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An Apology for African Methodism:
Electronic Edition.

Tanner, Benj. T. (Benjamin Tucker), 1835-1923

Funding from the Library of Congress/Ameritech National Digital Library Competition supported the electronic publication of this title.

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Academic Affairs Library, UNC-Chapel Hill
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill,
2000.

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Source Description:
(title page) An Apology for African Methodism
Benj. T. Tanner
xxiii, 468 p.
Baltimore
s. n.
1867

Call number 287.8 T166A (Divinity School Library, Duke University Libraries)


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AN APOLOGY
FOR
AFRICAN METHODISM,

BY

BENJ. T. TANNER.

BALTIMORE:
1867.

Page verso

Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1867, by
BENJAMIN T. TANNER,
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Maryland.

Page iii

        TO THE
BISHOPS, ELDERS, DEACONS,
AND
Members of African Methodist Episcopal Church,
THE WRITER DEDICATES
THIS BOOK,
With the most unfeigned Respect.

Page v

PREFACE.

        THE writer believes in earnestness, especially in regard to Religion. He has no admiration for the character, who is reputed to have prayed, "good Lord, good Devil."

        The most cutting reproof in all Scripture, is that against the Christians of Laodicea, who "were neither hot nor cold."*

        * Rev. iii: 16.


 They are represented as making the Lord sick, like a nauseous draught, and he threatens to "spew them out of his mouth!"*

        * Rev. iii: 16.


 A most sickening picture indeed. And yet how true is it. How perfectly contemptible--how sickening, is that class of professed Christians, who, like the Laodicians, "are neither hot nor cold;" like their neighbors of Sardis, "have a name to live, and are dead."*

        *Rev. iii: 1.

        In these times, this is the class of Christians that prays not, nor works not. Their time is spent in criticising the Minister, and ridiculing the more pious souls, who may be unfortunate enough to hold communion with them. Their Minister must be

Page vi

swift of tongue, more adept in politics than in theology; a constant attendant upon the fashionable gatherings; and not too stringent about the common demands of the Christian life. They are fashionable Christians! those of whom Paul doubtless speaks in his second letter to Timothy, "This know also, that in the last days, perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, * * * * * * Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof."*

        * II Tim. iii: 1.

        It is to this class that we have especially directed our Apology.

        "Methodism, has been well defined as Christianity in earnest." Disregarding the tastes and maxims of the world, it seeks to make men worshippers "in spirit and in truth"--real worshippers, and not the Apes of Christian service. Why do these fashionable folks ape the devotions of the pious? Having no heart for the service, yet do they go through the motions! Why not have manlier hearts? It is a question whether they should be pitied or despised. No, it is no question, for the Lord despised those of Laodicea.

        The tongues of this class of Christians have long been burdened with charges against Methodism.

Page vii

With Celsus, they say that Methodists "are uncultivated, mean, superstitious people--mechanics, slaves, women and children." With Lucian, they brand Methodist love as "a silly enthusiasm."

        This Apology is written that all such may judge with more considerate judgment, and that henceforth they may be left without an excuse, should they continue their tirade against us.

        Part II does not pretend to sketch all the leading and most intelligent members of our dozen Conferences. Those presented, however, may be safely taken as a general estimate of the intellectual strength of the African M. E. Church.

        What David said of his offspring, so say we of our Apology, our first offspring; and like him, too, we say it to friends: "Deal gently with the young man Absalom."*

         * II Sam. xviii: 5.

Page ix

CONTENTS OF PART I.

Page xv

CONTENTS OF PART II.

Page 13

AN APOLOGY
FOR
African Methodism.

PART I.

CHAPTER I.
THE REASONS WHY.

        "Hear ye my defence."--Paul.

        WE propose to write for the benefit of all concerned an Apology for African Methodism, or more especially, for and in behalf of the African Methodist Episcopal Church.

        We are aware the title "Apology" grates upon the ears of many, arguing as they do, that in view of the splendid triumphs which God has vouchsafed unto us, no "Apology" is needed. But it should be remembered that after it had been recorded of Christianity, and recorded by its enemies

Page 14

too, that it "is spread like a contagion, not only into cities and towns, but into country villages,"*

        * Pliny's letter to Trajan.


 also that the heathen "temples were almost forsaken," and the "sacrifices have few purchasers," that both Quadratus and Aristides presented to the Emperor Adrian, Apologies in its behalf; while Justin the Martyr, offered two Apologies, one to the emperor Antoninus Pius, and the other to the Roman Senate. Indeed the first three centuries of our era abound with Christian Apologists. What reader of church history has not learned of the Liber Apologeticus, presented to the Roman Senate by the fiery Tertullian?

        It is, in the ecclesiastical sense, then, we use the term "Apology" and not in the sense of an excuse.

        It is asked why we write this?

        We reply:

        I. That the members of the Ministry and Laity of the African M. E. Church, and especially the younger and more aspiring, may have somewhat to reply to those who would disparage the Church of their birth, as well as of their choice.

        II. That all those Christian peoples, and more particularly such as are our "brethren according to the flesh," who have seemed to regard the whole Bethel connexion, as they term our Church, and we accept it, in very much the same light that the ancient Jews did Nazareth, and in the spirit of that godless race, can see no good in it, constantly branding it as ignorant, fanatical, and proscriptive--that all

Page 15

such may be induced to "look with their eyes, and not with their prejudices," quoting Wendell Phillips; and judge us, if not by our words, at least by our works.*

        * John x: 38.


        III. That the candid and impartial man, the man whose soul is capable of appreciating the endeavors of the weak, of applauding the morally heroic--that all such men may have placed within their reach some data from which they will be enabled to come to just conclusions in regard to a Church and people, whose only offense was, they dared to obey God rather than man,*

        * Act v: 29.


 whose only offense is, they stand on their way.

Page 16

CHAPTER II.
THE GREAT OFFENSE.

        "Stand up, I myself am also a man."--Peter.

        THE giant crime committed by the Founders of the African M. E. Church, against the prejudiced white American, and the timid black--the crime which seems unpardonable, was that they dared to organize a Church of men, men to think for themselves, men to talk for themselves, men to act for themselves: A Church of men who support from their own substance, however scanty, the ministration of the Word which they receive; men who spurn to have their churches built for them, and their pastors supported from the coffers of some charitable organization; men who prefer to live by the sweat of their own brow and be free. Not that the members of this communion are filled with evil pride, for they exhibit a spirit no more haughty nor overbearing than Paul, who never neglected to remind the world that he was a man and a Roman citizen.

        Slavery and prejudice, stood up like demons before Allen and his compeers, and forbade them to use the talents which God had given.

        Slavery bellowed in one ear, "You may obey but you shall not rule."

Page 17

        Prejudice thundered in the other, "You may hear but you shall not speak." And to utterly break their spirits, they both took up the damning refrain, "God may permit you to be Levites, but not Priests."

        They listened! and more than half dismayed, they asked themselves, "If we are not to think, for what purpose were reasoning faculties bestowed? if not to talk, why were our tongues created? If there be a fitness of things in creation; 'considered they in their sober reflection,' and the intellect was given to one class, with which it was to think and reason, and the tongue for utterance, and the muscular strength for every sphere of action, surely for the same high purposes were they conferred on all. But if it be true, that our white brethren must do all the thinking and controlling, all the preaching with the multiplied ministrations of the Gospel, then indeed is there an unfathomable mystery in the fact that we are made like them, with mind and voice and strength -- we whose normal condition, they teach, is only to work. Why not the horse and ox have mind and speech as well." Thus doubtless they reasoned, in substance, and never having heard that the Lord repented Him, of having bestowed rational powers upon the Negro, they concluded that they must use them at their peril, lest they be condemned like him who buried his one talent.*

         * Matt. xxv: 25.


        Other than the intuition of their own souls, to which allusion has just been made, need we ask,

Page 18

Who taught them these lessons of religious freedom and nerved them to be free?

        We answer on their behalf:

        (a) They learned it from God's word. "What," says a zealous Churchman, "learn schism from God's word?"

        No, not schism, for we argue that when it becomes clearly impossible for peoples to worship together to mutual edification, they commit not that heinous offence by separating, and forming anew such organizations as best redounds to the glory of God; if so, then indeed would Abram, by separating from Lot, and Paul from Barnabas, become the princes of the schismatics. Richard Allen, Daniel Coker and others, unable to endure the mad prejudices of their white brethren, which pulled them off their knees, drove them from the body of the church, thrust them into galleries, resolved to leave them in peace, and worship under such circumstances as would be to edification, and not condemnation--as would dignify and not debase.

        Allen was no advocate of Church divisions; he had read with trembling, the thundering imprecations against all who dare to rend the visible body of the Saviour;*

        * I Cor. i: 12.


hence, when compelled to leave, let it be said to his praise, that he made no attempt to bring in a new Ministry, or to institute rites and ceremonies not authorized by the Church. He sought only to have the acknowledged Ordinances conducted by pure and impartial hands; and who is there that
Page 19

will dare to brand the word "Schismatic" upon the old man's brow?

        The Hellenistic Christians in Apostolic times, when treated not half so cruel as were the Founders of our Zion, manfully took the matter in hand and rested not until it was adjudicated to their satisfaction. Nor did the Apostles resist, but appreciating the righteousness of their complaint, had it remedied by instituting a new order in the Ministry, even the Deaconate.

        Allen was too discerning a man to charge back upon Christian principles, the unfair treatment he received from professed believers; he was too honest to hold Jesus responsible for Simon Magus.

        It is not the province of the Reformer to loose the the foundations, to change Christian doctrine; he should rather say with Him who is the great Reformer, "I am not come to destroy the low, but to fulfill."*

        * Matt. v: 17.

        The word of God properly interpreted is the foundation of all doctrine, and every reformation must be toward it. The creed that conflicts with it must be annulled; that which is in harmony with, or flows directly from, must be received.

        "But," says a Caviler, "what mean you by the phrase, 'properly interpreted?' "

        We mean that interpretation, which the combined judgment of the Christian world has always given to it. As it is not the prerogative of the Reformer to change doctrine, it is equally beyond his prerogative

Page 20

to give a forced or individual construction to the revealed word. We would apply to interpretation, the same rule that our Book of Discipline, in consonance with every branch of the Christian Church, applies to the reception of the canonical Scriptures. "In the name of the Holy Scriptures," saith Art. V, "we do understand those canonical books of the Old and New Testament, of whose authority was never any doubt in the Church." Why should individual opinion be tolerated in the matter of interpretation, if not in determining the question of the Canon? Surely for the preservation of truth, a proper interpretation is just as necessary as the reception of the Canon itself, and no substantial reason can be given why personal judgment should be allowed in the one, and denied in the other.

        Cecil says: "The Bible is the meaning of the Bible."

        Staunton, of Ravenwood, says: "The Christian faith is not that interpretation which every man may choose to put on the words of Scripture, for then there would be ten thousand faiths, instead of one, and all certainty respecting truth be lost."

        One of the Bishops of London, recognizing the necessity of such a principle of action said, "Some decision right or wrong must be made; society could not subsist without it."

        The Catholic Fenelon believed in the principle to such an extent as to lead him to make the daring remark, "It is better to live without any law, than to have laws which all men are left to interpret according to their several opinions and interests."

Page 21

        Acting on this principle every well ordered government finds it necessary to have officers regularly appointed whose duty it shall be to define law--to give an expose of them: in our own Republic, the illustrious Salmon P. Chase sits as Chief Justice, the head of those thus appointed. We ask: Shall not the Church, which is the Kingdom of God, be as well ordered as any?

        And herein consists the strictest Democracy, the most approved Protestantism--a Democracy and a Protestantism, that rises in its might against a one man rule, and insists that the majority shall hold sway; believing as it does, that it is altogether more probable that a thousand men of equal wisdom, piety and disinterestedness, have the right view of a subject, while the single individual is in error; unless, indeed, that individual lay claim to inspired wisdom, and give sensuous demonstration of the same; should which be done, and his message conflicts not with the Gospel,*

         * Gal. i: 8.


 then, say we, let the world bow down to his behests.

        Thus, we doubt not, reasoned Richard Allen, and the thought, doubtless, never entered his brain of attempting to change the received dogmas, or bring in new ones. He felt that the humane teachings of Scripture had been disregarded, that partiality the most flagrant had been entertained and practiced against him and his race. When he heard the sanctimonious Parson read, "For if there come unto your assembly, a man with a gold ring, in goodly

Page 22

apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment, and ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, 'Sit thou here in a good place,' and say to the poor, 'Stand thou there,' (back by the door) or sit thou here (behind the door, or in some unswept gallery,) under my footstool, are ye not partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts?"*

        * Jas. ii: 2-4.


 and then tacitly consent to the most shameful treatment of the poor blacks, the unblushing hypocrisy of the thing, sank deep into his warm African heart, and he resolved to quietly withdraw.

        (b) Whence arose the common determination of the 'Free Africans' to be ecclesiastically free?

        We give a second reply:

        Allen and his liberty-loving coadjutors learned these lessons of religious manhood, from the very people who now strove to fasten upon them a hated authority. They had heard the stories which make up the religious history of the country; of the May-flower and its heroic band, who braved the perils of the deep, the greater perils of the land, all that they might not be ecclesiastically oppressed. They had heard of Roger Williams and the city which he built for all those who might be distressed on account of conscience.*

        * Providence, R. I.


They had heard of William Penn--of him who forsook inherited honors and riches, with all their concomitant train of earthly delights, that he might be free, religiously free.

        But the most potent of all, was the lesson taught

Page 23

them by the Methodists themselves. If the rise of Anglo Methodism is to be excused, that of African Methodism is to be plead for; and if the former is to be countenanced, the latter is to be most strenuously defended. Was John Wesley and his people ever made the subjects of brutal treatment, and at the hands of their religious teachers? Richard Allen and his people were. Was John Wesley denied any or all of the immunities which belong to a man and a Christian? Richard Allen was. Was John Wesley driven from the Assembly of the Saints, and bade in fact, "Go serve other gods?"*

         * 1 Sam. xxvi. 19.


 Richard Allen was.

        Nor can Methodism, Anglo or American, be so successfully defended, as when arguments similar to these are employed, for all other arguments, as to rites and doctrines, do but "beg the question,"--are based on premises which ought first to be proved themselves. It was on this ground chiefly, that Wesley himself justified the American Methodists in breaking away from the English hierarchy, and becoming a self controlling body. In a letter addressed "To Dr. Coke, Mr. Asbury, and our Brethren in North America," and written after the Revolutionary struggle, in speaking of Methodist Preachers receiving ordination at the hands of the English Bishops, he objected to it: 3rd. "If they would ordian them, they would likewise expect to govern them, and how grievously that would entangle us;" 4th. "As our American brethren are now totally disentangled, both from the State and the English

Page 24

we dare not entangle them again either with the one or the other. They are now at full liberty, simply to follow the Scripture, and the primitive Church; and we judge it best that they should stand fast in the liberty wherewith God has so strangely made them free."

        In plain words, Mr. Wesley's argument was, that if they remained in the Episcopal fold, they would have been controlled against their wishes, which was most true.

        Nor does Dr. Coke, at the consecration of the Rev. Mr. Asbury to the office of Bishop, fail to use a similar train of argument, as the first, as it is undoubtedly the strongest, in the defence he there makes. We could quote at length, but refrain; let the following suffice. Speaking of the Church of England he says: "The churches were in general filled with the parasites and bottle companions of the rich and great. The humble and most importunate treaties of the oppressed flocks, yea, the representations of a general assembly itself, were contemned and despised." And because of such oppressive treatment toward the people, Dr. Coke justifies their withdrawal from the English Church, and their organization into an independent body.

        So too, Dr. Bangs, in his "History of Methodism," when he speaks of the Fluvanna Conference held in 1779, says: "Here the arguments in favor of administering the ordinances, came up with double force. The war had separated them from Mr. Wesley; all the English Preachers, except Mr. Asbury,

Page 25

had returned to England, and nearly all the Ministers of the Establishment, being unfriendly to the American cause, had also left their flocks and gone home."

        And what says Dr. Abel Stevens, in his masterly work: "English writers have deemed it desirable to defend him (Wesley) against the imputations of disregard for the authority and order of the national Church. The task is not difficult, as will be seen in the course of our narrative; but it may hereafter be a more difficult one to defend him before the rest of the Christian world, for having been so deferential to a hierarchy whose moral condition at the time he so much denounced, and whose studied policy throughout the rest of his life, was to disown, if not to defeat, him."

        In short, the gist of the whole matter is, it was the manly upheaval of Wesley's bosom, that forbade him to wait longer the tardy motions of the English Bishops, and compelled him to exercise a power long before recognized as lawful by him, and ordain, and send on swift wing, Dr. Coke, to superintend the Methodist societies, as well as to ordain their preachers.

        It was thus too, on the part of the American Methodists. Weary with the prejudiced actions of pastors, who were opposed alike to them, and to their bleeding country; weary at not having administered to them, the Bread by which man lives; weary at beholding their little ones called to the bosom of God, without even a form of Baptism, they broke

Page 26

away with a firm determination to be Christian men.

        How then, can the world condemn a generation of men for acting the part of freemen, that had been tutored by such a valiant race. Richard Allen, taught by the example of Coke and Asbury, with a courage equal to theirs, only acted up to the necessities of the hour in which he lived.

        (c) The third answer to the question, "Whence learned they these lessons of ecclesiastical freedom?" we give:

        The very genius of Columbia, the genius that speaks only of freedom, told them to stand up with the crowd.

        Are not America and Liberty synonyms? Is freedom not taught by our mountains, in their defiant and unbroken range from pole to pole? Does not the rushing of our rivers tell us of liberty, as they in majesty sweep along, bidding the hills stand aside at their coming? and what are the wave songs of our Northern seas, but the songs of the untrammelled and unbought?

        They learned it from the school boy, as he threw up his cap and shouted, Liberty! They learned it from the broken accent of the fresh foreigner, as he muttered out Liberty! They learned it from the stereotyped prayer, uttered every Sabbath from ten thousand altars--the prayer of thankfulness for the privilege of worshiping God under our own vine and fig tree, none daring to molest or make us afraid.

        Lessons of liberty once learned are soon practiced to the confusion of tyrants, and the joy of the poor.

Page 27

CHAPTER III.
THE RESOURCES AT HAND.

        "For which of you intend to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?"--Jesus.

        It would be placing a most shocking discount upon the recognized common sense of Richard Allen, to suppose that he would embark in the work of organizing an independent Christian Body, without first counting the cost. He who believed implicitly in the taught doctrine, that no man should be willing to commence to build a tower -- much less a temple to the Lord, without first counting the cost.

        A practical man, in a most eminent degree, Allen surveyed the field, to discover if possible, sufficient material to rear up his projected building, sufficient at least for foundations and pillars. He was fully aware that the same powerful principle which drove him from the white churches, would be on the alert, and see to it, that he carried not his "abolition gospel" to the thousands of his enslaved brethren in the far South. He well knew that the oppressors understood to perfection, the philosophy of their ignoble calling; and would not hesitate to do any act of violence, deemed necessary to becloud still more the minds, and dwarf the souls of their unhappy victims. The border States then, must be his horizon; and they stood like mountains of blackness

Page 28

between him and his endeared race; while from their dismal peaks, came the muttering charge, "Thus far shalt thou come, and no farther."

        Turning from such a sight, Allen looked toward his brethren at the North.

        It was the year 1816, and six years had passed away since the last census was taken, yet it is scarcely possible that the free colored population, was as numerous then as in 1810; at least that class who are ever regarded as most necessary to the successful inauguration of any project, to wit, men of great courage.

        And does the reader ask, Why? astonished that there should be no increase during these six years!

        He should remember that the war of '12 had swept over the land, carrying before it all those heroic souls who love country more than life; and among such were hosts of black men, as New Orleans, Lake Erie and Red Bank testify. During that memorable two year contest, multitudes of chivalrous men had fallen, who doubtless would have gloried in seconding the efforts of Richard Allen. We deem it then, a liberal concession to account the free colored population of 1816, the same as 1810.

        By the census of '10, the State of Maine had a free colored population of 969; New Hampshire had 970; Vermont had 750; Massachusetts 6,737; Rhode Island 3,609; Connecticut 6,453; New York 25,333; New Jersey 7,843; Pennsylvania 22,492; Ohio 1,829; Indiana 393; Illinois 613; Michigan 120; making a total free colored population in the nominally free States of 78,181.

Page 29

        Here, then, was the material upon which that good man looked, as whence his new born organization would draw its support. In addition to these 78,181, there might be accounted the free colored population of Baltimore, Md.; Wilmington, Del., as well as those of the Capital, Washington City. We account these cities, but not the States nor the District in which they are situated, for it was at least a score years later, ere the whole of these regions became accessible to the preachers of the branded "Abolition Church." In fact, so late as 1859, many localities, at which multitudes of free colored persons could be found, were not to be reached. Annapolis, the Capital of Maryland, where now we have a thriving congregation of 400--250 members, was only then reached, and through the holy craft of Mary Morrison, one of the most faithful of the Methodist Sisters.

        In brief, to place the number of people to whom Allen could hope to have access at a round 100,000, will doubtless be regarded as a fair estimate. One hundred thousand souls! a field of missionary operation, that even a Paul would have coveted, or a spirit, like unto Francis Xavier's would have died to reach. But how was Allen to gather in this harvest, spoiling with ripeness? where were the laborers?

        Let Bishop Payne, in his late work, "The Semi-Centenary, and Retrospection of the African M. E. Church," enlighten us in regard to the force Richard Allen had at command, with which he hoped to reach the utmost limits of his projected organization--from

Page 30

Maine to Maryland, from New York to Michigan.

        Speaking of the organization at Philadelphia, Pa., in April, 1816, the Bishop says:

        "(b) Its founders were Richard Allen, Jacob Tapsico, Clayton Durham, Jas. Champion, and Thomas Webster of Philadelphia, Pa.; Daniel Coker, Richard Williams, Henry Harden, Stephen Hill, Edward Williamson, and Nicholas Gailliard of Baltimore, Md.; Peter Spencer, of Wilmington, Del.; Jacob Marsh, Edward Jackson, and Wm. Andrew, of Attleborough, Pa.; and Peter Cuff, of Salem, N. J. * * * * The above sixteen men opened the Convention on the 9th day of April, 1816."

        It is the pride of Christianity, even a recognized proof of its divinity, that its Founders were princes only in the heart, but not in the head nor in the pocket; lest indeed the grand result might have been accredited to means human. Christian writers boast that the reputed son of a carpenter, was preferred to the son of a Cæsar, that a Tax-gatherer had precedence of a King, and Paul the pupil, was chosen to Gamaliel the master; and all this that the work might plainly be of God, and not of men.

        To attain results, man works, but God speaks. Is a Palace to be constructed? Genius must then put forth her mightest effort, while thousands of hands, and treasures of gold are employed in the execution. Witness the erection of our own majestic Capitol at Washington, D. C., and be astonished at the time, the labor, the wealth, the genius employed.

Page 31

        But not so with the Lord. "And God said, let there be light, and there was light."* Not by might, nor power, are His results brought about, but by His Spirit. He chooses the foolish to confound the wise; the weak to triumph over the strong; the things that are base and despised, yea, the things that are nought, He uses to bring to nought the things that are.*

        Gen. i: 3.

        1 Cor. i: 27.

        But let us look more minutely at the forces which were at hand, and which under God, proved successful in bringing into existence the African M. E. Church; and then tell me if the work be not of Him.

        (a) Numerically. We have said there were sixteen persons--a goodly number to be sure. The Jewish exodus was by the Two; Christianity itself was propagated by the Twelve; the continental Reformation, at no time could boast of more than a half dozen leaders; in fact Luther was the heart, and Melancthon the head of the whole movement. So too, as to numbers, was the English movement, one or two men led off and the people followed in their wake. Men are given to the habit of underrating themselves and others, as to the amount of force, one man possesses. A terrible engine of weal or woe is that being, man! and yet, is he not God's breath, in a frame-work of clay? Why, then, be astounded at anything God's breath accomplishes. There are few things, save absolute creation, that man cannot do.

        "A few things," repeated a Genius, 'a few

Page 32

things. There are none save creation, but man will sooner or later do,' said he, 'the great Jah, has only reserved as his peculiar prerogative the creative force.' "

        And when I remembered what Watts, and Morse, and Stephenson, and Cyrus Fields had done, I almost believed what the Genius said.

        In numbers then, the Founders of the African M. E. Church, equalled those who have laid the foundation of any of the other religious bodies.

        (b) Intellectually. In secular learning, and even religious, this organizing force was weak indeed. Not a quarter of these sixteen were able to read or write intelligently. Unlike the men who usually lead off in forming new Church organizations, there was not a schoolman among them, even as there were none among the Apostles. It is the schoolmen--men of the letter, who usually thrust themselves forward as Reformers and Church organizers. In their studies they satisfy themselves, that such and such a doctrine is false, or such and such ceremony is detrimental to morality; it avails nothing to tell them that the wisest and best men of many generations have not so regarded them. Satisfied themselves, with a shocking want of modesty, they brand the generations past as fools, and are willing to cast aside the most revered doctrines and rites, to suit their egotistic whims. What mean now the multitude of divisions in the Christian Church, to the open disgrace of our Protestant faith, but that some overwise clerical schoolmen, who would have renown,

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even though they destroy, not a temple of Diana, but the temple of the Most High, with no fear before their eyes, presume to set at nought the teachings of the world. A writer in one of the New York Christian Journals--The Methodist, thus aptly describes one of these modern Organizers; he says:

        "He was a man of very considerable learning, of easy and popular address, bold and self reliant in debate, and by nature a controversialist. Some have charged him with egotism, and a large degree of personal vanity. He was formed for agitation, and seemed never to be more agreeably employed than when exposing the (presumed) errors of mankind, and waging a war of extermination against the "sects," as he was pleased to denominate other Christian Churches. He was a diligent student, but most persons who knew him, and who are not partial to his system of doctrine, find it difficult to resist the impression that he employed his vast powers of mind and body, and that he sought learning, to promote his personal fame and the interest of the sect he founded."

