Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1888-05-02
GENERAL CONFERENCE
OF the Methodist Episcopal Church.
The Most Eminent pivines of the De-
nomination Present to Consider
Weishty Subjects.

NEw YORK, May /.
The general conference of the Methodist
Episcopal church, which met in the Metro
poiitan Opera House today is the largest &C.
eiesiastical parliament of Protestant christ
endom. In il are representatives from eyery
part of the world, also fraternal delegates
from all branches of the great Methodist
family. There are Chinese. Japanese, East
Indians, Africans, Mexicans. Germans
Swedes and Italians. 1t meets once in four
years and continues in session about one
month. Every pursuit and position in life is
| represented. Ii contains many skilled speak
ers and expert parliamentarians. Its bishops
are chairmen, trained in the school of va
ried experience. A body so large and diver
s!hed in It's constituency is bound to repre-
sent nearly every view concerning religious,
moral and social questions entertained by the
Protestant mind.
Since the last general conference, Mat
thew Simpson, Isaac w, Wiley and William
l.. Harris have died, and the vacancies are
TO be supplied and probably two others elect
ed at this general conference.
Those most prominently named for the
episcopacy are John IL. Vincent. James NJ.
Buckley, James NJ. King, Daniel Goodsell.
{. {. McCabe Henry Buttz, J. N. Fitzger.
aid, A. j. kynett Earl Cranston. Samuel +.
Upton, J. q. Peek and j. W. Hamilton.
II is pretty certain that the five new bish-
ops are named in this list.
The General Conference elects two mis-
sionary secretaries, one secretary of SUNDAY
schools, one of church extension, one of
freedmen's aid, four book agents, twelve ed |
itors, book committee and boards for the |
various connectional interests, which have
considerable official patronage at their dis
Dosal n effort will ha t,u,io t., .l,sn,s.,..
the General Conference of all power to elect |
officers save bishops. and to relegatc the |
whole to the several boards. The expense |
of renting the Opera House, $1,000, is de-
frayed by the rental of the private boxes
The postmaster and the Western Union |
Telegraph Company will establ sh offices in |
the building, for the accommodation OF the |
Conference. After seating the delegates
and the occupation of the private boxes there
will be two thousand free seats for the pub
lie use. The Methodist Social Union will |
give reception on the evening of May 2nd,
for which four thousand tickets at one dollar
each have been issued. Mr.. Bolles Colgate
will deliver the salutatory, to which the
bishops Will respond. An orchestra of thirty
pieces, directed by Lander, will furnish the
music. Refreshments will be served.
There are in the Methodist Episcopal
ences reported, the following represents the
positions held in the church and in society
by the delegates-elect: There are I6 gen
eral conference officers, 5 annual conference
officers, II editors of religious papers, all OF
whom but one edit church papers; 25 presi-
dents OF and professors i'll colleges, ali of
them, with one or two exceptions, being
Methodist institutions, ll3 presiding elders
and % pastors.
The bishops, eleven in number, are not
members of the general conference, but pre-
side i'll turn. Bishop Bowman is the SENIOR.
and called the conference to order. Bishop
Fowler was elected lay delegate by the Da-
kota conference, but whether he can SIT as
such will be one of the d.batable questions
The status of Bishop William Taylor will
constitute one of the most exciting questions
which will come before the body Four
years ago he was "A local preacher, represent
ing, as a layman, All East India conference.
In NONE ut of intense enthusiasm excited
by his heroic and successful efforts in plant
ing self-supporting missions in India and in
South America, he was made Missionary
bishop of Africa. Afterwards the book
committee, upon whom devolves the pay
ment of the salaries of the bishops, decided
that Bishop Taylor must receive his salary
from The mission board, as he was not full
fedged bishop.
Bishop Tayl lor has persisteutly refused his
salary from this source, regarding his theo-
ry of self-sustaining missions as forbidding his
receiving any money from the missionary
treasury. He claims equal rank with the
other bishops, and that he should be paid
from the same source. He has many who
agree with him. No debate of the session
will excite such interest as that of fixing the
position of William Taylor.
Henry Nj. Stanley regards him as one of
the most potent factors in the evangelization
and civilization of Africa. His theory is to
plant Christian families and arts in the midst
of the natives and thus demonstrate to them
ocularly the superiority of Christian civliza-
ton to the barbarism that degrades them.
BY raising up generation of Christians ac-
climated to equatorial Africa, he proposes to
overcome the great obstacle that has baffled
all previous efforts TO evangelize the tropical
belt tropical belt of the Dark Continent
The Methodist Episcopal church, South,
sends the Rev. S. A. Steel, of Louisville Ky,
as fraternal delegate. The subject of or
ganic union will come up, and perhaps a |
commission may be appointed to make over
lures 10 the Southern church.
The Rev. Wesley Guard, brother of the |
famous pulpteer, DIR. Thomas Guard, and |
whom he is said to resemble in Sacred ora
tory, is the fraternal delegate from the Irish |
Wesleyans. The Rev. DIR. Kelly the Sun
day school secretary of the English Wesley !
ans, and the Rev. John II. Vincent of Great |
Britain, will bear the brothery greetings of
the English Wesleyan church.
Long before the appointed hour the vast
auditorium commenced to fill up with minis |
terial delegates.
The bishops occupied seats on the stage.
The galleries were crowded and the boxes
were occupied with wives of the delegates,
and friends. The proceedings were opened
with prayer singing and reading scriptures
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