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THREE DOLLARS PER ANNUM.
Yol. XXX.—NO- 31.
Contributions.
THOUGHTS ON METHODISM.
I learn that the name Methodist was given in
the first instance by a Fellow of Christ s Church
(some say Merton) College, in allusion to an
ancient College of I’hysicians at Koine, who re
duced the whole healing art to a few plain prin
ciples, and were remarkable for putting their
patients under regimen. When Mr. esley
made his little Book ot Discipline, he said he
designed a few plain rules to govern a plain
people, and as long as they continued
« little and unknown,
Prized and loved by Uod alone,”
those few plain rules wore sufficient.
Wise men have said, the formularies of a
church generally increase in proportion to their
decline in vital piety. At the General Confer
ence in 1824, (as 1 was informed by Rev. 11.
Bass, my Presiding Elder,) there being a motion
before the Conference to make some alteration in
some part of the Discipline, _ the llev. Richard
Recce, then a delegate from the British Confer
ence, spoke on the occasion. He said the wis
dom of the British Conference had been em
ployed for many years trying to make some
amendment in that little Book of Discipline left
them by Mr. Wesley, but they could never
make it any better, and so wisely concluded to
let it remain as it was. Bishop Soule said in
the General Conference in 1844, he was sick
and tired of this never ending altering the Dis
cipline—lie sincerely wished they would quit it.
They never have quit it; 1 am afraid they never
will. I joined the church in 1810, and there
has been some alteration made in the Discipline
at every session of the General Conference from
that time until now. In my judgment, it is a
seriouß matter for the Conference to impose new
rules and regulations on half a million of mem
bers once in every four years—rules to which
they did not subscribe when they became mem
bers, and which, perhaps, they do not approve.
True, the large increase of the ministers and
members in our church may be a good reason
for the addition of a few plain rules; but the
evil consists in not knowing when and where to
stop.
With regard to the necessity of a Divine and
special call from God to preach the word, Dr.
Pierce, in his sermon, has done the subject jus
tice from the authority of God’s word ; but, as
a different opinion has prevailed to a large
extent, I wish to add a few thoughts. 1 once
heard a Presiding Elder of high standing give
it.as his opinion, that, if a man be pious and
zealous, desiring to do good, and can speak
readily and clearly, it is call enough. Now, our
Discipline requires the candidate to profess to
be moved by the Holy Ghost to preach, llow
pertinent are those lines of Mr. C. Wesley :
“ How ready he is lo go whom God hath never sent!
How cautious, diffident and slow his chosen instrument?”
it is a fact well known, that many of the most
useful .uinisters that we ever had among us, had
severe conflicts in their mind before they would
yield obedience to the divine call; and this
from the clear view which they had of the vast
importance of the work, the great responsibility
involved in it, and their own incompetency, so
that nothing short of a special call from God
would have gotten them into the work.
They felt like the Apostle Paul, “ Woe is me if
1 preach not the gospel.” It is doubtless
morally impossible for one who has never had a
special call from God to feel in the same degree
the weight of responsibility resting upon him as
those above alluded to.
We have often seen with painful emotion
what a light matter some preachers make of
leaving the sacred duties of their pastoral work
to attend to their own secular business, or go a
long journey to preach a popular sermon, or
something else of a similar nature, leaving the
flock exposed to the wolf who is over ready to
take advantage of such absence to scatter, tear
and slay. There can be no reasonable doubt
that thousands of souls have perished through
the neglect of their pastors. Again, I urge at
tention to Dr. Pierce's sermon, as well suited to
the present wants of the church. The venerable
Bishop Soule, in his address to the preachers in
Conference, in Columbia, S. 0., 1830, said:
“Beware of that word ‘popular preacher.’ It
is a solemn fact, that in general they arc of the
least use to the connexion.”
“ 'Tis not a cause of small import
The pastor’s care demands,
But what mitfht till an angel's heart,
Ami tilled a Saviour's hands."
Here I would notice the wretched policy of
shutting out our old men from the regular work.
When king llehoboam forsook the counsel of
the old men, aud followed that of the young
men, the consequence was the revolt of the ten
tribes. I learned that Bishop Asbury once
gave the preachers in Conference a serious lec
ture, and lamented that nearly all the grey heads
had fled from among them.
With regard to ministerial support, the Bible
teaches us that when the church has had the
faithful services of her ministers, it rests on
them with the weight of a moval obligation to
support them. Many loud complaints have been
uttered from the pulpit and the press for want
of such support. I think it would be better to
leave this matter to our stewards and other
zealous persons to urge these claims, and let us
give ourselves continually to prayer and the
ministry of the word. I have heard it said that
“ such a brother is compelled to locate for want
of support.’’ My own experience for fifty years
makes me hard of belief as to such necessity.
There is no preacher in the old Georgia Confer
ence who has spent as large a portion of his
time in labor on some of the poorest and hardest
circuits and missions as I have done. True, I
have not kept an exact account every year of
the amount received, but I believe I will be per
fectly safe in making the following statement:
The largest amount in current money that I
received iu one year was §398, the lowest §75;
the average amount for each year §l5O. ] en
tered on my first circuit the beginning of 1817,
was employed that year by the Presiding Elder;
was married in 1823; we had eight children;
we raised six of them to he fully grown. 1
schooled them all at my own expense. Now,
every one that knows the use of figures, and the
wants of a family, knows that I could not have
done it without the most rigid economy —many
times in the pulpit in rags —my family many
days without meat—literally worn out with
long rides on an inferior horse, not being able
to get a better. Many are not willing to make
such sacrifices and perform so large au amount
of labor, and so retire from the work. Be it
so - I can only pity them, as not knowing how to
appreciate the gospel according to its true value.
