Morning journal and courier., 1891-10-19
NEW HAVEN CONN. MONDAY MORNING, OCTOBER 19 1891

is good in other churches, while the grad ual advance of the pros fam, by the stages of Scientific Thought and sChurch Agencies" to economic and social pro- blems, brought the brethren face to face at last with the doubts, troubles, oppres- sions and crying needs of the great masses of mankind who are still, in all lands, un- reached by either the Methodist church or any other.
 In regard to scientific thought, and how it is influencing popular belief, it was held by one of the English delegates that Meth odism, fortified in her own conceits, as he expressed it, might possibly be playing the ostrich, imagining there was nothing to fear, when there was great deal to fear. As to America, he had heard, he said, that the ministers here were twenty years be- hind the times in Biblical criticism. The author of this observation is pert young fellow, whose unconventional dress con tradicts all our notions of the typical Eng fish clergyman, and whose tendency to air it over his brethren does equal violence to all our ideas of British courtesy. Perhaps this gentleman is in a somewhat irritated condition from his recent trial for heresy Be this as it may, he was soon set right upon the facts involved, and was so thor oughly converted, after time, from his heterodox opinion of American scholar. ship, as to frankly confess in open confer ence that if what he had heard correctly represented American Methodism, he had now no hesitation in saying that Methodist scholarship in this country, far from being twenty years behind that of England, was twenty years ahead of it-a compliment, however, which, considering its source, will be taken, no doubt, with as many grains of allowance as had been previously bestowed upon the severe criticism which prepared the way for it.
 Upon the great question of what the church should do to put herself in pro per attitude toward "that larger church, !" as one expressed it, (which is beyond the pale of all the churches, there seemed to be perfect and enthusiastic agreement that hereafter a greater effort should be made to keep in touch with the masses; that while giving all needful attention to the soul, the interests of the body and the life should be better guarded than they are; that ministers should preach "more like men and less like parsons;" that if we cannot christianize socialism we should make haste to socialize christianity; and, finally, that, as Hugh Price Hughes put it, Methodlsm, instead of repining, as 1t did in his country, that it is overshadewed by the church of England, should make its appeal everywhere and all the time to the millions of the rece in both hemispheres, who, whatever their predilections, would be sure to join the first church that would properly Ego for them"
 It is always delight to say ''I told you so," and this delicious felicity falls to the lot of the writer in reference to the part played in this conference by woman. We were sure she could not be kept out by formal exclusion from the privilege of membership; we predicted, indeed, thst she would be more really in by the fact that she was not in, than if admission had been accorded her; and so it has come to pass. The same sex which was success ful tempter of man in that tragic incident which made the church A necessity, has proved a successful tempter of the breth- ren in this great church conference. The seductive influence showed itself at first in mild and harmless form; as, for in stance, when Bishop Galloway. in allusion to the agitation for women delegates in the general conference of a sister church, re- marked that others might do as they pleased, but the church he represented ''did not believe in laying any disability upon men or in conferring any fancy fran chise upon women." Another bishop who fell into the same snare was Bishop Arnett of the African Methodist Episcopal church, who, in one of the grandest speeches to which the conference has lis tened, dropped from empyrean heights to the common place level of remarking, for the advice of his white brethren, that "the colored churches gave the women so much other work to do that they did not want to go to general conference" Thus the trouble began, and, of course, when ths camel, SO to speak, had its nose in the assembly, it was not long in squeezing in its entire anatomy.
 The debate woman's work in the church was revelation to the more con- servative brethren, and it was in all re- spects so intensely interesting ss to trench constantly upon the sensational. The first speaker 10 distinguish himself for ad- vanced views was the Rev. William Cor man, of Ireland, natty little man, with a bulging forehead, who looked so prim and nice as to suggest the idea that some strong and good woman, having adiusted his necktie and stroked back into their proper place his smooth, glossy locks, had just seut him ont, the product of her own hand and skill, to be her special champion
 The speech of Mr German took by storm those who were upon his own side in this controversy, and the opposite side were, of course, correspondingly disgusted with it. Dr. Buckley rang the chestnut bell on this gentleman, and afterwards pr. Old ham, of Pittsburg, performed the same | delicate service for DT. Buckley. An eff | fort was also made to laugh Mir German l out of court. Here again pr. Buckley fig ured, comparing the extraordinary speech | to which they had just listened to the | swan-"the most magnificent creature that swims, yet drawing only two inches of wa ter. This was striking metaphor, and | for moment it stemmed the tide: but it | was not long until pr. J. w. Hamilton, | Hugh Price Hughes and others came to the rescue of woman's cause: and then, as | woman's luck would have it, Dr. E. E.. | Hoss, who represents the church south, | and who, under other circumstances, | might have afforded Dr. Buckley power | ful reinforcement, made the mistake of | beginning his speech by saying, "If there is any one here who thinks more sf wo, man than I do I should like to see him.
 for, of course, on such challenge as that l men popped up all over the house: the re- | suit being that Dr. Hoss, in his embarrass | ment, was unable afterwards to do justice | to either himself or his cause. And when a brother arose and said, "They all do it
 that's the way the opponents of women al.
 ways begin"-there seemed really 10 be
 nothing left for woman to desire, so far as her vindication from an oratorical point oi
 view was concerned.
 Still she is not yet eligible to the gene l ral conference, nor, in any of the larger
 Methodist churches, is she admitted to tn,
 ministry; nor has this Ecumenical gather
 ing any power to confer upon her either
 the one dignity or the other. The discus
 sion, however, considering how it went, il
 almost sure to manufacture sentiment 1T
 her behalf; and really, when one remem
 bers that at the first Ecumenical. when tn,
 same subject was under discussion, thert
 was but one solitary speaker who held tha
 woman should be allowed to preach, ana
 none who even mooted the propriety O
 her admission to church conferences
 whereas at this the voices asking her ele
 vation to one or both of these position
 have been in the ratio of about twenty
 three to five, with not a single objecto
 among the large number who spoke on tn
 British side-when these facts are consid
 cred, which indicate so strikingly wha
 the progress of the recent past has been
 who can draw the line at what may ma
 not be realized in the enlargement O woman's sphere in the near futurei
 So in regard to Methodist union. A the other Ecumenical the subject wa
 barely presented, and the English, il particular, were so backward in the mat ter that some of the various sects wer hardly on terms of friendliness with eac other. Now, however, union seems to b the chief watchword of these Methods . clans, and singular to gay, the English , xrho yvere fprmerly far behiui ara paa,