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YOL. IY. The Methodist Advocate IS PUBLISHED WEEKLY BY HITCHCOCK & WALDEN, FOR THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, Iu the Powell Block, Peachtree-Street, ATLANTA, GA. . Two Dollars a year, Invariably in advance. All traveling preachers of the Methodist Episcopal Church are authorized agents. TERMS OF ADVERTISING: Single insertion # • cents per line Any number of lines, 3 mo’s, each insertion, 10 cents per line Any number of lines, 6 months or longer, each insertion 8 cents per line. On advertisements of fifty lines or more, 10 per cent, discount. Special Notices 15 cents per line. Business Items .25 cents per line. Marriage Notices 50 cents. B. D. HOLCOMB, PRINTER. Colored Conferences. The recent General Conference prac tically took no action upon the question of colored conferences. The matter was brought forward by memorials and reso lutions early in the session, and w r as re ferred to the Committee on Boundaries, with the expectation that a report would be made at an early day, and that, after discussion, the question would be decided upon its merits, with a view to the best interests of the Church. But the subject was not brought up till Tuesday, June 4th, the day of adjournment, in the following resolution in the report of the committee to which it had been referred, viz.: Besolved , That the Missouri anti St. Louis Conferences be permitted to organize during the next four years a conference (of colored members) to include the States of Missouri and Kansas, provided a majority of the colored ministers in those conferences desire and the bishops presiding concur. The undersigned offered as an amend ment to the above the following, which was seconded by A. S. Lakin, viz.: And that the colored members of the Geor gia and Alabama Conferences be and hereby are authorized to organize a conference or con ferences during the next four years, provided that a majority of them deem it important to the prosperity of the Church to do so, the bish ops presiding concurring. The amendment and resolution were laid on the table. As neither the Missouri nor St. Louis Conferences nor the colored members be longing to them had asked for this action, I have not been able to understand why the Committee on Boundaries reported in favor of a colored conference there and against allowing the formation of one in Georgia or Alabama, wdiere both the Conferences and large numbers of col ored preachers had asked for authority to organize such conferences, if it Should he found desirable to do so. The General Conference then proceeded to adopt reso lutions, presented by the same committee, authorizing the Oregon, California, Ne vada, Kansas, Minnesota and Texas Con ferences to adjust their boundaries or divide during the interim of General Con ference, as the best interests of the work should demand. The Germans and the Conferences in New York, and, in short, every body was granted the privilege of arranging Conference boundaries accord ing to the necessities of the work, except Georgia and Alabama! Our enemies claim (as I assured many of the Commit tee on Boundaries they would) that this .l authority to organize a Conference was denied them because the General Confer ence was not willing to trust the colored people with the interests or to give them the honors of a conference organization, that it was determined to hold them under white leaders. I think that this refusal was owing to the fact that much more care was taken to support a theory than to provide for the wants of the Church or to reach the people with its appliances. Immediately following the above ac tion, and within two hours of the final adjournment—too late for discussion— and under the highest possible pressure to push through every thing brought for ward, without discussion, Report No. V. was taken up. It reads: The Committee on Boundaries have had be fore them sundry papers relating to confer ferences “of colored members,” namely: 1. From Georgia Conference and from within its limits, resolutions of a convention asking for the organization of such a conference. 2. From within the same conference, remon strances against it 3. From Alabama Conference, a request for such a conference. 4. From within South Carolina, Louisiana, and Mississippi Conferences, remonstrances against such conferences anywhere. 