Year: 1870

MetnOdlSt Ept5c0pal Churcn, numbering about
five hundred ministers, and representing
nearly seventy Eve thousand Methodists, will
meet In annual session in this city. The former
will convene In the Thrtieth street ,Metho-
dist Episcopal church and the latter in Seventh
street. This session OF those bodies will be
the most important that has been held here for
great many years. Questions Of the utmost
Importance not only to the denomination, but
to the entire Christian community, will come
up for discussion, and from the position, num-
bers and wealth Of the churches represented
by the two conferences their action will most
probably be followed by the provincial con-
ferences that are yet to meet. Here 1t is that
the debates on the question Of lay delegation
have been conducted with the greatest vigor,
and as those conferences will have to vote on
1t now we may expect renewal Of the discus
sion. Forty-nine out of seventy-one confer
ences have already voted nearly four to one in
faver Of the measure.


The alleged defalcations in the Book Con-
cern, the first reports Of which were promul-
gated with view to influence the. votes of
other annual conferences on this question, will
also receive due share of attention. The
preachers of both conferences who reside in
this city and vicinity have already taken action
on the reports of the Book Committee and
have endorsed the majority. The country
members may, however, reverse or neutralize
this decision, as it is known that the minority
report Of the committee is much more ac-
ceptable to the denomination at large, who
believe that defalcation and misman-
agement exists in the Concern, and that the
Book Committee could find the same out if
they desired. There is q movement among
the laity of some Of the city churches to con-
solidate some of the districts and thereby to
reduce the number Of presiding elders, which
they think are becoming too numerous and too
expensive. This also will come up for discus
sion and adjudication.


The subject of ministerial education, made
and especially to those Conferences-by the
recent death of the Rev. DR.. McClintock,
demands and will receive tho most careful
consideration. 1t is well known, and has
been openly asserted by one of the bishops of
the Church, that the majority of applicants
for admission to the Methodist ministry now
are men nearer to forty years of age than
twenty-five. The explanation given OF this
fact Is that young men OF wealth, culture and
social position in the Church prefer TO enter
other professions wherein the labor is lighter
and the remuneration greater and more GER
| t1s, - tI,N ,xf,s,t
be recruited, if at ALL from among the poor r
classes, and these must have free collegiate
education or none. The supply Of The Me,ho-
dist pulpit by the regular ministry at present
does not make up the losses caused by death,
location and approximation. Tic denomina-
tion throughout the land owns eleven thousand
seven hundred churches, and yet has but
eight thousand four hundred and eighty one
travelling preachers to supply those pulpits
and 10 minister to more than seven millions Of
souls There are, however, nearly ten thou
sand local or lay preachers besides. Hence
the subject of education is one of vital
Importance to the future progress and well
being of the Methodist Church.


Another question, hardly less important,
but one of more local interest, ana in which all
Protestant denominations are equally con-
cerncd, is the adoption of mora positive
measures for the evangelization of the
neglected masses of this city. There are in
New York four hundred Protestant churches
of all denominations, thrty-nine Roman
Catholic and twenty-nine Jewish churches
The average seating capacity of those churches
is about one thousand each, which gives con-
siderably less than half million persons a
chance to hear the Gospel preached on the
Sabbath. There are, therefore, about six
hundred thousand souls in this city every
Sabbath day for whom no spiritual provision
whatever has been made by Professionalism.
The late w. w. Cornell was president of a
Methodist missionary society whose efforts
are directed towards founding churches in
neglected neighborhoods in the city, and
under its auspices six churches have been
dedicated and about the same number Of mis-
years. Mr.. CornelPs death has invested this
snbject with increased interest; for, though
the society will continue its operations, it will
lack the moral and material influence of his
name and great wealth to help it forward in its
work. The Methodists are now the second
religious denomination in the city, the Episco-
palians being the first. The former have fifty
five churches aud the latter ninety-fve. The
Methodist denomination at large dedicate an
average Of two churches every day throughout
the year.


There are two other important subjects that
have recently agitated the Protestants of this
State and on which some of them have taken
action-namely, the appropriation of State
and city moneys to sectarian purposes and the
reading Of the Bible in the public schools. The
recent Methodist State Convention unani-
mously protested against the former and
resolved to sustain the latter. These are