METHODISTS. 



533 



bnt as yet nothing had been accomplished by 

 tli. -in. A Mite Missionary Society, composed 

 (..' women of the Church, as yet scarcely in its 

 third year, had commanded great attention and 

 promised much success. 



The financial secretary reported that his re- 

 ceipts for the four years ending in April, 1876, 

 hud been $95,553.93, and his expenditures 

 during the same period $94,472.02, leaving a 

 balance on hand of $1,081.91. 



A delegation was received from the British 

 Methodist Episcopal Church in Canada, also an 

 organization of colored people. It presented 

 a fraternal letter, in which the Church was 

 represented as being in a prosperous condition, 

 financially and spiritually. The Ontario and 

 Nova Scotia Conferences reported increase in 

 the number of itinerant ministers. An exten- 

 sive revival of religion had visited the churches 

 in Bermuda, The Kev. "Willis Nazrey, the 

 bishop of this Church, had died at Shelburne, 

 N. S., August 22, 1875. A General Conference 

 met at Hamilton, Ont., November 12, 1875, over 

 which Bishop Wayman, of the African Meth- 

 odist Episcopal Church, presided, and chose 

 the Rev. Richard Randolph Disney as bishop 

 to succeed Bishop Nazrey. 



A department was instituted, to be called the 

 Bureau of Education, to have charge of edu- 

 cational work. It will consist of the bench of 

 bishops, the commissioner, and tha financial 

 secretary. Collections in the churches were 

 provided for to advance the work of the bu- 

 reau. The policy of supplying the schools with 

 teachers of the African race, when competent 

 ones can be found, was favored. 



Several important changes were made in the 

 government and discipline of the Church. 



The Annual Conference of the Independent 

 Methodist Episcopal Church, held at Detroit, 

 Mich., in September, 1875, authorized its 

 bishop, the Rev. A. R. Green, to meet the Gen- 

 eral Conference of the African Methodist Epis- 

 copal Church, to be held in 1876, "and then 

 and there sign whatever might be requested 

 for the union and consolidation " of the two 

 churches. Bishop Green was represented by 

 proxy at the African General Conference, 

 and that body adopted a measure for the 

 reception of the ministers and members of 

 the Independent Methodist Episcopal Church 

 in the African Church, with the same rela- 

 tions as they held in their own body. It 

 also, by revoking so much of the treaty with 

 the British Methodist Episcopal Church as pro- 

 hibited the African Church from extending its 

 Christian efforts into any part of the world, 

 opened the way for the admission of all the 

 Independent Churches in Canada and the 

 United States. The sixteenth Annual Confer- 

 ence of the Independent Church met at Col- 

 chester, Ont., July 29th. A resolution ratify- 

 ing the action of the bishop for union and 

 consolidation with the African Methodist Epis- 

 copal Church was adopted by a large majority. 

 The churches of this denomination are at 



Washington, D. 0.; Detroit, Lansing, Grand 

 I In \cu, Mich.; Mason, Fond du Luc, and Fox 

 Lake, Wis. ; Windsor, Chatham, Dover, and 

 Colchester, Ont. 



V. AFKICAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL Ziow 

 CHCRCH. The fifteenth session of the General 

 Conference of the African Methodist Episcopal 

 Zion Church was held in Louisville, Ky., be- 

 ginning June 21st. About two hundred dele- 

 gates were present. The bishops presented a 

 quadrennial address, in which they represented 

 the connection as enjoying peace and quiet; 

 spoke of the importance of establishing their 

 Book Concern, and related the difficulties they 

 had met in reference to that undertaking dur- 

 ing the preceding four years; and nrged the 

 establishment of a connectional journal. 



The features in the proceedings of the con- 

 ference of most general interest were those 

 relative to the reception of fraternal delegates 

 from other Methodist churches. The Rev. Dr. 

 Seaton and the Rev. J. N. Asbury addressed 

 the conference in behalf of the African Meth- 

 odist Episcopal Church. The conference in 

 return adopted a resolution reciprocating the 

 sentiments of peace and good-will, of brotherly 

 kindness expressed by them, and pledged its 

 " best wishes and faithful prayers " for the sis- 

 ter church which they represented. 



Bishop Lane and Elder Ridley spoke as rep- 

 resentatives of the Colored Methodist Episco- 

 pal Church in America, giving prominence in 

 their addresses to the subject of a union of the 

 two churches. The conference adopted a res- 

 olution reciprocating cordially the Christian 

 love and brotherly feeling expressed by them, 

 rejoicing in the feeling which prompted them 

 and their church to seek a closer union with the 

 "members of the same household of faith." 



A commission was appointed on union with 

 the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church, to 

 equal in number the commission appointed by 

 that body, and to have power to arrange a plan 

 of organic union with the Colored Methodist 

 Episcopal Church, and submit such plan to the 

 present General Conference, if possible, or to 

 a convention to be called by it. The Commit- 

 tee on the Episcopacy made a report suggest- 

 ing that the question of ordaining bishops for 

 life be presented to the quarterly and annual 

 conferences, and to the people generally on or 

 before January 1, 1878; that if necessary, a 

 convention be called to meet in Washington 

 City on the second Wednesday in May, 1878, 

 to be composed of two ministerial delegates 

 and one lay delegate from each annual confer- 

 ence district, and to be empowered to select 

 nine ministers who shall constitute a presby- 

 tery to confer the third ordination. The ob- 

 ject of this measure is, in case the union is 

 made, to place the bishops of the Zion Church, 

 who are now chosen for four years, on a parity 

 with those of the Colored Church, who are 

 chosen and ordained for life. Bishops J. J. 

 Clinton, S. T. Jones, J. J. Moore, and J. W. 

 Hood, were reflected bishops for another term 