5. From the delegates of Washington and Lexington Conferences, resolutions for striking out the words “of colored members.” The committee therefore submit the follow ing declarations for adoption: First —The organization of conferences of colored members in the Methodist Episcopal Church, if expedient in any portion of our work temporarily, is not necessarily the established policy of the Church. Second —The conferences known as Washing ton, Delaware, and Lexington Conferences “of colored members” should at as early a day as practicable become absorbed in the legitimate annual conferences Whose territory they now temporarily occupy. Upon the reading of the first item above, the undersigned objected to the paper as a misrepresentation of his (the Georgia) Conference, saying that the Conference had not asked for a division, but for the colored members to have authority to or ganize, if they should choose to do so, there being a broad distinction between setting them off by themselves, whether they desire it or not, and giving them authority to organize if they think best, or to remain in Conference with the white brethren if they prefer that arrangement. This objection being made, the report was withdrawn without reading. It is clear to my mind that the granting of such lib erty would have been a benefit to the work (both white and colored) whether a conference were organized or not. It will be remembered that those confer ences from which these remonstrances came (except the one from Georgia) have scarcely any white membership within their bounds, that practically they are “colored” conferences, and that they have never felt many of the embarrassments found in some localities. The last number of the Daily Advo cate contained the following: Correction.— The Item No. 1 of Report No. V. on Boundaries, should read thus: “From Georgia Conference and from within its limits, resolutions of a convention asking authority for the organization of such a confer ence, if the colored members desire it .” The italicised words were omitted by an over sight of the chairman. L. C. M. In conclusion, I wish to say that my purpose in writing is to bring the facts as they occurred in the General Conference before our people, and not to provoke discussion, because that would not now help the case, or to reflect upon any per son or committee. Perhaps I may be al lowed to remark, however, that my judg ment is that a discussion upon the merits of the question early in the General Confer ence would have been beneficial to the Church at large, and especially in the South. While it would have been a great favor to both our white and colored work in Georgia to have granted our request, and while this State and Alabama have been stragely discriminated against and made exceptions to all the balance of the Church in the matter of Conference boundaries, still I think that we can push on the work among both the white and colored population of these States, and in the name of the Master we intend to try to do so. In separate conferences we might and no doubt should advance more rapidly than we can at present, but now must “fight it out on this line.” The Church expects every man to do his duty! E. Q. Fuller. Atlanta, June 12 , 1872. The Two Ways. BY REV. A. D. FIELD. If you go to the great Central Depot, in Chicago, you will observe a long reach of railway tracks above the lake on piling running away to the South along the lake shore. Every day trains leave the depot and all take the one Southward di rection. But by and by the tracks begin to swerve gently and parting by degrees, two trains will rush away in entirely op site directions; one toward Boston, the hub of creation, the other toward the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific. Just so are the tracks of life. Young people are found side by side in churches, in Sunday and day schools, in the families that seem to be walking together. Few could tell whether they w T ere to go the same upward path or part, and some of them go downward. But early in life young people are found on diverging tracks; running closely together for awhile they keep their way till by degrees they part, some to go up, some, alas, to go down! In the Winter of 1842 there was a re vival meeting for three months in the old Clark-street Church, Chicago. It was my privilege, as a boy, to mingle every night with the sacred throng. I was just entering into my young religious life, and entered hearily into all the glorious conflicts of that revival time. I found there a young lad who was also beginning a Christian life. Our purposes drew us together, and tve became intimate friends. We met in the same class in Sunday school, we walked the streets together, we met in the same prayer-meetings, and aided each other as we walked hand in hand the same Christian paths. Winter passed; the snow gave place to the birds of Summer and still we were friends. This intimacy continued for a year. I, in the mean time, had become bound by stronger ties to the Church, and my feet were becoming more and more established. But by and by James be gan to be absent from Church and Sun day-school, and as I would go home from Church I would find him with the rabble at the street corners or sporting in his canoe upon the river. Our ways parted, I could not draw him back to the upward path, and I refused to go down. The re sult vras our ways diverged until I lost sight of him altogether. He went away into a reckless, godless life. In a few years I left the city for the schools and the ministry. Six years passed. I went to a city that I had never seen to visit a brother. The pastor of the Methodist Church was