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4 Southern Christian CHARLESTON, S. C., NOV. 30,1878. The Associate Editor is in charge of the Advocate for the present. Our present number is devoted largely to interesting matter apper taining to the South Carolina Confer ence, to delay the publication oi which would be to seriously impair its in terest and value. Brother Chrietz berg, at great expense of labor and time, has prepared a valuable direc tory of the Conference, which at our request he has consented to publish in the Advocate. Dr. Wightman’s ar ticle on “ Religious Journalism,” takes the place of editorial matter, which we would have prepared but for the space we give to this timely and ad mirable appeal in the interest of our paper. Our Conference news is unu sually full and rich. Several of our regular department are necessarily crowded out. Bishop Wightman. It is with great pleasure, and with profound gratitude to God, that we announce to our readers the safe re turn of our beloved Bishop. Along with many of his personal friends, we were doubtful about the propriety of assigning Bishop Wightman to such an arduous mission—the visitation to the Conferences in the far West and Northwest. But he went to do his Master’s work, went willingly, went trustingly, accompanied by the pray ers of the faithful; and He who said : “Fear not, I am with thee,” has re deemed His promise, and now has restored his servant in good bodily health, and in excellent spirits, to the bosom of his family', and to the large and delighted circle of his friends. Nor is the bishop a whit the worse for his thousand and more miles of staging over the Rocky Mountain roads; for his dread of an ambush from hostile Indians , for the many thousands of miles of railroad travel, and all the shaking and jostling that are concomitant even with these im proved means of travel. We congratu late the Church on the happy' event, and fervently pray that the Bishop may yet be spared many years to us and all his friends ; and that his kind and genial presence, his wise counsel, his fatherly admonition, his pious example, and his sterling pulpit efforts, may long continue to edify our Zion. Resignation of Rev. F. M. Ken nedy, D. D. To the Preachers of the South Carolina Conference: Dear Brethren—After waiting for several months, with the hope that I would be able to resume my' post as editor of the Southern Christian Advocate, I feel that the time has come when I am reluctantly compell ed'to abandon all such hope, and thus publicly advise you of the necessity under which I act. After recovering sufficiently' from the severe and dis abling attack under which I suffered, just after the General Conference, I spent two monthsinVirginia; andmy general health was so much improved that I was hopeful of being able to re-enter the office by' the first of Jan uary'. Recovery, however, from my r special disability has not answered expectation, and I feel it right and proper that you should be informed. With painful regret, therefore, 1 write this note to inform you that I shall present my resignation as editor, at the approaching session of the Con ference. Affectionately', F. M. Kennedy. Macon, Ga., Nov. 18th, 1878. We communicate tho above to our readers with a sad heart. Brother Kennedy filled the position of editor of this journal for about eight years. Ilow well he discharged his trust; how entirely he met the varied wants of his numerous constituency ; how he gradually' succeeded in making all his readers his warm personal friends, we need not stop now to descant upon. SOUTHERN CHRISTIAN ADVOCATE. When it was determined at the last Gen eral Conference to bring back the Advo cate to its old place of publication, Dr. Kennedy was again the unanimous choice of his brethren for editor, and right glad were many hearts here in good old Charleston, at the prospect of greeting once more their cherished friend and former pastor. But Prov idence had decreed otherwise. Soon after the session of the General Con ference, in Atlanta, Brother Kennedy was called to undergo a long and very serious illness, which disabled him from entering upon the duties of his office, and which rendered it necessa ry that the Publishing Committee should elect an assistant editor. Not long since, we published a letter from