        Thank God for the fact that the Founders of the African M. E. Church, were no discontented schoolmen, a class of men whose chief merit consists in telling not what they believe, but rather what they disbelieve, but were, like the Apostles, "new men" in the Roman sense--men unaccustomed to controversy, but having a good degree of common sense, could discern the truth and embrace it.

        And does not their disinterestedness shine forth

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with a brightness only eclipsed by that of the Apostles? While Luther is charged by his opposers with dissatisfaction, on account of the preference which the Franciscans received over his beloved Augustinians; while Henry VIII is charged with an unlawful affection toward Anne Boleyn--an affection which the Pope denounced; and while even Wesley may be charged with disregarding an authority, which he professed to recognize, the sum of the charge which the most malignant foe may bring against Allen, is that he refused to submit to treatment, now acknowledged by all to be the most unchristian.

        But to return to the intellectual force. Of the education of Allen, it is said by John M. Brown in his Sketches, to have been limited in his youth, "and that which he did obtain, was obtained when manhood was upon him. He loved education. He improved himself and educated his children." To the Baltimore delegation in the Convention is to be credited, doubtless, the greatest amount of intellectual force, in the person of Daniel Coker, and Stephen Hill, a layman.

        But it was truth simple, that made these latter-day Fishermen strong, aye, stronger than any strange doctrine, however well fortified by literary acumen or party prejudice could possibly have done. What cared the hundred thousand souls to whom they went forth to minister, about the meaningless quibbles of theologians? They wanted only the truth--the truth as tried in the fire of ages--the truth as it is in Jesus.

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        These Sixteen knew not enough to venture in strange ways, they walked only the beaten path. Allen's example of exhortation was closely imitated by them all. "I pointed them to all manner of prayer," said the old Preacher, "and to the invitation of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, 'come unto me all ye that are heavily laden, and I will give you rest.' "

        (c) Financially. Who is poorer than the man who lives by honest toil, but him who toils for nothing? With this latter class--the poorest of the poor, were these Sixteen identified. They were the representatives of a race, to whom not even the nights and the Sabbaths belonged--a peeled race, and scattered, a race meted out. Without capital, without resources, without lucrative positions, how weak indeed, was the force that must dispatch these simple Evangelists to the work. Then it was, as it is now, in the far South, where the followers of these Sixteen, and with a kindred burning spirit, have gone on the same joyful errand. Rev. H. M. Turner, writing from Macon, Ga., says: "I have just returned from a five hundred mile tour, travelling night and day, stopping here and there trying to preach. The people everywhere are eager to hear the Word of Life. And yet thousands have to be neglected for want of preachers and means to travel with; for these Railroads make no deduction for Negro Preachers."

        Let us sum up the forces to be employed, the resources at hand. In numbers, Sixteen; in learning

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only knowing Jesus, and Him crucified; in finances, the veriest beggars.

        And yet the building went up; though scores of Tobiahs said, "Even that which they build, if a fox go up, he shall even break down their stone wall."*

         * Neh. iv: 3.

        To conclude chapter III. A hundred thousand souls! A goodly heritage was before them; and as from their Pisgah they viewed the land, its mountains of oak and elm, its green carpeted plains, more charming than Esdraelon, with its ten thousand vineyards, its walled cities, its flowing streams, Allen whispered to Coker, "The land is good, let us go up and possess it," while the little company catching the words as by inspiration, uttered a deep, Amen.

        They separated, some to the South, others to the farther North, each one resolved to do and dare for God, each one repeating in his bosom: Giving no offence in any thing, that the ministry be not blamed: But in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses, In stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labours, in watchings, in fastings; By pureness, by knowledge, by long suffering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned.; By the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left, By honour and dishonour, by evil report and good report; as deceivers, and yet true; As unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and, behold, we live; as chastened and not killed; As sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing all things.

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CHAPTER IV.
THE GRAND RESULT.

        "By their fruits ye shall know them."--Jesus.

        LET us apply the Saviour's rule, "By their fruits ye shall know them," to the African M. E. Church. Let the balance be brought forth that she may be weighed. Fifty years have elapsed since its organization; what are the results?

        (a) As to Territory. The field of its operations has been so enlarged, until now, it is coextensive with the boundary of the Republic. No longer are its ministers confined to the sparsely populated States of the North, for the black mountain of slavery which stood up--and more impassable than a Chinese wall, has been removed. Mined by the prayers of a nation, in due time the match of war was applied, and from a thousand cannon mouths, God spake. "Behold, I am against thee, O destroying mountain."*

         * Jer li 15.


That blast was more successful than Grant's at Petersburg, and to day only the hateful debris of the mountain can be seen.

        Ere the smoke of battle had cleared away, the missionaries of the A. M. E. Church, the first regularly commissioned of any, who went to the Freedmen,

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were on the ground, in the persons of the Revs. J. D. S. Hall and Jas. Lynch. This was in the month of May, 1863; and to-day scores of our preachers are heard, all along the Atlantic coast, and through the green savannas of the once desolate South. St. Louis now re-echoes the voice of New York, and San Francisco that of St. Louis; while Boston gives a real Methodistic, Amen, to New Orleans. Yes, wherever the Negro is or goes, throughout the whole domains of the nation, there too, has he been followed by the noisy Methodist preacher.

        (b) With the increase of Territory, came likewise an increase of souls demanding ministration. The hundred thousand has been multiplied by forty. The precise number of colored people in the United States is not known. It is true the census of 1860 places the number at 4,427,093, but there are reasons to believe that the powers which then controlled the Interior Department, and had controlled it for forty years previously--the slaveholding Democracy, were not too honest in giving the true census of the Anglo-Africans in the South; not being desirous that their strength should be known. Then, we must make an allowance for the havoc of war--an allowance for those two score thousand heroic dead. However indefinite we may recognize their number to be, yet the people to whom the A. M. E. Church is called especially to minister, may safely be accounted 4,000,000. Truly, we may say, "The little one has become a thousand."*

         * Isaiah lx: 22.
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        From the most reliable information possibly to be attained, the absolute membership of our Church in May, 1867, will count considerably above a hundred thousand; while the number of those who attend our service--members and congregation, is a full quarter of a million!

        (c) As to Church Property and Buildings. On this score, the most enthusiastic of our thousands have no occasion to blush. To-day we have in our possession, and own, the most neatly constructed, and the most costly church edifices of all the colored congregations in the land, and a hundred per cent. more of them. The log cabin of two score years ago, has given away to the neat comfortable frame, and this in turn is fast being displaced by the stately brick. Nor, do we seek the alleys and byways as of old, for places of worship; but rather the most popular thoroughfares. In all the principal cities of the land, the vast majority of our churches, are models of architectural beauty.

        Foremost, for richness and elegance, stands "Big Bethel," as it is familiarly called, on Saratoga St., Baltimore, Md. Built under the supervision of elder D. A. Payne, now Bishop, remodelled and adorned according to the exquisite taste of Rev. John M. Brown, it stands to-day every whit a Cathedral--the joy and pride of the whole connexion.

        And yet Bethel, with all her Gothic architecture and Doric columns, her stained emblematic windows, and altar of Parian marble, her silver Communion Service, and velvet trappings--the glorious Bethel

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with the melody of two organs to enrich her service, stands greatly in danger of being eclipsed in architectural grandeur and costliness, by Ebenezer, now on the verge of completion, under the direction of Rev. W. D. W. Schureman. Ebenezer is of the adorned Gothic style of architecture, and is built, together with its superb parsonage, of the finest Baltimore pressed brick. It stands upon a broad, active thoroughfare -- Montgomery St., and will be, when completed, not only an ornament to our connexion, but even to Baltimore city itself.

        On Sixth St., Philadelphia, stands the "mother of us all," likewise known by the familiar sobriquet, "Big Bethel." Built of the finest brick, it is the largest, best designed and most neatly finished, of all the colored churches in that city. Within the iron railings which adorn the front, may be seen the tomb of the revered Allen, with the following inscription:

TO THE MEMORY
OF THE
RT. REV. RICHARD ALLEN,

         First Bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal connection in the United States of America, and Founder of this Church. Who was born in this city, A. D. 1760. At the age of 17, experienced and joined the Methodist Society, in the State of Delaware; at the age of 22, commenced his ministerial labors, which were extended through various parts of the Middle States. In 1787, he returned to his native city, where his unexampled labors will redound to posterity. He was instrumental in the hands of the Lord in enlightening many thousands of his brethren, the descendants of Africa, and

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was the founder of the first African Church in America, which was erected in Philadelphia, A. D. 1793. He was ordained deacon in A. D. 1799, by the Rt. Rev. FRANCIS ASBURY, Bishop of the Methodist Church. At the organization of the African Methodist Church, A. D. 1816, he was elected and ordained a Bishop for said Church, by their first General Conference, and was the first African Bishop in AMERICA, which office he filled for upwards of fourteen years, with uncommon zeal, fidelity, perseverance and sound judgment. He was an affectionate husband, a tender father, and a sincere Christian. He finished his course in this city, after a tedious illness, which he bore with Christian fortitude, on the 26th day of March, 1831, in the 72d year of his age; gloriously triumphing over death, and in the hope of a better resurrection, through the merits of the Lord Jesus Christ. "I have fought the good fight; I have finished my course; I have kept the faith."
Vox Populi,
Vox Dei.
Reader, go thou and do likewise.


        A Presbyterian Clergyman, but who is now an active Minister in our Church, Rev. Wm. T. Catto, in giving a synoptical history of the colored churches in Philadelphia, says of Big Bethel, "This church is located in South Sixth Street, east side, between Lombard and Pine. It was founded in 1816, as an African M. E. Church, by Rev. Richard Allen. It is a large brick edifice, substantially built, plain but neat; it is 62 feet wide, 70 long, with a basement divided into a lecture room, class rooms and minister's study, with a library attached. The church and lot upon which it stands, together with other property owned by the Corporation, are at the lowest

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possible estimate, valued at $60,000: the audience room is very capacious, and for neatness, is equalled by but few churches in the city; it is rated to seat about 2,500 persons. The church is composed of 1,100 communicant members. It has a Sabbath school containing 350 children, two superintendents, and 25 teachers, 11 males, 14 females."*

         * "Catto's Semi-Centenary Discourse."

        But time would fail me to speak of Bridge Street, Brooklyn, a most pleasantly located, and beautiful structure; of Sullivan Street, New York, and of those thousand and one temples which bespot the mighty West; beginning with Wylie Street, Pittsburg, (our Mother, God bless her!) in every city they stand, until we are led to cry out:


                         "These temples of His grace,
                         How beautiful they stand;
                         The honor of our native place,
                         The bulwark of our land."

        But not only have we bought and built churches, but there is our Publishing House, lately acquired. After years of trial the Book Concern, under the master guidance of Rev. Elisha Weaver, gives assurance of a lasting success. This building is prominently located on Pine Street, Philadelphia, Pa. It is quite commodious and is well adapted to the purpose to which it is to be devoted. It is of brick, three stories in height. On the first floor is the store room, large and well filled with a choice selection of the standard books of the day, and makes altogether, a creditable show. A number of the other rooms are used for the various purposes for

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which the business calls. It is purposed very shortly, to have printing presses placed in one or more of the numerous suits of rooms, and commence the business in earnest.

        But that which gives most notoriety to the Publishing House, is not the thousands of Hymn Books and Discipline which are there prepared and sent forth annually; but rather that sterling journal, the "Christian Recorder," which has really become one of the established fixtures of our Church, and to which every colored Methodist can point with pride. For six consecutive years, this weekly visitor has appeared at the doors of thousands, and always to be joyfully admitted. Ably financiered by the Book Agent, who held on, and worked on, with a a tenacity that demands universal praise, it kept afloat during the dark war days, when many richer journals and longer established, had to succumb. And now, it lives, as it were in the bloom and strength of youth, and promises to be a credit, not only to the Church whose organ it is, but even to the whole race. One of the most distinguished men in the nation, Hon. John J. Forney, now Secretary to the U. S. Senate, through the columns of his Washington City journal, says of it, "The Christian Recorder, is the title of a weekly religious newspaper, published at Philadelphia in behalf of the African M. E. Church. It is devoted to the religious and secular interests of the colored people of the United States, is ably conducted and does credit to the gentleman having it in charge. We commend it to the colored people of the District of Columbia."

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        The climax of grand results, at the end of fifty years' labor, is Wilberforce University, purchased from the Methodist Episcopal Church at an expense of $10,000, with the adjoining Springs of medicated waters, and fifty acres of land; it makes a spot the most delectable. Nor had the last payment been made, when lo! on that fatal Friday of 1865--that Friday on which the nation made its greatest offering to the cause of human liberty, the same foul spirit that pulled the trigger at Washington, applied the torch at Wilberforce, and our beautiful house was burnt up!*

         * Isa. 64: 11.


But from its ashes there rises Phoenix-like, a structure of such proportion and beauty, as will, when completed, be the pride, not only of Methodists, but of all Anglo-Africans in the land. One of the most talented of our rising laymen, Wm. Mathews, Esq., writes of this seat of learning as follows:

        "But what shall we say of the beauty and grandeur of Wilberforce? Why this: Never have we seen a spot for which nature has done more. Its hills and dales, its rocks, ravines, rills and meadows, and stately forests, together with the numerous mineral springs, which gush forth from every part of the fifty acres, making it at once the very embodiment of poetry and holy aspiration. The new building, which is now in course of erection, when completed, will be the finest educational establishment on the continent, owned and governed by colored men. It will be one hundred and thirty feet long, and four stories

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high. The foundation, which is now finished, is of stone, and is one of the finest specimens of massive masonry we ever saw. Wilberforce, then, is to be a certainty, aye, it is already such, for it now has some fifty students, and an able faculty. Then let the friends of education rally, and give their means to the support of an Institution which is destined to be the greatest and grandest monument of negro munificence in the land. While at Wilberforce, we saw autograph letters from Chief Justice Chase, major General Saxton, and Major General O. O. Howard, addressed to President Payne, expressing their warmest interest in the enterprise. Chief Justice Chase concludes his letter by saying: 'My name and limited means are at your disposal.' With such names as these Wilberforce must prove a success."

        The distinguished gentlemen whose names have been mentioned above are all Trustees of the College, and well may Mr. Mathews declare "Wilberforce must prove a success." From the catalogue of 1867, we give the Faculty of 1867: Daniel A. Payne, D. D., Professor of Christian Theology and Moral Science, and Church Government; John G. Mitchell, A. M., Professor of Greek and Mathematics; Rev. William Kent, M. D., Professor of Natural Sciences; Theodore E. Suliot, A. M., Professor of English, Latin and French Literature, and Associate Professor of Mathematics; Miss S. J. Woodson, Preceptress of English and Latin.

        We quote the following from the "Report on Wilberforce,"

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made before the "Society for the Promotion of Collegiate and Theological Education at the West," by Rev. T. Baldwin, D. D.:

        "After having worshipped with this people in their neat and well kept church at Xenia, witnessed their simple-hearted, but fervent piety, and visited some of them at their own houses: after having noticed here and there, convenient and tasteful dwellings springing up in the vicinity of the Institution; and stood on its site, where the flames had done their sad work; thought of what this people had done out of their deep poverty, and saw their unwavering faith, and the unflinching courage with which they entered upon the work of rebuilding their crumbled walls, I must confess to the kindling of a warm personal interest in the enterprise. Perhaps if we were to search all the annals of educational movements in our country, no more striking example could be found of perseverance in the face of appalling obstacles."

        Nor can we fail to notice as we conclude, the British M. E. Church as another of the grand results of the work inaugurated by Allen. The boundaries of the Republic could not stay the zeal of the early A. M. E. preachers for their brethren. Forbidden to minister to them in their Southern homes, they followed them in their flight to the chilly Province of the North, and gave that consolation on the banks of the St. Lawrence, they dare not give on the banks of the Mississippi, and those whom they could not baptize in the genial waters of the Gulf, they broke the ice,

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and baptized in the chilly lakes. For years did the Canadian Conference figure in history as part of the A. M. E. Church, until the technicalities of British law made it necessary for them to withdraw and act independently, that their rapidly increasing property might be made secure. This Child of the Connexion can boast of one Bishop, Willis Nazrey, who long filled the Episcopal chair in our own Church, a numerous band of itinerant preachers, well built brick churches in all the Provincial cities and many of the towns, a score hundred of members, and a well edited monthly organ "The Missionary Messenger," printed at St. Catharine's, C. W., with Rev. R. R. Dizney as editor. As a sample of the intellectual ability of this editor, who was raised in the bosom of our Church, and in a measure is still one of us, we briefly quote from an editorial of the Oct. No., 1866.

        "Whatever promotes and strengthens virtue, whatever calms and regulates temper, is a source of happiness. Devotion produces these effects in a remarkable degree. It inspires composure of spirit, mildness and benignity; weakens the painful and cherishes the pleasing emotions, and by these means, carries on the life of a pious man in a smooth and placid tenor. Besides exerting this habitual influence on the mind, devotion opens a field of enjoyment to which the vicious are entire strangers; enjoyments the more valuable, as they peculiarly belong to retirement, when the world leaves us; and to adversity, when it becomes our foe. There are

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two seasons for which every wise man would wish to provide some hidden store of comfort. For let him be placed in the most favorable situation which the human state admits, the world can neither always amuse him, nor always shield him from distress. There will be many hours of vacuity and many of dejection in his life. If he be a stranger to God and to devotion, how dreary will the gloom of solitude often prove! With what oppressive weight will sickness, disappointment or old age, fall upon his spirit. For those pensive periods the pious man has a relief prepared. From the tiresome repetition of the common vanities of life, or from the painful corrosion of its cares and sorrows, devotion transports him into a new region and surrounds him there with such objects as are the most fitted to cheer the dejection, to calm the tumults, and to heal the wounds of his heart. If the world has been empty and delusive, it gladdens him with the prospect of a higher and better order of things about to arise."

        As to the light in which these triumphs are viewed by others, let us quote from a letter, "On the Relations and Duties of the Free Colored Men in America, to Africa,"*

         * "Future of Africa."


written by that Cambridge University student, Alexander Crumwell, B. A., from the shores of his own beloved Africa. It is headed, "High School, Mt. Vaughan, Cape Palmas, Liberia, 1st Sept., 1860." He says: "There is one most pregnant fact that will serve to show somewhat their (the colored people) monetary ability. The African M. E. Church is one of the denominations of the
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United States. It has its own organizations, its own bishops, its conferences, its organ or magazine, and these entirely inter se absolutely disconnected with all the white denominations of America. This religious body is spread out in hamlet, village, town and city, all through the Eastern, Northern, Western, and partly the Southern States. But the point to which I desire your attention, is the fact that they have built and now own some 300 Churches, mostly brick, and in the large cities, such as New York, Philadelphia and Baltimore, they are large imposing, capacious, and will seat some two or three thousand people. The free black people of the United States built these churches, the funds were gathered from their small and large congregations; and in some cases they have been known to collect, that is, in Philadelphia and Baltimore, at one collection, over $1,000 dollars."

        But let us give a bird's-eye view of this whole matter, by placing in opposition two summaries, that of the first decade, and the one of the fifth decade, as we find them in Bishop Payne's Work; and it may be remarked of the latter summary, that the extreme honesty of the Bishop, if it did not lead him to understate the facts, as many contend, it certainly saved him from overstating them.

        But let the reader compare them and judge for himself.

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THE SUMMARIES.

        
OF THE FIRST DECADE. OF THE FIFTH DECADE.
Circuits 10 a. Churches 286
Stations 2 b. Pastors 185
Pastors, or Itinerants 17 c. Annual Conference 10
Salary total in Balto. Dis. for six Pastors $ 448 30 d. Circuits 39
e. Missions 40
Bishop's Allowance 25 00 f. Stations 50
Letter Bill 14 37½ g. S. S. Teachers and School 21,000
Travelling Expenses 9 00
Sec. Travelling Expenses 9 00 h. Libraries with Vols 17,818
Secretary's Fee 4 00 i. Members of Church 50,000
Livery for Travelling Preachers' horses 8 00 j. Aid to Orphans and Widows $ 5,000 00
Expenses for Conference Room 3 00 k. Support of Pastors. 83,593 00
l. Val. of Church Prop 825,000 00
Paid bal. due to Bishop 16 87½ m. Support of S 3,000 00
---- n. Total am't raised 100,000 00
Sum Total 537 55 Benevolent Institutions.
For Sal. of ten Pastors in Phil. Dis. 604 20½ a. P. H. and F. Miss. Soc. 1
---- b. Conf. Miss. Societies 10
Total 1151 75½ c. Preachers' Aid Societies 10
Our Total Membership 7,937 d. Educational Associations 6
Literary Institutions.
a. Literary and Hist. Soc. 5
b. Book Concerns 1
c. Weekly Periodicals 1
d. Collegiate Institutions 1

        As we survey these wondrous results, where can fitter words be found than those employed by the Lord's mother.

        "My soul doth magnify the Lord. And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.

        For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden; for behold, from henceforth, all generations shall call me blessed.

        For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name.

        And his mercy is on them that fear him, from generation to generation.

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        He hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.

        He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree.

        He hath filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he hath sent empty away.

        He hath holpen his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy.

        As he spake to our fathers, to Abraham and to his seed forever."

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CHAPTER V.
THE COMPARISON.

        "Do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise for the same."--PAUL.

        THE late Rev. Wm. Douglass, in the first lines of his "Introduction to the Annals of St. Thomas' Episcopal Church," Philadelphia, says, "Seventy-five years ago, no church edifice could be found, throughout the whole country, owned and controlled exclusively by persons of color."

        Dropping full one-third of this comparatively brief period, it can safely be declared that the churches, owned and controlled exclusively by persons of color, were not so many as the fingers of the right hand. But what is the scene to-day? Apt indeed are the words of Balaam, as we gaze upon it, "How goodly are thy tents, O, Jacob, and thy tabernacles, O, Israel!"*

         * Numbers xxiii: 4.

        And who is it, that between two days--and upon a dark and stormy night too, has bespotted the wilderness with their pitched tents, if it be not the African M. E. Church; under whose auspices, at least fifty per cent. of these buildings have gone up? and whose numerous sentinels are these suddenly found pacing "to and fro," if not the sentinels of that church?

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        My task in Chapter V will be to find fit and true answers to the following interrogatories:

        First. Could or would the same material results as given in the preceding chapter have been obtained, had Allen kept up his ecclesiastical relation with the whites? and if so, could, or would the credit have justly redounded to the business capacity of the colored race?

        Second. Would as many colored men have been received into the ministry, and have found a field wherein to exercise the gifts and graces God had given them? Would as many have been ordained? Would as many have received the same amount of education? as many the same amount of ministerial training?

        Most fortunately for our argument, we have the answers to these interrogatories at hand, and it only needs that we allude to them. The question is,

        I. Could or would the same material result have been obtained, had Allen kept up his ecclesiastical relation with the Methodist Episcopal Church? and if so, could or would the credit have justly redounded to the business capacity of the colored race?

        At the organization of the African M. E. Church, a goodly number of colored persons, especially in the "Border States," either from choice or necessity, refused to join the manly movement; clasping the hand that bound them, and disdaining the hand that would have set them free, they kept up their relationship with the whites, fondly hoping, we believe,

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that their unchristian prejudice would soon wear away, and they would be permitted to enjoy all the immunities of christian brethren beloved. But what are the presented facts of to-day?

        It is true our colored brethren in communion with the M. E. Church worship in a large number of churches in Maryland, Delaware, and other of the Southern States, and many of them are fine ones, but the question is, "To whom do they belong? The congregations worshipping in them, or, the Methodist Episcopal Church?" As well may we ask, To whom does any one of our churches belong? The Congregation, or the Connexion? We all know that it is our glory, that our churches, our printing house, our Wilberforce, belong to no one congregation or body of Trustees in particular, but to the Connexion in general--to the African M. E. Church. Have we a rich church? it is ours. Have we a poor church? it is ours. Every part of the whole Connexion say, What is yours, is mine; and what is mine, is yours. "And all that believed were together, and had all things common."*

        * Acts ii: 44.

        As this community of wealth is our glory, even so is it the glory of the M. E. Church, whose polity and doctrine we received unabridged. Consequently all these aforementioned churches are not owned by their colored congregations, but by the respective Conferences to which they belong--do not belong to colored men, but to white men. Then as to material wealth, our colored brethren in communion

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with the M. E. Church, stand precisely where they did seventy-five years ago, not owning and controlling exclusively a single church. Nor could we thus argue, were they really and fully recognized, as a living, active, controlling part of the great M. E. Church, sharing alike its poverty, enjoying alike its riches; framing alike the laws which govern it, and alike obeying them; for as we have proclaimed this Democratic principle to be our glory, even so would it be theirs. But such not being the fact, we do dwell upon the fact that after a century of giving monies, the colored portion of the M. E. Church are just as poor in regard to church property, as when that century dawned; and made thus poor, by the ignoble fact that the highest judicatory known to that eminent body of Christians disfranchises its entire colored membership, both of ministers and people!

        We would not be understood here, as branding the M. E. Church, as wicked and anti-christian, because she does not place a slave man, unfortunate and unlearned, over her most aristocratic and refined stations, nor yet in her Episcopal chair; we plead not that an ignorant man should be placed in the shoes of a man intelligent, but only that every man take the place assigned by merit and not by prejudice. We plead that no man, be he white or black, be held responsible for the doings of God. Is a man deformed? Charge it not on him. Is he white? Hold him not for it. If charge ye must, and hold ye must, then charge and hold the sovereign Lord.

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        The answer to Question I, as to material results, is that all the church property in which the colored people worship, who remained in communion with the M. E. Church, together with the publishing houses, the seminaries, the colleges, in short all the material wealth of that princely Connexion, is, with the slightest imaginable fraction, owned exclusively by white people, and exclusively controlled by them: while the hundreds of churches in which those worship, who followed the manly leadership of Allen, are owned exclusively, and controlled exclusively by colored men. This happy result could not possibly have been attained had all the colored Methodists remained with the M. E. Church.