from home and by request I supplied the pulpit. In the morning I was requested to preach the funeral sermon of a man who had died. I made a few inquiries. Found the dead man had been a drinker and died irreligious. He was a stranger to me and I made no further inquiries. It is a sad thing for a minister to preach in the presence of the friends of such a man, ATLANTA. GA.. WEDNESDAY, JUNE 26, 1872. but, as other ministers do, I did the best I could and with nothing unusual we carried the man to his last resting-place. The next day my brother made in quiries and found that the person I had buried was my old friend James, and he had died of delirium tremens! The path of our destinies lay for a year in the same direction, then the paths gradually parted. Ten years after I stood a minister in the pulpit, he lay dead of delirium tremens ! Such are the fearful opportunities of life! Report of Committee on Pastoral Address. To the Ministers aild Members of the Methodist Episcopal Church Dearly Beloved Brethren: Your representatives, assembled in General Conference, desire, in conformity with long usage, to send you a few words of fraternal greeting and ex hortation. First of all, we unite with you in de vout thanksgiving to Almighty God our heavenly Father for the continued pros perity which has attended the ministry and polity of our beloved Zion. An in crease of 275,242 members in four years shows a success which may well prompt our gratitude. If the amount contributed for the purposes of public worship and the cause of religious education be any indi cation that the love of the world has given place to an enlarged Christian benevo lence, then the increase of $37,815,628 in the reported value of churches and par sonages over that reported four years ago, and the liberal benefactions to our seats of learning, call also for our grateful acknowledgements, remembering the in spired Psalmist’s prediction concerning our Saviour, that “to him shall be given the gold of Sheba; prayer also shall he made for him continually, and daily shall he be praised.” We are not unmindful of the peculiar composition of our present assemblage. For the first time in the history of our Church the representatives of ministers and the laity sit together in legislative council, uniting the business experience of laymen with that of the regular pastors. We are glad to be able to say to you that we believe the presence of the great Head of the Church is with us, and that the union of ministers and laymen in our councils gives great promise for the future. We claim no exemption from human frail ties, but trust that an earnest purpose to consecrate our time and talents to God will appear from the record of our pro ceedings. With sincere humility we pray for the forgiveness of sin, and for re straining grace to overrule all erroneous action, that God may be glorified and the Gospel of Christ promoted in all things. Suffer US to remind you, dear brethren, that the increase of our sphere of labor and opportunity imposes upon us in creased responsibilities. From the At lantic to the Pacific, and from Alaska to Texas, an open door is set before us, as a denomination, to proclaim a present, free, and full salvation all over our land, and to lay strong foundations for Christian civilization. In addition, the States lately in rebellion, now happily freed from the curse of human bondage, have welcomed our ministrations, and afford us the opportunity to elevate many thou sands to the glorious liberty of the chil dren of God, while our foreign mission ary fields are beginning to exhibit fruits of faithful labor, and are whitening rap idly for the harvest. May God inspire us with the will and ability to continue winning souls every-where to Christ! With the world as our parish, may we never be content until the world is saved! For the realization of such aims, the most essential pre-requisite is personal piety—a piety based on a personal expe ence of the Divine grace promised in, and implied by, all the doctrines and teach ings of the sacred Scriptures. That you may “grow in grace,” therefore, “search the Scriptures.” Allow no low opinions of the value of the written Word, and no rationalistic intepretations, to rob you of your heritage. You may avail your selves of all that is valuable in the pres ent age of progress without departing from the old landmarks, for Methodism is not only “Christianity in earnest,” but it is Christianity availing itself of modern appliances —Christianity conquering the world for Christ. Our aim is personal holiness —internal and external —for ev ery child of man. Let us never forget this. Let “Holiness to the Lord” still be our motto. May it be inscribed not only on our churches, but on our business and on our pleasures, even to “the bells on the horses.” Nothing but an intelli gent, earnest, entire consecration will answer the demands of Him who gave himself for us. To promote personal religion, all the means of grace are needed. Some of these are of Divine appointment, and