ca es | aoe ‘ AX S38) ne Cl7 4 5 ; Cornell University Hibrary Ithaca, Nem York FROM Garrett Biblical Institute dM SEO NONGE an The date shows when this volume was taken. To renew this book copy the call No. and give to the librarian, 86. _ All Books subject to Recall . All borrowers must regis- . terin the library to borrow ; books for home use. woceacsuel jocrabnashoececasne@lbensesat bassoon All books must be re- turned at end of college sescavbescnnecnnoneesgnnssecsstenensnneetnereeamcesuaes year for inspection and repairs. ! Limited books must be re- turned within the four week limit and not renewed. Students must return all books before leaving town. ‘ Officers should arrange for ' the return of books wanted satis sas coche slat cB silt ccc caitesadintdedies vessesae dudegr the Wbsence teers town. a : Volumes of periodicals sate sacchats, Sudtasetoseoa seckanteddecneil Sous vatulcaiect alah and of pamphlets are held in the library as much as ‘possible. Fer special pur- "poses they are given out for basa eons inadvostacdaassdpovend abKaviowteacmnnieaseas a limited time. NOT onset ear Borrowers should not use - their library privileges. for . the benefit of other persons. ‘Books of ‘special value “and gift books,”when the giver wishes it, are not allowed to circulate. Readers are asked to re- port all cases of books, mirtecatesnnnetnentennen tetas tec anecnn tenes ++ marked or mutilated. Do not ditace books by marks and writing. BXE381,A5 Shp MersHY brary iii” THE GENERAL CONFERENCES METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH FROM 1792 T0 1896. | PREPARED BY A LITERARY STAFF UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF REV. LEWIS CURTS, D. D., PUBLISHING AGENT OF THE WESTERN METHODIST BOOK CONCERN. Cincinnati : CURTS & JENNINGS. Bew Pork: EATON & MAINS. 1900. S A.38025) CoPpYyRIGHT, 1900, By THE WESTERN METHODIST BOOK CONOERN. PREFACE. In preparing a history of the General Conference, the greater part of our information must be derived from the Journals of that body. These Journals are of varying full- ness, the earlier ones being extremely meager, and some of them giving but little more than catch-word hints of Confer- ence action, and containing none of the reports or addresses. They were not originally intended for publication, and the Minutes as printed seem to be only the vague notes from which the secretary might prepare—though he did not—a full report of the proceedings. The later Journals are full; and, since 1848, there has been issued a daily paper, con- taining a verbatim transcript of the debates, addresses, resolu- tions, and reports. These, and other bound volumes, have all been consulted in the preparation of this work, especially in part two. As no copy was ever found of the Journal for 1792, the General Conference of 1892 directed the Publishing Agents to employ some one to reproduce it, as nearly as could be done, from whatever sources of information were accessible. This task was committed to Rev. T. B. Neely, D. D., than whom none is more competent to accomplish it. The result wit a Preface. of his labors appears in the present volume. This may be accepted as the full Journal of proceedings of that Confer- ence, and it is an important additio! to our Methodist historical literature. The proceedings of all the other General Conferences are given only in abstract. These have been prepared by com- petent writers, employed by the Western Methodist Book Concern, expressly for use in this volume. Only the more important actions are referred to; but, in the two parts, the ; chronological and the topical, it is believed that the average _ student of our Church history will find all that he cares to know about the great Governing Conference. For more minute information as to what was said or suggested, he must examine the Journals themselves, and the files of the Daily Advocate. ; LEWIS CURTS. Cincinnati, Maron, 1900. YEAR, 1792. 1796. 1800. 1804. 1808. 1812. 1816. 1820. 1824. 1828. 1832. 1836, 1840. CONTENTS. PART I.—CHRONOLOGICAL. PRINOIPAL TOPICS. PAGE, Establishment of the General Conference.—Schism of James O’Kelly.—Revision of Discipline, Church Polity.—Chartered Fund Established.—Form of Deed for Church Property.—Local Preachers, Presiding Elders.—Slavery.—Ministerial Support, . Book Concern (Removed to New York).—Slavery, . Delegated General Conference.—Restrictive Rules.—Pre- siding Elders,. . . . 2... . 2 First Written Episcopal Address (from Bishop McKen- dree).—Pastoral Address to the Church.—Two Book Agents, Slavery.—‘‘ Methodist Magazine” Ordered.—Episcopacy,. Election of Presiding Elders.—Revision of Hymn Book —Status of Local Preachers.—Book Concern, The Presiding Elder Question.— Lay Representation (Refused), . The “Radical”? Movement.