The daily gazette., 1880-06-08
THE COLOR LINE.
WHAT A DELAWARE NEGRO MINIS
TER SAYS OF 1T.


Yesterday morning the Philadel-
phia Methodist Ministers met and
discussed "The Color Line" the
delegate to the Cincinnati General
Conference giving various reasons
why they voted against the election
ofa colored Bishop. Their argu-
ments were opposed by Rev. VIM.
Butler. d, d., COL, Of this city, who
said s.....
''Shall speak what l feel ?" asked
he, as a preliminary.
eyes, yes; we want ALL" was the
response.
Bishop James," said he, "was in
favor of colored bishop nine years
ago. Gilbert Haven mot e. o. al
so favored it, and If colored bishop
had been elected he need not have
gone to Liberia, and might have
been spared many years to the
church. In '72 and '76 he received
counsel from Bishop Haven, but he
wasn't there this time, and his spirit
was not there-it was afar off. We
had several men of thought in the
delegation. Now, as to a colored
bishop, am opposed to a colored
line, but feel it everywhere. IL is
prejudice, borne of $50 years of SER
vitude. When L arrived at Cincin-
natl there was a colored man to
meet me. When l was assigned my
seat it was amongst the colored peo-
pie, and i was appointed to preach
i'll Il colored church. The re was the
colored line. We hear these old
fellows say: 1--WE won't elect any
bishop on the colored line," when
they draw one every day. Loud and
continued applause. Cries of hear,
hear.
The colored line was forced OH us.
Now as the Committee on Epscnpacy,
wien went IL WAS Into the big aRdkI
came out of thu little end of the horn.
[Laught RI III give you little history
hos the wool was pulled over our eyes
as usual. Laughter anA applause. ]
Tie Sout' ern Conferences presented Pc
litions for colered bishop. Let me
| digress here. believe the cOlored work
in the Methodist Church should be sep
erste. We should have pap devoted
| to the colored work. The Committee
on Eplscopacy referred the papers to a
| special committee. Then the conference
went on to Tx the number of bishops.
The matter Of electing bishop was de-
cided TO be seperate one. We quietly
| acqiesced in the decision. We awaited
thr report of the special committee which
re commended the election of colored
bishop. The idea was u have the other
bi hops cOnsecrated with the colDred
bishop If he had been elected. But"
turning to Elder Swindells, ''h. wasn't
elected, was hep" Shouts of laughter
almost drowned the ans wer. mo"
This committee represented minor
ily report signed by lhirty-one, two
thirds of whom were not present at the
discussions. We expected square
vote in the conference. Men who had
| speeches on the question of colored
bishop could not get the floor to speak
and had lot of eloquence thcn.
| Laughter. An admirable speech
worthy better cause was made by an
editor, but his statements were mis-
representations.
The worst feature of the whole was
The motion of an indefinite postpone
ment, and it was railroaded through.
| was humiliated then. Do you know
what you've done now. You've put
us on the defensive. In regard to the
question of culture, let me say you are
95O years ahead of us, and how arc
we going to raise men like you? How
are we to compare with men like your
bishops i'll 80 years. 1t is a ques ion
that has got to be taken into consider
alton and voted upon, and not indef-
nitely postponed, because the negro
will never remain indefinitely postpon-
oil ,,