can not therefore be neglected without sin. Prayer, religious meditation, reading the Scriptures, attendance upon the ministry of the Word and of the sacraments, are obvious duties of all who call themselves by the Christian name. As Methodists, we have also prudential means of grace, which have been owned of God in the personal experience of thousands. We allude particularly to our class-meetings. We fear these are too much neglected among us. Perhaps we have allowed them to become too formal and stereo typed. Let us retrace our steps, and strive to gether for a revival of the spirit of Chris tian communion and earnestness which characterized our fathers. The memories of primitive Methodism are a precious legacy to the Church, and afford us a model of Christian and ministerial effort which we do well to preserve. Our early ministers were not content with uttering religious essays, but sought, with fervid exhortation, to induce immediate action. To this design all that is peculiar in Methodism tended. Our public ser vices were hearty, warm, and personal. The singing was congregational and earn est, and tlie expression of personal ex perience was a powerful auxiliary to the exposition and proclamation of the word of God. While our sister Churches find hortatory preaching, congregational sing ing, and meetings for Christian experience needful to quicken their zeal and increase their usefulness, allow us to urge you not to loosen your hold upon such effective agencies. As to family religion, the presence of 1,221,393 of our children in Sunday schools shows that we are conscious of the obligation to teach our children in the fear of the Lord. We exhort you to continue in this good work. That you may attain to the highest results therein, we suggest that the greatest unity be kept up between the school, the family, and the Church. Gather your children around your family altars. Visit the schools yourselves. Suffer not your children to neglect the ministry of the Word because they go to Sunday-school. Let all these applicances lead to one design—the con version of your children. If personal and family religion combine in the education of a correct taste, our young people will have little relish for worldly and irrational amusements, and we may reasonably hope that they will become the partakers of saving grace. In this connection we can not refrain from warning you against the efforts of a corrupt and decaying hierarchy to re gain its power by obtaining control of, or destroying, the public-school system of our country. The bond between in telligence and public virtue is so .evident that it is. only necessary to remind you of this in order to secure your earnest support of that system of universal pri mary education which we must regard as the great conservator of Protestant lib erty. The perils attending a large increase in the number of our Church members should not be overlooked. We must not relax Discipline and sacrifice spirituality for mere worllllj influence unil numorioal strength. To avoid these dangers we suggest that special instruction be given to our probationers in the doctrines and economy of our Church. A wise pastoral oversight in this direction will be of great advantage. Let us cultivate the largest catholicity of spirit toward all who love the Lord Jesus Christ, while at the same time we strengthen our own individuality as a distinct denomination. As all the members of the body have not the same form nor the same office, yet all are permeated by the same vital influence, so may every branch of the Christian Church fulfill its own mission while keeping “the unity of the Spirit in the bonds of peace.” Finally, brethren, farewell. May the God of peace give us all consolation in the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, and when the next session of the General Con ference occurs, in the hundredth year of American independence, may still greater triumphs be recorded for the cause of Christianity through the instrumentality of our Church, Amen. R. Nelson, A. Wester, F. S. Hoyt, L. F. Morgan, J. H. Wythe, S. Allen, Committee. Perseverance. Every American boy should have writ ten on his memory, with the point of a diamond, the history of Cyrus Field in his efforts to perfect the Atlantic tele graph. It required thirteen years of untiring labor, and “often,” says Mr. Field, “has my heart been ready to sink. Many times when wandering in the forests of Newfoundland, in the pelting rain, or on the deck of ships in the dark, stormy nights, alone, far from home, I have al most accused myself of madness and folly, thus to sacrifice the peace of my family and all the hopes of life for what might prove at last only a dream. Yet one hope led me on, and I have prayed that I might not taste death till this work was accomplished. That prayer is answered, and now beyond all acknowledgment to men, is the feeling of gratitude to God.” Whatever your line of work, remember it is only a similar industry and perse verance that will win for you