        These facts obviate the necessity of answering in length, the second portion of the first general interrogatory, to wit: "Would the credit of acquiring these material riches justly redound to the business capacity of the colored race?" We answer in brief. How could it, when white men did all the headwork, when white men really own it, and absolutely control it; a black vote having never been cast, since the Church was organized, neither to make a law, nor to annul one.

        The second general interrogatory, will be answered separately, according to the several questions, there propounded.

        (a) Would as many colored men have been engaged in the Christian Ministry? and have had a field wherein to exercise the "gifts and graces" God had given them?

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        But why ask this question, when the ruling powers in the M. E. Church, did not believe that God ever called a colored brother to the regular work and honors of the ministry. Be not surprized, good reader, at this apparently rash assertion; for, be assured, it is said in charity toward the men to whom it relates. These men, christian men withal, gazed upon the condition of affairs -- the existence of slavery -- the enforcement of the most oppressive laws -- the comparative ignorance of the men presenting themselves for the Master's work -- the fewness of their brethren to whom they would possibly minister, all these untoward sights appalled them, and made them believe that their colored brother was more likely to be mistaken in his impressions in regard to his call to the ministry, than that the Lord would call him to do a work, that seemed to them impracticable. Not believing that these Methodist ministers were wicked enough to still the voice which they doubted not, God had bidden to speak, we prefer in charity to believe, they thought God too prudent to commission a black Ambassador. And what was their crime, but acting upon the damnable policy of expediency--of doing what seemed to be necessary, but not just -- of compelling the Church, the Church that should account to no man, and to no times, to succumb to the base prejudices of the human heart.

        (b) Would as many have been ordained? Possibly in proportion to the number, there would have been as many ordained, but in a local capacity. The

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fact that these colored deacons, and elders -- made thus without the least regard to mental qualification (we know elders who can scarcely read or write) were expected to do much of the work of the white pastors among their people, to baptize the children, to administer comfort to the sick, and to bury the dead, casts a suspicious cloud over this mode of action of the M. E. Church, and makes it appear not altogether "disinterested benevolence."

        (c) Would as many have received the same amount of education? Let it be said to the lasting reproach of the M. E. Church, that Church which took it for granted that God had given it a vicegerency, more full than that of St. Peter's successors over his colored children, that while the Presbyterians, and Congregationalists, and Lutherans received colored men into their schools of theological training -- while even the "heterodox" Christians of New England would do the same--the Methodist Episcopal Church -- the Church that boasts of its evangelism -- the Church that thunders from ten thousand altars every Sabbath, the doctrine of a present sanctification, has uniformly closed the doors of its colleges, its universities, and its seminaries against the intrusion of any black; aye more, so bitter was this prejudice that it even excluded her own black children from entering on terms of equality,--even those sable sons of hers who were preparing to do her work in a foreign field!

        After having assumed to have special charge of the colored people for the last three-quarters of a

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century, need we ask, what is the intellectual status of the most enlightened of them, even of her colored ministry? Debarred from its schools, they went not to the schools of their more liberal neighbors. And why should they go? Why should a man labor for treasures he cannot spend? Why plant a vineyard, of whose fruits he must never taste? It is nonsense to answer that men should study for the simple pleasure it affords. However true, that is not the general principle upon which the world moves, and it is but tantalizing to apply it to the colored people--a people actuated by the same motives as are others. And yet in no mean degree, the colored people have done that very thing, to wit: studied for the simple pleasure it afforded; aye, they did more, they studied with the well-grounded assurance, that it would make them only the more desperate or unhappy! America has always presented the anomaly of subjecting merit to a low senseless prejudice. No, not always, for Washington could honor Phillis Wheatley, and Jefferson could pay homage to Bannaker. It was only in the degenerate days of the Republic -- the days anterior to the Resurrection, that an A. B. was compelled to shave scavengers, or an A. M. to black the boots of scullions; while a host of well-read men must be adorned with white aprons--and all to their country's shame, not theirs.

        The M. E. Church imbued with the low prejudices of the vulgar crowd, denied her own colored members, admittance into her schools of learning, schools too, which they had helped to build; and then

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whispered in their ears, as it were to climax a long course of ingratitude, the chilling words of Peter to Simon Magus, "Thou hast neither part, nor lot in this matter."*

         * Act viii: 21.

        In regard to the want of culture, which the colored ministry of the M. E. Church make manifest, we ask, and with solemnity, "Who shall answer the Master when He cometh, the body of men who demanded it, or those who tamely submitted to it?"

        (d) Would as many have received the same amount of ministerial training? How can a man have the fruits of a harvest he never planted? The results of a labor never performed? At the organization of the Mission Conference in Sharp Street Church, Baltimore, Md., in the year 1864, our dear brethren realized, and I have no doubt to the chagrin of their souls, that they were just fifty years behind their brethren of the A. M. E. Church. The very work that Richard Allen and Daniel Coker, with fourteen others, did, fifty years ago, with manlier hearts, and more independent wills, they were doing at this late day. Never having met in Conference capacity themselves, and thrust into the off corners of the galleries, when they would attend the Conferences of their white preachers, they but moved as one or more Presiding Elders directed.

        And now, as we conclude this Chapter, we feel constrained to speak to our dear colored brethren--those who are "kith and kin" with us, who are still in communion with the M. E. Church--Revs.

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Benj. Brown, Benj. Gross, Robt. Robinson and others. The writer feels conscious of having employed strong language in his argument, against the Church with which you are identified, but no stronger than the necessities seemed to demand. He writes to defend the manly action of Richard Allen, and to show that the results of fifty years, have fully proved the wisdom of his course. To do this most successfully, the truths of to-day, and of history must be told, and told to advantage. This, and only this, he has striven to do; yea, he believes that in your own thoughts you will say with the southern Queen "The half has not been told."*

         * 1 King x: 7.

        It would have been a source of unspeakeable joy had he been permitted truthfully to record, that your Church, had acknowledged your full and true manhood; and not denied it both in practice and in law--that it had opened its school doors to you, as did other Christian bodies, and like them, too, have received you into Conference upon a perfect ministerial equality; but alas! the doors of its schools, and of its Conferences as well, were locked, and bolted, and barred against you. But we do not feel like judging the M. E. Church of to-day, by what she did in 1860, nor yet in 1864. God forbid that we should. We know that Methodist preachers are men of like passions with others, and have a slight hankering after the multitude--the popular side; and yet we fear not to express the opinion, that the day is not far distant when that mighty organization,

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will not be ashamed to recognize, and with all their rights, all, of every nation and clime, who love the doctrine of Christ as expounded by Wesley. Nor would we complain of that Providence which led you, dear brethren, to remain beneath the parental roof, giving you grace to suffer, and hope to look for better days; for the sweet thought comes to us, that He has a high purpose in it, even the thought that you shall be the connecting link, whereby all the Methodists of the Republic, white and black, will be joined in one; and being thus united, move forward, like an invincible host, to the more perfect redemption of our own country, and of the world; which may God grant, for His glory's sake.--AMEN.

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CHAPTER VI.
EPISCOPALIANS ET PRESBYTERIANS.

        "Sir, come down ere my child die."--THE NOBLEMAN.

        DECISION is the stepping-stone to greatness, temporal and eternal; not rashness, not obstinacy, but an enlightened and reasonable decision, that sees a duty, and fears not to perform it. A man of such decided temperament was Richard Allen: meek as Moses, decided as Joshua, he was the very man to commence, as well as to complete the exodus of his people from the Egypt of ecclesiastical bondage, to the Canaan of an untrammelled Church organization--from the tyranny of Pharaoh, to the gentle sway of David. A society, denominated the "Free African"--the inception of St. Thomas' Episcopal Church, and organized in Philadelphia toward the close of the last century, was in no small degree, an institution to be credited to Richard Allen,--a first manifestation of his undying love to his race. It met first in his house, where it continued until its members became too numerous, which was in May, 1788. With Absalom Jones, Wm. White, Mark Stevenson, and other brethren beloved, he continued to meet the sessions of that Society, till the subject of organizing themselves into a religious body was

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introduced, when the final action of the Society upon that subject, persuaded him, says the late Rev. Wm. Douglass, in his Annals, "that the current of religious sentiment was not flowing in the direction he desired."*

         * Annals, p. 23.

        The Free African Society held a meeting November 15, 1788, when the following Report of a Committee was presented: "The Committee appointed in the 9th month (September) report, that having taken into serious consideration the manner in which this Institution comes together, they have agreed to propose that each member shall take his seat at 7 o'clock; and then all be silent fifteen minutes, after which time, the meeting shall proceed to business." "The meeting after some time spent in considering the proposal, unites with, and recommends it to all our members."

        The adoption of this Report, seemed to indicate to the mind of Allen, a purpose on the part of the majority of the Society to adopt a usage which to his mind prevented that freedom which the gospel permits, if it does not enjoin; to him it was the decided moment, the moment of action, and act he did, for upon learning the result, he quietly withdrew, and never after met the Society. Seven months afterward, having vainly striven in the meantime to win him back to their company, as well doubtless to their religious views, the Society felt called upon to adopt the following resolution:

        "We, the Society of Free Africans in the city of Philadelphia, having, according

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to discipline established among us, long treated with Richard Allen, one of our members, for attempting to sow division among us, and endeavoring to convince him of the error of so doing, and of the breach of good order which he has lately committed, but finding him refractory, and declaring that he no longer considers himself a member of our Society, do find it our duty to declare that he has disunited himself from membership with us, by refusing to submit himself to the rules of the Society, and to attend our meetings, and he is accordingly disunited until he shall come to a sense of his conduct, and request to be admitted a member according to our discipline.

Signed by the Committee, viz:

WM. WHITE,
CÆZAR WORTHINGTON,
CÆZAR THOMAS,
HENRY STEWART,
PETER MILLER,
NATHAN GRAY,
MARK STEVENSON."


        Thus ended, formally, the connection of Allen with the Free African Society with which, had he continued, he must inevitably have been carried into the bosom of the Episcopal Church, where, had he remained, the world perhaps would not have known an African M. E. Church; and Allen would have had the single parish of St. Thomas, which was tendered him, and not like Wesley, have had the world.

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        It is worthy of remark that the decisive step of Allen, in thus withdrawing from the Society, never changed the unfeigned love which existed between him, and that man of God, Absalom Jones, first Rector of St. Thomas, the absence of whose name from that Committee report, however honorable it really is to Allen, is most significant; for he (Jones) hesitated not in after years to validify the ordination of Allen to the Methodist Episcopacy, by the imposition of his own hands.

        But why did Allen disunite himself from the Free African Society? The members of it were untrammelled; free to lead, as well as to follow; to make laws, as well as to obey them. The answer is, that he recognized a fact which escaped the notice of the major part of his breathen--the common fact that he who leads must always keep in sight of these being led, a principle holding most true in morals. "As Methodism," says the compiler of the St. Thomas' Annals, "addressed itself chiefly to the feelings and affections, which are always strongest among undisciplined minds, the great majority gave their adhesion to that system." This indeed was the very fact which Allen recognized. His people were undisciplined, and sound judgment, with a high charity, dictated that their emotional natures be not forgotten, and swallowed up in a cold intellectual ritual. He was for blending together the emotional and the intellectual, believing that God made them both, and from both demanded the tribute of praise. He argued that when religion is all in the

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head, it culminates into morality only; when all in the heart, into fanaticism; but in both head and heart, the well proportioned Christian will be attained. Undisciplined minds are in the majority in every age and generation, and to say it is criminal to use the means best adapted to bring them to God, though perchance it may offend the supercilious pride of man, is to impugn the wisdom of the plan of saving man. Allen was determined that the heart should not pay tribute to the head, but that each should be sovereign in its sphere.

        In a letter refusing the proffered rectorship of St. Thomas, he says: "I told them I would not accept their offer as (a) I was a Methodist. (b) I was indebted to the Methodist, under God, for what little religion I had. (c) Believing that they were the people of God (d) I informed them that I could not be anything but a Methodist. (e) I was born and awakened under them (f) and I could go no further with them (g) for I was a Methodist, and would therefore leave them in peace and love."

        He is a bad leader who seats himself high upon some glorious table land, and echoes through the dark defiles leading thereto, "Come up hither." In fact they are all bad leaders, who are ever prating about bringing the people up to "us." The first great lesson in the philosophy of lifting up, and dignifying wretched humanity is, Descend; the second is like unto the first, and the third like unto the second--Descend! Descend! Descend! It is for all philanthropists to humble themselves, and say with

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the great Jah: "Come, let us go down and see"--to say with His Son, "I come." Descension first, Ascension second; the Cross, the Crown.

        Who can lift that up, under which he is not, nor with which he has aught to do; just as Jesus descended to the capacities of the people, and talked to them of the fields they could see; of the flowers they could smell; and of the light they could enjoy--just as Jesus was familiar with the Publicans and Sinners, condescending to eat with them, in preference to the proud Pharisees, even so must all philanthropists do, for the words are, "Follow me." The people once lifted up, may then be taught great metaphysical truths; it was Paul and not Jesus who wrote the epistle to the Romans. And is not this the very spirit of Methodism? Does not Methodism say, Give a man bread, even the Bread of heaven, before you cram him with the dry, spiritless pastry of the human intellect? give him water before you give him wine?

        Allen was a philanthropist of the Nazarene school. Hear him how he talks: "I was confident that there was no religious sect or denomination which would suit the capacity of the colored people, so well as the Methodist, for the plain, simple gospel suits best for any people, for the unlearned can understand, and the learned are sure to understand; and the reason why the Methodists are so successful in the awakening and the conversion of the colored people, is the plain doctrine which they preach, and having a good discipline."

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        Let us seek, as the concluding matter of this chapter, suitable answers and true, to the two interrogatories.

        I. Would the same results which we have seen in Chapter III, have been realized, had Allen gone into the bosom of the Episcopal Church?

        II. Would similar results have been attained had the colored people generally have become Presbyterians?

        We have seen what would have been the most probable result, had our people remained with the M. E. Church; we say "probable result," for we argue that the addition of a few more thousand colored people to its fold, would not in the least have affected for good, the conduct of that Church toward this people.

        Interrogatory I. Would the same results which we have seen in Chapter III, have been realized, had Allen gone into the bosom of the Episcopal Church?

        Let us have first a few sentences of plain talk. If the aristocratic priests, who ruled the Episcopal Church during the last half of the last century, respected not the religious necessities of the poor white people, as the early history, aye the very existence of the M. E. Church proves, what right have we to expect that they would have cared for the blacks? If they went not into the lanes, and alleys, and city suburbs, to minister to the spiritual wants of the Anglo-Saxons, pray tell us, would they have gone after Anglo-Africans? If they baptized not filthy

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white urchins, how would black ones have fared? Surely like Ephraim, they must have eaten husks, and drank in the wind. But suppose, for sake of argument, they had considered themselves as bound to minister to the blacks, and even treated them with more consideration than they did the whites of the same social standing; what would have been the result? History and the facts of to-day tell us that they would have held them in the veriest state of dependence, crippling their energies, and dwarfing their manhood.

        "Crippling their energies and dwarfing their manhood!" we think we hear one of our colored Episcopalians repeat, as he bursts out into a hearty laugh.

        Even so, good sir, for we contend that the colored Episcopalians of to-day, with all their recognized attainments, possess not that unpurchased and unpurchasable love of liberty, that is seen in the despised African Methodist. The Methodist stands, as the ancient chief Arminius stood on the banks of his Vicerges, and while the Episcopalian, like Flavius, may boast of his Episcopal ordination, his connection with such an honored body, and the like, he replies, "These are the wages of a slave cheaply purchased."

        The same fell spirit of proscription that made the Episcopal rulers provide, ere Absalom Jones could be made a priest, that the African Church, St. Thomas, was not entitled to send a Clergyman, nor Deputies to the Convention, nor to interfere with the general government of the Episcopal Church,

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not only continues, but has even grown. Then, in the year 1795, they declared it was only for the present; in 1843 it was reiterated; and upon a petition coming up from the Rector and Wardens in 1850, asking for the plainest Christian rights, the majority of a special Committee, appointed to consider the petition, concluded a lengthened Report as follows: "Resolved, That it is inexpedient to repeal the Eighth Revised Regulation; and that the Committee be discharged from the further consideration of the subject."

        The Report was adopted by a vote of 95 Clergy and Lay representatives for it; to 38 against it.

        Thus cramped by those who should have labored for their expansion, weakened by those who should have made them strong; pushed back by those who should have been first to bring them forward, the congregation of St. Thomas has always been few in numbers, and has done little toward gathering in the poor, to whom Christ, as His chief glory, preached His gospel.

        We quote the following as the spiritual work of St. Thomas, for more than a quarter of a century:

CONFIRMATIONS, BAPTISMS, &c.

        
Confirmations from 1834 to 1860 272
Baptisms, Infants 163
Baptisms, Adults 42
Total 205
Communicants, present number 105
Congregation, present number more or less 337
Sunday School, number of pupils, Male 47
Sunday School, number of pupils, Female 58
Sunday School, Teachers, Male 5
Sunday School, Teachers, Female 13

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        Yet is St. Thomas a fair representative of the colored Episcopalians in the United States; aye, in prosperity and influence, it is more than a representative.

        Two reasons then require us to give this interrogatory I, a negative reply.

        (a) The deep seated prejudice of the Episcopal clergy, prevented them from doing justice to an oppressed race, and giving encouragement to their manly aspirations.

        (b) These clergymen were not philanthropists of the Nazarene school, and consequently understood not its first, second, and third lesson -- the lesson of unrobing themselves, and coming down.

        Interrogatory II. Would similar results have been attained had the colored people generally have become Presbyterians?

        Let it be said to the lasting honor of this Church, that the vast majority of its theological Seminaries, both in the East and in the West, Princeton and Alleghany, have opened wide their doors, while their noble band of Professors have long stood and beckoned colored preachers of every denomination to enter and enrich their heads and hearts, and enter as men. The same liberal spirit has characterized this Church in regard to the colored pastors and ruling elders who might be sent to the Presbyteries. They were uniformly received as Christian brethren, and their every right, as members of these Bodies, was respected, speaking as they please, voting as they choose; and more than once colored ministers have been elected Moderators.

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        Why then are there so few Presbyterians among the colored people? Dr. Dickson, of Baltimore, estimates the whole number at a fraction over 14,000! Why is its growth so slow, compared with Methodism? There are three reasons which may be given to account for this fact.

        (a) Methodism was first in the field, and as the maxim is, "Possession is three points in law."

        (b) Presbyterianism acts not on the itinerating system, consequently it had no body of men--scouts, if you please, to hunt up those who dwell in the wilderness.

        (c) But the most potent reason of all was, that Presbyterianism disregarded too much the emotional character of experimental religion--it laid too great stress upon the head. In brief, its great failure arose from the fact that it strove to lift up without coming down, which involves both a physical and moral contradiction.

        While the good Presbyterian parson was writing his discourse, rounding off the sentences, the Methodist itinerant had travelled forty miles with his horse and saddle bags; while the parson was adjusting his spectacles to read his manuscript, the itinerant had done given "hell and damnation" to his unrepentant hearers; while the disciple of Calvin was waiting to have his Church completed, the disciple of Wesley took to the woods, and made them re-echo "with the voice of free grace," believing with Bryant,

"The groves were God's first temples."
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        Who then can doubt the issue in such a contest, especially in dealing with people like these Americans, who build a city in a week, and a Railroad in seven days.

        The parson was too slow to keep up with his Methodist brother; and while he dealt magnanimously by the colored people, he valued them not enough to make haste. Nor will we seem here to throw a Scythian arrow, but prefer to say that so slow indeed were the Presbyterians, in regard even to the uncared for whites, that we witness the same among them, that we do among the colored, to wit: The Presbyterian outstripped by the Methodist.

        The complete answer then to interrogatory II, in brief is, that the same results most probably would not have been attained.

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CHAPTER VII.
THE DETERMINATELY RELIGIOUS.

        "For they have driven me out this day from abiding in the inheritance of the Lord, saying, Go serve other gods."--DAVID.

        WHAT is African Methodism, but an outburst of all that is manly in the Negro--manly political, manly ecclesiastical.

        Politically, impossible to be free, he embraced his first and only opportunity to make manifest his love of liberty with other peoples.

        At the bottom of the great political fabric he lay buried, as the mighty stones in a foundation wall; and each was cemented to the other by mutual blood. Like the stone he was quiet, and the fabric seemed to have a sure foundation--so seemingly, indeed, that at home and abroad, we began to hear preached the doctrine of Free races, and Slave races, that is, races who will be free, and races who may be made slaves; and the Negro, of course, is one of the Slave races--meaning by this ignoble logic that the Negro is unfit for freedom. But to a mind unbiased, that logic vanishes like the morning dew, in the presence of the African M. E. Church: So reasons the astute Alexander Crummel, Esq.

        The Negro then was bound politically, and he lay

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helpless on the earth, and over him stood the stalwart Saxon, the Saxon of the South, and of the North as well, with sword, and bayonet, and lash; and while now and then a Negro of over-daring spirit would rise, and despite all, strike for liberty--strike but to fall, the sturdy good sense, and Christian faith of the millions, told them to trust in God and be still. But when in addition to the political yoke, it was essayed by the ruling race, to bind on the ecclesiastical yoke likewise, almost to a man, the free Negroes of the Republic cried out, No! And though coaxed and threatened, and threatened and coaxed in turn, their determined, No! only increased in volume, till Philadelphia had echoed to Wilmington, and Wilmington to Philadelphia; while from the far South, Charleston whispered, for she dared not speak, No!

        Whilst bound, to be patient is heroic; when free, to be led into bondage is cowardly. So thought the Negro, politically bound, I will be patient, ecclesiastically free, I will not be a slave. He had heard his Parson read: "Art thou called being a servant, care not for it; but if thou mayst be free, use it rather."

        And who can tell what the world would have thought, had the Negro, not only worn his political chains, but had permitted ecclesiastical ones to have been forged, and riveted upon him, and all without a murmur, without an effort! Surely while peoples of every land were striking for religious liberty, the Quakers, the Baptists, the Pilgrims, the Methodists,

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the class of men that would have stood still, would have presented a strange anomaly to the ages. We repeat: Had Allen and his religious brethren, treated as they were, and as dissatisfied, had they not caught the contagious fever of liberty, the fever that burns and consumes, it would have proved them unworthy of their times and opportunities.

        As diseases, physical, are contagious among men, even so, are thoughts, moral and religious; and he who escapes, in that same proportion ceases to be as his kind. By taking the disease, Allen proved his manhood. But African Methodism was not only an upheaval of all that was manly in the Negro, but also, of all that was religious--it was the outburst of his religious nature, which like the fires of Vesuvius, or Ætna, had long been pent up. In the Church the most partial regulations had been made in regard to him; cruel laws had been enacted, and more cruelly enforced. Whilst he longed for the "Bread that cometh down from heaven," he was forbidden to enter consecrated places for it, nor would the Priests bring it to him. He dare not carry his child to the baptismal Font, nor would these Priests bring salvation to his house.

        In short, he found himself well nigh like Ephraim, "feeding on the wind," and his soul revolted from a fate so terrible. Those pent up feelings--those longings after God broke forth, and the Negro resolved to take the matter in his own hands!

        Indeed, Methodism, both among White and Black people, is but a demonstration of man's religious

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nature; so mighty, indeed, that it overrode all antiquated maxims, save those only which flow from the Bible.

        Methodism, in short, is an uprising of the religious manhood of the Christian world against the slights and negligences, the oppressions and burden-some rituals of its religious teachers--it is a living protest against priestly injustice and disobedience.

        As such, it is a clear gain to God, over and above; that which the Church as ruled by an Episcopally ordained clergy, would have brought and laid upon the Altar. It is the uncared for multitude, the dwellers in the wilderness, led on by a few Priests who loved piety more than ceremonies, charity more than creeds, taking the matter of their salvation in their own hands. Uncared for, and unsaved by those whom sacred history declares, that God appointed to be the Saviours of the world--those Cures of the soul, they arose in their might, and assumed the right of saving themselves--assumed the privilege of being religious!

        And now grown to a mighty host, these determinately religious men, white and black, religious in defiance of Priests and orders--these men, who would not be pagans in a Christian land, aye, these men who would not be sinners, appeal from man to God, from earth to heaven. And their plea is, We were thirsty, even for thy Word, and thy Priests would not give us to drink; we were hungry, even for thy Bread, and they would not give us to eat; we were naked, and they would not clothe us; and

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turning from them, we fled to thy Word, and to Thee, O God, trusting that thou wouldst not turn us away, lest we faint by the wayside.

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CHAPTER VIII.
IGNORANCE.

        "Hear, O our God: for we are despised."--NEHEMIAH.

        LET us open this chapter, by noticing the remarkable similarity which may be seen, between the organization of the African M. E. Church, and the rehabilitation of Jerusalem under Nehemiah. Both had just emerged from bondage, and were weak. Unto both a scene of common desolation presented itself. Both had bitter enemies, Tobias, Greshom, Sanballet, Messrs. J----, S----, S----, R----,*

         * Bishop Allen's charity for his enemies, refused to mention their. names.


 with which they had to contend. Both had temples to build, and unto both were said the taunting words, "Even*

        *Neh. iv: 3.


that which they build, if a fox go up, he shall even break down their stone wall." And both, thank God, the Jew and the Negro, had a mind to work. Each was successful, the former rebuilt his beloved city, the latter, established the A. M. E. Church. And now we leave the Jew, whose foes are seen no more, and propose to devote this Chapter in defending the Negro, as well as the Church he established, from the charge of ignorance, brought by foes who still are, but soon will not be.
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        As we hear the constant echo of the words, "An ignorant Methodist," we are more than ever confirmed in our belief of the sameness of humanity.

