488 



METHODISTS. 



America, may see fit to make either to the Parlia- 

 ment of tbe said Dominion, or to any provincial 

 Legislative Assembly within the some, or to any 

 Parliament or Legislative Assembly outside the 

 bounds of the said Dominion, but comprised within 

 the bounds of either of tbe Conferences aforesaid, for 

 suoh powers as may be necessary to the vesting 

 of tbe whole or any part of the trust - property 

 now held tor the ue of either of the said Confer- 

 enoes, or of any ministers, trustees, or others in 

 connection with either of the same, in such man- 

 ner and upon suoh terms as shall secure the some 

 to uses and upon trusts in connection with the 

 proposed united Conference, similar, as nearly as 

 may be, to those for which they are now secured. 



A fourth resolution tenders tbe best wishes 

 of the Conference to " the two bodies named," 

 and expresses the hope that intercourse will 

 be continued between itself and them. 



The preceding Conference had appointed a 

 committee to sit during the year, and consider 

 the subject of lay delegation. They were: 

 1. To obtain legal advice whether the provi- 

 sions of the Poll deed would allow laymen to 

 take part in the proceedings of the Confer- 

 ence; 2. If this is allowable, to consider un- 

 der what regulations they should be admitted; 

 3. If it is not allowable, to prepare a plan for 

 the better regulation of the committees of re- 

 view. The committee reported that they had 

 no reriimmeiiilation to offer regarding the first 

 and second points, but that they had agreed to 

 recommend the appointment of a mixed com- 

 7nitu-e to consider how far the constitution of 

 the committees of review might be improved. 

 Their recommendation was adopted. 



The following resolution was adopted on the 

 subject of national education : 



The Conference, while receiving and adopting the 

 report of the committee to whom the whole question 

 of primary education was referred, expresses its re- 

 gret that the essential parts of the recommenda- 

 tion of the committee have not been adopted by 

 the Government in their measure for the amend- 

 ment of the Momentary Education Act of 1870, and 

 the Conference hereby records its deliberate con- 

 viction that in justice to the interests of national 

 ion, in the liberal sense, and to the different 

 religions denominations of the country, school 

 hoards must be established everywhere, and an un- 

 denominational school placed within reasonable dis- 

 tance of every family. 



A letter was received from Lords Shaftos- 

 bury and Ebury, representing the Vigilance 

 Committee appointed at the Conference of 

 Churchmen and Nonconformists of July 10th, 

 inviting the Wesleyan body to give it help 

 in the endeavor to rouse the public mind 

 to some common action to counteract the 

 danger to tlie 1'nitt-stant faith arising from the 

 advance of ritualism and the practice of the 

 ' "niVssional. The following resolution was 

 adopted, to be inserted in the minutes, copy 

 of it to be lent to Lord Ebnry as chairman 

 of the Vigilance Committee, but with the res- 

 ervation that it should not commit the Con- 

 ference to any particular party in the Church 

 of England : 



Having considered the resolution of the Man- 

 chester District Committee, celling its attention to 



the danger to which ecriptur.il Christianity and na- 

 tioiiul tricdom are exposed by the prrh u^i -us and 

 movements of Popery in Great lirituin and else- 

 where, aud more especially by the prevalence in 

 our own country of Popish practices outside of the 

 Komiith Church ; and considering further that re- 

 a very considerable number of clergymen of 

 the Church by law established has publicly moved 

 with a view to procure legislation organizing tbe 

 confessional as a national institution, the Confer- 

 ence feels bound to record its conviction of the 

 extreme gravity of such facts, not only for any one 

 section ot the English people, but also for the na- 

 tion at large. It is persuaded that the time has 

 now come when those who value the doctrines of 

 the Reformation, or the institutions, whether reli- 

 gious or national, to which they have given birth, 

 are loudly called upon, both as citizens and as mem- 

 bers of churches, to take all possible means for the 

 diffusion of scriptural truth and the repression of 

 Homish principles, and also to unite with all Protes- 

 tants in promoting such measures as may tend to 

 prevent the influence and authority of the nation 

 from being directly or indirectly employed to fur- 

 ther movements calculated to discredit and even to 

 undo the Reformation, to which, under Divine 

 Providence, are duo many national benefits which 

 Britons have good cause to esteem as blessings. 

 The Conference expresses its belief and hope that 

 our people generally will earnestly strive in their re- 

 spective spheres of private or public influence, and 

 in sodoing will cheerfully cooperate with nil who are 

 like-minded, whether within the BeUblkhed or 

 Nonconformist Churches, in support of every lawful 

 effort to repair the damage done in many successive 

 years to the cmise of Protestantism, and to perpetu- 

 ate in England that Reformed Faith, the rejection or 

 suppression of which in other countries of Europe 

 has been followed by political instability and social 

 disorder, as is witnessed at tho present day in the 

 greater part of such countries. 



The Conference directed that a fraternal 

 letter be sent to the General Conference of tho 

 Methodist Kpiscopal Church, South (I'nited 

 States), which is to inc. t in 1874. A commit- 

 tee was appointed to prepare the letter. 



The following is a summitry of tho opera- 

 tions of the Wesleyan Mi-Monriry Society, as 

 reported at the anniversary in May, 1878: 



1. In nominally Christian countries embracing 

 England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, France, Switzer- 

 land. Germany, Spain, and more recently Portugal 

 and Italy; 101 ministers wore employed, and there 

 were 7,"l2 church-members and 6,778 scholars in 

 the mission-schools. The missions in America, in- 

 cluding Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Kd- 

 wurd Island, Newfoundland, and the Bermudas, 

 will be incorporated with the Canadian Methodist 

 Connection. In with tho Methodist 



n* in Canada, and the Eastern provinces of 

 North America, to the Indians, and other destitute 

 people, there were 899 missionaries employed, who 

 nod under their care 82,740 church - members, and 

 82,768 scholars in the mission-schools. 



liuling Jamaica, tho 



Windward ami Leeward Islands, the Bahamas, 

 British Guiana. Honduras, and Ilayti. 97 rnissiona- 

 riei were employed, and there were 44,788 church - 

 members, and 28,088 scholars in tin tnUsion-eohoolo, 



8. In Western Africa including tho river Gam- 

 bia, Sierra Leone, and the Gold Coast Districts 

 there were 21 missionaries, 8,974 church-members, 

 and 6,829 scholars in the mission-schools. These 

 missions had been involved in difficulty and danger 

 by the Ashantee War. 



4. In Southern Africa including the Cape of 

 Good Hope, Grahamstown, Qucrnstown, and the 

 Beehuona Districts, Natal, and the Transvaal Kcpub- 



