The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1899-08-16
Great Crowds in Attendance
at High Point.
STATES REPRESENTED
The Silence Meeting and the thee" and
Thou" ofoId Days Were as Much
Thingsofthe Past as Prisca's
Quaint Heae- Dress.
Charlotte observer.l

Greensboro,.Au 14-First and last |
suppose 10000 persons attended yester-
day the services of the Quaker's Annual
Meeting at High Point. Apart from the
Quakers, great numbers of visitors
from the surrounding country filled the
town-a crowd that typihed the con-
yentional greatday in a small town,
except that there was an absence of red
lemonade stands. The usual nuisance
was there, too, i'm the shape of a street
preacher from here named Moore. In
stentorian tongue he bothered folks III
the early morning by declaring that he
had no objection to the Friends, but so
far as he was personally concerned hel
was a friend of the Lord This is the
same man that was rotten-egged IN
Greensboro a little while ago.
There were present at the exercises
leading Quakers from Pennsylvania,
Ohio. Indiana Kansas Iowa, Maine
and other States. The delegates from
England We're unable to attend, as had
been expected. During the day and might
sessions addresses We're made by the
celebrated preachers, Mrs. Sarah God
dard Newlin, of Vasseboro, Me-; by
Amos Davis, of Iowa: Joseph Stanley,
of Kansas; Rev. Mr.. Hughes, of Ohio:
Rufus King, of Archdale, and Prof
Hobbs, of Guilford College. Probably
the most able sermon was preached in
the afternoon by Mrs. Newlin from the
text: Il am the vine; We are the
branches, and every branch that beareth
not fruit He purgeth it." Apart from the
addresses mentioned, there was perfect
freedom of speech in the making Of many
short talks.
From leading delegates among the
Quakers i learned that there are $500
Quakers in North Carolina, and it is
estimated that there are 100000 Quakers
int the United States and about 100000
in the whole world. The most prosper
Gus Friends live in the middle Western
States, where they stand exceedingly
well in education, literary pursuits and
finance, as web as i'm the other depart
ments of life. Nearly all the Quakers
from that section off the country came
originally from North Carolina. Their
ntlInI0er in this State was decimated by
strong anti-slavery sentiment that
caused them to migrate: and thousands
of them left Carolina after the failure
of the Emanumition Society in 1880.
from old records it appears that the
&tudheTS HTSI SHIIlbu III lale AlUe1IstFlb
district of North Carolina lnow Per-
quimans county about 1900, theirs be-
ing the pioneer church III the State. 1t
is said that there was a rapid increase
to the society, both by confinement
and immigration. There are accounts
of general meetings., and the early
establishment of a Quarterly Meeting
held at the house of Henry White, in
Albemarle; and monthly meetings were
established in the surrounding neighbor-
hood as early as $780, The commence
ment of the Yearly Meeting dates from
16yo; and from that date tae North Car
Dina Yearly Meeting has exercised indie
penaent relations, though it has main
tanned regular correspondence with Lon
don and other Yearly Meetings.
About the middle eff the eighteenth cen
fury settlements of Friends were made in
Wayne, Randolph and Guilford counties,
forming Contentnea, Western and New
Garden Quarterly Meetings. In 1856
the Western Quarterly Meeting request
ed that the Yearly Meeting be held al
ternately in the east and west, which
being weightily considered by the Year
ly Meeting was united with" and the
Yearly Meeting was first held at Centre,
Guilford county, in 1887. In 1889, at
Centre, a proposition came from the
western and New Garden Quarterly
Meetings that the Yearly Meetings be
held alternately at Syinon.s Greek. in
PasquotaTlk county, and at New GAR
den:D and the minutes Of the next Year