        But how so? says Mr. Inquisitive, how can so slight an affair be made to weigh in so great a metaphysical controversy?

        Why, don't you know, good Sir, that the Jews regarded all the rest of mankind as ignorant Gentiles, when lo! Socrates and Plato had lived; and did not the egotistic Greeks brand the outside nations with the general epithet, "Barbarians," when Italy could boast of Scipio Africanus the Second, and Polybius. And what thought Tacitus of the race that produced Moses, and David, Isaiah and Josephus, but that they were "the scum and refuse of other nations."*

        * Lib. V, Sec. V.

        Humanity being one and the same, in all times and countries, we find this same principle still alive. The half barbaric Chinese brand the races which have produced men like Newton, and Milton, and Shakespeare, as "Terrestrials," while they are the "Celestials;" and these Saxon nations, in turn have declared the race that produced Philis Wheatley, Bannaker, McCune Smith, and Douglass, an inferior race. So, too, the colored people, partaking of the same spirit, pass similar judgment upon one another. Rev. John M. Brown, an African Methodist, in making a point against the Spencer organization at Wilmington, Del., says, "They have no special liking to an educated ministry;" while our very wise Presbyterian brother, Rev. Chas. H. Thompson, tells the

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Rev. Mr. Brown that his Church "degrades the Negro." The Episcopalians, speaking way from Africa, say, "Doubtless all the religious societies of colored people in America are humble, that is, as it respects literary and theological qualification."

        But why this mutual underrating of each other, the Presbyterians assuming to out-rank the Methodists, and the Episcopalians, the Presbyterians?

        Surely the chief reason is, that they all show themselves ignorant of one important branch of knowledge, even a knowledge of each other, and of themselves. Nations and people do not sufficiently well know one another. Had the Jews known of Socrates and Plato; the Greeks of Africanus and Polybius; the Romans of Moses and David, surely each would have had a higher opinion of the other. There are always to be found among every class of men, more intellectual worth than their neighbors give them credit of possessing.

        Thus it is in regard to the African M. E. Church, its ministry and its people. In the eyes of its Presbyterian and Episcopalian neighbors, from the crown of its head, to the soles of its feet, it is but one scab of ignorance; and so free, indeed, are they to proclaim it, that even the floor of an Assembly, in the presence of the superior race, with whom I have been recognized as the equal, is not regarded as too public a place to proclaim our would-be shame, our degrading system of worship. Contemptible impudence that! Wendell Phillips once said in one of his burning speeches, "That America has the

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largest lakes, the longest rivers, the tallest mountains, and the most impudent white men," but surely he had never heard of our wise Bro. Thompson, else he would not have used the adjective.

        "Methodism degrades the Negro," Methodism, the organization that builds more churches, supports more preachers and missionaries, gives more money to the poor, and has done more to prove the absolute ability of black men to do everything which men do, than all the colored organizations in the United States--that is the organization, which in the eyes of Rev. Mr. Thompson, demoralizes the Negro. And he a Presbyterian! Who built the Church in which that Reverend gentlemen now ministers? The white Brethren. Who built four-fifths of all the colored Presbyterian Churches, and one-half the other fifth? The white Brethren. Who is it that assists in the support of four-fifths, if not every individual one of the colored Presbyterian pastors? The white Brethren. Who is it that makes their books, good or bad? The white Brethren. Who edits their papers, ably or only to mediocrity? The ever present, ever generous white Brethren.

        And yet the religious organization that does all this, inter se, degrades itself by so doing, in the eyes of our wise Bro Thompson. Surely from his stand-point, independency and suppliancy, freedom and bondage, have become inverted terms.

        The opinion of Rev. Alex. Crummell, which equals at least, that of Rev. Chas. H. Thompson, is quite

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different as to African Methodism. Prof. Crummell says, "But the African M. E. Church of the United States, has the machinery for the most comprehensive missionary service in Africa. They have a well tried system; they have experience; they have a large body of ministers; and they have a corresponding body already in existence under complete organization in Liberia--I mean the Liberia M. E. Church. If my old friend, Bishop Daniel A. Payne, would only enter into this work, with all that warmth of heart, that energy of purpose, and that burning Christian eloquence, which characterize him, what blessedness would he not impart to this land; what spiritual life would he not diffuse among all the Churches of his charge in America! His people could start on a saving, systemized plan, by which health, power, life and energy would be constantly poured, like a living stream, into the corresponding body in this country, and so be diffused throughout the land, to the villages, the hamlets, and the huts of tens of thousands of our needy heathen kin."

        Wonder if Prof. Crummell ever read the Rev. Mr. Thompson's speech? A copy addressed to Mount Vaughan, Cape Palmas, Liberia, would reach the Professor. He ought to have a copy of that speech! lest his generosity might bring, by invitation, a class of men to Africa who would further degrade it!

        That there are a host of ignorant men and women, within the pales of the African M. E. Church, no one pretends to deny. And be not astonished when we declare them to be her glory and not her shame!

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It is the glory of Jesus, that he mingled with Publicans, and sinners. It is the glory of the religion which he established, that it takes hold on the poor, and exalts them, but panders not to the tastes and prejudices of the rich. Do physicians wait on those who are whole? Do the righteous, really, or self-assumed, need a Saviour? Yes, the African M. E. Church, has thousands of lowly ones within her pales, and is constantly receiving thousands more; and just as hospitals, in which the maimed are healed and comforted, constitute the true glory of the Christian nations, even so, with the poor and ignorant, found within the A. M. E. Church; for those who came to the supper of the rich man, were not the inhabitants of the city, but of the wilderness; not the denizens of fashionable avenues, but of highways and hedges; they dwelt not in palaces, but in huts. Tell John, "The poor have the gospel preached to them."*

        * Matt. xi: 5.

        But to say there are no intelligent men, or but a few, found in the ranks of her Ministry, and among her membership, is a most false assertion, as the various sketches in the Chapters of Part II, with the accompanying productions prove.

        But, says Mr. E----, your Church is opposed to an educated and enlightened worship, to which his right hand friend, Mr. P----, assents, and for once says, "Amen."

        Before answering, yea or nay, to this charge, we would remark as follows:

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        Opposition to secular learning, even though it did exist within the pales of the A. M. E. Church, would be no new thing in the history of the Christian Church, and in the lives of good men. It could produce as its examples, the Christians of the first and purest ages of the Church. It is the united testimony of all ecclesiastical writers, that the Christians of the second and third centuries and even later, were strenuous in their opposition to learning. Nor was this feeling confined alone to the laity; the clergy themselves partook of it to a large extent. So late as the sixth century, Gregory the Great, who was a Pope, and is now a Saint, receives the credit, at least from the Protestant world, of causing to be burnt the Palatine Library. This most eminent character, writing to Desiderius, Bishop of Vienna, said, "Because the praises of Christ, and those of Jupiter, cannot have place in the same mouth. And consider how enormous a crime it is for a Bishop to sing, which is unbecoming even in a religious layman. The more horrible this in a priest, the more earnestly and faithfully should it be inquired into. If it should hereafter appear clearly, that the reports which have reached me are false, and that you do not study vanities and secular literature, I shall praise God, who has not permitted your heart to be defiled with the blasphemous praises of abominable deities."*

        * Mosheim, Book ii, Cen. vi, Part II, Chap. i. Note 4.

        And now the question addresses itself to us, "Why this opposition to education, on the part of

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the primitive Christians? for surely, as the intellect has to do with the soul, Christ has to do with Plato; the Church with the Academy; Jerusalem with Athens; notwithstanding, Tertullian in the zeal of his opposition to learning thought otherwise. Aside from the many thoughts, which arise after reading some of Paul's words, wherein even he seems to hold secular learning at a heavy discount, we would answer this last interrogatory by saying, that the ancient Martyrs, and Confessors, who are the glory of the Church, opposed not education in the abstract, but in the concrete,--they opposed education singing the praises of Jupiter, and chanting the glory of Venus. To this, they were eternally opposed, and the really pious of every age, the souls who prefer truth to vanity, will re-echo a hearty, "Amen."

        Again, the ancient Literati set the humble Christians such a godless example, that they could have no affiliation with them, without endangering their holy faith; the strongest of the Christians tried it, and well nigh made a wreck, as is clearly seen in the cases of Origen and Clemens Alexandrinus. Tertullian, himself bewitched, calls the Grecian philosophers, "the patriarchs of all heresies."

        Spurned by the simple Christians, their teachings set at naught, their gods despised, and their lives condemned, these philosophers turned upon the Christians, and denounced them as a set of religious enthusiasts, and ignoramuses. Indeed we are never more reminded of Celsus, the ancient defamer of God's poor, than when we hear some professed

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Christian and wiseacre railing out against the ignorant herd of Methodist; the language of both is the same, hear it, "They are all uncultivated, mean, superstitious people, mechanics, slaves, women and children."

        But let us turn from the dark picture presented by the ancient Literati, and while we thank God that the early Christians were unmoved by the shafts of ridicule hurled at them, let us turn and look upon the picture presented by the Literati of to-day, let us see whether it is any more charming. We ask, What is the example which the schoolmen of to-day set to poor believers? Has it been such, or is it, as to win them over to the love of books? Does it assure them that knowledge so ennobles the mind, that it will be ingenious in devising ways of charity and praise? Does it assure them a heart, overflowing with human and divine love? Would to God, that the truth would guarantee the assertion, that just in proportion as the colored people, as it is with them that we especially have to do, have become intelligent, they have become pious, God-fearing Christians. But what is the sad truth that presents itself? Alas! that we should be doomed to make the awful disclosure that the wiser they get, the worse they get; worse not in the heart and life, but in the head, which must eventually effect both heart and life. But why so sad a truth? Why is it, we ask, that almost in proportion, as our people have become educated, they have become irreligious and skeptical? or if professing Christianity at all, it was of

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the Sardisian kind, "neither hot nor cold?" Why, O, why? At the door of the American Church, lies this tremendous responsibility, false to her high and glorious mission, she existed but to the comfort of the oppressor--to the detriment of the slave; and these educated black men and women, horrified at the sight, fled in dismay from her unholy precincts, and took refuge in a cold humanity, or at best, in Churches, humane but heterodox. Unrecognized by Athanasius, they turned round, but to grasp the warm hand of Arius.

        The following is the record of one of the most gifted of American colored men, and yet is he weak enough to be drawn into open infidelity, by the hypocrisy of the American Church. He says, "I therefore resolved to join the Methodist Church in New Bedford...... The minister of the Elm Street Methodist Church was the Rev. Mr. Bonney; and although I was not allowed a seat in the body of the house, and was proscribed on account of my color, regarding this proscription simply as an accommodation of the unconverted congregation, who had not yet been won to Christ and his brotherhood, I was willing thus to be proscribed, lest sinners should be driven away from the saving power of the gospel. 'Surely,' thought I, 'these Christian people have none of this feeling against color. They at least have renounced this unholy feeling.' Judge then, dear reader, of my astonishment and mortification, when I found, as soon I did find, all my charitable assumptions at fault.......... After the congregation was dismissed,

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the half dozen colored members descended from the gallery, and took a seat against the wall most distant from the altar. Brother Bonney was very animated, and sung very sweetly, 'Salvation, 'tis a joyful sound,' and soon began to administer the Sacrament......... When it was evident that all the whites had been served with the bread and wine, Brother Bonney--pious Brother Bonney--after a long pause, as if inquiring whether all the white members had been served, and fully assuring himself on that important point, then raised his voice to an unnatural pitch, and looking to the corner where his black sheep seemed to have been penned, beckoned with his hand, exclaiming, 'Come forward, colored friends! come forward! You, too, have an interest in the blood of Christ. God is no respecter of persons. Come forward, and take this holy Sacrament to your comfort.'

        The colored members--poor slavish souls--went forward as invited. I went out, and have never been in that Church since, although I honestly went there with a view to joining that Church."

        When the choice is offered, orthodoxy and chains, heterodoxy and liberty, to men of thought and natural human pride--men of unchastened spirits, it requires no seer to reveal which will be accepted. These intelligent black men in making choice of heterodoxy and liberty, only demonstrate their common humanity with the world.

        But we apologise not for their want of "understanding;" nor plead we in defence of their

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manifest injustice--injustice to Jesus, by making Him responsible for apostate professors--injustice to their race, by robbing them of that deep spring of consolation found only in Emanuel--injustice to themselves, by reducing themselves to the forlorn hope of trusting in their own arm only, and not in the Lord Jehovah.

        As the untutored and religious colored people, beheld the sad defection of their more enlightened brethren, from the truth as it is in Christ, nor able perchance to account for it, they stood aloof from them, lest by walking in their footsteps, they might seem to forsake that Saviour who was uppermost in their affections. Like the primitive Christians, they oppose not education in the abstract, but if at all, it is education bowing before the altars of infidelity and heterodoxy--it is education railing against Jesus!

        So likewise the picture presented by the more intelligent orthodox colored Christians, is anything but inviting to the poor. In the things of God they are given to an icy coldness, while in the things of the world their spirits are at boiling point; their room is given at the prayer meeting, their presence, at the gay entertainment, or political rally; they give their money for wine and fashionable vanities, but not to the poor or the support of their ministers, who have invariably to appeal to the white Churches. Nor is this latter truth occasioned by their numbers and poverty. Methodist Churches there are of less numbers and greater poverty which support their

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own preachers, without foreign help. One of two things is true, either of which is to be lamented: The Presbyterian and Episcopalian ministers have not the self-sacrificing spirit of the Methodists; or else their peoples have not the blessed spirit of charity. Hence, when the humble Methodists--they who have built scores of Churches--they who support hundreds of ministers, with the whole paraphernalia of an extensive organization, hear themselves branded as wild religionists, by those who do nothing but eat the bread which more industrious hands have prepared, it is anything but the way to make them love education.

        Dr. A. Clark makes the following most judicious remarks on I Cor. iii: 19:

        " 'The wisdom of this world' [Whether it be the pretended deep, and occult wisdom of the Rabbins; or the wise drawn speculations of the Grecian philosophers,] 'is foolishness with God;' for as folly consists in spending time, strength and pains to no purpose; so those may fitly be termed fools, who acquire no saving knowledge by their speculation. And is not this the major part of all that is called philosophy, even in the present day? Has one soul been made wise unto salvation through it? Are our most eminent philosophers either pious, or useful men? Who of them is meek, humble, and gentle? Who of them directs his researches, so as to meliorate the moral condition of his fellow-creatures? Pride, insolence, self-conceit, and complacency, with a general forgetfulness of God, contempt for His

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word, and despite for the poor, are their general characteristics."

        Howe lamentably true are these words, in regard to the best educated of colored men. How blatant is the majority of them in their unbelief? How despicable in their sight are all those who have a zeal for souls?

        In our argument, it would seem that we had almost taken it for granted that the African M. E. Church really does oppose secular learning; but such a concession is the very farthest from our purpose, as it is from the truth. We have only shown (a) for warm-hearted, pious Christians to oppose education, when mixed up with errors and wickedness, is no new thing; and (b) as the ancient Literati did nothing to make education desirable, but rather a thing to be avoided, even so the modern Literati of colored Christians have done but little better.

        To conclude chapter VIII.

        (a) That many of our people, uneducated themselves, do not appreciate education, as they ought not in reason to be expected to do, is most true. While this is to be lamented, yet is it one of those disagreeable facts, which must be borne with, and continually worked upon--not be left to itself and derided, but worked upon.

        (b) That which seems most to give the impression that we as a Church, are opposed to education--opposed to an enlightened worship, is our unalterable determination, not to compel the heart to pay tribute to the head. If to become educated, involves a dead

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Christianty--a Christianity that builds no Churches, and bestows no charities--a Christianity that so robs us of manly aspirations as to make us willing to become perpetual paupers, to live by the sweat of other men's brows, then as a Church we say, Away with it! Jesus shall always be preferred to Euclid; the Fathers to the Philosophers; the Church, to every human organization.

        If Christianity be true, then say we, Let us have it in earnest. Or if it be true that an earnest Christianity is only for the simple; or still more portentous, if it be true that an earnest Christianity, and if not earnest, away with it, cannot stand the searching rays of truth and reason, let the world know it, for God is true, whatever else be false.

        (c) That we are no lovers of ignorance, our works and progress most indubitably prove. Neither on this Continent, nor on any, we venture the assertion, can there be found a body of men, who, unaided, have made the same literary progress. The love of Richard Allen for education, is thus spoken of, by Rev. M. M. Clark, in one of his sketches of that Negro A postle of Methodism: "No man in his day was a greater lover of education than he. Wherever he could hear of a young man going to College, or to any high school, he would send him a word of encouragement--if not some money to sustain him. He saw at a very early period two inevitable results--the oppression of his white brethren in the white Methodist Churches, would lead to their separation from them; and the other, in the event of their separation,

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their greatest need would be men of enlightened education to guide their ecclesiastical and governmental affairs. Hence, he never lost sight of the importance of education among the rising generation; knowing that upon them mainly would rest the responsibilities of sustaining Church discipline among them--and that without liberally educated men, it would be but poorly done."

        Every African Methodist itinerant has drunk in like pleasant nectar, this spirit of the glorious Organizer, and hence, to-day we find in the A. M. E. Church, which, fifty years ago, had to import a secretary, a boy, too, to write down the proceedings of a Conference! not merely one, nor yet two, but a score and more of men, that would do credit to any pulpit of colored Christians in the land.

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CHAPTER IX.
FANATICISM.

        "The zeal of thy house hath eaten me up."--JESUS.

        BUT the outcry of some of our Christian neighbors against our Ignorance, is completely drowned by the vehement denunciation of what they are pleased to call our Fanaticism.

        "Fanaticism!" methinks I have heard that word before, and under similar circumstances, too. No, "Superstition" is the word, and it is used by Tacitus when reviling the Christians of the Pauline age; "exitiabilis superstitio, destructive superstition." The precise point where Christian zeal must stop, lest it run into unwarrantable and dangerous practices, is hard to be defined. That there is such a point, reason dictates. But who shall fix it? From what stand-point shall our view be taken? If we stand on one of the seven Roman hills, the point were religious zeal ends, cannot be mistaken. If a Priest, then, indeed, must his zeal be such as to enable him to make complete abnegation of self; while in his religious life, his emotional nature has full play. Who can read of St. Francis Xavier, and not conclude that the most extravagant deportment, of the most unbridled Methodist, is sobriety. But, for a

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Catholic layman his religious zeal is expected to end in the outward observance of rules and ceremonies. If we stand on one of Scotland's Grampian hills, religious zeal will be found to be a plant of cold Northern birth, having little life, little expansion. In Lutheran Germany, Calvinistic Switzerland, and the Greek Church of Russia, the point where religious fervor is expected to stop, is perfectly well defined. But it is not so, however in wide-awake England, nor nine o'clock America. In these two living countries, Christianity has assumed a variety of forms--the robe of Jesus is a very coat of Joseph. The right arm, Catholicism, is tipped off with lace and buttons, and the most dazzling paraphernalia; the left arm, Episcopalianism, vies with the right in gaudy demonstration; the body of the coat, Presbyterianism and Congregationalism, in the excellent fit of its simplicity, has not a wrinkle; while the many-colored tails of the garment, with a large sprinkling of black, is seen to fly up and down in true Methodistic style! In the midst of so much diversity, the question is, Where is the dividing point? Where the line between zeal and mad enthusiasm? Between fervor and fanaticism? And who shall draw it? Who can draw it, but the holy One, unto whom the worship is paid? Who shall regulate St. James, but the gentle Queen? The Tuilleries, but the mighty Emperor.

        It would seem that it should be settled. I. Does God require a zealous worship? And II. What is the scope of that zeal--the scope, as given by "the holy men of old?"

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        I. That God requires, and is well pleased with a zealous worship, is most apparent from Scriptural inferences and commands.

        (a) In the Old Testament, having read of Phinehas, who was praised for having "zeal for his God,"*

         * Numb. xxv: 13.


 we hear David say, *

        *Lxix: 9.


"The zeal of thy house hath eaten me up;" while the author of the CXIX Psl. declares, "My zeal hath consumed me."*

        *Psl. cxix: 139.

        (b) In the New Testament, Paul says, in commendation of the Jews,*

        *Rom. x: 2.


"I bear record that they have zeal of God;" and of himself, he says, "Concerning zeal, persecuting the saints."*

        *Phil. iii: 6.


Luke attributes this same character to him after his conversion. "Paul," says the Doctor, "was zealous toward God."*

        *Act. xxii: 3.

        To the Corinthians it was said,**

         ** I Cor. xiv: 12.


"Forasmuch as ye are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek that ye may excel, to the edifying of the Church;" and obeying the injunction here given, in the Epistle which immediately followed, it is proclaimed of them, "And your zeal hath provoked very many."**

        **II Cor. ix: 2.

        Of all God's people it is said, "They are zealous of good works;"**

        **Titus ii: 14.


while Paul declares it to be good to be zealously affected in a good thing. Among the very last of the Divine commands,--of those given even after Jesus had sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, is the one, "Be zealous therefore."**

        **Rev. iii: 19.

        The Hebrew word Illustration[Word in Hebrew] "Qiniah," used by Moses,

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in speaking of Phinehas, as well as by David, and the author of the CXIX Psalm, to which reference has been made, and which King James' translators have rendered, "zeal," "zealous," is the same word used by Solomon, when he declares, "For*

         * Prov. vi: 34.


jealousy is the rage of a man; therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance." Also, when he asks, "Who is able to stand before envy?"*

        *Prov. xxvii: 4.


 Thus is it seen that the word is indicative of the strongest possible emotion.

        Also in the New Testament the Greek word, "Illustration [Word in Greek]" used by Paul, and even all the sacred writers of the New Testament, in their exhortation to Christian activity, and which Dr. Robinson reuders, "zeal, fervour, enthusiasm," is the precise word used by the Seventy in their translation of the Hebrew word, which we have seen Moses, and David, and Solomon use, in describing the deepest earnestness of the soul.

        What do all these facts prove, if not that the zeal required in God's word, is the most fervent and emotional in its nature?

        II. What is the scope of that zeal--the scope given by the "holy men of old?"

        (a) What scope did the Patriarchs give it? Were they cold, formal, dignified? Dignified with God! sacrilegious thought, that man should aspire to dignity in the presence of God, and not rather, broken and contrite, beat his breast, and with face covered, cry out, "God*

        * Luke xviii: 13.


 be merciful to me a sinner." Let
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man use dignity with man, his equal, but let him not presume to approach God thus. A Pharisee once made the attempt, and the record is, "He went away not justified."*

         * Luke xviii.

        But to the Patriarchs--to Abraham and to Jacob. How did they approach God? Behold the former pleading for Sodom, the latter contending for a blessing--justification and growth in grace! How contentious their spirits! How warm their prayers! The fountains of their affections were broken up, and without restraint they gave vent to feelings unutterable. Abraham in the dust gave God no rest, and to bring temporal salvation only, to Sodom; but in these cold days, if a man plead thus earnestly, for salvation eternal, he is "ignorant and fanatical;" or in the words of our modern religious teachers, his conscience needs to be enlightened! Jacob, seizing with both hands the Lord's Angel, would not "let go" till morning dawn. Imprudent Jacob, didst thou not know there was no use making such a noise, and of losing a good night's rest!

        (b) What scope was given to religious zeal under the Mosaic dispensation?

        Many instances could be brought forward to show that the zeal of those ancient ones, was not of the subdued, methodical kind, but was warm and outgushing, as fresh from the deep springs of their heart. A cool realization of the fact, that Israel was delivered, and Egypt destroyed, with a dignified expression of joy, was not sufficient to express the joy of aged Miriam, and the glad daughters of Jacob,

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but with song and timbrel do they celebrate the grand event, in dance before the Lord. Why Miriam, I am astonished at you! you, more than three score years, clapping the hands, and moving the feet! How ridiculous!

        But what is the deliverance from Egypt, compared to deliverance from sin? Alas! that poor humanity should so stand still, that men, and women, too! will be guilty of defying "good taste," by giving expressions of joy with the eye, the hand, and the foot. Alas! that there is humanity in men!

        At the bringing up of the Ark to Jerusalem, who was so enthusiastic, who treated with such complete contempt, human ideas of propriety, as the mighty king David. And when we hear these modern still ones, these latter day Anchorites without the virtues of the ancient ones, ridicule the idea of men (they will allow it to silly women) weeping on account of their sins, we can but think of the daughter of apostate Saul ridiculing David, saying, "How*

         * II Sam. vi: 20.


glorious was the king of Israel, who uncovered himself to-day, in the eyes of the hand-maids of his servants, as one of the vain fellows, shamelessly uncovereth himself." With David, the A. M. E. Church, answers these despisers of her zeal and love to God, "It*

        *Ibid. 22.


was before the Lord who chose me before thy father, and before all his house, to appoint me ruler over the people of the Lord, over Israel; therefore will I play before the Lord, and I will yet be more vile than thus, and will be base in
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mine own sight: and of the maid servants which thou hast spoken of, of them shall I be had in honour."

        As Michal was doomed to barrenness the residue of her days, who, who I ask, and with solemnity shall say, that because these proud Churches, actuated by a similar spirit, have scorned the poor and sneered at their pious devotion--the warm outgushings of their pure love, that God hath not doomed them to barrenness--to empty pews, and more empty coffers.

        Nor will we stop to speak of Elijah running before the chariot of Ahab, or maddened with zeal destroying his messengers with the fire of heaven, nor of Elisha, nor Amos, nor Jeremiah, and the vast multitude, to enumerate which would weary the reader.

        We hasten on to inquire,

        (c) What scope has the most devout souls, given to Scriptural zeal under the Christian dispensation?

        And how shall I speak of the zeal of its Founder, the glorious Jesus, whipping, in the height of his fervor, the traffickers from the Temple? Could he not have gone there and quietly told them, that God's house was for prayer? Could he not have called them merchants, and not, the insulting epithet, thieves? And over all, could he not have persuaded them to leave, without resorting to the cords? We answer, No, for the Devil's works must oft be taken by storm, and not by siege.

