Ypsilanti sentinel. [volume] (Ypsilanti, Washtenaw Co., Mich.) 1843-1900, 1845-06-11

slaveholding states; TO what scandal and oppo-
siton then, would the fact of slaveholding in a
Bishop give rise in the excited anti-slavery. com.
muntes of the north. sA
These considerations were of much weight
but after all deep settled hostility to slavery. de.
sire TO erect some adamantne walls to rcpell its
encroachments, was the grand origin Of the sruie'
not written in the book Of Discipline, but what was
better, deeply imprinted on the hearts of a vast
majority OF the membership North and South, that
slavery should not enter the Episcopacy. That
the Bishops should be free from this evil. This
sentiment Of the church has ever been thoroughly
understood throughout her whole extent. Ii was
most clearly shown in Bishop Andrews own cleo.
ton. He was nominated to The office by the South
as the man of their choice, whose freedom from
slavery would also commend him to The Morrill,
Tha; Bishop Andrews understood this, and that be
willingly allowed himselft to be made an instrument
to deceive the north, he clearly manifested after
his election by frequently saying thai he owed his
election TO his poverty p iniimating clearly thai:
being guil;ess of slavehoding had been the cause
of his election, and his poverty and not principle,
had kept him guiltless of sla9eholding. This de.
cepion was the entering wedge which has split
the church. Secure in the reclilude Of her con-
duct she kept The even tenor of her wsy. In the
North, abolilionsts arose in her bosom. and after
failing 10 distract or divide her, they left her and
soon became lost in their own insignfcance.-
Among all the different conferences that of Balii-
more had shown the strongest anti-slavery senli
meat, though EN- bracing a slave holding state,
emancipation was not impraciicable, and this con
ference had accordingly adhered to The letter of
the discipline At the General Conference of s45
the case of The Rev. Mr.. Harding, who had been
suspended by the Baltimore Conference for slave
holding, came up on an appeal from their decision.
This was the beginning of troubIs. One vote and
all the pro-slavery accusations of ullraists were
to be confirmed or put TO silence : that vote was
given aud the decision of the Baltimore Confer
ence trumphanlly sustained. l-a
But as if the ''ihoughts of many hearts," were
TO be the more fully made known, it was, at the
same General Conference announced that Bishop
Andrews had become connected with slavery and
had taken measures TO dissolve such connec-
ton. This gave rise 10 long discussion mana.
aged with singular ability Oh both sides. The
one side planted themselves on the well known
ant-slaveholdng episcopacy feeling ofthe church,
the other on the absence of any express rule OF
dicipline forbidding Bishops to hold slaves. The
one side demonstrated the stigma the church would
receive at the North the other denounced the
.'fou spirit of the pitt" Abolltionism. The one
side was DESTROYS of conciliation if consistent 18th
righteousness, the other was DESTROYS of cOucia-
ton if consistent with slave holding episcopacy
if not DR.. Capers had held correspondence with MIR
Calhoun on the subject of a division aud the south
would most assuredly 90 for it. -s ~.
The result was that the General Conference
resolved by vote of Ito 10 g. that it was mex
ped;enl for Bishop Andrews to continue his EPis-
copal functions while that impeachment Slavery
remained. 9fa @ as'a baa
Against this decision the minority of 65 enter
ed long and elaborate protest" committee
of pine appointed to consider the protest reported
plan for the peaceable division the church and
church property 10 be adopted if two thirds of all
the annual conferences of the church should sane
ton it BY vote. II we are correctly informed two
thirds of the conference have not done So Mean
time the southern portion OF The delegation return
to their constituents and at once proclaim the d.
vision affected, Bishop Andrews ''deposed," SIDE
graded" suspended, &c. The Southern Confer
ence, both annual and quarterly, join in the call
for a speedy convention to arrange the plan of d.
vision and organise the Methodist Episcopal
Church south. At the same time letters TO the
official Journals of the church from individuals 10
all parts commencing the course of the General
Conference deprecating division ard proposing
plans of compromise, made itevident that had the
same spirit actuated the south that did the north
in the mild and advisory character of the reso'u-
ton adopted in reference to Bishop Andrews, no
division need have been thought of. But we be-
lieve from candid examination of the conduct OF
the parties concerned, that division was determin'
from, In y,,ornanf the MARRIAGE of BISHOP