Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1892-05-19

handsome, and ne one wonders why the
veteran minister has chosen such COM
panion for the closing years of busy
and successful life. The venerable
groom is as gallant and as happy as II
only coming out of this teens.
The committee on the Worlds Co.
lumbar Exposition reported, and the
report was adopted. 1t sets forth the
Christian character of the discoveries Of
America and Of the founders of this Re-
public. 1t recounts the expressed opin-
ions of the fathers of the nation, and of
Abraham Lincoln. and other such men.
The following resolutions In substance
were unanimously adopted:
Resolved, That to open the gates of the,
exposition on the Sabbath would DO to
affiict $500 900 Methodists and 10000, 900
adherents, and would shock the moral sem
timents of all civilized nations and violate
the law of God.
Resolved, That Congress should condition
all appropriations upon the written agree
ment that the gates shall be closed on the
Sabbath.
The action OF the general conference
has been telegraphed to both houses of
Congress and to the President and to
the officers of the Worlds Columbian
Exposition. While the conference is
heartily in favor Of the exposition 1t is
heartily opposed to it's opening on the
Lords day, and the utterance of the
highest and most influential body In the
Methodist Church will powerfully affect
the entire denomination, and will have
much to do,with the exhibits and the at
tendance upon the exposition.
The great debate of the conference
upon changing the constitution of the
church was carried on at almost in
terminable, length, extending over sew
eral days, but always with lively in
'terest. The main question was the right
of representation of laymen. The final
action was regarded as a victory for
those who held that the plan of lay rep
resentation Is not part of the consti-
tuition, but twas not satisfactory to the
committee, because there were many
other things in the report that they
wished to have discussed.
DR.. J. M. King, of New York, lead
ing candidate for the episcopacy, offered
a resolution for,a proposed amendment
to the Constitution of the United States.
II relates to the protection of the public
schools in the United States against re-
ligious encroachments and to define the
attitude of the churches with relation to
the schools. DIR. King spoke earnestly
the conference to indorse the bill which
has been prepared upon the subject Of
the complete enforcement of church and
state. The passage of this bill would
save the public schools from sectarian
influence, he said, and would remove a
great deal of politics from the churches.
The resolution was adopted.
One OF the eolored delegates offered
racnlutian aladoinn ha anIora1
Methodists to loyalty to the church, and
the session took place, being conducted
entirely by colored delegates. Four
speeches were made and the speakers
compared we'll with any of the white
brethren. One of the speakers said
that the complaint named by DIR. Buckley
as bishop-phobia had attacked the coll
ored preachers as well as the white, but
as the colored preachers were the pupils
OF the white 1t would be natural for the
pupils to follow the example and teach
ings of their intructors. 1t was de-
cided that there was no necessity for any
utteranee concerning the loyalty of the
colored people, as for twenty-five years
they have been faithful and true to all
the interests of the Methodist Episcopal
church
Nearly all the evangelical churches in
Omaha, led by their pastors, showed
marked attention to the general confer
ence, opening their pulpits on the Sab
bath and their church ediflces during the
week for committee purposes. In re-
turn for this courtesy the conference
voted to place chairs on the platform
with the bishops for the use Of tho
pastors OF Omaha.