        What, too, shall we say of his groaning in the spirit--of his weeping. Did he not know that it is unmanly to weep? Ah, methinks Jesus is very

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God. Peter, noisy fellow! broke the dread silence of Mt. Tabor, with the rapturous cry, *

         * Mat. xvii-4.


"Lord, it is good for us to be here;" as well as on another occasion, jumped into the sea! John, the bigot, left off washing his body, and fled, because Cerinthus happened to be at the bath! Poor little Zaccheus ran ahead, and climbed a tree! Barnabas sold his goods, and became poor, to administer to the wants of his poor brethren! Ignatius, the defiant martyr, had no idea that from his epistles, he would be credited with too much enthusiasm.

        Gibbon declared of the last century, *

        *Gib. His., chap. xvi.


"The sober discretion of the present age, will more readily censure than admire, but can more easily admire than imitate the fervour of the first Christians, who according to the lively expression of Sulpicious Severus, desired martyrdom with more eagerness, than his own contemporaries solicited a bishopric." He who hears, professed Christians, branding as indecent enthusiasm, every warm manifestation of Christian zeal, cannot but feel that, in the words of the infidel historian, there is more of truth than falsity.

        We have seen that God requires a zealous service, requires us to pray without ceasing; requires, whatever the hands has to do, to be done with all the might; as well have we seen the scope allowed this zeal in each of the three dispensations, the Patriarchal, the Mosaic, the Christian. The really pious, *

* Jas. v: 11.
"account them happy who endure." The tenacity of Abraham and Jacob, the enthusiasm of Miriam

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and David, the shout of Peter, the strong orthodoxy of John, the earnestness of Zaccheus, all, even all are gloried in by the devout, while the consuming zeal of Him who whipt the usurers, climaxes the whole.

        In a little book, published in Glasgow, Scotland, 1752, and written by the Rev. John Willison, in Chapter VII, Direc. VI, we find forty-nine examples of the manifestation of great zeal in Christians of every age and nation; we select a few examples for the purpose of showing that the spirit, which is now held forth as the reproach of Methodism, in other days, was accounted the glory of pious souls.

        "The great Mr. Knox, our reformer, when he lay a dying, was much in prayer, ever crying, 'Come Lord Jesus; sweet Jesus into thy hand I commend my spirit.' "

        "Mr. John Dod had a violent fever, that there was but little hope of his life; yet at length his physician coming to him said, 'Now I have hope of your recovery.' To whom Mr. Dod answered, 'You think to comfort me with this, but you make my heart sad. It is as if you should tell one, who had been weather-beaten at sea, and conceiving he was now arrived at the Haven where his soul longed to be, that he must go back again to be tossed with new winds and waves.' "

        "I knew not long ago an eminently godly man, G. M., that fell into extraordinary raptures sometime before his death, such as his bodily strength and spirit were not able to support under, though he had no sickness. Sometimes he was so swallowed

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up and overcome by the manifestation of God's love to his soul, that his words could not be well understood; his natural color, heat and strength would go off, that all about him would conclude him to be dying. Sometimes he would cry in abrupt expressions, 'O, angels help me to praise him! O, saints admire his love and wonder at him!' "

        "The Rev. Mr. Haliburton, that shining light in St. Andrew's, when dying, commended Christ and godliness with great earnestness to all that came to see him. To some present he said, 'O Sirs, I dread mightily that a rational sort of religion is coming in among us, I mean by it, a religion that consists in a bare attendance on outward duties and ordinances, without the power of godliness; and thence people shall fall into a way of serving God, which is mere Deism, having no relation to Christ Jesus, and the Spirit of God.' "

        "Mr. Jos. Allein, a most laborious minister, when afflicted said, 'O this vain, foolish, dirty world, I wonder how reasonable creatures can so dote upon it.' "

        We come now to treat of the zeal of the A. M. E. Church, for our veriest enemy can but say, "I bear them witness that they have a zeal."

        What scope has been given to religious zeal in the A. M. E. Church?

        (a). As to works. Let the Churches which adorn almost every city and town in the Republic, answer; even let the sum total of fifty years' labor, as given in Chapter IV, answer. Especially let answer the

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more than five score Deacons and Elders, ordained at our Southern Conferences in 1866-7; as well as the seventy-five thousand members gathered into the bosom of our Church within the last three years.

        (b) As to worship. Pleased with our zeal as to works, these traducers say, if we would express thus all our zeal, it would be grand, but then our worship!

        We object to this judgment,

        1st. It is requiring us to be more than men, in that they look for all good and no evil--evil by them considered, which would require us, would we meet their expectations or demands, to be as the confirmed angels. They forget that Jesus said, "It must needs be that offence come."*

         * Matt. xviii: 7.


And how true is it? Every man, every body of men, has more or less waste material on hand. The "perfect" man cursed his day; and the man, with a heart like unto God's, committed the most grievous sin. The mighty Paul was weak enough to quarrel about John Mark; in the Twelve there was Judas, and among a few score honest men and women, Ananias and Sapphira. Hence, when they propose to accept our good, and tell us we shall have no evil--evil by them esteemed, they make themselves more righteous than God. Which is the greater evil, we ask: To be extremely quiet and orderly in service, and even moderately learned, and have no love, no zeal; in short, be ecclesiastical paupers? Or, To be lively in service, even noisy, and moderately unlearned, with a heart
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so full of love, that it supplies its own wants, and gladly ministers to the wants of others? Let Christ be Judge. "Pure*

         * Jam. i: 27.


 religion and undefiled before God, and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world."

        2nd. We object to their judgment, for the reason that we hold not ourselves responsible to them, as to the scope, whether of works or worship, we allow our zeal. We very much doubt the propriety of those who have proved conclusively, they have no zeal themselves, none to work, none to pray, of setting themselves up as our law-makers and judges. Until they manifest, at least a respectable amount of fervour, we say to them, "Physician*

        *Luke iv: 23.


heal yourself."

        But wherein is the manifestation of our zeal, so obnoxious to our brethren? It is in the public service, and at the private spiritual meetings--the class exercises, and the prayer meeting. In the service our preachers are too rude, and show a want of refinement to suit their distilled tastes!

        In answer to this charge, we reply, We object to making the pulpit a place wherein to display human culture or oratory, just as Paul objected to it. If men desire to show they are very learned, let them do it by defending the truth in well-written treatises; if to show they are eloquent, let them lay aside the priestly calling, and seek the Forum. It is the bane of our present mode of dispensing Christian truth, that ministers are given too great an opportunity to

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preach themselves--to magnify the clocutionist, and not the Spirit--Aristotle and Newton, but not Jesus. These sixty and seventy, and even an hundred minute discourses, unknown to the mighty preachers of old, to Peter, to Paul, to Clement, to the golden-tongued Chrysostom should be banished from the Church, and discourses of one-third the length, and three times the power, instituted. Only introduced as a bid to pagan taste and custom, it is high time to throw them to the moles and the bats. Declamations, dry and lengthy, may suit philosophy, but not Christianity -- morality, but not the gospel. Christ's most lengthy discourse, that of the Mount, can be read in less than thirty minutes, and read with effect.

        The rudeness then of the Methodist preacher, is the pöinted presentation of the truth--it is the natural rudeness of the unhewn Cross.

        Schaff thus describes primitive preaching:

        I. "The Preaching of the Gospel.--This appears in the first period mostly in the form of a missionary address to the unconverted; that is, a simple, living presentation of the main facts of the life of Jesus, with practical exhortation to repentance and conversion. Christ crucified and risen was the luminous centre, whence a sanctifying light was shed on all the relations of life. Gushing forth from a full heart, this preaching went to the heart; and springing from an inward life, it kindled life, a new, divine life, in the susceptible hearers. It was revival preaching in the present sense."

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        Mosheim thus speaks, Book I, Cen. I: "They (the sermons) were neither eloquent, nor long, but full of warmth and love." Same Book, of Cen. III., he says: "Yet two things deserve notice. First, The public discourses to the people underwent a change. For not to mention Origen, who was the first, so far as we know, that made long discourses in public, and in his discourses expounded the sacred volume, there were certain bishops, who had been educated in the school of the rhetoricians, framed their addresses and exhortations according to Grecian eloquence; and their example met the most ready approbation." Of preaching, in Cen. IV, he says: "The public discourses, especially among the Greeks, were formed according to the rules for civil eloquence, and were better adapted to call forth the admiration of the rude multitude who love display, than to amend the heart. And that no folly and no senseless custom might be omitted in their public assemblies, the people were allowed to applaud their orators, as had been practiced in the forums and theatres; nay, they were instructed both to applaud and clap the preachers."

        But even the rudeness of these preachers might be pardoned were they not so fearfully in earnest. But why object to earnestness in the presentation of Christian truth? At least the simple Methodist regards them as truths; he has not read enough to doubt his own immortality and accountability; he has not read enough to doubt the reality of heaven, the certainty of hell; and simple man, he

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preaches accordingly. The words of Charles Sumner burn when he speaks of the worth of a man, and what is the worth of a man compared to the worth of a soul? what is flesh to spirit? Wendell Phillips becomes enraptured, when speaking of the coming Republic; and what is the Republic, compared to that Kingdom that shall never end?

        The earnest preaching of the Methodist, like the Apostles, as described by Schaff, "gushes forth from a full heart, and springing from an inward life, it kindled life, a new, divine life in the susceptible hearers."

        As to the emotional demonstrations which our zeal assumes, in our prayer and class meetings, we have this to remark. The great mass of our people are unlearned, only a small proportion of whom ever enjoyed school privileges; and yet are they men whose hearts are as deep, whose affections as susceptible, and whose passions as moving as any of their kind. Thus unlearned, how can they express the crushing feelings of the soul?--the feelings that even well-taught tongues fail to express. The flood gate but half opened, how can the mighty tide escape? As men are learned, they can give expressions in many tongues, as they are unlearned, the less number; and if they be debased, they can scarcely lay claim to a mother tongue. When the lower nature predominates, even the animal, the lower language of signs and motions must be employed.

        Multitudes of our people, debased by life-long oppression,

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can scarcely claim a single tongue, with which to express the enrapturing thoughts of God reconciled and sins forgiven--the thoughts that held in bonds the tongue of him who sat at the feet of Gamaliel. And yet they must express it, for it is like fire shut up in the bones.

        But the language of signs and motions among African Methodists, is fast passing away. Their tongues are fast being cut loose, and the day is not far distant, when the crushing thoughts of heaven and of God, will find expressions in well-tutored strains.

        With patience we await the time, not willing to doom to silence, the generation that uses signs and motions--not willing to say with our revilers, "It is all wrong." We say to these Fathers and Mothers beloved, express all you possibly can with the tongue, but if the burden of your joy be too great, then speak with the streaming eye, and the clapping hand, for he is most eloquent, who expresses most fully the soul's great thoughts.

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CHAPTER X.
PROSCRIPTION.

        "Go ye therefore and teach all nations."--JESUS.

        HAVING freely delivered themselves of their thoughts, concerning our ignorance and fanaticism, they generally wind up with the charge of Proscription, meaning thereby that ours is an organization only for colored people, and from it, white persons are excluded. Their general argument is the fact, that our Church is called the African M. E. Church; and that its ministers and people (they say) are all colored.

        Let us put these charges in shape that we may get at them. They are

        I. In her law the A. M. E. Church recognizes colored men only, as members and ministers.

        II. That her practice is in strict keeping with her law.

        To both these charges we plead not guilty, and express readiness to enter upon trial; that our innocence may be established, henceforth and forever.

        I. In her law, the A. M. E. Church recognizes colored men only, as members and ministers.

        We would ask, and with respect, that these accusers

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place their finger upon the law that declares it.

        (a) The General Conference, a quadrennial Body, and composed of all the travelling preachers, of six consecutive years, is the law-making power. To which one of the twelve General Conferences, which have been held, can they point, as having among its enactments, declared a white Christian inaccessible to membership, be he a minister or member? Surely had such been the thought of our Church, during the course of this half century legislation, it would indeed have been crystalized into law. But more.

        (b) We have thirteen Annual Conferences--the Baltimore Conference, the Philadelphia, the New York, the New England, the Ohio, the Indiana, the Missouri, the Louisiana, the California, the South Carolina, the Virginia, the Georgia, and the Florida Conference. These all hold annual sessions, and aside from attending to their local affairs, prepare business for the General quadrennial Body. In the hundreds of sessions held by these Annual Conferences, to which one can they point, as having framed declaratory resolutions against white membership? To which one can they truthfully charge, with even presenting such resolutions for the consideration of the General Body? At the presentation of a resolution declaring our readiness to receive a white preacher, we do hear a member speaking in defence of the offered resolution say: "The very fact of deeming it necessary to vote upon it, was somewhat of a reflection." I scarcely need record that the resolution was carried unanimously.

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        (c) The right of Petition is held sacred by our organization. The moving thoughts of the people in communion with us, are laid at the feet of the law-making Body in the form of petitions. Where can the record be found, of a single Church asking for the enactment of a law to keep out the terrible white man? As no law has ever been ordained by the General Conference; no resolution ever offered by any of the Annual Conferences; no petition ever presented from our Churches, we demand that our accusers shall respect the truth.

        Ah! say they, the title, "African," that covers the whole ground, and makes any special enactment unnecessary.

        As well may you say that because the English Government is called the British Empire, it is only for Britons, and a Frenchman would not be allowed to reside at London; or the government of Alexander only for Russians, while no German would be allowed to tread its extensive soil. The truth is, these governments are for all who submit to their respective authority, and as a matter of fact, we find among their subjects, men of every race, and hue, and clime.

        As well might these cavillers say, that the German Churches in connexion with the M. E. Church, are only for those of German birth. What these Churches are to the M. E. Church, the A. M. E. Church is to the general Church. And who can truthfully say, that none but those of German birth, would be allowed to unite with these Churches? Is

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not the idea only, that the German language is spoken, and the doors stand open to all of every race, who understand that language, or see proper to unite with it. It is precisely thus with the African M. E. Church, where the Negro language is spoken. The Negro language! Anthony Trollope said he had none; but we assert that he has, this wily Englishman--this purchased slave to American prejudice, to the contrary notwithstanding. The Negro language! What is it, but the broad language of humanity! the language which says to men of every race, "All we are brethren." Whosoever can speak that language, for it is the Pauline tongue, to him the doors of the A. M. E. Church stand open, be he Jew, or Greek.

        African M. E. Church, what is the intended force of the title, African? Is it docrinal, or national? Be not surprised when we assert it to be primarily docrinal, and only national, secondarily.

        Allen in his day looked around upon the many organized Churches, and to a unit, they were defective, not in expressed forms of doctrine, but in the systematic ostracism of a whole race--practical defection. They professed to believe the doctrine taught by Paul that God made of one blood, all nations of men, to dwell on the face of the earth, but the fact was they gave it a stubborn denial. To vindicate that doctrine was a thought uppermost in the brain of Allen--the humanity of the Negro, was the goal to which he aspired. How could this truth best be taught, was the question with him. How best be

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taught? Why, thought his prolific brain, in the very way that others deny it. They denied it practically, he must assert it practically. He must organize a Church, having for its vitalizing power, the truth that God made all men, especailly him, over whom the contention was held; him, on whom the ban rested -- a Church, wherein the claims to humanity of this dispised class, would be practically recognized. The title, African, is but the finger-board, the index to this sublime truth; and means only, that men of African descent are to be found there, and found as men, not as slaves; as equals, not inferiors. The doctrine of the Negro's humanity is its primary signification.

        It does not mean, neither does it say that none others are admitted or found there; but it does say, and mean, that whoever else you may find, you will be sure to find that notable individual. But why this prominence? save for the simple reason, that other Churches would not receive him as a man, this one would, and God having given it a tongue to speak, it said so.

        And here we say, in view of the fact that many are making haste to blot out the hated objective, that it is generally thought to be ample time to remove an effect when the cause causes. When the American people and Churches -- when the Methodist Episcopal Church in particular, shall have learned, and the latter is fast learning, to speak the tongue peculiar to Paul and the Negro -- the language of man's humanity; then let the doctrinal (not national as some have asserted, and others argued) insignia,

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so long floated at our masthead be removed, let it be hauled down, as the victorious banner is hauled down, when the malice of war has ceased.

        II. That her practice is in strict keeping with her law.

        Having shown, and we trust satisfactorily, that there is no legal obstruction to the entrance of whites into our connexion, no more than a Frenchman going to reside in England, or a German in Russia -- no more than an American born Christian to enter one of the German Churches within the bosom of the M. E. Church, let us now inquire, What our Practice has been? in order that we may reply to the second charge.

        Have we ever received any white preachers, or lay members into our Church, within the fifty years we have been in existence? and that, to all its privileges and immunities? If we have, then indeed will fall the last charge brought against us by those who envy our prosperity.

        We beg first to say, that if we have not received any, we can certainly offer an excuse, as good, at least, as the one offered by the Fox in regard to those very sour grapes; and that excuse has generally been received as convincing. But have we?

        We answer, Yes, and not merely one, or two, but scores.

        (a) Itinerant Preachers.

        In the Baltimore Annual Conference minutes, for the year 1864, we read, "The following preamble and resolution was offered and passed:

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        "Whereas, in the providence of God, two organized Churches, with a membership respectively of eight hundred, and four hundred and seventy-five members, were added to the African M. E. Church by their petition, they having renounced all their former allegiance to the M. E. Church, South, in the cities of Norfolk and Portsmouth, Va.

        Whereas, Both of the meeting-houses are large built structures, substantial and well built.

        And whereas, The Rev. A. W. Wayman, one of the elders of this Conference, who by virtue of his office, was authorized to do so, and the other by the Rev. Bishop Daniel A. Payne, were received last autumn, and the said Bishop so far recognized the reception by appointing the Rev. John M. Brown to the pastorate of the Bute Street Church, in Norfolk, and Rev. G. Greely, a white brother, to Portsmouth, Virginia. Therefore,

        Resolved, That the Annual Conference receive and incorporate these Churches into the regular work of the African M. E. Church."

        Signed by JOHN M. BROWN, D. W. MOORE.

        Likewise in the Minutes of the same Conference two years later, we find these words:

        "On motion of Bro. Herbert, Bro. Sisson, a white brother, was received, with the proviso, that he sustain his examination."

        Here then, are two instances within the bounds of one Conference, and within two years, where white men have been received; if we have not received more, we beg to enter the Fox's plea.

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        Yes, we have received all who offered themselves. Of course, in this free country we could not take them by the collar and drag them in, as they once dragged us out, but with open doors we stood, and with notes, as clear and as loud as the Alpine buglers, we said: "Whosoever will, let him come." *

        * Rev. xxii.

        Nor could we thrust knowledge into their thick heads, and have them speak "instanter," the holy speech of man's humanity. Thick of tongue, they were slow to learn it, and though these fifty years, they have heard it spoken, their days of infant lisping still remain. But above all they would not accept the Negro rule found there, nor could we make them, for that would be against the genius of our organization and our tongue; for "slavery," "oppression," "tyranny" are words not found in the Divine vernacular.

        Hence, we took all who came, and it was impossible for us to do more.

        (b) Lay members.

        These may be counted by the dozens all through the North and North-West, where Christian ideas in a large measure prevail. At the reception of Rev. J. F. Sisson, the white minister to whom reference has been made heretofore, by reference to the Minutes we find the following as some of the declarations made:

        "Bro. Hunter spoke of white persons being members of our Church, as at Buffalo and Chicago."

        "Bro. J. D. S. Hall also spoke of two or three

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white persons as having joined his Church." (Union Bethel, Washington, D. C.)

        And who that ever worshipped in Wylie Street, Pittsburgh, Pa., during the years of '58-'59, will ever forget the zealous, aye, the saintly John Robison. Of this white brother, truly it may be said of him, as of the ancient Levite, "that he had neither father, nor mother, nor sisters, nor brothers." It was the high privilege of the Author, to enter the baptismal waters with him, and both receive that purifying ordinance. He was true in life, and in death. During a long affliction, the brethren of his choice often visited him at the house of his parents, and his dying request was to be taken to the Church, in which he had so often rejoiced, and to be borne thence by his brethren beloved; but alas! alas! no sooner had his pure spirit been wafted to God, than all intercourse with the minister and brethren of his Church was forbidden; and he rests to-day among a people with whom he never worshipped. Peace to thy ashes, thou purest of men. With David, all thy brethren say: "thou wast*

         * II Sam. i: 23.


 lovely and pleasant in thy life."

        But it is within the pales of the British M. E. Church, which was the Canada Conference of the A. M. E. Church, up to 1856, where the impartial genius of our Church may be seen.

        Having precisely the same doctrine and laws, its Bishop being one of our own, and its preachers more or less, ministers who have been connected with us,

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that Church is a fine proof, and is daily becoming more so, of what our Church would be, if it could, At least six per cent. of the membership of the B. M. E. Church are whites.

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CHAPTER XI.
THE A. M. E. PREACHER.

        "I am a man of peace, they are for war."--PSL. OF DEGREES.

        How shall I describe the above character? avoiding alike flattery on the one hand, and uncharitable criticism on the other. That he is worthy of notice, is apparent from the stir he has made in the world. For fifty years has he toiled, not deigning to reply to those who challenged him; while plying the trowel, he ever and anon repeated the words, "Why*

         * Neh. vi: 3.


 should the work cease, while I come down?"

        But by the strength of his own brawny arm, with a good degree of the Lord's blessing, the work has advanced nobly--the walls of a complete organization are up, many temples are finished; and while the voice of thanksgiving is heard to re-echo through them -- while scores of Priests are at the altar, performing the Divine service, a single one, a few, would step aside and hold controversy with her foes.

        The African Methodist Preacher! Who is he? What the attainments of his head? What the qualities of his heart? What the animus of his spirit?

        A first look at the material of which the Methodist ministry is composed, will give us an idea as to what

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it is. The A. M. E. Church, like a Joseph beloved, has been given, as it were a many-colored coat, to protect it from the blasts, even a ministry of almost every orthodox view. Men who have been educated to the strictest Presbyterianism, the most independent Congregationalism, have met at the Methodist shrine, the men of Lutheran and Episcopalian culture, and these, having joined hands, with the convert from Catholicism, all have buried in a common grave, their heads, their hearts, have buried themselves; and Paul like, "know only Jesus, and him crucified."

        Few of them, however, can boast of a "sheepskin." They are as a whole, self-made men. But let it not be supposed that all are paupers, though they be not worth that sheepskin -- let not "Numskull," be written on the foreheads of all those whose heads have not dozed against some college wall; for a born fool was never thus made wise. And what are schools and colleges after all, but places of convenience. It were a question, if the human intellect, would not be stronger, possessing more of its native vigor and individuality, if the coming generations of youth, were to have father and mother for abecedarians, and then given to understand that they must study at home, and advance themselves. We say not, let schools and colleges be abolished, but we do lift up our voice against the opinion that would account every man an irredeemable ignoramus, if he have not graduated.

        At college the intellectual forces are developed;

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but the query we raise is, could not that development be done as well, and as effectually, if every fireside should be converted into a school room, and father be pedagogue, and mother be schoolmam. Admit then, replies one, that it could be done as well, then indeed would the two modes be balanced.

        Nay, nay, for not stopping to weigh the superior home training which the child would receive, a cloud would be dispersed, that is dwarfing thousands of intellects, as the shade dwarfs the flower -- the cloud --"Father aint able to send me to school, and I can't learn anything"--a cloud that millions follow with the same confidence that Israel followed the cloud of old; but it leads not to Cannan, but to Egypt.

        But there is one character, who has mother wit enough, and courage enough to believe that he can learn something outside the walls of a college, even the Methodist Preacher. He believes colleges are splendid things, and according to present arrangements, are to be placed in the same catalogue with fine houses, rich coaches, and dashing steeds, and are to be accepted, if offered--attained, if possible. But he believes, if a man cannot live in a fine brick, let him live in a frame, or a cabin, or anything rather than be out in the snow; if he cannot ride in a fine coach, let him ride in a wagon; if not behind steeds of Arab worth, let him ride behind the honest ox. So in regard to colleges, if you can go, he says, "Go, and with all your might." But as he would not have you live out doors, for want of a fine brick, nor walk for want of a splendid coach; so he would not

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want you to be a fool for want of a college. He believes there is sufficient native power in the soul, to advance step by step, if not frowned back by false maxims and opinions. Acting up to his impressions, he puts his book in his pocket, and as he goes round his circuit he reads, reads in the buggy, reads in the Railcar, reads at home, reads abroad. The moments which most men pass in idle gazing, he employs in reading. How well he has succeeded in a literary point, let the sketches and Articles of Part II, answer.

        What the qualities of his heart?

        His traducers say: He is terribly impure, a wretch who has continual occasion to repeat the LI Psalm.

        There is a saying going the rounds, in which the head of his offense is told, it is: That were a Baptist preacher to get drowned, throw a demijohn in the water, and it would float until it came quite over his body, and sink! if a Presbyterian, throw a pocket-book in the water, and it would float, till it came over the body, and sink! but if a Methodist preacher got drowned, throw a lady's garment in, and it would sink immediately, on coming over his dead body!

        We are quite as willing to take a hearty laugh at this clever remark as any, conceding that in the Methodist ministry there is as much impurity as any; but we do contend strenuously that there is no more, in proportion to numbers. The active ministry of our Church, will not fall short of five hundred itinerants, and yet, few indeed have been

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the cases where preachers have been expelled for the damning sin. Writing from memory, we can recall but a single instance, in which the Brother made an acknowledgment, and quietly withdrew. In the Conference, over which Bishop Payne has presided for twelve years, not a single instance of expulsion has occurred.

        Until the General Conference of 1864, the A. M. E. Church, was the only one of the Protestant Churches, that forbade second marriages, even for crime of proved fornication, and where a legal divorce had been obtained. So much for the sinking of the lady's garment.

        But let us take another view of the moral qualities of our Preachers.

