The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1896-04-26

centennial of the general conference. The
first conference of the Methodists was
held In Baltimore in lisa Freedom Gar
rettson led the movement which brought
the scattered representatives of the church
together in that city in late December.
The first session was held on Friday. De-
cember "A. In Lovely Lane Chapel"
Thomas Coke, who had come to Ameri-
ca as Wesley's representative, presided.
Nearly sixty preachers were In attend
ance. and they organized the Methodist
Episcopal church as an independent body.
The new church organisation sprane into
existence on Christmas day. and so this
conference Is known In history ~ the
christmas conference"
The quadrennial conferences were not
established until eight years later. At
first q council composed Of bishops and
presiding elders had control OF the national
organization. But this form of govern
ment proved unpopular. and In 1899 a gen.
eral conference was called to meet at Bal
timore. and since that time general con-
ferences have been held regularly at inter<
walls Of four years. Until 1S& they met In
Baltimore with the single exception of
ISL. when the unsettled conditions grow
ing out Of the war with England caused
the conference to be held in New York.
In 1873 the general conference met in
Pfttsburg. and in subsequent years 1t met
in Philadelphia. Cincinnati. Boston. Indi-
annapolis, Buffalo. Chicago, Brooklyn and
Omaha.
The conference Of 1899 was held in Oma-
ha, and the number Of delegates was 5A.
The increase in the membership Of the
conference shows the increase in the mem.
bership OF the church. In 1865 the dele
gates were 24a. in 1899 they were 5o; in
1896 they win be SOS. One delegate to the
general conference is elected for every
forty-five members OF the annual confer
ences. and the delegates to the annual
conferences are proportional TO the menu
bership Of the congregations represented.
Conferences In Foreign Lands.
These annual conferences are held in all
parts of the United States, In Bulgaria
Central China and the Kongo Free State
All three of these foreign conferences will
be represented here by clerical and lay del
egates. Many missions also will be repre-
scented in the gathering-those OF Dem
mark. Korea and India among them-but
they will have no voice in the general con-
ference. The annual conferences in the
United States are 40. and though some of
them follow. most Of them ignore state
lines. These conferences, as their name
suggests, meet every year. one-half of
them in the spring and the remainder in
the fall. Once in four years they elect del
egates to the general conference and vote
on questions which the general conference
has referred TO them for consideration. In
directly many important questions are de-
termined in the election of delegates. be-
cause delegates to a Methodist Episcopal
conference have platforms and principles
like delegates 10 a political convention
The annual conferences have been going
on all over the country for two months
past. and the most important question on
which they have been voting is the "wo-
man question In 1850 the general confer
ence sustained an episcopal ruling that the
Discipline does not provide for nor con-
template the licensing of women as local
preachers and another that "the law OF
the church does not authorize the ordina-
ton OF women" Thus shut out of the