—Presiding Elder Question Settled, : Missions.—Canada Claims, Abolitionism, Slavery. —Temperance.—Woman’s Magazine (‘‘ Ladies’ Repository ’’) Ordered, v 51 59 65 70 75 79 84 90 99 . 107 13 . 121 ve YEAR, 1844, 1848. 1852. 1856. 1860. 1864. 1868. 1872. 1876. 1880. 1884. 1888. 1892. 1896. Contents. PRINOIPAL TOPIOS. PAGE. © Slaveholding in the Ministry.—Plan of Separation Adopted, 1 Plan of Separation Pronounced Void.—Relations of the General Conference to the Church, South.—Temper- ance.—Revision of Hymn Book, Mission Interests.—Lay Delegation Considered.—Church Sittings, . : Slavery.—Missionary Bishops.—Lay Delegation, Slavery.— Lay Delegation (Submitted to Vote of the Chureh)i; 4 a: iy ais ke Se ae ae a Pastoral Term Extended.—Lay Delegation Approved. —Church Extension.—Slavery, Lay Delegation Question. —Freedmen’s Aid Society.— Board of Education, Lay Delegates Admitted.—Ecclesiastical Jurisprudence. —Book Conecern,. . ....: , Separate Conferences for Colored Preachers.—Revision of Hymn Book, Ecumenical Conference.—Rights of Women Defined.— Use of Tobacco.—Colored Bishops, New Church Enterprises.—Marriage and Divorce, . Eligibility of Women as Delegates.—Constitutional Com- mission.—Deaconess Work Authorized, Young People’s Societies (Epworth League).— The Woman Question.—Constitutional Commission Re- port (Indefinitely Postponed), Commission on Organic Law.—Women Delegates.—Con- ference Evangelists.—Deaconesses to be Consecrated, . 128 . 139 . 146 . 151° . 157 . 162 . 169 . 177 . 188 . 196 . 202 . 208 . 214 222 Contents. vai PART II.—TOPICAL, OHAPTHER. PAGE. I. The Ministry, . ........ poo ew 288 TI. The Ministry (Continued),. . ..... =... =. =. 250 Til. (Slavery. 6.03. 2-8) ae, 2 Yoh Sw oe oe SVE IV. Slavery (continued), . ....... 2... . =. . 290 V.. Fraternal Relations, . . . . ..... {i . . . . 810 VI. ‘Day Delegation: Men—Women,. ....... . . 882 vil. Church Institutions and Societies... ...... é 852 VIII. Church Workinthe South, ......... =. .872 IX. The Constitution, . . 2... 1 ew ee ee we ee 890 X. The Constitution (Continued), ........ =. .407 P ie RT 1. CHRONOLOGICAL. THE GENERAL CONFERENCES. 1792. (BY REV. THOS. B. NEELY, D.D., LL. D.) HE first quadrennial General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church in the United States of America met in the city of Baltimore, Maryland, on Thursday, the first day of November, in the year Seventeen Hundred and Ninety-two. This General Conference had been regularly called to meet in Baltimore at that date. Every preacher in full membership in any Annual Conference was entitled to a seat in the General Conference, and the attendance was very general. Bishop Thomas Coke and Bishop Francis Asbury were present, and presided; Dr. Coke, as senior, doubtless presiding at the beginning of the session. * On the first day the Conference appointed a committee of the oldest preachers and a few of the younger ministers to prepare business for consideration and action by the Confer- ence. When a majority of the committee agreed upon a proposition, and especially upon any alteration in the form of Discipline, it was to report to the Conference for its decision. Subsequently the membership of the committee was increased. The intention of the Conference in the creation of the com- mittee was to expedite business; but as after test it was found that it did not prevent or shorten discussions in the Confer- ence, the plan of working through a committee was abandoned, and the committee was discharged. After that, any member of the Conference was at liberty to present directly to the body any matter he might desire. On the first day rules of order were adopted. One rule was as follows: ‘‘It shall take two-thirds of all the Conference 1 2.0 The General Conference. (1792. to make a new rule or abolish an old one; but a majority may alter or amend any rule.” One rule as to debate was, ‘‘ That each person, if he eloone) shall have liberty to speak three times on each motion.” SECOND DAY—FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 2. On the second day of the session, the Rev. James O’Kelly, of Virginia, offered an amendment to the law making it the duty of the Bishop ‘‘to fix the appointments of the Preachers for the several circuits,” so that preachers might have the right of appeal from the appointment given by the Bishop to the Annual Conference. The amendment was as follows: ‘‘After the Bishop appoints the Preachers at Conference to their several circuits, if any one think himself injured by the appointment, he shall have liberty to appeal to the Conference and state his objections; and if the Conference approve his objections, the Bishop shall appoint him to another circuit.” The proposed amendment led to a long and