Evening star., 1901-04-29
CONFERENCE. ANNIVERSARY
FIRST GENERALAGArHERrNG OF
METHODIST pROTEsTANTs.
Founded by Ministers
VINO Left NJ. E. Church-GeOrge-
town Meeting.

MONDAY of next week will be the ami
Fersary OF the meeting of the first general
! conference of the Methodist Protestant
Church This took place at Georgetown,
now part of Washington. May 9. 1884,
| when the denomination was about seven
| years old.
| The Methodist Protestant Church was
| founded by a few ministers who had with
drawn from the communion Of the NJ. E.
church, and their sympa thizers, who as
sembled In Baltimore in November, 1927.
ana formed a society called Associate
Methodist Reformers" The organization
spread and In little while there were
numerous "reformers in New York. Phil
adelphia. Baltimore Pittsburg and Cincin-
natl. "A general convention of Methodist re-
formers assembled in Baltimore in Novem-
Der, 1873, and soon afterward conferences
were organized in different states, so far as
possible in harmony with the principles of
the Methodist Episcopal Church, except in
the points upon which the reformers had
taken issue.
An association was formed in Pittsburg
including large number of members. Az
ter many such combinations had been eff
fected a general convention assembled in
Baltimore November 2, 1880, to frame
constitution and discipline, draft having
been previously prepared by committee.
1t was adopted after amendment. The new
denomination was styled the Methodist
Protestant Church.
Church Paper Founded.
AS above stated the first general confer
ence Of the Methodist Protestant Church
assembled in Georgetown May 6, 1884.
Standing committees were appointed upon
the executive. judiciary, means of grace,
missions and literature; board of foreign
missions was constituted, also book COM
mittee. Messrs. Nicholas Snethen and Asa
Shnn We're elected joint editors of the
Methodist Protestant. AS the patronage did
not justify the employment of two editors,
at the end Of the first year Mr.. Snethen was
retired, and at the end Of the second year
Mr.. Shinn resigned, and, for the purposes OF
economy, an unmarried man was made
editor. There had been difficulties because
Of what MIR. Shinn considered unwarranta-
bic interference on the part Of a subcom-
mittee with his prerogatives as editor. Be
fore this arrangements had been made FOR
a general conference once in seven years,
but a special session was ordered and 1t
was determined that the general conference
should assemble quadrennially.
A literary institution was established in
1886 at Lawrenceville. Ind; for time II
was conducted by Mr.. snethen, but in con-
sequence of the lack Of financial support
and the destruction Of the buildings by f1re
the enterprise was abandoned.
The Slavery Question.
After q somewhat stormy period of dis
cussion conventions were held to discuss
sent to the general conference Of 1858 ask
ing for the elimination from the constitu
tion and discipline of everything that could
directly or indirectly Justify the practice
Of slaveholding and slavedealing. and
petitioning for the insertion of a clause
that voluntary slaveholdins and slavedeal-
Ing would be a bar to membership, but
that body disregarded the memorials. The
excitement continued. MIR. Reese was re-
elected editor of the Methodist Protestant
and the church divided.
Negotiations were begun in 1867 looking
toward u union OF the Methodist Episcopal
Church South and the Methodist Protestant
Church The latter asked the former to
strike out the word south and insert the
word "Protestant"1if the word "Episcopar'
were retained; to dispense with the pre-
siding eldership; to have as many bishops
as annual conferences;i to give itinerant
ministers the right of appeal from the
stationing power; to concede no veto power
to the bishops and to make other radical
changes. The commissioners Of the Metho-
dist Episcopal Church South responded to
each point separately, definitely for or
against, but the negotiations avalled moth
Ing.
The nineteen conferences Of the northern
and western branches held their organizing
convention November 10, 1858, in Spring
field, Ohio. All in the -s1avehoiding
states were represented but those Of Maine
and Oregon, remote and small. They voted
almost unanimously to strike the word
white from the constitution and to in
sert the declaration that the buying and
selling Of men, women and children or
holding them in slavery as they are held
in these United States is inconsistent with
the mortality Of the holy Scriptures" and
appointed the necessary committees, one Of
which proposed to accept the proposition Of
Cyrus Prindle, book agent of the Wesleyan
Connection in America, to prepare a joint
hymn book, and ordered the publication Of
a new discipline as amended by the con-
vention. 1t made arrangements for the
call Of a convention at PittghnrU n 1870
Another convention assembled November 8.
1862, which was invested with full legtsla-
tive powers.
Prevented by War.
That year the general conference of the
Methodist Protestant Church had failed to
meet because Of the civil war. The conven-
tion therefore declared that the Methodist
churches in the west and north were alb
solved from obligation to ask Of the Meth
| odist Protestant conference in the southern
states official concurrence In their action,
and were left entirely free to maintain the
| act of suspension adopted in Springfield.
Ohio, in 1853"
The Initiative had been taken in 1850
for the consolidation of the Methodist
Protestants and Wesleyans, and in 1865
Cyrus Prindle arrived from the latter
body to advocate union: Meanwhile
ly known member of the Methodist
Episcopal Church, had organized an inde-
pendent church in the city Of New York.
He and representatives Of other independ-
ent Methodist churches appointed in 1864
a committee to confer with the commit
tees Of other Methodist bodies with the
purpose of uniting In one all non Episcopal
Methodists.
A convention for that purpose met and
recommended the calling of delegated as
sembly In May, 1868. in Cincinnati, with
power to fix the basis of union and the
| method of consummating 1t. One hundred
and forty-three ministerial and lay dele
gates attended. The free-state conferences
Of the Methodist Protestant Church and
the Wesleyan body were represented nu-
merously, and there were delegates from
some Of the Independent bodies The free
Methodists sent no representatives and In
the interval Mattison had returned to the
Methodist Episcopal Church. The result
was that the new Organization decided
upon the na1pe of the Methodist Church."
regular constitution of the Methodist Prot
estant Church as revised by the conven-
tion of 1858.
Jubilee PilGrtmages.
Jubilee pilgrimages Were made yesterday
afternoon by the congregation of eleyen