Morning journal and courier., 1891-10-14

methods. It is no secret that some ot his more conservative brethren across the sea find him quite troublesome, and a few of the oldest of the old fogies of Methodism hold him to be really dangerous; but the younger element rally to him in his grand reform movements-and indeed the Meth odist hosts generally do-in the same spirit with which the knights of that older Crusade rallied to the standard of Coeur-de-Lion. The seven great evils of the time, Mir Hughes tells us, are intem- perance, lust, gambling, illiteracy, pauper- ism, crime and war, and he constantly talks and acts as though, whatever others may do, he himself has mission from God to hit these various evils hard knock whenever he gets chance, and then swing his club about and hit them again.
 MT. Hughes is the kind of man who is never on the fence He always knows what he wants and always think he knows how best to get it. On the question of Methodist union he is emphatically in the affirmative, and when he told the con ference that he had presented this subject on a thousand platforms in England, and that it had been greeted everywhere with deafening applause, you may be sure that from the hundreds in the galleries, who always stand up and crane their necks Wu6u tnlS RlIlSu SUI Ol bElGdlu IlScs tO speak, as we'll as from large section of the delegates, his masterly and thrilling presentment of this subject met the same reception there and then that his English audiences had given it.
 In the person of Thomas Bowen Stephen son, who is here as president of the British Wesleyan conference, the brethren of America feel more and more every day, as as they themselves in his Catholic spirit, and sit under the spell of his smoothly flowing eloquence, that they have amongst them, by a special dispensation of provi- dence, not only one of the choicest men British Methodism has produced, but pre- cisely the man for the present emergency. His competitor for this exalted office was Dr. James H. Rigg,a venerable and worthy gentleman, who, however, like so many venerable and worthy men on that side, is considerably fossilizsd-living in tho past more than in the present, and seeming to care at times quite as much for the red tape of Methodist officialism as for either the gospel or the souls of men. With Dr. Riggs at the head of the British forces in stead of Dr. Stephenson, how likely is 1t that this inoipient movement for Methodist union would have been nipped in the bud; for did we not hear that gentleman declare at the first
 
 unity and that in his opinion it was impos- sible! Since then the worthy doctor may have modified somewhat. This is not probable, however, though it may be pos sible, for English Methodists of the old school do not change very fast nor very much Hence it would seem to be, as we have said, peculiarly gracious dispenss- tion of Providence which in this second Ecumenical year ordained Dr. Rigg to the exclusion of private life and sent over as the leader of the British Wesleyans pr. Stephenson, who, when he is challenged by the leading men of the smaller sects to en- ter into conference with them upon this question of closer affiliation and final union as he was the other day-manfully takes up the gauntlet and proclaims to the Meth odist hosts of the two hemispheres that such conference shall be held.
 The union sentiment on the American side is unfortunately, not so pronounced. From the NJ. E. church south there has come thus far not one word distinctly fla vorable to organic unity, and if pr. Hoss, the brilliant editor of the leading organ of that church, correctly represents the feel | ing of his constituents, such a union, to use his own words, Eff not impossible, is A matter of tremendous dificulfYsN Before union can be expected the churches, he | said, "must quit maneuvering against | each other and he had no hesitancy in | adding that where one branch of Method | ists was established ill a small town, and | another came along and tried to get a | foothold, the devil did not need to be per | sonally present in that town. Such was the tenor of the only speech from the | southerners which has treated directly of organic union; and with one notable
 exception no utterance distinctly fla | vorable to such project has | come thus far from the brethren of the north. Dr. Leonard, like Dr. Hoss, could
 see only the difficulties in the way and Dr. | Hartzeu could only offer for the concilis- ton of the southern feeling the work of the NJ. E. church among the southern ne
 groes. Happily, though, one trumpet | gave out silvery tone which could not be
 mistaken. This was when, crowned with | the glory of iftysix years of ministerial service, his frame trembling with emotion,
 his eyes glistening with tears, and his | voice more than usually pathetic from the deep feelings which almost choked 1t, the
 venerated Bishop Foster arose and ad dressed the conference.
 The plea of this gentleman was emphsti | cally for organic union, nor could any lis
 tener have the slightest doubt that wha
 was said came through one of the oleares
 and strongest intellects, from one of thu
 purest and sincerest of hearts. That tn,
 conference should be deeply moved b,
 such an appeal was as inevitable as tha
 the leaves of the forest should be looseC
 from their hold by the autumn wind. Tear
 flowed in copious effusion, and, as if il
 further token of coming union, there wa
 such blending of English 'hear, hears
 with American ''amens," as was perhap
 never heard in any assembly before. l
 only just at that moment, when Bishol
 Foster ceased to speak, some grand hero o
 the Church South had followed in the sam
 strain, who can help believing that in tn
 hot atmosphere of such a scene many o
 the barriers of separation would have bsel
 burned away, or that the applause evoke
 by such denounement would have foun,
 its echo in Methodist hearts all over thi great nation!
 While the white delegates are haltin betwixt two opinions upon this question . the brother in black is shaking hand with himself in regard to it-in othe words, he Is conferring with his othe dark-skinned brethren to see if the tim has not come for united African Method
 ism on this continent. And really, if tn | white Methodists of America will no show the negro the way to union, wha ) could be more fitting than he should sho' 7 them the way to this goali Perhaps, in ' deed, as this race was the cause of th Methodist divisions, this initiation [ amongst them of plan for healing thes 3 divisions is precisely the thing we migh ) naturally have expected. This union 0 s the colored forces, should it be reached would take large contingent of colore
 members from the roster of the N. , 1 church, and the aggregated Africans t gathered into one fold, would at once pre- l sent themselves to the gaze of mankind a 8 the second largest of all the Methodist bod l les in the world.
 8 It is a pity to introduce the better hal D last, but the fact is many of the Englis . delegates have brought their wives an 7 daughters with them and it was our dc e lightful privilege yesterday to hear seyers @ of these speak. Their special theme wa s the work they are doing amongst the out . cast and the poor in London. Mrs. Hug ], Price Hughes wore the garb of Sister c e the People, an order which she forme r and has since governed. Her dress an 8 bonnet were black, the former being IT r. lieved by conspicuous white cuffs and a