animated dis- cussion. As the matter related more to the administration of Bishop Asbury than to that of Bishop Coke, who was fre- quently absent from the country, Bishop Asbury declined to preside, and also absented himself from the session during the pendency of this question, and sent to the Conference the. following letter: My Dear Breturen,—Let my absence give you no pain—Dr. Coke presides. I am happily excused from assisting to make laws by which myself am to be governed; I have only to obey and execute. Iam happy in the consideration that I never stationed a preacher through enmity or as a punishment. I have acted for the glory of God, the good of the people, and to promote the usefulness of the preachers. Are you sure, that if you please yourselves, that the people will be as fuliy satisfied? They often say, ‘‘ Let us have such a preacher ;”’ and sometimes, ‘‘ We will not have such a preacher—we will sooner pay him to stay at home.’’ Perhaps I must say, ‘‘ His appeal forced him upon you.” I am-one—ye are many. I amas willing to serve you as ever. I want not to sit in any man’s way. I scorn to solicit votes; T am a very trembling, poor creature to hear praise or dispraise. Speak your minds freely ; but remember, you are only making laws for the present time; it may be, that as in some other things, so in this, a future day may give you further light. I am yours, etc., : Francis ASBury. 1792.) The General Conference. 3 After considerable debate upon Mr. O’Kelly’s proposition, the Rev. John Dickins moved that the question be divided thus: ‘‘ First—Shall the Bishop appoint the preachers to the circuits? Second—Shall a preacher be allowed an appeal?” The first part giving the Bishop the power of appointment being put to vote, it was carried unanimously. On the second part, as to the preacher having the right of appeal, a question was raised as to whether the proposition was a new rule or only an amendment to an old rule, and the Con- ference decided the law point by voting that it was only an amendment to an old rule. _ THE THIRD DAY—SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 3. The debate on Mr. O’Kelly’s amendment was continued on Saturday, the third day of the session, but no conclusion was reached. THE FOURTH DAY—MONDAY, NOVEMBER 5. On Monday, the 5th of November, the discussion was re- sumed, and the debate continued throughout the entire day. Among those who took part in these discussions were James O’Kelly, Richard Ivey, Hope Hull, Freeborn Garrettson, Wil- liam McKendree, and Richard Swift, in favor of the right of appeal; and Henry Willis, Jesse Lee, Thomas Morrell, Joseph Everitt, and Nelson Reed, who opposed Mr. O’Kelly’s amend- ment. At 5 o’clock on Monday afternoon, the Conference went to - the German Reformed Chtrch, of which the Rev. Philip Otterbein was pastor, and there remained in session until about 8 o’clock that evening. During this session in the German Reformed Church a decisive vote wastaken upon Mr. O’Kelly’s amendment, and the proposition granting the preacher ,the right of appeal from the appointment by the Bishop to the Annual Conference was decided in the negative by a large majority. THE FIFTH DAY—TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 6. The next morning, Tuesday, November 6th, immediately after assembling, the Conference received a letter from the Rev. James O’Kelly and other preachers, who, being dissatisfied a The General Conference. [1792. with the adverse action of the body on the proposition to grant preachers the right of appeal from the appointment of the bishop, announced that they could no longer occupy seats in the Conference, and that, therefore, they withdrew from the General Conference, and that they would also leave the travel- ing connection. Having received the jae aatioe the Conference ap- pointed a committee, consisting of the Rev. Freeborn Garrett- son and two others, to wait upon the parties who had withdrawn, and to endeavor to persuade them to reconsider their purpose and to resume their seats. The committee reported its failure to reconcile the parties to the decision of the Conference and to induce them to‘resume their places in the body. REVISION OF THE DISCIPLINE. After the withdrawal of Mr. O’Kelly and his followers, the Conference took up the general revision of the Book of Dis- cipline and other formularies of the Church. THE COUNCIL. It was agreed to discard the plan for ‘‘the Council” which had been adopted by the preachers in the Conferences of 1789, upon the recommendation of the Bishops. The plan was as follows: Q. Whereas the holding of general conferences on this extensive Con- tinent would be attended with a variety of difficulties, and many incon- veniences to the work of God; and