RELIGIOUS ACTIVITY.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1539, 7 September 1912, Page 9

RELIGIOUS ACTIVITY.

WESLEYAN CONFERENCE AT LIVERPOOL. OUTBURST OP MISSIONARY tiKXEIIOSITY. For the twelfth time in its history tho \\csloynii Conference met this year at Liverpool. "Full" was the sign which might very appropriately have been emblazoned on cra-y door of the Conference Hall on .Inly 18, for'by ten-o'clock every scat was tnlrc-iii, and there must have been fnllv 201)0 persows prosent. The retiring presidents induction of his successor wns in tho best foviiriuul exceedingly happy. In I a few choicely phrased (sentences Dr. Jlaigh said that the nomination mntle last year at limlifT liad been endorsed by tho entire Methodist Church. It was no surprise to anyone that Mr. Wiseman had bron called so curly to occupy the chair of that assembly; the. eyes of tho Church had Iweti upon him from the-beginning, nml they had taken note of his finalities. They rejoiced that as a Church they hnd for lendpr.a man of scholarly aptitude, evangelical fervour, and artistic temperament, who added to evangelistic passion, tho qualities of n mind trained to discriminate, eager to assimilate, and not afraid to receive any new light. President's Inaugural Address. ■In a vigorous and illuminating inaugural address, optimistic in tone, and lit lip with brilliant dramatic touches and choice literary allusions, the new president (Kev. 1?. h. Wiseman) said they w;ero the sans of a great evangelical revival which had transformed the face of England, fliid they must not shirk their responsibility, but look ahead as well as behind. They could not and dare not stop where they were. Turning to the present social and industrial unrest, the president said it was the duty of' Methodism to sympathise- with the struggles and needs of the time?, and to hearken to I lie cry of all those, whatever their race or colour or social condition, who were striving to realise their higher self. That did not mean that for the jiext twelve, months they were to preach sermons on political or social subjects, but to proclaim those great spiritual truths which in (he 18tlv century, transformed the face of England. Their duty was not to wield the hammer, but to find a solvent. In closing, Mr. Wiseman admitted that there was comparative arrest at present, but it was, after all, only arrest of part of the army. If thero was decrease at Home there was increase abroad, and if they had lost morale'in the great war through lack of onduranco and confidence, or through carrying in their kit mere than was necessary for a soldier on campaign, then lh;y must readjust their conditions and pet. back to the sources of true spiritual strength.

The Centenary Celebration. It was at Hie Liverpool Conference of 1813 that the first steps were taken lo found the AVeslcyan Missionary Society, and it was felt that the conference of this year ought to give an impetus to tho centenary celebration which is to take place in 1913. To this challenge Liverpool responded right loyally, and the scene which took place on Saturday morning (July 20) was'almost as wonderful as the expression of missionary enthusiasm which swept over the. Nottingham Conference six years ago,' when tho society's accumulated liabilities were completely wiped out and.four thousand pounds of additional income assured. The liev. t W. Goiidie. struck . the keynote when he pointed out that after a hundred years the society had come to a juncture in its history when it would have to ask for increased resources or else faco retrenchment and possibly retiral. Then came tho moving appeal of x tho cx-prtsl-dent. who pointed out (hat the centenary celebration synchronised in a wonderful way with the great challenge that tho world was making to Christendom. Ho wanted them to realise what the challenge was, and then to consider what sort of response the Church was making to. that challenge. Mr. Gomlie had told them that they were afTcing- for something much' more than that, and for something before ;that;-'they'.'wanted to k'now.what tho: missionary.conviction of Methodism was, whether it was sound, strong, deep;- or what it was like. .The first challenge'.' was- as , to r the reality of. their convictions in regard , , to Christ's claim upon 'the whole world, and until they- got answers (o that question no mere giving of-money, could ever properly satisfy tho demands of the houi.

A Financial Love-Feast. These ringing words from the heart of; one who was voicing the need of the' hour, went homej and in a few moments the' Conference was in the midst of one of those remarkable scenes which have- occur-, red once or twice before in its recent history, but the impressions of which it is difficult to marshal in duo order.' Mr. Williamson Lamplough led the way with a promise of an additional thousand pounds, and his example was followed by three other lay. delegates, each of whoni .promised, a similar sum. Thus startfd,.. the.'stream, of: generous giving flowed on . for. 'nearly. two hours, tho lunch hour,, at the instance of Gipsy Smith, being postponed .in consequence, and the secretaries experiencing at times some difficulty in keeping paco with tho promises. The layment gave their, hundreds, their fifties, their twenty-fives, and their ten pounds, whilst the ministers, not to be outdone, also had their share in'the undertaking. As tho remarkable; scene progressed tho Conferenco was in turn moved to deep pathos by tho desire of some, reprcscntatve to honour the memory of a sainted mother, a inisHounvy comrade who had laid down his life in tho mission fiold. Again "verc'iarged freliwsw<>ro relieved by a touch of humour, as, for instance, when a layman from South Wales slyly suggested that -every owner of a ■motor-car ought to promise .E500; or when another, in analogy for (lie comparative smnllness of his gift, said: "You can't rob Peter to nay Paul when you've got no Peter." " In (his .way.the gifts came tumbling in, ministers and laymen making them eagerly and gladly. Hero one rose and promi<=nd'a mouth's , income, there another offered to fell his horse upon which duke* had east their, eyes with admiration, while the world's srcatoM:re'iigolist, Gipsy Smith, who claimed that hi* timewasof a* much value s>» (he money of another, declared , his willingness to do? vote a month to the advocacy of the claims and needs of foreign missions. When at last in the interest of other business the president, had to close this "financial love-feast," it was found that smno .£12.0110 had been added to the centenary thank-offering fund.

Membership Question, The' Cardiff Conferance last year adopted hi general a scheme suggested by Dr. W. T. Davison for (he final settlement of the long-drawn-cut discussion on'the basis of membership in the Wesleyan Church, and alsa ippointed a committee to consider the details of the scheme, and to report to this Conference. The re|K.it. of that committee was presented by (ho l!ev. JI. Arnnutl Scott, nnd tho Conference decided to cou.eklcr the scheme as :i whole, although there was a <!ispositi in <jn the port of some delegates fo discuss each paragraph in detail. Th" llev. >'«iniU2l Cliadwiek put in an earnest pica for (he phrase , , "expected" (instead of 'urged') to attend the weekly class meeting," and declared tint so long as he had a place iu which to eland, and a voice (o u?9, ii.ml a pen to wield, lie would novcr.consent to Hie class moi'ting bccuniiiig a subsidiary institution in Methodism. Jn .-.ccoiuling this, tho liev. John lloraabrook pointed out that, it would bo a bad day for I lie M<Hho:lisl Church if Ihey gave t!m impression, especially to the thousands of their young people, that it was a matter of no "importance whether they attended tho class meeting or not. This amendment, wn-i lost by the narrow majority of seven vot.s. 'After a long discussion .the Confernnce adopted (hi , declaratory resolutions for guidance in adinhiitlralion, pr>.visiomilly accepted at Cardiff, and revised during tin , year, with tho following, addendum : "The Conference trusts (hat theso provisions may be so administered as not to weaken in any way the char.icter of our class meeting fellowship." Tnis scheme will be considered in the Pastoral Session and then-sent down to I ho. synods for consideration. .