Brother Kennedy, holding out hopes of an early recovery, and a resump tion of his duties in the course of a few weeks. By his letter above, how ever, addressed to his brethren of the Conference, our readers will see with regret that his recovery has proved more tardy than he had anticipated ; and that he has concluded to tender his resignation as editor of the Ad vocate. We feel sad at heart in chronicling these few lines, and we know that we express the unanimous sentiment of our readers when we say we are sorry to lose tho valuable services of our honored senior; and when we tender him our cordial sympathy in his af fliction. Brother Kennedy retires from the chair editorial with a com fortable consciousness of duty well and satisfactorily' performed ; and we can assure him, in addition, that be has the affectionate prayers of thous ands of warm hearts for his speedy recovery, and for his continued wel fare, both temporal and spiritual. Religious Journalism. Religious journalism is of modern origin. The Apostles were the first to reduce Christian teaching to per manent record. They were followed by the patristic fathers. The Jews next compiled the Talmud up to the tenth century. The Reformers seized the advantages of printing, then but recently discovered, to spread the Re formation. Wesley, more than a hun dred years ago, first published reli gious tracts, started a magazine, and utilized the press for the diffusion of Methodist literature. The Western Christian Monitor, published in Ohio, in 1815, was the first religious month ly which appeared in this country, followed by' The Wesleyan Magazine, in 1818. Up to this date no weekly religious journal had been published. The first was Zion's Herald, in 1825, a small sheet, measuring nine by six teen inches. The Christian Advocate and Journal appeared in New York, in 1826, and the Southern Christian Advocate in Charleston, S. C., in 1837. In our day one hundred and twenty religious periodicals, of which more than fifty are weekly papers, are pub lished by the Methodist Church alone in the United States. It is surprising that the almost om nipotent power of the press should have slumbered in the bosom of so many' forms of civilization, through the centuries, and not until now, within the memory of men still living, should have been discovered to con tain the great electric light of the moral world. Alike in the material and moral worlds, Provideuce has put into the hands of man newspa pers, for new issues ; that in the grad ual development of the human race tho intelligent oversight of God may' be recognized. Dropping out of view other forms of religious journalism, and looking only upon the weekly issue of papers, we stand amazed at the momentous power which is wielded by this single arm of the press. It is a probable estimate that five millions of persons read weekly the religious papers pub lished by the Methodist Church in the United States. Who can follow out this influence ? who thread the mul tiform rivulets of truth which run through the Sabbath-schools ? who trace the countless streams of comfort which flow through the homes of crowded cities, and rural districts? who follow the volume of this reli gious literature, as it spreads into a branch of the river of God, and flows through the church to nourish the million individual roots of moral life ? The short interval between the issues of weekly papers, in which frequent, constant and persistent appeals are made, does not allow the moral force of the gospel to slumber ; nor vice to take deep root before assailed. With telegraphic swiftness sin is exposed, truth promptly sifted of error, zeal fanned into a blaze, sympathy excited into beneficence; and thus, infidelity, in one form or another, so persistent ly attacked, and that too by the allied powers of scripture and science, phi lanthropy and poetry, facts and figuers, cannot entrench itself as in former day's, before defeated by tho ever assailing engine of the church. We have recently' seen the effect of rapid and constant appeal through the press, in starting ten thousand simultaneous springs of sympathy, which have poured healing streams of charity through the death burdened valley of the Mississippi. The dispatch cir cumscribed the plague. At every crisis iu the Church the weekly paper has