whereas we judge it expedient that a council should be formed of chosen men out of the several districts as representatives of the whole connection, to meet at stated times; in what manner is this council to be formed, what shall be its powers, and what further regulations shall be made concerning it? A. First—Our bishops and presiding elders shall be the members of this council; provided, that the members who form the council be never fewer than nine. Andif any unavoidable circumstance prevent the attendance of a presiding elder at the council, he shall have authority to send another elder out of his own district to represent him; but the elder so sent by the absenting presiding elder, shall ' have no seat in the council without the approbation of the bishop or bishops, and presiding elders present. And if, after the above men- tioned provisions are complied with, any unavoidable circumstance, or any contingencies reduce the number to less than nine, the bishop shall immediately summon such elders as do not preside, to complete the number. 1792.) . The General Conference. 5 Secondly—These shall have authority to mature everything they shall judge expedient. i. To preserve the general union; 2. To render and preserve the external form of worship similar in all our societies through the continent; 3. To preserve the essentials of the Methodist doctrines and discipline pure and uncorrupted; 4. To correct all abuses and disorders; and, lastly, they are authorized to _ mature everything they may see necessary for the good of the church, and for the promoting and improving our colleges and plan of edu- cation. Thirdly—Provided nevertheless, that nothing shall be received as the resolution of the council, unless it be assented to unanimously by the council; and nothing so assented to by the council, shall be bind- ing in any district, till it has been agreed upon by a majority of the conference which is held for that district. Fourthly—The bishops shall have authority to summon the council to meet at such times and places as they shall judge expedient. Fifthly—The first council shall be held at Cokesbury, on the Ist day of next December. s This plan for the Council was not printed in the Book of Discipline, but was printed in the Annual Minutes of the Con- ferences. It was nevertheless a law of the Church. The law had been a dead letter for nearly two years. Practically dead for that time, now at the General Conference of 1792 it actually and formally ceased to be. THE GENERAL CONFERENCE. Provision was made for holding General Conferences in the future, the time and place of the next General Conference was agreed upon, the composition of the body was settled, and its powers were determined. The law relating to the General Conference adopted and placed in Section III of the Book of _ Discipline of 1792 is as follows: Quest. 2. Who shall compose the General Conference? Answ. All the Traveling Preachers who shall be in full connection at the time of holding the Conference. Quest. 3., When and where shall the next General Conference be eld? : ‘ Answ. On the 1st day of November, in the year 1796, in the town of Baltimore. The use of the phrase General Conference was not new. Thus it had been used by the Rev. John Wesley in his letter requesting the holding of a General Conference in 1787, and it was used in the preamble to the plan for the Council; but 6 The General Conference. [1792. heretofore there had been no arrangement in the law for the meeting of a General Conference at a fixed time. The action of the General Conference established the General Conference as a fixed institution in the Church, and established it as a quadrennial meeting. From that time the Quadrennial Gen- eral Conference became a part of the ecclesiastical economy. The powers of this General Conference were fixed definitely and the specifications as to this power were stated in different places in the new law. According to the new arrangement the supreme executive control of the Church vested in the General Conference, and the power to make laws for the government of the Church was taken from the annual sessions of the ministers and vested in the quadrennial gathering called the General Conference, the power to elect bishops was likewise centered in the General Conference, and these officers were made amenable to that body, and in addition the General Conference was made a court of appeal. PRESIDING ELDERS. The General Conference fully recognized and defined the office of a Presiding Elder. Presiding Elders de facto had ex- isted from the beginning of the Church, and the title appears in the plan for the Council published in 1789; but the General Conference of 1792 formally adopted the title for these super- visory officers, and distinguished between the functions of a plain elder and the Presiding Elder, who was to have the supervision of a District, and the preachers therein contained. In doing so, the Conference adopted a new section (Section VY, “Of the Presiding Elders, and of their Duty,” as follows: - Quest. 