Smyrna times., 1860-05-10
Methodist Quadrennial Conft r ance.

sions in Buffalo, N. X, Tuesday, May lst.-
Bishop Mo s, fCincinnati, ispresdent There
are two hundred and eighty. eight delegates in
attendance. The vacancy in the board of
bishops, caused by the death OF the Rev. DIR.
Waugh, will be filled at the present confer
ence, and perhaps one or two additional bsh-
ops will be elected. The most prominent mat
ters 10 come before the conference are whs-
iher slaveholding shall be forbidden 10 the
membership of the church; whether the minis
ters shall be allowed to remain at any one sta
tion more than two years; whether the Rystem
Of presiding eldsrship shall continue as il now
exists, and whether the discipline of the church /
shall be 80 amended as to admit lay delegates
to the annual and general conferences.
The session was opened With religious servi- |
ces OF an impressive character.
The conference proceeded to the election of
secretary by a vote, and DR.. H. H. Harris. of
the Delaware conference, and secretary Of the
last General conference, was elected.
| B. Griffin, of the New York conference; DR..
Cox, of the Pttsburg conference; E. X. Cook,
of the Wisconsin conference, and A. N. Fill
mere, of the East Tennessee conference, were
elected assistant secretaries, who assumed the
duties of their Offices,
SECOND DAY.
A resolution by Mr.. WithersPoon to revise
the discipline relating to the duties of the pre-
siding elders, SO as to place themin in the -pasto-
raj relation, was referred 10 tha committee on
itneracy.
Committees of seven were ordered on tenn
perance, the bible, temporal economy, and the
pastoral address. a-eU
Notice was taken of the death of Bishop
Waugh, and it was resolved that the bishops
select Que of their number to pronounce eu-
logy upon his life and character.
A special committee was appointed on Ger
man work. When it is considered that there
are about ten thousand German members of the
Methodist church North, the importance of
having such committee cannot be doubted
1t is suggested that German conferences be
/. held. .......
II. Wilson, of Wyoming conference, offered
resolution authorizing the appointment of a
: committee 10 inquire into the expedency of
dispensing with the supernumerary relations.
J Adopted.
H. Colclazer offered resolution appointing
!, a committee of correspondence with sister
churches and christian unions. Adopted.
A committee of five was ordered to be ap-
: pointed by the chair, 10 take into consideration
/ the question of divorce and marriage, and re-
port to this conference.
The appointment of the different standing
a committees being in order, the delegations
!. from each Annual conference named its com
mittee man. Forty seven members were ap
x pointed on each ofthe following committees:
On the Book CoRcern. On the Episcopacy.
!. On Missions. On the Itinerancy.
!. On Education. On Boundaries.
+. On Lay Delegation. On Slavery.
On Sunday Schools. On Revisals. g..
(: The committee on slavery numbers forty-si,
.. members, consisting of one delegate from eacI
annual conference. Twenty.six of them ar,
a. progressive and twenty conservative. DR.
T. Kingsley is president and DR.. Wise secretary
1. The majority of the committee are believed 4
s. be in favor of a more stringent rule on slavery
"a From the Philadelphia conference the follow
s ing is the disposal of the delegates: Slavery
* p. Coombe; Episcopacy, I. J. Thompson
4 Itinerancy, t. c. Murphey Missions, j. F
- Durbin; Boundaries, F. Hodgson; Lay Dele
l. gatien, ]. Castle, Sunday Schools, WilIisE
|. Cooper; Book Concern, Il. Colclazer; Rev
q. sails, F. Hodgson Tract Cause, III. Colclazer
n. German Work, 7. c. Murphy.
THIRD DAY.
J. Much of Thursday was occupied by readin
nd and referring of petitions and memorials, tn
most of them having reference to the SLAYER
d' question, those fayoring change Of the rul
IS greatly prsponderating. The report Of lh
u.s. Sunday School Union was read. From it W
J. learn that there ars 1880 schools, 140,52
teachers, 747, las scholars, and 2,275, ,S73 70
umes in library.
The spiritual results of Sunday scho
a., teaching is particularly illustrated by the fa
sc that no less than 81, 1899 conversions have bsa
= reported in the last four years from the schoo
M 10 about t1o-thirds Of ths conferences HI
1x every conference made returns, the numb
=. would have been swelled, without doubt, 10
&c. least one hundred thousand.
s. The committee propose the establishment
~ Sunday School Teachers Journal, for d
1v benefit of teGchers; also, course Of study,
=. consist of series of seven text books, compl
;dD sing seven years. course; each book to CO
ed tain fifty.two lessons. f'-@
nd FOURTH DAY.
ties Bishop Richardson and Mr. Webster, of 4
ing Canadian General conference, presented to t
ev' Methodist conference an address from the bo
9th which they represented. Rev. Robinson SCI
and also presented an address from the Irish CO
ference, and followed it up with an eloqle
speech After the committee having und
IKE consideration the case of the Wisconsin de
CT. gates had reported in favor of the sitting de-
dy- gate, p. s. Bennett, Bishop James read {
ana Quadrennial Address of the Bishops. 1t 9
ng' presses the hope that all matters of dispu
'hl- which come before the conference may be a
llte iusted amica,ly and satisfactorily, and alud
r at length to the death oithe lamented Bish
ids: Waugh. II states that since the conference
ana 1856, eleven, who were members of il, ha
ier' died. The tendency of the Annual conferent
pill to multiply colleges and seminariea beyond
capabilities of the church to support them,
wis remarked on and reprehended. The prosper
igs- of the Sunday Schools of the denomination
len, fords ground for congralulalion and encouraI
tcn, ment, since the increase in the number
md schools has been 1900, in that Of teachers
QUO, whilc there are $4,000 more scholars
attendance than there were at the time Of
sons last conference The church property is Q
sent mated at $2l 900, ,000--a gain OF $3,OOQ.oO'
two years. The address reprehends the ne
way, tiation Ofappointments ofPasiors BY The chur
I " -. Al. Qhonh huf in an A ho nl