The Express.
London, England, 1852-09-28 00:00:00

THE EXPRESS, TUESDAY EVENING, SEPTEMBER 28, 1852.

WESLEYAN REFORM.

A meeting of the second London, or Great Queen-
emit section of dissentient sienthere of the methodist con-
nexion was held loot evening at Freemasons' Hall. to pro-
mote reform in the religiose government of the Wesleyan
body.
The chair was filled by C . WHITS. EMI who ex-
pleined that the reason why the meeting had been called
was the state of tie Great Queen-street circuit. At the
gasrterly meeting held on the previous Friday, it was
iIIOVID that the number of the members of that circuit had
beers* reduced to shout AO; that there was • debt of Stn.,'
being an increase of 011. os the quarter; that the special
contributions arising from working meetings had only bees
deg. is the quarter, and from class meetings only 461., being
in the latter ease a felting off from 1141. It was to remedy
such a state of thing. that these meetings were held.
The Hee. F. Srerittse declared that the only object of
the Wesleyas reform party was to bring back their church
to u scriptural foundation—to hate it on the New Testa-
meet, without which they could not have a scriptural
ministry. Ile had no fear of the ultimate success of a
movement which sought the eitension of religious freedom.
Letters were then read from Kr. Ilion, M.P., and Mr.
J. B. Sharpley, of Louth, apologising for non-attendance,
and eapre..ing hearty sympathy in the objects of the
ni ••eting, the latter stating that in hie own circuit all the
efforts of the friends of Wesleyan reform were required to
meet what appeared to he the intention of the Conference,
to sacrifice the Louth circuit.

The Rev. J. YOtNIINIAN met an objection which had
Ixen urged, he said, by some, that the movement contem-
plated the estali.ishment of a great preaching agency in
opposition to the Conference, and which led such objectors
to suppose that all would end in " a great sham. The
Wesleyan reformers had no such object. What they de-
manded was to be governed, not by minutes of Conference,
but by the New Testament; the maintenance of an Enti-
hums.a priesthood, and the right of each circuit to manage
its own affairs, as nambers of a Christian church, without
the interference of an, self-constituted central matitority
' under the name of conference or any other. Wesleyan re-
form was in the hands of the W,sleyan people. -It was
through the people that they could reach the ministers end
the Conference. Let them then repudiate any minister
who asserted the principles advocated by the Conference
ministers—that of the dime right of that body to appoint
and to govern. There was danger, unless they bestirred
themselves, of the ascendancy of principles so fatal to the
church of Christ as the doctrines of Rome themselves. He
warned his hearers against encouraging • narrow recta-
and advised them in their antopriesthood strug-
gles to hold or', the hand of brotherhood to, and invite the
aid of, the independent, and every other clam of protestant
Christians.

The Rev. W. L. HORTON (Editor of the Wesleyan Tines)
ohtierved that the Conference and their friends pretended
not to know what the reform party demanded, though they
had been informed • hundred times. Then they assailed the
personal characters and motives of the reformers, and called
them " democrats." But what was a democrat ? General
Case hid, he thought, well defined what wee democracy
when he said, " Democracy is to do no wrong and to suffer
no wrong." (Hear, hear.) That, {too, was in substance
scriptural definition, viz.: "Do unto others as you
would they should do unto you." Then it was said theism
was a system of negations. True, they put forward nap.
tions, but they were based on principles—principles wb
might be summed up in the cry ' No monopoly." (Cheeil
They denied the right of • email body, " the collective pm-
torte," as they called themselves, of men to monopolise
powers and privileges which belonged to the whole
of the members of • Christian church. It °edit
not be understood what a collective pastorate ml_l.
A collective pastorate, with eolith ire responsibility, sanneed
collective conscience and collective wisdom, and these
did not exist. It was contrary to Scripture, which
" every man shall give an account for himself," whereas
the Conference said they must give an account to God for
the purity of the church. Alas for that church which was
so governed. (Hear, hear.) He demanded for every
Christian congregation, wherever assembled, to regulate
and govern itself as • Christian church, free from any cen-
tral control, and altogether repudiated the claims of the
Conference to govern and to nominate the ministers and
office-bearers to any place of worship built in connexion
with Wesleyan methodists. The demand for Wesleyan
reform was the great religious movement of the age. It
was not antagonistic to, bat the natural development of
Woileyan principles, which, having pissed the period of
infancy, no longer required those catitutairs classes, and
that tutorage which John Wesley bad properly provided
in the intestine days of their church.
Mr. N. T. LANGIUDON also 'poke against the system of
pastoral supremacy, which he said was 11011 generally felon-
dieted in other protestant churches, and as showing bow
little the collective pastorate had tended to promote eru-
dition in the Wesleyan clergy, ho quoted the article in
the "Quarterly," taunting them with having contributed
nothing to the theological literature of the country. The
Wesleyan system was that of an itinerating ministry, and
with an itinerating ministry effective pastoral power could
not co-exist.

Mr. MA2IIII, of the Lincoln district, and one at two
other speakers, addressed the meeting, alter which a collie.
tion in aid of the fends was made, sad the Madame termi-
nated.