Waterbury evening Democrat., 1888-05-09
Not YetFairly at Work
Disputed Seats Still Bothering
 the Methodist Conference.
TO PAY THE WOMEN'S EXPENSES.
Two Extra Territorial Delegates Ex- cluded-Rev. MT. Shannon's Seat De- clared to be Legally His-Resolutions in Memory of the Deceased Delegates.

clared to be Legally His-Resolutions
 NEW YORK, May 9-The Methodist gen. eral conference has been in session at the Metropolitan Opera House eight days, and the work of determining who are its members is not yet completed Yesterday the report of the second committee on disputed seats was taken up and considered seriatim. Some of its recommendations were disposed of, but one or two remain to be acted on to-day. The cases referred to this committee were all, save those of the women, cases in which the legality of the election was disputed
 The conference yesterday was under the superintendence of Bishop J. M. Walden, of Chattanooga. Dr. J. M. Buckley, who has all along been an uncompromising foe to the admission of women to the general confer ence, relented little, and offered resolu- tion, which was adopted, providing that the conference pay all the expenses of the rejected women delegates But when Dr. A. J. Kynett offered similar resolution, of which Mrs. H. Stone, a reserve delegate from South India, was to have been the beneficiary, it was tabled.
 The report of the committee on contested seats was taken up under suspension of the rules The most interesting cases considered were those of John M. Phillips, of the firm of Phillips & Hunt, of thls city, and ex-Gover- nor Robert B. Pattison, of Pennsylvania. MT. Phillips was elected as lay representa- tive of the Mexico conference, and MT. Patti son as lay representative of the North India conference. The name of J. M. Cornell, @ resident of New York and reserve delegate of the Italy conference, was before the com mittee, but was omitted entirely from the reports. Two reports were presented on the cases of Phillips and Pattison.
 Eleven members of the committee re- ported that they could find nothing in the rules of the church requiring that lay dele gates should reside within the limits of the conference they represented. In considera- ion of this fact, therefore, and of the good faith of the conferences that elected Messrs. Phillips and Pattison, they recommended that those gentlemen be seated, but that a modification of the rules be submitted to the annual conferences, making extra territorial representation in the general conferences hereafter unlawful. A precedent for the | majority report was found in the action of the conference of 1884, recognizing Stephen Barker, of New York, as a representative of l the Italy conference.
 l A minority of six submitted report op- | posing the admission of Messra Phillips and | Pattison. The minority didn't believe that a single unfortunate precedent should be made | the basis of @ pernioious custom. Rather, a new and more logical precedent should be set. If the theory of extra territorial repre- ,entation were adhered to 1t would make Bishop Taylor's converts on the banks of the Congo eligible as representatives of any con- ference.
 In the debate which followed the confer | once divided pretty much it did on the woman question, and nearly all who had op- posed the admission of women favored the conservative interpretation of the constitu- tion that would have excluded Messrs Phil lips and Pattison. | When the final vote was reached the minor | ity report was adopted-303 to 116. This ex- | cludes MT. Phillips and ex-Governor Pattison.
 The only other case acted upon was that of Rev. w. A. Shannon, of the Montana con. ference, whose seat was contested by the Rev. F. A. Riggin. The majority of the committee recommended the seating ot Rggin because of the apparent llegality of certain votes cast for Shannon at the annual conference. The minority held that the evi dence on this point was not conclusive As before, the minority report was adopted, and Mir. Shannon will retain his seat. But the good prima facie case that his expenses ought to be paid, and motion to that effect was adopted.
 Further consideration of the committed. report was deferred while resolutions were read and adopted fitly commemorating the virtues of the two deceased delegates, Dr. O. J. Clark and Layman Leavitt Bates Thef the members of the conference sang in low tones, 'I Would Not Live Away" The ail was that of "Home, Sweet Home" The effec of such song in such place was to produc, in those who heard 1t strangely conflicting emotions
 The time of the conference had then e1 pired, and no further action was taken in re
 lation to contested seats.