people, made the duty of our minis- ters, and the fruit of it already realized sufficiently shows its utility. " Your committee, nevertheless, are fully impressed with the unpleasant fact, that this subject, so intimately con- nected with the vital interests of our Church, and with the salvation of so many thousands of souls, has been, and is at this moment, much neglected. While we are happy in believing that in many duties and labors we have done much more than several other denominations, we think it 3 1824.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 269 must be admitted that in the instruction of children some of them have exceeded us. And unless effectual mea- sures can be adopted for securing proper attention to the rising generation under our care, we may anticipate un- happy consequences. The children of our hearers, and especially those of our Church members who have received baptism at our hands, may be considered as standing in a relation to us different from that of children in general, and fully entitled to all the attention from us which their age and situation require. If properly taught and edu- cated, they will be prepared to become valuable members of our societies, and heirs of salvation ; but, if neglected, we may expect them to become vessels of wrath, fitted to destruction. " On the subject of schools and seminaries of learning, your committee have obtained all the information their limited time and means would allow, and are of opinion that in this also we are deficient. In 1820 a resolution passed the General Conference, recommending that each annual conference should establish a classical seminary within its own boundaries and under its own regulations. Three or four seminaries have been established in con- formity to this resolution, some of which are in successful operation, and it is, in the opinion of your committee, de- sirable that such an institution should flourish under the patronage of each annual conference in the Union. " Our Church contains multitudes of young men, not called to the ministry, who are qualified to teach, and many of whom would be more useful in such employment than they can be in any other. If these, as well as some of our local preachers, were made sensible of the good they might do our Church, even as teachers of schools, it is believed there would be no difficulty in supplying nu- merous schools of our country with teachers who would be in favor of the doctrine and discipline of our Church. 3 270 A HISTORY OF THE [1824. " In closing these remarks, your committee beg leave to offer, for the consideration of this conference, the fol- lowing resolutions, namely : — " 1. That, as far as practicable, it shall be the duty of every preacher of a circuit or station to obtain the names of the children belonging to his congregations, to form them into classes, for the purpose of giving them religious instruction, to instruct them regularly himself, as much as his other duties will allow, to appoint a suitable leader for each class, who shall instruct them in his absence, and to leave his successor a correct account of each class thus formed, with the name of its leader. " 2. That we approve of the resolution, passed in the General Conference of 1820, on the subject of seminaries of learning, and hereby recommend that each annual con- ference not having a seminary of learning use its utmost exertions to effect such an establishment. " 3. That it shall be the duty of every travelling preacher in our Church to keep in mind the importance of having suitable teachers employed in the instruction of the youth of our country, and to use his influence to introduce teach- ers into schools whose learning, piety, and religious tenets are such as we could recommend." As it was the constitutional duty of the manag-ers of the Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church to report the doings of the society for the four preceding years, and the state of the funds, a report was presented by the treasurer, in which it appeared that the whole amount collected for missionary purposes, from the commencement of the society to that time, was §14,716 244^, and expended during- the same pe- riod $11,011 40^, leaving- a balance of $3,704 83f. This shows the feeble manner in which the society commenced its operations, and how long it was, not- 3 1824.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 271 withstanding the favorable manner in which it had been received by the annual conferences, before the people generally came fully into this great and good work. The managers conclude their report to the confer- ence in the following words : — " In thus submitting to the General Conference a con- cise view of the transactions of the society, the managers cannot but express their gratitude to God for permitting them to be the humble instruments of aiding, in the ma- nagement of the concerns of this society, in any measure, to extend the empire of truth and righteousness in our world ; at the same time pledging themselves that, while the conference shall continue its operations for the noble pur- pose of evangelizing mankind, and of bringing them under the yoke of Jesus Christ, they will use their best endea- vors to promote the same blessed object, by a faithful dis- charge of their duties as managers of the Missionary So- ciety of the Methodist Episcopal Church. ''^New-York, April 23, 1824." This report, together with the entire subject relating to missions, was referred to a committee, v/hose report, which was concurred in by the conference, was as fol- lows : — " The committee view with pleasure the success attend- ing our missionary exertions for the last four years ; and think that we are loudly called upon to make our acknow- ledgments to the God of missions, for the special manner in which it has pleased him to own our efforts. " We began feeble, but God has strengthened us. We began fearful, but God has encouraged and assured us. So hmited was our knowledge, and so numerous the claims upon our benevolence, that we scarcely knew to 3 272 A HISTORY OF THE [1824. what particular point to direct our first attention. God, however, we humbly trust, has given a direction to our labors which has been highly important and beneficial, not only on account of immediate effects, but because a great and effectual door has been opened for the further prosecution of our missionary plans. " By avoiding that prodigality of expenditure so evi- dently seen in some, and that partiality of appropriation so manifest in others, and by observing economy and pru- dence in the management of our missionary affairs, we cannot fail, under the continued blessing of God, to succeed in the great work of evangelizing even the barbarous na- tions around us. " While an eye to economy is had in the appropriation of the funds of the institution, your committee are of opi- nion that the missions among our Indians ought to be prosecuted with increased vigor, laying a proper founda- tion for facilitating their future conversion in the education of their children ; and that, for every missionary station, men should be selected as missionaries of hardy constitu- tions, of enterprising spirit, able and willing to labor, to sacrifice all for God and his cause. " But, in the midst of all these labors abroad, we should not forget that much remains to be done within the bounds of our respective conferences. While Zion is lengthening her cords and enlarging her borders, she ought also to strengthen her stakes, otherwise her enlargements will be her weakness. Let all the intervening sections of our country not inclosed in our fields of labor be examined, and, if Providence open the way, be occupied. Let mis- sionaries be appointed, whose duty it shall be, not to wan- der over a whole conference, nor to preach generally, if at all, in old societies made ready to their hands, except in places where societies are very small ; but to fix upon certain places still in the enemy's hands, and where there 3 1824.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 273 is rational ground of success, and then, by siege or assault, as the case may require, carry, in the name of the Lord, the strong holds of prejudice and sin. When this is done, let it be taken into a regular circuit, and the missionary be at liberty to pursue a similar course in other places. In this way, if we are steady and faithful to our purpose, we shall be enabled, by the divine blessing, ultimately to esta- blish ourselves in all the sections of our country, until the power of our doctrines and the purity of our discipline shall renovate every part. " Your committee take the liberty further to state, that, in their opinion, an open and candid statement of the con- dition of the missions will be profitable, not only as it will convince the public that we mean to act in good faith, but because the information so communicated, from time to time, will gladden the hearts of thousands who have con- tributed, or may by this means be induced to contribute, to this benevolent object." The American Colonization Society presented certain documents to the conference, which were referred to a committee to consider and report thereon, and the fol- lowing was concurred in by the conference : — " That the General Conference are not in possession of sufficient information relative to said society to render it proper for them, in their official capacity, to adopt any measures on the subject, farther than to recommend it" (that is, the colony at Liberia) " to the notice of the proper authorities of the Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church, as a suitable field for sowing the good seed of the kingdom of God. Under this view of the sub- ject, the committee recommend the adoption of the follow- ing resolution, viz. : — " That it is expedient, whenever the funds of the Mis- sionary Society will justify the measure, for the episcopacy 13 274 A HISTORY OF THE [1824. to select and send a missionary or missionaries to the colony in Africa now establishing under the auspices of the American Colonization Society." It would appear from the above report that the Ame- rican Colonization Society had not yet sufficiently developed its character and objects to enable the confer- ence to act intelli^bly and safely in furtherance of its views, or fully to endorse its measures. Its subsequent history, however, has removed the cause of those doubts which excited this hesitancy, and the conference has since, by sundry resolutions, entered heartily into the measure of endeavoring to plant a colony of American freemen of color, with their own consent, on the west- ern coast of Africa. These things belong more appro- priately to another period of oui- history, and will therefore be noticed in their proper place. Various enactments had been passed, from one Ge- neral Conference to another, with a view to regulate the practice of slavery in the Methodist Episcopal Church, an evil this which it seemed impossible to con- trol, much less to eradicate from the ranks of our Israel. From the organization of the Church, in 1784, slavery had been pronounced an evil, and, as before remarked, a variety of expedients had been resorted to for the purpose of lessening its deleterious tendencies where it seemed unavoidably to exist, to meliorate the condition of the slave where his civil bondage could not be removed, and entirely to prevent our preachers and people from holding slaves at all in those states and territories which {permitted emancipation. Finding, however, that the evil was beyond the control of eccle- siastical law, as to its eradication from the Church, and wishing to render the condition of the slave as comfort- 3 1824.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 275 able as possible, by holding his master strictly responsi- ble to the proper tribunals of the Church for the manner in which he treated his slave, as well as to extend to the colored members of our Church all the privileges compatible with their civil and ecclesiastical relations, this General Conference so modified the section in the Discipline on slavery as to read as follows : — ■ " Quest. What shall be done for the extirpation of the evil of slavery ? "Answer. 1. We declare that we are as much as ever convinced of the great evil of slavery : therefore no slave- holder shall be eligible to any official station in our Church hereafter, where the laws of the state in which he lives will admit of emancipation, and permit the liberated slave to enjoy freedom. " 2. When any traveling preacher becomes an owner of a slave or slaves, by any means, he shall forfeit his ministerial character in our Church unless he execute, if it be practicable, a legal emancipation of such slaves, con- formably to the laws of the state in which he lives. " 3. All our preachers shall prudently enforce upon our members the necessity of teaching their slaves to read the word of God, and to allow them time to attend upon the public worship of God on our regular days of divine service. " 4. Our colored preachers and official members shall have all the privileges which are usual to others in the district and quarterly conferences, where the usages of the country do not forbid it. And the presiding elder may hold for them a separate district conference, where the number of colored local preachers will justify it. " 5. The annual conferences may employ colored preachers to travel and preach where their services are judged necessary, provided that no one shall be so em- 3 276 A HISTORY OF THE [1824. ployed without having been recommended according to the form of Discipline." So it remains, unaltered, to the present time. The following are the resolutions of the committee on the episcopacy, which were adopted by the confer- ence : — " 1 . That we approve generally of the conduct of the superintendents in the administration of the government for the last four years ; and that their zeal and exertions to promote the cause of God and the interests of the Church, under the circumstances in which they have been placed, merit the grateful acknowledgments of the General Conference and of the whole Church. " 2. That Bishop M'Kendree be, and hereby is, respect- fully requested to continue to afford what aid he can to the episcopacy, consistently with his age and infirmities, when and where it may best suit his own convenience ; and that the provisions of the last General Conference for meeting his contingent expenses be continued. " 3. That the episcopacy be strengthened by the elec- tion and ordination of two additional bishops at the present session of the General Conference. " 4. That it is highly expedient for the general super- intendents, at every session of the General Conference, and as far as to them may appear practicable in the inter- vals of the sessions, annually to meet in council, to form their plan of traveling through their charge, whether in a circuit after each other, or dividing the connection into several episcopal departments, as to them may appear proper, and most conducive to the general good, and the better to enable them fully to perform the great work of their administration in the general superintendency, and to exchange and unite their views upon all affairs con- nected with the general interests of the Church. 1824.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 277 " 5. That the book agents and book committee in New- York shall be a committee to estimate the amount neces- sary to meet the family expenses of the bishops, which shall be annually paid by the book agents out of the funds of the Book Concern, and that the above resolution be incorporated in the Discipline." In accordance with the third resolution in the above report, the conference proceeded, on the twenty-sixth day of its session, to ballot for two additional bishops. There were one hundred and twenty-eight voters pre- sent, and on counting the votes for the first time it appeared that no one had a majority. On the second balloting the Rev. Joshua Soule had sixty-five, and on the third the Rev. Elijah Hedding sixty-six, out of one hundred and twenty-eight votes. They were accord- ingly declared duly elected, and having signified their acceptance of the office, they were, after an ordination sermon by Bishop M'Kendree, at 12 o'clock on the 27th, consecrated by prayer and imposition of hands, Bishop M'Kendree acting as the officiating minister. The conference passed a resolution authorizing the bishops to appoint a delegate to visit the Wesleyan Me- thodist conference at its session in July of 1826. This, however, was not carried into execution, in consequence of which we had no representative from England at our conference in 1828. The affairs of Canada once more engaged the atten- tion of the conference, but without coming to any conclusion satisfactory to the Canada brethren. A petition was presented from a portion of the preachers in the upper province, to be set off as an independent conference, with the privilege of electing a bishop to reside among them and superintend their affairs. The 3 278 A HISTORY OF THE [1824. following resolutions contain the result of the delibera- tions upon this subject : — " 1 . That there shall be a Canada conference under our superintendency, bounded by the boundary lines of Upper Canada. " 2. That a circular shall be addressed to our preachers and members included within the bounds of the Canada conference, expressive of our zeal for their prosperity, and urging the importance of their maintaining union among themselves. " 3. That a respectful representation be made to the British conference of those points in the late agreement between the two connections which have not, on the part of their missionaries, been fulfilled." As before said, these measures were by no means satisfactory to those in Upper Canada who were desirous of having a separate and independent church organiza- tion in that province. Accordingly, on the return of the delegates who had attended the General Conference, a spirit of dissatisfaction was widely diffused,* the local preachers were convened, a conference organized, and a declaration of their grievances, rights, and future mode of operations published and circulated. All this took place before the Canada annual conference assem- bled. On the assembling of the conference, however, in Hallowell, Bishops George and Hedding being pre- sent, mutual explanations made, and pledges given by the bishops to sanction measures for a separate organi- * It is probably due to the interests of truth, as well as to the characters of the living and the dead, to say, that the chief agent of this movement was the Rev. Henry Ryan, who afterward withdrew from the Church, and attempted to establish a separate party. 3 \ 1824.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 379 zalion in Canada hereafter, peace was measurably restored, and all things went on as heretofore. The constitutional term of the Rev. Thomas Mason, as assistant book agent, having expired, the Rev. John Emory, D. D., was elected to fill the vacancy, and Na- than Bangs was re-elected as the principal. It was manifest to all that the increased duties of the preachers, in consequence of the introduction of sabbath schools, the organization of the Missionar}^ and Tract Societies, and the increase of members in the larger towns and villages, rendered it expedient, (hat every part of the work might be duly and seasonably per- formed, that the circuits should be shortened, and that each thriving village should be privileged with preach- ing every sabbath, otherwise it was impossible to establish a permanent congregation, more especially in those places where other denominations had established congregations and a resident ministry. It had been long evident to many of our ministers and people, that, for the want of having a preacher stationed in all im- portant places, we had lost much of the fruits of our labor, and must, unless an adequate remedy were pro- vided, continue feeble, if not retrograde from the stand- ing we had already attained. This subject, it seems, presented itself before the committee on the itinerancy, together with others which relate to the duties of the pastoral office ; and the following resolutions, concurred in by the conference, wnll show the views Avhich were entertained in reference to these matters : — " 1. That the superintending preachers be instructed so to lay out their work that there may be sufficient time allowed each preacher for the faithful and extensive dis- 3 280 A HISTORY OF THE [1824. charge of all his pastoral duties, in promoting family religion and instructing the children. " 2. That all our preachers observe that order of public worship pointed out in the twenty-third section of our form of Discipline ; and that in the administration of the ordi- nances, and in the service for the burial of the dead, they invariably use the form in the Discipline ; and in dismiss- ing the congregation, the apostolic benediction ; that they also attend uniformly to the order prescribed in chapter i, section 24, in regard to singing the praises of God in our congregations. " 3. That the Lord's prayer be used upon all occasions of public worship, at the close of the first prayer, and that it be strongly recommended to all our people to introduce it into their private and family devotions. " 4. That the preachers be particularly examined on these several subjects at each annual conference." There were no less than ^?;e new conferences created this year, making seventeen in all. Before the conference adjourned, which it did on Friday, May 29th, to meet in the city of Pittsburgh, May 1, 1828, the following address to the Wesleyan Methodist conference was adopted : — " Dear Fathers and Brethren : — In reciprocating the kind and affectionate sentiments contained in your communication to us, sent by the hands of those whom you had chosen to be the messengers of the churches, we feel an indescribable pleasure. Many are the associations that press upon us, and the emotions that affect us, in this pleasant interchange of affectionate regards. We look to England as the birthplace of that man, who, under the guidance of Heaven, was the founder of a great and flou- rishing church. It was there that the infant societies were nourished, and it was thence that the word of God 3 1824.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 281 was sent forth, even unto us. After we had flourished for some time under your fostering care, a mysterious chain of providences led to a separation of our societies in this country from the mother Church. But the scion that was planted here has been watered and blessed of God ; and though probably still inferior in solidity and strength, yet in the number and extent of its branches, and the abun- dance of its fruits, it vies with the parent stock. In this we rejoice, and are grateful to the great Head of the church, to whom alone the praise belongs. But it greatly increases our joy to know that our British brethren rejoice with us, and that the parent Church, with which we hope ever to be identified by the same holy doctrines and the same salutary discipline, is still flourishing, increasing, and abounding in every good work. " For this our increase of consolation we have been greatly indebted to our justly esteemed brother and father in the Church, the Rev. Richard Reece, and to his asso- ciated companion, the Rev. John Hannah, whom you have sent to declare your state unto us, and the interest you feel in our prosperity. We received them as your messengers, and as brethren beloved. Their presence with us has drawn the cords of brotherly love still closer, has seemed to introduce you more immediately before us ; and in all our intercourse with them, both social and pub- lic, we have been made to feel, more sensibly than ever, that in doctrine and discipline, in experience and practice, and in the great object of evangelizing the world, the British and American Methodists are one. And we de- voutly pray that they may ever so remain. " We are, with you, dear brethren, endeavoring to main- tain the purity of our doctrines, and are not conscious that we have suflfered them in any instance to be changed or adulterated in our hands. As they are the doctrines which have proved to so many, both in Europe and America, the 3 282 A HISTORY OF THE [1824. power of God unto salvation, we deem them to be the gos- pel of God our Saviour ; and while he owns them we will never give them up. With you, too, we prize and practi- cally vindicate the general rules of our Church, and the pristine institutions and usages of Methodism. We are also following you, though at an humble distance, in your missionary exertions. But such is the extent, and in- creasing extent, of our work here, that we cannot find means or men for foreign missions. The increase of our population is perhaps unparalleled, and it is widely scat- tered over an extensive continent. To keep pace with it, under such circumstances, requires much labor and much privation. In addition to this, the Lord, as you have heard, has opened for us a great and effectual door among the aborigines of our country. These we dare not neglect. They are our neighbors, and we must minister unto them ; they have been injured, and we must make them repara- tion ; they are savages, and must be civilized ; heathen, and must be converted. All this shall be done if God permit. We have the work much at heart, and hope and pray for success. In addition to this, we have entailed upon us, in several of our states, a degraded and enslaved population, whose situation is making, if possible, a still stronger claim upon our Christian philanthropy. And, finally, the way seems to be opening for missionary exer- tions in Mexico and South America. " With these fields of labor in the midst of us and round about us, you cannot expect us to join you in the great and good work in which you are engaged in the East. Still we hope the time is not far distant when we shall join hands on the Asiatic shores of the Pacific Ocean, We are constantly advancing in our labors toward the West, and you are extending in the East, not only on the conti- nent, but over the islands of the sea. Is it chimerical then to suppose, that at some future day we shall have encom- 3 1824.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 283 passed this earth, and girded it round with glorious bands of gospel truth ? O no ; faith says it shall be done. And this faith is not without works ; certainly not on your part, for we hear from you that you are laboring assiduously in this great cause, imitating the illustrious example of enter- prise and diligence which so eminently marked the great founder of Methodism. You aim at great things, and you accomplish them. We admire the exertions of your minis- ters, and the liberality of your people. In our labors as ministers we hope we are not far behind you ; but, as a people, we do not yet equal you in active Christian bene- volence. In this respect, however, we are improving. Our people are becoming more alive to the importance of greater and more systematic exertions in the cause of the Church. And while we are enlarging our work, and mul- tiplying our numbers, we trust we have not forgotten that the great design of Methodism, the ultimate end of all its institutions, is to raise up and preserve, in the midst of a sinful world, a holy people. Without this, numbers and influence are nothing. We deprecate more than any thing else that ecclesiastical pride which builds itself up upon the numbers and popularity of the church, while that church is sinking in the spirit and tone of its divine life. From such a state of things, we on both sides of the water are doubtless united in saying. Lord, preserve us ; make us holy, and make us instrumental in spreading holiness throughout the earth. " We congratulate you, dear fathers and brethren, on the general prosperity that attends you, both in your labors at home and in your missions abroad ; but especially on account of the perfect harmony which you inform us pre- vails among you ; and we pray that it may ever continue. Of ourselves, though we are not able to say quite as much, yet in our present General Conference, which is now nearly closing, amidst some differences of opinion con- 284 A HISTORY OF THE [1824. cerning the modes of administration, we find that we har- monize in the essential principles of Methodism. From this we are encouraged to hope, as intimated in his parting advice to us by your esteemed messenger, the Rev. Mr. Reece, that our minor differences of opinion on other sub- jects will soon be swallowed up in our attachment to the common cause. You too, in former days, have had your difficulties ; but those days have passed by, and peace and union now cheer you with their benignant rays. And we are hoping that, before we shall have arrived at your age and maturity as a church, we shall overcome any little ditiiculties that may now attend us. " Brethren, pray for us. And may the God of peace dwell with us, and dwell with you. Finally, may this great army of the faithful, who in two grand divisions are now carrying on the warfare in both hemispheres, so ac- quit themselves in the church militant below, as ultimately to unite with the church triumphant on high, where no ocean shall roll between, and no reciprocal messengers of love shall be needed to recount their victories and triumphs. " We are, dear fathers and brethren, yours in the bonds of ministerial labor and Christian love. " Signed in behalf of the conference, " Enoch George, President. ''Baltimore. May, 1824." "Note. — In the address sent to England a few verbal alterations were made, which should have been inserted in this, but were inadvertently omitted. This, however, is substantially the same with the one sent." N. B. The above address was written by the Rev. Wilbur Fisk. 3 1824.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 285 CHAPTER VIIL From the Close of the General Conference of 1824 to the Commence- ment of that of 1828. 1824, Having, in the preceding chapter, detailed the doings of the General Conference at its last session, we will now proceed to notice the movements of the Church in her various departments of labor for the year 1824, This year the Rev. Charles Elliot wag appointed as an assistant to Mr. Finley on the Wyandot mission. Through their united labors the work of God spread both among the adults and the children of the school. The mission was visited this year by Bishops M'Keii- dree and Soule, who made a thorough examination of the premises, the state of the Mission-church, and school ; and the leport of their interview with the con- verted chiefs gave a most gratifying view of the general aspect of things. Through the influence of these labors, and that of the missionaries who had the immediate charge of the establishment, the number of Church members had in- creased this year to one hundred and sixty, and the school, now under the care of William Walker, the sub- agent, a man fully competent to his work, was in a prosperous condition. The farm also was improving, and yielding a partial supply for the consumption of the mission family. And what contributed mightily to the prosperity and stability of the work, while it gave irre- futable evidence of its depth and genuineness, spirituous liquors were, by a solemn decree, banished from the 3 286 A HISTORY OF THE [1824. nation. Benevolent individuals, excited by reading the good news of this great work, as well as auxiliary mis- sionary societies, poured forth their stores to aid the cause of Indian missions. The mission among the Mohawks, in Upper Canada, was equally prosperous. The particulars, however, relating to tliis and other missions in that province, will come more properly under subsequent dates. Since tlie con^mencement of the Missionary Society, most of the new ground which was brought under cul- tivation was through the medium of missionaries, as well in the older parts of the country as in the new settle- ments in the west and south-west, though in most instances but a partial support was received from the society. This year the Rev. George Pickering was sent to form a new circuit in Newburyport and Gloucester, in Massachusetts, a region of country hitherto inaccessible to Methodist preachers, except now and then to a tran- sient visitor. His labors were accompanied with an outpouring of the divine Spirit, and about one hundred souls were brought to Christ in the course of the year ; and thus a foundation was laid for continued preaching, the people soon contributing to their own support. The Rev. John Lindsey was appointed as a mission- ary to South Hadley and Sunderland, Massachusetts, where he labored with such success that the following year the mission was taken into the regular \vork. Piscataquis, in Maine, was occupied as missionary ground by the Rev. Oliver Beale, and at the end of the second year it was included in the regular work, with a membership of eighty souls as the fruit of his labors. The work of God in the various domestic missions 3 1824.] METHOGIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 287 tnentioned under date of last year was in delightful progress, and was extending in various directions among the new and destitute settlements. Nor were the older parts of our work without the reviving influences of the Spirit of God. In various parts of Delaware state, in New- Jersey, the Susquehannah and Ontario dii?tricts, in the bounds of the Genesee conference, the New-Ha- ven and Rhinebeck districts, New- York conference, there were encouraging revivals of the work of God, begun generally through the agency of camp meetings, and then carried forward by a faithful attention to the means of grace in the circuits and stations. In Telfair county, in the state of Georgia, where religion had been at a low ebb for several years, the work of God commenced at a camp meeting held near the fork of the Oconee and Oakmulgee rivers, and thence spread in various directions through the adja- cent neighborhoods. The presiding elder, the Rev. John J. Triggs, relates the following anecdote respecting a Baptist preacher who attended the meeting and par- ticipated in its exercises : — " In the midst of the work he arose on the stand, and declared to the congregation that he had no doubt but this was the work of God ; and warned the people, especially professors of other denominations, of the dangerous consequences of oppos- ing God's work and of fighting against him. He then told them that he felt as solemn as death, and, lifting up his eyes and hands toward heaven, prayed God to send holy fire among the people. An awful solemnity rested on the assembly, and the power of the Higliest overshadowed them. Some fell to the ground, and others cried aloud for mercy." The meeting resulted in the conversion of thirty-four, and a number returned 3 288 A HISTORY OF THE [1824. to their homes under deep conviction for sin, resolved on a reformation of heart and life. The cause of education was daily advancing from one annual conference to another, and exerting an en- lightening influence hoth on the young and the old. This year an academy was established in Cazenovia, in the bounds of the Genesee conference, a portion of our country fast increasing in population, wealth, and civil and religious enterprise. It was incorporated by the state legislature, and opened its doors for the educa- tion of youth of both sexes; and such has been its prosperity, that it has continued, enlarging its dimen- sions and extending the sphere of its influence, from that day to this, much to the credit of its founders and patrons, and greatly to the advantage of the rising generation. This, as well as the others which have been named, was brought strictly under a religious in- fluence, so that the principles of Christianity might be imbodied in the heart, as far as practicable, simultane- ously with the growth of literature and science. And the pious objects of its patrons have been in a good degree realized in the conversion, from time to time, of quite a number of the students. In proportion to the increase of preachers the number of locations was diminished, there being this year only forty-eight ; whereas, as might be expected, the num- ber of supernumeraries and superannuated was gradu- ally increasing in nearly all the annual conferences, there being this year of the former forty-three, and of the latter sixty-seven. Three had been expelled and nine had died during the past year. These last were, Charles Trescott^ David Gray^ John Wallace^ Jo- seph Kinkaidy Peyton Anderson.) Enoch Johnwn. 