For myself, I believe with St. Paul, that the
sufferings of the present time are not worthy to
be compared with the glory that shall be re
vealed in us.
Os class-meetings, I wish to say something.
The Rev. R. Reece, already alluded to, urged
our preachers in America to a strict attention to
class-meetings. He said that in Europe they
found them to be the sinews of the church. The
Rev. Gr. Gapers said they are like the ribs of a
man’s body, which protect the vital parts. But
cl ess-meetings have gone down among us. We
have not bad a class-meeting in four or five
years, not by fault of the society, but simply
because our preachers are not willing te render
that much service to the church. I was glad to
ftouiiicrn Christian AtUoratr.
find from Dr. Pierce’s sermon that he disap
proved of the actiou of the last General Con
ference concerning class-meetings. This is in
accordance With the doctrine of his sermon,
that the pastor should have power to enforce
obedience to the discipline of the church.
Class examinations are of great importance to
the pastor, in becoming acquainted with the
spiritual slate of the church under his care,
without which knowledge he is poorly qualified
to “ watch for their souls as they that must give
an account.” For want of class meetings, cur
societies have become “ a rope of sand.’’
I believe that another part of our economy
has been injured by cutting up the circuits and
making them small. Bishop Soule, iu his fare
well address to the Tennessee Conference,
passed a severe censure on them for cutting up
the circuits into little patches. One reason
given for it was, to give the preacher a better
opportunity of visiting from house to house.
Instead of that, the preacher having his family
in the centre of a small circuit, could go home
every night in the round, and generally did so;
whereas, on a large four weeks’ circuit, the
preacher would some part of his time be so far
from home he would have to stay with the
people, so they could have his company, prayers
and religious conversation. Again, on a four
weeks’ circuit they generally had two preachers,
and on a small circuit only one. As there is
more variety io two preachers than one, it is
more edifying to the church. Again, on these
little circuits, young preachers of the first year
are put iu charge, and not knowing much about
discipline, they have let it go down to the great
injury of the church.
A remedy has been attempted. The candi
date is examined on the Discipline in the Quar
terly Conference. Two or three pertinent an
swers will get him through; but when he gets
on his circuit and meets with a complex and
intricate case, he knows not what to do with it.
On a four weeks’ circuit, this young preacher
can be put with an older one, who will have the
charge, to the great benefit of the church.
Again, this young preacher is but a babe in
Christ, perhaps converted but a few months ago,
and is sent in charge of many aged, experienced
Christians, who require strong meat. But the
babe who can’t receive it himself cannot feed
them. I have heard some say, our young
preachers can’t tell me anything but what I
knew before. I believe the doing away of the
rule, the probation of members in our church,
will prove an injury to the cause. I joined the
church a seeker. It was about twenty months
before I felt that my sins were pardoued, dur
ing which time I was under the fostering care
of the church, blessed with her counsels and
prayers and the use of the ordinances, and even
as a seeker enjoyed the communion of saints,
the church, a place of refuge, a retreat from the
wild and wicked world, all which were impor
tant helps to me. This has been doubtless the
experience of many thousands of others. I
once knew two men who were awakened about
the same time; one without hesitation joined
the church as a seeker; the other held back and
did not join, and his convictions wore off, and
then he sought refuge in infidelity. Many
years ago, at one of nay appointments eight per
sons were awakened. I conversed with them
familiarly, advised them to join the church ;
they all with one exception declined, saying
they were not good enough. The consequence
was, their convictions wore off, and they turned
hack to the world again. These cases are out
specimens of many thousands of others of a
like character. The church has been compared
to a hospital, where the sick are collected to be
cared and provided for. J. DunwoDY.
Church Membership—lts Obligations
and Duties—No 111.
HY DR. L. I’l MICE.
Church membernhip—what is it '( It ought
to be in fact, and it is in effect, a religious-con
tract, m which the church eugages to take good
care of the member’s spiritual interests aud of
those of his ohildren, in as far as the church, in
the order of God, is committed to this good
work—aud that is a great way in my opinion.
Aud the member engages to obey and keep in
violate every rule of moral discipline iu the
church, into which he or she enters. Aud al
though no one ought ever to be allowed to cuter
the church, except upon the assumption of every
moral and religious obligation imposed on them
in our General Jiules, as I have clearly shown in
my first and second numbers —still, loose and
hurtful preachers—l caunot say pastors, for there
is nothing iu their vagrant way of management
that fills the pastoral bill at all—are always ta
king in members, and never committing them
openly and solemnly to any pledge of faith, or
of obedience to church relations or sacraments.
