The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1872-09-10
THE METHODIST PREACHERS.

Necessity and Usefulness OF District Com
fcrcnccs-Dr. Curry ON Local Preachers;
They are Ecclesiastical ssBummcrs."
This body OF Series met yesterday and quietly
discussed the tendencies and the results likely to
flow from the adoption OF the District Conference
plan proposed by the last General Conference,
which met In Brooklyn The talking was confined
mainly to DIR. Curry who, In the General Confer
ence, was chairman of the committee that fathered
ana presented the plan. lie went over the ground
as thoroughly as time would permit, and showed
the necessity for just such gathering of ministers
ana iaymen as the plan recommends. There Ii
700 great chasm between the Quarterly and the
Annual conferences, which ought to be spanned by
q District Semi-annual Conference. There are too
many local preachers In the Methodist Church he
thought, and there will be 80 long as FIVE or six or
dozen men In Quarterly Conference can license
them to preach. They carry their licenses nom
year to year and do nothing. They are merely
ECCLESIASTICAL ''BUMMERs."
The tract, Sunday school, missionary Church ex-
tension and other correctional interests OF the
Church demand q conference OF the laborers en-
gagged In these kinds OF work. and they can have 1t
would greatly relieve annual conferences and give
the members thereof time for religious and social
Improvement, such as they had In 0lden times;
OF business In annual conferences now deprives
them Of The power to license and to continue
local preachers being given to the district confer
ences composed OF from seventy-five to $50
men Will ensure q better class Of such preach
ers, and hence q better class Of minis ters In the
travelling connection since the latter are almost
invariably invariably chosen from among the former He be-
leved ana he had no doubt that abundant testi-
mony could De had to prove 1t, that there are In
the itinerant ministry to-day many men who are
totally unified to be there. But they have call
to preach or think they have-it may be nothing
more than desire-and straightway they repeat 1t
to others, and by passing 1t around it receives
c0uragement and becomes q conviction, and the
pose the quarterly conference are easily induced to
grant license to their young brother. The dis
trict conferences will abolish all this.
Rev. ID, L. LULL said there was vague idea in
or other this plan Is going to interfere with the
QUARTERLY CONFERENCES
and the presiding Eldershp, and to make them
nOnentitfes In the Church. His own quarterly con-
sented, and, after carefully considering 1t, they
laid 1t over until their next meeting. Mr.. Luil
thought too much attention was paid In these days
to the Intellectual requirements of ministers and
too little to their natural capabilities He regretted
to perceive that the power to exhOrt was rapidly
departing from the Methodist ministry and, feeling
and to cultivate this faculty more and MORE He
regretted also that the accumulation of business In
the annual conferences had done away with the
revival spirit and the revival meetings which
they formerly mad at such gatherings, when they
never broke up without being able to count thirty,
nfCy or one hundred converts. He lOnged for the
district conferences to restore all this The office
of class leader in the church he thought would be
greatly benefited also by the adoption Of this dis
trict plan. 81.
Rev. Mr.. WnATELEY, OF White Plains said his
quarterly conference had last Saturday unani-
m0usy resolved In favor OF the district conferences
The discussion was continued over to next Mon
day, when Rev. G. g. Leigh will vindcate the local
preachers from the character OF "bummers."