3 1824.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 289 Richard McAllister. Mordecai Barry ^ Louis R, Vetchtig^ and James Akins. It is no slight evidence of the trutli and excellence of the gospel, that it enables its advocates to die in the full possession of its promised blessings. Of the above-mentioned brethren it is re- corded that, having discharged their Christian and ministerial duties with fidelity, they all made a peaceful and triumphant exit from time to eternity, thus sealing the truths tliey had preached to others with their own lips in that most trying hour. Of Peyton A?iderso/i, particularly, excellent things are said. He was born February 9th, 1795, in Ches- terfield county, Virginia. Favored with the advantages of a good education in his youth, and being brought under the influence of gospel truth, at an early age he was made a partaker of pardoning mercy by faith in Jesus Christ. In his nineteenth year he commenced the work of an itinerant minister, and gave early indi- cations of those talents as a preacher, and of that zeal in the cause of God, which afterward distinguished him in his short career of usefulness. In his public exercises, as well as in his private intercourse, he was remarkable for the seriousness of his manner, arising, no doubt, from the sincerity of his heart, and his deep devotion to the cause of God. He had a discriminating mind, and could therefore easily distinguish betw^een truth and error, and nicely balance the relative claims of the several objects w4iich w^ere law^ful for mankind to pursue. And his deep solemnity in the pulpit, his ready command of appro- priate language, the fervor of his spirit, and evident sincerity of purpose, gave an impressiveness to all his discourses, which fastened the truths he uttered upon Vol. in.— 13 290 A HISTORY OF THE [1824 the heartd of his hearers. Though comparatively young in Cliristian experience and in the ministry of the word, yet he had learned much in the school of Christ) having passed through some severe struggles of mind, and wrestled in the strength of mighty faith and prayer against the violence of temptation, in which he was " more than a conqueror through Him who had loved him." He was therefore able to administer spirit- ual consolation to those who were in trouble, and to admonish such of their danger who were " wrestling against principalities and powers," as well as to point them to the only source whence their help was to be derived. Having drunk deeply at the fountain of divine love, his heart expanded with benevolent feelings toward mankind generally, for whose salvation he longed and labored with all diligence. Hence the Missionary So- ciety found in him a warm friend and zealous advocate, and he was instrumental in promoting its noble objects by the formation of branch societies, and by stirring up a spirit of liberality among the people of his charge. And what rendered his precepts more weighty and influential, they were constantly enforced by his own example, both as respects the piety of his heart, the uniformity of his Hfe, and the burning charity with which he exemplified the living principle of his faith. In his last sickness and death the graces of Chris- tianity shone out with lustre, and eclipsed in his view all the fading glories of this world. While his friends were standing around his dying bed, and watching with anxious hearts the issue of his conflict, and beheld the fitful ebbings and flowings of animal life, he said to them, in the language of faith and hope. " Farewell. 3 1825.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 291 brethren. When we meet again it will be in heaven." He thus ended his mortal career August 27, 1823, in the twenty-ninth year of his age, and tenth of his pub- he ministry. Thus a briglit hght in tlie church mihtant became extinguished ere it had attained its meridian splendor. Myriterious are the ways of Providence ! Had our bro- ther Anderson lived to the common age of man, and gone on improving as he had begun, under the smiles of his heavenly Father, he doubtless would have risen to eminence in the church of God, and been a great blessing to his fellow-men. But He who " sees the end from the beginning," and whose "thoughts are not as our thoughts," in thus fulfilling the original decree de- nounced upon fallen man, in calling his servant to his eternal reward in early life, manifested his sovereign right ov^er the work of his hands, and challenged the pious submission of his people to the wisdom and good- ness of his dispensations. Number of Church members. Total. Preachers. 328,523 1,272 312,540 1,226 Whites. Colored. This year 280,427 48,096 Last year 267,618 44,922 Increase 12,809 3,174 15,983 46 1825. A work of grace commenced this year among the Mississaiiga Indians in Upper Canada. These were among the most degraded of all the Indian tribes in that country. From their habits of intercourse among the depraved whiles, they had bartered away their land for intoxicating liquor, had debased themselves by in- temperance, and were consequently lazy, idle, poor, and 3 292 A HISTORY OF THE [1825. filthy lo a most disgusting degree. They seemed, in- deed, to he abandoned to a most cruel fate. Among others who had embraced the Lord Jesus during the work among the Moliawks was Peter Jones, a half-breed, his mother being a Mississauga and his father an EngUshman. Mr. Jones, Peter's fatlier, had been the king's surveyor, and his occupation leading him much among the Indians, during the days of his vanity he formed an intimacy with two Indian women, the one a Mohawk princess and the other a Mississauga- woman. About the year 1801, Mr. Jones, under the Methodist ministry, was awakened and converted to God. He then felt it his duty to repudiate one of his women, and he separated himself from the mother of Peter, the Mississauga, and married the other, who also embraced religion, and became a pious member (jf the Church. Peter foil wed his mother into the woods, and remained with Lii^ tribe until he was about twelve years of age, when his father brought him from the w^ilderness and sent him to an English school. While here, through the preaching of the gospel, he also was brought from darkness to light; and, understanding both languages, he was at first employed as an inter- preter, and finally became eminently useful as a minis ter of the Lord Jesus. Feeling, after his conversion, for the salvation of his wretched tribe, he hasted away to them, and told them what great things God had done for his soul. This had a pow^erful effect upon their minds, and led them to attend the meetings on the Grand river. A relative of Peter Jones, one of their chiefs, while attending these meetings, was led to the Lord Jesus for salvation, and his family soon followed his steps. Others 3 1825.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 293 followed their example, and, through the pious exertions of this converted chief and Peter Jones, a reformation was eflected this year among these degraded Mississau- gas, of such a character, so thorough and genuine, that all who beheld it were astonished, and could not but acknowledge the hand of God. They abandoned the use of intoxicating liquor, forsook their heathenish and immoral practices, were baptized and received into the communion of the Church, and demonstrated, by their subsequent conduct, that the w^ork was indeed the work of God. A white man, who had made his house the resort for drunken whites and Indians, seeing the visi- ble change in the temper and conduct of these Indians, could but acknowledge the finger of God, was struck under conviction, became a sincere convert, banished from his house his drunken companions, became sober and industrious, and devoted both himself and his house to the service of God. The whole number con- verted at this time was fifty-four, seven of whom were whites. About the same time that this good work was going on so gloriously among the Mississaugas, a similar work commenced among a branch of the Delawares and Chippeways, who were settled at Muncytown, on the river Thames. This work began through the in- strumentality of a Mohawk by the name of Jacob, who had raised himself to respectability among them by his sober and industrious habits. Until he heard the truths of the gospel he thought himself a very good and happy man, and was so considered by his brethren ; but when the hght of divine truth shone upon his mind he saw himself a sinner against God, his fancied goodness and happiness fled, and he rested not until he found peace 3 294 A HISTORY OF THE [1825. with God ilirough faitii in the Lord Jesus. No sooner did this great change take place in Jacob's heart than he went among his brethren, who were wallowing in the mire of iniquity and heathenish practices, address- ing them from ofie cabin to another, warning them, in the most affectionate manner, of the danger to which they were exposed, and beseeching them to be recon- ciled to God. " The Great Spirit," said he, in imper- fect English, " is angry. You must die. Now consider where the wicked man must go. We must be born neiD men. Our heart new. His Spirit make us new heart. Then, O ! much peace^ much joy !'^ Another among the first converts was an Indian of a very different character, and therefore the change was the more apparent and convincing. He was so given up to intoxication that he would barter any thing he had for vile w^iisky. At one time he offered his bullock for whisky, and, because his neighbors would not pur- chase it, in a violent rage he attempted to destroy the creature. At another time, having sold his clothes from his back for whisky, he stole from his wife the seed corn she had carefully preserved for planting, and offered it for the "fire waters," but was prevented fiom thus robbing his wife of the means of future subsistence by one of our friends, who purchased it and returned it to the squaw, upon whose labor in the field the family chiefly depended for bread. But even this man, vile as he was, who, in his drunken fits, was one of the most quarrelsome wretches that could haunt a human habit- ation, became reformed by the power of the gospel. That his reformation was thorough, was evidenced by the soberness, piety, and industriousness of his subse- quent life. The conversion of two such men had a 3 1825.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 295 most powerful effect upon the whole tribe. Many of them embraced the gospel, and a school was soon esta- blished for the education of their children and youth. The labors of Peter Jones were highly useful in con- ducting these missions. He interpreted for the mission- aries, and often addressed his Indian brethren, from the fulness of his own heart, with great effect. Many were the objections which the pagan. Indians raised against the gospel, some of them founded in truth, and some from false representations circulated among them by the enemies of Christianity. These objections were obviated by distinguishing between real and nominal Christians, and by showing that the latter disgraced themselves by abusing the holy doctrines and high pri- vileges to which they were called, and in which they professed to believe. It was, indeed, painful to be obliged to concede the fact, that hitherto the Indians had been imposed upon by the cupidity of white men, under the garb of Christianity; but this conduct was disclaimed and condemned by the missionaries, and the example of those who now came among them, and of the new converts, was presented as an ample refutation of all the slanderous representations of their adversaries. This silenced the clamor, and gave confidence to the friends of the cause. Several attempts had been made, but with little suc- cess hitherto, to establish Methodism in the city of New- Orleans, a place which needed the reforming influence of the gospel as much, perhaps, as any on the con- tinent. This city, which is now equal in importance, in a commercial point of view, to any in the United States, was first settled by the French, toward the close of the 3 296 A HISTORY OF THE [1825. Beventeenth century, and the Roman Catholic religion was incorporated with its civil regulations. The pro- gress of the settlement, like all the others in that region of country, for a number of years was extremely slow, owing to a variety of causes, but chiefly to the wars between France and Spain, to the nnhealthiness of the climate, and the want of industry and enterprise among the original settlers. In 1703, that part of Louisiana west of the Mississippi and Pearl rivers, of which New- Orleans was the capital, was ceded to Spain, and so remained until 1801, when it passed into the hands of the French republic, from whom it was transferred, in 1804, by purchase, to the United States. At this time the population, chiefly French Roman Catholics, num- bered about twelve thousand ; but from that period the increase of its citizens was much more rapid, by emi- grants from various parts of the Union, so that, at the time of which we now speak, there were probably not less than forty thousand. These Anglo-Americans, mingling w'ith the Creoles of the country, gradually in- troduced their habits and modes of living, as well as their religious tenets. But though New-Orleans was thus early settled, and possessed so many local advantages for commerce, as before said, its progress was slow^, and the population were encumbered with all those embarrassments arising out of the peculiarities of the Roman Catholic religion. In 1818, three years after the memorable victory of the American army under General Jackson, the city con- tained about thirty-six thousand inhabitants, most of whom were descendants of the French and Spaniards. And until about the year 1820, when a Presbyterian church was erected, there was no place of worship be- 3 1825.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 297 sides the two Roman Catholic churches. It is said, indeed, that the sabbath was generally desecrated by profane sports and plays, the principles of morality ex- ceedingly relaxed; pure religion little understood, and its precepts less exemplified in practical life. Among others who were lured to New-Orleans for the purposes of traffic from the other states were some members of our Church, who spent the winter months in the city, but, on account of the insalubrity of the cU- niate, retreated to their former places of abode during the heat of summer. These, however, beholding the degraded state of society, and feeling the deleterious in- fluence of such a general inattention to rehgion, called upon the authorities of the Church for help. According- ly, in the year 1S19, the Rev. Mark Moore was sent to New-Orleans, and he preached, under mau}^ discourag- ing circumstances, to a few in a room which was hired for that purpose, and some ineffectual efforts were made to build a church. In 1820 the Rev. John Manifee was sent as a missionar}^ to New-Orleans, and in the same year the place was visited by the Rev. Ebenezer Brown, who, being disappointed in his attempts to gain access to the French population in Louisiana, assisted Mr. Manifee in preaching to an English congregation in the city. From this time until 1824 New-Orleans seems to have been forsaken by the Methodist preach- ers thinking probably that it was useless to spend their strength to so little purpose, for I find no returns of any members of the Church until the year 1825. In 1824 the Rev. Daniel Hall stands as a missionary for New- Orleans, but the prospect was yet but gloomy. This year, 1825, the Mississippi district was placed in charge of the Rev. William Wina7iSj whose emi- 13* 3 298 A HISTORY or THE [1825. nent talents as a preacher, and indefatigable labors as a prosit) ing ekler in tliat pail of the country, gave a more vigorous impulse to the work of God ; and rsew- Oiieans was blessed with the labors of the Rev. Ben- jamlii Drake^ \\'\\o was instrumental in reviving tbe hopes of the few pious souls who prayed and sighed for the salvation of Isiael in that place ; for we find that in 1826 there were returned on the Minutes of conference eighty -three memheis, twenty-three whites and sixty colored. But still the work of God went on slowly, the preachers having to contend with a host of opposition from without and feebleness within the Church, with the unliealthiness of the climate, and the want of suita- ble acconnnodations for holding their meetings. The next year, however, the society had increased to one hundred in all. From this time the work has stead- ily advanced, and they have finally succeeded, by struggling hard with difficulties of various soils, in erecting a large and elegant house of worship, so that in 1838 they numbered six hundred and twenty-five members, five hundred and seventy of whom were colored, chiefly, I believe, slaves. Mobile and Pensacola, about fifty miles apart, the former in Alabama and the latter in Florida, were sup- plied last year and this with the preaching of the gospel. Under the patronage of the Missionary Society, the Rev. Henry P. Cook was sent to these places. His deep piety and faithful exertions in the cause of Christ soon gave him a commanding and salutary influence among the people of his charge. Since Mobile has been connected with the United States, by the cession of Louisiana, it has filled up rapidly with inhabitants, has become an incorporated 3 1825.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 299 city, a port of entry, and a place of considerable trade ; but, like most of the towns included in that tract of country, the people generally were quite neglectful of their spiritual and eternal interests until visited by the Methodist itinerants. Mr. Cook, however, was cordially received by a few, and he succeeded in raising a flou- rishing society, adopted measures for building a house of worship, which was finally completed, and the so- ciety has continued to flourish to the present time. Nor will the name of Henry P. Cook be soon forgotten by the inhabitants of Mobile. He fell a martyr to his work in that place this year, leaving behind him the savor of a good name, and numerous evidences of his deep de- votion to his work, and of his love to the souls of men. Pensacola was also becoming a town of considerable importance in that part of Florida, and Mr. Cook was instrumental in raising a small society in that place, which, how^ever, has fluctuated from time to time, struggling with various difliculties, until, in the year 1828, they succeeded in building a meeting-house, in which they assembled for the worship of God. While attending to these two places, as the principal scene of his labors, in passing from one to the other, Mr. Cook preached to some scattered inhabitants along the Escambia river, in West Florida, w^hich was after- ward occupied as a separate mission field. Tallahassee, in another part of Florida, was also provided with the means of grace this year. The Rev. John Slade was sent to this region of country as a missionary, and he succeeded in forming a society of seventy-tln-ee members, sixty whites and thirteen colored. The Early missiop, in a neighboring region of coun- 3 300 A HISTORY OF THE [1825. try, was so successfully cultivated by the Rev. Morgan C. TurreiUine^ who was sent to form the circuit, that he returned no less than one hundred and thirty-six members, eighteen of whom were people of color. Tliis year was the commencement of a work which has con- tinued to spread in that part of Florida until several circuits have been formed, on which are large and flou- rishing societies. Such were the blessed results of the missionary spirit pervading our ranks at that time, and which has continued to rise and diffuse its hallowing influences in every direction among the people. In addition to those missions which included the more remote settlements in the exterior parts of our work, it was found, on examination, that there were many places in the older countries which had been overlooked by all denominations, being too remote from the centre of population for the people to attend the stated places of worship. Such were the Highland and Hampshire missions, in the bounds of the New- York conference ; the former embracing a destitute population in the midst of the Highlands, a mountainous and rather poor region of country, about sixty miles north of the city of New- York ; the latter a district of country in the north- western part of Massachusetts. The Rev. John J. Matthias was this year appointed to labor in the High- lands, and such was the success of his zealous efforts, that at the end of the first year he returned one hun- dred and thirty- four Church members, and at the termination of the second the people manifested a wilUngness and an ability to support themselves. It has accordingly since been included among the regular circuits. The Rev. Parmele Chamberlin was sent to the 3 1825.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 301 Hampshire mission. This was found a more difficult place to plant the tree of Methodism. Success, how- ever, finally crowned the persevering efforts of God's servant, so that, at the end of four years, this was also taken into the regular work. While the work was thus extending itself in new places, and causing " the wilderness and solitary places to be glad for" the coming of these heralds of salvation, the older circuits and stations were blessed with the re- viving influences of God's Spirit. Indeed, it was the vigorous action in the heart of the body which gave such a lively pulsation to the extremities. And what contributed not a little to diffuse this healthy action throughout the entire body was the publication of the Methodist Magazine, now arrived to the eighth volume, and which conve3^ed in its monthly numbers the news of what God was doing for the various tribes of men. Many testimonies to the salutary influence of this peri- odical on the interests of religion might be adduced from those preachers and others who were the most actively engaged in building up the walls of Zion. From the pages of the volume for this year, it appears evident that God was pouring out his Spirit on various parts of his vineyard, watering and reviving the souls of his people, and converting sinners from the error of their ways. A glorious work of God commenced in the latter part of last year in Chilicothe, Ohio, which resulted in an addition to the Church in that place, by the month of February of this year, of two hundred and twenty-eight members. From the time of the revival in this town in 1818 and 1819, there had been a diminution in their number, owing chiefly to removals still farther west ; 3 802 A HISTORY or THE [1825. but this gracious work not only made up their loss, but also added new strength to the society, and increased their numbers very considerably. Through the means of camp and quarterly meetings there was a great work of God on the Ontario district, then under the charge of the Rev. George Lane. This good work spread through all that region of coun- try, so that the increase of members on that district for this year was upward of one thousand. The Genesee district was also visited with showers of divine grace, and most of the circuits shared in their refreshing influences. In Bridgetown, New- Jersey, where religion had been languishing for some time, a gracious w^ork of God commenced, which resulted in the conversion of about one hundred souls, most of whom became members of the Church. In Newark also, New-Jersey, there was a manifest display of the grace of God in the awakening and con- version of souls, under the labors of the Rev. William Thacher. It began by urging upon believers the ne- cessity of " going on unto perfection," or the seeking after holiness of heart and life ; and no sooner did they feel the enlivening influences of the Holy Spirit in their ow^n souls, than the work spread among the una- wakened part of the conmiunity, and very soon fifty souls were added to the Church, and great seriousness rested on the congregation general^. On Coey man's circuit, New- York state, there was a general revival of the work of God. This also com- menced among the professors of religion, who were induced to seek after " perfect love" as the privilege of believers in this hfe. Having their own souls baptized 3 1825.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 303 from on high, they were fired with a loving zeal for the salvation of their neighbors ; and the consequence was, that one hundred and seventy were brought to the knowledge of the truth and added to the Church. In the city of Albany, where Methodism had strug- gled with many difficulties for a long time, God poured out his Spirit, and about fifty souls were brought into the fellowship of the Church. On the Champlain district, then under the charge of the Rev. Buel Goodsell, the work of God prevailed very generally among the circuits, and the hopes of God's people were greatly revived and their hearts strength- ened. This good work was the result of a number of camp meetings which were held in dilTerent parts of the district. These were the means of the conversion of many sinneis, and a general quickening among the professors of religion. New-Haven district also, under the superintendence of the Rev. Samuel Luckey, was fav^ored with some revivals, and the state of religion was generally flou- rishing through the district. In this part of the country, as well as in some others, it had been found that we had labored to little purpose in the cities and principal villages, for want of con- venient houses of worship, and because we had not a preacher constantly among the people. From these defects in our plans of procedure, our societies in New- Haven, Middletown, and Hartford, and many other places, had been but feeble, and often the prospects were discouraging. About this time a remedy had been pro- vided in some places, and was providing in others, by erecting churches, and stationing preachers in those cities and villages where the people were able to support 3 304 A HISTORY OF THE [1825. them. The blessed elTects of these movements were soon felt, and seen, thonj^h in some instances, in build- ing churches, the people felt themselves compelled, as they thought, to depart from our general usage, by sell- ing or renting the sHps, as they could not otherwise either build the houses, or induce the people to attend the preaching — parents pleading that they wished to seat their children and members of their household with them in places of public worship. Whatever may be said against this policy in other parts of our work, it is certain that its adoption in many portions of the country in the eastern and northern states has had a beneficial influence upon the interests of our Church. By this means the people have been able to meet the expense of sustaining the worship of God, and also to secure permanent congregations ; and the preachers could more fully and effectually discharge all the duties of pastors, in overseeing the temporal and spiritual affairs of the Church, such as visiting from house to house, attending upon the sick, burying the dead, meeting the classes, and regulating sabbath school, tract, and missionary societies. And who will say that these things are not as important to the well- being of the Church, or the prosperity of true religion, as it is '• to preach so many sermons T A great and glorious work this year prevailed in the Susquehannah district, in the bounds of the Genesee conference, under the presidency of the Rev. George Peck. Camp meetings were chiefly instrumental in kindling the sacred flame which spread among the cir- cuits and stations of this region of country, and many sinners were happily converted to God, while the holy impulse w^as felt through the churches generally. 3 1825.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 305 The Rev. Dan Barnes, in giving an account of the Black river district, in the same conference, speaks of a great work which commenced at a camp meeting and thence spread in various directions. In the city of Baltimore the Rev. Samuel Merwin, who had charge of the church in that place this year, writes, that mighty works were wrought in the name of the Lord Jesus. He says that from fifty to one hun- dred and fifty were crying to God for mercy in the same meeting, and he presumed that from five Imndred to six hundred were made partakers of pardoning mercy during the progress of the work. About this time a lively feeling was awakened in the Christian community in behalf of seamen, a class of men hitherto almost entirely neglected by the church. Indeed, as early as 1816, a few benevolent individuals in the city of New- York had directed their attention to the condition of this useful class of men, and they suc- ceeded in forming a society for promoting the gospel among seamen in the port of New- York, consisting of nearly all evangelical denominations, and its operations are conducted on the most catholic principles. Its af- fairs are managed by a board of directors, holding a corporate seal by an act of the legislature. Being pa- tronized by the Christian public, they succeeded, in 1819, in purchasing ground and erecting a house of worship in Roosevelt-street, near the quays on the East river, quite convenient for the sailors to attend. At the dedication of this house, in accordance with the catholic principles on which it was built, the three sermons were preached by a Protestant Episcopalian, a Dutch Reformed, and a Methodist Episcopal minister. To insure the stated ministry of the word, the Rev. Ward 3 306 A HISTORY OF THE [1825. Stafford, a Presbyterian minister, was first engaged to take charge of tlie congregation, who was occasionally assisted by ministers of other denominations. After he left, the directors obtained a gratuitous sup- ply by inviting ministers of various denominations, so as to keep up, as far as possible, the anti-sectarian cha- racter of the enterprise, that all might feel an interest in its promotion. It was soon found, however, that a con- gregation could not be collected and retained without the labors of a stated minister. Accordingly, in 1821, they employed the Rev. Henry Chase, at that time a local preacher, and an assistant teacher in the Wesleyan seminary in the city of New- York, to take charge of a weekly prayer meeting in the church, to distribute tracts among seamen, to visit their families, and to per- form such pastoral duties as might not interfere with his engagements with the seminary. Being quite suc- cessful in these efforts, at the request of the directors, and in accordance with the advice of his brethren in the ministry in the city of New- York, Mr. Chase re- signed his place as teacher in the Wesleyan seminary, and on the first of January, 1823, devoted himself en- tirely to the service of seamen. In 1825 brother Chase was admitted on trial in the New- York conference, and, at the request of the direct- ors of the seamen's society, was stationed in the Mari- ner's church, where, with the exception of eighteen months, when they had a minister of another denomi- nation, he has continued ever since. In 1828, perceiv- ing that great good resulted to seamen from his labors, and of those similarly employed in other places, and feeling the inconvenience of those changes which ordi- narily take place in our Church, the General Conference 3 1825.