Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1879-02-06
THE N0RTHERN METH0DIsTs.

The South Carolina Conference of the
Methodist Episcopal Church (Northern) has
recently been in session at Greenville. The
proceedings are said to have been more Of
political than of an ecclesiastical character,
and the report Of the Committee on the
State Of the Country" is characterized as the
"irst campaign document for $780," The
Greenvil1e Ne,as, in regard to the report,
says: g....-.,....... ..,....,,i,.,.,,....
1t is entirely devoted to politics, prepared
in the kind Of language to reach and have
effect with the colored race and calculated TO
do more mischief among the negrues than the
speeches of a score Of Radical 1politicians.i
It treats of fraud and intimidation, political,
rights, &c., in a style characteristic Of adven7.
turers and demagogues. It was q prepared
paper, and intended for no other than politi-
cal purposes. ~ '''.' ".'S ,'"'
The speeches that were made onthe motion
to adopt this report, were Of such character
that if they had been delivered upon. the
stump during the campaign, they would have
been unhesitatingly denounced as incendiary
harangues The chief speaker was the Rev.
DR.. Webster, q we'll known carpet-bag poiiti..
clan and mischief maker, whose mission since
he has been South, has been to 'set the blacks
and whites against each other and by lying
letters tn Northern religious pepers, to keep
alive the emhers of sectional hate. This rev.
erend hypocrite gave full vent to his spleen.
He began at slavery times and brought up
events to the present day. He gloried in the
Federal Union,' in the Federal flag, and
thanked his God that it now waves over Fort
Sumter. He spoke of the stealings of politi.,
cal parties, and said the greatest and most
mastery steal of all was when the Stars and
Stripes were taken from Fort Sumter and the
flag of the Confederacy placed in its stead.
He spoke of frauds and intimidation in the
elections of this State, and asserted that his
tale was true about his old colored brother re-
fusing $4,000 to vote the other way. In short,
he made capital campaign harangue, as Bit
ter and vindictive as ever disgrated q Radi.
cal meeting. &'| 2''+i ''' 7'.''I'7'' 81
Webster was followed by negro preacher
named Berkely, and when he got through, the
Conference was in state of such wild excite.
ment, and the disorder became 80 shameful,
that the Bishop, Jesse T. Peck, respectable
Northern clergyman, who was presiding, could
stand it no longer, and with wave of his
hand commanded them to their seats, and let
them know very abruptly that it was not po-
litical meeting, and he would have no more
of it. >-.~,- ....3 -.r.as i...i ie,v -! gj4f:
In this connection, the following in regard
to this branch Of the Methodist Church, may
be of interest to some of our readers .:it,
When the Methodist Episcopal Church of
the United States was riven in twain by the
Slavery question, all the congregations in this
State joined the Southern division, which
adopted the title Of Methodist Episcopal
Church South, while the Northern division
retained the old name of Methodist Episco-
pal Church. Until the close of the War of
Secession, therefore, there was no Methodist
Episcopal Church, so called, in this State
With the Federal army, however, came the
emissaries of that religious body, and soon
took possession of the colored congregations