Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1890-05-05

and Pine streets. In 1853 this properly
was sold for S125 900, and. the proceeds
invested in the present building, at Six
teenth and Pine streets, which was erect
ed the same year, at cost OF sSl50 ,O0O.
1t lie the largest and most costly church
In the Southern connection, and is rec
ognized throughout the country as the
cathedral church of Southern Method
ism. The conference meeting will be
held in the main auditorium, and the
lecture and class rooms have been as
| signed to the bishops and secretaries for
reception and other semi-private pur-
poses During the conference the build
ing will be supplied with telephone, tele-
| graph and postal service, and every con-
venience, both for dispatch and comfort
of delegates, will be provided.
STANDING COMMITTEES.
There will be ten or twelve standing
committees which will have in review
respe ctively missionary, publication,
educational, church extension, Sunday
school and other departments in the
work Of the church. Rooms have been
rented in the exposition building for the
sessions of these committees.
Mr.. Scraggs has also closed negotia-
tions with the hotels, has secured homes
for all who viii be present, and is now
engaged sending out to each delegate no.
tice OF rates and routes Of travel, the
location of their homes during the ses
sion and the manner of reaching them
on their arrival in the city. While many
of the prominent delegates will be the
guests Of personal friends during their
stay in St. Louis, most of them will be
10 lad fhor
Lindell, Richelieu and Montesano hotels.
THE OPENING SESSION
of the conference will be held Wednes-
day morning, May Z, at 9 O'Clock.
Bishop J. c. Keener OF New Orleans,
senior bishop of the church, will preside
and start the meeting work. The num-
Der of delegates will be 200, composed in
equal numbers of clergymen and laymen.
They represent forty conferences in Mex
leo, Brazil and China, together with the
representatives of the church in other
foreign lands where the missions have
not yet organized into conferences. The
representation is based on two delegates,
one lay and one clerical, for every thirty
six members of each annual conference.
This general conference is the legislative
body and the supreme power in the
church 1t has unlimited authority,
except as restricted by certain rules
which guard the integrity Of its doc
triue and perpetuates its itine-
rant system of ministers and rights of
the members. In addition to looking
after all the interest of the church,
there will come up for adjudication be-
fore this body all matters failing to be
amioably settled in the annual con-
ferences. One subject of considerable
Importance to be attended TO at this
meeting will be to provide for an ac-
ceptable disposition of the surplus
moneys on hand secured in profits from
the ohurch's publication institutions.
At present this money is used in creating
fund for the maintenance of wornout
preachers, their widows and orphans.
1t is intended to appropriate part of
this money in the future toward the
spreading of biblical literature and
oheapening the cost thereof.
BISHOPS TO BE CHOSEN.
This assembly also chooses the bishops
for the church, and 1t may be that two
will be elected at this meeting. How
long it will take to complete the work of
the convention is not known, but the
session will continue for three weeks
anyway, and it is not probable that the
final adjournment will occur before
June /.
NORTH AND SOUTH.
Ex-Governor Patterson of Pennsylva-
mia is one of the delegated representa-
tives from the Northern connection, and
this fact, taken along with the general
speculation that has been INDUCED
in on the subject for the past
few years, gives plausibilitv to the
rumor that one of the very important
matters to come up for consideration will
be the devising of plans and methods to
effect union of the Northern and
Southern churches. However, if such
action is seriously contemplated, no indi-
cation of that fact has yet reached the
public, and for that reason but little
confidence is placed in the report. On
the other hand, it is argued that the
unfortunate agitation which caused the
disseution has long since been fer
mined forever, and there is nowenothing.
standing in the way of lasting ,afid'
happy reunitIug of the two vast passers
whose aims and objects are onea1d the
same.
FINE PREACHING.
one feature OF the convention especlal-
" gratifying to the local congregations
will be the opportunity thus afforded of
hearing sermons by every prominent
minister in the church. There will be
public worship and preaching every
night during the conference at Centen-
ary, and services also at two or three of
the other more prominent churches in
the city. This arrangement will all be
in charge of the committee on public
worship, appointed by the conference,
>and which usually consists of the presid-
ing elder and pastors of local churches
at the place of assembling.
BISHOPS OF THE CHURCH.
The bishops of the church are eight in
number, and they are all expected to be
present on this occasion. Their names
and addresses are: Bishops John c.
Keener, New Orleans; A. w. Wilson,
Baltimore; j. C. Cranberry, st. Louis;
R. J. Hargrove, Nashville; c. B. Gallo
way, Jackson, Miss; E. R. Hendrix,
Kansas City; w. W. Duncan, Spartan
burg, s. c.. and Joseph Key, Fort
Worth, Tex. In addition to these celeb
rites of the church many Of the most dis
tinguished men in the political and COM
meroiai world OF the South win be in at