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 307 made an exception in favor of those preachers who were laboring for the spiritual good of seamen, allowing the bishop to continue them in the same station for any length of time. Mr. Chase has accordingly been con- tinued in the Mariner's church to the present time, as a member and elder in the New- York conference, and his ministrations have been greatly blessed. Hundreds of seamen have been soundly converted to God, and the church is generally filled with orderly and attentive hearers every sabbath, and regular prayer meetings are held every week. There is, indeed, a great improve- ment in the condition and general conduct of this use- ful and suffering class of men. As the Mariner's church is supported by the several denominations of Christians, no church organization has taken place there, but those who Avere brought to the knowledge of the truth were at liberty to unite with whatever church they pleased ; but I believe most of them have united with the Methodist Episcopal Church; and their numbers have become so considerable, that they have recently organized themselves into a church, under the name of the Methodist Episcopal Seamen's Church in the city of New- York, have elected trustees, and are now (1S40) making preparations to erect a house of worship for their accommodation and that of their seafaring brethren. Similar efforts have been made in other places, and with equal success, which will be noticed under their appropriate dates. On the whole, it would appear, notwithstanding some portions of our Church were agitated with discussions on the different modes of church government, that pros- perity generally attended the labors of God's servants, 3 308 A IlISTORV OF THE [1825. and thai I lie spirit of revival pervaded the ranks of our Israel. Some other churches also caught the flame in many places, and were therefore making delightful progress in the advancement of true religion. Fifty-eight preachers were located this year, fifty-five returned supernumerary, and eighty-three superannu- ated ; fourteen had died, and three had heen expelled. Among the dead was William Bcaiichanij), whose eminent talents fitted him for great usefulness in the church of God. And while the civil historian enriches his pages with memoirs of statesmen, poets, orators, philosophers, and men of military renown who have benefited their country, we may be allowed to preserve a record of those eminent ministers of the sanctuary who, by the depth and ardor of their piety, their genius, and their eloquence in the pulpit, have contributed to advance the best interests of their fellow-men. The characters of such men are a precious legacy which they have bequeathed to the Church, more valuable, indeed, than silver and gold. William Beauchamp w^as born in Kent county, De- laware state, on the 26th day of April, 1772. He was a descendant of a pious Methodist preacher, who, about the year 1788, removed to the west and settled on the Monongahela river, and from thence, in about eight 3^ears, on the Little Kenhawa river, Wood county, Va. Here, in conjunction with Mr. Rees Wolf, another Me- thodist preacher, he was instrumental in establishing some Methodist societies. William was a subject of religious impressions when quite a youth, and at about sixteen years of age he was made a partaker of justify- ing faith, and became a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. 3 1825.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 309 In 1794 he joined the travehng ministry, and after discharging the duties of an itinerant preacher with great acceptance and usefuhiess west of the i\l!eghany mountains for three years, he was stationed, in 1797, in the city of New- York, and a few of the people here still remember the able manner in which he fulfilled the duties of his station. In 1799 he was stationed in Provincetown, in Massachusetts, and from thence he was removed, in 1800, to the island of Nantucket. In this place Methodism was scarcely known at that time. A local preacher by the name of Camion had preached there with some success, and hence the con- ference was requested to send them a regular preacher, and Mr. Beauchamp was accordingly sent. Here his piety and talents soon gained him the confidence of the people, and he was instrumental in raising a society of eighty mejiibers, and before he left the place a large and commodious house of w^orship was erected. This laid the foundation of Methodism in the island of Nan- tucket, Avhich has continued to enlarge its dimensions from time to time, so much so that the New-England conference has held two of its sessions in that place, the first in 1820, and the second in 1836. Unhappily for the Church, whose interests he served, in 1801 Mr. Beauchamp located. In the same year he was united in matrimony to Mrs. Frances Russell, the widow of Mr. A. Russell, who had been lost at sea. Without stopping to notice the intervening periods of his hfe, it will be sufficient for the purposes of this short memoir to remark, that he remained in a located rela- tion to the Church until 1822, when he re-entered the traveling connection, and continued therein until his 3 dlO A HISTORY OF THE [1825. death, which happened on the seventh day of October, 1S21, ill the fifty-tliird yeai of his age. His piety was unquestionable, and his talents as a ministei" of Jesus Christ, as a writer, and as a man of business, were of the first order ; and, had he continued in the itinerant ministry, no doubt he would have arisen to the first distinction in the Ciiurch. During his lo- cated relation he removed to the west; and settled first in his former place of residence, on the Little Kenhawa, and then, in 1816, in Chilicothe, and finally he took up his residence at Mount Carmel, Illinois. Of this latter place, he, in conjunction with his friend, Thomas S. Hinde, was the founder. In all the places where he resided he obtained the confidence, respect, and affec- tion of the people, and was eminently useful as a minis- ter of Jesus Chiist, as well as a citizen among his neighbors. Indeed, such is said to have been the con- fidence of bis neighbors in his wisdom and integrity, that often civil suits were withdrawn from courts of justice and submitted to his arbitrement. He also in- fused into the minds of the youth within the circle of his acquaintance a taste for literary acquirements, both by example and precept. During this same period of his life he appeared before the public as a writer, and in 1811 he published an ''Essay on the Truth of the Christian Rehgion," which is said, by those w4io are capable of judging of its cha- racter, to be a work of sterling merit. In 1816, while residing at Chilicothe, he became the editor of a monthly periodical, called "The Western Christian Monitor," for which he furnished some valuable pieces, written with spirit and much critical acumen. At this time we had no periodical publication : and feeling, in common 1826.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 311 with many others, the want of such a medium of instruction, lie was led, aided by some of his literary friends in the west, to undertake this work. For the short time it existed its circulation was considerable, and its pages were enriched with articles, both original and selected, which did honor to the head and heart of its editor. Among others who contributed articles for the Western Chiistian Monitor was Thomas S. Hinde, better known under the signature of " Theophilus Ar- minius," whose sketches of western Methodism after- ward enriched the pages of the Methodist Magazine, and who became the biographer of his deceased friend, the Rev. William Beauchamp. The work, however, continued in existence only one year, but it contained evidence of the piety, industry, and talent of its editor. After the commencement of the Methodist Magazine Mr. Beauchamp became an occasional contributor to that work, and all his pieces bear the stamp of genius, of an original thinker, and an accurate writer. Having returned to the ranks of the itinerancy, he again entered upon his work with all that ardor, and in the display of those ministerial qualifications, by which he had been before distinguished. In the second year he was appointed a presiding elder of the Indiana district. While traveling this district he was seized with a complaint with which he had before been visited, namely, an affection of the liver. He lingered under the influence of this corroding disease for about six weeks, during which time he exhibited the patience, faith, and love of the Christian, and died in the full hope of eternal life. Mr. Beauchamp was a close, a diligent, and a suc- cessful student, though in his youth he was deprived 3 312 A HISTORY OF THE [18*i5. of lljc custoiiiaiy advantages of education. While a lad liis father renioved lo the Monongalicla, where schools were not to be found. But as he liad contracted a taste for books before his removal, he surmounted the difficulties of his situation, procured torch-lights as a substitute for candles or lanip.^, and when the labors of the day were finished, and the family retired to rest, young Beauchamp would prostrate himself upon the floor, and examine his books by the light of his torch. In this way he treasured up a stock of useful informa- tion, of which he availed himself in after life. He be- came thoroughly acquainted with the principles of his vernacular language, studied the Latin and Greek, and ill his riper years mastered the Hebrew tongue. In ad- dition to these acquirements, he cultivated an acquaint- ance witli some of the sciences, through the medium of the most accomplished authors. With this taste for literature and science, it seems strange that he should have neglected the study of history^ as it is stated he did, this being of all others the most important to store the mind with useful knowledge, and especially for the minister of the gospel. These qualifications, superadded to the depth and uniformity of his piety, his love of the Bible, and his acquaintance with its doctrines and precepts, fitted him in an eminent degree for usefulness in the Church ; and had he devoted himself exclusively to the work of the gospel ministry, as before sakl, he might have risen to one of its highest offices : as it was, after his return to the itinerancy, at the General Conference of 1824, whicli he attended as a delegate from the Missouri con- ference, he was a candidate for the episcopacy, and lacked only two votes more to insure his election. 3 1825.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 313 His style of preaching wag remarkable for its chastity, plainness, and nervousness. No redundancy of words encumbered his sentences — no pomposity of style swelled his periods — nor did there appear any effort to produce a momentary effect for the empty purpose of gaining the shout of applause. His attitude in the pulpit was solemn, his gestures easy and graceful, his arguments sound and conclusive, and his positions were all fortified by apposite appeals to the sacred Scripture. And though he made no artificial efforts at oratorical display, yet he exhibited the true eloquence of a gospel minister, by making his language reflect clearly the perceptions of his mind, by pouring the truths of Christianity upon his audience in the purest strains of a neat and ener- getic diction, and by enforcing the whole by tlie sin- cerity and earneotness of his manner. His delivery was deliberate, not loud and boisterous, but clear and distinct, leaving an impression upon the mind of the hearer that truth and duty were the object of his pursuit. His biographer relates the following incident in proof of the power and conclusiveness of his arguments, when engaged in establishing a controverted point. His an- tagonist, who was listening attentively to the discourse, finding the arguments too powerful for him to answer, rose, apparently with an intention to leave the house, but was so overcome by the force of truth, and his whole frame so agitated, that, finding himself stagger- ing, he caught hold of the railing, reeled, and dropped upon his seat, and there remained, overwhelmed and confounded, until the sermon was ended ; he then si- lently withdrew, and left Mr. Beauchamp master of the field. But he rests from his labors. And whatever of Vol. III.— 14 814 A HISTORY OF THE [1825. human infirmities he may have exhibited, they were lost sight of amid the many excellences which adorned his character, and may therefore be entombed beneath the same turf which hides his mortal remains in Paoh, until the last trumpet shall awake his sleeping dust to life and immortahty. Acknowledging himself indebted to divine grace for present peace and future salvation, he hung upon the promises of the gospel for support and comfort, and finally resigned up his soul to God in the full hope of eternal Hfe. Another of the worthies who exchanged the itinerant race for the crown of reward was Williani Ross, of the New- York conference. Though his race was com- paratively short — for he died in the thirty-third year of his age — his course was steady, and his end glorious. He was a native of Tyringham, Mass., and was born February 10. 1792. In the seventeenth year of his age he was made a partaker of the justifying grace of God, became a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and, in his twentieth year, entered the ranks of the itinerancy. In the early periods of his ministry he labored chiefly in the state of Vermont, where, in consequence of the badness of the roads and coarseness of the fare, he sometimes suflfered many privations, which gave him an opportunity of trying the strength of his resolutions, of his faith in Christ, his love to God and the souls of men. The faithfulness with which he discharged his duties in this rugged field of labor gave him favor in the eyes of the people, and commended him to the approbation of his brethren in the ministry. After traveling various circuits, in which he acquitted himself as an able minister of the New Testament, in 1821 he was stationed in the city of New- York, where 3 1825] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 315 he labored two years with great acceptance. For the last two years of his ministry he was stationed in Brooklyn, Long Island, where he ended his life and labors in the full triumph of faith and hope. His last hours, indeed, were a brilliant comment upon the doc- trines he had preached, and tended not a litile to strengthen our faith in the divinity of their origin, and the efficacy of their application to the heart and con- science. William Ross is not exhibited as a caveat man, nor yet as a learned man. He was neither the one nor the other, in the common acceptation of ihe^e terms. But he was a good man, a good preacher, and a good husband, father, and friend, and he was thus good be- cause the grace of God in Christ Jesu3 had made him such. In one sense, indeed, he was great. He had a clear perception of the plan of redemptioii by Christ Je- sus, well understood the sacred Scriptures, was indefati- gable in his labors, was an eloquent and successful preacher of righteousness, and exemplified in his own life those pure precepts of Christianity which he recom- mended to others. The high estimation in which he was held by his brethren, and by the Christian community generally, may be inferred from his being frequently called, in the course of his ministrations in New-York and Brooklyn, to plead the cause of Bible, missionary, Sunday school, and tract societies. Here, indeed, he sometimes spoke with a force and eloquence which astonished and de- lighted his friends, while it confounded the enemies of the:?e benevolent exertions for the salvation of the world. In the pulpit there was a pecuhar solemnity in his manner, and dignity of expression — the grave, distinct, 316 A HISTOliy OF THE [1623. sonorous intonations of his voice giving force and im- pres:^i\ cncss to the sentiments he uttered, and reminded the hearer that he was hstening to a messenger w ho felt the weight and importance of his message. Being a decided friend to all our henevolent institutions, and particularly to the missionary and education causes, he often advocated them in public, and gave them the weight of his inlluence in his more private intercourse in the circles in wliich he moved. Some of his satirical thrusts — for he sometimes used this dangerous weapon to put error and folly to the blush — at ignorance and covetousness, cut with the keener edge because of the strength and appiopriateness with which they were sent by his skilful hand. Nor was he deterred from exposing these common pests of human society merely because the wounds which he inflicted upon their vota- ries made them writhe and groan under the sensations of pain which they frequently suffered. He was equally skilful and much more delighted in the pleasing task of portraying before his audience the glowing beauties of charity, the divine excellences of the other Christian graces, and the attractive charms with which Christianity invested him who clothed him- self with its rich and lovely livery. When, therefore, Williairj Ross '-occupied that holy place, the pulpit," no one was disgusted with a repetition of cant and un- meaning—unmeaning, I mean, to him who utters them — phrases, but he hstened to the solemn reahties of eter- nity, which fell from the speaker's lips in accents of deep feeling, in language at once chaste, plain, and intelligi- ble, uttered in a tone of voice which bespoke a soul filled with the subject on which he was discoursing. I have made this short record as due to one who, had 3 1825.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 317 he lived and prospered in his race as he began and ended it, would doubtless have ranked among the first ministers of our Church. There was, indeed, an amia- bility of disposition and courteousness of demeanor about the movements of William Ross which drew forth the love of those who knew him, and at the same time a dignity of deportment which commanded their respect. There is one fact respecting him, which happened near the close of his life, that goes most forcibl}^ to set ofT the beauty and strength of his character. When it was ascertained by the official members in the city of Brooklyn that he was to be stationed among them, some of them, perhaps the majority, remonstrated against the appointment, so strongly indeed that the bishop hesi- tated about insisting upon making it. Among others who may have been consulted, the writer's opinion was asked. The reply was, '• Send him ; for such is the weight of his character, the mbanity and meekness of his manners, as well as his talents as a preacher, that he will soon overcome all opposition, and prove himself w^orthy of the affection and confidence of the people ;" — and then added, "A people who will reject such a man as William Ross are unworthy of any preacher." This was said from an intimate acquaintance with the man, and likewise from a knowledge that the objections to him originated from a prejudice which had no founda- tion in truth and reality. He was sent. It was not three months before every objection against him w^as removed, the work of God prospered, the church was filled with hearers, and never was a man more highly esteemed or affectionately loved than brother Ross was by the people of Brooklyn. So highly did they estimate his labors among them, that, 318 A HISTORY OF THE [1826. immediately after his death, the society contributed about twelve hundred dollars for the support of his wi.low and orphan children. Of the Other twelve who liad ended their labors dur- ing tiie past year, ho)iorab!e mention is made of their fidehty in the cause of God and of their peaceful death. Number of Church inemhers. Whiles. Colored. Total. Preachers. This year 298,658 49,537 348,195 1,314 Last year 280,427 48,096 328,523 1,272 Increase 18,231 1,441 19,672 42 1826. The aboriginal missions which had been commenced and prosecute.l under such favorable au- spices continued to prosper, and to promise the most happy results. There was, however, no other aborigi- nal mission opened this year, and nothing worthy of special notice which happened among those which had been begun, except that their continued prospeiity still attracted the attention of the Church, and led to those plans for the evangelization of other tribes w'hich will be noticed hereafter. The great change which had been wn-ought among the Mississauga Indians, heretofore related, was followed by the most blessed results on other fragments of the same tribe. An additional number of twenty-two, who professed faith in Christ, were baptized this year and formed into a class in Bellville, in Upper Canada. They were placed under the care of two of their principal men, Captain William Beaver and Jolm Sunday, who had before given evidence of a sound conversion, and who now acted as class leaders. Nothing could furnish a more convincing evidence of the thorough change 3 1826.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 319 which had been effected in the hearts of toese people, than was evinced by their forsaking entirely their hea- thenish habits, and banishing from among them the use of all intoxicating liquors, becoming thereby sober and industrious. Infidelity itself was constrained to bow before the majesty of truth, and to confess, however re- luctantly, that nothing short of divine power could pro- duce a reformation so thorough and permanent. Some new missions were commenced this year, em- bracing parts of Florida and Alabama, called the Holme's Valley and Pea river missions, and were put under the charge of the presiding elder of the Talla- hassee district, the Rev. George Evans. These coun- tries were but thinly populated, the settlements some- times being from twenty to forty miles distant from each other, separated by a wilderness. On this account it was difficult to collect congregations, or to pass from one settlement to another ; but, notwithstanding these discourasrino^ circumstances, the missionaries succeeded in their evangelical efforts in forming societies, so that, in 1827, there were returned on the Holme's Valley mission one hundred and two white and thirty-five colored members, and on Pea river one bundled and four white and twenty-one colored ; and the good work thus begun has steadily gone forward fiom that time to this, so that Tallahassee has since become the seat of the Alabama conference. The Rev. S. Belton was sent to form a circuit in the newly settled townships between the Mississepa and Attawa rivers, in Upper Canada, places which had been seldom if ever visited by any minister of the gos- pel. The settlements had been formed chiefly by emi- grants from Ireland, who were in very moderate circum- 3 320 A HISTORY OF THE [1826 stances, and therefore unable to do much for the support of rcli'Tious institutions. They were, however, thank- ful fur the care thus manifested for (heir spiritual wel- fare, generally listened with attention to the word of life, and did wliat they could to make the missionary comfortable. Tiiat the word took effect is manifest from the fact that the next year there were returned on the Minutes two hundred and seven members, and the work has continued to prosper, under the labors of God's servants, from that to the present time. There were several refreshing revivals of religion this year in some of the older circuits, more particularly in the south and west, where the principal increase of members was found. These revivals w^ere accompa- nied by the same evidence of divine power and grace which had attended those heretofore related, and gave to the friends of relisfion irrefutable arsruments in their favor. At a camp meeting held on Hanover circuit, in Virginia, there were not less than one hundred and twenty souls who professed to find the pearl of great price, and the good work spread with such rapidity that upward of three hundred were brought to God on this circuit. On the Bottetourt circuit similar results followed two camp meetings which were held there this year. In Anne Arundel county, Maryland, there were mighty displays of the powder of God. The work commenced at a camp meeting held at a place called Rattlesnake Springs. It was believed that not less than two hun- dred and fifty persons were brought from darkness to light, and several professed to be filled with "perfect love." while many departed from the place under deep conviction for sin, and groaning for redemption in the blood of the lAmb. 3 1826.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 321 Though these and other instances of revival were witnessed during the year, yet the general increase of Church members was not so great as the year before. The New-England conference had succeeded in esta- blishing an academy within its hounds, for the educa- tion of youth of both sexes, in Wilbraham, Massachu- setts, and the one at Newmarket was merged in this. It was this year put under the charge of the Rev. Wil- bur Fisk, by whose pious and judicious management it greatly prosj>ered, and was soon filled with students, and has been instrumental in shedding the lights of literature and religion on the rising generation. Here young gentlemen are taught all those branches of lite- rature preparatory to an entrance into college, or upon the active business of life, at the same time that the principles of the gospel are faithfully inculcated ; and the institution has been frequently favored with gracious outpourings of the Spirit, resulting in the conversion of many of the students. The Pittsburgh conference made an attempt to esta- blish a collegiate institution within its bounds, called Madison College^ and the Rev. Henry B. Bascom was appointed its president. It was located in Uniontown, Fayette county, in the state of Penns3dvania. It went into operation under favorable auspices, and was incor- porated, in 1827, by the legislature of the state. It did not, however, long continue. Its endowment was small, and the number of students was by no means adequate to its support. Hence, though blessed with an able faculty, its dissolution affords another evidence of the impracticability of sustaining collegiate institutions with- out ample endowments. How else can this be done ? The price of tuition is necessarily so low, in the various 14* 3 322 A HISTORY OF THE [1826. literary institutions in our country, that an attempt to raide it sulliciently liigh to meet the expense of tuition and other incidental expenses would be to debar all students from an entrance into their inclosures ; and it is equally impossible to sustain them from the ordinary prices of tuition and board ; and hence the absolute ne- cessity of ample endowments, either from the state, or from the benefactions of individuals, or by the more sure method of annual collections, in order to keep them in successful operation. Of this all must be sensible, and therefore all who feel an interest in the prosperity of these institutions must, if they would have them permanently established, contribute liberally for their support. In the month of September this year was commenced the publication of the Christian Advocate, a weekly pe- riodical, devoted especially to the interests of the Me- thodist Episcopal Church and to general intelligence. Periodical liteiaiure had become more and more in de- mand since the recommencement of the Methodist Ma- gazine, and weekly religious newspapers were springing into existence among almost all denominations of Chris- tians ; and two, one in Boston, Mass., and another in Charleston, S. C, were published under the patronage of their respective conferences, and the friends of the Church very generally seemed to call for one to be issued from the Book Room. This led to a consulta- tion among the editors and book committee, together with some of the annual conferences; the proposition was finally submitted to the New-York conference, at its session in May of this year, and it recommended that measures be adopted for the publication of such a periodical with all convenient speed. 3 1826.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 323 It is true, some were opposed to the measure, particu- larly those who were interested in the success of the papers aheady in existence, which had now obtained an extensive circulation, particularly Zion's Herald, the one issued in Boston. This opposition, however, was overruled, and the first number of the Christian Advo- cate was published on the 9th of September, 1826. The appearance of this weekly sheet, filled, as it was, with useful and interesting matter, gave great satisfac- tion to the members and friends of our Church, and the number of subscribers in a very short time amounted to about thirty thousand. That it has done much good, and was most opportunely commenced, has been abundantly demonstrated in every successive year of its circulation, and by the testimony of thousands of its readers. By this means intelligence is received from every part of the world, and conveyed, weekly, as from a common centre of information, to its thousands of readers in every corner of the land. Thus old friends, who may be separated at a distance of thousands of miles, may hear from each other, interchange senti- ments, and, in some sense, converse together of each other's welfare ; and what the Lord is doing in one part of his vineyard may be known in every other part. This is the advantage which a general possesses over a local paper. This was extensively felt and ap- preciated, and hence its circulation, in the course of one j^ear from its commencement, by far exceeded every other paper, religious or secular, published in the United States. Sixty-three preachers located this year, sixty-six were returned supernumerary, eighty-six superannuated, two withdrew, and six were expelled ; twenty had died. 3 324 A HISTORY OF THE [1826. Among the deatlis recortled thi^ year was that of John Sumuicrjield, whose eminent talents as a pieacher gave him a commanding attitude before the community, and excited a general tone of regret when the news of his death was announced. For a full account of his life and labors I must refer the reader to his biography, which was published by his brother-in-law soon after his death. From this it appears that he was born in the town of Preston, in England, on the 31st of Janu- ary, 1798. His father was a local preacher in the Wes- leyan Methodist connection in England, and he educated his son John in those religious principles which governed his own heart and life. At a suitable age he was put under the tuition of the Moravian academy at Fair- field, near Manchester, where he gave early indications of that precocious genius for which he was afterward so eminently distinguished. In 1813 the family removed to Ireland, \vhere, at the age of seventeen, young Summerfield was made a par- taker of justifying grace through faith in Jesus Christ while attending a prayer meeting with some pious Me- thodist soldiers. He no sooner tasted that the Lord is gracious than he felt a desire that others should partici- pate with him in the same inestimable blessing. He accordingly embraced every opportunity to invite his fellow-sinners to come to the fountain of salvation, that they might drink of its waters and live for ever. In this way he continued to exercise his gifts, greatly to the satisfaction of those who heard him, until 1819, when he was received on trial in the Methodist confer- ence of Ireland. As it was a time of some trouble among the Methodist societies in Ireland in those days, and as the fervor of his spirit and powers of pulpit ora- 3 1826.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 325 toiy gave him more than ordinary influence, young as he was, lie was selected to travel extensively through the country, for the purpose of promoting the general interests of the societies. He continued to travel and preach in Ireland, making, in the mean time, an occa- sional visit to England, until 1821, when his father removed to America, and John accompanied him, and was received on trial in the New- York conference in the spring of 1821.* His first appearance in public after his arrival in New-York was at the anniversary of the American Bible Society, and his speech on that occasion was re- ceived with great eclat, and gave him a most favorable introduction to the American community. Nor were his labors in the pulpit unappreciated. The houses were thronged with hearers whenever he preached, and the auditors hung upon his lips with the most intense interest and delight. Persons of all professions and of all classes of society were attracted by the fame of his eloquence, and expressed their admiration of the power * In the reception of Mr. Summerfield the New- York con- ference recognized the principle, that the regnlations of Methodism in one part of the world are to be respected in every other part. According to a rule of the English and Irish conferences, a preacher remains on trial four years before he is admitted into full connection; but in the United States his probation ends with two 3"ears, when he is eligible to be admitted and ordained a deacon. Mr. Summerfield had traveled three years on trial in the Irish conference, and of course had but one year more to complete his probation; he was accordingly received by the New-York conference as having but one year more to serve as a preacher on trial. Hence in 1822 he was admitted into full connection and or- dained a deacon, according to the usages of our Church. And in 1824, having served two years as a deacon with fidelity and success, he was elected and ordained an elder. 326 A HISTORY or THE [1826. with which he enchained them to tlie words which dropped from his hps. Many have inquired in what the secret of this power over the understandings and attention of the multitude consisted. In whatever else it might have consisted, it was not in empty declamations, in boisterous harangues, nor yet in any attempt to overpower and astonish you with sudden bursts of eloquence ; nor was it, I appre- hend, in the unusual depth and profoundness of his researches. Summerfield was young, w^as pious, honest, and sim- ple-hearted, was naturally eloquent, deeply devoted to the cause of God, possessed a great command of lan- guage, and his style of preaching was chaste and clas- sical, flowing from him with an easy and graceful elocution. This I believe to be the secret of his power. He had a sound understanding, a w^arm heart, and a vivid imagination — had acquired a rich stock of the most useful knowledge — and hence, whenever he spoke in the name of God, he poured forth from a heart over- flowing with the kindliest feelings a stream of evange- lical truth, which fell upon the audience '• like dew upon the tender herb, and like rain upon the mown grass." A "godly sincerity" was ev^idently the pervading princi- ple of his heart, and a tone of simplicity characterized his style of preaching. When you heard him you were charmed with the melody of his voice, with the rich flow of his language, with the pure and evangelical sentiments which he uttered, and w^ith the deep spirit of piety running through his whole performance. No strained efforts to dazzle you with wnt, or with high- sounding words, with pompous periods, with far-fetched metaphors, or with sentences swelled and encumbered 3 1820.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHTJRCH. 