1. By whom are the Presiding Elders to be chosen? Answ. By the Bishop. Quest. 2. What are the duties of the Presiding Elder? Answ. 1. To travel through his appointed District. 2. In the absence of a Bishop, to take charge of all the Elders, Deacons, Traveling and Local Preachers, and Exhorters in his Dis- trict. 3. To change, receive, or suspend Preachers in his District during the intervals of the Conferences, and in the absence ef the Bishop. 4, In the absence of a Bishop, to preside in the Conference of his District. 1792.) The General Conference. 7 5. To be present, as far as practicable, at all the Quarterly Meetings; and to call together at each Quarterly Meeting all the Traveling and Local Preachers, Exhorters, Stewards and Leaders, of the Circuit, to hear complaints, and to receive Appeals. 6 To oversee the spiritual and temporal business of the Societies in his District. 7. To take care that every part of our Discipline be enforced‘in his District. 8. To attend the Bishop when present in his District; and to give him when absent all necessary information, by letter, of the state of his District. Quest. 3. By whom are the Presiding Elders to be stationed and changed? ; Answ. By the Bishop. Quest. 4. How long may the Bishop allow an Elder to preside in the same District? Answ. For any term not exceeding four years successively. Quest. 5. How shall the Presiding Elders be supported? Answ. If there be a surplus of public money, in one or more Circuits in his District, he shall receive such surplus, provided he do not receive more than his annual Salary. In case of a deficiency in his Salary, after such surplus is paid him, or if there be no surplus, he shall share with the Preachers of his District, in proportion with what they have respectively received, so that he receive no more than the amount of his Salary upon the whole. DISTRICT CONFERENCES. The General Conference decided upon the title of District Conference for the Annual Conferences of the ministers in different sections of the country. Before they were simply spoken of as the ‘“‘Conference” or ‘‘Conferences,” but now as the title General Conference was fixed upon for the quadren- nial body, it was necessary to distinguish the annual meetings by a special name, and hence ‘‘District Conference” was selected. The General Conference determined the boundaries, the membership, and the business of the District Conference. The Presiding Elder’s District was the basis of the District Conference, but it might be composed of a number of districts. The law covering the District Conferences was placed in Section III of the Discipline of 1792, as follows: Quest. 4. Who are the members of the District Conferences? Answ. All the Traveling Preachers of the District or Districts respectively, who are in full connexion. 8 The General Conference. [1792. Quest. 5. ‘How often are the District Conferences to be held? Answ. Annually. Quest. 6. How many Circuits shall send Preachers in order to form a District Conference? Answ. Not fewer than three, nor more than twelve. Quest. 7. Shall the Bishop be authorized to unite two or more Districts together, where he judges it expedient, in order to form a District Conference? Answ. He shall, as far as is consistent with the rule imme- diately preceding. Quest. 8. Who shall appoint the times of holding the District Conferences? Answ. The Bishop. Quest. 9. What is the method wherem we usually proceed in the District Conferences? Answ. We inquire, . What Preachers are admitted on trial? . Who remain on trial? . Who are admitted into full connexion? . Who are the Deacons? . Who are the Elders? . Who have been elected by the unanimous suffrages of the General Conference to exercise the Episcopal Office, and superintend the Methodist Episcopal Church in America? 7. Who are under a Location, through weakness of body, or family concerns? 8. Who are the Supernumeraries? 9. Who have died this year? ‘10. Are all the Preachers blameless in life and conversation? 11. Who are expelled from the connexion? 12. Where are the Preachers stationed this year? 13. What numbers are in. Society? 14. What has been collected for the contingent expenses? 15. How has this been expended? 16. What is contributed towards the fund for the Superannuated Preachers, and the Widows and Orphans of the Preachers? 17. What demands are there upon it? 18. Where and when shall our next Conference be held? Quest. 