General Methodist Conference.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVI, Issue 145, 23 June 1904, Page 4

General Methodist Conference.

(N.Z. Herald Correspondent.) MELIIOUHXE, June 9. On Monday morning tho debate on the test of church memi|)!ersh'ip be■gan. The attendance of the public showed that there was more interest taken 'by the Church at large in this question than any other that had engagud the attention of the Conference. The Rev. W. J. Williams (New Zealand) introduced the subject, and in a long speech, sustain. ;1 with his well-known ability, ]:!.;.rh.l for a change of test, on the ground that it was no longer practicable to enforce the time-honoured method of meeting in class as an absolute condition of membership. At this stage the J lev. J. Watsfoixl, the father of the Conference, lodged a caveat against the legality of the resolution, and contended that the General Conference had no power to change the constitution. The conference therefore adjourned the de~ t.Ute and appointed a committee consisting of eight legal gcnrlcmen and a like number of ministers to inquire into the matter raised >by Father Watsford. The committee unamious!y reported that no legal difficulty dcb.arred a resolution on church iuviifbership being siHmniUed to the Conference, and the debate proceeded. There was u remark ulble consensus ot testimony on two points ; first, the value of the class meeting as a means of sustaining t |„. spiritual vigour of the Church, and second, the fact that in every .State, ami in every circuit, a large percentage of those mi the leaders' roll did not meet in class, and the unwillingness of leaders' meetings to unchurch such. Several resolutions and amendments were submitted, but none satisfied the conference ; the whole of them were therefore handed over to a large committee, which after a lengthy session brought up the following resolution which confl/ined the suggestions made li, five out of the six animal conferences. The jiiciiiMtslup of the -Methodist Church shall comprise :-l. Thosy meeting i„ society classes. 2. The active members ot Christain Endeavour Societies 3 Such members of our congrtigialioiis as, expressing their desire for admission to Church membership shall satisfy the ministers and leaders' ' meeting of their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, their rives being in harmony therewith. 4. Tickets of membership S hall 1,, renewed quarterly to all whose names are on the members roll. The whole dav was given to the debute on (his resolution, no ess than 2. speeches bvintfdelivered •inally, the resolution was carried practically miroduces nothing new into the practice of the Church, but eonlorms tabulation to fact In the evening a f olvign lllissi(m _ ary meeting was held i„ , h e Town Hall. An eloquent testimony was IPvin by the public in its interest in foreign missions by the magnificent audience that crowded this spacious building, ilalf-an-hour before the adverted time for beginning he meet.ng the doors were clSsed by the police, and humlruls of outsider''; repaired to Dr. Hevan's Church (Congregational), where an overflow meeting was held. .Mr IVakiii, M.H ]{ occupied the chair, and prolonged cheering proved him to be a popular man. He paid a high tribute to the influence of .Methodism upon Fiji as brought under his observation in a personal visit, and to the great value of the Xew (Juinea Mission, as evidenced by the ollicial information brought In him. The Australian citizens spent £22,000 on Xew (Juinea. Thai was spent in maintaining some semblance of order, so fur as it could be maintained i.v a native policeman at 10s a year and two suits oi clothes. The arc of light was widening, mainly by the, missionary societies, and without Stat.■ aid. On the mission fields thev continually saw not State-aided churchI es, but State-aided States. I>r. Kgvrton Young excelled himselfl, uml his. artless story completely captivated the audience. The llev. W. Bromilow and Dr. (!. Tirown each spoke with great power on their respective fields. The singini; of the Hallelujah Chorus by a choir of 7o() voices, under the master of Queen's College, brought, to a conclusion the lines! meeiing of the whole confer, nee.

On Tuesday evi-niifjj a large section of the conference invited the Hev aml Mrs J. K. Carrnthers to be their quests ut. the Metropolitan Coffee Palace. After dinner the president expressed to Mr Carrnthers the admiration of Iluise present for I he gallant light, he had tougiht on behalf of the Horn-out ministers and ministers' widows. Other speakers showed that Mr Carrntbers' investigations and pamphlets had supplied the education which had resulted in the conference. giving iinm.>diate relief to the Hid beneficiaries concerned. The president than handed to the honouic.l guest a cheque for £IOO. in consideration of the large personal expenditure he had incurred in his propaganda. Mr Carrnthers, in reply, made sp.cial acknowledgement of his personal obligation and the obligation of the Church to Mr W. I!. McCulcheou. of Melbourne, and Mr A. C. Caug'he.v, of Auckland, whose able and untiring assistant'., had been an invaluable contribution to the success of his campaign. On Wednesday morning the subject of organic, union between the l'reabyteriau, Methodist, ami other churches, was the first order of the day. The Conference received the, report of the Joint Committer, representing the (Jeneral Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Australia, and the .Methodist Church of New South Wales, and aflirmed the desirability of union between the Methodist and