So loose has been the practice of some, in this j
respect, that it is to be feared that coming into
the church has by mauy passed off, like coming
into a friend’s house out of a rain—a mere ac- j
commodation —which is fatally wrong in all j
cases of superficial minds. David said, “I have j
sworn, aud I will perform all thy righteous i
judgments.’’ Here is a model case. And I
now affirm, that even if a bungling preacher \
should fail to do his duty, in getting members j
into the church, of making them both appre- i
bend aud appreciate the moral obligation irn- I
posed by the church and accepted by them, |
still, the obligation is imposed and taken, by
force of common law. The church as constitu- j
ted and as known does not, can not exist, except i
upon and within these organic constitutional
laws. All attempts to divert their controlling
weight aud power over a member in the church,
is simply ridiculous, aud always indicates either
a weak mind, or a bad heart. This being a
truism iu Methodism—no other phase of it ever
having been known, or type of it sanctioned in
any council or conference haviDg custody of it—
it seems to me we are in position, and nothing
remains to be done, but for all ministers in
charge of churches to read the General llules,
as the organic law ot a Wesleyan Methodist
membership, and to say to all, that membership
is to be maintained upon this basis alone ; that
the church cannot admit a member except on
this bottom ; and that you, acting as a guardian
of Methodism —not of vagrant, self-willed in
truders into its sanctuary—must and will exact
a compliance with this compact; that time will
be given to any who may please to plead sur
prise, and if they will honestly declare, that
they would never have been Methodists, if they
had known that such things, in the way of self
denial and of duty, would have been exacted at
their hands as conditions of membership, then
let them retire, without any of the forms of
charge or trial as of right on our part. If we
let them in without taking their obligation to
keep our rules, and they demur to our rightful
jurisdiction over them, in these cases of mooted
morality, I say their demurrer is good against
us, as to Methodistic jurisdiction. I have
known for years that if these delinquents were
to poise themselves on the ground that they
never pledged themselves to any such restraints,
as a faithful pastor might claim at their hands
as conditions of membership, the presiding pas
tor must and doubtless would feel himself non
suited. I should let—and in as far as my pas
torate extends, my plan is to let every such
member separate from us, with no other entry
than voluntary withdrawal. But if they prefer
to remain—as God grant they may—then let
them take upon themselves the obligations of a
Methodist—never having formally done so be
PUBLISHED BY J. W. BURKE & CO., FOR THE M. E. CHURCH, SOUTH.
fore —and if they have unwittingly broken the
rules of our fellowship before, but will now en
gage to abide by them, let this adjustment be
reported in a church meeting as mutual, official
and final, as to all that is past. But iu every
case, let it be distinctly understood, that no
compromise of principle or of duty, on the part
of the church, can ever be recognized, as of an
accepted member in it, and that if the church
grants time to such unsettled minds—as I hope
it always will—until forbearance becomes inju
rious to the church by being construed into fel
lowship, yet let it he especially ruled, that no
one is estimated by us as a bona fide member of
our communion until he or she pledges obedi
dienec to our articles of religion, and moral
rules of Christian life and church communion
and fellowship.
I am, on many accounts, a Wesleyan Method
ist, but chiefly I am one ou account of our
articles of faith, and of our superior moral dis
cipline. But our moral discipline has been a
constant failure, from the day we laid down the
General Rules as the unvarying terms of mem
bership, in our various churches. Many of our
preachers ceased to require their charges to live
according to the spirit of our General Rules,
not beeause they believed non-observance would
perpetuate as good Methodists as observance
would, but because some puerile objections were
made by the outside world, and some of the
same sort by a few of the trimmers already in
the church; and because of the apprehension
that this class of worldly-spirited members, now
the bane of Methodist churches iu many of our
fields of labor, would go to some other church,
where, if what they desired was not authorized
by church decisions, it was not recognized as of
disruptive illegality. Many of our in gathering
revivalists seem to reach the conclusion that a
numerous membership, with members as good as
our doctrines and the power of our moral suasion
ought to make, would be a better reliance than
a too scrupulous disciplinary policy. Indeed, all
this class of preachers ever known to me—l
mean those that measure their lame by the num
ber they annually get on the list, rate their suc
cess also by the few they get out, and all of
them to my utter surprise" estimate the whole
amount of real piety in the church, in some
sort, as of exact ratio to the numerical list. So
they are going on, in the delusion of a geomet
rical progress, while all history and all close ob
servation confirm the fact, that the church has
always run down in vital godliness, in somewhat
exact proportion as it has been run up, in its
numerical record. And there is no way to ac
count for it except this : that exactly in the
degree that a revival church becomes intoxicated
with the in gathering mania, in that same degree
does it become intoxicated with the in-keeping
mania.
So long as the prevailing passion in our
church was to have a pure church, we were, all
things considered, a pure church. But as soon
as the passion centered on the numerical enthu
siasm discipline began to slack, the church since
then has reminded me all the time of a city
council, indulging the pleasing but vain hope,
when knowing of here and there a case of vari
ola or even of varioloid, that they arc only
sporadic cases—and if they learn the cases are
multiplying, they estimate the ultimate danger
of the virus, by the false and very foolish con
clusion, that because there is a rapid influx of
population—there never was more health in the
city, just because they most unfairly and illogical
ly calculate the health by a numerical aggre
gate, against the presence of an infectious virus
seen and known to he otl the increase in the
number of cases and inveteracy of their charac
ter. Just so have many reasoned against warn
ings on this point for years past, and contended
stoutly that there had never been a time when
there was more religion in the Methodist Church
than at this time—a declaration that has fallen
on my ear all the time as the notes of a funeral
hell. Because these preachers, I know, made
their estimate on the numerical basis, and any
preacher that does so is detrimental to the true
interests of Methodism. They have every one
been swift to get in members on very slender
claims, and slow to get out any on the clearest
evidence of unfitness for membership. flow
Methodist preachers being themselves sane on
signs—could flatter themselves and so danger
ously delude others, on this fallacious plea, as to
state and defend a proposition so self-negatived
—is to me utterly confounding. Every Metho
dist preacher that has been endeavoring, scrip
turally to take care of the church of God, knows
it to be the fact, that for the last fifty years,
about in the same proportion in which we have
increased numerically, we have declined practi
cally, until it is mournfully true, that our prac
tical character is exactly reversed. The first
half century of American Methodism, the rare
exception was to find either mau or woman in the
church that would dare to infract a single item
in our General Rules. The sad and rare excep
tion now is, to find one of either sex that lives
in any controlling reference to them in any
thing. To say, therefore, that there is as much
or more religion in our church now, as there
was then, is to say, that the self sacrificing ob
servance of the Genetal Rules would do no re
ligious good in our church, and any pastor that
would say so, would forfeit his Methodistic char
acter at once. While it is just as true, that
every pastoral preacher among us, who believes
the observance of the General Rules would im
prove our piety, and yet does not enforce them,
has just as little Methodistic character, and
really deserves less. No man is either fit or
worthy to be entrusted with any important inter
est that will not defend and hold that interest
secure against all attempts at perversion just as
long as is possible.