        What class of ministers can compare with him in disinterested labor, and self-sacrifice? The Roman Priest, has the assurance that his wants will ever be supplied, not only while strength endures, but when it fails. The Episcopalian Rector, the Presbyterian Pastor, even all the ministers of churches, save the Methodist, have the moral pledge of the members, whom they serve through life, that they will not beforgotten in old age; neither their widows and or phans. Not only thus, the usual support allowed to these ministers is generally so liberal, that a portion can uniformly be laid by for days of cloud and rain.

        But how is it with the Methodist Preacher? To which, of the many congregations he has served, shall he turn in the winter of age, and find comfort? and as to support, not a mite can be pinched from

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it, for in the vast majority of cases, it is already too small, to give that easy living which a minister should have.

        But on our preacher goes in the discharge of his duty, looking not to the right, nor to the left, but committing his wife and his little ones, to the kind providence of God, he offers himself a sacrifice to the interests of the Master's kingdom.

        This general disinterestedness is exhibited by all the A. M. E. preachers, but there is a peculiar disinterestedness which a few exhibit, and still fewer appreciate.

        The disinterestedness of a man like Bishop Payne, is peculiar, and he will pardon me for putting him between two fires. The ability of Bishop Payne, and others whose names might be mentioned, are such, that they have but to say the word, and easy positions could be attained. In fact they are constantly accosted with the words, "Why do you stay with those ignorant Methodists? Come with us, and your company will be made more congenial to you." This whole class of noble Methodist preachers, have ever made but one answer to these importunities, the answer, "It is mean to let go your blind brother's hand."

        What the animus of the spirit of our Methodist preacher?

        He is a true American, possessing all that frankness, characteristic of his country. Of all nationalities, the American is the frankest. See the Methodist preacher, when you will, or where, and of whatever

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race he may be, he is the same, free-hearted, jovial soul. In the Church meeting, he is unreserved, handling the Word with a freedom, that shows that true friends have met; and in the social circle, none is more entertaining. Would you see a recess hour from school, dramatized? Visit a Methodist Preacher's social meeting.

        Noble man, may he long live.

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CHAPTER XII.
THE METHODIST BRETHREN.

        "For the people had a mind to work."--NEHEMIAH.

        IT were hard to find in any age of the Church, a more devoted company of Christian men. Poor as the early Christians, yet are they as liberal; and many a one of them, with the utmost fitness can be called Barnabas.

        Of what class in society come these Brethren, but the laboring? and does not history and experience stamp poverty upon all such? But few of these Brethren have attained to easy positions in life, comparatively few count their treasures by the thousands; and yet thus poor, and getting their little monies, too, at such an outlay of muscle and sweat, still have they nobly contributed to erect those religious Temples, which ornament the land.

        It costs something to be ranked among the Methodist Brethren. Membership may be held cheaply, in other branches of the Christian Church; but we proclaim it here, that no man can be a Brother in repute without great charity. He must be prepared to give largely of his substance. And why? The reason is plain,--the ambitious little body has set up housekeeping herself! Dissatisfied with the

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treatment at home, and being of age, she concluded to commence life herself; and the result is, that all the household fixtures must be got. Mother was displeased, and would give her nothing, not even a change; so she was compelled to buy everything from her own slim purse; compelled to keep up the wear and tear of independent life. Bishops and preachers are to be supported, with many missionaries; churches are to be built and rebuilt; a Book Concern is to be sustained; a Paper to be kept afloat; Book Steward, Editor, and Clerks have to be fed, with ten thousand other little expenses in the catalogue of housekeeping; and every cent must come from the one pocket, and the ready cash at that!

        It is true that Mother became somewhat reconciled, after two score and eight years had passed, and promised to help the aspiring daughter to bear her fast increasing expenses; for the little responsibilities, always attendant upon happy matches, had really increased so fact, that shoes and stockings were wanting to hide the toes, as well as dresses, and attirement for children, in general; but somehow, Mother failed to keep that very kind promise, and daughter, in the words of the poet Bell,

"Must paddle her own canoe."

        The Methodist Brethren are the very men to do it, of strong muscles, a strength not to be resisted, with a will that recognizes no impossibilities, they are just the men to work at the oar, and work they do! A drone cannot well stay among them. The

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result is that our house is getting fixed up quite snugly--our house, be it remembered, and no one's else; every nail we drive belongs to the firm; and though our house is not as fine as somebody else's house, yet is it ours, and we are getting it fixed up. One by one the children are hiding their toes, and the patched trowsers will soon be exchanged for whole ones. In fact we will be fixed up after a while in good style.

        Alexander Crummell, an Episopalian, thus speaks of the liberality of the Methodist Brethren: "In some cases they have been known to collect, that is, in Philadelphia and Baltimore, at one collection, over $1,000."*

         * "Future of Africa," p. 239.

        We stop not here to debate the principle of finance, which the Methodist Brethren have adopted, the principle that Paul ordained; for it is not exactly the principle which some people oppose, as the manner of executing that principle. Very many, within and without the pales of the A. M. E. Church, object to the "everlasting begging," which is done. We ask such objectors, and wherever found, not to take a one-side view, but to "walk around Zion," to view every side of the question.

        Let me hold up to their gaze this view of the matter.

        (a) The A. M. E. Church is perfectly independent of every other Church organization. She is her own master, responsible only to the great Head. This being true, she has no rich Presbytery or Diocese,

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or Association unto which she can appeal for help--appeal and be heard. Accounting to none, she can appeal to none. Not only has she no right to expect aid, other than in the general way of giving and receiving charities, but it would be dishonorable for her to send her Bishops, or any other of her officers, abroad to get their support. Receiving the blessings of their labor, she, and she alone, must bear the burden of their wants. It would neither be right, nor honorable for President Benson, howsoever poor his little Republic may be, to draw on Secretary McCullough, of the American Treasury, for his support.

        (b) The A. M. E. Church, then, must meet and pay her ordinary expenses, or resign her independency. Honor requires it, as well as the right. Here, then, thousands must be raised--thousands for ordinary expenses alone.

        (c) Look also at the extraordinary expenses devolving upon all the richer Societies of our connexion. Ours is a community of burdens, as well as of joys, we are but one family. The older, and larger, and stronger Brothers, feel under obligations to the younger and weaker Brothers; they feel that it devolves on them to take them by the hand and help them along. Actuated by this feeling, numerous, indeed, are the calls made upon the large churches, for the younger and helpless children. But what brother would be without a little sister, because at times he must help her cross the mud? or provide a pair of shoes to keep the snow out, and the heat in?

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        Tell us not that other colored Churches, do not have these incessant calls, they have no little sisters and brothers; or if they have, their white father has provided for them.

        These, then, are the requirements made upon us--requirements that honor and religion require us to meet and cash. How can this be done?

        Our objectors say, "We should not coax or plead." As well may they object to human nature!

        Shall not plead! A man's heart-strings are his purse-strings as well; loosen them, and the purse flies open; let them be stiff and cold, and the "Greenback," secure in his castle, will laugh at the cry of the widow. And how loosen the heart-strings, chilled by Arctic selfishness? Let burning words, like cannon-balls of white hotness, be hurled against them, let the balls fall thick and heavy, and soon they will melt and break. We apologize not for every incident which may occur, at every collection, for it is the high characteristic of man always to blunder a little! But to ask us not to lift collections, not a few, is to ask us to do one of two things, both of which every Methodist Brother abhors,--either to relinquish our independency, and come under some white organization as beggars, or to starve the little children and the weak, in the African M. E. family.

        We are sick of the stale talk of these collections driving away our people! They may drive away some, some who prefer vanity to piety, the shadow to the substance--but never a Methodist Brother

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will they drive away. He knows nothing else, but to divide his bread; nothing else but to help the weak and lead the blind.

        There is a work which these complaining brethren may do, more honorable to them, and of absolute benefit to the Church. Instead of railing out against these continued collections, let them go to work and devise a good, practicable plan, whereby the absolute demands of the Church will be met, and the Brethren, the bone and sinew of the Church, will accept it. But let them not ask us to leave the plan we have, until another and better is provided.

        The Methodist Brethren are not only liberal, but they are, what I scarcely need mention here, a zealous body. Of this we treated in full in Chapter IX, and only take occasion here to say, that their worship is marked by all the warmth of their hopeful natures. After one has visited a class meeting, or a prayer meeting, especially a Band of these Brethren, he will cease to wonder at the carnage of Fort Wagner and Miliken's Bend. What enthusiasm they have! what defiance! To see them worship, is to be convinced that they will fight.

        Hence, we throw in the remark here, that they should be educated. The fervour of their nature demands it. The cold-blooded, unenthusiastic Saxon may do without education, but not the Negro: he is too rushing, and demands a pilot, else he will smash things! Such are the Methodist Brethren, whose offering to the world is the A. M. E. Church. May their generations increase in the land.

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CHAPTER XIII.
THE METHODIST SISTERS.

        "This woman was full of good works, and alms-deeds, which she did."--LUKE.

        IF any one would really see the great work accomplished by the African M. E. Church, let him not look to the East, though it may be cheering, but rather let his eyes fall upon the better half of the Republic, even the West.

        At the Convention which organized the Church in Philadelphia, a membership of about five thousand was reported, a very respectable dowry to be sure; and one, too, that has not been unimproved, as the statistics of to-day show. But not so the West; there the African Methodist itinerant began on absolutely nothing. Nothing! did I say? Nay, verily; for he had a strong heart, and a stronger voice, with a faith in God that was uncompromising; he had a horse, a saddle-bag, a Bible, a hymn-book; he had a glorious field for work; and what more could he possibly need?

        Thus equipped, he penetrated the western wilds; and while the keen echo of the backwoodman's axe was heard felling the tall oaks, the voice of the Methodist preacher was heard proclaiming a free salvation.

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        To him Esaiah's prophecy has been fulfilled, the desert has become as the garden; the wilderness as the city; all West-Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, even all the mightly West wherever the foot of a son of Africa hath trod, blooms like the rose. Few indeed are the colored Churches in any of these States, but those of the A. M. E. connexion--few comparatively.

        And now, as looking upon these brilliant triumphs, the question arises, "At whose feet shall the tribute of kind remembrance be laid?"

        Shall we only remember Bishop Quinn, Noah Cannon, Charles Peters, Fayette Davis, Levin Gross, Philip Brodie, and that immortal band of African itinerants, who first ploughed the fertile West? Nay, nay, let not all the incense of our affection be consumed upon them, however glorious they may be. There is another band of pious souls, whose names, unknown to men, but known to Angels--a holy band, that should share the deep remembrance of our hearts--a band of faithful women!

        The Methodist Sisters! what were they? what are they?

        Let not the reader brand us, "Enthusiast," nor yet, "Flatterer," when we proclaim an honest conviction--not blind to the many faults of these women, yet are they as noble a band as ever graced the Church. Partaking very much of the spirit of their social state, yet are they as zealous as Martha of Lydia, as loving as Mary.

        Could our first preachers in the West give evidence,

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we well know what would be their tale; they would say, in true Methodist style, "I came to this sister's house, and I was hungry, and she fed me, dividing even the last loaf; my feet were cold, well nigh frosted, she administered to me; to keep me comfortable at night, she and husband forsook their only bed; and when morning came, the very best that their scanty lardery could afford, was given to me."

        This would be the simple tale that each and all would tell; nor would they stop here, but they would tell us how these Methodist Sisters aided them in their work, how they willingly arranged their domestic homes for the Church, how they informed the neighbors, and with Christian greetings received all who came to hear the Word expounded; nay, more, in familiar strains they would tell us how they labored to have the preacher decently clad, giving themselves, and then taking the lead, with kind words besought others to give; nor rested they till the patched trowsers, the thread-bare coat, the worn-out hat, the soleless boot were laid aside. Nor would these pioneer African itinerants cease till they had told, how she labored to build the little chapel, and have it snugly put in trim.

        Thus lived and acted the Methodist Sisters of other days, lived thus and acted on the banks of the Schuylkill, the Ohio, the Mississippi, the Missouri. Would that we knew their names, would that our Barbara Hecks were known, that we might unite with the coming generations to do them homage.

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But alas! they died, and their names have gone down to the grave with their bodies, gone up to heaven with their souls; and on the middle earth nought remains but their undeciphered footprints. We say, and from our hearts, Peace to the souls of the Unknown Dead of the Methodist Sisterhood.

        Though thus devoted to the Master's cause, she has not escaped a goodly amount of slander. Her kindness, like the widow of Sarepta--like the sisters of Lazarus, has been most sadly impugned; and many have been the whispers floating around. What shall we say of her kindness, giving rise, as it most undoubtedly has, to very much slander, both of preachers and people? What shall we say? Why state facts. When Richard Allen and the early Bishops of our Church, gave the preachers their appointments, they had no money to place in their hands to pay their expenses. It was for the Bishops to say, Go; it was for the itinerant to provide the means. Often they were sent hundreds of miles, and not one cent in pocket had they, but go they would. Trusting in God, they took up the march, and like Israel, as they advanced, obstacles gave way; many a stubborn river stood up in heaps, when their feet touched the waters. God made the people to be at peace with them. He raised them up friends. Many Lydias He provided to invite them home, and provide for them. Other Churches sent not forth the Evangelist, because they had not the visible means of supporting him; ours, trusting in God, sent forth the itinerant; and with manly heart he went; and for accepting the shelter which God provided,

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the same shelter He provided for the prophets and Apostles of old, the names of these modern Lydias, the names of Elijah and Paul are cast out as evil.

        So let it be, but not, henceforth and forever!

        What the Methodist Sisters have been in the past, they are now. They are the same zealous souls, zealous for God, His Church, His Servants.

        Full one-half the honor is justly due to her; for making the A. M. E. Church, under God, what it is. She taught not, yet it cannot be said she did not preach; she was no officer, yet it cannot be said she did not lead. A very Deborah was she, while many a preacher was to her as Barak.

        In labors, temporal and spiritual, she has proved the equal of her brethren, she has bought one-half the bricks in all our Churches, and offered,-well nigh, one-half the prayers. The poor itinerant knows the estimate of her, and, when calling to mind her unmeasured labors in his behalf, he cries out with King Lemuel, "Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies."

        Her zeal, like her kindness, has brought upon her the frowns of the supercilious; she is proclaimed to be, "too fast," "without modesty," and such like charges. These she heeds not, but stopping not to drink of the brook by the way, she pushes on in the good cause!

        Long may she live; we wish not that she may not become the intellectual peer of any, but we do wish that her kindness and zeal may never grow less.

THE END OF PART I.

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AN APOLOGY FOR AFRICAN METHODISM.
PART II.

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PART II.
CHAPTER I.
OUR PURPOSE.

        "In the mouth of two or three witnesses, every word may be established."--JESUS.

        WE purpose in Part II to let the African M. E. Church speak for itself--speak by the lives of its members, as well by a few productions from their pen.

        Beginning with the chief officers, the superintending Bishops, let us gradually let ourselves down through the General officers, that is, those created by the General Conference, to wit: the Publisher, the Editor, the Corresponding and Recording Secretaries of the Parent Missionary Society, with the Treasurer of the same; then through the host of itinerant preachers, to those in local capacity, until we shall reach the broad and enduring basis of the membership, upon whom we may rest with perfect assurance.

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CHAPTER II.
WM. PAUL QUINN.
BISHOP.

        IT might seem strange for one to presume to write of another, and really know no more concerning him than the writer knows of Wm. Paul Quinn, the senior superintending Bishop of the African M. E. Church. Do you ask concerning his parents? the father that begat him? the mother that nestled him? The writer knows nought of them. Do you ask, At which of the twenty-four hours was it proclaimed that a man child was born into the world? He knows not. Do you ask even the year? He knows not: and would you be informed of the place, another must tell you. Sublime ignorance indeed! And yet the writer knows of Wm. Paul Quinn, all that is worth knowing of him, or any other man--he knows some little of the work he has done. What cares the world who begat us, or nestled us -- what cares it of the place, or the hour? Pontius the biographer of Cyprian the Bishop, refuses to inform us of his life previous to his conversion; and gives as a reason that what a man does before his conversion to Christ, is not worth knowing. Much more reasonable is our declaration, that for the man, Wm.

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Paul Quinn, the Church and the world care little; but for Brother Quinn and Bishop Quinn, the hearts of a full hundred thousand yearn.

        What can we tell the reader concerning our venerable Bishop? As a commencement, what would be better than to state that he was one of the glorious seven who made up at the beginning the whole strength of our itinerating forces; as well as to state that in the Philadelphia Conference he was the first African Methodist preacher to buy a saddle-bag, and to mount a horse!

        He traveled for a few years in the Eastern Conferences, but they were too circumscribed; and when he listened to the reports of the land that lay beyond the mountains, his soul became enamored with thoughts of conquest and victory. It was in 1840 that he invaded the land of the West, and no conqueror was ever so gloriously triumphant. The sum of his fruits were not a few individuals, nor yet Churches, but he lay whole Conferences at the feet of his King.

        We quote from the 'Semi-Centenary:' "While our Church was conquering territory in a foreign land, she was also strengthening her stakes, and enlarging her borders in the great West. This extension was promoted chiefly through the wisdom, endurance and activity of Elder Wm. Paul Quinn."

        In 1842 the Ohio Conference spake of him as follows: "We, the members of the Ohio Annual Conference, believe the Western Christian Mission, as devised by the General Conference, held in the city

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of Baltimore, in 1840, and prosecuted by Rev. Wm. Paul Quinn, in the States of Indiana, Illinois and Missouri, is the greatest Christian enterprize ever undertaken by the African M. E. Church since its rise and progress in our country. Its present wide spreading influence and future prospect of good to the present and rising generations in the Western States, entitle the Agent, Brother Quinn, who, with untiring zeal, prosecuted the mission to that honor and esteem by this Conference, which is due, and is paid to all men of great minds and enterprizing habits; and,

        "Therefore, be it Resolved, By this Ohio Annual Conference, that said Brother Quinn is entitled to and has the confidence and high regard of this body for that self-denial and truly devoted missionary spirit which he has manifested in this enterprize; and be it further.

        Resolved, That Brother Quinn is entitled, by the laws of Christian courtesy, to sit and counsel with the Bishops during this Conference."

        It was in Pittsburg, 1844, that the seventh General Conference was held, and it numbered sixty-eight--two bishops, thirty-nine traveling preachers, and twenty-seven local delegates. The demands of the work made it necessary to elect another Bishop, and, as if by inspiration, a large majority fixed their eyes on the great missionary, as the man most competent to fill the post. He was elected; and on Sabbath morning, May 19th, 1844, he was consecrated to that office, which he has held for nearly a quarter of a century; held it with signal honor to himself,

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satisfaction to his brethren, and glory to the Church.

        We conclude in the words of Bishop Payne: "Then he was the youngest of three, now he is verging upon seventy years -- the senior of four Bishops--still his erect, majestic form moves at the head of an energetic, enthusiastic host of itinerants; and may it move onward and upward till, at the bidding of the Great Prince of Peace, he shall ascend to his reward in Heaven."

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CHAPTER III.
DANIEL A. PAYNE, D. D.
BISHOP.

        IT were useless for us to attempt to bring Bishop Payne before the public in our humble Apology. "Ego a te debeo baptizari et tu venis ad me"? A writer of the first magnitude, years since, told "How a carpenter boy became a Bishop." But he is our Bishop, and we must honor our little book with an account of him; brief, indeed, to be sure, yet long enough to show what a dauntless will and pious heart may accomplish. That eccentric little State, South Carolina, gave him birth; and on Sunday, the 24th of February, 1811, between 12 and 1 o'clock, P. M., in the city of Charleston. 1811 et 1867. Let us see; he has lived fifty-six years! More than a half century! A good while, to be sure. But what has he done? Many men live that long,


                         And die and rot,
                         And are forgot!

        How is it with our Bishop? What has he seen and remembered in this great temple. Life is a temple; into which all men enter by the same door, but each takes his exit at his individual door. Some men--hosts

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of men we should say--enter life's temple, and, after idling away a score of years or more, turn about-face and depart at the same door they had entered--even the door of ignorance and sin. Other men there are, and nobler, who enter the door--even the door of ignorance--but when they depart, they depart the door, wisdom; they enter the door sinfulness, but depart the door holiness. These go not out the same door they enter, but rather an opposite one. They ransack the old temple from base to dome, go through every passage, visit ever chamber, and know much of its glories; and going hence, they can tell the wondering Angels the glories of the world. Of this class is our Bishop; entering the Temple on the first floor, for their is no entrance on any other, he has surveyed well all that was there, and leaving it behind, he commenced tö ascend the stairways to the second floor, and up and still up has he gone, till he has attained a lofty attitude--until he can gaze out, not one window alone, but many windows; even the Greek window, the Latin, the French, the Hebrew, windows that are closed to the multitude. But enough of the figurative. Bishop D. A. Payne, born of Methodist parents, at the early age of fifteen, joined that Church, and at eighteen was converted within its folds. A youth of promise, a benevolent society of colored men, called the "Minor's Moralist Society," sent him to school, where he learned to read, write and cipher. His knowledge of the natural sciences, and of the mathematical, as far as the six books of Euclid, was

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acquired in his native city, without any foreign aid beyond the text books. He had also made some progress in Latin, Greek and French in the same way. His theological training was at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, in the General Seminary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. He has been an educator of his race for thirty-eight years!

        Made Bishop in 1852, he has done a peculiar work for the A. M. E. Church; whilst his brethren were extending the building, he was polishing it off, in company with a few others.

        Let him "go hence" when he may, the monument Daniel A. Payne will leave, will not be the magnificent Bethel, Baltimore--will not be his general improvement of the A. M. E. ministry, but it will be Wilberforce University, of which he is the President. That, pre-eminently, is the legacy he will leave to the Church and people he loves so well. Upon it he has laid himself as the willing sacrifice. Of it he thinks by day and dreams by night; for it he writes, and talks, and works; for it he has crossed the sea.*

         * Bishop Payne is now in England, August, 1867.


Convinced of its supreme necessity, he makes even other interest subservient to it; hesitating not to declare the opinion that its success or failure is the success or failure of the A. M. E. Church.

        Let his life be long, and let the desire of his heart be given unto him.

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CHAPTER IV.
ALEXANDER W. WAYMAN.
BISHOP.

        "ALEXANDER W. WAYMAN was born in Caroline County, Md., September, A. D. 1821. His father, Francis, and mother, Matilda Wayman, were among the first members of the African M. E. Church in that part of the State, and remain members of the same Church till this day. His father being a farmer, he was put early to work on the farm, during the summer and autumn; but in the winter he had little to do. At night the boys would make large light wood fires, by which they would learn the alphabet. Each one would try to excel. Alexander was the most ambitious, and formed an idea that he must learn the fastest of any; and he succeeded. He soon commenced to read in Comly's Spelling Book, and to make letters in the sand. In 1855 he obtained a hope in Christ, and commenced to read the Scriptures. During the long winter night, he would read chapter after chapter for his father and mother. It has March 29th, 1837, that he joined the M. E. Church, and very soon began to assist in holding prayer meeting. In August, 1839, he felt impressed to do something in the vineyard of the

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Lord. Up to this time he had never read any books but the Bible and the speller, and these but imperfectly. He felt a great desire to become a scholar if possible. His father gave him permission to leave home, and seek his fortune elsewhere. He visited Baltimore City in May, 1840, while the General Conference of the A. M. E. Church was in session; and viewing some of the ablest members, and hearing them preach, he was encouraged to hope for something in the future. He remained in Baltimore a few weeks, then went to Philadelphia and united with the A. M. E. Church. In Philadelphia he was employed by a Quaker gentleman as coachman. Having great desires to be a scribe, and write compositions, he bought pen and paper, and commenced to write over whole sheets of it, and leave it on the table in his room. The gentleman with whom he labored, one day went into Alexander's apartment to look out into the garden, seeing the writing, he read it, and finding a great many errors in it, sent for Alexander to come up stairs. At his approach the gentleman said to him: "I was reading thy writing, and I am pleased to see the Christian spirit thou dost manifest. Sit down and let me give thee a lesson." He took the writing and showed him all the mistakes, and from that hour Alexander resolved to go to work and do the best he could to learn. In 1842 he was appointed by the late Bishop Brown to the Princeton Circuit, with Rev. H. C. Turner. Going with him to New Brunswick, N. J., he was requested to take charge of a small primary

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school. At this place there is a large college and a great many students, who took much delight in teaching him anything he wished to learn. Here he commenced the study of grammar and some other branches, and thus he has advanced on, step by step. In 1843 he was admitted on trial in the Philadelphia Conference, and appointed to the West Chester Circuit, Pa. He purchased Smith's English Grammar and Modern Geography, and a little book written by Bishop Emory, of the M. E. Church, called Emory's Questions. With these in his possession, he commenced his itinerant life, and by the close of the Conference year, he had the questions of Bishop Emory, with other studies, well digested. The next year he purchased Buck's Theological Dictionary and Clark's Commentary upon the New Testament, and commenced to read them. Clark's writing gave him much trouble, because he used so much dead language. In 1845 he was examined by the following committee, viz: Rev. N. C. W. Cannon, Eli N. Hall and Levin Lee, and admitted into full connection, as well as ordained a Deacon, and appointed to Wesley Church, Philadelphia. Being the first young man that was ever appointed to a station, he felt no little embarrassment in entering upon his field of labor. This year he began to read other works, such as Barnes's Notes on the Gospels. At the next Conference he was elected assistant secretary, and was appointed to Salem, N. J. This year he studied but little, his Circuit being large. In 1847 he was stationed at Trenton,

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N. J.; this being a small Station, he had considerable time. The school committee employed him to teach the public school here, and he had an opportunity to study more extensively arithmetic and other branches. At the General Conference, in 1848, he was elected assistant secretary, and has been elected every General Conference thereafter, down to 1864. In 1848 he was transferred to the Baltimore Conference, and appointed to Washington, D. C. There he remained five years; and while there he would attend all important cases tried in court, and attended at the Capitol to hear the statemen. There never was a Conference of any kind held in the city but what he would attend. It was by this means that he acquired some knowledge of the art of presiding over deliberate bodies. He spent six years in the city of Baltimore, Md., as pastor of the Churches. At the General Conference of 1860, he with two others were appointed to revise and publish the new edition of the Discipline. Each member of the committee was assigned a particular part of the work. When completed and published, there were several errors in the parts prepared by the others, of which the Conference complained. There was one simple error in his. He said to the Conference, inasmuch as the other part of the committee had studied at Gettysburg*

        * Bishop Payne studied at Gettysburg.


 and Oberlin*

        * John M. Brown at Oberlin.


