The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1892-05-12
Tho Methodist General Conference
Will Celebrate on tho 17th.
THE MATTER OF REDISTRICIING
Tho Territory Of tho Church Brought
Up by DIR. Grny-.-Ilshop Merrill Ex.
plains the Report Of tho Constltu.
tion Comniission-..He Represents
tho afajority.-.Au Effort to Unite tho
Two branches, North and South.
The First Moyc Made.

ShhhH, 'i"y A'i'iaiop JoSCc oCCu'
pied tho presiding otlicer's chair in the
Methodist Episcopal general conference
to-day. Tho devotional services wcre
conducted by Rev. I. B. Sheppard, OF
tho Now York conference. @
Tho rules were suspended to hear n
report from tho committee on centcn.
nial OF the general conference OF the
Methodist church. Tho report recon.
mcndcd that special service bo held on
the evening OF May II as u centennial
service. The report also recommended
that efforts be made to collect the facts
connected with tho conference OF 1902,
rs tho official journal OF that conference
was lost. The report was adopted.
DR.. Haynett moved that q committee
be appointed to meet tho delegation TO
the Presbyterian general assembly, who
pass through Omaha tomorrow OIL their
way to Portland, Oregon, and invite
them 10 visit tho general conference.
Carried.
DR.. L. J. Gray, OF Pennsylvania, in.
troduced q resolution to change the
rules SO as to give different boards au.
thority to elect the official editors, Sec
retaries OF the auxiliary department,
superintendent Of the book concern and
other officers usually elected by the gen.
eral conference. lie supported the rcso.
luton in very practical speech, in
which he said rs most of the candidates
were unknown TO majority OF the dele
gates ho thought the various boards
could elect these officers with more in
telligence and satisfaction to. all con.
cerned. Referred TO the committee on
temporal economy.
DIR. Gray also introduced a resolution
calling upon the committee on episco-
pacy to consider the advisability OF dis
tricting the whole territory OF tho
church into as many districts Us there
are effective bishops less one, and to
assign to each bishop except the senior
bishop prescribed district ior the
term OF four years, instead OF leaving
:he bishops to divide the work, as they
do at present A resolution sug zestod
that the senior bishop be Lett wilhouea
district, to preside at the bishops
meeting and superintend the work.
Referred to the committee on episco-
pacy.
DR.. W. T. Warren, OF Boston, intro
duced resolution TO have capable
committee appointed TO revise the
opening chapter on discipline, which
treats oil the origin and history the
church. The paper was referred to the
committee OH revision OF discipline,
and DR.. Warren was added to the COM
lnittee. u r. - sl5tl2&, I i. :; 3. i l;s "
At this juncturc Bishop Joyce intro
duced Rev.Dr. Taagert, fraternal dele
gate from the Methodist Church, South.
He is a young and vigorous looking di-
vine OF intellectual appearance.
A resolution was offered calling for an
earnest effort to unite the two branches
Of the Methodist Episcopal Church IN
the United States. 1t was referred to
the committee on state oi the church
amid applause.
The conference now took up the con-
sideration OF the report OF the constitu-
tion commission. Bishop Merrill said
he would be glad ii he could represent
the commission rs a unit. Bu: it had
not been. The report was the opinion
aud conclusion OF the majority.
II shall not argue before you rs to
whether our conclusions were right or
wrong" said Bishop Merrill. "I Simply
explain our conclusions and leave YOU
to decide" Bishop Merrill then re-
viewed the adoption OF the law by
which delegates were admitted to the
general conference
THAT portion OF tho constitution put
in unlawfully was not put in at all in
reality" said Bishop Merrill. "The
constitution really should remain as it
was in 1858, with the exception of those
changes which were lawfully made.
That part which went in unlawiully
took the place OF parts that were un-
lawfully put out, and those parts arc
not out at oil, even though they may
seem TO be-"
In closing Bishop Merrill said: "It
is for this conference TO decide whether
the act OF tho conference OF 1872 was or
was not n legal act tho commission had
no right to pass upon that. We have
simply reported the facts rs We believe
they exist" ce5
a long discussion followed, pnrtici-
pated in by Doctors Queal, Hamilton
and others, but without action the con-
ference adjourned.
Tho committee on opiscopacy has de-
ceded 10 recommend that four new bis
hops be created, in defiance of the Off
cialaction OF the episcopal board, which
was against increasinsits membership.
This, it IS said, was brought about by
the candidates themselves. The most
prominent candidates for bishop are {:
DR.. Peck, Cincinnati; Hamilton, Bos-
ton; McCabe,4 New York; Leonard,
Ohio: Whitefeld, Iowa; Payne, New
York; Bristol. Chicago; Nicely, Philadel-
.phia; Swindell, Philadelphia; King,
New York; Hartzcll, New Orleans.
The raceis decidedly an. interesting
ono.
The committee on cpisco pacy had a
| red hot meeting this Afternoon at tho
First Methodist church. The question
OF changing the episcopal residences
now located at Buffalo, Topeka, Fort
Worth and Cincinnati, to other cities
demanding the residence OF 4 bishop,
came before the committee and pro-
voied q lively fight Bishop Vincent,
who resides Mt Buffalo, was present, and
was asked to state his opinion OF the
proposed removal OF the episcopal resi-
dence from Buffalo. lie presented q
number OF resolutions for tho belief
that it would be n great mistake to re.
move the episcopal, residence from
Buffalo. Bishop Monde spoke clo-
quontlyin favor oirctainins the cpisco.
| pnl residence ut Tonckn. and this rn.