10. Is there any other business to be done in the District Conferences? Answ, The Electing and Ordaining of Elders a Deacons. Quest. 11. How are the Districts to be formed? Answ. According to the judgment of the Bishop. N. B.—In case that there be no Bishop to travel through the Dis- tricts and exercise the Episcopal Office, on account of death, the Districts shall be regulated in every respect by the District Confer- ences and the Presiding Elders till the ensuing General Conference, (Ordinations only excepted.) aOwronwore . 1792.) The General Conference. | 9 SUPERNUMERARY PREACHERS. To this section was appended a foot-note defining a Super- numerary Preacher. It read: A Supernumerary Preacher is one so worn out in the Itinerant service as to be rendered incapable of preaching constantly ; but at the same time is willing to do any work in the ministry which the Conference may direct and his strength enable him to perform. THE EPISCOPACY. The General Conference of 1792 made various changes in regard to the Episcopacy, but the key to nearly all these modifications was in the creation of the Quadrennial General Conference. Before this, a Bishop could be elected by ‘‘a majority of the Conference,” but under the new law a Bishop must be elected by the General Conference. Under the old law the laying on of the hands of one Bishop was sufficient, but according to the new regulation it required three Bishops, or at least one Bishop and two Elders; but it was further provided that when there was no Bishop the new Bishop should be set apart by Elders selected for that purpose by the General Conference. The duties and limitations of the Bishopric were more carefully stated. Now the Bishop was ‘‘ to travel through the connexion at large,” instead of traveling ‘‘through as many circuits as he can.” A Bishop was to be amenable to the General Conference, and provision was made for the trial of a Bishop during the interval between two General Confer- ences, and this court was to have power to suspend a Bishop until the next session of the General Conference. The law as amended by the General Conference was as follows: THE MAKING OF BISHOPS AND THEIR DUTY. Szction IV.—Of the Election and Consecration of Bishops, and of their Duty. Quest. 1. How is a Bishop to be constituted in future? Answ. By the election of the General Conference, and the lay- ing on of the hands of three Bishops, or at least of one Bishop and two Elders. : Quest. 2. If by death, expulsion, or otherwise, there be no Bishop remaining in our Church, what shall we do? ‘Answ. The General Conference shall elect a Bishop; and the Elders, or any three of them, that shall be appointed by the General ’ 10 The General Conference. [1792. Conference for that purpose, shall ordain him according to our Office of Ordination. Quest. 8. What is the Bishop’s duty? Answ. 1. To preside in our Conferences. 2. To fix the appointments of the Preachers for the several Circuits. 3. In the intervals of the Conferences, to change, receive, or sus- pend Preachers, as necessity may require. 4. To travel through the connexion at large. 5. To oversee the spiritual and temporal business of the Societies. 6. To ordain Bishops, Elders, and.Deacons. Quest. 4. To whom is a Bishop amenable for his conduct? Answ. To the General Conference, who have power to expel him for improper conduct, if they see it necessary. Quest. 5. What provision shall be made for the trial of an immoral Bishop, in the interval of the General Conference? Answ. If a Bishop be guilty of immorality, three Traveling Elders shall call upon him, and examine him on the subject; and if the three Elders verily believe that the Bishop is guilty of the crime, they shall call to their aid two Presiding Elders from two Districts in the neighborhood of that where the crime was committed, each of which Presiding Elders shall bring with him two Elders, or an Elder and a Deacon. The above mentioned nine persons shall form a Con- ference, to examine into the charge brought against the Bishop; and if two-thirds of them verily believe him to be guilty of the crime laid to his charge, they shall have authority to suspend the Bishop till the ensuing General Conference, and the Districts shall be regulated in the meantime as is provided in the case of the death of a Bishop. Quest. 6. If the Bishop cease from traveling at large among the people, shall he still exercise his Office among us in any degree? Answ. If he cease from traveling without the consent of the General Conference, he shall not thereafter exercise any ministerial function whatsoever in our Church. N. B.