Wesleyan Conference.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XIV, Issue 2912, 2 March 1893, Page 2

Wesleyan Conference.

[t>KR FRKBS ASSOCIATION.]

- Dunedin, March 1. At the Wesleyan Conference the ttev G. Bond*; the retiring President, deliver* d an address. * He said :— That he gratefully noted the fact that their ministoriil ranks remained uubroken by death, and another gratifying feature was that notwithstanding the intellectual unrest consequent upon the efforts of the exponents of " Higher Criticism" in the direction of revision and reconstruction, their fences had not been weakened by any estrangement from the evangelical doctrines enshrined in Wesley's "Sermons" and *'Notes on the Mew Testament." Since they last met some of their eminently useful lay brethren had been taken home to God, and among their number some who had from lime to time had a aent in the Conference who as local preachers, class leaders, stewards or trustees, rendered vxluable service to the Church of their choice. As they looked beyond th"ir own borders they discerned that death had been busy elsewhere, and it would not be deemed out of place to refer sympathetically Ito one whose memory would long be cherished by every school of political opinion and every shade of religious' I thought—Sir Harry Atkinson. They I would, he was sure, support his action in j officially condoling with Sir Wm. Fox in : his bereavement. Ho made suitable reference to the deaths of J. G. Whittier, the Quaker poet of America, and Lord Tennyson. He then went on to deal with the special work of the year. They would be pleased to learn that the pelf-denial fund had reached the sum of £536, though no personal appeals were made, and that other and better fruits-folio wed the week pf prayer which accompanied the movement. The Sunday School Union decided upon at the last Conference had been established. In Canterbury it had been received with favour, but elsewhere it had not met with the response it deserved. Its importance could not be over-esti-mated, especially in view of the fact that the moral and religious training of the youth of the colony very largely depended upon the 3unday school teachers, in consequence of the exclusion of the Bible from the day schools, ft was with pleasure he observed that in South Australia a National Scripture Education League had been formed to secure provision for the education of children in Scripture morals without denominational dogma. The Anglican Church in this colony was moving in the, swne direction; The Committee on higher education would again) introduce to their notice a subject o? unspeakable importance. The Committee appointed to consider the establishment of a Connexional Fire Insurance Society would suggest two schemes; first, the formation and registration of a Company with limited liability, and second the establishment by the onferenoe of a fund to cover losses by fire, to be administered by a Committee appointed by the Conference. It would be for them to cay whether the time had arrived for the Conference to attempt something that would effect a saving to. the connexion of over £600 per annum. Another gratifying feature of the year's work was the issuing of the "New Zealand Methodist" «s a penny paper, but it was too early yet to say whether the change ■* would prove a financial success. The General Conference Committee on* Tongan affairs had decided that it was at prVant inadvisable that the Rev E. J. Moulton should return to the Friendly Islands. The address then dealt at length with the passing last session of an Amendment Act to legalise the permissive legislation- of the last General' Conference in re the extension of the term of itinerancy. They would no doubt pass a vott> of thanks to the Hon. the Premier for having taken charge of the\ Bill. The question of Methodist union had come once more to the front, md they were hoping that the trend of opinion in England and Australasia was in the direction of organic union, but the adverse vote of a majority of the Victorian District meetings, and the one-sided and emphatic decision of the Primitive Methodist meeting recently held in Ashburton, somewhat bedimmed their hopes. The Committee appointed for the purpose, however, had met with Bimilar Committees representing the United Methodists and Bible Christian Churches, and helped by the proposed bases of Victoria and South Australia, those joint . Committees h*d formulated a basis of union which would be submitted for their consideration. It was gratifying to note the revived interest of their people in foreign missions, due in part to the visit of the Rev. George Brown, D.D., and they might be permitted to congratulate their Baptist brethren on the spiritual and financial success of their celebration of the centenary of foreign missions. With regard to .the ordinary woik of the year the statistics showed a total membership of 8209, and 365 on tri»l, with a constituency of 53,576, exclusive of 3169 Maoris, showing stn increase of 299 members. Their Sunday school bcholara numbered 20,561. He then want on to discuss the question as to whether the results were entirely satisfactory. He consider they were not, and asked whether there was not a lack of that hightoned spirituality on the part of many which characterised their fathers. He then pointed out that the nois&jon of the Church was not only to call taen to repentance but to seek to redress social | wrongs, to eduoate the popular sentiment ! against the liquor traffic, and to lift a warning voice against gambling and, so educate the public conscience until it would no longer be possible for the Governroenc to legalise the evil or to derive a revenue from the vice. He also alluded to the indifference of the multitude to the claims of religion. In conclusion, he acknowledged the loyalty, courtesy and prayers of the brethren, which had made a year of hard work and anxious thought en© of great personal comfort and happiness. l ' Th, c Rev Keall was elected ■ President and th« Eev W. BulUSeoretary. The following changes in stations on first reading are proposed ; —Auckland, S. Prior ; Marharanga, T. N. Griffin j Upper Thames, T. G. Carr ; Franklyri, S. Griffith; Whangarei, J. G, Chapman; New Mymouth, G. Bond; Wellington, J* J. Lewis, W. Beck, and A. C. Lawry ; Hutt, J. H. Gray; Greyton, J. Gibson; Gisborne, J. Law; Lyttelton, P. W. Fairclough ; Kaiapoi, J. S, Sraalley; Waimate, I). J. Murray; Ashburton, S. l^attry and C. Abernethy; Malvern, T. V. Newbold.