I shall be met here by some of the ministerial trus
tees of this venerable charter of Methodism, with
the plea, that the old charter cannot be enforced
now. And if this suspicious plea is true, then,
indeed, there is no longer any Wesleyan Metho
dism to hold in trust, because no other charter
for a Wesleyan Methodist Church has ever been
granted or accepted in this nation, but the arti
cles of religion and the General Rules which
Mr. Wesley granted us, and we accepted, and
: organized American Methodism upon, as funda
; mental grounds.
Therefore, if any minister among us accepts
the pastoral function—thereby becoming a trus
tee, a key-keeper of Wesleyan Methodism—he
dishonors himself and damages us, unless he
keeps to our charter, and builds up and keeps up
our church, upon the organic principles of
Wesleyan Methodist spiritual Christianity.
There is no difficulty in keeping up Metho
dism now, as a partisan religious association.—
But to keep it up as a spiritual house, an holy
priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, accep
table to God, by Jesus Christ, is a work of some
difficulty, but by no means impossible. Indeed,
it is my opinion that all the members of the
church, worth anything to the church in the
way of spiritual godliness, greatly desire to see
the church put back again upon its old way.—
And those among ns who are now using the.
church rather as a lounge, than as an altar of
sacrifice or a temple of spiritual worship, may
be, by the timely aid of the church, saved. But
if allowed to remain in the church and live in
the flesh—as many are now doing—the church
I is perverted into only a more decent road to
ruin. The light that is in our infatuated people
' is darkness—and Oh ! how great is that dark
ness. What is to be hoped in a religion that at
last turns out to be a miserable net-work of car
nal woof on spiritual warp. They set out on a
Macon, Ga., Friday, August 2,1867.
religious sympathy, but like a foolish fly which,
by incautious fluttering about the spar's majes
tic court, is at last entangled and drawn in, and
finally ruined, so also will multitudes of our car
nally-minded Methodists perish, unless plucked
from the spider’s web by wholesome discipline.
REMINISCENCES.
t
Manchester Mission.
Manchester Mission was changed in name du
ring my stay of three years, to Upper Santee ;
and as I propose to give only a general, and not
a minute history of our missionary operations
there, I shall not trouble my readers with dis
tinctions between the years 1836, 1837 and
1838.
As remarked before, the work extended grad
ually down the river into the neighborhood of
Rehoboth and St. Mark’s Churches, both of
which were connected with the Santee Circuit,
as it then stood.
The great revival to which reference has been
made, opened an effectual door at these two
Churches, for the preaching of the word to the
colored people. At Rehoboth, we, had large
congregations, and many children under cate
chetical instruction; but St. Mark’s wbs the great
central gathering point for both whites and col
ored, for many miles above and below and in the
direction of Black River. And as many of the
tenderest, as well as the most hallowed, recollec
tions of my life cluster arouud this neighborhood,
nty readers will pardon me for dwelling on these
sacred memories, with more than usual interest.
Near Rehoboth lived an aged member of our
Church named lthodus, the father of my much
endeared brother-in-law, Gabriel D. Rhodus, who
at that time was but a bright eyed boy ; but who
has since developed into a full grown, and in
deed rather a venerable looking man. His
developments, however, are not of the physical
man ; (for he never grew to be much more than
a boy in size) but are of the mental and spirit
ual order. He is rather sensitive I thirjc, on
the subject of avoirdupois weight; therefore I
wili not say much on that subject; but in mind
he is acute and clear. For years a teacher, he
had no superior, and perhaps few equals in that
department of usefulness Asa planter and
business man, he stands A No. 1, and for integ
rity and honor he has no superior. Quick in
temper and action, he is not to be trifled with;
hut he meets his enemy with open heart and
hand, on the first indications of a desire for
reconciliation and peace. Devoted to his family
and friends and above all to the cause of God,
he is universally esteemed, as friend, neighbor,
and Christian. He would not place this estimate
on himself I know; and therefore those who
know him best, most willingly accord it to him.
Nearer still to Rehoboth lived my old friend,
Samuel Rennett, Esq , with his amiable wile and
children ; now somewhere (if alive) in Alabama.
Rro. Rennett was as remarkable for his musical
genius and amiability, as he was for his modesty;
and if these lines meet his eye, I hope it will
he as great a pleasure to him, to know that he
is not forgotten, as it is to me, to make this
memorandum of our formor friendship.
The cold waters of selfishness, usually oblit
erate all the marks of esteem —in the lapse of
thirty years—unless they are graven onthf. solid
rock of personal worth. Samuel Bennett and
his family are as fresh in my memory and affec
tion, as though I had dined with him but yester
day, in h s bright and comfortable home ou San
tee River.
A little more remote from the Church lived
the most venerable, and perhaps influential man
in the Church and neighborhood, Morgan Sabb,
Esq. He was from Orangeburg District origin
ally ; was a man of means; of some cultivation
of mind, and perhaps as fine a specimen of the
low-country gentleman as could be found iu all
that region. Neat, even to particularity, in his
dress aud equipage; exact and regular in all his
habits, even to the sniuking of a cigar; courte
ous aud polite in his intercourse with friends
and strangers ; slow of speech, but firm and de
cided iu all his opinions ; well principled and
pious in his feelings, and preserved in a remark
able manuer from decay, for one of his years,
he stood before you in 1836, as a fine specimen
of the Carolina gentleman of the old school.
