Daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1859-1865, 1861-03-15
Western virginia Annual Conference
OF the M. e. Church.
sEcoND "a.
Reported for tho 1utelligsncer.l

pointed hour yesterday morning. The
opening exercises were conducted BY Rev.
S. R. BrOckunier, by reading the slst
Psalm, aud singing and prayer.
The Conference roll, Was called, aud a
number ansW sed to their names who were
not present whenthe roll was called yes
terday, after which the minutes of yester-
day were read and approved.
4 A draft was presented by the Bishop,
and ordered TO be drawn upon the Char
tered Fund for twenty-five dollars.
Il The Annual report and exhibit of the
Western Book Concern, and of the Book
Concern at New York, were presented by
the Bishop, read to the Conference, and
appropriately referred. These papers show
the above interests of the Church to be in
a very aourishing condition. az
! Tho Report of the Corresponding Secre-
tary Of the Tract Society and the Circular
of tho Sunday School Union were also
presented, read and appropriately referred.
The latter represents the state Of the Sab
bath School as follows, viz: 13, 44T
schools; 1862 officers and teachers );
90T,9s scholars; 2,42l ,sI9 volumes in the
Libraries; $3.50 Bible classes; 99,6ls
infant scholars; S127,Ts9 as the expendi-
lures of the schools Sl2,OO7 as raised for
the s. s. Union, and 1857 as the number
of conversions during the past year..
The Bishop announced the following as
the Committee on Education, ordered yes
enell, r. A. Arthur, ]. D. Blakeny, A. j.
LYDIA, DR.. f. Conoway, DR.. T. H. Logan,
and Geo. NJ. Hagans, Esq.
a communication was presented from
the Trustees of the Morgantown Female
Collegiate Institute, read to Conference,
and referred to the Committee on Educa-
ton.
The Conference Stewards then proceeded
to make their call. which occupied some
time. After which,
Bishop Baker introduced Revs. DR.. HAr-
ris and DR.. Durbin, Corresponding Secre-
taries of the Missionary Society.
DR.. Durbin delivered a brief address on
the subject of Missions, aud the duty of
the Church to support them. He said
there never had been period in the his
tory of the Christian religion when the
world was in such favorable condition
for the promotion of the cause of Christ
among men as it is to-day. There was
hardly government on earth, except pos
sibly Japan, where we might not plAnt
| Christian missions without let or hindrauce.
He wanted to ask the Conference, and es-
Peclally the younger portion of it-for on
them must soon devolve the great Chris.
tian wOrk-this question: If God had so
prepared the world, could the Church be
right it she did not enter heartily into this
work! And who were the leaders OF the
ChurchH The ministers. In all the Church.
es, he said, just in proportion as the Mission
airy canse is attended to by the pastors, in that
proportion is its progress. This was the
general rule. He said the NJ. E. Church
was the last to go into this missionary
work. They had gone into it not by reso
lutions and conventions, but the work had
~
prompting. He had been surprised and
grieved to find how few of the brethren
fully ccmprehended the missionary work
its rise, progress, present condition, extent,
and future prospects. He referred to Chi.
ma, and said that ten years of labor had
begun to bear fruits. Converted native
Cinnamon had become the cVangelists in
that country. A printing press is just be-
ing established there, to print the Bible,
tracts, &c, in the language of the common
4 people. Their mission had brought that
about. There are two languages IN China
i what is called tho classical language,
and the language Of the common people.
Nobody but the learned portion of the
people understand the former. It is in
the latter language of the common people,
that our missionaries are printing the
Bible and tracts. He spoke Of India, also,
and snid that the church knew too little of
the work in India. The work WAS begun
there only as long ago as 1851, and yet it
now includes all the principal cities,
among eight millions of people, and ali
other missionary societies haze retired
Will you hold up the standard of such a
mission ms this ? They had sent fourteen
men and their wives, and were under obli-
cations to send them si8 more. The Euro
Pean and native population were being
converted. He spoke Of the Bulgarian
mission in eastern Europe, and said the
bulgarlans had urged the American board
to send them a mission. The Crimean war
had prevented it at the time, but as soon
as the war was ended, tho petition was re.
hewed. We have mission in Bulgaria
to-day He referred to the missions in
, Germany, Denmark, Norway and S eden,
aud spoke ofMethodism as leaven work.
ing III those countries. He also mentioned
the mission in Africa, in the Republic Of Lii.
oetla, with an out station one hundred miles
! IN the interior. There they had establish
ed regular Conference, system of COM
mon schools, piVRte schools, aud classes in
me families of the missionaries. Within
the last ten years, the General Missionary
COMMITTEES had given to that mission. a
quarter of a million of dollars. There is
the light and hope of Africa in that land,
ana II Is the beacon light to their country
men in this, in some far distant age.
lie then referred to our own land as a
great field for missionary enterprise. This
very year, lie said, out of S3O5, 900, We
gave SlS5, 600 for hume works. Look, he
said, at your missions in your large cities,
where great whirlpools Of destruction carry
people down by thousands look at them
everywhere in our weak conferences look
at the expansion of our country away
to tue Northwest and Southwest, away
over through Pixies Peak and the Rocky
mountains, down the sunny slopes oft
Pacific coNst-look at all these germs OF
future empire, what is to become Of them7
ls the Church willing to say we have lost
our character of pioneers?