327 with an accumulation of epithets, appeared in any of his discourses or speeches. On the conlraiy, you felt that you were hstening lo a messenger of God, honestly proclaiming what he believed to be the truth, in lan- guage chaste and elegant, flowing from a heart filled with his subject, breathing good-will to his audience, and intent only on doing them good. This was John Summerfield in the pulpit; and his popularity arose from an active zeal, exemplified in his spirit and words, to promote the best interests of all classes of men by the wisest possible means. Nor was his society in the more private circles less attractive and instructive. On his first appearance among us there was a modesty and diffidence, a meek- ness and humihty, every way becoming a Christian and a young minister who felt a proper deference for his seniors. To say that he did not, in some measure at least, rise in self-confidence with the rising popularity of his character, would be saying wbat no one acquainted with human nature could well believe. But the eleva- tion of his character, as a preacher of the gospel, gave him a commanding attitude before the community, which he constantly exerted to promote the highest in- terests of his fellow-men. He certainly bore his honors with becoming modesty, and availed himself of his great popularity to advance the honor of God and the salva- tion of men. Though the minister of a sect, and tho- roughly imbued with its doctrine and spirit, he was far from being exclusive in his feelings and views, but dis- played that spirit of Catholicism which enabled him to exert a hallowing influence on all around him. And while he must have carried about him the common infirmities of our nature,, they were but as occasional 3 328 A HISTORY OF THE [1826. spots upon the sun — tliey obscured his kistre but for a moment, and then his intellectual, moral, and reli- gious excellences shone out with an increasing and a steady brilliancy. He most certainly exerted a beneficial influence upon the interests of true religion. Nor was this influence confined to his own Church. Other denomination?, and particularly the various charitable and religious as- sociations, availed themselves of his talents to advocate their cause and to promote their respective objects. And as he was ever ready to comply with their wishes, as before said, his physical powers were not adequate to the task of such continued application. The fire which burned within became so intense that the material ves- sel was gradually weakened by its consuming flames. He was at first prostrated by a hemorrhage of the lungs, from which, however, he paitially recovered, so as to be able to appear occasionally in public. But his appear- ance was extremely wan and feeble, while his soul still broke forth in those strains of gospel truth and persua- sive eloquence which captivated his hearers and melted them into tenderness. It was hoped by his friends that a voyage to Europe might tend to reinvigorate his enfeebled constitution. He accordingly made a voyage to France, and attended the anniversary of the Paris Bible Society as a representa- tive of tlie American Bible Society, where he delivered one of those addresses for which he was so peculiarly qualified, as the zealous and able advocate of institu- tions of benevolence. This address, which was inter- preted by Mr. Wilder, an American gentleman, and a benevolent Christian, then residing in Paris, was received 3 1826.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 329 with enthusiastic admiration by the audience, and responded to in terms of affectionate respect and con- gratulation, expressive of the joy that was felt in the union of sentiment and effort which mutually pervaded and actuated the Paris and American Bible Societies. On his return from his foreign tour he entertained hopes, for a season, that his health might be restored ; but these hopes were soon blasted by the return of his disease, accompanied by those symptoms which gave sure indications to his physicians and friends that his dissolution was nigh at hand. After lingering for a considerable time, frequently suffering exquisitely from the violence of his disorder, he at last ghded sweetly and peacefully into eternity, in the twenty-eighth year of his age, and the eighth of his public ministry. During his protracted illness he exhibited the virtues of meekness and patience in an eminent degree, bowing submissively to the divine mandate, and looking for- ward with a lively hope to immortality and eternal life. Though sometimes he complained of the want of spi- ritual consolation, and of a feeling of mental gloom — • which arose, no doubt, from the nature of his disease — ■ yet for most of the time he manifested an unshaken confidence in his God, and expressed a calm resignation to his will, mingled with a hope full of immortality. But he rests from his labors, and his works of faith and labors of love have followed him as evidences of his fidelity to the cause of God. Another who fell in the harness this year was an old veteran of the cross of Christ, whose long services and deep devotion to the cause of God deserve commemo- ration. Daniel Ashiiry had been in the ministry forty years, 3 330 A HISTORY OF THE [1826. during which time he had given evidence of his warm attachment to the holy cause he had espoused, by the fiJehty with which he had discharged his Christian and ministerial duties. He was not, indeed, a great preacher, but he was remarkably distinguished for the meekness of his disposition, for his patience in suffering, and for the simplicity of his manners. He therefore won the confidence of his brethren as a man of God, and a most devoted minister of Jesus Christ. His death was sudden and peaceful. Returning from a walk in the yard, he looked up toward heaven, with a smile on his countenance, and uttering a few words, he sunk into the arms of death, in the sixty-fifth year of his age. Daniel Hitt had also departed to another world in the full hope of eternal life. He was made a partaker of the grace of pardon in early life, and in 1790 entered the itinerant ministry. In the first years of his itine- rancy he labored much in the new settlements in Vir- ginia and in the western country, where he won for himself those laurels which adorn the brow of the faith- ful, self-denying minister of Jesus Christ. For several years he was the traveling companion of Bishop Asbury, who ever treated him as his confidential friend. During these travels over the continent he became extensively known to a large circle of friends, who esteemed him highly as a brother, and as an amiable Christian mi- nister. In 1808 he was elected as an assistant book agent, in which office he served for four years, under the su- pervision of the Rev. John Wilson. At the end of this term he was elected the principal, in which office he continued to discharge its duties, according to the best 3 1826.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 331 of his ability, to the end of his constitutional term, in 1816. Though his hterary attainments were hmited, yet his strict integrity and great fidelity eminently fitted him for a faithful discharge of his duties in the high trust confided to him. And the afl^ability of his man- ners, the sweetness of his disposition, and his courteous conduct in the social ciicle, endeared him to his friends, as a companion in whose society they dehghted to mingle. In the pulpit he dwelt chiefly upon experimental and practical religion, seldom entering upon those contro- verted points which so often involve discussions among the several denominations of Christians. Here he was solemn and dignified, and strove to impress upon the minds of all the importance of a practical attention to the truths which he uttered. He died of the typhus fever. In his sickness his mind was kept in peace, and he died in the triumph of faith and love. Another aged veteran, Joseph Toy^ was taken from the walls of our Jerusalem to his resting place above. He was brought from darkness to light under the preaching of Captain Webb, who was one of the first Methodist preachers in America, and was at that time preaching in Burlington, New- Jersey. This was in the year 1770, and Joseph was then in the twenty- second year of his age. After receiving license to preach, he labored as a local preacher until 1801, when he entered the itinerancy, in which he continued, faith- fully discharging its duties, to the end of his life. In 1819, in consequence of debility, he was returned superannuated, and he settled in the city of Baltimore, where he preached occasionally, and was beloved and 3 332 A HISTORY OF THE [1826. respected by all who knew him. Having filled up the measure of his days in obedience to the will of God, he died in great peace, on the 28th day of January, 1826, in the seventy-ninth year of his age. One of the excellences of brother Toy was the punc- tuality with w^hich he filled his engagements. At the age of seventy he was heard to say that for twenty years he had not disappointed a congregation — a prac- tice worthy of the imitation of all. Although, in the latter part of his life, his sight so failed him that it was difficult for him to walk the streets without help, yet he continued to preach almost every sabbath, and some- times twice, and was finally conducted from the pulpit to his dying bed, on which he manifested a perfect sub- mission to the divine will, expressing his firm reliance upon the promise of eternal life. John P. Fi?ile7/, professor of languages in the Au- gusta College, Kentucky, had entered into rest during the past year. Though he was young in the itinerant ministry, 3^et he was a man of distinguished worth, and possessed virtues w^hich may be profitably held up for the imitation of others. The following account is from the pen of Dr. Bascom, whose intimate knowledge of the subject of his remarks enabled him to depict the character of brother Finley as it was, and especially to present those peculiarities by which he was distin- guished : — " John P. Finley was born in North Carolina, June 13th, 1783. From childhood he was marked as possessing no common share of intellect. He was early placed at school, and while in his abecedarian course he evinced an apti- tude to learn that induced his father, a distinguished Pres- byterian clergyman, (who is now, at the age of seventy, a 3 1826.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 333 Methodist traveling preacher,) to give him a classical education. Owing to his habits of industry and perseve- rance, he soon acquired a competent knowledge of the sciences, and a reputable acquaintance with the learned languages. Of the English language he was a perfect master, and taught its proper use with almost unrivaled success. From the age of twelve or fourteen years he was often deeply affected with a sense of sin, and the im- portance of repentance and faith; but his mind was so much perplexed with the doctrines of absolute personal predestination, of which his father was then a strenuous and able assertor, that he came to no decision on the sub- ject of religious opinions until he reached the years of manhood. About the age of twenty-one he married, and soon after was brought to the knowledge of salvation by the remission of his sins. Early after his conversion he was convinced that a ' dispensation of the gospel' had been committed to him. He weighed well the impressions and convictions of his mind and heart in relation to the fearful and responsible business of a Christian minister ; but, when finally and fully convinced of his duty, he did not hesitate. There were, indeed, many reasons why he should confer with flesh and blood, but with his character- istic firmness he rejected them all, and took the pulpit, I think, in 1811. At the time of his conversion he resided in Highland county, Ohio. His ministerial career was commenced during a residence in Union, Greene county, Ohio, whither he had been called to take charge of a se- minary. At the head of this institution he continued about six years, living and preaching the religion of Christ in its native simplicity and power. " From Union he removed to Dayton, distant only about thirty miles, and conducted an academy in this place for two vears. It was here our acquaintance and intimacy commenced, which ended only with his useful life. He 334 A HISTORY OF THE [1826. left Dayton, beloved and regretted of all, and accepted a call to superintend a respectable seminary in Steubenville, Ohio. In this place he continued not quite two years. In his ministerial exertions he was * instant in season and out of season,' and labored with more than ordinary suc- cess. His next remove was to Piqua, Ohio, where he continued as principal of an academy for four years. In all these places his pulpit efforts were highly acceptable ; his social intercourse seasoned with dignity and piety, and his residence a blessing to all about him. From this place he made his last remove to Augusta, Kentucky. Here he taught a classical school for some time, and was afterward appointed principal of Augusta College, in which relation he continued until the time of his death. In these several places his labors in the pulpit were considerable and ex- tensively useful. All who knew him esteemed him as a man of talents and irreproachable Christian character. He was indeed, all in all, one of the most amiable, guileless men I ever knew : never did I know a man more perfectly under the influence of moral and religious principle. His uniform course was one of high and unbending rectitude. One error, as reported in the * Minutes,' respecting his conversion, I must beg leave to correct. I do it upon his own authority (when living) and that of his brother, the Rev. James B. Finley, superintendent of the Wyandot mis- sion. There is something rather remarkable in the man- ner in which these worthy ministers were first brought to reflect with more than ordinary concern upon their latter end. John and James were amusing themselves in the forest with their guns ; and as John was sitting carelessly upon his horse, James's gun accidentally went off, and the contents came very near entering John's head. The bro- thers were mutually alarmed, humbled, and thankful ; they were more than ever struck with the melancholy truth, that ' in the midst of life we are in death ;' they reflected 3 1826.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 335 upon their unpreparedness to meet death and appear in judgment. Each promised the other he would reform ; and the result was, they were both led to seek religion, as the only preparation for eternity. Both the brothers agree in stating that this circumstance was the means, in the hand of God, of their awakening and conversion, as nei- ther of them was in the habit of attending the preaching of the gospel before the inquietude and alarm created by this occasion. I have been thus minute in detailing the immediate means of his conversion, at the request of a surviving brother, in whose estimation the apparent incom- petency of the means magnifies the grace of God in this singular dispensation of blended mercy and providence. " John P. Finley was in the ministry about fifteen years. He was ordained deacon by Bishop Asbury, on the 17th of September, 1815. He received ordination as elder at the hands of Bishop Roberts, July 2, 1820. At the time of his death he was a member of the Kentucky annual conference — actively dividing his time and energies between the business of collegiate instruction and the labor of the pulpit. " As a man, the subject of these recollections was en- gagingly amiable, ingenuous, and agreeable ; equally removed from affectation and reserve, the circle in which he moved feh the presence of a friend and the influence of a Christian and minister. " As a teacher, his excellence was acknowledged by all who were competent to decide upon his claims ; and though he gloried most in being found a pupil in the school of Christ, yet he was no stranger to the academy and lyceum. " x\s a husband, there is one living whose tears have been his eulogy, and to whom, with his orphan children, friendship inscribes these lines. As a father, he was worthy of his children, and in pointing them to another 3 S36 A HISTORY OF THE [1826. and better world he was always careful to lead the way himself. " As dL friend, he was warm, ardent, and confiding, and not less generous than constant ; his intimate friends, how- ever, were few and well selected. " As a minister, in the pulpit, he was able, impressive, and overwhelming. The cross of his redemption was his theme, and in life and death it became to him the * em- phasis of every joy.' In all these relations I knew him well, and can therefore speak from the confidence of per- sonal knowledge and accredited information. " The last time I saw him I preached a sermon, at his request, on the ' Inspiration of the Scriptures.' When I had retired to my room, he called on me, in company with a friend, and in his usual frank manner embraced me, and observed, ' H , I thank you for that sermon, and I ex- pect to repeat my gratitude in heaven.' Little did I think, at this interview, I was gazing on my friend for the last time, and that in eighteen months his ripened virtues were to receive the rewards of the heavenly world ! But so it was, and I, less fit to die, am spared another and another year. " He died on the 8th of May, 1825, in the forty-second year of his age and sixteenth of his ministry ; and at the same time that his bereaved family wept upon his grave, the sadness of the Church told that she had lost one of her brightest ornaments. Just before his triumphant spirit rose to sink and sigh no more, he was asked how he felt, and what were his prospects upon entering the dark valley and shadow of death. He replied, in language worthy of immortality, ' Not the shadow of a doubt ; I have Christ within, the hope of glory — that comprehends all ;' and then, with the proto-martyr, he ' fell asleep.' " Such is a very imperfect sketch of the life, character, and death of John P. Finley. God grant, reader, that 3 182?.] METHODlSf EPISCOPAL CHtTRCH. 33? you and I may share the glory that gilded the last hours of his toil/' • Of Nathan Walker^ Martin Flint, William Young, Thomas Wright, John White, Henry P. Cook, Christopher /S*. Mooring, David IStevens, Syl- vester G. Hill, Ezekiel Canfield, William aS*. Pease, Samuel G> Atkins, and Damon Young, who had departed this life during the past year, it is recorded that they all finished their course with joy. Number of Church members^ Whites. Colored. Total. Preachers. This year 309,550 Sl^SSd 360,884 1,406 Last year 298,658 49^537 348,195 1,314 Increase 10,892 1,797 12,689 92 1827. This year the " Sunday School Union of the Methodist Episcopal Church" was formed in the city of New- York. The reader, however, is not to infer from this that the Methodists now for the first time en- tered upon the work of Sunday school instruction. In the first volume of this History we have seen that sab- bath schools were commenced among the Methodists in this country as early as 1790, but were soon discon- tinued for want of sufficient encouragement. The ori- gin of these schools in England is well known ; and Mr. Wesley was among the first to patronize and re» commend them to his people, and they soon became very general throughout his societies. It was about the year 1816 that the several denomi- nations of evangelical Christians in this country began to turn their attention to Sunday school instruction, and the plan of a union was formed for the purpose of Vol, III.— 15 338 A ttlSTORY OF THE [182'? harmonizing their views and concentrating their eflTorts, under an impression that by these means more good might be efiected to the rising generation than by sepa- rate and denominational action. This resulted in the formation of the "American Sunday School Union," which was located in the city of Philadelphia, and ex- tended itself, by means of auxiliaries, all over the United States, embracing all evangelical denominations, or so many of each as chose to unite with them. Into this union our people had in some places entered. By the parent society books were issued, agents employed to travel through the country to promote its objects, and a weekly periodical commenced, devoted especially to the interests of sabbath schools. With this general union, however, all were not satis- fied. Most of the Protestant Episcopalians chose to conduct their schools independently of the American Union, and many of the Methodists were uneasy under this regulation ; and, after much consultation, it was finally agreed to form a Sunday school society of our own, under such regulations as should be conformable to our doctrinal and other peculiarities. The reasons for this measure I cannot express better than in the following address, which was sent out by the managers immediately after the formation of the society. It fully unfolds the motives and objects by which its founders were actuated. It is as follows : — " In approaching you on the subject to which your at- tention is now invited, the managers take the liberty of stating a few things which have dictated the propriety of forming the society designated by the above constitution. They can assure you that they have not been led hastily into this measure, but, according to their best ability, have 3 1827.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 339 carefully weighed every circumstance connected with it, having deliberately consulted with each other, and with their most aged and experienced brethren, both preachers and private members of the Church. " The Methodist Episcopal Church is now composed of nearly four hundred thousand members, upward of four- teen hundred traveling preachers, and perhaps more than double that number of local preachers. From the peculiar organization of this Church, all these are considered as one body, adopting the same doctrines, discipline, mode of church government, and, the managers would hope, actuated by the same spirit, under the same great Head of the church, striving to ' preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bonds of peace.' These, together with the regular attendants on the Methodist ministry, make a population, including children, of not less than two millions, which are dependent on the ministrations of our Church. " Without even insinuating the want of soundness in the cardinal principles of Christianity in the major part of other Christian denominations in our country, or calling in question the purity of their motives or ardency of their zeal, the managers will not conceal the fact, that they give a decided preference to their own Church, firmly believing its doctrines and discipline, and have witnessed with un- speakable joy its surprising progress in so short a time, and its salutary influence on the hearts and lives of so many happy thousands. It is a truth as evident as the blaze of the sun at mid-day, that the first impetus which was given to the gxeat work of reformation now going for- ward in the world, God gave through the instrumentality of the Wesleys and their coadjutors in the ' ministry of re- conciliation.' The introduction into this country of a spi- ritual and energetic itinerating ministry, first begun by those men of God, has produced results at once astonish- ing and delightful. Others have caught the missionary 3 340 A HISTORY OF THE [1827. spirit, and have entered into the work with zeal and suc- cess. In spreading pure religion, the managers wish them all good speed. " Among other effects of this great work, by which the present age is distinguished, sabbath school instruction is not the least. The primary object of the first promoters of this work was to afford elementary instruction to such poor children as were destitute of common day school education, and at the same time to give such religious in- struction as is suited to the age and capacity of the chil- dren. The utility of this mode of imparting knowledge to the juvenile mind soon became apparent to all denomina- tions of Christians, and in the large towns and cities espe- cially they have less or more availed themselves of its advantages. In the progress of the work, in our country, efforts have been made to unite all sects and parties in one general society, called ' The American Sunday School Union Society ;' and while many have come into this union, others, thinking it best to manage their own affairs in their own way, remain in an insulated state, or have arrayed themselves under the standard of their own deno- mination. " Among others who have hitherto stood alone, there are many belonging to our Church. Not feeling inclined to connect themselves with the general union, and finding no centre of union in their own Church, they have long felt the inconvenience of their insulated state. As the Methodist Book Concern is located in the city of New- York, it was natural for them to look to this place for aid. Accordingly, frequent applications have been made to the agents of that establishment in reference to this subject. It was at once perceived that this establishment afforded facilities for printing and circulating books suitable for Sunday schools, as well as the receiving and sending out, through the medium of the periodical works printed there, 3 1827.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 341 all necessary information in relation to their institution which could not be obtained elsewhere ; and the agents of that Concern have pledged themselves to the society that Sunday school books shall be furnished by them as cheap as they can be obtained at any other place. " These circumstances led to the idea of forming a Sunday School Union for the Methodist Episcopal Church. But here, at the outset, many difficulties were to be en- countered. Most of those in our Church engaged in Sun- day schools in the city of New- York were connected with the general union ; and though some things had recently transpired of which they could not wholly approve, they were strongly attached to the union, having labored in this work with their brethren of other denominations with much harmony and Christian feeling ; but, after deliberating with calmness on all the circumstances of the case, the managers are convinced that duty enjoins it on them, be- cause more good may be ultimately accomplished, to form a union for the Church of which they are members, inde- pendent of the American Union. Experiment alone will test the correctness of this opinion. " It has already been observed, that the primary object of Sunday schools was to impart elementary instruction, mixed with religious improvement, to those children who were destitute of the advantages derived from common schools. Though this original object ought never to be abandoned, yet the general diffusion of this sort of instruc- tion in our country, through the medium of common schools, ard public and private free schools, renders this object less essential. Hence religious instruction is the grand and primary object of Sunday school instruction in our day and among our children. On this account, how- ever humiliating the fact, a general union of all parties becomes the more difficult. Whatever may be the inten- tion, each teacher of religion will more or less inculcate 3 342 A HISTORY OF THE [1827. his own peculiar Aaews of Christianity, and thus insensi- bly create party feelings and interests. And this difficulty is increased by the practice recently adopted by the em- ployment of missionaries who are to be supported from the funds of the general institution. The managers are of the opinion, that the most likely way for the several denominations to live and labor together in peace, is for each to conduct its own affairs, and still to hold out the hand of fellowship to its neighbor. They therefore dis- claim all unfriendly feeling toward others who may be engaged in this good work. They wish them all success in diffusing moral and religious influence on the minds of youth, and hope always to be ready to reciprocate any act of kindness which may contribute to strengthen each other's hands in the work in which they are mutually engaged. " Having thus explained the views of the society, the managers would now call on their brethren and friends to unite with them, by establishing, wherever it is practica- ble, Sunday school associations auxiliary to this society. To give a direction to this work, and to produce as much uniformity as local circumstances will allow, the form of a constitution suitable for auxiliary societies is herewith submitted. " One principal reason for locating the parent society in New- York, in preference to any other place, is the facilities afforded by our Book Concern for printing and circulating books. The agents of that growing establish- ment hold an extensive correspondence with every part of our country, and possess the readiest means of commu- nicating information on every subject connected with Sunday school instruction, and can supply any auxiliary with books on the shortest notice and cheapest terms. And it will be perceived, by an article in the constitution, that by paying three dollars into the funds of the institu- 3 1827.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 343 tion, sending a list of its officers, and a copy of its annual report, an auxiliary is entitled to purchase books at the reduced prices. A list of the books, with the prices an- nexed, will hereafter be furnished through the medium of the Advocate and Journal. " That an itinerating ministry possesses advantages pe- culiar to itself, in promoting objects of benevolence, will not be, by any, disputed. This, as well as the manner in which our Book Concern is conducted, supersedes the necessity and the expense of employing separate agencies in order to carry on the work of Sunday school instruc- tion. The funds, therefore, which may be raised, can be appropriated to the purchase of books. " It will be perceived from the constitution, that it is the design of this society, by means of auxiliaries, to comprehend every part of our Church in this great and good cause. The senior bishop is constituted the presi- dent, and the other four bishops are vice presidents ; and provision is made for each annual conference to elect a vice president from its own body ; and the board of ma- nagers being located in New- York, a centre of union is formed for the whole community, and all being connected with our Book Concern, an easy channel of communica- tion is opened, by which books may be printed and circu- lated, and remittances and information made and received. " These being the views and objects of the society, the managers think that they may confidently call on their brethren and friends for their aid and co-operation. To the ministers of the Church, especially, do they look for an efficient effiart in carrying the benevolent design into practical operation. Let them think on the numerous children imbosomed in the Church, which they are ap- pointed to nourish with the sincere milk of the ivord. These are the lambs of the flock, which, that they may become the sheep of God's pasture, must be tenderly nursed. Let 344 A HISTORY OF THE [1827. them, therefore, be gathered into the fold of sabbath schools, put under the care of faithful shepherds, who will Avatch over their welfare, instil into their minds moral and religious truth, and thus prepare them, under the influence of divine grace, to become faithful followers of the chief Shepherd and Bishop of their souls. " The managers conclude by commending their cause to God and to the prayers of their brethren, that they may be wisely directed in this arduous enterprise, and by say- ing that any suggestion, by which the system may be im- proved, so as to accomplish more perfectly the purposes of its organization, will be thankfully received and duly considered." The following article in the constiLution of the society will show what were its objects : — " The objects of this society shall be, to promote the formation and to concentrate the efforts of sabbath schools connected with the congregations of the Methodist Epis- copal Church, and all others that may become auxiliary ; to aid in the instruction of the rising generation, particu- larly in the knowledge of the Holy Scriptures, and in the service and worship of God." Provision was then made for the formation of auxi- liary societies, and other matters usually connected with Sunday school operations, for furnishing books, funds, een heard some- times on the floor of the General Conference in such strains of impassioned eloquence, that one would think it hardly possible to resist the force of his arguments and the directness of his appeals. But there was a par- ticular excellence which mingled itself with all these debates. With whatever fervor of spirit, warmth of zeal, or power of argument he might enter the arena of controversy on these subjects, he always concluded with an expression of his perfect fellowship for those who dissented from him, and of his unabated attachment to the rules and constitution of the Church of his choice. I remember to have heard him on one of these occa- sions, I think it was in the year 1816, when, after run- ning through the field of argument and illustration, to sustain his positions, and to prostrate, if possible, his antagonists, he concluded with these words : — " If any man consider me his enemy because I differ from him in opinion, I want not that man for my friend." These words, delivered, apparently, with a heart overflowing with feelings of kindness toward all men, left an impression upon all minds, I should think, if I may judge others by myself, as favorable to the speak- er's heart and affections, as did his arguments upon those who were most partial to his views. I remember well that Bishop M'Kendree, who was pointedly opposed to the theory of brother Smith, and who had heard some cutting remarks in the course of the speech, a few minutes only after this peroration was pronounced, took the orator in his arms in the most affectionate manner, 3 1827.