Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1888-05-25
THE METHODIST COUNCIL.
TIE COMING ELECTION OF THE NEW
EPlSCOPATES.
The Attempt to Have the Ballot by orders
The Report of Bishop Taylor and
What Shall he Done with Him
Union of the Churches North
and South
NEW YORK, May 18th

ballots for the election of the new ones
The three who have gone were each dis
tingushed for some special trait. Simp-
son was the peerless preacher. Wiley was
the great missionary, and most approprl
ately therefore, has his burial place in
China; while Harris was the great discip-
linarian of the board. BY Il strange coin
Cidence each of these had a prominent
part in the closing services of the confer
ence four years ago. Bishop Wiley offer
ed the concluding poayer, and Bishop
Harris read the final hymn. Thus, the
part they took, viewed in retrospect,
seems to have been premonitory of the
.ate which awaited them Whether
these circumstances Will make the re-
naming bishops timid as to the part
which may be assigned them in the clos
ing of the present conference, remains TO
be seen. 1t is certain. however, that
neither this nor anything else has had
the effect of lessening the number of can
ddates for the episcopal office nor is it
anticipated, for a moment that any cir
Cumstance, past or to come, Will lead any
OF the present or prospective bishops to
resign, There are rumors that one will
ask to be relieved of episcopal dignities
20 allow of his taking the presidency of an
eastern university, and it has been alleged
that in case of the election of certain
candidate for the office, still another of
the present incumbents would want to
step down and out But all such rumors
must be discounted heavily; for whatever
their eXcellencies otherwise, Methodist
bishops have certainly not been noted for
the virtue OF resignation And who can
\ 4
Buckley said on Monday, that "the power
held by Methodist bishop is the greatest
held by any officer in the Protestant
church." Still, there have been two in
stances in which this dignity has been de
clined, and by fortunate circumstance
these cases are divided between the two
sections one being the case of DR.. Hay
good, of the church South, and the other
that of Wilbur Fisk of this church.
The storm of accusation which had
been gathering for many days, broke upon
the body on Monday last DR.. Hunter of
Illinois wanted one bishop elected at a
time This, he said, would break up com
binations. Every candidate, in that case,
he said, would haye to do business on his
own capital and, for his part, if any can
didates proposed to set up peanut stand,
he didu't want him elected. He was pre-
pared, he said, to sit down upon all combi
nations, and he didn't care a peg Wheth-
er the bishops came from New York, Bos-
ton, St Louis or Peoria, so that the best
man got in DR.. Buckley, agreeing sub
stantially with the former speaker,
thought the election OF bishop so mpor-
tant that tn, vote ought to be taken by
orders. Here was another proposed scotch
upon the wheel of struggling ambition,
for when vote is taken by orders it not
only requires majority of all to elect,
but majority of both the ministerial
delegates and the lay delegates. DR.. Olu
of New York, who Is chairman of the
committee on episcopacy, said che had
been panied and shamed with the whis
pers that had stolen into his ears respect
ing combinations for the Office of bishop"
DIR. Cue of Illinois claimed that he had
not heard such whispers But think
he said, "ot the Apostle Paul going down
this aisle and moving about the corridors
of this opera house, asking the members
of the conference to vote for him because
he had a call from the Lord to be bishop
Lay Delegate Brown favored DR.. Buck
ley's motion to vote for bishops by orders.
This gentleman took a business like view
of the situation, holding that if man had
genuine call from the Lord, the Lord
could pull him through just as surely II
the conference voted by orders as if it
voted rs whole. DR.. Leonard of Ohio
was another who was so fortunate as to
not have heard these flying whispers bout
combinations. He would scorn, he said
to receive proposition to cast his vote
for any candidate, He had not heard
whispers of that kind, he observed, hut
he had heard it alleged that millionalreS
had been electin0 the bishops of the
church, and 1t was plain to see, ne said ),
that voting by orders would give these
millionaires even more power than they
already had. Finally the conference con
cluded that it had heard enough of this
kind OF talk, and the matter was disposed
of by Il re iu~al to adopt either the motion
to elect one D!-AOp at a time, or the mo
ton to elect by orders, leaving the stua
tlon just is ii was before the big p8laVtr
began precisely the result which followed
from similar tempest OF words and "A
similar series of motions, in the two con-
ferences Immediately preceding this
AS to electiOneerng and the canvasSing
of the strong and weak points OF the
various candidates, 1t is difficult to see
how such work As this could he dispensed
with altogether, considering that the
delegates come from Snch widely scat
tered sections, ana that no opportunity is
given TO nominate men for these high
offices in opeu con erence. And AS to the
moral question involved, if the Lord &C
cepts the help OF presiding elders, and
church committees, added TO the cody
judgment of the bishops in stationing the
preachers, what can be the harm in a few
experienced hands lending Him little
assistance in the more delicate and impor-
tant work Of promoting men to the eps
copacy. The faVorite5 in the episcopal
Drs. John II. Vincent ID. A. Goodsell
Earl Cranston, James NJ King, H. A,
Buttz, c. c. McCabe, |. W. Joyce, G. II
Payne, G. \. Sims, j. \. Fitzgerald :. f
Upham, j. W. Hamilton, d. Dorchester
and i. II. Day, with, however, any mum
Der of dark horses waiting the call Elk
cepting that DR., c. J. Little of Syracus,
University may be pushed by his enthusi
astic friends INTO place now filled b!
some one else, it seems likely that th'
editorshIps of the churchwill be filled abou
as they are now. For the other position
the candidates are too numerous to men
ton.
Not only is the episcopal Office in de
mand, but there is "A great clamor from
various quarters for episcopal residences
Among the cities who applied thus earl
for the distinguished honor Of having
i've Methodist bishop in their midst ar
Cleveland, Detroit, Portland. Ore, an,
Charleston, ;. c. Detroit bats its reques
with the promise that the bishop sen
there shall have good house presente'
to him. Texas also wants bishop, an,
offers a larger inducement than any othe
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