METHODISTS. 



475 



der instruction, 7 Bible women, 1 hospital, and 2 

 medical missionaries. In the sixteen years since 

 its organization it had collected $791,913. A 

 bequest was announced to the conference from 

 the late Robert A. Barnes, of property amount- 

 ing to $1,100,000 to the Methodist Episcopal 

 Church, South, for the erection and maintenance 

 of a hospital in St. Louis, Mo., for sick and in- 

 jured persons, without distinction of creed. A 

 rule was adopted transferring the licensing of 

 local preachers from the quarterly conferences to 

 the district conferences. A constitution was 

 adopted for the organization of the Epworth 

 League, " for the promotion of piety and loyalty 

 to the Church among the young people ; their 

 education in the Bible and Christian literature, 

 and encouragement in works of grace and chari- 

 ty " ; to be under the management of a board of 

 13 managers approved by the General Confer- 

 ence ; and a general secretary and an editor, 

 chosen by the General Conference ; and with a 

 central office at Nashville, Tenn. Provision was 

 further made for the organization of junior 

 leagues. The conference declared it inexpedi- 

 ent for the conferences to hold business sessions 

 or to have appointments read and adjourn on 

 the Sabbath day, except in cases of grave neces- 

 sity ; and it insisted " that no pressure from any 

 quarter shall be allowed to infringe on the right 

 of an annual conference to sit at least a week." 

 The following report was adopted on the subject 

 of Methodist federation : 



Whereas, The Second (Ecumenical Methodist Con- 

 ference, assembled in Washington city, in October, 

 1891, passed the following resolution: 



1. That the conference recognizes, with gratitude 

 to God, the growing desire for "a closer union among 

 the evangelical Churches of Christendom, and espe- 

 cially hails with devout thankfulness the extension of 

 that desire amon? the various Methodist Churches. 



'J. The conference can not doubt that concerted 

 action among the different Methodist bodies upon 

 many questions would be greatly to the advantage of 

 the kingdom of God. The conference would suggest 

 tli at such concerted action might be possible and use- 

 ful in the following great provinces of the Methodist 

 world, namely ; (a) Great Britain and Ireland, in- 

 cluding affiliated conferences and missions; (b) the 

 United States, including its missions and mission 

 conferences; (c) Australia, with Polynesia and its 

 other missions; \d) Canada, with its missions. 



:'.. This conference therefore respectfully requests 

 the Churches represented in this conference to con- 

 sider whether such concerted action be possible, and, 

 if so, hy what means and in what way; and directs 

 the secretaries to forward a copy of this resolution to 

 the senior bishop or president of every conference 

 represented here: Therefore, 



Resolved, By the General Conference of the Meth- 

 odist Episcopal Church, South, now in session, that 

 while we do not in the least recognize the (Ecumeni- 

 cal Conference as having any legislative power, the 

 bishops be requested to appoint a commission on 

 federation, consisting of 3 bishops, 3 ministers, and 3 

 laymen, and that the secretary be instructed to notify 

 the General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal 

 Church of this action, and to request it to appoint a 

 similar commission. 



Resolved, That this commission shall have power 

 to enter into negotiations with said similar commis- 

 sion from the Methodist Episcopal Church, if one 

 shall be appointed, and with similar commissions 

 from other Methodist bodies, with a view to abating 

 hurtful competitions and the waste of men and money 

 in home and foreign fields. 



Resolved, That any arrangements which such com- 



mission may make shall be reported to the next Gen- 

 eral Conference for adoption, alteration, or rejection. 



The Committee on Education reported that 

 their efforts to obtain accurate statistics from 

 the educational institutions of the Church had 

 been unsuccessful. According to the general 

 minutes of 1893, in which only 38 conferences 

 made any report of educational statistics, there 

 were under the care of the Church 179 schools 

 and colleges, employing 897 teachers, and hav- 

 ing a patronage of 16,020 pupils ; property ag- 

 gregating $1,485,012 in value; and endowment 

 funds amounting to $1,588,000. The conference 

 directed that no institution should be taken 

 under the care of the Church without being first 

 adopted by the annual conference on the rec- 

 ommendation of the Conference Board of Edu- 

 cation. A new article concerning the adminis- 

 tration of discipline and the trial of ministers 

 was adopted. Its history is remarkable from 

 the fact that one of its provisions afforded the 

 bishops the first occasion for the exercise of the 

 veto power conferred upon them by the Church 

 in 1870, to be of effect when questions of con- 

 stitutional law are concerned. The measure in 

 question contained a provision constituting a 

 tribunal for the trial of ministers of not less 

 than 9 nor more than 13 persons selected by lot 

 from the members of the conference. This pro- 

 vision was vetoed by the bishops, on the ground 

 that the right of ministers to be tried by minis- 

 ters only had been specially regarded and re- 

 served in the plan by which laymen were intro- 

 duced, in 18C3, into the general and annual 

 conferences, and could be modified only by 

 taking the course prescribed for altering a re- 

 strictive rule. The deliverances of previous 

 general conferences on the subject of temper- 

 ance were reaffirmed, with a reservation that it is 

 not the province of the Church to enter the do- 

 main of party politics, and that in laudable 

 efforts to secure legislation the duty of moral 

 suasion should not be overlooked. Co-operation 

 with the American Sabbath Union was pledged, 

 " as far as possible, in securing a New Testament 

 observance of the holy Sabbath." An amend- 

 ment to the Constitution of the United States to 

 prohibit the application of public funds to the 

 support or aid of sectarian institutions, pro- 

 posed by the National League for the Protection 

 of American Institutions, was approved. The 

 officers of the General Conference were author- 

 ized to sign a petition to the governments of 

 Christendom to resort to " peaceful arbitration 

 as a means of settling questions that arise be- 

 tween nations." 



III. Free Methodist Church. The ninth 

 General Conference of the Free Methodist 

 Church met at Greenville, 111., Oct. 10. The 

 pastoral address of the general superintendents 

 represented that the purity of the Church, in 

 doctrine and discipline, had been maintained, it 

 had been free from dissension, and its numer- 

 ical strength had increased during the past four 

 years. The institutions of learning were pros- 

 perous and were exerting a wholesome influence. 

 Interest in missions had enlarged and the con- 

 tributions for both home and foreign work had 

 increased. The publishing business of the 

 Church was in sound condition. Much interest 

 was taken in the discussion of the question, " Do 