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 373 as a token, I supposed, of his fellowship and kindly feelings. It was thought, however, by some of his intimate friends, that these discussions, which were continued in various forms, from one year to another, until they termi- nated at the Conference of 1828, so wore upon the ner- vous system of Mr. Smith that it accelerated the disease of which he died. His sensitive mind and warmth of affection led him to espouse any cause in which he en- gaged with the enthusiasm of an able advocate, and his delicate nerves vibrated under the continual irrita- tion produced by coming in constant collision with other minds equal to his own, and with other arguments with which he found it difficult to grapple with success. He therefore finally sunk under the pressure of those causes, which surrounded him, and v/as consumed by the fires which burned within him. But that same talent which qualified him for a pow- erful debater enabled him to shine in the pulpit, and to develop the truths of the gospel with clearness and pre- cision. If there was any fault in the style of his pulpit eloquence, it consisted in an apparent effort at original- ity, and a labor after a diction somewhat pompous, instead of being entirely natiu^al, plain, and pointed. This caused an occasional obscurity, painful to the hearer, and which prevented the full flow of truth from entering the understanding and the heart. It could not be otherwise than that a man thus con- stituted should be amiable in his manners. Brother Smith, indeed, possessed the social quahties in a high degree, and was therefore a pleasant and edifying com- panion, and warm in his attachments. And nothing would tend so quickly and so effectually to relieve his 3 374 A HISTORY OF THE [1827. soul from the burden of melancholy to which I have alkuled as social intercourse, when some anecdote hap- pily introduced would drive away the demon of gloom wiiich occasionally liovered over his mind, and re- store him to his wonted cheerfulness and colloquial vivacity. There were also a candor and frankness in his dis- position and communications which at once allayed all suspicions of his intentions, and threw him into your arms ^'as a brother beloved." No double-meaning phrases, no studied ambiguity, like the responses of the heathen oracles, which might be susceptible of an inter- pretation to suit the occasion, marked and debased the conversation or conduct of James Smith. When you heard his words you knew his heart. When you re- ceived his declaration you had a pledge of his senti- ments in the sincerity and candor with which he spoke, and therefore always felt yourself safe in his society, and no less pleased than edified by his conversation. It is indeed pleasant to linger along the path of such men, and call to our recollection those excellences which beautified their character, and made them so estimable in their day and generation. But we must check the current of our thoughts, and give place to some others equally entitled to notice, while we may be allowed to anticipate the day when, unencumbered by those in- firmities " which flesh is heir to," kindred spirits shall mingle their songs together around the throne of God and the Lamb. Seth Crowell was another who died in the meridian of life, and left behind him memorials of his fidehty in the cause of God. He entered the travehng ministry in 1827.J METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 375 1801, and finished his course in the twenty-fifth year of his pubhc labors. In the early days of his ministry he volunteered his services for Upper Canada, where he exhibited those talents for preaching", and that ardency of zeal, which much endeared him to the people in that province ; and he left behind him many witnesses, converted under his preaching, of the power and skill with which he wielded "the sword of the Spirit." In 1806 and 1807 he was stationed in the city of New- York, under the charge of the Rev. Aaron Hunt. Here a revival of religion com- menced, such, I believe, as had never before been seen or felt in that city, and brother Crowell was one of the most active instruments by which it was promoted. It was during- this powerful revival that the practice of inviting" penitent sinners to come to the altar for prayers was first introduced. The honor of doing this, if I am rightly informed, belongs to brother A. Hunt, who re- sorted to it to prevent the confusion arising from praying- for them in different parts of the church at the same time. In the midst of the shakings and tremblings among the congregations during this great work, Seth Crowell was eminently useful, preaching with the " Holy Ghost sent down from heaven," beseeching sinners to be re- conciled to God, and accompanying all his efforts with mighty prayer and faith. But his great exertions and his abstemious manner of living soon made inroads upon his physical constitu- tion, and this produced often a depression of spirits which rendered him sometimes quite unhappy. In consequence of these things he was obliged at times to remit his regular preaching, and seek to recruit his exhausted strength in a more retired sphere of labor. 3 376 A HISTORY OF THE [1827. When, however, in the vigor of his strength, the warmth of his aflfectiong and his longing desires for the salvation of souls led him forth with great zeal, botfi in and out of the pulpit, and he sometimes preaclied with a power and eloquence which overwhelmed his congre- gations "with speechless awe and silent love." Nor was it mere declamation. His sermons were sometimes deeply argumentative, and his positions supported by Scripture texts so appositely, that it amounted to a mo- ral demonstration of their truth ; and not unfrequently sinners would be constrained to cry aloud for mercy while he was making his searching appeals to their consciences. His preaching was frequently of a controversial cha- racter. Against the peculiarities of Calvinism and Universalism he bore a strong and pointed testimony, delighting to exhibit the universal love of God to man on the one hand, and the great danger of abusing it on the other, by obstinately refusing to comply with the conditions of the gospel. And his sermons on these occasions were sometimes delivered with great point and power, and could not do otherwise than offend those who tenaciously held the sentiments which he opposed. That the indulgence of this spirit of contro- versy had an unfavorable bearing sometimes upon the tranquillity of his mind I think was evident; and hence he affords an example of the danger to be appre- hended from carrying on a theological warfare on doc- trinal points, lest it contract the heart, and degenerate into a querulous disposition respecting points of more minor importance than those which first awakened the spirit of discussion. This, together with the many bodily infirmities 3 1827.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 377 which brother Crowell suffered toward the close of his life, no doubt, at times, interrupted that sweet flow of brotherly affection which binds the hearts of brethren together in the bundle of life, and leads to that recipro- city of those kindlier feelings which render social inter' course so agreeable and edifying. He has, however, gone to his rest. He lingered for several months under a slowly wasting disease, during which patience and resignation were exemplified in an eminent degree, and his soul was buoyed up with the blissful prospect of entering into life eternal. He left behind him many warm and admiring friends who had been profited by his ministry. If he had enemies he forgave them ; nor could they suffer their disaffection to follow him beyond the tomb. The grace of God in Christ at last gave him a victory over the sting of death, and transmitted his soul to the regions of the just. And whatever infirmities may have occasionally eclipsed the glory of his character, human sympathy ceases to weep over them in view of the many excellences which beau- tified his mind, inspired as they were by that grace which carried him through the storms of life safely to the harbor of eternal rest. Nor will this record be mis- interpreted by those who were acquainted with the intimate relation sometimes subsisting between the writer and his deceased friend ; while to others it is enough to say, that death not only dissolved all earthly ties, but was also a period of cementing that union of spirit which, it is humbly hoped, will be more fully consummated in the kingdom of glory and of God. 3 378 A HISTORY OF THE 11828. Number of Church members. Whites. Colored. Total. Preachers. This year 327,932 54,065 381,997 1,576 Last year 309,550 51,334 360,884 1,406 Increase 18,382 2,731 21,113 170 Among the colored members above enumerated are included five hundred and twenty-three Indians, all in Upper Canada except one ; but there were many more converted Indians than are here reported. It seems that at this time the conferences were not in the habit generally of returning the number of Indian converts separately in the Minutes ; and as the reports of the Missionary Society were all consumed in the disastrous fire of the Book Concern in 1836, it is not now possible to ascertain their exact number at that time. CHAPTER IX. The General Conference of 1828. This conference convened in the city of Pittsburgh, May 1, 1828. Five bishops, namely, M'Kendree, George, Roberts, Soule, and Hedding, were present, and the conference was opened by Bishop M'Kendree, with reading the Scriptures, singing, and prayer, after which Dr. Ruter, book agent at Cincinnati, was elected secretary. The following is a list of the delegates who composed this conference : — New-York Conference* Nathan Bangs, Arnold Scholefield, * Freeborn Garrettson was elected from this conference, but deceased before the meeting of the General Conference. 3 1828.] John Emory, Laban Clark, Peter P. Sandford, Phineas Rice, Stephen Martindale, Daniel Ostrander, John B. Stratten, Lewis Pease, METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 379 Tobias Spicer, Heman Bangs, Marvin Richardson, Samuel Luckey, Thomas Burch, Buel Goodsell, Henry Stead, James Youngs. New-England Conference. George Pickering, Daniel Dorchester, Timothy Merritt, John Lindsey, Edward Hyde, Joseph A. Merrill, Benjamin R. Hoyt, Jacob Sanborn, John W. Hardy, Eleazar Wells, Ephraim Wiley, Elisha Streeter, Loring Grant, Horace Agard, George Peck, Josiah Keyes, Robert Parker, Morgan Sherman, Edmond O'Fling, Israel Chamberlain George Harmon, Wilbur Fisk, Daniel Fillmore, Isaac Bonny, John F. Adams, Joseph B. White, John Lord, Lewis Bates, Thomas C. Pierce. Maine Conference. Heman Nickerson, David Kilbourn, Stephen Lovell. Genesee Conference. Ralph Lanning, Isaac Grant, Zechariah Paddock, James Hall, Manley Tooker, Gideon Lanning, Seth Mattison, , John Dempster, Jonathan Huestis. Canada Conference. William Ryerson, Samuel Belton, 380 A HISTORY OF THE [1828. John Ryerson, William Slater, Wyatt Chamberlain. Pittsburgh Conference. WiUiam Stevens, James Moore, Daniel Limerick, Asa Shinn, David Sharp, Henry B. Bascom, Henry Furlong, Thornton Fleming, William Lambdin, Charles Elliott. Ohio Conference. Jacob Young, Greenbury R. Jones, David Young, James Quinn, James B. Finley, John Collins, John F. Wright, Moses Crume, Russel Bigelow, Leroy Swormstedt, John Brown. Missouri Conference. Andrew Monroe, Jesse Halle. Illinois Conference. Peter Cartwright, James Armstrong, Samuel H. Thompson, John Strange, John Dew, Charles Holliday. Kentucky Conference. Richard Tidings, Marcus Lindsey, Thomas A. Morris, William Adams, Peter Akers, Henry M'Daniel, Benjamin T. Crouch, Jonathan Stamper, George C. Light, George W. M'Nelly, John Tivis. Holston Conference. Thomas Wilkerson, Elbert F. Sevier, Samuel Patton, William S. Manson, James Cumming, William Patton, Thomas Stringfield. 1828.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 381 Tennessee Conference. James Gwin, Finch P. Scruggs^ William M'Mahon, Francis A. Owen, James M'Ferrin, Ashley B. Roszell, Robert Paine, John M. Holland, Joshua Butcher. Mississippi Conference. Benjamin M. Drake, Robert L, Kennon, William Winans, Barnabas Pipkin, Thomas Griffin, John C. Burruss. South Carolina Conference. James O. Andrew, Samuel K. Hodges, William Capers, George Hill, William M. Kennedy, William Arnold, Lovick Pierce, Andrew Hamill, Henry Bass, Malcom M'Pherson, Samuel Dunwody, Robert Adams, Elijah Sinclair. Virginia Conference. Daniel Hall, Moses Brock, Hezekiah G. Leigh, Peter Doub, Lev/is Skidmore, Henry Holmes, Caleb Leach, Thomas Crowder, Joseph Carson, John Early. Ballimore Conference. Stephen G. Roszel, James M. Hanson, Nelson Reed, Beverly Waugh, Joshua Wells, Andrew Hemphill, Joseph Frye, Job Guest, Henry Smith, Marmaduke Pierce, John Davis, Christopher Frye. Philadelphia Conference. Ezekiel Cooper, David Daily, Lawrence M'Combs, William Leonard, 38J A HISTORY OF THE [1828. Manning Force, Joseph Lybrand, John Potts, Lot Warfield, Charles Pittman George Woolley, James Smith, Thomas Neal, John Smith, Walter Burrows, Solomon Higgins. After the organization of the conference the following address was received from the bishops, and referred to appropriate committees :— " Dear Brethren : — It is our bounden duty to join in devout and grateful acknowledgments to the Father of mercies, whose gracious providence has preserved us in all our ways, and especially through the toils and dangers which have attended our journey from different and distant parts of the United States to this place. And while we acknowledge with gratitude the past interpositions of di- vine agency, let us unite in humble and fervent prayer for the influence of the Holy Spirit to guide us in all our de- liberations, and to preserve us and the whole Church in the unity of the Spirit and in the bonds of peace. " During the last four years it has pleased the great Head of the church to continue his heavenly benediction on our Zion. The work has been greatly extended ; many new circuits and districts have been formed in different parts of our vast field of labor ; but yet there is room, and pressing calls for much greater enlargement are constantly made. " The great and extensive revivals of religion which we have experienced the last three years through almost every part of the work, furnish additional proof ' that God's de- sign in raising up the preachers called Methodists, in America, was to reform the continent, and spread Scrip- ture holiness over these lands.' These revivals have been the nurseries of the Church and of the ministry. 3 1828.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 383 " Perhaps it deserves to be regarded as an extraordinary interposition of the divine mercy in behalf of the Church, that the year ending with this date has been peculiarly distinguished by the abundant outpourings of the Holy Spirit, and the increase both in the ministry and member- ship. " While we are fully persuaded that, under God, our itinerant system has been the most effectual means of car- rying on this great and blessed work, we recommend it to you to guard against whatever measures may have a ten- dency to weaken the energies of this system, or to locality in any department of the traveling ministry. " Our missionary work has been greatly increased since the last session of the General Conference. Many parts of our extensive frontiers and newly acquired territories have received the gospel of salvation by the labors of mis- sionaries. The importance and necessity of maintaining this efficient missionary system are sufficiently demon- strated by the blessed effects which it has produced. Vast regions of country, almost entirely destitute of the gospel ministry, have by this means, and at a small expense from the missionarj^ funds, been formed into circuits, and em- braced in our regular work. " Missions have been established in several Indian na- tions, most of which have succeeded beyond our highest expectations. And although, in some cases, we have had much to discourage us, and many difficulties to encounter and overcome in the prosecution of this work, we consider it of indispensable obligation to continue our efforts with increasing interest, for the salvation of this forlorn and afflicted people. " Our attention has been called to South America, and to the American colony and surrounding nations in Africa. But hitherto we have not been able to send missionaries to either place. 3 384 A HISTORY OP THE [1828. " We invite the attention of the General Conference to this important subject. And while wc cannot but regard the Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church as a very efficient auxiliary to our itinerant system, and happily calculated to diffuse the blessings of the gospel among the poor and destitute, we recommend it as a sub- ject of inquiry whether it be necessary to adopt any fur- ther measures to render this important institution more ex- tensive and harmonious in its membership, and more abundant and permanent in its resources ; and if any, what measures will be best calculated to promote these desirable ends. " Since the last session of this body, the ' Sunday School Union and Tract Societies of the Methodist Episcopal Church' have assumed an important and interesting cha- racter, and appear to promise great and lasting benefits to the community in general, and to the rising generation in particular. Your wisdom will dictate wherein it is neces- sary to give any additional direction and support to these benevolent and growing institutions. " As the right of all the members of the Methodist Epis- copal Church to trial and appeal, as prescribed in the form of Discipline, is sacredly secured by the acts of the Ge- neral Conference of 1808, it may not be improper to insti- tute an inquiry, at the present session, whether any rule in the Discipline may be construed or applied so as to mili- tate against such acts ; and if so, remedy the evil, " We invite your attention to a careful examination of the administration of the government, to see if it has been in accordance with the strictness and purity of our system. " Through a combination of circumstances, we have failed to comply with the instructions of the last General Conference relative to the appointment of a delegate to the British conference. We deeply regret this failure. And it would be far more afflictive were we not assured that it 3 iS28»] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 385 has not been occasioned, in the least degtee, by any want of affection and respect for our British brethren, or any indisposition to continue that medium of intercourse with them. We therefore recommend it to you to supply our lack of service by appointing, in such a manner as you shall judge proper, a representative and messenger to visit the British conference at its next session. " May the God of peace be with you, and with the Church of our Lord Jesus Christ committed to your care. " Yours with affection and esteem in the bonds of the gospel." There were several important matters which came up for adjudication before this conference, affecting both the doctrines and government of the Church, as well as the character of some individuals. The first — that which affected the doctrines of the Church— was pre- sented in an appeal, by the Rev. Joshua Randell, from a decision of the New-England conference, by which he had been expelled for holding and propagating doc- trines inconsistent with our acknowledged standards : — "1. In denying that the transgressions of the law, to which we are personally responsible, have had any atone- ment made for them by Christ. " 2. Maintaining that the infinite claims of justice upon the transgressor of the divine law may, upon the condition of the mere acts of the transgressor himself, be relin- quished and given up, and the transgressor pardoned without an atonement." On these two specifications, both of which the de- fendant acknowledged that he held, the New-England conference had first suspended him, and given him one year to reflect, and, if convinced of his error, to re- tract ; and then, on finding that, at the end of the year, Vol. III.— a? 386 A HISTORY OF THE [1829. he persisted in his behef in these two propositions, and had endeavored to sustain them, both from the pulpit and the press, they had expelled him from the Church. From this solemn decision he had appealed to this Ge- neral Conference, where he appeared in his own de- fence, and was allowed to vindicate his views to his entire satisfaction, it being stated in the journal of the General Conference that "he considered the case as having been fairly represented, and that he had nothing in particular to add.'^ The respondent to Mi*. Randell, on behalf of the New-England conference, was the Rev. Wilbur Fisic, whose able argument carried a full conviction to the judgments of all, with one solitary exception, that the above propositions contained doctrines adverse to the doctrines of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and that the proceedings of the New^-England conference on the case had been legal and orderly. After a full, and, as was acknowledged by the defendant himself, an impar- tial examination and hearing of the case, the decree of the New-England conference w^as affirmed by a vote of one hundred and sixty-four out of one hundred and sixty-five who were present and voted on the question, two members, at their own request, being excused from voting either way. It appears that Bishop Hedding had been misrepre- sented in a paper published by the Reformers, called " Mutual Rights." This arose out of an address which he delivered to the Pittsburgh conference, in Washing- ton, Pa., August 22d, 1826, on the duty of its members in reference to the discussions with which some portions of the Church were then much agitated on the subject of a church reform, then in contemplation by a number 3 1828.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 387 of individuals. This address, which gave offence to those who w ere in favor of the proposed measures of the " Reformers," so called, had been reported by one of the members of said conference, in the " Mutual Rights," and sentiments imputed to Bishop Hedding which he disavowed, as injurious to his character. He had ac- cordingly written to the " Mutual Rights," contradicting the slanderous misrepresentation, and demanding repa- ration. This not being satisfactoril}' done by the of- fending brother, the bishop felt it to be his duty to present the subject to this General Conference, and to request that it might be investigated ; and hence the whole affair was referred to the committee on the epis- copacy, before whom the bishop, the writer of the offen- sive article, and the delegates of the Pittsburgh confer- ence appeared ; and after a full examination of the entire subject, they came to the following conclusion : — That, after an interview with the person who wTOte the article in the " Mutual Rights," and the delegates of the Pittsburgh conference, in whose presence the bishop had deliv^ered the address respecting which the offensive article had been written, and hearing all that could be said by the parties concerned, it w^as believed that the writer had injuriously misrepresented Bishop Hedding in what he had published. This the writer himself, after hearing the explanations of the bishop, frankly acknowledged, and acquiesced in the decision of the committee respecting its injustice, and the propriety of making reparation by publishing the report of the com- mittee, which report concludes in these words : — " That the address of Bishop Hedding, as recollected by him- self and the delegates of the Pittsburgli annual confer- ence, not only was not deserving of censure, but such 3 388 A HISTORY OF THE [1828. as the circumstances of the case rendered it his official duty to deliver." As an act of justice to Bishop Hedding, the entire re- jx)rtj as adopted by the conference, was published in the Christian Advocate and Journal, and may l^e seen in that paper for May 30, 182S. Another subject of a more general character, and of no little importance, came up for consideration before tliis conference. We have already seen that the Ca- nada brethren had manifested much dissatisfaction on account of the relation which they sustained to us, and the desire they had manifested at times to become inde- pendent. This desire, however, did not arise out of any dissatisfaction with the conduct of the brethren in the United States toward them, but chiefly from the opposition evinced by statesmen in Upper Canada to their being subject to the control of a foreign ecclesias- tical head, over which the civil authorities of Canada could exercise no jurisdiction ; and as most of the preachers in Canada weie formerly from the United States, and all of them subject to an ecclesiastical juris- diction in another nation, it was contended by the Ca- nadian authorities that they had no sufficient guarantee for their allegiance to the crown of Great Britain, and to the civil regulations of Canada ; and hence the Me- thodist ministers in Canada had sufiered civil disabili- ties, and had not been allowed to celebrate the rites of matrimony, not even for their own members. These arguments, and others of a similar character, had induced the Canada conference, which assembled in Hallo well, in 1824, when Bishops George and Red- ding were both with them, to memorialize the several annual conferences in the United States on the subject 3 1828.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 389 of establishing an independent church in Upper Ca- nada, requesting them to recommend the measure to this General Conference. Accordingly, the subject came up at this time by a memorial from the Canada conference, which Was presented by its delegates, and referred to a committee. The deliberations of the conference resulted in the adoption of the following preamble and report : — " Whereas the Canada annual conference, situated in the province of Upper Canada, under a foreign govern- ment, have, in their memorial, presented to this conference the disabilities under which they labor, in consequence of their union with a foreign ecclesiastical government, and setting forth their desire to be set off as a separate church establishment : and whereas this General Conference dis- claim all right to exercise ecclesiastical jurisdiction under such circumstances, except by mutual agreement : — " 1. Resolved, therefore, by the delegates of the annual conferences in General Conference assembled, that the compact existing between the Canada annual conference and the Methodist Episcopal Church in the United States be, and hereby is, dissolved by mutual consent. " 2. That our superintendents or superintendent be, and hereby are, respectfully advised and requested to ordain such person as may be elected by the Canada conference a superintendent for the Canada connection. " 3. That we do hereby recommend to our brethren in Canada to adopt the form of government of the Methodist Episcopal Church in the United States, with such modifi- cations as their particular relations shall render necessary. " 4. That we do hereby express to our Canada brethren our sincere desire that the most friendly feeling may exist between them and the connection of the Methodist Epis- copal Church in the United States. 390 A HISTORY OF THE [1828. " 5. That the claims of the Canada conference on our Book Concern and chartered fund, and any other claims they may suppose they justly have, shall be left open for future negotiation and adjustment between the two con- nections." It was afterward resolved that the managers of our Missionary Society should be allowed to appropriate the sum of seven hundred dollars annually for the support of the Indian missions in Upper Canada. There is an important principle involved in the above agreement to dissolve the connection which had so long subsisted between the Methodists in the United States and Upper Canada, which it seems expedient to ex- plain. When the subject first came np for considera- tion it was contended, and the committee to whom it was first referred so reported, which report was approved of by a vote of the General Conference, that we had no constitutional right to set off the brethren in Upper Canada as an independent body, because the terms of the compact by which we existed as a General Confer- ence made it obligatory on us, as a delegated bod}^, to preserve the union entire, and not to break up the Church into separate fragments. Hence, to grant the prayer of the memorialists, by a solemn act of legisla- tion, would be giving sanction to a principle, and setting a precedent for future General Conferences, of a dan- gerous character — of such a character as might tend ultimately to the dissolution of the ecclesiastical body, which would be. in fact and form, contravening the very object for which we were constituted a delegated conference, this object being a preservation^ and not a destruction or dissolution of the union. These argu- ments appeared so forcible to the first committeej and to 3 1828.J METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 391 the conference, that the idea of granting them a sepa- rate organization on the principle of abstract and inde- pendent legislation was abandoned as altogether inde- fensible, being contrary to the constitutional compact. But still feeling a desire to grant, in some way, that which the Canada brethren so earnestly requested, and for which they pleaded with much zeal, and even with most pathetic appeals to our sympathies, it was sug- gested by a very intelligent member of the General Conference, the late Bishop Emory, that(^the preachers who went to Canada from the United States went in the first instance as missionaries, and that ever after- ward, whenever additional help was needed. Bishop Asbury and his successors asked for vohinteers, not claiming the right to send them, in the same authori- tative manner in which they were sent to the different parts of the United States and territories ; hence it fol- lowed that the compact between us and our brethren in Canada was altogether of a voluntari/ character — loe had offered them our services, and they had accepted them — and therefore, as the time had arrived when they were no longer willing to receive or accept of our labors and superintendence, they had a perfect right to request us to withdraw our services, and we the same right to withhold them.) This presented the subject in a new and very clear light, and it seemed perfectly compatible with our pow- ers as a delegated conference, and their privileges as a part of the same body, thus connected by a voluntary and conditional compact, either expressed or implied, to dissolve the connection subsisting between us, with- out any dereliction of duty or forfeiture of privilege on 3 392 A HISTORY OF THE [1828. either part. It was on this principle alone that the above agreement was based. It will be perceived, tliereforej that this miUiial agree- ment to dissolve the connection heretofore subsisting between the Methodist Episcopal Church in the United States and the Canada conference cannot, with justice, be pleaded for setting oti" any one conference or any number of annual conferences in the United States, as their relations to each other and to the General Confer- ence are quite dissimilar to that which bound the Canada conference to us. The conferences in the United States are all bound together by one sacred compact, and the severing any one from the main body would partake of the same suicidal character as to sever a sound limb from the body. The General Conference has no right, no authority, thus " to scatter, tear, and slay" the body which they are solemnly bound to keep together, to nourish, to protect, and to preserve in one harmonious whole. If an annual conference declare itself independ- ent, out of the pale of the Methodist Episcopal Church, it is its own act exclusively, and therefore the responsi- bility rests upon itself alone, for which the General Conference cannot be held accountable, because it was not a participant in the separation. I do not say that the General Conference may not disown an annual conference, should it become corrupt in doctrine, in moral discipline, or in rehgious practice. Should, for instance, an annual conference, by an act of the ma- jority of its members, abjure any of our essential doc- trines, such as the atonement of Christ, or justification by faith, or should renounce the sacrament of baptism or the Lord's supper, or strike from its moral code any of the precepts of morality recognized in our general 3 1828'.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 393 rules, it might become the duty of the General Confer- ence to interpose its high authority, and cut off, or at least to withdiaw its fellowship from, the offending members. Yet such an act of excision, or of disnatu- ralization, if I may so call it, could be justified only as a dernier resort, when all other means had failed to reclaim the delinquents from their wanderings — just as the surgeon's knife is to be withheld until mortification endangers the life of the patient, when death or ampu- tation becomes the sole alternative. How else can the Church be preserved — supposing such a case of delin- quency to exist — from a general putrefaction ? For if a majority of an annual conference become heterodox in doctrine, or morally corrupt in practice, the minority cannot control them, cannot call them to an account, condemn, and expel them. And in this case, must the majority of the annual conferences, and perhaps also a respectable minority of that very annual conference, be compelled to hold these apostates from truth and right- eousness in the bosom of their fellowship, to treat them in all respects as brethren beloved, and publicly to recognize them as such in their public and authorized documents? This would be a hard case indeed ! an alternative to which no ecclesiastical body should be compelled to submit. These remarks are made to prevent any misconcep- tion respecting the principle on which the above con- nection was dissolved, and to show that it forms no precedent for a dissolution of the connection now sub- sisting between the annual and General Conferences in the United States. Analogical arguments, to be con- clusive, must be drawn from analogous facts or circum- stances, and not from contrast, or opposing facts or 17* 3 394 A HISTORY OF THE [1828. circumstances. And the relation subsisting between the annual conferences in the United Slates to each other, and between them and the General Conference, stands in contrast with the relation wliich did subsist between the Canada and the General Conference ; and therefore no analogical argument can be drawn from the mutual agreement by which this relation was dis- solved in favor of dissolving the connection now sub- sisting between the annual conferences in the United States, by a solemn act of legislation on the part of the General Conference, except for the reasons above as- signed ; and those reasons, let it be rememl)ered, make the contrast still greater between the two acts, and justify the difference of the procedure: for the dissolu- tion of the compact l^etween us and tlie Canada bre- thren from the jurisdiction only, Christian fellowship still subsisting — while the supposed act of excision would be a withdrawing of Christian fellowship from the offending members. There were also other great principles of ecclesiastical economy involved in tlie above resolutions, which it may be well to develop and dwell upon for a moment. It has been seen that the General Conference autho- rized our bishops, or any one of them, to ordain a bishop for Upper Canada. It was also provided that if such bishop should be so ordained his episcopal jurisdiction should be limited to Canada — that he should not be allowed to exercise his functions in the United States. In favor of both of these positions, namely, the ordain- ing a bishop for Canada, and then restricting him in his episcopal functions to that country, or the not allow- ing him to exercise them in the United States, the following precedents were adduced : — 3 1828.