Still nearer to St. Mark’s, lived Capt. W. J.
R. Cantey, whom I subsequently learned to call
‘‘Uncle William.’’ He was a man of ample for
tune, aud later in life, of sincere piety, who died
suddenly leaving a widow and a large family
of children, llis wife, Mrs. Mary A. Cantey,
(still living) was a feeble aud delicate looking
person even then; but she has lived to bury near
ly all the older members of her family, and to en
dear herself beyond expression to the writer of
these sketches, aud to all who know her as one
of the purest, most self-denying and generous
hearted of Christian women. She was and is,
my dear aunt, Mary Cantey ; because she sus
tained thut relationship to my dear wife, who
has been sleeping sweetly in the grave at Wades
boro, North Carolina, for the last twenty years
and more. Her life for the third of a century
has been a martyrdom to disease. It is likely
that she has not seen a well day in all that pe
riod ; but she has heroically home the burthen
of a large family of sons and daughters; been
the active friend of all the poor in the neighbor
hood; patiently ministered to the necessities of
her numerous servants; sympathized with all
the suffering who have come within her reach;
loved God, her Maker and Redeemer, and contri
buted all in her power to advance His kingdom;
and has lived to see her property wasted—her
eldest son sacrificed to the demon of civil war—
her other children married and scattered; and
yet still she waits for the coming of the Lord,
as those who “ watch for the morning.’’ She is
a living witness of how much suffering a frail
.woman can endure, and how much such an one
can accomplish for the glory of God, through
the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Near her son (whom we have just mentioned)
lived the aged and venerable Mrs. Susannah
Cantey, a member of .our Church, and ripening
for the kingdom of heaven. She was the grand
mother of my wife, and in her house and under
her matronly care I found the companion of my
early joys and sorrows, as an itinerant preacher.
Os her qualities, perhaps I ought not speak for
the saxe of delicacy—certainly, not for the want
of appreciation. Good, pure and gentle, she
shared tsy fate for seven years, aud, then being
summoned by her Lord and Master, she entered
the portals of heaven singing, as she went, “Oh
heaven, sweet heaven, when shall I see, Oh when
shall I be there.” In the family of Mrs.
Cantey, I found that devotioo to the wants of
the aged mistress, on the part of her servants,
which was rare even then, when so many exam
ples of mutual confidence and sympathy between
owners and servants existed everywhere. Some
of her servants were the best and most reliable
I have ever known. I must mention two or
three, as their example deserves to be placed on
everlasting record.
There was old “John, the Weaver,’’ as he
was called, and his wife, “ Betty.’’ John was
as truthful and incorruptible, as any white man
living. He was a Christian of quiet, unpretend
ing character. Faithful to his God and his
mistress, he desired nothing on earth so much as
her prosperity; aud nothing in heaven, but to
see God, and meet his old mistress there. lie
survived her many years and I hope 1 was
going to say—that he is still living. But no, the
present confusion and breaking up of all ths old
family ties would make life a burthen to him;
I therefore rather hope he is in heaven too.
And then there was “ Maum Binah”—a tall,
stately, dignified looking housekeeper ! the con
fidential servant —the right hand of her mistress
—the second mother of my wife, for she had
been her nurse and adviser, from infancy up to
womanhood; and I have, time and again, seen
my wife throw her arms around the neat, cleanly
old woman, with an affection and confidence that
was beautiful to see. Maum Binah was deeply
and truly pious. She survived her old mistress
and her young master and my wife many years.
In old age she was blind, and on the occasion
of my annual visits I always sought her out, in
her cabin—and sat at her feet to learn lessons of
patience and piety. She seemed to have but one
longing desire, that was, to go to God and meet
her old mistress, and the various members of the
family, who had gone before to heaven. Many
an hour have I sat and talked with her thus,
and full many a prayer have we together sent up
to the throne of the heavenly grace. She is
there now—and I And this was slavery,
and these are the relations, in many instances,
which handed together the hearts of the whites
and colored iu a bundle of Christian love.
Where are we now ?
But there were Hetty, the cook—and Henry,
the gardener—and Lewis, the cattle-minder—and
Brewington, the wagoner and hostler, and many
others, with their numerous children, all happy,
clean, well fed, and well cared for; and above
all, happy in religion and the hope of heaven.
We have seen what John and Binah were—al
low me tell you that Lewis was eloquent iu prayer,
Ilenry, gentle and polite, and full of Christian
conversation—sensible and solid—and Brewing
ton, whom his master would trust with money to
any amount, and whose hearty “yah-e-yah,”
was always infectious; and whose whole spirit
and life has stamped him, in my judgment, as
one of the best practical philosophers I have
ever known. In the sunshine all day, no matter
how the clouds or winds might blow, he lived
and enjoyed life, in a manner, which I have rare
ly seen in any one else.
Among the whites, were Mr and Mrs. Con
nor, the revered parents of my wile; Mrs.
Lesesne, a saint indeed; Dr. Ilenry Singleton,
who subsequently became a local preacher, and
his amiable wife; Uncle Sam Cantey, who after
many conflicts with himself and the world, we
hope escaped safely to eternal rest; Bro. Deter
Oliver, with his excellent wife and numerous
family of well bred children ; his brother John
Oliver, of precious memory; and brother and
sister McKniglit, forming altogether with those
mentioned before, one of the most delightful
Christian communities to he found anywhere.
