The Evansville daily journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ia. [i.e. Ind.]) 1848-1862, 1855-09-21
The N. E. Conference.

We have published an abstract Of every
days proceedings of the M. E. Conference held
at Vincennes, with the appointments. &C., as
a finale. We publish below the Gazette's i'm
pressons Of this body and things in connec-
ton:
We took OCCASION to spend few moments
in the Methodist Conference room, yester-
day forenoon. The Conference numbers some
thing near hundred members; and embraces
the whole of the South Western part of the
State. They are highly respectable body of
men-most of them bear the stamp of hard
working, hard thinking men, upon their coun-
tenances They don't make speeches for Bun
combe; but coming right to the point, they deal
with the question before them in good; hard
earnest, without wasting time and breath
They seem to be earnestly and faithfully de-
voted to the cause in which they are engaged
the promotion of the interests of their church.
and the cause of religion and morality. To
do this seems to be their great object They
devote their time, the best years of their lives
and their fortunes to this end and purpose
These are the men who 'igo about doing good, -
in obedience to the divine command, "Go We
into all the world and preach the Gospel to
every creature If any one is puzzled to know
why Methodism has grown so rapidly and
spread over the whole country, and almost
over the whole world, he may find an explana-
ton by witnessing for half hour the deliber-
ations of these men. Their united zeal, their
self-sacrifcing devotion to their cause; their
firm conviction of the truth, and their reliance
upon their Master, is the only explanation that
can be offered for the wonderful growth of
Methodism.
1t will have been noticed in our reports of
the proceedings of this body, that in giving in
the history of their past years labors, almost
all the speakers have complained of persecu-
tons, of emity and opposition to the church.
Why is this? Why is it that these men have
been hunted down as dogs, by such vile abom-
nations in the shape of man, as John L. Rob-
inson, Willard and other of that kidney? Why
have they been hunted down and trasluced
from ore end of the State to the other, not
only in their characters as men and as citizens;
! but in their characters as ''holy men set apart
for Gods service?' Our heart sank within us
as we watched their prayerful earnestness; to
remember that we had men in the State of
Indiana who would so far forget the debt of
gratitude we owe to Providence for our civil and
religious liberties as to heap their puny ana
themas and execration upon the servants ofthe
most high GOdl Our heart sickened within
us, to remember that the body of men we then
beheld should be unblushingly pronounced be-
fore an audience of Indianians; "Itinerant Vag-
abondS,'' ''Knaves,' &c.-not in some obscure
part of the State, but time and again repeated
in the capital, reiterated in our cities, pro-
claimed from every stump and reprinted in
every Old Line sheet in her borders Our heart
sickened within us and trembled in the fear
that Heaven would visit our land with just
judgment ia punishment for insults and per-
.secutious heaped upon His servants, by ''those
in high places" Let the people rise in their
majesty and Overwhelmingly rebuke the spirit
of persecution that is abroad in our landi
RAILROAD SLAUGftER-T following ia
bic shows the number killed and wounded by
railroad accidents during the years 1854,
and the first eight months of 1885:
Killed. Wounded.
1858. 1876
4