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 395 It was pleaded that the bishops of England ordained bishops for the United States exclusively : that when Wesley and others ordained Dr. Coke, it was only for the United States : and hence neither of these function- aries was allowed to exercise his episcopal powers in Great Britain. Here, then, were precedents, from our own and another church, both for consecrating men for other countries, and for restricting them, in the exercise of their official duties, to the countries for which they were designated in their certificates of ordination. It was furthermore stated — and truly too — that when it was contemplated to consecrate the late Rev. Freeborn Garrettson a bishop for Nova Scotia and the West In- dies, it was proposed to withhold from him the privilege of being a bishop, by virtue of that election and conse- cration, in the United States. And as to ordaining men for foreign countries, on special occasions, church history was full of examples, all which might be adduced as sound precedents for the authority conferred upon our bishops in regard to ordaining a man on whom the choice of the Canada conference might fall for their superintendent. There was one other subject disposed of at this con- ference, more important, in many respects, than either of those already mentioned, inasmuch as it involved principles and measures which must, had they been carried into effect, have produced a radical change in both the legislative and executive departments of our church government, and were therefore considered revo- lutionary in their character and tendency. That this subject may be placed in such a point of light as to be clearly understood, it is necessary to enter into some historical details. 3 396 A HISTORY OF THE [1828. We have already seen that there liad been consider- able uneasiness manifested in some portions of our Church on the subject of a lay representation in the General Conference. At first the discussions upon this subject were confined to private circles, though some of the traveUng and more of the local preachers, as well as a few of the lay members, had been and were now of the opinion that such a representation ought to be granted. At length, however, those who were most zealous for this measure commenced a periodical publi- cation, called the "Wesleyan Repository," in which they began, at first with apparent moderation, to dis- cuss the principle of lay representation. The head- quarters of this publication, which was commenced in 1820, were Trenton, in the state of New- Jersey ; and though its editor was known, the greater portion of its writers appeared under the mask of fictitious signatures, by which they eluded individual responsibility. The strictures upon our church government, which became uncommonly severe, were more calculated to irritate the passions than to convince the judgment, and they soon degenerated into personal attacks, in which some of our bishops and chief ministers were dragged before the public in a way to injure their character, and con- sequently to circumscribe their usefulness. And though we had a monthly periodical, it was thought, by the most judicious among our ministers and people, that its columns ought not to be occupied with such a thriftless controversy, much less as the writers in the Repository lay concealed beneath fictitious signatures ; and more- over, instead of sober argument, they frequently resorted to biting sarcasm, to personal criminations, and to a caricature of some of those institutions which we, as a 3 1828.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 397 church, had long held sacred. Though it was believed that most of the writers in the Repository were local preachers and laymen, yet it was known that several of the traveling preachers themselves were favorable to the proposed innovation, and therefore lent the weight of their influence in its behalf by writing occasionally for its columns. With a view to concentrate their strength and har- monize their views as much as possible, the friends of the innovating measures formed a " Union Society" in the city of Baltimore, elected officers and a committee of correspondence, inviting all who were with them in sentiment to form auxiliary societies throughout the country, that there might be a general co-operation among the advocates of lay representation. Things went on in this way until near the meeting of the General Conference in 1824, when the male members of the Church in the city of Baltimore, which had now become the center of operations for the " Re- formers,"* with a view to allay, if possible, the heat of party spirit, were called together for the purpose of at- tempting to effect a compromise. This effort grew out of the fact that there were many conflicting opinions among those who were favorable to "reform," and a strong desire among the warm friends of the Church to * This being the name by which those brethren chose to designate themselves, I have used it as a term of distinction, without allowing that they were in reality reformers^ either in or of the Methodist Episcopal Church. To reform, is to make better ; and they seem to have become convinced themselves of the inappropriateness of the term, by dropping it, and substituting in its place Protestant Methodists^ imply- ing, that though they could not reform us — that is, make us better — they could at least ^protest against our peculiarities. 3 398 A HISTORY OF THE [1828- avert the calamities of a separation, which they saw must inevitably result from this feverish excitement, unless some pacific measures could he adopted to cool it down. In this meeting it was proposed, as the basis of the compromise, to memorialize the General Conference on the subject of a lay delegation, provided the question of a right to such representation were waived, and the privilege should be asked on the ground of expediency alone. This was assented to by the leading men among the '•' Reformers,'' and a memorial was accordingly pre- pared in accordance with these views, the part relating to lay representation being expressed in the following words : — " Under these views we have been led to turn our atten- tion to the subject of a lay delegation to the General Con- ference. In presenting this subject to your consideration, we would waive all that might be urged on the natural or abstract right of the membership to this privilege. We are content to admit that all governments, whether civil or ecclesiastical, ought to be founded, not on considerations growing out of abstract rights, but on expediency, that being always the right government which best secures the inte- rests of the whole community. With regard to the expe- diency of the measure, then, we may urge that such a delegation would brinor into the conference much informa- tion with regard to the temporal affairs of the Church which the ministry cannot well be supposed to possess. They would feel less delicacy in originating and proposing measures for the relief of the preachers' families than the preachers themselves, as they could not be subjected thereby to the imputation of interested motives, and they would, by being distributed everywhere among the mem- bership, aid, by their personal exertions and influence, the success of such measures, and awaken, more generally 3 1828.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 399 than has hitherto been done, the attention of the Methodist community to the great interests of the Church. " We are aware of the constitutional objections to this change in our economy. We know that you are clearly prohibited, by the very first article of the constitution under which you act, from adding to the conference any delega- tion not provided for in that rule ; but we believe that an opinion expressed by the conference, and approved by the episcopacy, would induce the annual conferences to make the necessary alteration in the constitution : and we sub- mit the consideration of the whole matter to the calm and deliberate attention which we are persuaded its importance demands, and which we do not doubt it will receive, determined cheerfully and cordially to submit to your decision." During the session of the conference in May, 1824, some of the "Reformers," becoming dissatisfied with the principles of the compromise, formed a separate society, and claimed a representation in the General Conference as a natural and social rights deprecating its rejection by the General Conference as an evidence of a spiritual despotism utterly unworthy the character of the minis- try of Jesus Christ. To effect their objects with the greater certainty, they immediately issued proposals for establishing a new periodical, called " Mutual Rights," its title being w^ell calculated to impress the unwary reader with the erroneous idea, so much harped upon in those days of agitation, that the " Reformers" were the exclusive advocates of the " rights" of the lay members of our Church. The formation of these societies, and the publication of this periodical, in w^hich most inflammatory declama- tions were poured forth against our ministry and esta- 3 400 A HISTORY OF THE [1828. blished usages, were considered, by the more sober and thinking part of our conimunity, as incorporating the very schism in tlie Church which they deprecated as one of the worst evils with which it could be afflicted, except, indeed, its inundation by immorahty. The fate, howeV'er, of those measures, so far as the General Conference was concerned, has been seen in the account given of the doings of the General Conference in 1824. The prayer of the memoriaHsts was rejected, and the ground of right to a lay representation denied. It is not necessary to trace the history of this unplea- sant affair, in all its minutiae and various ramifications over dilTerent parts of the country, from that time until the secession was fully consummated, and a separate community established. Suffice it therefore to say, that matters went on from bad to worse, until it became necessary, in the opinion of those who watched over the Church in Baltimore, to save it and its institutions from dissolution, to call the malecontents to an account for their conduct. M the Baltimore conference, in 1827, the Rev. D. B. Dorsey, who had connected himself with the " Re- formers," was arraigned before his conference for recom- mending and circulating the " Mutual Rights ;" and during the course of his trial he avowed such principles, and made such declarations respecting his independent rights, as could not be approved of by the conference ; and they therefore requested, as the mildest punishment they could inflict, the bishop to leave him without an appointment for one year. From this decision he took an appeal to the General Conference ; but, instead of waiting patiently until this ultimate decision could be had, he loudly censured the acts of the Baltimore con- 3 1828.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 401 ference in leference to his case, through the cokimns of " Mutual Rights," thus appealing from the constituted authorities of the Church to the popular voice, invoking from this very equivocal tribunal a decision in his favor. All this had a tendency to widen the breach, and to make a reconciliation the more hopeless. One of the leading champions of this " reform" was the Rev. Nicholas Snethen, who had been a very useful and influential traveling preacher for many years, but was now located, and lived in the neighborhood of Bal- timore. He was recognized as the writer of several articles, under fictitious signatures, in the " Wesleyan Repository" and "Mutual Rights," in which severe strictures were made upon our economy ; and now, since action had commenced against the malecontents in the Baltimore conference, by which it was foreseen that others, implicated in the same warfare against the authorities and usages of the Church, would be called to answer for their conduct, Mr. Snethen avowed him- self the author of these pieces, vauntingly placed him- self in front of the reforming ranks, shouting, "Onward ! brethren ; onward !" pledging himself to suffer or tri- umph with them — thus exhibiting a spirit of moral heroism worthy of a better cause, and more befitting other times than those which called only for a bloodless warfare. This conduct, how^ever, brought forth a champion from the ranks of the local preachers, who, as he him- self acknowledged, had been friendly to some slight changes in the structure of our church government, provided such changes should be thought expedient by the General Conference, and could be effected by pacific measures, without producing a convulsion in the body. 3 402 A HISTORY OF THE [1828. He had long been an intimate and personal friend of Mr. Snethen, and therefore it was with some reluctance that he yielded to the paramount duty of sacrificing his personal friendship for the purpose of defending the " ancient landmarks," and of placing himself in opposi- tion to the innovations in contemplation by the " Re- formers." I allude to Doctor Thomas E. Bond, of Baltimore. In 1827 he published his " Appeal to the Methodists, in Opposition to the Changes proposed in their Church Government," which was prefaced by an epistolary dedication to the Rev. Nicholas Snethen. This appeared to take Mr. Snethen and his friends by surprise, as they seemed to expect least of all such an appeal from the source whence it came, while it acted as a charm upon the minds of those who loved the insti- tutions and prayed for the perpetual union and pros- perity of the Church. The able manner in which Dr. Bond treated the subject, and refuted the arguments and exposed the pretensions of the " Reformers," showed that he had thoroughly digested the questions at issue, had " counted the cost," and was prepared to abide the results of the contest. Having, therefore, balanced the weight of the arguments for and against the proposed innovation, and fully made up a judgment in favor of the Church and its institutions, he wrote from the full- ness of his heart, and the following passage from his '' Appeal" will show the confident manner in which he anticipated the result of this severe and long-protracted struggle. After giving the outlines of our church government, and the general system of itinerant opera- tions, he introduces the following spirited remarks : — " It is this system of church government, so simple in its structure and efficient in its operation, so tested by 3 1828.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 403 experience and justified by success, and, withal, so sanc- tified in the feelings and affections of our people by the endearing associations with which it stands connected, that we are now called upon, not to modify, but radically to change ; not to mend in some of its less important details, but to alter in its fundamental principles, and to substitute for it a speculative scheme of government, inap- plicable to our circumstances, and therefore impossible to be effected ; — a scheme founded on abstract notions of natural rights, but which none of its advocates have attempted to exhibit in any visible or tangible shape or form, and therefore they have carefully avoided the dis- cussion of the parts most important in any system, namely, its practicability and expediency. Happy for us, the scheme is not new. In Europe it has had its day of noise and strife, and has ceased to agitate the Church ; and in this country Mr. O'Kelly started it more than thirty years ago, left the Church, and drew off several of the preachers with him. He lived to see the ruins of the visionary fabric he had labored to erect, and to mourn over the deso- lation which he had brought upon that part of the vineyard, where, as a Methodist preacher, he so faithfully and use- fully labored, but which he had afterward turned out to be ravaged and destroyed by " republican Methodism." The formidable phalanx now arrayed against us may, it is feared, do us much harm, but we will take protection under that strong Arm which has heretofore defended us. Hitherto our history has shown that the great Head of the church had appointed us for a special work in his vine- yard, and that he superintended and directed the labor, opening the way before our ministry, qualifying and sus- taining them in their arduous labors, under circumstances which would have discouraged any but such as were assured of divine support, and who were prepared to be- lieve in hope against hope. Great conflicts await us, but 404 A HISTORY OF THE [1828. out of all the Lord will deliver us : while he is with us, the more we are oppressed, the more we shall multiply and grow. Lei us be faithful to our calling — let us watch unto prayer. The present revolutionary scheme of our disaffected members will share the fate of all the similar projects which have preceded it. Our children will read of it in history, but, ere they take our places in the Church, the troubled waters shall have heard the voice of Him who says to the winds and the waves, Be still, and they obey his voice." This strong appeal, written throughout with a spirit and a style of argument which did honor to the head and heart of its author, exerted a most salutary influ- ence upon all who had not fully committed themselves to the principles and measures of the "Reformers." While it drew the lines more distinctly which divided the contending parties, it tended to cement closer toge- ther those who had so long cherished the institutions of Methodism, and to arm them with weapons of defence. Hitherto there had been some neutralists, who were looking on, not indeed with cold indifference, but with an anxious suspense, watching the result of the move- ments, and weighing the respective arguments, for the purpose of forming an intelligent decision. These acknowledged themselves much indebted to Dr. Bond for throwing additional light upon this subject, and thus saving them from lapsing into the sickly spirit of " re- form :" and the Appeal doubtless had the greater weight for having been issued from the local instead of the traveling rrdnistry, because it was supposed that the former had identified themselves more generally than (he latter with the reforming party. In the mean time a pamphlet had been issued, as 3 1828.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 405 was erroneously supposed at the time under the sanc- tion of the Union Society, by Rev. Alexander M'Cainej* in which he attempted to prove that surreptitious means had been used in the estabhshment of our Church ; that our episcopacy was spurious, gotten up against the wishes and without the knowledge of Mr. Wesley— thus impugning the motives and impeaching the ho- nesty of such men as Coke, Aebiiry, Whatcoat, and all those venerable men who composed the General Conference of 1784, and assisted in the organization of our Church. This appeared to be the climax of ab- surdities in the doings of the adverse party, and to reveal designs upon the integrity and the very existence of our episcopacy, and all those regulations and usages which connected themselves with that feature of our Church economy, which could not be any longer tolerated with impunity. It was therefore thought, by the friends of order and the advocates of our Church authorities, that the time had fully come for action — for such action as should test the solidity of our ecclesiastical structure, and the permanency of its foundation. Indeed, these ungenerous attacks upon the best of men, most of whom were now dead, and therefore could not speak for themselves, aroused the spirits of those who had hitherto stood aloof from this contro- * The author would gladly draw a veil over this affair, were it consistent with historic truth ; but Mr. M'Caine has so linked himself with this controversy that it is not possible to narrate the facts in the case without an exposure of the absurdities of his pamphlet ; and hence his name is given to the public in connection with a transaction and as a voucher for declarations which have been as discreditable and false as they were injurious to the reputation of some of the purest men the world ever saw. 3 406 A HISTORY OF THE [1828. versy, and decided some who had been supposed to be frieiidly to tlie spirit of '' reform" against the measure, inasmuch as they judged — most conchisively, it is thought — that a cause wliich could enlist in its behalf such unjustifiable means of attack and defense, could not be holy and good. This brought forth the late Bishop Emory, who was at that time an assistant book agent ; a'^d the " Defence of our Fathers" proved his competency to defend those venerable men from the aspersions thrown upon them by the author of the *• History and Mystery of Methodist Episcopacy." This masterly defence of the men who organized our Church, and of the organization itself, its principles, measures, and results, procured for its author that meed of praise that is justly due to a faithful son of the Church, to an acute and able reasoner, and to one whose industry in collecting and arranging facts for the basis of his argu- mentation evinced the depth and accuracy of his re- search. This production w^as therefore hailed with delight by the friends of the Church, and tended, with some others of a similar character, published about the same time, to prove that the theory of the " Reformers" was a visionary scheme, indefensible by any arguments drawn from Scripture, from the ancient records of the Church, from the analogy of things, or from any im- proper means used in either the organization or naming of the Methodist Episcopal Church. This complete refu- tation of the groundless assumptions of Mr. M'Caine's book was read with great avidity, and procured for its author the thanks of all who w^ished well to our Zion. But while these things tended to calm the fears of the timid, to confirm the wavering in the truth, and to strengthen the hearts of all who had heretofore reposed 3 1828.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 407 in the wisdom and integrity of our fathers in the gospel, they by no means satisfied those who appeared bent on carrying their measures at all hazards. On the con- trary, their leaders seemed to struggle hard under dis- appointment, and to redouble their efforts in rallying their forces, and preparing them for victory or defeat, whenever the warfare should terminate. They had heretofore most evidently calculated on carrying with them many who now took a decided stand against them. This was a source of severe disappointment.* These showed, when the alteinative was presented to their choice, that they loved Methodism better than its proposed substitute. The former they had tried, and found savory and healthful ; the latter was an untried experiment, and judging from the fruit it had already produced, that it was not "good to make one wise," they declined the proffered boon as unworthy of their acceptance. But, as before remarked, things had arrived at such a crisis in the city of Baltimore that it became necessary, in the opinion of those to whom the oveisight of the * In the second volume of this History I have given an account of the discussions upon the presiding elder question. There is reason to believe that the leading men among the " Reformers" calculated largely on the support of many, if not indeed most of those who favored the election of presid- ing elders ; and it is probable that some of these would have gone with them had they kept within the bounds of modera- tion in their demands. Yet it ought to be remembered that the two questions had no necessary connection — that the one did not involve the other — and hence it is not surprising that some of the most firm, able, and successful opposers of this innovation were among those who had favored the election of the presiding elders, and making them jointly responsible with the bishops for the appointments of the preachers. 3 40B A HISTORY OF THE [1828. Church was commitLedj to call some of the most promi- nent leaders in the work of "reform" to an account before the proper tribunals. Hence eleven local preach- ers and twenty-five lay members were regularly cited to appear before the preacher in charge of the Baltimore station^ the Rev. James M. Hanson, to answer to the charge of " inveighing against our Discipline," " speak- ing evil of our ministers," and of violating the rule " which prohibits the members of the Church from doing harm, and requires them to avoid evil of every kind." This general charge was amply sustained by a refer- ence to the constitution of the Union Society, by nume- rous quotations from "Mutual Rights," and from other sources. The delinquents were therefore found guilty, the local preachers were suspended, and the lay mem- bers expelled. While, however, these transactions were pending, before any decision was had. Dr. Bond once more threw himself in the gap, and endeavored to avert the suspended blow by acting the part of a mediator between the parties, and, if possible, thereby to prevent the storm from bursting on their heads. His efforts, however, were unavailing ; the trials proceeded, and the penalty of the Disciphne was finally inflicted, though with great reluctance, upon all those who had been summoned to trial, with the exception of two lay members. One of the specifications which was adduced to sus- tain the general charge was their advising and request- ing the publication of the " History and Mystery of Me- thodist Episcopacy ;" but as it was found, on further examination, that its author alone was lesponsible for writing and publishing that work, this specification was withdrawn in reference to all the accused except Alex- 3 1828.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 409 ander M'Caine; and he therefore was summoned before another committee of local preachers, tried sepa- rately, found guilty, and accordingly suspended. As the district conference of local preachers had been dissolved, the trial of those who had been suspended by the committee of inquiry was brought before the quar- terly meeting conference of the Baltimore station. But before the trial proceeded to an issue, Dr. J. C. Green, of Virginia, volunteered his services as a mediator between the parties, and the trial was postponed for the purpose of giving ample time to test the result of the negotiation. It was, however, unavailing, and the trial proceeded, and terminated in finding guilty, and the consequent expulsion, of the accused local preach- ers ; and as they did not appeal, as they might, to the annual conference, they were finally considered no longer members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. To the lay members who had been found guilty before the act of expulsion was consummated, and with a view, if possible, to save himself and those concerned from the sad alternative which awaited them, Mr. Hanson sent each of the persons the following letter : — ''Baltimore, Nov. 23, 1827. " Brother : — You are hereby informed that the com- mittee appointed to investigate the charges and specifica- tions lately preferred against you a^ a member of the TJnior Society, have, by a unanimous decision, found you guilty of said charges, together with the first and second specifi- cations. " Most willingly, my brother, would I now dispense with the painful duty which devolves upon me, could 1 do so as an honest man, and without abandoning the interests of the Church. Or had I cause to believe that the course Vol, III.~I8 410 A HISTORY OF THE [1828. now about to be pursued would lead you to make suitable reparation to that Church whose ministers and discipline you have assailed and misrepresented, and to abstain from the like offences against the peace and harmony of said Church in future, it would tend more than any other con- sideration to diminish the painfulness of the obligation which my present situation imposes upon me. For, be assured, whatever my own opinion may be in regard to the course you may have pursued, as a member of the Union Society, I most devoutly wish and pray that you may be led by the good Spirit of God to take those steps which will leave you still in the possession of all the rights and privileges of church fellowship. " You must be considered as the arbiter of your own destiny, my brother, in this matter. Your brethren of the committee, men who fear God, whose characters stand fair in the Church, and who have disclaimed all feeling of personal hostility against you, have pronounced you, as a member of the Union Society, guilty of endeavoring to sow dissensions in the society or Church of which you are a member, and of speaking evil of the ministers of said Church. To this conclusion they have been conducted by a careful and patient examination of the documents put into their hands as evidence in the case. You must, therefore, plainly perceive, that the only ground on which expulsion from the Church can be avoided is an abandon- ment of the Union Society, with assurances that you will give no aid in future to any publication or measure calcu- lated to cast reproach upon our ministers, or occasion breach of union among our members. " Be good enough then, my brother, to answer in writ' ing the following plain and simple questions : — " 1st. Will you withdraw forthwith from the Union Society ? " 2d. Will you in future withhold vour aid from such 3 l$28.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, 41 i publications and measures as are calculated to cast reproach upon our ministers, and produce breach of union among our members ? *' Yours, &c. James M. Hansox. "P. S. Your answer will be expected in the course oifour or five days." After allowing sufficient time for deliberation, and receiving' no answer, nor discovering- any symptoms of reconciliation from any quarter, Mr. Hanson was com- pelled to the act, so exceedingly painful to an adminis- trator of discipline, of pronouncing them excommuni- cated from the Methodist Episcopal Church. Thus was the separation, so long and so painfully anticipated, notwithstanding all the means used to prevent it, finally consummated, and the Church left to bleed under the wounds inflicted upon her by those whom she had once delighted to honor. In the mean time similar proceedings were had in other places. We have already seen that the Union Society of Baltimore recommended that societies of the like character should be organized wherever a sufficient number of persons could be found friendly to the mea- sures of the " Reformers." This recommendation had been complied with in a number of places ; and wherever these societies existed, agitations and commotions, simi- lar to those in Baltimore, had been the painful results. Hence, in the states of Tennessee and North Carolina, several members of these Union Societies had been tried and expelled from the Church for their refractory con- duct, and for inveighing against the disciphne and aspersing the character of the ministers of the Methodist Episcopal Church, And in addition to those eleven 3 412 A HISTORY OF THE [1828. local preachers and twenty-two laymen who were expelled in Baltimore, about fifty females, friends of the excommunicated brethren, addressed a letter to the rul- ing preacher, Mr. Hanson, expressing their desire to withdraw from the Church, which they were permitted to do without further trial. It may be necessary here to correct an erroneous opinion, which prevailed to some extent at the time, respecting the cause of complaint against the " Reform- ers," as they chose all along to call themselves. Whoever wall consult the writings of those days, in reference to this subject, will find complaints, on the part of the " Reformers," that an attempt was made, by the advocates for tlie present order of things, to suppress tJiquiry^ to abridge the freedom of speech and of the press, and that these trials were instituted, in part at least, as a punishment for exercising this freedom on the subjects that were then litigated. This was a great mistake. It was for an abuse of this freedom, for in- dulging in personal criminations, injurious to individual character, that the delinquents were tried and finally condemned. This will appear manifest to every person who will impartially inspect the charges, the specifica- tions, and the testimony selected from the " Mutual Rights" to support the accusations, and also from the report of the General Conference on petitions and me- morials. It was, indeed, expressly disavowed at the time by the prosecutors, and by all who had written on the subject, that they wished to suppress freedom of in- quiry, either in writing or speaking, provided only that the debaters would confine their discussions to an inves- tigation of facts and arguments, without impeaching 3 1828.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 413 the character and motives of those from whom they dissented.* The expelled members in the city of Baltimore im- mediately formed themselves into a society, under the title of " Associated Methodist Reformers ;" and in the month of November, 1827, a convention assembled in that city, composed of ministers and lay delegates who had been elected by the state conventions and Union Societies. This convention prepared a memorial to the General Conference. The memorial was pre- sented, read, and referred to a committee, and the fol- lowing report, drawn up by the late Bishop Emory, and unanimously adopted by the conference, will show the result : — " The committee to whom were referred certain peti- tions and memorials, for and against a direct lay and local representation in the General Conference, submit the fol- lowing report : — " Of those which propose this revolution in our econo- my, that which has been received from a convention of certain local preachers and lay members, held in the city of Baltimore in November last, is presumed to imbody the * All these matters were set in a just point of light soon after these trials were closed, in a pamphlet which was pub- lished in the early part of the year 1828, entitled " A Narra- tive and Defence," under the signatures of the prosecuting committee and the preacher in charge, the Rev. Mr. Hanson This "Narrative and Defence," being supported by ample documentary testimony, is entitled to credit; and hence it is from this able defence of the authorities of the Church, and their proceedings in the cases at issue, that I have drawn the principal facts contained in the above sketch of this affair. From the Discipline afterward adopted by the " Reformers" ■ I have taken some facts respecting their secession and sub- sequent transactions. 