518 History of Methodism 



ing up money for their after support, who would forbid the little 

 (alas, too little!) pains we take to procure them some assistance? 

 And especially in the view of the notorious fact that, insufficient as 

 the allowance of one hundred dollars must be to furnish them with 

 such things as are absolutely needful, the moneys at the disposal of 

 the Conference for this use, from year to year, have always fallen 

 short of making up even that small amount. 



We reckon the widows and orphans of preachers who have died 

 in the work as deserving a place in this first class of beneficiaries. 

 And to support this claim we need only refer to that peculiarity of 

 the Methodist economy which requires unconditionally of every 

 preacher to go wherever he may be sent — whether among the healthy 

 mountains or the sickly swamps. Let the reader pause and answer 

 whether the Church ought not to provide at least a moiety toward 

 the subsistence of the widows and orphans of those who have thus 

 both lived and died for the work's sake. 



Beyond these objects there is a third, and no more (as far as the 

 members of the Conference are concerned), for which we judge 

 some provision ought to be made — namely, the education of the 

 children of the preachers. The expense of this we are unable to 

 meet by any means derived from the Church ; and few of us are 

 able to meet it by other means. Judge ye, brethren, from what you 

 know of us, whether a society for such a purpose formed within the 

 Conference, ought not to receive your kind encouragement. 



Besides " the trust for the relief of the superannuated or worn- 

 out preachers, and the widows and orphans of preachers," and " the 

 society of the South Carolina Conference for the relief of the chil- 

 dren of its members," there is under the control of the Conference 

 a trust for the relief of cases of extraordinary distress of the widows 

 and orphans of either traveling or local preachers ; and of preach- 

 ers themselves, whether itinerant or local, who may be in pressing 

 want from " long family sickness, loss of crops, burning of houses," 

 etc. This is usually denominated " the fund of special relief," and 

 was instituted, at the recommendation of Bishop Asbury, in the 

 year 1807. The amount now vested in this fund, since the late divis- 

 ion of the Conference district, is three thousand and six hundred 

 dollars — the interest of which is annually applied to such objects 

 as are contemplated by its constitution. The two former institutions 

 are of late origin. Some steps were taken toward the formation of 

 the society for the education of our children, at the Conference of 

 1823 ; and subsequently to that period the preachers have conti ib- 