the highest success. You can crawl along through life, like the earth-worm, with low aims and attainments, and never be obliged to make much exertion; but who would de sire an earth-worm’s existence l Who would desire to leave so little record “on the sands of time ?” Methodist Advocate six months for #l. SftlttUA. A Model Parsonage. A minister’s avife —and a minister’s wife ought to be the best authority on that subject—writes: We must have a parsonage; and what kind of a house ought it to be ? is a ques tion which now and then puzzles the minds of a building committee. It would seem that in most cases, judging by the usual specimens that adorn (?) our coun try towns, the only important matter to decide is, What kind will cost the least money? But there are people who feel that the minister is a man of God, who stands in Christ’s name before them, to declare his Word, and teach them the counsels of God. They feel it a delight to honor him with the best they have, and that by so doing they honor their Lord and Master. To such a few hints as to what a model parsonage should be will not come amiss. It should be in a quiet spot, near the church, if possible, with room for flowers, fruit, and shrubbery about it. It should be neat and attractive in its outward ap pearance, and if there were vine-covered piazzas and a quaint little balcony, it would delight the hearts of its inmates, and give you a thrill of pleasure as you point it out to a stranger with pride. First and foremost in its inside arrange ments should be “the study.” And when you think that it is the place where your minister must spend a great portion of his time, you will conclude that it should be the quietest, sunniest room in the house, as remote as may be from the rooms where the noisy occupations of the household are going on. It is the “holy of holies” in the dwelling, the place where God comes to meet his servant, where the penitent sinner loves to go, where the tried and troubled, the cast down and sorely stricken ones are sure to find com fort and peace. Next in importance is the parlor. As that belongs to the people, and will be the general rendezvous for countless sociables and female prayer meetings, it should be large and roomy, furnished entire with carpet and substantial furniture, a few choice pictures upon the Avails, and as many little ornaments as the young peo ple may choose to adorn it Avith. Next comes the “family room,” where the mother sits with her little ones, where the tired head and heart of the minister comes for rest and refreshment. Every thing should be as cozy and pleasant as possible there. The “spare room” is an important item, for what with traveling 'agents and transient guests who expect to “stop Avith the minister,” it will be usually occupied. “Mother’s room” should he large enough to hold a baby’s crib, and if another room opened from it for the older “olive-plants” it would add greatly to the comfort of an anxious mother. The minister’s Avife often does her OAvn houseAvork; so let tlie kitchen and dining room, pantry and closets, be carefully ar ranged to save as many steps as possible. “Ah! but Ave can not afford to build such a house as that; it is better than we live in ourselves, and our minister must get along as Ave do.” Perhaps you can not afford it yet, but, before you build a house that you will be ashamed to own as “our parsonage,” in which your minis ter’s mind will be constantly harrassed and perplexed in vain to make his family comfortable, stop and think about it. Make your plan; estimate the cost of a good house; interest the ladies and chil dren in it, and though it may draw heavily upon your purse, though you may have to plan and work hard and long to accom plish it, you Avill never regret it. You do not need such a home as this, perhaps, but it Avill be a blessed inspiration and help to your minister. It Avill prove your love for him and the Master, and quicken every thought with neAV life and power. It will be anew tie to bind your hearts to his; you will love to drop in often to enjoy the comfort and beauty Avhich your own hearts and hands have devised. Your interest in every member of the family Avill be deepened, Avhile they in turn Avill ever hold in grateful esteem a people who provide them with such a home.