These with their servants, formed our congrega
tion, alternately at Rehoboth and St. Mark’s.
This latter Church was a remnant of the old
Parish system in Sumter District, and had form
erly been an Episcopal Church. For many years
previously there had been no pastor, and by gen
eral consent rt*"passed into the hands of the
Methodists. It was an old fashioned building,
situated very nearly, if not exactly on the line
dividing Sumter (now Clarendon) from Williams
burg District. The catechising was usually at
tended to in fair weather, under a large oak tree,
which stood directly in front of the Church—
the class numbering from sixty to one hundred
children of both sexes; and it was cheering to
hear how promptly they recited the catechism
and how sweetly they sung the many (hymns
which they had committed to memory. All this
occurring in a season of general religious inter
est, gave unusual life and animation to the pub
lic worship of God. It is most likely that such
a season of religious interest had never been
realized there before, and probably nothing like
it since that time. It would he difficult to de
scribe the harmony and Christian ass ection, which
perva'ded the whole community, and the freedom
from vice, and the usual heart-burnings, jeal
ousies, and envyings, which form too much of
the actual experience of moot neighborhoods.
Oh ! thut I might he permitted once again to see
and enjoy such a season of levival influence be
fore I depart hence, and be no more.
The old St. Mark’s Church has been replaced
by another and more substantial building near
the old site; aud there has been a devoted band
of Christians worshiping there for years; yet
the glory of the “former’’ place shines resplend
ent in my eyes, and the sacredness of its associa
tions have not bemi diminished by time or ab
sence.
Os the deaily beloved friends who formed
the society and congregation there in 1837, not
many remain until this day. Death has had its
carnival, and the Canteys, the Sabbs, the Con
nors, the Singletons, Lesesne,s and Olivers have
nearly all returned to their original dust years
ago.
“ Friend after friend departs,
Who hath not lost a friend !
There is nouiion nere of hearts
That knows not here an Hid.
Were this poor word our final rest,
Living or dying none w« re blest.”
It was duriug the year 1838, that I had Bro.
Sherwood Owens, the local preacher mentioned
before, as a colleague. As an illustration of the
force of habit, and the danger to any man of
changing his habits in life, after middle age, I
will state the particulars of his case. At a quar
terly conference at St. Paul’s in 1837, he argSe
and with much feeling stated to his brethren,
that he had promised God soon after his con
version and licensure, that if He would spare
his life until his children were grown and pro
vided for, then he would consecrate himself, soul
and body to His service in the itinerant work.
He said that the time had come, and with many
tears he submitted his case to his brethren. He
was recommended to the Annual Conference and
admitted on trial, and appointed to this work
near home. He moved on cheerfully until the
close of the year, when he asked for a change,
desiring to try the circuit work. He was accom
modated and appointed to the Cooper River Cir
cuit which still admitted his family to remain at
home. He was delighted for a few months, but
then the long wearisome roads—small congrega
tions in the week—and above all the course of
study required by the Conference discouraged
him, and he was discontinued at the end of the
year, at his own request. But in 1838, we were
together, and abandoning the upper part ot our
mission as unprofitable, we extended our work
into Charleston District, on the opposite side of
Santee, and extending from Murray’s Ferry up
to the neighborhood of the celebrated Eutaw
Springs. Here our appointments were on plan
tations exclusively; and we held forth under
trees, in cotton houses, and in negro cabins. The
planters generally approved of our work, and we
had the privilege ot preaching the gospel there
on the large cotton plantations, to negroes ot
whom it was said, that they had never heard a
sermon before.
It was a. laborious field, and one that called
for many sacrifices of ease, and in which the
ordinary motives of human conduct could have
no influence. No money or reputation were to
be made; and although we were kindly enter
tained by planters and overseers, and socially
our position was all that could be desired, yet we
could not but perceive that our work was not
always appreciated; and we were often discour
aged by the stupidity and indifference of the
colored people themselves. They were not to he
compared with the negroes on the Sumter side
of the river, either for intelligence or interest in
religious things. We preached and catechised
to the full measure of our strength, and hoped
the harvest might be gathered after mauy days.
I have reason to believe that such was the result.
Amongst the planters there who patronized our
I mission were, the Porohers, Gaillards, Lc Queux,
Couturiers, De Hays, Palmers and Marions.
These, as will be perceived, were all of French
extraction, and were the descendants of the
Huguenots, who fled from France, on account of
the persecutions which followed the revocation
of the edict of Nantes. Their descendants in
herited many of the virtues of their ancestors.
They were wealthy, educated, and polished in
their manners; quick and impulsive in their
temper, and generally temperate and sober in
their habits.
I shall never forget the kindly welcome which
we received, at the house of Mrs. Marion, the
widow of the adopted son of Gen. Francis Ma
rion, nor the many pleasant hours spent in her
agreeable society and that of her children.
From her I learned many interesting facts in re
lation to the distinguished family of her husband;
and among other tilings, that the author of the
“ Life of Gen. F. Marion,” the llev. Mr. Weems,
had drawn largely on his fancy for his facts.
It was a real sorrow to be told that the whole of
the introductory part of that most delightful
biography, is a pure romance; that Col. Hu
ger, who furnished him with the material for the
“Life,” was so angry with him, at the liberty he
had taken, that he would not speak to him, un
til the day of his death. Still, “ Weems’ Life
of Marion,” is one of the most readable books,
for the young especially, in the language. What
school boy has not pored over it with delight,
and once I heard a common ditcher, repeat page
after page of it with the greatest gusto. I paid
a pilgrimage to the grave of the old hero. He
sleeps quietly at his home at “ Belle Isle” await
ing the resurrection morn.
