The record-union., 1892-05-12
METHODIST CONFERENCE.

Action Looking to q Union OF the
Church North and South.
OMAHA, May 1l.-Bishop Joyce pre-
sided at the Methodist Conference to-day.
The Committee on Centennial of the
General Conference reported recommend
ing that special service be held as a GEN.
tennial service on May 18th, and that
efforts be made to collect facts connected
with the conference Of 1892, as the official
journal Of that conference has been lost
Adopted.
A resolution was adopted to appoint
committee TO meet delegates to the Pres
byterian General Assembly, who pass
through Omaha on their way to Portland,
Or, and invite them to visit the General
Conference.
A resolution to relieve the General
Conference OF the appointment of Official
Editors, Secretaries OF Auxiliary Depart
ment, Superintendents of Book Concern,
ETC., by vesting the authority of appoint
ment IN the different boards, was referred
to the Committee on Temporal Economy.
A resolution calling on the Committee
on EpiscOpacy to consider the adviSa-
billty OF districting the whole church ter
rltory into as many districts as there are
bishops, except Senior Bishops, and as
sign 10 each prescribed district for four
years, was referred to the Committee on
EDiScOpacy.
a resolution seeking to have the time
limit to ltinerancy removed was referred
to the committee on that subject.
Mr.. Shinkle of Kentucky offered reso-
luton calling on persons having funds in
their possession to assist in detraying the
conference expenses, to produce the same
instanta, was adopted.
a resolution for the appointment of
committee to revise the opening chapter
of the Discipline, which treats of the
origin and history Of the church, was re-
ferred to the Committee on Revision and
Discipline.
a resolution introduced declaring the
missionary funds were not properly dis
tributed, aud that conferences that paid
the most have not been fairly treated in
the distribution, was referred.
A resolution calling for earnest effort to
unite the two branches Of the Methodist
Church, North and South, was referred to
the Committee on the State of the Church
amid applause.
The conference then took up the report
of the Commission on Constitution, post
poned from yesterday, and Bishop Mer-
rill proceeded to explain the work of the
commission at length.
Bishop Merrill said the commission was
not a unit in making the report.
The report reached the conclusion that
the organic law of the church and consti-
tuition Of the General Conference were
separate and distinct parts Of church law.
The fundamental law of the church was
found to be, regardless Of religion, the
general rule OF united society and the
constitution of the General COnterence
Bishop Merrill then reviewed the adop-
ton of the law by which lay delegates
were admitted to the General Conference,
which passed at the session of 1865. 1t is
generally conceded, said he, that the con-
ference OF 1872 oversGepped its authority
IN changing part of the discipline affect
ing the representation, which the confer
ence was not authorized to change. The
constitution really should remain as it
was in 1868. with the exception of those
changes which were lawfully made.
In closing the explanation, the Bishop
said it is for this conference to decide
whether the act OF the conference was, or
was not, a legal act. The commission
had no right to pass upon it.