moulded the sentiment of the people, and explained the act of the governmental power, in any' departure from established usage, for the ad vancement of the kingdom of Christ. By forming rapid conjunctions with all the facilities of railroads, postof fice and telegraph, instantaneous com munication is made with every mem ber of the church. Schism, like the plague, has at last found a boundary, by the quarantine which tho press puts upon fanaticism, and by' the aid which it furnishes to destroy tho moral in fection. A weekly journal is a connectional bond. It furnishes the means of uni fying the character and polity of the Church. Portly volumes, quarterly' and monthly, are not so eagerly' and universally read, as short, spicy ar ticles which appear from week to week. Fifty-two appeals annually', emanating from one mind, infused with the spirit of Christ, broad in charity, solid in judgment, strong in will, earnest and impressive, must, unify the opinions of subordinate minds, shape the policy of the church, and give cohesion to the complex of fices of ecclesiastical government. The weekly journal is the mouth piece of the Church, we had almost said of God. It is an eclesiastical judge, who on every seventh day reviewß the six days’ work of the world. Nothing escapes its eye. Morals and senti ments, the fol Hes and fashions of life, the invasion of pleasure upon duty', the waning and waxing of the church, the outcoming of the future, all ar rest the eye of this vigilant tribunal. It pronounces sentence which goes forth in the of public opinif*' either to denouncer vice or to encour age virtue. We recognize, too, a uni versal pastor in the weekly 7 visits of a paper to the houses of God’s people. Age and childhood, the sick bed aud domestic care, homes buried in soli tude, ships on the sea, asy'lums, jails and penitentiaries, all receive visits from the ecumenical pastor, whose word of comfort or voice of warning comes with the authority of a mission from heaven. Many of these pastoral papers visit a flock of thirty thousand every week, through tho varying seasons of the year. Some of these voiceful messengers preach to a hun dred thousand souls every seventh day; and the sermons may be re-read through months and years, thus ever enlarging the pastorate of the paper. Amazing influence! The weekly pa per is the winged seed of the gospel, which wafts the germ of moral life over deserts and seas, beyond the chime of church bells, from which shall spring in those regions trees of life, whose leaves shall be for the healing of the nations. Then we dis cover in the weekly journal an edu cator, a text book of nature. It were impossible for the masses of men to read many volumes, or for business men to do more than snatch paragraphs from papers. The world is too busy. A short summary of news puts the world in a nut shell, hints on farming start advanced agriculture, a picture of one happy home beautifies another, a column devoted to schools and col leges educates thousands, a review of new books shows the shortest way 7 to new fountains of intellectual delight and all the varied knowledge of the times, spiced with wit, from week to week, spreads before the reader the richest viands gathered from every field of life. The man is not educated who does not read a newspaper. He is ignorant of the world, for the news paper contains the history 7 of the world. He loses a fortune, deterio rates his happiness, blights his pos terity, if by 7 neglect or parsimony he plods blindly along a path long since abandoned by intelligent men. How the blood starts afresh in the moral veins, as one sees, in the religious journals, the rapid changes of human ity in its phases from barbarism to civilization; and how his joy'receives new life-force as he learns that the world is approaching its day' break of millennial glory in the evangelization of all nations. He feels himself living for a purpose, while active in hasten ing the grand possibilities of the fu ture. A man shuts out the light of heaven from his heart and home, and buries himself and family alive if he does not take a weekly 7 religious news paper. The world is moving, and the man must move with it, or be flung off into outer darkness. These views were suggested by the return of the Southern Christian Advocate to the home