Morning journal and courier., 1891-10-14
THE METHODIST CONFERENCES. Interest Given the Body by the Num- Der Of Celebrities From Abroad Some Peculiarities of the British Methodists-Wflliam Arthur-The Seven Great Evils of the Time.

Methodists-Willia Arthur-The
 Seven Great Evils of the Time.
 WASHINGTON, D. O., Oct. 12. Tothe Editor of the JOURNAL AND COURIER:
 The first week of this great conference has more than fulfilled the promise of it's suspicious opening. It Is the universal testimony that Methodism, familiar as 1t is with big meetings, never saw 1t on this wise before-never SO much enthusiasm, never such an assembly of intellectual giants, never such 0 steady flow of elo- quence, never such display of theologi- cal learning, and, what is better than all else, never conference in all the history Of this much divided household which has taken the practical steps this has toward harmony and final union. One thing which has given perennial interest to the proceedings of this body is the presence in it of so many celebrities from abroad. The listener feels all the time that in some sense the representatives of two great na- tionalities are in forensic combat with each other. It is inevitable, too, that this same feeling must be shared by the speak CTS, the English swayed by 8 laudable am bition to appear at their best before the Americans, and Uncle Sam being equally determined to make as favorable an i'm pression as possible upon the mind of John Bull
 Viewed from the physical standpoint, these Englishmen are splendid specimens of 1f af only the rubicund faces common to thoir countrymen, but all the other marks of good living for which their race is noted. They are not so tall as the Americans, nor so broadly framed, but for rotundity of outline and for that physical quality called stockiness, they are far ahead of them. In attire the majority still affect both the clerical vest and the white stock; but there is an obvious revolt from this strait-laced custom, for some are as far re- moved in their make up from the ideal gentleman of the cloth as are any of their brethren in America. With the gift of speech they are endowed to an extraordi- nary degree. To be sure many of them have the Gladstonian habit of drawling out an occasional monotone while waiting for the proper word to occur to them, but even these say what they start out to say III Gl6 COuTS6 O1 Ilul0, Wull6 GuOS6 WHO are free from this habit speak with an ease and precision which are really charming, and, for the most part, their Englishisms, which are constantly apparent, only add to this charm.
 Of course some things in these English orators are constant source of diversion to us. It seemed very funny to hear Will liam Arthur call the chairman's gavel a ga-vel, with broad accent on the a, and just as much so to hear Dr. Stephenson make two sentences out of the word ''saved;" but this is English, we know, ! and hence, though it grates on our ears, we can readily excuse it. We can also forgive the gentleman last named for re- ! fning evil into evil, with a very mild | sound of the vii. When, however, he ap- plies this refined rule of speech to Metho- dism's time enemy, and insists upon 1 calling his Satanic majesty the devil, still l giving 8 very soft and long drawn sound | to the last syllable, as though he might be
 fearful of giving offence to the person de-
 signated. we cannot help protesting | Constantly, too, are we diverted by the
 English Hear, hear, which is John Bulls
 way of informing speaker that he has | hit the nail on the head; for the solemn
 and emphatic way in which usually, witt no change of countenance-exceptin ! platform and tighter compression of tht | lips-he blurts out this English form oi indorsement, leaves the novice uncertain | at times whether he approves or disap proves, and makes 1t a question whether
 instead of the proverbial nail having beer hit on the head, MT. Bull himself has no
 suffered such an experience. Still iti
 English, and it's catching, for to-day VI
 heard the same expression from prominen
 delegates on the American side of tn,
 house, and really, who shall say that tn,
 breaking out among the American breth
 ren of mild form of Anglophobia of thi
 kind may not be another sign that Aetho l dist union is at hand
 But with all their peculiarities who cal
 help admiring these sturdy representative
 of British Methodisml The fact is the,
 have taken the conference by storm. Flo
 some reason the Americans have so far
 metaphorically speaking, taken 8 bacl seat in this conference. Not only hay
 they shown less eagerness than usual t get the floor, but they have shown les than their usual ability when the posses sion of the floor has been accorded them | Thus the English have the right of way and candor compels the statement tha they have travelled this way at rapid an , even startling gait. With rare exception , all their speakers have done well, an
 most of them have sustained their part
 admirably. The leaders on the Britis
 side are Arthur, Stephenson and Hughes 7 The first of this gifted trio is regarded b : the conference with feeling of absolut , veneration. He Is kind of father to th brethren. His words fall on their .esl 5 like the utterances of some sacred oracle 8 He speaks at nearly every session; alwayi 8 too, by unanimous consent-for no on I else wishes the floor when William Arthu !, rises-and there is always in what he say ! the happiest conceivable blending of COT g seryatism and progressiveness. An ol F man, with one of the youngest of hesrt'