Itinerant.
EPISCOPAL ADDRESS.
To the Ministers and Members of the Methodist Episcopal
Church, South.
Beloved Brethren :—Grace be unto you and
peace, from God the Father, and from our Lord
Jesus Christ.
Ou making up and comparing our reports from
the several Conferences lor the past, and pub
lishing the Plan of Episcopal Visitations for the
coming year, we deem it proper, under the cir
cumstances, to address you a special message of
counsel, of warning, and of encouragement.
A survey of the condition of the Churches
under our care fills us with gratitude and hope.
By the blessing of God we have been able to
attend the regular sessions of all the Annual Con
ferences. We have witnessed the reorganiza
tion of every department of the Church —mis-
sionary, publishing, educational, and benevolent
—and the reoccupation of every field in which
there had been a temporary suspension of oper
ations. Houses of worship, which had been
burned down or damaged, have been rebuilt or
repaired; and this work goes on. In their deep
poverty, our people have not ceased to call for
pastors, and the preached word, and ordinances ;
and pastors have been supplied them, though
often with divided labor and meagre sustenance.
Indeed, our lines have been extended, and wo
now cover more territory, number more Confer
ences, station more preachers, and have a wider
jurisdiction than at any former time.
Our Conference sessions have been of unusual
interest to the communities where they were
held ; and tho gracious influences upon preaoh
ers and people gave assurance ofvthe presence of
the Holy Spirit in our assemblies. Returns
from circuits, stations, and missions, show that
the Lord still bears testimony to tho word of his
grace, and many thousand souls have been con
verted and added to the church.
Nearly everywhere we are met by the complaint
of lessened means and straitened resources.—
Beware, brethren, lest this become a snare and
a sin to you, in being pleaded against God’s just
claims. Beware, lest this fact, in some cases
rather apparent than real, be abused as a cloak
of covetousness. A little that a righteous man
hath can go a great way in well doing. The
poor have their obligations, and our Master ac
cepts their offerings. A poor Church may be a
very strong one. The gifts upon God’s altar
have always been in proportion to the piety,
rather than the possessions of his people.
The general and unprecedented dearth which
has prevailed over large portions of our country,
has given occasion for the liberality ot our peo
ple in more favored circumstances, which we
note with pleasure as a genuine fruit o( Christ
ianity. The administration of this service not
only supplieth the wants of the suffering among
us, but is abundant, also, by many thanksgivings
unto God. We earnestly desire the manifesta
tion of his grace in you, yet more and more.
The two questions sent down from the Gener
al Conference to the Annual Conferences have
been submitted by us to all of them, with the
following results:
For concurrence with the motion to change
the style and title of the Church, 1,168 votes
were cast; against it, 409. The affirmative vote
being less than the required three-fourths of the
members present aDd voting, the motion fails.
For concurrence with the motion to introduce
lay-representation into the Annual and General
Conferences, 1,199 votes were cast; against it,
371. The required three fourths having been
given, this motion prevails. Lay representation,
therefore, according to the plan submitted and
approved, becomes a part of the organic law of
the Church.
Whether or not these questions be in their
nature constitutional, and subject to the restric
tive rules, we think it well that the Church, with
singular unanimity, has consented so to regard
them. A conservative temper has been shown
in refraining from the adoption of important al
terations by mere majorilies. They were sub
mitted to the severe ordeal of a two-thirds vote
of the General Conference, and the concurrence
of a three-fourths vote in the Annual Confer
ences. It is an augury for good when the rights
and feelings of minorities are thus respected
A delicate regard to constitutional limitations, a
jealousy of hasty and impulsive measures, should
be cherished. Letthose whose wishes have been
defeated accept gracefully this result of checks
and delays, which are our best earthly safeguards
against untimely, unwise, and impracticable leg
islation.
We may be allowed to call attention to some
features of this accomplished fact. It is seldom,
if ever, paralleled in the kingdoms of this world
that men holding power should, on their own
motion, and without any clamor or pressure
from without, call in their brethren to share it
with them. On account of the circumstances
theu existing, our Churclw was organized in
America with the utmost simplicity, and more
in view of efficiency than of any nice -theories
of human government. Our fathers gave little
heed, as do their sons, to temporal analogies and
political conformities, knowing that the kingdoms
of this world are worked in a different spirit,
contemplate different objects, and at their best
estate are not models for Christ’s kingdom.—
Following the example, and using the liberty of
the apostolic and the primitive Church, they did
what we propose to do—adapted, within certain
limits, the best means to the end. In all their
rules and regulations a revereut regard was had
to our 22d Article, which is not ours only, but,
in form or substance, the creed of the Christian
world . “It is not necessary that rites and jjere
monies should in all places be the same, or ex
actly alike; for they have been always different,
and may be changed according to the diversity
of countries, times, and men’s manners, so that
nothing be ordained against God s word.’ Or
daining, changing, and abolishing, within these
E. H. MYERS, D.D., EDITOR
Whole Number, 1618
limits, is lawful for “every particular Church,”
“so that all things may be done to edification,”
Our Church, under the blessing of its Divine
Head, has spread abroad into twenty-nine An
nual Conferences, and taken on a breadth of
evangelical enterprise. For years, more or less
informally, her sense of need and propriety has
been evincing itself in the effort to bring the
laity into co operation with the ministry in car
rying forward this enlarged work, maintaining
the subsidiary interests which have gathered
about her, and in meeting the weighty responsi
bilities and multifarious cares of the household
of faith. The mind of the Church has been
long maturing to the present conclusions. Hence,
the consent and quietness with which this so im
portant measure has been inaugurated.
