The New York herald., 1869-06-04
METHODIST LAY REPRESENTATION.

Speeches By DR.. Tiffany and Bishop Simpson
A meeting on behalf Of the lay delegation In tne
Methodist Episcopal Church was heid last nish' ~
the Bedford street church, corner OF morton suee@
The attendance pretty large AS the congresauon
entered the house each person was handed hue
pamphlet entitled "Dr. Porter on Lay Deiegauon'"
above winch title were the words, "rake IL home
with you and read 1t carefully" The greater part OF
those who received the little document did no. oe
fer the reading until their arrival home out ieh 'o
the task and despatched 1t at once. 'ohh
Mclean was called to the chair The exercises
were opened with prayer by Rev. Dr. Tiffany, OF New
Brunswick. After this he was introduced as the
first speaker.
DR.. TIFFANY said his attention was first called 10
the subject OF lay delegation by the study Of the New
Testament He had become thoroughly satisned py
that study. That to make the Church In the nlne-
teenth century what 1t was in the first century but
one thing was needed, and that was lay delegation.
The Methodist Church, like the early Church, had
bishops, presbyters deacons oveeasts an itinerant
ministry; In word, all that the primitive Church
had the Methodist Church had to-day, excepting that
the people who composed the Church had nothing
10 do with the management OF the Church. DR..
Tiffany then alluded to the pamphlet that had been
put into his hands as he came into the house, ana
proceeded to controvert some OF its statements and
To show the want OF foundation OF some OF It's as
symptoms The first thing about the pamphlet that
friends OF lay delegation believed the Methodist
Church, as 1t now is was wrong. What friend OF
lay Delegation was wrongP When the missionary
society was organized did they who organized IL
consider the Church was wrongf When the SUNDAY
the Church thought to be wrongs When
schools and colleges for the training OF the young
were introduced INTO the Church was It thought to
be wrong2 When theological seminaries for the train
ing OF ministers were introduced was 1t thought 10
Vyaa artyb Or vvr hnf a
right in itself might be improved All VINO favor lay
delegation do so as an improvement. The antagonists
were those who favored the old cry, "Let well
enough alone" The next charge in the pamphlet
was that lay delegation would interfere with the
chnnges Of the length Of time that minister Should
remain at church were changes made by ministers
themselves. The pamphlet stated that the question
came before the Church "with0ut the endorsement
of the General Conference or the bishops" The
speaker showed that the question could not possibly
nave come before the laymen for their votes, ex-
cept through the nstrumentalty of the bishops
and the General Conference. AS for the statement
OF the pamphlet, that lay delegation was urged on
the ground that II 1t was voted down Its friends
would secede, the speaker said there was no sufii-
clent ground. The men who favored it were the
foremost men In the Church, and had no thought OF
leaving 1t If 1t failed, but were determined to work
for 1t till it should succeed. As for the objection
laity. A Methodist, 1t was said, could SIT IN the
House Of Representatives, be q Governor OF state,
a senator OF the United States but could
Church. He thought 1t a libel upon 1900, 900 lay
men In the Methodist Episcopal Church 10 say that
seniatives. DR.. Tiany reviewed the document still
further, and when ne had concluded the general
impression was that Dr. Porter was pretty much
nowhere
Bishop SIMPSON was then introduced. He com.
menced Dy saying that the laity had wished The
representation, and that IN accordance with this
request, the plan about to voted upon had been
recommended" by that body, moson o,, to change
the word recommended" to "submir' having been
lost. The plan 1t was said, did not propose to ad-
init any laymen into the Annual Conference. 1t did
not propose that laymen should have anything what
ever to do with the matter Of appointing preachers
The only feature Of the plan was that from the
lager Conferences two aymen should ne sent TO the
When the General Conference was so organized the
preachers would vote on any proposed measure,
II carried would then become a law. Neither the
clergy nor the laity could do anything without the
This, 1t was said, would be a check upon hasty and
incOnsiderate legislation. Such checks had been
found necessary in the administration OF civil
affairs, IN which there is also the additional
President. In both the Presbyterian and
and served as check on the action Of the clergy;
aud In the Episcopal Church the bishops had the
veto power. The bsnop then went on to show how
In different branches Of the Methodist Church in this
country, as well as In England and Canada, the
principle had been introduced and how Its tendency
was invariably against hasty and -advised nnova
tons. The speaker did not believe In the high
he had right TO govern the Church; neither did the
Methodist Church believe It. There were eight
thousand trave ling preachers and ten thousand
local preachers, who were simply laymen en-
powered to preach. II the right TO preach carried
with 1t the right to Sit in the counsels
preachers would not be treated as laymen as
they now are. A local preacher as
laylnan stood the came chance Of sitting In the
General Conference as any other laymen. SO 1t
would appear that by the new system no distinction
would be made IN regard to local preachers not
recognized already. The speaker said when he
heard layman say that he thought himself unfit to
sit IN the General Conference he was not disposed TO
question his judgment, but consoled himself with
the thought tnat II the man really were so his
brethren would find 1t out too, and he would not be
chosen delegate; so that that man at least could
have no objection 10 the scheme on that score.
The speaker then showed the groundlessness OF the
charges as to the expense and magnitude OF the
cost Of the Conference should lay delegations be
introduced. He was strongly In favor OF all the
branches OF Methodisn, and these different bodies
were not so small as might be supposed. These
branches or the Methodist Church numbered one
million two hundred thousand. In all these differ
ent branches lay representatives were established.
He saw no way by which union could be estab-
lished so readily as by the adoption Of lay
representation, as II would remove one great obsta-
Gle to union. Bisnop simpson, in conclusion, said
that he was glad to find that women were 10 vote on
this important question: and when they shall have
done SO he thought they would Dud that their votes
would count as much as the noisy politicians II
transferred to different field. The meeting then