METHODISTS. 



505 



Southern or Methodist Protestant Church were 

 opened in 1874, the result of which was the 

 appointment of a commission to frame a ba- 

 sis of union, to meet at Pittsburgh, Pa., in 

 October, 1875, and the call of conventions of 

 the two bodies to meet at Baltimore, Md., in 

 1877, to complete the union if it should be 

 agreed upon. The committees on the basis of 

 union met according to their appointment, and 

 agreed upon a basis which seems to have given 

 satisfaction to both branches of the Church, 

 and which has already been noticed in the 

 ANNUAL OZOLOPJEDIA (see ANNUAL CYCLOPEDIA 

 for 1875). 



The Conventions of the Methodist Protes- 

 tant and Methodist Churches met at Baltimore, 

 Md., May 10th. The Rev. L. W. Bates, D. D., 

 of Maryland, was elected permanent Chairman 

 of the Methodist Protestant Convention. The 

 Rev. S. B. Southerland, of the Commission 

 of Union of the two Churches, made a state- 

 ment of the proceedings of the Commission, 

 which was submitted, with the basis of union 

 which had been agreed upon, to the action of 

 the Convention. A discussion ensued upon a 

 question concerning the powers of the Con- 

 vention, which was settled by the adoption of 

 a resolution 



That the powers of this Convention are defined 

 in the text or the legal call for its assembly, made by 

 the requisite number of Annual Conferences, as fol- 

 lows: 



" To make such changes in the 2d, 10th and 14th 

 Articles of the Constitution of the Methodist Prot- 

 estant Church as may be deemed by said Conven- 

 tion necessary, together with such other alterations 

 in all other articles of the Constitution and Book 

 of Discipline as they may judge proper ; and for the 

 further purpose of taking such action as said Con- 

 vention may decide to be desirable, upon the basis 

 of union agreed on by the Joint Commission of the 

 Methodist Protestant Church." 



In response to an invitation from the Metho- 

 dist Convention, a Committee of Conference, 

 consisting of seven members, was appointed, 

 who, on the fourth day of the session, pre- 

 sented the following report, as embodying the 

 result of their deliberations : 



Resolve*!, That the basis of union agreed upon 

 by the Joint Commission of the Methodist Protes- 

 tant and Methodist Churches at Pittsburgh, Pa., bo 

 adopted, and that we interpret that basis of union 

 on the condition of receiving members into the 

 Church to be substantially the same as is now in the 

 naw edition of the Methodist Book of Discipline, 

 the third item relative to children having been in- 

 serted in the published basis of union. 



Rxolmi, That the matter of suffrage and eligibil- 

 ity to office be left to the Annual Conferences re- 

 spectively ; provided that each Annual Conference 

 shall be entitled to representation in the same ratio 

 as in the General Conference ; and provided that no 

 rule shall be passed which shall infringe the right 

 of suffrage or eligibility to office. 



Resolved, That the Joint Committee of Conference 

 recommend to the General Convention of the Metho- 

 dist Protestant Church and the General Convention 

 of tlie Methodist Church, now in session, the imme- 

 diate organic union of the Methodist Protestant and 

 Methodist Churches upon the basis of union set forth 

 in the report of the Joint Commission of the two 

 Churches, 



This report was adopted on the next day, 

 Wednesday, May IGth, by a vote of 58 ayes to 

 5 nays. 



The Convention of the Methodist Church 

 also met in Baltimore, May llth. The Rev. 

 Alexander Clark, D. D., was chosen president. 

 A committee who were appointed to ascertain 

 and define the constitution and powers of the 

 Convention made a report, declaring " that 

 this Convention has been regularly constituted, 

 according to the requirements of Article XI. 

 of the Constitution, and that the representa- 

 tives composing it are clothed with full con- 

 ventional powers, and that it has power to 

 discharge all the duties of a General Confer- 

 ence, in addition to the particular object for 

 which the Convention has been assembled. 1 ' 

 The report was adopted. A committee of 

 seven members was appointed to confer with 

 a similar committee of the Methodist Protes- 

 tant Convention, and report what action might 

 be necessary to expedite and consummate the 

 union of the Conventions and Churches. This 

 committee presented, as the result of the de- 

 liberations of the joint committee, the report 

 which has been given in connection with the 

 proceedings of the Methodist Protestant Con- 

 vention. The report was adopted, Tuesday, 

 May 15th. 



In the afternoon of May 16th, the members 

 of the two Conventions met after the adjourn- 

 ment of their respective sessions, and marched 

 in formal procession to a common place of 

 meeting, where the two bodies were organized 

 into one, as the General Convention of the 

 Methodist Protestant Church. The Rev. L. 

 W. Bates, D. D., was elected President of the 

 United Convention. The changes in the ar- 

 ticles of association of Adrian College, neces- 

 sary to secure conformity to the new condi- 

 tions, were recommended to be made as soon 

 as they could be legally effected. The Mission- 

 ary, the Ministerial, Educational, and Church 

 Extension Boards of the Methodist Church were 

 adopted as Boards of the General Conference 

 of the Methodist Protestant Church, with the 

 understanding that their charters and titles 

 should be made at the earliest practicable 

 moments to conform with this relationship. 

 An obstacle to the consummation of the union 

 appeared in North Carolina, where three Con- 

 ferences, one belonging to the Southern branch 

 and two to the Northern branch of the Church, 

 existed in the same territory. This was ad- 

 justed by an arrangement which left the three 

 Conferences unchanged, as to their boundaries, 

 and secured to each the prerogative of receiv- 

 ing into its body, by vote, any member from 

 any other Conference. The names, however, 

 of the East North Carolina and West Nnrtli 

 Carolina Conferences of the former Methodist 

 Church were changed to Deep River and Alle- 

 ghany Conferences. A communication from 

 the Bishops of the Methodist Episcopal Church 

 calling attention to a proposed Ecumenical Con- 

 ference of Methodism had been presented to 



