The daily gazette., 1876-04-28
From the Delaware Gazette.
Bishop Scotts's Semi Centennial
Address.


Address.
| had an opportunity Of reading the
address delivered by Bishop Scott be-
fore the Wilmington Conference, at
its recent session, as published in the
minutes of that body. Bishop Scott is
venerable minister Of the Gospel and
native Delawareap, still a resident
of this State. He is deservedly popu-
lar and beloved, and has spent long
and useful life in the Philadelphia and
Wilmington Conferences.
The address of the Bishep is very
interesting, and those parts of it which
refer to the carly period OF his minis
try, and his contemporaries, both living
and dead, was very impressively and
effectingly presented; and, on the
whole, the address is very appropriate
to the occasion; is well composed in the
management and style of thought, and
was well read | am informed; and is
gratifying TO the Bishops numerous
friends among the ministry and lalty,
on the peninsula.
But there are two paragraphs in the
address, commencing on page 10 and
ending on page rs of the minutes,
which are remarkable, and many think
had better been left out by the Bishop
In an address to the Conference and
church. on so solemn an occasion, and
there Is felt surprise that the Bishop
should have gone out of his way, to
drag into his discourse, the negro,
slavery and l.. G. Matlack, as he has
done In these two paragraphs. He no.
tices first, noticeable and suggestive
item in the statistics of 1926. "The
members are reported in two columns
one of white and one of colored
members; and this item "brings to
mind, an incident belonging to the
same category, which occurred under
my own observation in a session of
the Philadelphia Conference in 1898,
at Asbury church, in this city," The
Bishop then proceeasto tell of prom
lslng. young man, who was recon-
mended TO be received on trial; who
was vely violent abolitionist. and
one of class of violent agitators of
the church at the time. The Confer
ence were unwilling to admit him ,un
less he would give some assurance that
he wonld not continue to disturb and
harass the church on the delicate sub
ject of abolitionism, which the young
man promptly refused to give, and
stubbornly maintained his purpose to
continue his course, and lie was not
admitted. All persons who had an
acquaintance with the character of the
question and the condition of the
church, at that day, believed, and still
believe that his rejection from the
Methodist itinerancy in the Philadel-
phia Conference, was wise, prudent and
just. The Bishop then announces his
explanation of these strange prece.
dures, to wit: Reporting colored
meAbers in separate column and re-
fusing to admit a young man of fair
promise on trial in the Conference,
because he was an abolitionist, by say.
ing "these were slavery times when
slavery dominated the minds of
even good men, AS to the first pro,
cedure, the Bishop is certainly at fault
i'll attributing it 10 slavery. The two
columns spoken of separate white and
colored members, and not .freemen and
Sldces. In the colored columns there
were no doubt, majority of free ne
groes, but were all in the neqr0 col
umn, and the whites were all in one
column, whether there in legal servi-
tude for the payment of debts or not.
The distinction between white and
colored people is still retained in the
M. f. Church, ii l mistake not; and
instead of now belonging to the same
Conference, and being reported in
separate columns, they are separated
and organized in separate Conferences,
and are totally separate from each
other in their church relations, both
in ministry and membership, and the
negro and white relation is totally alb
rogated, although slavery has been
abolished, from the"memorable epoch
of January 1, 1868" Ia the second
procedure of not admitting the young
man, the Bishop is net less at fault ,ac-
cording to his own showing. He was
not rejected because he was an aboli.
zionist, however dire and disturbing;
but because he promptly refused to
give any pledge to restrain his utter
ances, and to a committee of the best
men OF the Conference" but resolved
to disdain, agitate and disturb the
church ad kbilum. So slavery in it.
self had nothing to do with his reject
ion; therefore, does it not seem that
the Bishop voluntarily, and of choice,
went out of his way to strike blow
at the carcass Of dead dog, thirteen
years after its death; and this was
done in a complimentary notice of o
now old man, still unchanged, though
cOndsending TO be quiescent in his
connections, as at first requested to be.
No doubt many of the Bishops
friends and admirers on the peninsula
are sorry that their beloved Bishop
should have wandered out of the
sphere of the occasion in such man.
ner, when the country is ON the eve uf
a presidential campaign, by the utter.
ance of sentiments in a religious dis
course, which would be far better in
place and read more appropriately as
republican campaign document the
| coming fall.
The writer is not a member of any
church, but lisa member of large fam
lily, who have always, both in the pull
pit and as members of the church, been
active, and he hopes, useful and con.