Presbyterian Churches. Committees were appointed in each annual conference to confer with like committees appointed by the General Assembly, and report their findings to ; an executive, who s-hull submit the | matter to the next General Confer- j ence. Considerable interest was taken in the debute. Some of the cautious Methodists objected to the ad- | verb in the phrase that "union was ' eminently desirable," but the sym- ; puthy of the overwhelming majority ' was with the speakers who urged that the Methodist Conference should not lie exceeded in cordiality by the Presbyterian Assembly of Australia. T)r. Fitchelt bore witness to the deep religious impulse that lay behind the action taken by the Presbyterian Church. He had never taken part ill a movement that hail so kindled his wonder and his hope. At the same time Uhe Conference had no anticipation that an organic union would be consummated in the near future, but thut tho two Churches, which in doctrine and polity wero so closely allied, would gradually draw close together until union was inevitable. A number of i-xchanges of ministers between the various conferences were made, the Rev. S. I'\ Prior, of Invercargill, being transferred to Victoria, and live Hev. L. liusdon. of Brisbane, to New Zealand : both these ministers desired the exchange now made. The exchanges will take place in- the month of April. 100.1. A determined elfort was made to s<cure exchanges between the leading ministers of some of the conferences, on the ground that such action was needed to maintain the living unity of the Australasian Church, but after repealed references to a committee the Conference found the matter impracticable, and abandoned the effort. The New Zealand recommendation that laymen and ministers should sit together with ecpial rig'hits on all questions, save investigation of ministerial character, was ruled out of order by the president, as a violarion of thai part of the, constitution which tho (icncrnl Conference had no power to change. The Kev. S. Lawry, president of the New Zealand Conference, therefore, enik-avoured to secure the equality of layinin and ministers in the stationing of ministers. Unfortunately, -New /calenders have the reputation in the Commonwealth of being extremely radical in the ecclesiastical, as well as the political realm, and their propositions are received with some element of mislgKving, if not fear. However, the New Zwilanders maintained a sturdy fight, and ably supported their president, with the result that they won u larger vote on the Question than in any former General Conference ; being defeated by two votes. The General Conference directed each annual conference to send up its desire, and there is no douht but that the next vote will give to the whole church what New Zealand has so long and persistently desiderated. To-day (Thursday), the Kev. W. W. Kutledge, of Sydney, asked the president whether the Rev. Gabriel Elliott, whose name appeared in the Victoria and New South Wales papers as connected with a serious libel case in Auckland, was, as the papers stated, a Methodist minister. The Methodist Ministry hail been so free? of such undesirable publicity that he thought it .hie to the Methodist people of the Commonwealth that he should usk this question. The reply was that he was not, and never had been a minister ; but was a layman employed by the Church through the Home Missionary Committee' of Auckland. NEW PLYMOUTH'S TKTHUTE. The congregation of the Whiteley Memorial Church entertained Kev. J. H. and Mrs White at a tea and public meeting lust night in White-ley Hall, both functions "being largelv attended and marked by great enthusiasm. Hev. J. N. Buttle presided. The after-meeting was opened by singing a hymn, after which Miss Okey played a pianoforte solo. Hev. Buttle then made some feeling remarks with, regard to the guest of the evening and his successful lnbt ours in the coast mission in spite of the great drawbacks of bad roads, b«.<l weather, and small congregations. Mr H. W. Neal, senior circuit steward, followed in a like complimentary vein, giving unstinted praise- to Kev. White, Sirs White, and members of his family in their noble work, and concluded by presenting their departing missionary with a purse of sovereigns on behalf of the quart.-r----ly meeting. ' Kev. White, who was evidcnlh deeply moved, thanked the people for the presentation, for their good wishes still more valuable, and for their'most indulgent kindnesses from one end of the district to the other. He felt rejoiced that Iris work had ■been appreciated. He gave those present a slight insight into thj many trials and troubles of u home missionary in a hitherto neglected district, audi gratefully acknowledged the help received from Ivis superintendents (specially mentioning Hev. Buttle), the. circuit stewards, Jpiart-i-iiy and local preachers' meetings, memlbers of his congregations and friends of all creeds- and denominations. He had drawn no distinctions, but had visited every home, cailying his glad tidings,'sowing good seed, reaping much benefit. u ml leaving a harvest for the next mi:,, sionary to garner in. lie desired to specially mention the excellent feeling that had always existed between himself and ministers of other denominations in his district, and after acknowledging Ihe invaluable assistance of his family, asked help and prujer for his successor. Mr W. Ambury, who was a member iff the quarterly meeting when the mission was opened, made some felicitous remarks. A musical programme was rendered, to the enjoyment of all present by Miss Hartley, song ; Miss Harnett, pianoforte solo ;, Mr A. Amlbury, song ; Miss .Johnson, pianoforte solo ; : and Mr Allan Ve-ale, song. The accompaniments were played by Mrs Veule, Mrs Ambury, Miss Okey, and Miss Council. The last named alio played a violin obligate) for Miss Hartley's song. The congregation joined in singinm"God be with you till we meet again," and after the benediction had been pronounced by Hev. White the gathering dispersed.