Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1888-05-10
THEME. GENERAL CONFERENCE.

1HE Me-. GEN NERAL ALCONFERENCE.
Sundays New York Tribune
The General Conference of the Meth
odist Episcopal Church has been in ses-
sion at the Metropolitan Opera House
since Tuesday morning. 1t is notable
body of men. There are 2Sl clergymen,
representing Ill Annual Conferences,
and Us layman, representing church
membership of about 100000. Men
who are selected by their intimate asso-
ciates to appear for them in such con-
ference are expected to have recognized
abilities which place them high in the
order to which they belong. The yari-
ted on their choice. The delegates who
have thus far appeared on the floor have
shown themselves men of earnest con-
victions, which they were fearless II
maintaining, and that the practice OBJ
tanned in their Annual Conferences has
made them ready debaters and skillful
parliamentarians. OF course they are
good speakers Preaching in large
churches and to enormous crowds at
camp-meeting had made it an easy mat
ter for them to send their voices to every
part of the large building.
The eleven Bishops preside in turn.
Their duties differ in no essential par
ticular from those imposed upon them
many times each year, when presiding
over the several Annual Conferences.
Thus they have come to compare more
than favOrably with the chairmen or
presidents of secular legislative bodies.
Grave, dignified and determined, they
preserve singularly good order in large
body of men who are filled with earnest
ness and zeal, and over whom they have
no power of enforcing authority, except
that which is voluntarily conceded to
their Office. There is no sergeant-at-
arms; there are no policemen. The
Bishops have no vote; yet there is no
measure before the Conference in which
they do not take warm interest. 1t is
surprising that they can remain impair
tial at all times, but no charge of un-
fairness has ever been seriously brought
against them.
The Conference is unique in its COM
position. There are more than fifty
colored delegatesfrom conferences which
have grown up in the South since the
latter days of the war. There are dele
gates from China, Japan, Liberia, India
and Mexico, and from many parts of
Europe. The delegations are assigned
to seats by lot; thus the different races
are mingled together impartially-a
contrast with the first delegated General
Conference, as was pointed out the other
day, where the cOlored men could gain
admission only to the upper gallery.
With the exception Of the work done
by the several committees, in preparing
matters to be brought before the Con-
ference, the first five sessions have been
fruitless except in speech-making; but
it has been evident for several months
that these speeches would have to be
made before anything of Importance
could be done. Five women have pre-
sented themselves as lay delegates to
the Conference. There are those who
believe that there is nothing in the con-
stitution which permits the Conference
to admit them, without concurrent ac-
ton by the Annual Conferences. In
this view the Bishops concur. Others
maintain that the change in the cOnsti-
tuition in 1868 1872, admitting lay dele
gates, was so broad as to include lay
women. In the discussion the advocates
of immediate admission have some slight
advantage in being able to appeal to
sentiment, indulge in eulogy on women,
and to treat their opponents as inclined
to deprive women of their natural right.
The speakers of the opposition have
few weapons except constitutional law,
cold facts of history and colder logic,
none of them calculated to inspire en-
thusiasm. 1t is noteworthy, however,
that no one thus far has intimated an
objection to the admission of women to
the General Conference, when the same
action shall have been taken as was re-
quired to admit laymen. A vote will
probably be taken early this week, and
then the regular work of the Conference
will go on.
Since the above was in type the de-
bate on the admission of women has
been concluded, and by vote of 249 to
173 the women were excluded, and the
question of their eligibility to future
general conferences was directed to be
submitted to the annual conferences.