Anti-slavery bugle. [volume] (New-Lisbon, Ohio) 1845-1861, 1850-02-23
Division Of q Quarterly Meeting,

The New Garden Quarterly Meeting Of
Friends has been divided into two bodies, BY
the virtual secession of the party opposed to
Reform, and the setting up, on their part, OF a
new meeting, in open violation of the Discipline.
A large number of the readers of The Bugle
will expect to be informed through its columns
as to the manner in which this separation was
effected, and as a development Of ecclesiastical
tyranny directed especially against Reform the
tale will not be devoid Of interest to any ooser-
ver of the signs of the timcs.'
The New Garden Quarter was composed oil
throe Monthly Meetings, viz; New Garden
West and Deer Creek. OF these the former
was pretty unanimously in favor of the Reform
movements of the day, its members being gen.
orally engaged in promoting Anti-slavery'
Peace, Temperance, &c. The meeting at West
was about equally divided, as to numbers, be-
tween the Conservatives and the Reformers'
while that at Deer Greek was almost II not
quite unanimous in its hostility to Reform
For some time past, the Conservatives in this
Quarterly Meeting of whom it is only uttering
simple truth to say that they are among the
narrowest and ferccst bigots in the whole Soci-
cty, have been watching for an opportunity to
crush the friends of Reform by the hand OF &C.
clesiastical power. Their schemes, however,
have not worked exactly to their liking, for,
instead of succeeding in driving off the Reform
ors, they were compelled to 90 off themselves
The Now Garden Conference and its proceed
inRs, and the circumstances in which It was
called are familiar to most Of our readers. The
attendance nt this Conference by Friends was
proclaimed by the opponents Of Reform rs vir-
tual rclinquishment Of membership in the Soci-
city but to give this extraordinary dictum the
force of law-or, in other words, to carry 1t out
in the disownmcnt Of the Rcfomcrs--was
task by no means easy Of accomplishment. The
will was good enough, but the power was not
adequate. Time after time did these conscien-
tious Conservatives, who stoutly declared that
the holding of the New Garden Conference,
openly before the world, was an offence against
the good order of Society, meet together IN Sc
cret to concoct plans for disowning their broth
rem who differed from them in opinion. In
credible as this may seem, it is strictly true-it
is not even denied. The old adagc, that one
man may steal a horse and be acquitted Of all
blame, while another would be hung for merely
looking over tho hedge, is thus aptly illustrated.
For the Rcformers to meet together openly 'be-
fore all Israel and the sum- was sin not to be
forgiven but it was all right, and exactly con-
formed to the Discipline, for those opposed to
Reform to turn Frccmnsons and hatch their
schemes in secret
At the Quarterly Meeting held in November,
a Report was received from the New Garden
Monthly Meeting that the weekday meeting
for worship at Grove had been discontinued
This afforded an occasion for sending to that
Monthly Meeting u Committee Of the Quarter,
and it was appointed accordingly. That Com
mittee was composed exclusively Of Conscrya-
tivos, who, instead of conAning themselves to
the business for which they were ostensibly ap-
pointed. Claboring to rc-estabish the meeting
above alluded to,) undertook the task OF disci-
plining the Friends at Grove for attending the
New Garden Conference! To this the Friends
at Grove demurred as wholly unprecedented
They reminded the Committee that it was for
no such purpose that they had been appointed
by the Quarterly Meeting. and refused to plead
at all to an issue thus unjustly raised. If they
had violated the Discipline by attending that
Conference, they were willing to answer for the
offence at proper time and to the proper au-
thoritics, but not to Committee appointed for
a wholly different purpose.
The Committee, however, were incxorable.-
The discontinuance of the week day meeting at
Grove, it seemed, was only pretext for their
appointment, while the real object before them
was to turn the sword ecclesiastical by some
means against those who had dared to attend
the Conference before alluded to. The Com
mittce made their Report to tho Quarterly
Meeting held last week at West, in which they
openly proposed to lay down the New Gar
den Monthly Meeting, unless its members would
agree to make atoncment for the awful sin of
attending Conference to promote Reform The
Conservative leaders did not find themselves
strong enough, however, to accomplish their
purpose. They had formed all their plans in
secret, and doubtless hoped that the friends Of
Reform would be caught mapping But they
were doomed to bitter disappointment The
Reformcrs were on the ground, and too strong
to be unceremoniously cast over the wall. The
Conservatives finding themselves too weak to
effect their purpose, proposed, with much fair
speech, an amicable division; but the Reform
ers had no idea, by such move, of forfeiting
their rights as constituent part of the Yearly
Meeting, and therefore avowSd their intention
to stand firmly upon the Discipline. leaving