 Colleges, and he had studied in the corn-field, and they had committed several errors, and he but one, he ought to be forgiven. At the General Conference of 1864, he was elected Bishop by a vote of 84 to 9."

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        This sketch of the Bishop, so extremely modest, and yet so well written, we hesitate not to reveal, is from his own pen. We read it over and over, and finally concluded in our own mind that it would be unwise to pull down the unassuming structure so well proportioned, and with all so pleasing, and run the risk of putting it up again, and as well. We can assure the reader that it is all true, aye, we feel like exclaiming with Balkis: "The half has not been told." As a preacher, the Bishop appears to advantage; of dignified mein, easy gestures, and a rolling voice. He is sure to make a favorable impression; while the subject matter of his discourse is so simple, that the most illiterate may fully comprehend them; the wisest also are generally edified.

        As a man of letters, he often surprises many of his friends. It was said of Stephen A. Douglas, that few men ever saw him read, and yet in debate he would make quotations from the most approved authors, and many of them. Such a declaration may be said in perfect truth of our Bishop. Possessing no books, or but few, and of the most social temperament, he is rarely known to study; and while on the whole, this tells against him, yet does he at times show a knowledge of facts, to obtain which no inconsiderable amount of reading must needs have been done. But when he reads, like Douglas, no one knows! As proof that he does read, it should be remarked that while an Elder in the Baltimore Conference, and a member of its literary society, he invariably produced the prize essay, and upon such

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themes as, "My School and School Master," and "Luther and the Reformation."

        Our Bishop is pre-eminently a man of the people, or as he jocularly expresses it: "I'm a Low churchman." At the General Conference in 1864, every body took it for granted that A. W. Wayman must be Bishop, and when the vote was taken, it was well nigh unanimous, standing 84 to 9.

        Though a strong man, there is one load which the Bishop inevitably throws off, and that is the load of trouble. He is always in a good humor. When not absorbed in business, no man relishes a joke better than he, and especially when he meets his brethren at Conference.

        Before he was elected Bishop, and while Conference would usually be in session, he would make a list of Appointments, and read it to the "boys" with all the gravity of a de facto Bishop. The list read over one day, would often be corrected the next, and the reason he would assign, would be that the Spirit told him to change it; and all this in the best of humor.

        Taking up a pen at my house one evening, while conversing of his proposed trip to Georgia, after writing a number of lines in phonography, which art he had some how learned, he wrote:

BALTIMORE, January 29th, 1967.

DEAR LITTLE BENJAMIN:--


                         "When this you see, remember me;
                         Should I be gone to eternity,
                         Go to my grave and drop a tear;
                         Say he is not dead, but's sleeping here.
                         Long as the breeze shall whisper by,
                         And I beneath the sod shall lie,
                         My friends that pass along may say,
                         He'll meet us in the rising day."

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        "There, says he, "let Bell beat that if he dare,"*

        * J. Madison Bell, the poet.


with a hearty laugh. He invariably gives all his brethren some jocose title. Wm. H. Hunter is "The Chaplain;" H. M. Turner is "Plutarch;" Wm. H. Waters, "Pap Waters;" and the writer, "Little Benjamin."

        As a Church governor, as might be expected, he leans to the side of mercy. Pastor of Big Bethel Church, Baltimore, for three years, and with a membership of fourteen hundred, he expelled not a single one. A brother, complaining of his leniency, said: "Church governor! you might know he is no Church governor, when he will be three years pastor of Bethel Church, and turn no one out." Such is Bishop A. W. Wayman. May his life be long, and his tribe increase.

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CHAPTER V.
JABEZ P. CAMPBELL, D. D.
BISHOP.

        "I was born in Slaughter-Neck, Sussex County, Delaware, February 5th, 1815. My father's name was Anthony, the son of Frances by Sydney Campbell; my mother's name is Catharine, the daughter of Phillip, by Rosanna, sometimes called Townsend, but more commonly called Young, being the names of two masters successively. Both of my grandfathers were soldiers in the Revolutionary war. My father was converted at an early age, also my mother; both of whom were the children of pious parents. Before the organization of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, they became members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, where they remained in good standing until the organization of the A. M. E. Church. But as soon as an opportunity presented itself to them in the State of Delaware, where they lived, to become members of the A. M. E. Church, without delay they embraced that opportunity and joined under Bishop Allen. My father was for a number of years a regularly licensed preacher in the M. E. Church, and as such came into the A. M. E. Church, where he labored for about ten years, mostly

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in the itinerant service. I was born free, as were both of my parents. This was in consequence of the fact that Mr. Wesley's American missionaries, would not receive slave-holders into full membership in the Church; they required all who held slaves, and desired to become members of their Societies, to execute a deed of manumission to take effect at the expiration of a given term of years. By this means my grandfathers and grandmothers were liberated, prior to the birth of my father and mother; but this did not prevent me being brought into a certain condition of bondage for a time. My father was induced to give me as collateral security for debt to one of his creditors, he, being finally unable to pay the debt, subjected me to the danger of being taken for the debt. This could be and was very often done in accordance with the statutes of Delaware. I ran away on account of that liability, and came to the State of Pennsylvania. After my arrival in the latter State, I was sold for a term of years, the last two of which I bought from my master, after serving him four and a half years. At eighteen years of age I became my own master. The primary object which I had in view in making this purchase was an insatiable desire for a good education. This desire dates back to the times of my earliest recollections, which distinctly reach to the third year of my age. At eight years old I was hired out for wages, small at first, but increased with the increase of years; since which time I never lived at home with my parents a year nor half a year at a time, nor never

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cost them one dollar for food, raiment, education, nor anything else. God enabled me to provide for my parents and not my parents for me, from that time forward until now. My opportunities for receiving an education in early life were very limited. There was during the first ten years of my life no school for colored children where I lived, my father had learned imperfectly to read and write; my mother had learned to read. I listened to them reading with all my little soul, and felt, that if it were in my power I would give all the world to be able to read like them. When about ten years old, my father was induced by the thinking parents of some colored children to open a school during the three months of winter for the purpose of teaching the little he knew. Those parents thought, that that little would be better than none at all.

        My father opened his winter school, and I thank God for it, because I had a part of the advantages of it; for two or three winters I was both janitor and scholar. Within the period of two winters, I learned all that my father could teach; after that time, I became my own instructor, and so continued until I removed to Pennsylvania, and was bound out for a term of years in consideration of the sum of thirty dollars. The terms of the sale were that I should have two quarters night schooling. When I had age enough to enable me to do it, I earnestly contended for my two quarters' schooling, and was successful. I received that, and also an extra quarter through the kindness of my master, whom I succeeded

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in convincing that my father had made with him a bargain greatly to my disadvantage. After purchasing the balance of my time, as soon as possible, I bound myself out for an additional two years and six months to a barber, in order to have an opportunity to study. I was successful in this enterprise, for, during these two and a half years, I succeeded in the acquisition of an amount of scholastic training as to enable me to pursue my course alone. Having left school, I immediately commenced a course of self-instruction in the following order, viz: Reading, Spelling, Writing, Arithmetic, Geography, Grammar, History, Natural Philosophy, Chemistry, Botany, Rhetoric, Moral Philosophy, Logic, Physiology, Ancient and Sacred Geography, Psychology, Metaphysics, the History of Philosophy, Biblical History, Introduction to the Study of the Holy Scriptures, Christian Theology under the several headings of the Evidences of Christianity, the Doctrines of Christianity, Morals of Christianity, Institutions of Christianity, and the Holy Scriptures by Course.

        Such was the course of study adopted and began by me forty-two years ago, and the same course is pursued by me at this day with little if any abatement in my zeal to become proficient in a few of them. I wanted a general knowledge of them all, and a particular knowledge of a few.

        I was converted at the age of ten years, and became a member of the African M. E. Church, under the pastoral labors of the Rev. James Towson, Elder

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of the Lewistown Circuit, Delaware. I continued more or less faithful to the Church until I came into Pennsylvania. Here, in the house of my master, I was placed under professed Universalist influence, for my master and his family were all members of the Universalist Church; but really it was infidel influence, for they were at heart and in practice Infidels--Skeptics--indeed Atheists. This proved a hindrance to me, because I studied the writings of Mr. Thomas Payne, Volney's Ruins of Empires, the Works of Hosea Ballou, and other Universalists and Infidel writers, until I became almost, if not quite, a semi-Universalist. But God had mercy upon me, because I did it ignorantly, through the cunning devices of the arch-enemy, and the subtleties of crafty men. After a long time I escaped from their hands, and became a member of Bethel Church, Philadelphia, which I joined immediately after I obtained my freedom, in the year 1833. There has been no period in the history of my life that I was not religiously inclined. Ever since I can recollect anything, I remember this, that I always respected the house of God, revered the people of God, and loved the ministers of the Lord of Hosts. I always desired to be among Christians, and to be one of them; and just as soon as they would admit me, I became a member of the Church -- a little boy of ten winters. It is not to be taken for granted that because I always had such a feeling for the Church and ministry, that my religion, therefore, was nothing more than what is called commonly natural religion --

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a something very different from revealed religion. I had natural religion largely developed in my nature, and I thank God that I am so constituted that in my nature I am conscientiously religious. But that was not all in my case. I was, at the age of ten years, a subject of revealed religion, as it is exhibited in evangelical repentance, faith amounting to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation, with peace and joy in the Holy Ghost; regenerating consisting of a renewal of the heart and life. In a word, in those days of my childhood, I was evidently and satisfactorily blessed with a theoretical, an experimental and a practical knowledge of the essential truths of Christianity. I lived, walked and was led by the Spirit and power of God. As soon as God was pleased to reveal himself in my youthful heart, I was moved by the Spirit of God to preach the Gospel to others; and so clear were my convictions upon that subject, that I had no more doubt of the truth that it was the Spirit of God, than I had that the Lord had savingly converted my soul. It was not so clear to me for a long time that this was the Spirit of God moving me, specially and only for the work of the ministry, for, in truth, I resisted the impression, with all the powers of my soul, for several years, and until I became thoroughly convinced that if I should continue to resist and refuse to obey the voice of the Spirit, I would certainly become a cast away from God. A tremendous conflict upon this subject was carried on in my soul for a period of not less than twelve years.

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        I had, perhaps, a thousand objections to becoming a preacher. I did not want to believe that the Spirit of God was moving me to preach, otherwise than what I could do as a layman in the Church; I did not want to think that it was my duty to become even a licensed local preacher, nor even an exhorter; I wanted and tried to persuade myself that this motion of the Spirit in me was only a blind zeal, without knowledge, for the cause of my God, and this zeal taking advantage of the strong and powerful love dwelling in me for the cause of my Lord and Master, was leading me astray; I did not want to become a Methodist preacher, because they were poor and despised, and always dependent upon the people for sustenance, which increased the derision against them; I did not wish to engage in this work, because I had not the advantages of a liberal education, for I was always opposed to an uneducated ministry, and every year's observation occasions me to be more and more opposed to an uneducated class of religious teachers. Teachers, indeed! What can such a class of men teach?

        But with all these, and a thousand more objections, I was finally constrained to yield to the Divine impression, and consent, in my judgment, to become a preacher of the Gospel. The following are the terms under which I surrendered myself to God: I believed that if it were, indeed, the will of God that I should preach the Gospel, and that I was really moved by the Holy Spirit, and not another spirit, God himself would put me into the ministry without

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any extraordinary effort on my part, beyond the simple following of the indications of His Providence. And more than this, I believed if the calling was from God, that he would not only providentially put me into the work, but He would also cause a sufficient number of "signs and wonders" to follow the preaching of the Word by me, as to enable me to be fully satisfied that the Lord had sent me into this work. Upon this view of the subject, I resolved, in my heart, that if the Lord should thus indicate to me his good will, I would, without any further hesitation, obey the teachings of the Spirit with all my heart, soul, mind and strength. When I had fully come to this conclusion, and formed this resolution, I had peace of mind such as I never experienced before. Within a few days after, I was very unexpectedly called upon on a Sabbath day to ascend the pulpit, and give an exhortation, following a very short discourse. I followed this indication of Providence. When I arose from the seat in the pulpit to speak, I distinctly heard, as it were, a voice within me saying: "This is your home; be thou faithful unto death, and thou shalt have a crown of life."

        I spoke tremblingly, under a deep sense of the great responsibility of the ministerial office. This first effort was received by the people with approbation; license was granted to me upon the first presentation of the subject, and I received it with a trembling hand. This first license was that of an exhorter, and given to me by Bishop Brown; but

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I never was confined strictly to the rules governing exhorters. The Bishop himself gave me preaching appointments in common with licensed preachers.

        In the winters of 1838 and 9, I was sent by Bishop Brown to serve the Frankford and Berks County Circuit, and a revival, such as I never before witnessed, broke out upon that Circuit, in which many souls were converted to God, and the Church everywhere upon the Circuit appeared to be revived; but more especially at Frankford. Exchanging a good comfortable home and city life, to which I had been previously accustomed for many years, for the life of an itinerant preacher, on a Circuit sixty miles in circumference, and making that change in my life in the dead of winter, was the occasion of my taking a most severe illness; but after recovery from that illness I set out again, nothing daunted. I went as a missionary into the New England States, and was stationed at Providence, R. I., in 1839; here I found the actual membership to consist only of eight males and four females -- in all, twelve members. There was a colored population of 1,700 souls; to this population there were five colored Churches -- two Methodist, two Baptist, and one Protestant Episcopal. Nothing daunted, but rather emboldened by previous success, and giving myself to prayers and fastings, with a strong faith in God, amounting to expectation, I boldly entered upon the work of a Methodist missionary preacher. At this date, 1839, there were only three small A. M. E. Societies or missionary congregations in all the New England States -- one at Boston, Mass., with about thirty-five members, one at Providence, R. I., with twelve members, and one at New Haven, Conn., with a membership of twenty-eight. This was the full strength of the forces of the A. M. E. Church in the New England States, in the year 1839.

        My labors as a missionary continued in New England from September 5th, 1839, to June, 1843; within the range of which time, I traveled over and labored in the greater portion of those States, and laid the foundation of the New England Conference, which was begun by Revs. M. Dutton and Noah C. Cannon; who first preached in Boston and Providence. During the four years of my labor in that section, there was almost a continual revival, in which many souls were added to the Church at several points, viz: Boston, Providence, Stonington, Worcester, and other places. June, 1843, I was appointed by Bishop Brown to the Albany Circuit, with the oversight of Hudson Circuit. At Albany I found the Church in a most distracted state, and unwilling to receive a preacher from the Conference. Here I labored three months, and received ninety-three cents for my services; my meals I ate in a cellar by candle-light, in the day time, on account of the darkness, and slept in a garret. This was done at the expense of the man who boarded me, with what I was able to assist myself. The Church failed to do her duty, yet I labored on, preached, prayed and fasted until God brought about a change. I found 117 names upon the books of the Church,

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but when I succeeded in ascertaining the true membership, I had forty-one. Having lived through the the first quarter of the year, I was quite successful in producing a change upon the minds of my people, so that I fared better the next quarter -- still better the third, and had all things as comfortable as heart could wish the fourth; a revival of religion took place, in which many souls were added to the Church.

        During the next five or six years, my labors, through many hard sufferings, trials and afflictions, were attended with the blessings of the Lord in the conversion of many souls, and the revival of the work of God among the members of the Churches in western New York.

        In 1850 I was appointed by Bishop Quinn to Buffalo Station, with the oversight of other charges in Western New York. Prior to my taking charge, the Church had been divided, and a large number of members had formed a Presbyterian Church, and those who remained were very much divided in their feelings and sentiments. But I was successful in gathering them together, and when I left them, in 1852, the Church was in a very healthful and prosperous condition. From Buffalo I was sent by the appointment of Bishop Nazrey, to New York City Station. Here I was the successor of Rev. L. Tilmon, who caused a tremendous schism in that Church, and divided the membership. This occurred in 1851 and '2. I found the Church in a most pitiable state, but God was with me, and in one year's time,

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I succeeded in bringing about a very great change for the improved interests of all concerned. The work of God was revived, and a better state of things has existed in that Church from that hour unto the present.

        In 1853 I was appointed by Bishop Nazrey to the charge of Flushing Circuit. Here I was successful in the work of revivals at all the points in this charge, but had the misfortune to lose my wife, who died at Weeksville, Brooklyn, April, 1854.

        From the New York District, I was transferred to the Philadelphia District, June, 1854. Here I was appointed, by Bishop Nazrey, to the charge of Union Church, Coates Street, Philadelphia, which charge I served with acceptance until June, 1856. Here a revival took place, such as never was known in that charge; a vast number of souls were converted, and many were added to the Church. I was, also, in connection with my appointment to the charge of this Church, appointed, by the Bishops in Banc, General Book Steward of the A. M. E. Church, and Editor of the Christian Recorder.

        In 1856, I was elected, by the General Conference, to the same offices to succeed Rev. Wm. T. Catto, General Book Steward; Rev. M. M. Clarke, Editor of the Christian Recorder, and, virtually, I was also elected General Book Agent, in the place of Rev. Wm. H. Jones.

        I served alone in these offices until June, 1858, at which time I resigned to take the pastoral work, and was appointed, by Bishops Quinn and Payne, to

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Union Church, Coates Street, Philadelphia, a second time, or, indeed, a third time, because I had been appointed to that charge in April, 1857, to serve the unexpired term of Rev. Charles Sawyer, who died that year.

        In this year, 1858, I was elected President of the Board of Trustees for the Book Concern, and by them appointed their Agent, to collect the outstanding debts of the "Concern," and bookseller. This appointment made me virtually just what I was before my resignation. The Rev. John Cornish was appointed to the charge of Bethel Church, in June, 1857. The following winter he proposed a special effort in his Church for the revival of the work of God. By direction, he said, of the Holy Ghost, he called upon me to conduct that revival meeting; I accepted the appointment, and the result was that I never witnessed such a revival meeting before nor since that time. Not less than 400 souls were converted, 300 of whom joined Bethel Church, Philadelphia, in 1858, between the months of January and May. In 1859 I was appointed, by Bishop Quinn, to the charge of the Wesley Church, Hurst Street, Philadelphia, which I served with acceptance for one year, and with good success; after that, I was appointed to the charge of Trenton, and the oversight of Princeton Circuits, both of which I served two years, from 1860 to 1861. In 1862 I was appointed to the Bethel Church, Philadelphia, by Bishop Nazrey, and re-appointed by him to the same charge in 1863; but in October of that year I resigned that

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charge, and was appointed, by Bishop Payne, to the charge of Waters' Chapel, Tessier Street Mission, and Ebenezer Church, Baltimore, Md. In 1864 I was appointed, by Bishop Payne, to the charge of Ebenezer Church, at the Baltimore Annual Conference, held in Washington City, D. C., for April, 1864; but in the month following, I was elected to the Episcopal office by the General Conference of the A. M. E. Church.

        From 1864 to the present time, (May, 1867,) I have been laboring as one of the Bishops of the Church, principally in the Indiana, Missouri, California and Louisiana Districts; the last two of which were organized into Conference by me in the year 1865.

        Since that time I have traveled, up to this time, from 1864 to 1867, 40,000 miles, preaching and laboring day and night for my people.

        But I must necessarily cease to write more at this time. I have several letters before me, one of which calls for my immediate presence in California; and contains a draft, payable in New York, for $69 in gold; others are calling for my presence at points South and West. It is past 2 o'clock, Saturday afternoon, and I have two sermons to prepare for tomorrow and the day following, one of which must be a Sacramental discourse.

        What I have written is only the running notes, from which it was my intention to have written a decent article.

        I would not send you these imperfectly arranged notes, but for two reasons; first, I do not want you

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to think I treat your forthcoming book with indifference, and yourself with contempt; second, as a representative man among my people, I would not like to be left out of that class of men in your book altogether.

        Such are the reasons I have to give you for sending you my fly-sheets; if you cannot make out of them what you want, send them back to me by return mail; if the time of your publication or going to press will admit, I will write out my intended article from them for you; don't fail to do this if the time will permit. But if not, I hope that you may be able to gather a few facts from these fly-sheets, which were never intended for your eyes to see."

        The foregoing sketch, as the reader sees, is from the Bishop's own head and hand, with a slight "cornering off" by the writer. Whilst writing it, he never intended that any eyes should see this first draughting, not even the eyes of the writer of the Apology. The pressure of business, however, compelled him to transmit it, and the author, valuing the substance more than the style, asked permission to publish, and received for a reply: "You are at liberty to dispose of my fly-sheets or notes in whatever way you may feel or judge to be most adapted to your particular purpose."

        The author could not possibly have given as correct a portrait of the Bishop had he possessed the skill of a professed artist; and as it is his wish to have every character to appear in his true light, he has not hesitated, as in the case of Bishop Wayman. to insert the original articles.

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        Few Americans can boast of as honorable an ancestry as Bishop Campbell. How would some of our Senators boast if they could write: "Both of my grandfathers were soldiers in the Revolutionary war!" They would insist that it should give them precedency to the White House.

        Of low stature, and close built, he gives evidence of having decended from a hardy stock; so, too, the fact that, for the last three years, he has traveled full forty thousand miles, show him to be capable of a soldier's endurance.

        Possessing muscles as well as brains, he is just the man for the Methodist itinerancy, and especially in days like these, when the spoil is to be gobbled up, and he is to get the most who is strongest and wisest.

        May the Church long be blessed with the labor of his hands, and heart, and head.

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CHAPTER VI.
GENERAL OFFICERS OF THE A. M. E. CHURCH.

        THE officers designated as above, are those who are elected by the General Conference, at each of the regular quadrennial sessions. They are the Corresponding and Recording Secretary of the Parent, Home and Foreign Missionary Society, with the Treasurer of the same the Publisher and the Editor of the Christian Recorder.

(A.)
THE CORRESPONDING SECRETARY.

        The gentleman elected in Philadelphia, in 1861, to fill this most important position, was the Rev. John M. Brown. He still performs its onerous duties, with his office, at No. 49 Holliday Street, Baltimore, Md. With talents of a high order, he is well qualified for the post. Having already served the Church for nearly a quarter of a century, lie is still in the most vigorous manhood and, from appearance, gives promise for another score years or more of work.

(B.)
THE RECORDING SECRETARY.

        He is the writer of the present Apology.

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(C.)
THE TREASURER.

        A man of means, and long identified with the interests of the Church, the General Conference elected in the person of James H. Davis, a layman of Baltimore who now holds the strings of the missionary purse. He had kept his own money so well until, from a poor apprentice boy he had arisen to a man who counts his money by the thousands, the Conference concluded that he would make an excellent one to keep the missionary money. Elected unanimously, he has uniformly given satisfaction to the members of the Society with whom he is called specially to act.

(D.)
THE PUBLISHER.

        Elisha Weaver, the gentleman who has twice been elected to this most arduous post, may be aptly characterized as the "man indefatigable "-- a very representative man of his Church -- the Church that never recognized the legitimacy of the word "fail" -- the Church that does the most work on the least capital of any Christian organization in the land. Leaving North Carolina, his birth State, after a month's travel, he brought up at Paoli, Indiana. Having attended the Quaker schools which bless that State, we find him, in 1846, teaching school under the auspices of his Quaker friends. In 1852 he

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obtained permission of Bishop Quinn and the Conference, which he bad joined some three years before, (1849) to go to Oberlin College, where he remained but a few months, less than a year, Bishop Payne having called him into active service.

         During the years of '57 and '58, he published, at Indianapolis, on behalf of the Literary Society of the Indiana and other Conferences, the "Repository of Religion and Literature," a monthly magazine, only beloved since its death.

        It was in the year 1859 that his brethren, of the Philadelphia Conference, who seem fully to appreciate his energy and business tact, elected him to the office of Publisher and Editor, which action was confirmed by the General Conference of 1860.

        We have spoken of this officer as the "man indefatigable," for without such qualities, success in the work assigned him would have been simply impossible.

        A perfect stranger as to what others may think of him, he stops not to enquire, but hastens on to the accomplishment of the purpose be has in view. A friend quaintly described him as the man whose first question is: "How do you do? and the second, Will you subscribe for the Recorder ?"

        And herein be succeeds when other men would fail. May he live long.

(E.)
THE EDITOR.

        Since the adjournment of the last General Conference,

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this most responsible post has been filled by two gentleman. The first was the Publisher, of whom notice has already been taken; but the double labors of Editor and Publisher was too much for him; consequently the Rev. James Lynch was appointed to the editorial chair. A young man of singular maturity, lie conducted the Christian Recorder for sixteen months in a manner that redounded not a little to the credit of the whole connexion.

        In June last (1867) he tendered his resignation to the Trustees of the Book Concern, which was reluctantly accepted, and the Publisher was once more seated in the editorial sanctum.

        To show what was thought of the Rev. Mr. Lynch, as an Editor within the Church, we insert the following, which was passed at a meeting of the Trustees, held June 13th,1867

        " WHEREAS, Rev. James Lynch, Editor of tile Christian Recorder, tendered his resignation, and we have reluctantly accepted it;

        Resolved, That we believe his course has been highly honorable to the Trustees of the Book Concern and Connexion, and also highly acceptable to the Trustees, Connexion and community.

        Resolved, That we tender him our thanks, and that he carry with him an assurance of our prayers."