— Sabbath Recorder. It was a saying of Socrates that every man had need of a faithful friend and a bitter enemy—the one to advise, the other to show him his faults. When rumors and questions first come to you, take both sides immediately, and so remain until you can justly take one side. If men would but hate themselves as they do their neighbors, it would be a good step toward loving their neighhors as they do themselves. Most sin begins at the eyes; by them, commonly, Satan creeps into the heart; that man can never be in safety that hath not covenanted with his eyes. If you are not right towards God you can never be so towards man; and this is forever true, whether wits and rakes allow it or not. Life is divided into three terms: that which was, which is, which will be. Papal Education. The Romanists claim that their higher institutions of learning are superior to all others, both in government and curricu lum of study. The same opinion is en tertained by many Protestants who send their sons and daughters to Catholic schools. This idea is fallacious, and should be exploded. We have the testi mony of professors in our colleges con cerning the scolarship of students Avho pursued their preparatory course in Pa pal schools, and were examined before entering the more advanced classes in our institutions. The fact is that, in stead of exhibiting superior culture, many of these persons were beloAV the common standard of thorough scholar ship. One of the missionaries of the Amer ican and Foreign Christian Union in Italy, in a recent letter, gave a statement of Papal education in Rome. He says that “the methods of training are exceed ingly defective in all the educational in stitutions of Italy, but those of Rome are found to be far behind all. In no other city has instruction been so entirely in the hands of the priests, and in no other city is instruction found in so deplorable a state.” The report of the Counselor of Public Instruction contains some sig nificant items, confirming the statement of our missionary in that important field. Since the advent of Victor Emmanuel in Rome, government schools have been established, and in the examinations of pupils for admission to the higher State institutions, the superficial character of public instruction under the direct super vision of the Pope became apparent. It Avas knoAvn that the natural sciences, history, and geography formed almost no part of the instruction given; but it was reasonably supposed that the study of Latin and Greek—in a word, of classical antiquity, to which the site and monu ments of Rome afford a faA r orable occa sion, stimulus, and aid—Avould be culti vated with great solicitude and care. It Avas ascertained, however, that the knowl edge of Latin in nearly all the pupils was very imperfect, and Greek almost entirely unknoAvn. From the same offi cial report we learn that in the best edu cational institutions under the Papal gov ernment there was not ignorance merely in respect to the ancient languages, but much more (if possible) in regard to Ital ian itself. The students had no element ary idea of the history of the Italian lan guage or of its literature, confounding all past times, or rather regarding the past as an empty space in which all au thors moved contemporaneously—Dante, Virgil, Tasso, and David. Os Italian writers they kneAV almost nothing, aside from a feAV lines from the Inferno of Dante, some sermons of Segneri, and verses from Monti and Foinosciana. As to mathematics, it Avas found that those examined had no idea of geometry, alge bra, or arithmetic. Some did not even comprehend the meaning of the Avord geography; and others, avlio said they had studied it for one or tAvo years, an- SAvered that the Adriatic Avas a mountain, that Sardinia Avas a city, and Milan Avas the capital of Sicily ! They knew nothing of the population of Italy, and many took the name of the Peninsula for that of a city. In regard to Italian history, one said that Brutus Avas a tyrant, Dante a French poet, and Petrarch an illustrious Italian poetess! Os Columbus, one an swered that he Avas an apostle, and another that he Avas the Holy Spirit! With re spect to arithmetic, tlie best pupils Avere from the JeAvish schools, and the most ignorant from the ecclesiastical public schools. Such was education in Rome and the Roman provinces under the blissful reign of the Pope; and while Italy and other European nations are establishing free, unsectarian schools, the Jesuits of Amer ica are seeking to abolish them. This is the momentous question before the peo ple, and we fear not their decision.— Rev. 11. H. Fair all , A. M., in the Methodist. What a store of evangelical truth was in the remark made by a Hindoo to one of the missionaries! Said he: “Reviling our gods, criticising our Shastras, and ridiculing our ritual, will accomplish noth ing; but the story which you tell of Him who loved, and pitied, and came, and taught, and suffered, and died, and rose again—that story, sir, will overthrow our temples, destroy our ritual, abolish our Shastras, and extinguish our gods.” Good Habits. Remember, boys, before you are twenty you must establish a character that will serve you all your life. As habits grow stronger every year, any turning into a new path is more and more difficult; therefore it is harder to unlearn than to learn ; and on this account a famous flute player used to charge double price to those pupils who had been taught before by a poor master. Try to reform a lazy, unthrifty, or drunken person, and in most cases you fail; for the bad habit, whatever it is, has so wound itself into his life that it can not be uprooted. The best habit is the formation of good habits. ' Methodist Advocate six months for sl. NO. 26.