Evening star., 1898-10-19

| Ilsuop Coleman is one or the beSt-likeQ
| n en- In the house of bishops. and Is very
| popular among the deputies from his Gio-
| cese. He is liberal, learned, full Of good
| humor and approachable.
HOUSE OF DEPUTIES.
TIipartite Division of Indiana the
Subject of Discussion.
| At the opening of the house of deputies
| today number of deputies We're excused
from further attendance upon the proceed
| ings on recommendation of the committee
| on elections. The committee on prayer
book reported back the resolution of DR..
Renouf authorizing the alternate reading
| of the Bible as inexpedient
| The committee on admission of new dio-
| ceses recommended non-concurrence in the
| action of the house of bishops providing
| for the division of Indiana into three do
| ceses minority report favoring the tri-
parllte division was also submitted.
, Ihe majority report showed the necessity
OF missionary work in the southern portion
| of Indiana, where in thirty-two counties
| with about a million Inhabitants there had
| been virtually no church work done. ex-
cept on the border The minority offered
| a resolution moving concurrence with the
| bishops on the subject.
| objection was made to immediate consid-
| GRAFTON of the subject, but by a two-thirds
| vote 1t was taken up, the question being on
| eiiS iAiiioiitS leDOTl
| An Interesting Debate
| Rev. Henry R. Restarick of Los Angeles
| who presented the minority report said 1t
| was perhaps remarkable that the minority.
which desired missionary work done in
| Indiana, should hail one from California
| anc the other from Oregon, but he could
not understand how million people in
| such middle portion of the country should
| be permitted to exist without having on
| portunity to hear the gospel as the church
| presents 1t to the people. 1t was said that
| afchdeacons visited the section occasional
| ~, but such visits were inadequate to Sc
| cure any progress.
| Rev. A. w. Seabrease of Indiana strongly
| supported the minority recommendation
he pointed out that the conditions IN In
| dlana required the setting 3part of the
| southern portion of the state as a mission
| ary jurisdiction. He said the church had
| row scarcely aLy foothold in that part of
me state. The northern part, which had
already been set off as a diocese would
| have enough to do. In central Indiana
there was tremendous work to be jore
which could be better accomplished # IT
was left as the old diocese and not inc,1m-
pered with the southern counties. He
| pleaded for concurrence in the resolution of
! the bishops. The portion which would he
thus brought into active relations with the
church. he stated, now has five self-sup-
| porting parishes in thrty-two counties,
but they were along the Ohio river.
Conditions in Indiana
Mr.. Stuart McKibbin of southern Indiana
| also supported concurrence Indiana con-
| tanned upward of 5000, 600 people. II occ1-
| pied place in the very center of the mill
! ole west. and yet for sixty years. the
| church had utterly ignored it. The speaker
| predlCted. If the missionary district asked
| for was set aside, desired that when the
| deputies came to the next general conven-
| hGyr
mousse would also congratulate itself upon
what had been accomplished
| In conclusion, he stated that in twenty
| OF the thlrty-two counties there hal never
| been an Episcopal chapel or church or
| meeting mouse or clergyman.
Enlightened Citizens.
Rev DR.. J. Everist Cathell of Iowa. the
| next speaker, who had worked in Indiana
said it was Bishop Knickerbocker who
| first recommended a tripartite division of
J Indiana. The state, he said, was peculiar
| in several things one was the unusually en-
| I1ghtened character of the citizens another
| was that the public school system was
| second to none. All other denominations
were well equipped in the state. The lack
1 or progress in Indiana by the Episcopal
| Church was due in small degree said
| the speaker, TO the fact that Bishop Knick-
erbockers two predecessors were physic al
! ly incapacitated for their work II was
| Bishop Knickerbocker who began the real
| work Dr. Cathell hoped southern Indiana
| would be admitted a missionary district
| and said that. while neither prophet nor
the son of one. he was sure if this were
done the district would become a full dio-
ceSc within fifteen years.
| Mr. Francis A. Lewis of PENNSYLVANIA
made the point that the question was not
one of sentiment but of dollars and cents
The practical must be regarded, he thought
| and he believed that it would be better to
| postpone the consideration of making
southern Indiana missionary district and
| placing so much extra expense on the
| church at large to some future time.
DR.. AIsop in Opposition.
| Rev. DR.. Reese F. Alsop of Long Island
took the same view. He said there was
| another feature in the case also; that was
| the tendency to throw responsibility on the
whole church for work that should be done
by the dioceses as at present constituted.
| The convention had already relieved the
| bishop of the diocese of Indiana of the
supervision of the northern portion of the
state by making it a separate diocese. Now
| 1t was asked to relieve him of the southern
part.
Returning to the subject of expense. DR..
AlSCp called attention to the difficulties
which confronted the board of managers
| to meet expenses every year, and called
| attention~to the great additional demands
that will be made almost Immediately with
out the consideration of the proposed mis-
sionary district in Indiana.
The Discussion Continues.
Rev DR.. Roberts of New Hampshire ia
vored concurrence with the bishops and
was followed by several others who made
brief remarks for and against it, and then
Mr.. Joseph H. Stotsenburg of Indiana took
| the platform He declared, with much en-
phasis, that Indiana had a right to the di-
vision asked. There We're million people
IN southern Indiana, thousands of whose
souls were susceptible to being brought into
harmony with the teachings of the church
So far as the question of ways and means
was concerned, it narrowed down simply
to whether $1,000 year should be saved
| or that it should be expended with the re-
suit of bringing thousands into communion
with the church.
Mr.. Fairbanks of Florida followed He
wanted to know what mission work meant
II 1t did not mean bringing people into the
church and the true knowledge of Christ
Ihere seemed to be understanding that
there should be no missionary work east
OF the Mississippi river, but so far as he
was concerned he believed it should be ex-
ercised wherever there was need for If
He would freely declare that he was more
n