3 414 A HISTORY OF THE [1828. general views of those who desire this change, and the chief arguments on which they rely. In framing a reply, in the midst of the various and pressing business of a General Conference, it cannot be reasonably expected that we should enter into minute details. Our remarks, of necessity, must be confined to a few leading topics, in a condensed, yet, we trust, an intelligible form. " As to the claim of right to the representation contended for, if it be a right which the claimants are entitled to demand, it must be either a natural or an acquired right. If a natural right, then, being founded in nature, it must be common to men, as men. The foundation of rights in ecclesiastical bodies, in our opinion, rests on a different basis. If it be alleged to be an acquired right, then it must have been acquired either in consequence of becom- ing Christians or of becoming Methodists. If the fonner, it devolves on the claimants to prove that this right is con- ferred by the Holy Scriptures, and that they impose on us the corresponding obligation to grant the claim. That it is not ' forbidden' in the New Testament is not sufficient ; for neither is the contrary ' forbidden.' Or if the latter be alleged, namely, that it has been acquired in consequence of becoming Methodists, then it must have been either by some conventional compact, or by some obligator^' princi- ple in the economy of Methodism, to which, as then organ- ized, the claimants voluntarily attached themselves. Nei- ther of these, we believe, either has been or can be shown. And until one at least of these be shown, the claim of right, as such, cannot, we think, have been sustained. "But do the memorialists mean to say that they are entitled to their claim, as a matter of right, against the judgment and the voice of a confessedly very large ma- jority of their brethren, both of the ministry traveling and local, and also of the lay members ? or that in these cir- cumstances, on any ground, the claim ought to be admit- 1828.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 415 ted? We could not have believed them capable of so strange a position, had they not declared the opinion as prevailing among themselves, ' that the extension of the principle of representation to the members and the local preachers of the Church, by the General Conference, in compliance with a petition of this kind, at this conjuncture of time, would do more toward conciliating good feeling, restoring lost confidence among brethren, and confirming wavering minds, on all sides, than any other measure which can be adopted.' " Now lue ' speak advisedly' when we say, that, in our judgment, such a measure, ' at this conjuncture of time,' would have a precisely contrary effect. The ministers assembled in General Conference, coming so recently from all parts of the great field of our missionary labors, and having had, throughout its whole extent, free and con- stant intercourse both with traveling and local preachers, and also with our lay members, are, certainly, at least as well prepared as the memorialists could have been to form a correct judgment on this point ; and their calm and deli- berate judgment is clearly and unhesitatingly as above stated. This we believe, too, to be the true state of the question, after it has been so zealously discussed, on the side of the memorialists, for now nearly eight years ; dur- ing almost the whole of which time, until very recently, the discussion has been conducted almost exclusively by their own writers. " We are aware that it has been assumed, by some at least of those writers, that this repugnance to the change proposed, on the part of so great a proportion both of our local preachers and lay members, to say nothing of the itinerant preachers, is the result of ignorance or want of intellect. This we conceive to be at least not a very modest assumption. Our opinion, on the contrary, is, while we freely admit that there are men of respectable 416 A HISTORY OF THE [1828. information and intelligence who desire the change, that there are, nevertheless, very many more, of at least equally respectable information and intelligence, who are opposed to it, whether on the ground of right, of consistent practi- cability, or of utility. " With regard to our local brethren particularly, it is our decided judgment that the privileges and advantages in which they have participated, in this country, have much rather exceeded than fallen short of what was contemplated in their institution, in the original economy of Methodism, as founded by the venerable Wesley, either in Europe or in America. We cannot but regret to perceive, that the addition of privilege to privilege seems only to have had the effect of exciting some of our brethren to claim still more and more ; and now to begin to demand them as matters of positive and inherent right. We are happy to be able to say ' some' only of our local brethren ; for of the great body, even of themselves, we believe better things, though we thus speak. If, indeed, our members generally are tired of our missionary and itinerant system, and wish a change, then we could not be surprised if they should desire to introduce into our councils local men, whose views, and feelings, and interests, in the very na- ture and necessity of things, could not fail to be more local than those of itinerant men. And if to so powerful a local influence should be added, as would be added, the tendencies and temptations to locality which, in despite of all our better convictions, too often exist among ourselves, from domestic and personal considerations of a pressing character, we are free to confess our fears of the dangers to our itinerant economy which, in our opinion, could not fail, in time, to be the result. Now the preservation of the great itinerant system, unimpaired, in all its vital ener- gies, we do conscientiously believe to be essential to the accomplishment of the grand original design of the eco- 3 1828.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 417 nomy of Methodism, to spread Scriptural holiness over these and other lands. " The memorialists, we know, disavow any intention or desire to impair those energies, or to injure this system. Be it so. They can, however, only speak for themselves. They know not what may be the views of those who may come after them. And, in any event, our argument is, that the change proposed would, in its very nature, and from the inevitable connections of causes and effects, tend, gradually perhaps, yet not the less uncontrollably, to the results which we have mentioned. " We know also that it has been insinuated that we ad- here to the continuance of our present polity from motives of personal interest. For protection against such unkind- ness and injustice we rest on the good sense and candor of the community. It cannot but be well known that our present economy bears with a peculiar severity upon the personal and domestic comforts of the itinerant ministry. And even an enemy could scarcely fail to admit that, were we really ambitious of worldly interest, and of personal ease, and domestic comfort, we might have the discern- ment to perceive that the surest way to effect these objects would be to effect the changes proposed, and thus to pre- pare the way for the enjoyment of similar advantages, in these respects, to those now enjoyed by the settled minis- try of other churches. And, indeed, were such a change effected, and should we even still continue itinerant, con- sidering that, from the necessity of things, our wealthy and liberal friends would most generally be selected as delegates, we do not doubt that the change proposed might probably tend to increase our temporal comforts. We think this the more probable, because, if such a direct representation of the laity were admitted, their constitu- ents might ultimately become obliged, by some positive provisions, fully to make up and pay whatever allowances 18* 3 418 A HISTORY OF THE [1828. might be made to the ministry ; which allowances, in this event, might also more properly acquire the nature of a civil obligation. At present our economy knows no such thing. Tlie great Head of the church himself has imposed on us the duty of preaching the gospel, of administering its ordinances, and of maintaining its moral discipline among those over whom the Holy Ghost, in these respects, has made us overseers. Of these also, namely, of gospel doc- trines, ordinances, and moral discipline, we do believe that the divinely instituted ministry are the divinely au- thorized expounders ; and that the duty of maintaining them in their purity, and of not permitting our ministra- tions, in these respects, to be authoritatively controlled by others, does rest upon us with the force of a moral obliga- tion, in the due discharge of which our consciences are involved. It is on this ground that we resist the tempta- tions of temporal advantage which the proposed changes hold out to us. " On this point we beg, however, that no one may either misunderstand or misrepresent us. We neither claim nor seek to be ' lords over God's heritage.' In the sense of this passage, there is but one Lord and one Lawgiver. We arrogate no authority to enact any laws of our own, either of moral or of civil force. Our commission is to preach the gospel, and to enforce the moral discipline, established by the one Lawgiver, by those spiritual pow- ers vested in us, as subordinate pastors, who watch over souls as they that must give account to the chief Shep- herd. We claim no strictly legislative powers, although we grant that the terms ' legislature' and ' legislative' have been sometimes used even among ourselves. In a proper sense, however, they are not strictly applicable to our General Conference. A mistake on this point has proba- bly been the source of much erroneous reasoning, and of some consequent dissatisfaction. Did we claim any 3 1828.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 419 authority to enact laws to affect either life or limb, to touch the persons or to tax the property of our members, they ought, unquestionably, to be directly represented among us. But they know we do not. We certainly, then, exercise no civil legislation. As to the moral code, we are subject, equally with themselves, to one only Lord. We have no power to add to, to take from, to alter, or to modify a single item of his statutes. Whether laymen or ministers be the authorized expounders and administrators of those laws, we can confidently rely on the good Chris- tian sense of the great body of our brethren to judge. These well know, also, that whatever expositions of them we apply to others, the same are applied equally to our- selves, and, in some instances, with peculiar strictness. " No man is obliged to receive our doctrines merely be- cause we believe and teach them, nor unless they have his own cordial assent. Neither is any man obliged to submit himself to what we believe to be the moral discipline of the gospel, and our duty to enforce, unless he believes it to be so also. In this view, at least, it cannot require any great share of either intelligence or candor to perceive some difference between our spiritual and pastoral oversight and the absolute sway of the ancient ' Druids,' and of the despots of ' Babylon and Egypt,' and of ' India and Tar- tary.' The subjects of their lawless power became so not by choice, but by birth. Neither had they the means, whatever might have been their desire, of escaping its grasp. Even in more modern days, and under govern- ments comparatively free, the right of expatriation, with- out the consent of the government, has been denied. We do not subscribe to this doctrine, if applied to either church or state. The right of ecclesiastical expatriation, from any one branch of the Christian church to any other which may be preferred, for grave causes, we have never denied. Nor can we keep, nor are we desirous to keep, any man 3 420 A nisTOnv of the [1828. subject to our authority one moment longer than it is his own pleasure. We advert to this topic with great reluct- ance, but the memorialists compel us. If they will cease to compare us to despots, to whom we bear no analosy, we shall cease to exhibit the obvious distinction. Till then it is our duty to repel the imputation, so obstructive of our ministry. Expatriation, either civil or ecclesiasti- cal, if we may continue this application of the term, may be painful, and attended with sacrifices. But we should certcinly think, it preferable to perpetual internal war. If our brethren can live in peace with us, in Christian bonds, we shall sincerely rejoice, and be cordially happy in their society and fellowship. But we entreat them not to keep us embroiled in perpetual strife. Our united energies are needed for higher and nobler purposes. " We have been repeatedly told, in effect, that the doc- trines, the moral discipline, and the peculiar Christian privileges of class meetings, love feasts, &c., in the Me- thodist Episcopal Church, are approved and esteemed, by the various memorialists themselves, above those of any other branch of the Christian church. Does it not then clearly follow, by their own admission, that, with all the faults of our government, this state of things has been pre- served and maintained under the peculiar administrations of our itinerant system ? And who will undertake to say that, under a gracious Providence, which has thus led us on, this has not, in a great measure at least, been the result of the distinctness of our polity from that of most other churches ? And who will undertake to say that, were the changes proposed adopted, we should not gradu- ally, though at first perhaps almost imperceptibly, begin to go the way of others ? We speak to Methodists. They will judge what we say. The moral results of our past and present polity have been tried. Its fruits are before us, and confessed by the world. The experiment pro- 3 1828.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 421 posed, in connection with an essentially itinerant system, is untried. Its results, at best, must be problematical ; and, in our opinion, there is no prospect of gain that can justify the hazard. " With regard to our local brethren particularly, they have themselves explicitly said, that they ' ask for no dis- tinct representation of the local preachers.' So far as this question is concerned, therefore, by their own consent, they can only be regarded as amalgamated with the laity : and our lay brethren, we apprehend, would not readily consent to its being considered in any other light. " Were we disposed to retort the insinuation of sinister personal motives, how easy would it be for us to suggest that some of our local brethren who have deserted the itinerant field, (perhaps from its toils and privations,) and others who have never been pleased to leave domestic comforts and temporal pursuits to encounter its labors and sacrifices, may be so zealous in accomplishing the pro- posed change in order to cut up, or to bring down, the itinerant system to a nearer approximation to their tempo- ral convenience. So that, in time, they might come, without the sacrifices at present necessary, to participate both in the pastoral charge, and, alas ! in the envied pit- tance of those who now devote themselves wholly to the work, and are absolutely dependent for daily subsistence on the mere voluntary contributions of those whom they serve : (a check on their power indeed !) Such an impu- tation would be quite as kind and as true as many of those which are so liberally heaped on us. This course of ar- gumentation, however, we deem unworthy of Christian brethren, and shall leave it for those who think their cause requires it. The man who can believe, or who can en- deavor to persuade others, that we adhere to our present itinerant system for the sake of personal convenience, ease, or interest, or with the view of benefiting our poste- 3 422 A niSTOTlY OF THE [1828. rity more than the posterity of our brethren, may be pitied, but he places himself beyond the reach either of reasoning or of rebuke. " The memorialists were sensible that ' a plan' of their proposed changes had been urgently called for, and seem to have been well aware that rational and conscientious men could not feel free to enter upon so great a revolution, in a system of such extent and of such connections, with- out a plan, clearly and frankly developed, and bearing the marks of having been carefully and judiciously devised. The memorialists indeed say, that, ' independently of other considerations,' they were ' disposed to avoid the attempt to form a plan, out of deference to the General Confer- ence.' It would have been more satisfactory to us to have known what those 'other considerations' were. From some other circumstances, we cannot but apprehend that they probably had more influence in keeping back the expose of ' a plan' than the one mentioned here, of — ' defe- rence to the General Conference.' On our part, we frankly confess ourselves incompetent to form any satisfactory plan, on any principles which we believe to be equal and efficient, and consistent with the energies and greatest usefulness of our extended missionary system. We think it, therefore, unreasonable, at least, to ask of us to contrive a ' plan.' '' So far as we can judge from any experiment that has been made, in Europe or in America, we cannot perceive any great advantages which could be promised to the Church from the proposed change. Nor has the late con- vention in Baltimore afforded to our understanding any additional argument for its efficient practicability. Agree- ably to the journal of that convention, one hundred persons were appointed to attend it, of whom fifty-seven only did attend, namely, from the state of New-York, one ; North Carolina, two ; Ohio, four ; District of Columbia, four ; 3 1828.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 423 Pennsylvania, seven ; Virginia, ten ; and Maryland, twenty-nine. Now that convention had been urgently called, by repeated public advertisements, and was ex- pected to be held but a few days, to discuss subjects represented as of great importance and deep interest. Liberal invitations were given, and comfortable and free accommodations pledged. Yet, notwithstanding the no- velty of the assembly, the pleasantness of the season, and other inviting circumstances, a very few more than one half of the whole number appointed attended. And had it required two-thirds of that number to constitute a quorum, as in our General Conference, after all their labor and expense, no business could have been done, for there would have been no quorum. Of the number that did attend, too, it will be perceived that a majority of the whole were from the state of Maryland, within which the convention was held ; and, including the neighboring Dis- trict of Columbia, a decisive majority. This exhibits a practical proof that, were a lay delegation even admitted, the consequence would be, that the extremities of our Church would not be, in fact, represented at all, but would be subjected to the overwhelming control of those within the vicinity of the seat of the conference ; a state of things which, we believe, is not desirable. This may serve also, perhaps, to account, in some measure, for the great zeal which some of our brethren have exhibited in this cause, particularly in the state of Maryland and the adjoining district, and in the city of Baltimore, where the General Conference has usually been held. Were it established that the General Conference should always be held in St. Louis or New-Orleans, or any other remote part, we can- not but think that the zeal of some, in that case, would probably be very much abated. Even they would scarcely be willing to travel so gi'eat a distance, at so much ex- 424 A HISTORY or tmf, [1828. pense and loss of time, to remain three or four weeks at a General Conference. " In another document, issued by the convention above alluded to, they say, ' We have been laboring with great attention and perseverance to put the public in possession of our views as fast as we can.' They have also had in circulation for many years a monthly periodical publica- tion, for the express purpose of diffusing their views and advocating their cause, besides the institution of what have been called Union Societies, and of late a conven- tion. Yet, after all these exertions, the great body of our ministers, both traveling and local, as well as of our mem- bers, perhaps not much if any short of one hundred to one, still oppose their wishes. This, as before said, has been assumed to be from ignorance or want of intellect, or from some worse principle. But we believe it to be the result of a firm and deliberate attachment to our existing institu- tions and economy — an attachment which we have the happiness of believing to be increased, rat)!er than dimi- nished, in proportion to the development of the details of any plans which the memorialists have yet seen fit to ex- hibit. We put it, then, to the good sense, to the Christian candor, and to the calmer and better feelings of our bre- thren, whether it be not time to cease to agitate and dis- turb the Church with this controversy ? — at least, if it must be continued, whether it be not time to divest it of that acrimony and virulence which, in too many instances, we fear, has furnished fit matter for the scoff of the infidel and the reproach of common enemies 1 If this state of things be continued, how can it be said, ' See how these Chris- tians love one another !' It grieves us to think of it. We weep between the porch and the altar ; and our cry is, * Spare, O Lord ! spare thy people, and give not thine heritage to this reproach.' " We know that we have been charged with wishing to •6 1828.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 425 suppress free inquiry, and with denying to our ministers and members the liberty of speech and of the press. Our feelings, under such reiterated and widely circulated charges, would tempt us to repel them with strong expres- sions. If reviled, however, we are resolved not to revile again. But the charge we AvhoUy disavow. Our minis- ters and members, of every class, are entitled to the full liberty of speech and of the press, equally with any other citizens of the United States, subject solely to the restric- tions and responsibilities imposed by the laws of the land, by the obligations of Christianity, and by the existing regulations under which we are voluntarily associated, as Methodists and as Methodist ministers. The rule in our Discipline, 'sec. 7, p. 91,' (new edition, p. 88,) of which some of the memorialists complain, never was intended (and we are not aware that it has at any time been officially so construed) to suppress such freedom of inquiry, or to deny such liberty of speech and of the press ; provided such inquiry be conducted, and such liberty be used, in a man- ner consistent with the above-mentioned obligations. The design of the rule was to guard the peace and union of the Church against any mischievous false brethren, who might be disposed to avail themselves of their place in the bosom of the Church to endeavor to sow dissensions, by inveighing against our doctrines or discipline, in the sense of unchris- tian railing and violence. Any other construction of it we have never sanctioned, nor will we. In this view of this rule, we cannot consent to its abolition. On the contrary, we regard it as a Christian and useful rule, and particularly necessary, at the present time, for the well-being of the Church. It is aimed against licentiousness, and not against liberty. In the state, as well as in the church, it is found necessary to subject both speech and the press to certain legal responsibilities, which undoubtedly operate as re- straints, and tend to guard against licentiousness, by 3 426 A HISTORY OF THE [1828. exposing offenders to penalties corresponding to the extent of their abuse of liberty. And we confess ourselves among the number of those who, with statesmen and jurists, as well as divines, maintain that even a despotic government is preferable to a state of unbridled anarchy. " By insinuations of the above description, and by others of an analogous character, attempts have been made to excite against us the jealousy and suspicion of statesmen and politicians, and of the constituted authorities of the civil government. This low stratagem we have always regarded as peculiarly deserving the rebuke of every gene- rous mind, even among our opponents : and we cannot believe otherwise than that it had its origin either in some distempered mind or some perverted heart. The memo- rialists wish the government of the Church to be assimi- lated to that of the state. We think, on the other hand, that as there neither is nor ought to be any connection between church and state, so neither is there any obliga- tion or necessity to conform the government of the one to that of the other. That both their origin and their objects differ ; and that to aim at conforming them to each other would be more likely, in the course of human events, to terminate in their amalgamation, than the course of deny- ing such analogy, and maintaining the two jurisdictions on their peculiarly distinctive bases, under regulations adapted to the objects for which they were severally designed. In the instances of civil and religious despotism alluded to by the memorialists, as recorded in history, the powers of church and state were combined, and no means were left to the people of appealing or of escaping from the one or from the other. The first step toward producing such a state of things would be to bring ministers of religion and officers of state into a nearer alliance with each other, and thus gradually to effect an assimilation of views, and feel- ings, and interests. The way being thus prepared, politi- 3 1828.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 427 cians and statesmen might be introduced into our ecclesi- astical councils, and, by a ' mutual' combination, aid each other in the accumulation of power and influence. We do not affirm that any of the memorialists seriously meditate such designs. But we do say, that, according to our un- derstanding of the natural tendency of things, the change proposed is just such a one as would be most likely to be adopted by men of policy for the accomplishment of such an object ; and that, in the present state of the world, no- thing would be more impolitic than the continuance of our present economy with any such ambitious schemes in view as some, we fear, and must say, have malevolently insinuated. " With regard to what have been called ' Union Socie- ties,* we consider the organization of these distinct bodies within the bosom of the Church as the baneful source of the principal evils which of late have so painfully afflicted and distracted some portions of our charge. Such asso- ciations, within the pale of the Church, have arrayed and combined all the workings of the spirit of party in their most pernicious and destructive forms. They have drawn a line of separation between those who compose them and their brethren, as organized and systematic adversaries. They have separated chief friends ; they have severed the most sacred and endearing ties; and have caused and fomented discord and strife in circles before distinguished for peace and love. And under whatever plausible pre- texts they may have been instituted, the Church generally, we believe, has regarded them as calculated, if not de- signed, either to obstruct the due administration of disci- pline, by overawing the administration of it, or to prepare an organized secession, in case they should fail in model- ing the Church according to their wishes. With these associations numbers, we have no doubt, unwarily became connected at first, from various views, who now feel a 3 428 A HISTORY OF THE [1828. difficulty in disentangling themselves. If, however, the real object of their original institution was to secure an identity of views in the communications to be presented to this General Conference, that object having been now accomplished, we afTcctionately and respectfully submit it to the peacefully disposed among our brethren who may yet compose them, whether there can yet be any remain- ing obligation to continue in them ; and whether, in fact, they ought not now to be dissolved. In our opinion, con- sidering what have been their past operation and effects, the general peace of the Church can never be restored and settled on any firm and lasting basis till this shall be done. " We might add much more, but the time fails us. We entreat our brethren to be at peace. It is our earnest and sincere desire. In order to it, on our part, we have ad- vised, and do hereby advise and exhort all our brethren, and all our ecclesiastical officers, to cultivate on all occa- sions the meekness and gentleness of Christ ; and to exer- cise all the lenity, moderation, and forbearance which may be consistent with the purity of our institutions, and the due and firm administration of necessary discipline, the sacrifice of which we could not but deem too costly, even for peace. " In conclusion, we say to brethren, ' If there be, there- fore, any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies, fulfil ye our joy, that ye be like minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let the peace of God rule in our hearts, to the which also we are called in one body ; and let us be thankful. Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report, if there be any virtue and any praise, let us think on these things. — Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and 3 1828.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 429 evil speaking be put away from us, with all malice. And may the God of love and peace be with us.' " The following resolutions were adopted also, nearly unanimously : — " Whereas an unhappy excitement has existed in some parts of our work, in consequence of the organization of what have been called Union Societies, for purposes, and under regulations, believed to be inconsistent with the peace and harmony of the Church ; and in relation to the character of much of the matter contained in a certain periodical publication, called ' Mutual Rights,' in regard to which certain expulsions from the Church have taken place : and whereas this General Conference indulges a hope that a mutual desire may exist for conciliation and peace, and is desirous of leaving open a way for the ac- complishment of so desirable an object, on safe and equi- table principles ; therefore. Resolved, &c., " 1. That in view of the premises, and in the earnest hope that this measure may tend to promote this object, this General Conference affectionately advises that no further proceedings may be had, in any part of our work, against any minister or member of the Methodist Episco- pal Church, on account of any past agency or concern in relation to the above-named periodical, or in relation to any Union Society as above mentioned. " 2. If any persons, expelled as aforesaid, feel free to concede that publications have appeared in said ' Mutual Rights,' the nature and character of which were unjustifi- ably inflammatory, and do not admit of vindication ; and that others, though for want of proper information, or unin- tentionally, have yet, in fact, misrepresented individuals and facts, and that they regret these things : if it be volun- tarily agreed, also, that the Union Societies above alluded to shall be aboUshed, and the periodical called * Mutual 430 A HISTORY OF THE [1828. Rights' be discontinued at the close of the current volume, which shall be completed with due respect to the concilia- tory and pacific design of this arrangement ; then this General Conference does hereby give authority for the restoration to their ministry or membership respectively, in the Methodist Episcopal Church, of any person or per- sons so expelled, as aforesaid ; provided this arrangement shall be mutually assented to by any individual or indivi- duals so expelled, and also by the quarterly meeting con- ference, and the minister or preacher having the charge in any circuit or station within which any such expulsion may have taken place; and that no such minister or preacher shall be obliged, under this arrangement, to restore any such individual as leader of any class or classes, unless in his own discretion he shall judge it proper so to do ; and provided also, that it be further mu- tually agreed that no other periodical publication, to be devoted to the same controversy, shall be established on either side ; it being expressly understood, at the same time, that this, if agreed to, will be on the ground, not of any assumption of right to require this, but of mutual con- sent, for the restoration of peace ; and that no individual will be hereby precluded from issuing any publication which he may judge proper, on his own responsibility. It is further understood, that any individual or individuals who may have withdrawn from the Methodist Episcopal Church, on account of any proceedings in relation to the premises, may also be restored, by mutual consent, under this arrangement, on the same principles as above stated." This decision, so far as the General Conference was concerned, set the question at rest, giving all concerned distinctly to understand that such a radical change in our government could not be allowed, and therefore 3 182S.3 MfiTHODtST EPISCOPAL CHDRCH. 