The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1870-06-30
The Triumph Of Lay Delega-
ton.
From the Methodist. May. 81.

From the Methodist. May 81.
After eight years of unceasiug effort,
the Methodist has the satisfaction of an
nouneing the triumph of lay delegation
The East Main Conference, the last In
the United States to declare its opinion,
has given a vote of forty -four for and four
| teen against. This, with the surplus
available, gives the necessary three
! fourths even though the vote of the Ger
man Conference should be unanimously
against But such vote in Germany is
not supposable; on the contrary, all Of
our advices leave US to expect that the
vote OF our brethren in Europe will be
unanimously for us BY singular coin.
cidence, the German Conference meets
this year in one of the cities of the Pala-
innate the ancestral home of the founders
of American Methodistism The circle
completes itself in the spot whence The
Palatine set forth first for Ireland, and
thence in the persons oftheir descendants
to America.
And SO the great debate of fifty years
comes to peaceful conclusion. The
| movement suppressed in 1928, reappeors
in 1851, is pronounced inexpedient by
the General Conference in 1852, offers its
modest petition in 1853 and meets with
sufficient favor from the General Confer
cree of 1860 to obtain reference to the
vote of the ministry and the people The
Church is not yet ripe for lay delegation !;
the people and the itinerant ministers
vote it down Undismayed by defeats
its friends begin again, and rest not till
they win the Church over to entire ac
qulescence in their opinions. Beginning
with the John street meeting in 1861
and from thence to st. Paul's Convention
in New York thence to the convention
of 1865, the first ever held simultaneously
with meeting of the General Confer
ence, and the first, also, to present di
rect address to that body; from thence
! to the sessions of the Annual Conferences
Immediately following, which were sue
cessfully appealed to to ratify the pledge
Z given by the General Conference; and
thence to the Convention of 1868, also
meeting simultaneously with the Gen,
eral Conference, and presenting to it a
f second direct appeal, and finding it's APP
peal welcomed; and thence to the recent
popular and ministerial notes.-the move
! ment has found an ever growing accept
ance of its principles and purposes by
the Church. It's array of friends has in.
creased line has become longer and
stronger; they who hastily cried +" fac
ton have been effectually silenced.
Here is no faction, but a great Church
} whose stations are found in both the old
world and the new ratifying and incor-
poratlng into its policy fundamental
principle of PROTESTANT Christianity.
i 1t is to the honor Of the laity that ,while
engaged in promoting this change in our
ecclesiastical policy, they have sustained
/ with entire fidelity the institutions Of
Methodism. Since the defeat of 1862,
and the inception of the last and success
ful effort they have entered into the
Church debt paying movement, and have
contributed for its purpose untold
thousands; they have brought The mis-
sionary contributions Of our connections
to their present unprecedented amount !;
by their liberality they have made the
/ Centenary OF American Methodism a
memorable fact in modern church history,
and they have increased their individual
benefactions to the cause of education,
both in numbers and amount. First and
last, they have been for the church,
were they defeated to-day, they would
still be for the church. In all their
weary waiting, they have had faith in
J God
| We will not mar the happiness of such
q time as this by speaking at length Of
the opposition Lay Deleg &tion has en-
countered. It was natural that the
motives of the friends of our cause should
be misunderstood. 1t was natural that
there should be harsh criticisms of their
i proceedings, and harsh criticism, there
i has been But we can point to the fact
of fundamental change in the policy of
the Church, effected without CONFUSION.
without special party organization, and
without the manifestation on the part of
Tits advocates of party passion. They
! have lain restraint upon themselves that
Ithey might win their cause-and they
have won it fairly, honorably, and Chris.
tianly.
We have reason for rejoicing too, that
the travelling ministers have fulfilled the
pledges given by them to the people.
Despite the efforts made to mislead them,
they have not been mislead They have
kept faith and have not swerved from
their steadfast integrity. The future
historian of the Church will dwell upon
the fact of the cheerful assent of by a
compact and powerful corporate body to
the claim Of the people to share the
| government with them. It will be proof
| that at least in one instance Of church
history the long and undisputed posses
sion of power has not darkened the sense
of justice. AS we always said they
would the Methodist ministry have shown
themselves equal to this great test.
And so the new era hopefully begins