—The Bishop has obtained liberty, by the suffrages of the Conference, to ordain Local Preachers to the Office of Deacons, pro- vided they obtain a testimonial from the Society to which they belong, and from the Stewards of the Circuit, signed also by three Elders, three Deacons, and three Traveling Preachers. TRAVELING ELDERS. With the full recognition of two classes of Elders—namely, ' those who possessed the orders of an Elder and those Elders who held the office of Presiding Elder—the General Conference found it necessary carefully to define the duties of each class, and therefore made two sections, one defining the official duties of a Presiding Elder, and anothsz defining the duties of the ordinary Elders, 1792.) The General Conference. 11 _ It was now provided that Elders were to be elected by the District Conference instead of ‘‘the Conference.” In contra- distinction to the Presiding Elders these are called ‘‘ Traveling Elders,” and the specifications which related to the official work of a Presiding Elder were taken out and placed in the section upon the Presiding Eldership, and the modified law appeared in the following form: ELECTION, ORDINATION, AND DUTY OF TRAVELING : ELDERS. Section VI.—Of the Election and Ordination of Traveling Elders, and of their Duty. Quest. 1. How is an Elder constituted? Answ. By the election of a majority of the District Conference, and by the laying on of the hands of a Bishop, and of the Elders that are present. Quest. 2. What is the duty of a Traveling Elder? Answ.1. To administer Baptism and the Lord’s Supper, and to perform the office of matrimony, and all parts of divine worship. 2. To do all the duties of a Traveling Preacher. N. B.—No Elder that ceases to travel without the consent of the District Conference, certified under the hand of the President of the Conference, shall on any account exercise the peculiar functions of his office amongst us. TRAVELING DEACONS. : The title of the Deacons who were members of the District Conferences was changed to Traveling Deacons, in order to distinguish them from the Local Preachers, who had Deacons’ orders. Instead of being elected by ‘‘the Conference,” they were now to be elected by the ‘‘District Conference.” The old duty of a Deacon, ‘‘To see that the other Preachers in his circuit behave well, and want nothing,” was taken out of the special duties of a Deacon and is made the duty of any Preacher who has charge of a circuit, but the Traveling Deacon is to perform “‘all the duties of a Traveling Preacher.” With these changes-the new law read: ELECTION, ORDINATION, AND DUTY OF TRAVELING DEACONS. Srotion VII.—Of the Election and Ordination of Traveling Deacons, and of their Duty. Quest. 1. How is a Traveling Deacon constituted? Answ. By the election of the majority of the District Confer- ence, and the laying on of the hands of a Bishop. 12 The General Conference. [1792. Quest. 2. What is the duty of a Traveling Deacon? Answ. 1. To baptize, and perform the office of matrimony, in the absence of the Elder. 2. To assist the Elder in administering the Lord’s Supper. 8. To do all the duties of a Traveling Preacher. N. B.—No Deacon that ceases to travel without the consent of the District Conference, certified under the hand of the President of the Conference, shall on any account exercise the peculiar functions of his office. ADMISSION OF PREACHERS INTO THE DISTRICT CONFERENCE. The law relating to the admission of Preachers into the regular ministry in the Conference was revised in several par- ticulars.. Before the Preacher was to be received by ‘‘the Conference,” now he is to be received ‘‘by the District Con- ference.” Under the old form he could be received tempo- rarily by ‘‘the Bishop, or an Elder, until the sitting of the Conference,” but now it was to be ‘‘by the Bishop, or Presid- ing Elder of the District, until the sitting of the Conference,” and according to the former law the ‘‘written license” was to be ‘from his Elder or Bishop,” now it was to be ‘‘from the Bishop or Presiding Elder.” ; THE METHOD OF RECEIVING PREACHERS, AND THEIR DUTY. The revised law appears as Section VIII.—Of the Method of receiving Preachers, and of their Duty. : : Quest. 1. How is a Preacher to be received? Answ. 1. By the District Conference. 2. In the interval of the Conference, by the Bishop, or Presiding Elder of the District, until the sitting of the Conference. 8. When his name is not printed in the Minutes, he must receive a written license from the Bishop or Presiding Elder. "As to the succeeding portion of the section on the duties © of a Preacher various modifications were made. The old duty ‘‘To meet the Leaders” is taken out and else- where made the duty of those in charge of Circuits, for all Preachers were not in charge, and therefore would not have this responsibility. The former question and answer: ‘Are 1792.) The General Conference. 18 the Preachers to read our Liturgy?”