of its nativity. The long absence is almost condoned by the fact that the paper has left at its transient home so beautiful a daughter as tho Wesleyan Advocate. With three such weeklies as the Southern, the Wesleyan, and the Nashville Advocate, furnishing each forty columns, at the low price of two dollars and fifty cents per annum, every' Methodist family' in the land would possess a ey'dopedia of the world, a library of his church, a his tory' of revivals, an epitome of all real intellectual pleasures, and a cos mopolitan letter writer, which brings his family into sympathy with friends all over the globe. How can we shut out these papers from our houses ? They flow with gospel light, sparkle in every column with truth and beauty, and even better still, shine in the glory of the cross of Christ. Especially do we congratulate South Carolina Methodists ou the return of the time honored paper to the State, and tho recent enlargement of its columns. The growth of the Church, the diversity of itcrests, the local news, all demanded a journal to rep resent the Conference within its own boundary. While kept away, under a stress of circumstances, the Advo cate did a good work even in this State, but it was sadly felt that Meth odism here needed a homo organ and repectable journal to represent the Church in the State. The Advocate, issuing from Charleston, the commer cial centre of the State, and the near est point of telegraphic sy 7 mpathy along the Atlantic slope, has superior advantages for publication. The edi tors are conservative men, not fana tics, but tried and found true to the doc trines of the church, level and broad on the grand questions of social life. They will furnish the Church with a high toned Methodist weekly for the sole advancement of the Kingdom of Christ in the State. Standing at the back of this finan cial enterprise is the largest and most reliable publishing house in the South ern under the\ v fpg; ; <rement of tne biu firm, Walker, Evans & 1 well. The paper is already a finan cial success. The church is not in volved one dollar. The firm assumes all liabilities, and have liberally con sented, after a reasonable profit, to put the balance into the treasury of the Church. With a paper of such merit, issued from the best publishing centre in the South, with tried editors and financial guaranty 7, ought not the old Southern Christian Advocate to find its way into ten thousand Meth odist families in the State ? There are forty-three thousand Methodists in South Carolina. They ought to be informed of the status and progress of the church, and they ought to re ceive tho weekly 7 visits of this co-itin erant pastor. Let the preachers and people weigh the influence of the paper. Let ion thousand Advocates be issued the following y’ear. We must have them. The prostrate Slate demands it. The fortunes of the Church call for it. What an auxiliary ten thousand sermons and appeals issued weekly over the State would be to the pulpit, to revivals, to mis sions, to the finances of the Church, and to the advance of Methodism over the land ? How can we neglect to utilize this power which is now so providentially' thrown into the hands of the Church ? There is a solemn responsibility resting on every Meth odist to take and to circulate the only organ of the Conference in the State, a responsibility only measured by the length and breadth of the influence of a sound religious journal on the fortunes of his Church and common wealth. J. T. Wightman. Directory, FOR THE NINETY-THIRD SESSION OF THE SOUTH CAROEINA CONFERENCE, To be held at Newberry, S. C.,Dec. 11, 1878. NOTICES. I.—Services. I. December oth, 1878—Preaching in the Methodist Church, Monday, 7 o’clock, P. M., by Rev. R. Lee Harper. 11. December 10th, 1878—Mission Board will meet in the Methodist Church, 10 o’clock A. M. 111. December 10th, 1878—Lecture before Historical Society, in the Meth odist Church, at 7 o’clock P. M., by Rev. Sami Leard. Subject: “Life Sketches of the Fathers of Method ism in South Carolina.” IY. December Utb, 1878—Opening session of the Conference at 9 o’clock A. M., in the Courthouse. NOV. 3 V. December 11th, 1878— Sermon before the Undergraduates, in the Methodist Church, at 7 P. M., by Rev. Henry M. Mood. ll.