Now upon the laity will largely rest the re
sponsibility of working it. Brethren, show your
zeal for the Lord’s house by leaving your farms,
your shops, your merchandise, your offices, and
other employments to attend the Annual and
General Conferences. We need not urge upon
you the duty of appointing, as representatives,
men proved and tried, large-minded and large
hearted, who will count it no hardship to devote
the time and travel necessary to the discharge of
representative functions. Make a conscience of
this matter. Let there be a pause in the too
eager pursuit of wealth and worldly honor. —
Covet an honorable distinction in the service of
the Church, which has a claim on the best talent,
and is a field where true glory and immortality
may be won.
The General Conference enacted a rule for
promoting the religious interests of the freed men,
concerning which we would say, that after a
year’s observation and partial trial, it seems to
be the best for doing whatever we can do for
this people. Beyond it we have no other advice
to give than is suggested by their moral rela
tions to us and to the gospel of our common sal
vation. We refer you to sec. 5, chap. 3, of Dis
cipline :
“ Question. What shall bo done to pro
mote the Religious Interests of tho Colored
People 1
“ Answer 1. Let our colored members be
organized as separate pastoral charges, when
ever they prefer it, and their numbers may justi
fy it.
“2. Let each pastoral charge of colored mem
bers have its own Quarterly Conference, com
posed of official members, as provided for in the
Discipline,’’ etc..
Farther provisions arc given for an ecclesiasti
cal organism among them, as occasion may re
quire, in the development of which nothing is
to be forced, nothing restrained. Wc are to
do our duty, and follow tho openings of Provi
dence.
Our design is to continue in the course here
laid down. Some progress has been made. In
the matters of timo and literary qualification for
orders, the case of colored preachers instead of
being hold to a fixed standard, is considerately
left to the discretion of the Annual Conference,
to which application for election is mado.
Under the operation of this rulo wo have or
dained a goodly number of deacons and elders,
and wo have favorable reports of their steadfast
ness and usefulness as pastors. The disposition
at one time manifested by our colored member
ship to alienation from us, has shown symptoms
of a reaction, and in several places they are re
turning to our pastoral care; iu many, they have
never withdrawn from it. We have no pecunia
ry inducements to offer them no delusive social
theories, but simply that gospel and Christian
sympathy and moral discipline which have here
tofore been so blessed to us and them.
In this connection we call your attention to
Report No. 1, on the same subject, adopted by
the General Conference, and published in its
Journal:
“Whereas, the condition of the colored people
of the South is now essentially changed; and
whereas, the interests of the white and colored
people are materially dependent upon the intelli
gence and virtue of this race, that we have had,
and must continue to have, among us; and
whereas, the Methodist Episcopal Church, South,
has always claimed to be the friend of that peo
ple, a claim vindicated by the continuous and
successful exertions made in their behalf, in in
structing and evangelizing them ; and it is im
portant that we should continue to evinoe our
interest for them in this regard; and as our
hearts prompt us to this philanthropy; there
fore,
“ Resolved, That we recommend to our people
the establishment of day-schools, under proper
regulations and trustworthy teachers, for the
children.’’
This resolution, in spirit, requires what we
trust every one of you will be forward to do—
the moral as well as material support of such
schools and teachers as it describes. We must
not wait for public opinion to form itself right
on this subject, but contribute to its formation.
Anything like the ostracism of those honestly
engaged in this work is a violation of this pledge
to each other, to the colored people, and to God.
For moral incendiaries and political propagan
dists, who abuse school-teaching to other purpo
ses, this resolution challenges no sympathy; but
so far as we may prevent it, let no man or woman
be treated with less respect, or be thought the
less of, merely because he or she teaches a negro
school. Against such a prejudece from what
ever source arising, let us make common cause
with them.
While we congratulate you on signs of a more
intimate and visible union with us of other ec
clesiastical organizations holding the same doc
trines, we regret not to be able to announce the
manifestation of a more friendly spirit on the
part of the Northern Methodist Episcopal
Church. We are constrained to protest against
the conduct of that body, which seems >b be in
fluenced by the passions o£ the hour. By appeal
to the civil authorities, several of our Church
properties taken possession of and persistently
held by its agents, have been restored to us ;
but not all. In these eases we wait patiently the
law’s delay, while our pastors and people are out
of doors, worshipping in private houses, or in
debted to the courtesy of sister denominations.
Northern Methodist missionaries are seut, not to
neglected places, but where our congregations
abound, and where the doctrines of Methodism
are fully preached, according to the standards
once held in common with us by the Church
which sends them. The object of these intru
sionists, therefore, if they preach Methodist doc
trines only, is schism ; if they bring anew gos
pel, it is heresy. In some communities they
have succeeded in misleading ignorant and un
stable persons by cries of “the old Church,” and
the hardly disguised threat that those who abide
with us will draw on themselves confiscation and
civil disabilities —all which evils aro to be es
caped by alliance with them ! By an open and
shocking prostitution to political partisanship,
they have found a doubtful foothold among some
who are ready to use a Church or any other in
strument for the furtherance of their purposes.
Very generally our ministers are being instruc
ted in the hard lesson—to suffer need. They
arc giving the gospel to the people in the same
spirit of faith that animated our apostolio ex
emplars, who, though caßt down, were not de
stroyed ) perplexed, they were never in despair.
Instances have been brought to our knowledge
recently, in nearly every Conference, of great
privations oheerfully born*. Brethren of the
ministry, if any do complain and are ready to
faint under these things, remember your tows.
Have we really given up all for Christ '! Do we