431 all efforts directed to that end were and would be una* vailing. Some have expressed their surprise that the General Conference was so unwilling to yield to the voice of the people ! The answer is, that the voice of the people was yielded to, so far as it could be heard and under- stood. It is believed that nine-tenths of our people throughout the United States, could they have been heard) were decidedly opposed to the innovations which were urged. They were not only contented with the present order of things, but they loved their institutions, venerated their ministers, and w^ere astounded at the bold manner in which they were both assailed from the pulpit and the press. In resisting, therefore, the pro- posed changes, the conference believed it loent ivith, and not against^ the popular voice of the Church ; and the result has proved that it was not in error ; for it has been fully sustained in its course by the great body of preachers and people in all the annual conferences and throughout the entire Church ; and it has, moreover, had the sanction of at least some of the " Reformers" themselves, w4io have become convinced that they cal- culated on a higher state of individual and social perfec- tion than they have found attainable, and that it is much easier to shake and uproot established institutions than it is to raise up and render permanent a new order of things— a truth which should teach all revolutionists the necessity of caution and moderation in their mea- sures. Il will be perceived that one of the resolutions in the above report proposed terms on which the expelled members might be restored to their former standing in the Church. It is not known, however, that any of 3^ 432 A HISTORY OF THE [1828. them availed themselves of tliis privilege j but, on the contrary, a very considerable number, both in Baltimore and other places, withdrew from the Church, and put themselves under the wing of " reform ;" while a few, who still proved refractory, in Cincinnati, Lynchburg, and some other places, were tried and expelled. The exact number lost to the Church I have not been able to ascertain ; but by turning to the Minutes of our con- ferences, and comparing the numbers for 182S with those for 1829, I find the increase of members to be 29,305,* and of preachers 175 ; for 1830 the increase of members is 28,257, and of preachers 83. And as this is quite equal to the usual increase from one year to another, the secession could not have included a great number of either members or preachers. In the cities of New- York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, and Cincinnati were found the greatest number of "Re- formers."t Here they organized churches and esta- * This increase appears after deducting the members in the Canada conference, which were, in 1827, 8,595. Had these been included, the entire increase would have appeared, as it in reality was, 37,900, and of preachers 273. The rea- son why these were not included was, the Canada conference had become independent. t Though I have earnestly sought, from various sources, to ascertain the exact number who were expelled and who seceded from the Church, as well as the numbers nov/ be- longing to the '• Methodist Protestant Church,-' I have not been able to obtain the information. If any one will furnish me with tliis very desirable information, from any authentic source, I will most gladly avail myself of it to perfect this account in a future edition. However, that the reader may perceive how far the Church was affected in the above-men- tioned cities by the secession, I have prepared the following tabular view of the number of white members in each of them from 1827 to 1831, inclusive :— 3 1828.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 433 blished congregations in conformity to their improved plan of procedure : but it is believed that in all these places their influence has been on the wane for sonle time, and that, while several have returned to the Church which they had left, others have become wea- ried and vexed with "reform," being convinced that 1827. 1828. 1829. 1830. 1831. New-York, 3,219 3,416 3,473 3,866 4,889 Philadelphia, 3,633 3,882 4,440 4,678 4j859 Baltimore, 3,631 3,886 4,119 4,295 5,059 Pittsburgh, 737 655 676 630 700 Cincinnati, 901 915 929 1,171 1,495 As the colored members were not much affected either way by these agitations, I have left them out of the estimate; and it will be seen that there was a gradual increase in all the above cities from 1827 to 1831, the years in which the "Methodist Protestants" were maturing their organization, except Pittsburgh, and the decrease here was only eighty- two in 1828, and forty-six in 1830. The number, therefore, who left us, instead of being from twenty to thirty thousand, as was reported at the time, must have been very few, or the revivals and admittances very considerable ; and either alter- native shows on which side of the question at issue the pub- lic mind preponderated ; and if revivals of religion and an increase of membership may be relied on as an evidence of the divine approbation, we have had ample testimony in favor of our proceedings and general system of operations : we may therefore, with thankfulness, adore the God of our salvation for his unmerited goodness toward us as a people, even in the midst of our manifold failures and infirmities. It is a fact worthy of record, not, indeed, as matter of vain boasting, but of humble gratitude to the Author of all good, that " no weapon" hitherto " formed against us has pros- pered"— nor will it, so long as we cleave unto God with full purpose of heart ; but " if we forsake him he will cast us off for ever." May we then take heed to our ways, that we sin not with our lips, nor charge God foolishly in any of our conduct ! Vol. IIL— 19 434 A HISTORY OF THE [1828. they calculated too hif^hly on the perfection of human nature not to be disappointed in their expectations. It seems right, tlierefore, that the reader may have an intelligent view of the whole matter, that he should be informed what their plans were, that he may per- ceive the improvements with which they designed to perfect the system adopted by the Methodist Episcopal Church. In the month of November of this year the •'Associated Methodist Churches" held a convention in the city of Baltimore, at which a provisional govern- ment was formed until a constitution and book of disci- pline could be prepared at a future convention. This convention assembled in the city of Baltimore on the second day of November, 1830, and was composed of an equal number of lay and clerical delegates from several parts of the Union, representing thirteen annual conferences,* and continued its sessions until the twenty- third of the same month. The convention proceeded * Some of these conferences must have been very small, for in looking over the list of delegates I find them in the following proportions :— From Vermont, two ; Massachu- setts, two ; New-York and Canada, one ; Genesee, eight ; New-York, two; Pennsylvania, twenty-eight; Maryland, twenty-eight; Virginia, twelve ; North Carolina, six ; Geor- gia, four; Alabama, two; Ohio, sixteen; Western Virginia, two ; in all, one hundred and thirteen. But as there were thirty-one absentees, the convention was composed of eighty-two. From the above the reader may see in what portions of our country the "Reformers" were the most numerous. Among those who composed this convention there were, I believe, but two, the Rev. Messrs. Asa Shinn and George Brown, both of the Pittsburgh conference, who were travel- ing preachers at the time they withdrew from us and joined the " Reformers." The rest among the clerical delegates "were all local preachers, some of whom had once been in 3 1828.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 435 to the adoption of a " constitution," the first article of which fixed the title of the new "Association" to be "The Methodist Protestant Church," and the whole community was divided into " districts," " circuits," and " stations ;" — the " districts," comprising the bounds of an annual conference, to be composed of an equal num- ber of ordained itinerant ministers and delegates, elected either from the local preachers or lay members ; — the General Conference was to consist of an equal number of ministers and laymen, to be elected by the annual conferences, and must assemble every seventh year for the transaction of business. The offices of bishop and presiding elder were abo- lished, and both the annual and General Conferences were to elect their presidents by ballot to preside over their deUberations ; and the presidents of annual con- ferences were also to travel through their districts, to visit all the circuits and stations, and, as far as practi- cable, to be present at quarterly and camp meetings ; — to ordain, assisted by two or more elders, such as might be duly recommended ; to change preachers in the in- terval of conference, provided their consent be first obtained. The chief points, therefore, in which they differ from us are, that they have abolished episcopacy, and admit laymen to a participation of all the legisla- tive and judicial departments of the government. Class, society, and quarterly meetings, annual and General Conferences, and an itinerant ministry, they have pre- served. They also hold fast the fundamental doctrines of our Church and its moral discipline. The verbal the itinerant ministry, but had located, and two had been expelled. This shows how feeble an impression had been made on the traveling ministry in favor of " reform." 3 430 A HISTORY OF THE [1828. alterations which they have introduced into some por- tions of the prayers, moral and prudential regulations, will not, it is believed, enhance their worth in the esti- mation of any sober and enHghtened mind. This, however, may be more a matter of taste than of sound verbal criticism, as it is hardly to be supposed that judi- cious men would alter " the form of sound words" merely for the sake of altering. Though a separate community was thus established, it was a considerable time before the agitations ceased. It was but natural for those who had withdrawn from the Church to attempt a justification of themselves be- fore the pubHc by assigning reasons for their proceed- ings, and by an effort to put their antagonists in the wrong. And as they had a periodical at their com- mand, writers were not wanting to volunteer their ser- vices in defense of their measures, and in opposition to what they considered the objectionable features of the Methodist Episcopal Church. This called for defense on the part of those more immediately implicated by the writers in "Mutual Rights." And as Baltimore had been the chief seat of the controversy from the be- ginning, and as it was thought not advisable to make the columns of the Christian Advocate and Journal a medium for conducting the controversy, the brethren in that city established a weekly paper, called " The Itinerant," which was devoted especially to the vindi- cation of the government, ministers, and usages cf the' Methodist Episcopal Church, containing, in the mean time, animadversions upon the newly constituted govern- ment, and a replication to the arguments of its advo- cates in its defense. Many very able pieces appeared from time to time in " The Itinerant," in defense of the 3 1828.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 437 proceedings of the authorities of the Church in the city of Baltimore, of the General Conference, and those annual conferences which had acted in the premises. These contributed greatly to settle the questions at issue on a just and firm basis, and to show that these things were susceptible of a Scriptural and rational defense. But the spirit of contention, which had long been impatient of control, at length became wearied, and the combatants gradually retired from the field of contro- versy, the Itinerant was discontinued, and the Christian Advocate and Journal, which had, indeed, said but little on the subject, pioposed a truce, which seemed to be gladly accepted by the dissentient brethren, and they were left to try the strength of their newly formed sys- tem without further molestation from their old brethren. On a review of these things, we find much to humble us, and yet much to excite our gratitude. In all strug- gles of this sort the spirits of men are apt to become less or more exasperated, brotherly love to be diminished, and a strife for the mastery too often usurps the place of a holy contention " for the faith once delivered to the saints." That the present discussion partook more or less of these common defects, on both sides, may be granted, without yielding one iota of the main princi- ples for which we contend. Indeed, truth itself may sometimes have cause to blush for the imperfect and often rude manner in which its disciples attempt to vin- dicate its injured rights ; while error may be defended by the wily arts of its advocates with an assumed meek- ness and forbearance which may smooth over its rough edges by their ingenious sophistry so effectually as to beguile the simple hearted, until the serpent clasps them 438 A HISTORY OF THE [1828. in its deceitful and relentless coils. But extricate your- self from its painful grasp, expose its serpentine coui-se, and denounce, in just terms of reprobation, its delusive schemes, and it will throw ofT its disguise, and pour forth, in blustering terms, its denunciations against you, with a view to blacken your character, and render you odious in the estimation of the \vise and good. It will then complain of that very injustice which it attempted to inflict on you, and will repel all complaints of its own unfairness by a repetition of its offensive epithets. Truth, however, has no need to resort to finesse, to intrigue, to epithets of abuse, in its own de- fense. Though it can never falsify its own principles, nor yield to the demands of error, either in complai- sance to its antagonists or to soften the tones of honesty and uprightness with which it utters its sentiments, yet it seeks not to fortify its positions by a resort to the con- temptible arts of sophistry, nor to silence its adversaries by a substitution of personal abuse for arguments. It expresses itself fearlessly and honestly, without disguise or apology, leaving the consequences to its sacred Author. How far these remarks may apply to those who en- gaged in the present contest I pretend not to determine. But whatever may have been the defects in the spirit and manner in which the controversy was conducted, w^e rejoice that it has so far terminated, and that we may now calmly review the past, may apologize for mistakes, forgive injuries, whether real or imaginary, and exercise a mutual spirit of forbearance toward each other. For whatever imperfections of human nature may have been exhibited on either side, we have just cause of humiliation ; and while they teach us the infi- 3 828.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 439 nite value of the atoning blood to cover all such aberra- tions, they furnish lessons of mutual forbearance and forgiveness. But while this humbling view of the subject deprives us of all just cause of boasting, we may, it is thought, perceive much in the resjilt which should excite our gratitude. To the intelligent friends of our Church organization, of our established and long continued usages and institutions, it gave an opportunity of exa- mining their foundation, of testing their soundness and strength, and of defending them against their assail- ants. Having proved them susceptible of a Scriptural and rational vindication, we have reason to believe that they became not only better understood, but more highly appreciated and sincerely loved. Experience and prac- tice having furnished us with those weapons of defense to which we might otherwise have remained strangers, we have learned the lessons of wisdom from the things we have been called to suffer, and an increased venera- tion for our cherished institutions has been the benefi- cial consequence. Greater peace and harmony within our borders succeeded to the storms of agitation and division. Our own Church organization and plans of procedure have been made to appear more excellent from contrasting them with those substituted by the seceding party; and so far as success may be rehed upon as a test of the goodness and beneficial tendency of any system of operations, we have no temptation to forsake " the old paths" for the purpose of following in the track of those who have opened the untrodden way of " reform," or to be shaken by the strong " protest" they have entered against our peculiar organization and manner of conducting our affairs. 3 440 A HISTORY OF THE [1828. In narrating tlie facts in this perplexing case I have aimed at historical truth. In doing this I may have wounded the feelings of some who were the more im- mediate actors in the scenes which have passed before us. Tliis, however, was very far from my intention. I have, indeed, labored most assiduously to present the facts in as inoffensive language as possible, consistently with the demands of impartial history, and therefore hope to escape the censure justly due to those who wil- fully pervert the truth or misinterpret its language. Nor will I claim for myself any other apology for uninten- tional errors than fallible humanity has a right to exact from candid criticism. And now that the struggle is over, may we all, pursuing our respective modes of doing good, '• as far as possible, live peaceably with all men." The cause of missions, of education, and of the Ame- rican Colonization Society, v/as duly considered, and highly recommended to the approbation and support of our people ; and the reports and resolutions in reference to these several subjects no doubt tended much to advance their respective claims upon the public munifi- cence. The constitutional term of Nathan Bangs, as editor and general book agent, having expired, he was elected editor of the Christian Advocate and Journal, and John Emory w^as appointed to succeed him in the general editorship and agency, and Beverly Waugh was elected the assistant of Dr. Emory. The following provision was made respecting the appointment of trustees: — "When a new board of trustees is to be created, it shall be done (except in those states and territories where the statutes provide differently) by the appointment of the preacher in 3 1828.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 441 charge, or by the presiding elder ;" — thus ^approving the election of trustees according to the laws of the re- spective states and territories, and at the same time providing for the manner in which they shall be ap- pointed where no such laws exist. The Rev. WiDiam Capers was elected as a delegate to represent us to the Wesleyan Methodist conference in the succeeding month of July, and he bore with him the following address : — "ADDRESS Of the General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, to the Wesleyan Methodist Conference. " Beloved Fathers and Brethren : — Having, by the mercy of our God, brought the present session of our General Conference near to a close, we avail ourselves of this opportunity to convey to you our Christian saluta- tions. Our beloved brother, the Rev. William Capers, whom we have elected as our representative to your con- ference, will more fully explain to you the state of our affairs, the strong affection we bear to you as our elder brethren, and our fervent desire to preserve with you the bond of peace and the unity of the Spirit. " Our present session, though laborious, and involving various and important points vitally connected with the interests of our Chiurch, and of Christianity generally, has been marked with general harmony of feeling and mutual good- will ; and we humbly trust it will tend to strengthen the bond of union among ourselves, more fully to combine our strength, to concentrate and harmonize our views and affections, and to give a new impulse to the great work in which we are engaged. " To stimulate us to diligence in this most sacred of all causes, the bright example of your persevering efforts in the cause of God is placed before us. Deriving our doc- 19* 3 442 A HISTORY OF THE [1828. trines from, the same great Ibimtain of truth, the Holy Scriptures, and admitting the same medium of interpreta- tion, the venerated Wesley and his coadjutors, and, we humbly hope, pursuing the same great objects, the present and future salvation of souls, we desire ever to cultivate with you the closest bond of union and Christian fellow- ship. Under the influence of these views and feelings, we have rejoiced in your prosperity, and witnessed with unmingled pleasure the extension of your work, particu- larly in your missionary department. "With you, also, we have our portion of afflictions. Through the disaffection of some, and the honest, though, as we think, mistaken zeal of others, in some parts of our extended work, the harmony of our people has been dis- turbed, and principles, to us novel in their character, and deleterious in their influence on the excellent system we have received from our fathers, have been industriously circulated. Though we may not flatter ourselves that these unhappy excitements are fully terminated, yet we presume to hope that the decided and almost unanimous expression of disapprobation to such proceedings by this General Conference, and among our preachers and people generally, will greatly weaken the disaffection, and tend to correct the errors of the wandering, as well as to con- firm and strengthen the hands of all who desire to cleave to the Lord ' in one faith, oiie baptism, and one hope of our calling.' " Since our last session, we have witnessed, with joy and gratitude, an unusual effusion of the Holy Spirit. Revivals of religion have been numerous and extensive in almost every part of our continent. Upward of sixty-nine thousand have been added to our Church during the past four years, and the work is still extending. Stretching our lines over so large a continent, many parts of our work, particularly in the new settlements, require great 1828.] METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 443 personal sacrifices to carry to them the blessings of our ministry, and much diligence and patient perseverance to preserve our beloved people in the unity of the faith. For these great objects we are not sufficient — ' our sufficiency is of God.' But having devoted ourselves exclusively to this work, and confiding in the strength and goodness of Him vi^hose we are, and whom we profess to serve in the fellowship of the gospel, we hope not to faint in the day of trial, but to persevere in conveying the glad tidings of peace to the destitute inhabitants of our land, until every part of it shall break forth into singing, and hail with joy the coming of the Lord. " Cheered with this ^prospect, we are endeavoring to strengthen each other in the Lord. And the happy results of our missionary labors, both among the frontier settle- ments of our white population and the Indian tribes, parti- cularly the latter, are pleasing indications of the divine approbation. It does, indeed, seem as if the set time had come to favor these lost tribes of our wildernesses, and to bring them into the fold of Christ. These natives, hitherto ' peeled and scattered,' in the United States and territories, as well as in Upper Canada, are bowing to the yoke of Chi'ist with astonishing alacrity, and thus giving evidence that his grace is sufficient to convert even the heart of a savage, and to transform him to the gentleness of Christ. On this subject, however, we need not enlarge, but refer you to our periodical works — the extensive circulation of which among our people gives increased impulse to the work, carrying information, cheering and delightful, to many thousands, of the efficacy and triumph of redeeming mercy — and to our beloved brother and representative, the bearer of this address, who will more particularly tell you, * face to face,' how much we rejoice to be coworkers with you in the extensive field of labor, and to witness such evident tokens of the divine goodness to our fallen world. 444 A HISTORY OF THE [1828. " Recollecting the Christian deportment, the ministerial gravity and dignity, and, what is more endearing to us, the brotherly affection of your late delegate to our confer- ence, the Rev. Richard Reece, and his amiable companion, the Rev. John Hannah, both of whom have left a sweet savor behind them, we take much pleasure in giving to you this renewed assurance of our unabated attachment to those doctrines, and that discipline, by which both you and we are distinguished ; to set our seal to the maxim, that 'the Wesleyan Methodists are one throughout the world ;' and also our desire that the intercourse between us, by the mutual exchange of delegates, may be kept up and continued ; and that, as a means of our edification and comfort, we shall be happy to receive whomsoever you may appoint to visit us at our next session. " With sentiments of unfeigned respect and Christian affection, we are, dear brethreUj one with you in the fel- lowship of Jesus Christ. " Signed in behalf of the General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, held at Pittsburgh, (Pa.,) May, 1828. " Enoch George, President. " Martin Ruter, Secretary T Thus closed the labors of the General Conference of 1828, and here I close the third volume of this History, with an expression of gratitude to the Author of all good for sparing my life and health so far to complete my undertaking. 3 CONTENTS OF HISTORY OF THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. Notice to the reader P^S® ^ CHAPTER III. Difference between Wesley and Whitefield, p. 8 ; its consequences, p. 9: Fletcher and his writings, p. 10; Wesleyan missionaries m America -their manner of preaching, p. 12 ; provoke opposition, p. 13 ; how defended, p. 14; Hopkinsianism, p. 15; this changed the points of con- troversy, p. 16 ; public debate and its results, p. 17 ; charitable society for the education of pious young men, p. 18 ; its address, p. 19 ; examined by Mr Garrettson, p. 20 ; its opinions startle the community, p. 21 , its general views, p. 22 ; its political tendency, p. 23 ; Connecticut changes its charter, p. 26 ; religious liberty obtained, p. 28 ; numbers, p. 30 ; seces- sion of Richard Allen, p. 30; organizes a church, p. 31 ; General Confer- ence of 1816-its members, p. 33 ; Bishop M'Kendree s address p 35; delegates from British conference, affairs of Canada, p. 36 ; letter from mission committee of London, p. 37 ; report of General Conference on Canada affairs, p. 41 ; letter addressed to the committee in London, p 42 • report of the episcopal committee, and election of Enoch George and Robert R. Roberts to the episcopal office, p. 43 ; report of the committee of ways and means, p. 43 ; support and improvement of the muiistiy, p. 45; committee of safety, p. 48; on local preachers, p. 51; provision tor the married bishops, p. 53; book agents, p. 53; adjournment of Confer- ence, p. 54. CHAPTER IV. Conferences and manner of attending them, p. 54 ; Tract Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church, p. 55 ; beneficial results, p. 56 ; general work p 57 ; character and death of Jesse Lee, p. 58 ; character and death of Mr Shadford, p. 64 ; numbers, p. 72 ; Methodist Magazine commenced, p. 73 ; Asbur>- College, p. 74 ; revivals in the BaUimore, New-York, and New-England conferences, p. 75; in "Upper Canada, p. 76; camp meet- ings again in Kentucky, p. 76 ; general superintendence, p. 77 ; its effects, bers, and its caus£S,_^_^_ ^ .... Methodist Episcopal Church, in 1819, p. 80; first constitution, p. 83; officers and managers, p. 85 ; their address, p. 86 ; circular, p. 91 ; auxi- liary societies, p. 93 ; Bishop M'Kendree's views, p. 93 ; Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church in the city of Philadelphia, p 94 ; secession of colored members in New-York, p. 95 ; tneir present state and prospects, p. 97; locations and deaths of preachers, p. 98; numbers, p. 99. 446 CONTENTS OF HISTORY OF M. E. CHURCH CHAPTER V. General Conference of 1820. Names and number of delegates, p. 100 i opening of conference by Bishop M'Kendrce, and address of the bishops, 1 p. 102; provision for Bishop M'Kendree, p. 103; caus£ of education, p. j 104 ; report of committee commending the establisliment of seminaries of learning, p. 105; opposition to this cause, p. 107; Canada affairs, p. 108, letter from London, p. 112; address to the Wcsleyan Methodist confer- ence, p. 113; its answer, p. 115 ; resolutions of the British conference on Canada affairs, p. 118; instructions from our bishops, p. 126; to the brethren in Lower Canada, p. 130; result of these proceedings, p. 132; improved edition of the Hymn Book, p. 133 ; Tune Book, p. 134 ; revised, p. 139 ; building churches, p. 140 ; new regulation respecting local preachers, p. 141 ; did not work well, p. 142 ; finally abrogated, p. 143 ; report on missions, p. 143; revised constitution, p. 151; rule for con- ducting appeals, p. 155 ; a branch of the Book Concern established at Cincinnati, p. 156. CHAPTER VI. Twelve conferences and two effective bishops, p. 157 ; state of things in Louisiana, p. 158 ; French mission unsuccessful, p. 159 ; Indian mis- sions, p. 159 ; number and general description of the condition and cha- racter of the Indians, p. 160; Wyandot Indians, p. 166; John Steward goes among them, p. 166 ; his reception, p. 167 ; effects of his labors, p. 168; speeches of chiefs, p. 169; transactions at the Ohio conference, p. 172; secession in the city of New-York — its causes and effects, p. 175; numbers return to the church they had left, p. 178 ; Missionary SocietyJ^ prospers, p. 179 ; its effects in some portions of New-England, p. 180 ; Methodism in Bristol, R. I., p. 182 ; in Provincetown, Mass., and Chili- cothe, Ohio, p. 183 ; locations, deaths, and numbers, p. 183 ; Wyandot mission, p. 184 ; Creek mission, p. 185 ; camp meetings in South Carolina and Tennessee, p. 187 ; work of God in Carter's Valley and Pittsburgh, p. 188 ; in North Carolina, p. 189 ; in Alabaraa, p. 190 ; character and death of S. Parker, p. 192 ; numbers, p. 193 ; Asbury mission, p. 193 ; its progress and disastrous results, p. 194 ; Mohawk mission, p. 198 ; Che- rokee mission, p. 206 ; domestic missions in Upper Canada, p. 209 ; general work — in Brooklyn, L. I., Amenia, and Tolland, p. 211 ; in Upper Canada district, p. 212 ; in Smyrna, Delaware, Surry county, Virginia, Scioto, Ohio, and Northumberland district, p. 213 ; Hudson River district, New- York, and New-RochcUe, p. 214; controversial preaching, p. 215; Wesleyan Seminary, p. 216; locations, deaths, and numbers, p. 216; ■work of God prospers, p. 217 ; Missionary Society aided by the labors of John Summerfield, p. 218 ; his address to the Young Men's Missionary Society, p. 219; Potavvattomy mission, p. 223 ; Methodism in Jackson's Purchase, p. 223 ; in Michigan, p. 224 ; in Florida, p. 227 ; in Cumberland and St. Louis, p. 229 ; aboriginal missions prosperous, p. 230 ; Bishop M'Kendree's visit among the Wyandots, p. 231 ; G. R. Jones's letter, p. 236 ; J, B. Finley's travels, interesting account of Honnes, p. 238; mission in the city of New-York, p. 239 ; on Long Island, p. 240 ; in New-Brunswick, p. 241 ; work of God on Baltimore district, p. 242 ; Augusta College, p. 242 ; character and death of Dr. Chandler, p. 243 ; of Jotm Steward, p. 246; numbers, p. 251. CHAPTER VII. General Conference of 1824. Names and number of delegates, p. 252 ; delegates from the Wesleyan Methodist conference, p. 254 ; address of 3 CONTENTS OF HISTORY OF M. E. CHURCH. 447 said conference, p. 255 ; of Mr. Reece, p, 259 ; bishops' communication to the conference, p. 261 ; report of the committee on lay delegation, p. 264 ; on education, p. 268 ; Missionary Society, p. 270 ; American Colonization Society, p. 273 ; on slavery, p. 274 ; on the episcopacy, p. 276 ; election and consecration of Joshua Soule and Elijah Hedding to the episcopal ofRce, p. 277 ; Canada affairs, p. 278 ; report of the committee on the itinerancy, p, 279 ; address to the Wesleyan Methodist conference, p. 280. CHAPTER VIII. Wyandot mission visited by Bishops M'Kendree and Soule, p. 285 ; Methodism in Newburyport, Gloucester, and Piscataquis, p. 286 ; general work, p. 287; Cazenovia Seminary, p. 288; locations and deaths of preachers, p. 288 ; character of Peyton Anderson, p. 289 ; numbers, p. 291 ; Indian missions — Peter Jones and others brought to God, p. 292 ; Methodism in New-Orleans, p. 296 ; Mobile and Pensacola, p. 298 ; in Tallahassee and Early, p. 299 ; in the Highlands and Hampshire, p. 300 ; in Chilicothe, p. 301 ; in Genesee, Bridgetown, Newark, and Cocymans, p. 302 ; in Albany, Champlain, and New-Haven districts, p. 303 ; church building, p. 303 ; revivals in Susquehannah and Black River districts, and in Baltimore, p. 304 ; Mariners' Church, New-York, p. 305 ; general work prosperous, p. 307; death and character of "William Beauchamp, p. 308 ; death and character of William Ross, p. 314 ; numbers, p. 318 ; aboriginal missions prosper, p. 318 ; Methodism in Florida, Alabama, and Upper Canada, p. 319 ; revivals in Virginia and Maryland, p. 320 ; Wil- braham Academy and Madison College, p. 321 ; Christian Advocate begun, Sept. 9, 1826, p. 322 ; death and character of 'John Summerfield, p. 324 ; of Daniel Asbury, p. 329 ; of Daniel Hitt, p. 330 ; of Joseph Toy, p. 331 ; of John P. Finley, p. 332 ; numbers, p. 337 ; origin of the Sunday School Union of the Methodist Episcopal Church, p. 337 ; address, p. 338 ; its character and success, p. 344 ; Cherokee mission, p. 347 ; Mis- sissauga, p. 349 ; character alid death of Between-the-logs, p. 350 ; Rich- mond mission, p. 355 ; Methodism in New-York city, p. 355 ; in New- Haven, p. 356 ; Maine Wesleyan Seminar>% p. 358 ; locations and deaths, p. 359 ; character and death of Philip Bruce, p. 360 ; of Freeborn Gar- rettson, p. 364; of James Smith, p. 371 ; of Seth Crowell, p. 374; num- bers, p. 378. CHAPTER IX. General Conference of 1828. Names and number of bishops and dele- gates, p. 378 ; address of the bishops, p. 382 ; appeal of Joshua Randell, vindication of Bishop Hedding, Canada affairs, p. 388 ; resolutions of conference in reference to them, p. 389 ; important principle explained, p. 390 ; no precedent for a similar proceeding in the United States, p. 392 ; how an annual conference may be disowned, p. 393 ; precedents for ordaining a bishop for Canada, p. 395 ; historical skfetch of the " Reform- ers," p. 396 ; Dr. Bond's Appeal, p. 402 ; Defence of our Fathers, p. 406 ; trials in Baltimore, p. 407; similar proceedings in other places, p. 411; mistake corrected, p. 412; the "Reformers" organize and memorialize the General Conference, p. 413 ; report of the conference on said memo- rial, p. 413; our people unfavorable to "reform," p. 431 ; effects of the secession — increase of membership, p. 432 ; proceedings of " Reformers," p. 434 ; " The Methodist Protestant Church" formed — its character, p. 435 ; agitations continue, p. 436 ; finally cease, p. 437 ; review of the whole affair, p. 437 ; cause of missions, education, and colonization ; election of book agents and editors, and provision for the appointment of trustees, p. 440 ; address to the Wesleyan Methodist conference, p. 441 ; close of the vx)lume, p. 444. 3 This book is due two weeks from the last date stamped below, and if not returned at or before that time a fine (A five cents a day will be incurred. 15Apr'4J m FEB1519W ■EC m> 3 0 m lu: m 3 V y;^- F^B-0 7 W5 i,^isjm. 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