The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1900-05-24
ITINERANCY
OF METHODIST
MINISTRY
Is Now a Thing of the Past-The
General Conference Has Abolished
the Pastorate Time Limit.
BY TWO HUNDRED MAJORITY.
This Makes One of the Most Radical
Changes Ever Effected in
In the Church's History.


CHICAGO, May 2s.-With the elec>
tlon Of bishops and the important ques-
tion Of admitting women to the general
general conference to-day resumed the
discussion of the pastorate time limit
The discussion this morning was main
ly over the minority report OF the com
mittee, which provided for hVe-year
extension of the pastorate only on a
three-fourths vote OIL qu@Etetly S'n-
ference, which one speaker declared 10
be a vicious proposition ana an
amendment offered by Secretary u ..
Munroe, substituting the word "three
for five" In section OF paragraph ~"
of the discipline, thus returning TO the
three-year time limit but with the pro-
vision that the pnstorate may De e3-
tended for periods of three years oy a
majority report of quarterly CONFER
ence.
DR.. ]. M. Buckley adVocateu as a
compromise measure the adoption OF
the minority report with a majority
vote Of a quarterly conference instean
OF three-fourths, as a requisite Tor ex-
tension.
Raised Storm OF Applause
DR.. r. S. Copeland, lay delegate, OF
Ann Arbor. aroused storm Of applause
by advocating an "unmodihed, unu'-
strlcted, unqualified abolition of the
time limit" and when he concluded
cries of vote, vote" came from all over
the hall.
The previous question was ordered by
an Overwhelming vote and DR.. S. F.
Upham, chairman of the committee on
itinerancy, closed the debate In favor
OF the majority report.
A motion to lay on the table the sub
stitute (mlnority) report and all amend
ments was carried by vote Of S65 to
2SS. Substitutes offered by various del
eEates were howled down and yea and
nay vote was ordered on the majority
report.
The vote on the majority report OF
the committee on itinerancy was then
announced by Secretary Monroe, as
follows: Yeas, 433; nGIs, 233.
And thus the law q. the Methodist
church, whereby minister has been
able to remain in one pastorate but five
years, was abolished.
The majority report of the committee
on itlnerancy reads as follows:
The Change Effected.
Section 3, paragraph 17S, OF the dis
cipline. is amended by striking out sub
section 1 of section 3 and inserting
therefor the words "he (the bishop
shall appoint the preachers in the sew
eral pastoral charges annaully."
At the afternoon session DR.. ]. NJ:
King submitted n memorial to Con-
gress asking for the passage Of an
amendment to the constitution of the
United States dlsfranchIslng all per-
sons practicing polygamy and barring
thenbfrom the privilege Of holding pub
lie office. 1t was read and adopted
without ulACugSlOn.
BIshops-elect Moore and Hamilton
were rendered an informal reception
by the alumni of the Mount Union col
lege of Ohio, at the Leland hotel this
evening. Two hundreds persons at
tended.
A Sensation Promised.
Agent Mains, representative of the
Methodist publishing interests in New
York, was kept busy far into the night
explaining certain portions of his quad
rennial report to the committee on book
concerns. Chairman Frank Arter, of
the subcommittee, to which was re-
ferred the report OF the publishing
agents In the east, submitted state
,ment which will in all probability cause
a sensation when It reaches the general
conference. It calls attention to the
fact that the eastern publishing house
has permitted its working capital to
IT'S credit to outside enterprises. One
case OIL .he Ninu referred 70 IN inc re-
P"rt Is '"1t Vi l"e t'''eEl'''''o""l i''o''