Morning journal and courier., 1888-04-25

Episcopal church there are annual confer
 ences to the number of one hundred and
 eleven. Each of these will be represented in
 the general conference by from one to six
 ministers and by one or two individuals from
 the 1aity. The conference which sends two
 or more clergymen sends two laymen-never
 more than that number, while if only one
 minister goes but one layman can be sent.
 Among the ministers the ratio of representa-
 tion is one delegate for every forty-fVe mem-
 bers of each annual conference, and one for
 every fraction of two-thirds that number.
 Formerly it was one for every thirty, but
 that made the general conference too large.
 Many think it is still too large, and the bish-
 ops during this quadrennium have submit-
 ted to the annual conferences proposition to reduce it. This, however, has met an em- phatic negative, largely no doubt because SO many aspire to be elected to that body. Nor are the ministers to be blamed very much, for it is undeniably great honor to go as delegate to general conference, not to speak of the advantage it is in making other dignities possible. Naturally from the careful manner in which they are selected, one expects to find the ehurch's greatest men in her general oon- ference. But of course all the great men cannot go, because there are so many of them. Among the lay delegates are found gover- ners, judges and others who are prominent in civil life, including even 8 few distin- guished women, like Mrs. Angie F. Newman sota and Frances G. Willard of the whole country. This, by the way, will be the first entry of the good sisters within the arena of the general conference, the male species hav- ing hitherto had their own sweet way there, none daring to make them afraid, so to speak. This too in spite of the fact that wo- men constitute so large majority of the ehurch's-constituency. In this new departure some see an act of tardy justice, and others are so enthusiastic that they think they see in it almost the dawning of the millennium. But the cooler heads, led by Dr. Buckley, say these women have no right in that body and will not be allowed there. The matter has already excited long and heated discussion in the Methodist press, and it will doubtless be a bone Of contention within few days in the conference itself. Doubtless too this conference, like it's immediate predecessors, will be asked to license women to preach and to provide for their ordination, request to which the church has always so far respond ed in the negative. Thus "the woman in the case" will be conspicuous early and often, and the promise is that, as usual, she will make things lively.
 
 the Methodist Episcopal church possessing the power to make or change any of it's laws, and considering the numerical strength of the church, this one fact accounts abundantly both for the honor inhering in an election to that body and for the widespread interest felt in it's results. Late statistics place the whole number of travelling ministers at over fourteen thousand, with nearly thirteen thousand local preachers, while the total membership falls but little below two mil lions. It controls also twenty-thr thou sand or more Sunday schools, in which there are grand aggregate of people, young and old, amounting to 3, ,16O,244. Add to these items the additional facts that this church is raising annually for various purposes over ten million dollars; that it's Book Concerns did business last year amounting to two millions, and that it touches the masses of the people to an aEtent to which perhaps no other Protestant church does, and one sees st
 itself, but the great importance also of the body which has the sole right to legislate for
 1t. Usually though, notwithstanding the great power inhering in it, the general con- ference is exceedingly deliberate and very slow to make changes. It looks sometimes, just before the body convenes, as though it might SO transform the organism of the church as to render it unrecognizable by even it's oldest friends. The coming conference would certainly do this if it adopted all the suggestions volunteered by correspondents in the church press, and it would not fall very far short of doing it should it act favorably upon all the propositions that will be made in due time by it's own members. It is safe to predict, however, that this gathering will
 be little less conservative, if any, than it's predecessors have been, and that the old ship will emerge from the forensic tempests lying
 before her not at all damaged, and with very little alteration in her rigging.
 It ia ipavikahia thouOh that a0nna ohan0aa
 will be made. Many clamor for the relaxing
 of the rule in regard to popular amusements.
 The strong point with these is that Methodist
 practice along this line is not in harmony
 with it's precepts, and that to retain disci-
 plinary rule which is so often disregarded is
 bad policy, especially since while it remains
 it places Methodism at 8 disadvantage with
 other denominations. Requests for changes
 in the itiRerant system of the church are
 very numerous, among those which are not
 unlikely to prevail being the demand for the
 extension of the pastoral limit, either uni
 formly or so as to meet special cases, and a
 provision by which presiding elders, instead
 of being appointed as now by the bishops,
 shall be elected by their brethren. Possibly
 too in the same connection something may be
 done by way of conferring more power upon
 the bishops cabinet, of which the presiding elders form the component parts. This with
 8 view to reducing the power of the bishops in the stationing of ministers. Another matter to be considered, and which will probably be decided in the affirmative, is that of extending the power of the laity by giving them representatives in the annual conferences. Another question will be that of union with other Methodist churches.
 There may be no definite proposition for such union, but the matter will come up in some form and a healthy growth of senti- ment will be indicated. The conference will also complete arrangements for gathering in this country in 1891 Of representatives of all the Methodist churches in the world, a similar body to the famous Ecumenical con- ference which met in 1881 in London.
 But the greatest interest will center in the elections. It is not quite true, as some have said, that the conference will have in it's gift a sufficient number of offices to allow of one or more being conferred upon each of the four hundred and fifty delegates; but it is true that, if service on boards and commit- tees be counted, it will have nearly enough to allow of such distribution. It is also
 true, and some think very unfortunately 80, that the delegates are as 8 general rule quite anxious to see themselves properly provided for. Charges of wire pulling and log-rolling have been brought against former conter- ences which, were they true, would entitle those bodies to rank in such matters with an ordinary ward caucus. But 1t is not certain
 that even the devil is as black as he is some-
 times painted, and it is quite probable that
 the same is true of those ministers who are
 accused of having recourse to the arts of the
 politician. Certainly there is an indignant
 protest against such conduct from the rank
 and file of the church, and an extended ob-
 servation seems to warrant the belief that
 the conference soon to assemble will be a re-
 form body, at least in that particular. No one anticipates, however, that there will be
 any lack of willing Barkis'. or that any who
 are invited to step up higher will astoaish
 the country by declining.
 The office of Methodist bishop is a very
 desirable one. The term is for life, the sala-
 " large and the influence tremendous. The
 bishops make the appointments, and it is moderate to say that each bishop in the
 Methodist Episcopal church controls on the
 average thousand preachers and as many