—Committees of Examination. I. Committee for Applicauts will meet at Mr. L. E. Fulk’s. 11. Committee for First year will meet at Station Parsonage. HI. Committee for Second year will meet at Mr. R. C. Chapman’s. IV. Committee for Third year will meet at Circuit Parsonage. Y. Committee for Fourth Year will meet at Hall of Young Men’s Chris tian Association. lll.—Memoranda. 1. liackmcn will convey members within the limits of the incorporation for twenty-five cents. 2. Members coming in their own eonvey'ances will find good livery stables, at moderate charges. 3. N. B.—As a few changes may possibly occur at the last moment, delegates had better see committee of arrangements before proceeding to their homes. By' rail they' will be mot at the depot. Otherwise call at the Station Parsonage. 4. W'rite name of host, and y'our own name, in the spaces left therefor, in the card below, and use, if neces sary : Introductory Card. Newberry, S. C., Dec. 9. 1878. Dear This card will introduce to your ac quaintance , assigned as y'our guest during the Conference session of the M. E. Church, South, at Newberry. A. M. Ciirkitzberg, Ch’n Com. Members. Hosts. Attaway, J Mr. W. H. Dickert. Anld, F Mr. J. O. Peoples. Avant, A 1’ Mr. E. P. Chalmers. Ariail, W. II Mr. E. P. Chalmers. Ariail, J. W Mr. T. P. Slider. Ranks, M. E Dr. P. R. ltulf. Beasley, J. S Mr. .1. O. Havird. Boyd, Geo. M Mr. J. Kibler. Brown, M Mr. T. F. Greneker. Browne, S. II Mr. J. D. S. Levingston. Byars, D. D Mr. D. Bushardt. Boyd, 111. J Mr. I). W. T. Kibler. Barber, R. W Mr. J. E. Chapman. Bisaell, Ji C Mr. J. Hair. Boozer, B. M Mr. C. P. Dickert. Blake, W. K Y. J. Pope, Esq. Brown, J. W Mr. Jos. Glenn. Bowman, O. M Mr. C. P. Dickert. Barton, G. W Rev. Z. L. White. Brown, A. B Mr. W. C. Parker. Brunson, \j*A Mr. J. P. Poole. Breeden, wTk......iMayi'j. P.’Kmafd. ” Brainlett, J. T Dr. P. B. Ruff. Browne, 11. B Mr. J. B. Leonard. Bobo, S Messrs. Johnstone. Chreitzberg, A. M...., Station Parsonage. Campbell, J. B Mr. W. S. Langford. Capers, W. T J. F. J. Caldwell, Esq. Carson, Wm Mr. J. IX Cash. Carlisle. J. M Rev. R. A. Fair. Cautlien, A. J Mr. C. Chapman. Clarke, W. A Hr. E. 11. Christian. Clyde, T. J lr. R H- Clarkson. Coburn, J. R Mr. 11. 11. Biease. Connolly, M A Mr. R. C. Chapman. Clifton, J. A Mr. J. 11. Biease. Chrietzberg, H. F Dr. O. B. Meyer. Carlisle, Jas. H Circuit Parsonage. Connor, D. L-. Dr. P. B. Ruff. Collins, Greer Mr. Jacob Sligh. Cogswell, II Mr. J. N. Fowles. Carlisle, J. E Y. J. Pope, Esq. Counts, J. C Mr. W. O. Goree. Dagnal, It. R Mr. J. Hair. Darby, O. A Dr. O B- Meyer. Derrick, D Mr. C. Chapman. Duffie, It. L Mr. It. C. Chapman. Duncan, W. W W. H. Wallace Esq. Dantzler, D. D L. J. Jones, Esq. Dickson, J. W Messrs. Johnstone. Dantzler, I). Z Rev. L. Broaddus. Dibble, A. C Jas. M. Baxter, Esq. Dibble, F. S Mr. It. H. Wright. Ervine, A Dr. S. 11. Fant. Elwell, S. P. H Mr. J. O. Havird. England, J. F Mr. J. A. Chapman. Finger, John Mr A. J. Maybin Franks, R. P Mr. T. F. Harmon. Fishburn, C. C Mr. T. P. Slider. Ferguson, M. M Mr. W. O. Goree. Gantt, A. G Mr. J. I) Cash. Gatlin, G. W Mr. U. B. Whites. Gilbert, T. E T. S. Moorman, Esq. Galluchat, J Mrs. G. Mower. Gaines, B T Mr. It. H. Wright. Harper, R. L L. J. Jones, Esq. Herbert, T. G i Circuit Parsonage. Hill, S J Mr. J. K. G. Nance. Humbert, J. W Mr. Jas. Y. McFall. Hutto, Wm Mr. J. Kibler. j Harmon. G. T Mr. T. F. Harmon. | Hamer, L. M Mr. W. T. Tarrant. { Hodges, E. T Mr. James Y. McFall. ! Hartin, F. L Mr. J. D. S. Levingston. I Hamby, A. McP T. S. Moorman, Esq. | Hamer, L. R Dr. P. B. Ruff. j Johnson, L. A W. T. Tarrant, Esq. Jones, B. G Mr. I J . ltodlespiger. Jones, S. B Mr. J. P Poole. I Jones, Simpson Mr. R. T. Reagin. Jones, W. W Mr. U. B. Whites. Jackson, A. W Mr. W. A. Cline. Jones, J. L Circuit Parsonage. Jones, R H Mr. T. F. Harmon. Jennings, R. H Mr. J. H. James. Jeter, W. T Mr. D. W.T. Kibler. Kelly, J. W Jas. M. Baxter, Esq. Kennedy, F. M Y. J. Pope, Esq. Ivilgo, J. 8 Mr. J. i). Hornsby. Kistler, P. F Mr. J. N. Martin. Kirkland, W. D Hon. M. Moses. Kirton, W. H Mrs. E. A. Bradley. Roger, J. W Mr. J. D. Hornsby. Lander, S Dr. O. B. Meyer. Lawton, \\ . H Jas. M. Baxter, Esq. I Lester, A. H Hon. M. Moses.J Little, J. R Mr. Robt Leavel.J Little, L. M Mr. W. 11. Hunt I Loyal, L. C Mr. L. M. Speej^L Lipscomb, T. C Col Lipscoi^B Lee, A. B Mr. It. C. Cham;® Legett, A. C Mr. J. B. Leo,