Year: 1860

Union have chronicled the fact that re
Gently, in Texas, Methodist minister
was dragged from his home by lawles
mob and hung. This diabolical deco
has excited very little remark from th'
conductors of the religious press, and
many of them seem to regard it as
scarcely worthy of a passing comment
A weekly paper which claims to be a
loyal exponent of the usages of the
Church of which the hanged man was
minister, speaks of the deed in very
gingerly phrase, as if fearful that the
mere mention Of it might give offense
con the Border" among those whose
friendship it vainly seeks to perpetuate;
''we regret to learn is stereotyped
phrase which might appropriately intro
duce notice of a lost carpet bag or tell
the admiring public of an affection of
the throat which disabled brother ed
itor from preaching at a campmeeting
1t seems rather tame language where
with to express horror at the cold
blooded murder Of brother minister
Language alittle more spirited in its tone
would not have been unbecoming on such
an occasion, even from editors who are
bound to speak Of 'the great evil, and
all things connected with it, with calf
like tenderness. They who committed
the deed and put the rope round the neck
of the victim-nay, even those who i'll
stigated them to this deed of blood
might have said "we regret to learn
that the Rev. Anthony Bewley has
been hung.


And who was Anthony Bewley? and
why and by whom was this atrocity COM
mltted!


Anthony Bewley was an elder in good
standing in the Methodist Episcopal
Church. He was member of the Ar
kansas Conference, and at their session
in 1859 he was stationed at place called
Hamilton Valley in the Texas district.
He received that appointment from
Bishop James, who, it will be remem-
bered, published in this paper calm ac-
count Of the mob violence with which
he and the conference generally were
treated, at the instigation, as was sup
posed, of members of the Methodist
Church, South. Mr.. Bewley was elected
a delegate to the General Conference in
1860, but for some reason unknown to
us did not take his seat with the body;
of course he had no share in its proceed
ings. At the previous session of the
Arkansas Conference, in So, no bishop
was present, and the members, by ballot,
elected as their president (bishop pro
teno.) the Rev. Anthony Bewley. At
the conference of '55 Bishop Simpson
appointed Mr.. Bewley Presiding elder
of the Texas District, which Office he
held by appointment of Bishop Baker in
SO, and of Bishop Amos in 81. We
mention these facts to show in what es-
TEEN this hanged brother was held du-
ring the latter years Of his life, both by
his brethren and by the episcopacy. No
man could have had in our Church a
better Endorsement as being, in the slang
phrase of the day, "perfectly safe, "


At the General Conference at Indian
apolis, in '56, Brother Bewley was pres
ent as delegate from the Arkansas
Conference. He faithfully discharged
every duty incumbent upon him, to the
entire satisfaction of his brethren, who
as we have seen, reelected him to the
same position four years afterward. All
who had the pleasure of making Brother
Bewley's acquaintance were struck with
the modesty of his department and the
unaffected simplicity of his character
In his Church politics he was a conserv-
ative of the strictest pattern. He voted
uniformly against any alienation of the
Discipline on tie subject of slavery
All through that session he stood shoul-
der to shoulder with the Border dele
gates. He was with Poisal and McClin-
took and Crooks, and against Hosmer
and Mattison and Abel Stevens, on the
great reckoning up of votes on adopting
the report of the Committee on Slavery
(See the printed Journal for '56, page
1919


It is due to the memory of our de-
parted brother that these facts should
be known, and the false insinuation that
he was an Abolitionist should be branded
as it deserves. But what was he? and
how did he incur the malignant and
deadly enmity of those among whom he
had for SO many years gone in and out
preaching the unsearchable riches OF
Christ? We answer: Brother Bewley
was minister of the Methodist Epis-
copal Church, and held, as does the entire
Methodist Episcopal Church, thai
slavery is great evil, and ought to be
extirpated. In the providence of God
as we have seen, his lot was cast in re-
gion where slaveholding is deemed right
and perfectly in accordance with the
teachings of the Gospel. A branch o.