        To show what was thought of him withoutour Church, we quote the following from the New York Christian Advocate, when noticing his resignation:

"It is fitting that we should say that Mr. Lynch has made the Recorder a really live paper, abounding
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in denominational information, and presented in a form attractive to his readers. His position, with regard to the question of affiliation with the M. E. Church, and the M. E. Church, South, has been one of great delicacy, but he has acted with marked prudence and shrewdness. He has proved a true and useful friend to the interests of the A. M. E. Church."

        The gentleman has since left the Connexion, and joined the M. E. Church.

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CHAPTER VII.
THE PHILADELPHIA DISTRICT.

        IT was within the bounds of this Conference that the African M. E. Church was organized, as we have seen, in Philadelphia City, April, 1816; hence, although, it is mentioned second in the Book of Discipline, we adjudge that its name should appear first. Its boundary embraces Philadelphia City, and all that part of Pennsylvania lying east of the Alleghany Mountains, and north of the Susquehanna River, including Wrightsville, south of said river; all of Delaware State; all of New Jersey, except Riceville and Rumsen."

        This Conference, as early as 1822, could boast of a membership of 4,000; at the session held in May, 1867, the number reported was 6,440 -- an increase of only 2,440. The population, to whom access was possible, cannot be less than 60,000, and yet, from this vast multitude, but 2,440 have been gathered in, and that, too, after forty-five years' work!

        It is true that other denominations have been at work, but their success has been no greater than our own, if we are to judge from the fact that St. Thomas (the zeal of whose past Rectors and Vestrymen has equalled that of the Watchmen, of any the other Christian bodies) has confirmed only 272 between the years 1834 and 1860.

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        It is a question of the most vital importance, Why this meagre returns to the Lord? Surely one party to the holy compact has been unfaithful. But the Lord is faithful.*

        * II Thess. iii: 3.


Wherein then consists the faithlessness of the several Churches, and especially the A. M. E. Church, whose first business it is to hunt up the poor. How comes it that, under the influence of the A. M. E. Church, the whole West has been brought as a tribute to the Lord; while Philadelphia, its birth place, has well nigh stood still? Can it not be accounted for on another than the general principle, that no prophet hath honor in his own country?

        We think it may be partially accounted for on the idea or fact that when crowds of poor people will congregate in large cities, they will become idle; and this is more true if there be a prejudice against them, as was the case here--a prejudice that debarred them from almost every employment; and who does not know that idleness is the mother of vice? There is no hope for a lazy man, or a lazy people; of necessity they degenerate in morals, for who can keep the mind still? Hence Paul Says: "If any work not, neither should he eat;"*

        *II Thess. iii: 12.


 which we would paraphrase: "If any will not work, and thus fulfil the object of his creation, neither should he eat, that he may die, and cease to cumber the earth." Industry and virtue, idleness and vice, these God has joined together, and none can separate them.

        The Churches of Philadelphia want half the number

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of people, that they may get twice the number of souls.

        Let us glance at the reports made at the Conference held in Philadelphia, May, 1867:

        

FINANCIAL STATISTICS.

Contingent Money $ 161 14
Pastor's Support 15 273 70
Sabbath Schools 887 11
Mission Fund 94 85
Bishop's Support 581 81
Super'd Preachers 65 02
Widows et Orphans 59 20
Two Cent Money 179 18
Centenary Money 82 83
$ 17 384 84
Value of Church Property 209 500 00

        

CHURCH STATISTICS.

Travelling Elders 25
Travelling Deacons 5
Travelling Licentiates 4
Local Elders 5
Local Deacons 24
Local Preachers 81
Exhorters 101
Members 5481
Probationers 959
Sabbath Schools. 91
Sabbath Schools Scholars 4197
Sabbath Schools Superintendents 96
Sabbath Schools Teachers 418
Volumes 14377
Churches 99

        The exhibit of the itinerant force of this Conference given, is below its reality. We failed to get the strongest preachers in this Conference. One would naturally look for the tall figure of Wm. Moore, but he is, non est. And where is R. P. Gibbs, as neat as

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Beau Brummell, and Jonathan Hamilton, and Theodore Gould? Non sunt, is the reply. Of the local preachers, we present the name of the strongest and the richest man in the District; while the laity, both the old school and new school, is well represented in the characters given.

ACTIVE MINISTRY.

(A.)
REV. BENJAMIN LYNCH.
ELDER.

        The father of the late Editor of the Christian Recorder, as well as of Miss Jane Lynch, a teacher of no little merit, was born in Baltimore, where he long held communion with the Methodist Episcopal Church as a local preacher. An opportunity presented itself in which to exercise "his gifts and graces," he connected himself with the Baltimore Presbytery, who at once procured him a teacher in the person of the Rev. Mr. Galbreath. Removing from Baltimore, he went to Troy, N. Y., where he continued his studies under the Rev. Mr. Beamen, D. D. Joining the Presbytery there, at the completion of his studies, he received a call from the colored Presbyterian Church of that city, which he accepted, and in due time was regularly ordained and installed into the holy office. In this city, and at that Church, he labored a number of years, when he accepted a call to the colored Congregational Church of Portland, Maine.

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        It was in 1862 that he joined again the African M. E. Church at New York, and received, as his first appointment, Albany Station, at the Capital of the State.

        As a man, the Rev. Benjamin Lynch is characterized by energy; he knows no such word as fail. He remained but two years in Portland; and believing that a better field presented itself on Long Island, he lost no time, and came thither to act as a missionary. Completing that work by the organization of a Church, he handed it over to other hands, whilst he sought the outcast in the city of New York.

        And thus he moves, going where the fields appear whitest for the harvest, regardless of denominational harness. May the active old gentleman and preacher long live!

(B.)
J. W. STEVENSON.
DEACON.

        This well written sketch is from the pen of Rev. W. D. Johnson, a most promising young minister of our Church. He is mentioned elsewhere in our Apology.

        Rev. J. W. Stevenson was born in Baltimore, Md., August 15th, 1835. His parents, John and Ann Stevenson, removed to Trinidad, W. I., in 1812, taking John and five other small children. His father died in less than a year after landing on

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the island. His mother, becoming discontented, returned to the States a widow with seven children--one having been born on the ocean. John was bound out to J. P. Stanley, a stove dealer in Baltimore, and sent to work on his farm near the city. His stay in this situation was very short. He was sold four different times on account of his high spirit. When nineteen years of age, he succeeded in purchasing his time with the earnings of extra labor. Having gained the precious boon, he determined to seek a more Northern climate. He went to Philadelphia, and hired with a barber under the Girard House, where he remained one year. Afterwards he engaged as porter in the drug store of M. Henry Kollock, corner Ninth and Chestnut streets. Mr. Wm. Kearney and his brother, clerks in the store, observing the extraordinary talent which Mr. Stevenson exhibited, commenced to instruct him in medicine. In one year he had made such progress in compounding that he was made a clerk in the store. Mr. Kollock, desiring that he should become a physician for his people, sent him to Dr. Wilson, a colored physician practicing in the city, that he might receive the necessary instruction from an able doctor of his own race. it not being convenient for Dr. Wilson to take him at the time, by the influence of his friends, he was received by Prof. Woodward, with whom he remained five years engaged in his professional studies.

        While at the University, he became alarmed about the salvation of his soul. After six months of deepest

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conviction, God delivered him out of his wretched condition. He joined old Bethel A. M. E. Church, Sixth Street, where he was very active in the Sabbath School. Feeling the weight of souls heavy upon him, he was licensed to exhort in '58, by Rev. W. D. W. Schureman. The next year he was licensed to preach by Rev. Joshua Woodlin. He became the adopted son of Bishop Campbell, from whom he drank in the very essence of the doctrine and laws of Methodism. He was soon taken into the itinerancy by Bishop Nazrey, and sent to the Westchester Circuit, where he succeeded remarkably as pastor and physician. His next appointment was Freehold, N. J., where he was very popular in preaching and in the practice of medicine. He was one of the delegates from the General Conference of '64, to the General Conference of the Zion A. M. E. Church. In the same year he was ordained a Deacon, and sent to Oxford Circuit, where he has remained ever since.

        Lincoln University is at the head of this Circuit. His Church, of which many of the students are members and local preachers, being within a stone's throw of the buildings. He has been a regular student in the University two years; and is pursuing a thorough ministerial education under the patronage of Bishop Simpson and other friends in the M. E. Church. Dr. Stevenson is one of the most prominent students in the institution; his practice of medicine being very large among them, as well as in the neighborhood. Besides these things, the

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Doctor attends faithfully to the four points on his Circuit. He is like the "iron man," Bishop Campbell, in strength and rapidity of motion. He is one of the greatest revivalists in the connexion, and is likely to become the Spurgeon of the A. M. E. Church.

        The offering of the reverend gentleman to our Apology is the conclusion of a lecture delivered in Boston, Mass., Sept. 3d, 1866. His theme was

PHYSIOLOGY.

        "Not one man in a hundred dies a natural death, nearly all are murdered, not suddenly, but by slow degrees. By continual life-long violations of physical and organic laws--by violations more numerous than the hairs on our heads. Such as taking improper food; at improper times and improper quanties. Drinking unwholesome drinks--breathing impure air, often air impregnated with the very seeds of death. Are you not breaking an express law of nature, and therefore sinning? See how true it is that God has not only made the world useful, but also beautiful. He has not only made the sky, but he has given it the softest color of the prism. He has not only hung the stars there, but has made them sparkle gloriously all athwart that high blue dome. He not only condensed the vapor into clouds, but they brighten in gorgeous hues around the sun, or darken in grandeur beneath the storm. He has not only given the springs to run among the hills, but he sprinkles their water on

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high and abroad, until they throw an arc across the abyss, and glitter in the indescribable beauties of the rainbow; and the earth is clothed with greenness and flowers; the mountains lift their battlements, and ocean spreads out its majesty. Look abroad and see how beauty blends with usefulness in the multitude of created things! And what is there in man adapted to all this? What a tender and delicate organ is the eye--paralyze its delicate nerves--quench its light--seal up its eye lids, and all this enchantment, this field of glorious vision disappears. Is it not a duty then to nourish and preserve this portion of the human frame? Look at the hand, a little organ, but how curiously wrought--how manifold and necessary its functions! What an agent has it been for the wants and designs of man? The hand--what would the mind be without it? How has it moulded and made palpable the conceptions of the mind? Removed its obstacles, and gone before it to pioneer its progress. The hand--it wrought the statue of Memnon, and hung the brazen gates of Thebes! It fixed the mariner's trembling needle upon its axis, and first heaved back the tremendous bar of the printing-press. It opened the tubes for Galileo till world after world swept before his vision, and it reefed the high top-sail that rustled over Columbus in the morning breezes of the Bahamas. It poised the axe of the dauntless woodman as he opened the paths of civilization. It turned the magic leaves upon which Milton and Shakspeare inscribed their burning thoughts, and it

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held the sword and gun with which freedom hath fought her battles. It hath unlocked the handcuffs and fetters that bound four million human beings in slavery, and secured the pen that signed the declaration of their emancipation. Who would weaken the hand, then? Would you make it nerveless or useless? If so, would you not break a great physical law of the Creator's own ordaining. You perceive the importance of preserving the health of the body in all its organs. Then let knowledge increase -- let wisdom abound. Let the teacher go forth -- let the pupils be many. Yea, let all become students, and seek to familiarize themselves with their own wonderful nature.

(C.)
REV. PETER GARDNER.
ELDER.

        Men in appearance are very much like the physical earth. Many of our Western plains, level and green, charm the eye, but they have no bottom, or if bottom, it is all mud! A perfect picture of a class of men met every day; men of easy address, and faces not uncomely; men that swing the rattan, and can afford the mustache, but like the Western plains, they have but little solidity. Other men there are of homely physique, like the rugged gold lands of the Pacific, unprepossessing in appearance, and only desired for the gold that is secreted in them. Such a man is Peter Gardner -- not that we would proclaim to the world that he is homely, for men, generally, at the age of seventy-five, do not look half so well; but

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our point is, that in the gentleman named above, there is more of absolute worth, natural and acquired, than any one would suppose. Among the very oldest of our preachers -- for he is five years beyond the allotted three score and ten -- he still is equal to the physical demands of the itinerant life.

        Nor is there many among the young men that can boast of more extensive knowledge in the natural sciences. Bishop Campbell calls him the "chemist." Whilst he was a member of the M. E. Church, Bishop Emory ordained him Deacon, and Bishop Quinn, of the A. M. E. Church, ordained him Elder.

        The following is from his pen:

EDUCATION.

        The general term education, which signifies to be led out of ignorance into literature and science, is far too limited. Education not only implies a knowledge of letters and figures, but it includes a correct training of all parts of man's nature, the physical and moral, as well as the intellectual, so that it may yield its due tribute to satisfy the claims of the others; and it is by wisely training and blending the three together that the true man may be found. Cultivate the physical exclusively, and you are liable to become athletic, but savage; cultivate the moral powers only, and you are likely to become an enthusiast; cultivate the intellectual only, and you are almost sure to have a diseased brain; the physical organization is also liable to suffer. The philosophers and teachers of old paid particular attention

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to physical training. Their teaching was that, to have the highest culture, was to have a sound mind in a sound body.

        Education is a necessary element of success in life; in vain can a man hope to succeed without it. It consists not merely in the accumulation of facts, but in the use of them as well. Knowledge is said to be power, but it is only a means of power; the fact is that knowledge is powerless unless it is reduced to practice. Education may be regarded as reason borrowed at second hand. As the art of restoring health is dependent on the use of physics, so education should be considered in no other light than as the art of restoring to man his natural perfection; this was the end pursued by the youths that attended upon Pythagoras, Socrates and Plato. Their instructions were so many lectures upon the nature of man, his true end, the right use of his faculties, his relation and duties to his God, his duties to his fellowmen, and to himself, upon the necessity of temperance, justice, mercy, truth, and the folly of indulging our passion.

(D.)
REV. JAMES H. A. JOHNSON.
ELDER.

        Was born Dec. 1st, 1835. He received his first instruction from the lips of a mother of more than ordinary intelligence. When but a boy he passed

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under the eye of several pedagogues: first, an old gentleman named Solomon Anderson, then a Quaker, Francis Cochrane, till at last he brought up under the Rev. Wm. Watkins, who has been characterized as "the stern old gentleman who spared neither pains nor rod." From the Watkins' school he engaged as an employee at Kurtz's book store, where he enjoyed a splendid opportunity to gratify that love of books which was a ruling passion. Aside from having a ready access to the books, there was, in the store, a liberal-minded gentleman, Henry Grafton, Esq., who thought a negro might learn something after all; by him the boy "Jimmy" was greatly admired. Thinking it best that he should have a trade, his parents put him to learn "barbering," and during the six years he was thus employed, no inconsiderable part of the time was spent in the well-ordered school of Richard Watkins, the son of William. The years of manhood having come, young Johnson eagerly identified himself with every movement that gave promise of profit to himself, or benefit to his people. Among the founders of the celebrated Galbreath Lyceum, of Baltimore, he was elected its first President, and was, for years, its lecturer. This Lyceum wielded a vast amount of influence, and most deservingly, too, among the thousands of colored Baltimoreans; and during the dark days of slavery, it did more to preserve and improve a taste for the intellectual, than can possibly be reckoned. It was in the exercises of this Lyceum that James Johnson distinguished himself as a

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writer and as a debater, as well as displayed no mean executive obligations as its President. A regular contributor to the "Lyceum Observer," the monthly organ, "Jeems," (his cognomen,) was always read with pleasure; and when the "Baltimore Publishing Company" was organized he was elected to edit its weekly journal, "The Communicator." At the Conference held in Washington city in 1863, the Rev. Mr. Johnson was received into the regular itinerant work, and was immediately transferred to the missionary field of the South, assisting in the organization of the South Carolina Conference, from which he was sent to Edisto island. The labors of a few months in that Southern clime soon prostrated him, and during midsummer he returned home an invalid. Upon his recovering, he was appointed to one of the Virginia missions. He was transferred to the Philadelphia Conference, May, 1867.

        As a writer, he is thoughtful; as a preacher, he is earnest, and altogether he is a man to let the world know that he lives.

        He offers the following:

HUMANITY AND ITS GOOD EFFECTS.

        Political, religious, ethical and scientific subjects, when we think for them on such occasions as do not bind us to any particular class, come up to our minds in such order as makes it difficult to decide upon the class from which to make a selection.

        But as those pertaining to ethics are always useful and interesting, we will take for our present purpose

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as one amongst the most interesting of this class the adaptable subject: "Humanity and its Good Effects."

        This means a great deal, and can be made to mean no more even by saying true humanity. The qualified expression would only mean a proper evincement of humanity by every sentient creature, for humanity essentially implies all that is sincere--all the tender feelings of a man. It is the seraph of his nature shining through an honest heart--intermarried to "an upright disposition"--a disposition to conform to justice and correct moral priciples in all social transactions.

        First, As concerns all rational beings, ripe, warm, and heavenly, it springs from the soul as the Geyser from its source for the benefit of all around it. Then like the ivy clings unto the oak, it clings to the objects of its commisseration free from the practice of deception. Governed by right, in essence the "Golden Rule," and Christ its great example, it inflicts no injury, but bathes itself in beams of sacred light for the good of the whole world. Converging in the very "beauty of holiness" it glows when there is distress of body or of mind;--she expands and rises in proportion to seek for remedies and gives relief when misery stalks before her. Then she shows her worth--displays all her finest features as she puts forth every effort and resorts to every measure for the alleviation of the sufferings of mankind. She then goes to the lowest depth of every resource, and like heaven-blest Sumner struggles

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and sacrifices for the greatest good. She wears a prisoner's chains; lies in dark, damp dungeons; stands the stings of vilifying tongues; gathers up her angelic robes; spreads her golden pinions, and, through the most inclement seasons, goes, in spite of every opposition, to the places of the needy--caresses the poor mourner, feeds the hungry beggar, and warms the chilling habitation.

        Humanity is an angel of light. The Church is her dominion, and the pulpit is her throne. The sceptre which she holds for the good of all mankind, is the scroll that contains the laws of God, and is wielded in the purest love.

        Second, As relates to other living creatures she is even so efficient. Whilst fully susceptible to all the wants of man, she is also conscious of, and flexible to, the sensibility of the brute creation. She has no pleasure in torturing any member of the feathered tribe, or any creature that swims the seas, or any one that roams the land. She is opposed to cruelty, and devises various measures in endeavoring to prevent it. The creatures which subserve the purposes of man are made to experience better treatment than they receive from that inhumanity which makes so many thousands of them mourn.

        She plans for their protection, and labors for their comfort--improves the kennel, the fold and the stable--makes the yoke easier, and the burden lighter.

        Cruelty afflicts poor towser with hunger, overworks the gentle horse and severely goads the patient

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ox. It beats, and maims, and kills. Humanity beholds the sight, raises her hands in tenderness, and, with a bleeding heart, gives a piece of meat, allows a little rest, and speaks in persuasive tones. She makes the donkey know her crib, and love her cheering voice; makes the sheep, and the goat, and the cow all feel abounding joy. "Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace." Hence, the world grows brighter under her regime. Happiness springs up in every village, town and city--bursts from every heart, gleams in every eye, and burns on every lip. It makes music on the rivers and merriment in the fields; sweetens toil and softens care. Health and strength are gained by man and beast. They groan not so frequently, and move with greater facility. Their sports give evidence of their growth in these conditions, and their voices, sounding through the air, spread the declaration--man grows richer and the beast grows fatter. All things are benefitted in every respect by this world-controlling power--heavenborn Humanity. All injurious elements are dispelled, light given to every nation, and man raised nearer to his God. By the debasement of vice and the exaltation of virtue, whilst the beast breathes in pleasure on cruelty's decline, man is elevated to an altitude, from which his soul is made to swell with infinite delight by heaven's "never-withering flowers," and fields "dressed in living green."--Then, as Humanity was wedded to the Son of God, so let her be to every living creature for whom He bled and died.

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LOCAL MINISTRY.

REV. STEPHEN SMITH,
ELDER, PHILADELPHIA.

        Born at the very dawn of this wonderful century, the above named brother seems to have partaken largely of its go-ahead spirit. His parents lived in Dauphin County, Pa., and were poor, giving their son Stephen, as his legacy, a sound body, a well-balanced brain, and unconquerable will. Precious legacies, to be sure. Who would desire better?

        Raised by a lumber merchant, of Columbia, such was the business tact he manifested, that, at the death of his friend he came into possession of his business. Here he remained for years, conducting his affairs in such a way, as disarmed the prejudices of the community, and made the lumber yard of Smith & Co., the leading in that county. He has now retired from all business, and is said to posses a fortune of $300,000, constituting him the richest colored man in the A. M. E. Church, if not in the United States. Owning a beautiful mansion at Cape May, he has, for years, spent the hot months of summer at that delightful retreat.

        But it is the religious life of Stephen Smith that deserves especial attention. He presents the rare spectacle of a man becoming rich without pride, influential without using it to his self-aggrandizement. He is to be ranked almost among the organizers of our Church, having joined it when a young man, in less than two years after the Convention of April,

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1816. Nor has he ceased to be one of its firmest friends. With it, in its days of poverty and weakness, it is one of the joy-thoughts of his heart, that he has lived to see it become the leading colored organization in the land. And to know that he has helped to bring it about! It were hard to find a man, who, on the whole, has done more than he; it is true, he has not lavished his means upon it with a reckless liberality, nor do we know that such a course of action would have proved the best, either for him or the Church. The greatest possible blessing to be conferred by man on man, is to learn him to rely upon himself, to use his own limbs and faculties.

        If one thing more than another has contributed to make the A. M. E. Church what it is, it has been her uncompromising self-reliance. And would she accomplish her destiny to completion, let her not forget herself -- her own head, her own heart. Let not her young men, especially her young minister, learn to depend on other people's purses or brains to go through the world; let them despise crutches though they be golden. Nor should it be understood that Stephen Smith has locked up his money, and heard not the cry of his Church; to the trustees of Bethel Church, he loaned a number of thousands of dollars to complete that magnificent edifice; at Chester, Pa., he bought a Church building, and organized an A. M. E. society; while acting as City Missionary in Philadelphia, he purchased the ground, and built the handsome little structure, Zion's Mission, South Seventh street. Nor has he

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manifested a discreet liberality toward his own Church only. As early as 1841, he built a public hall in Philadelphia, for the accommodation of colored people, which the fearful riot of August, 1842, destroyed with fire.

        But the rich Elder is not only a prudent giver, but he is a worker. In addition to providing buildings, and organizing our Zion at Chester and South Seventh street, he also organized our Church at Wilmington, Del., Germantown and Norristown, N. J.

        Since the day that he first joined, though engaged in the most extensive business, yet would he find time to preach and to work. Few men have a more laborious record in the local capacity. He has been a delegate to every General Conference, excepting the first; he has acted as Teller in the election of every Bishop, since Allen. Licensed to preach in 1826, Bishop Brown ordained him Deacon in 1832, in Bethel, Baltimore; and Elder, in 1836, in Israel Church, Washington, D. C.

        Verging on his three-score and ten, for he was born in the year 1800, he still possesses a robust constitution, and active mind. Living in ease, as he can well afford, he still watches the career of the Church he has helped to organize and build.

        Early married, he lately celebrated his fiftieth marriage day at his beautiful mansion on Lombard street. The wife of his youth, though not possessing desired health, graced the occasion, and with many smiles, greeted those who came to wish, "Long life!"

        Without children, the curious are wondering what

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will be done with the $300,000. They may rest assured that one so prudent as Stephen Smith will not contradict a whole life by the writing of his name!

LAITY.

(A.)
ISAIAH C. WEARS.
LAYMAN, PHILADELPHIA.

        This sketch is from the pen of another layman in our Church, whose name will be remembered when mentioned; the name of P. T. Smith, Esq., late correspondent and assistant editor of the "Anglo-African?"

        "Isaiah C. Wears was born in Baltimore city, Md., in the year 1820. His parents, Samuel and Julia Wears, gave him three years' schooling -- from his sixth to his ninth year. At twelve years of age, he was apprenticed to the Rev. Joshua P. B. Eddy, Sr., at Columbia, Pa., with whom he remained until his twenty-first year, learning the barber trade.

        In the year 1835, Mr. Eddy removed his family to the city of Philadelphia, and Mr. Wears went also. At the age of seventeen, Mr. Wears received three months' half-day schooling, after which he became involved in literary pursuits. The first effort in that direction was the formation of the Garrisonian Institute. He next formed the Platonian Institute, led in its debates throughout its brief existence,

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which was only three years. That institution was superseded by the time-honored literary association "The Philadelphia Library Company." From 1845 to 1861, Mr. Wears led in the debates of this last-named institution.

        The organization now known as, "The Banneker Institute," which is now in a flourishing condition, and an honor to our people in the city of Philadelphia, received much encouragement from the tact, zeal and energy of Mr. Wears. From 1845 to 1861, he was engaged in public debates in most of the issues of the times. Among these may be mentioned the Colonization enterprise. This he opposed in whatever form it was presented. In the anti-slavery ranks he was foremost among those who took the side of the political actionists, as opposed to the exclusive moral suasionists; the former maintaining the anti-slavery character of the Constitution of the United States, the latter asserting it to be pro-slavery. Mr. Wears received a challenge from that eloquent orator, Charles Lennox Raymond, Esq., of Boston, Mass., to discuss this great Constitutional question. He accepted, and the discussion took place in the Masonic Hall, South Eleventh Street, below Pine, and after three nights he found himself master of the situation. Mr. Wears continued to participate in political discussions in organizations of white men, leading there as elsewhere, and discussing all the questions presented up to the close of the war of the Rebellion.

        The foregoing very briefly narrates a few incidents

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in the life of Mr. Wears as touching his connexion with literature and politics, but by far the most interesting fact remains to be mentioned, namely, his Church relationship and labors in that direction.

        During the year 1842, Mr. Wears embraced the religion of Christ, and connected himself with the Union A. M. E. Church, whose edifice stands in Coates Street, below Fifth Street. One year after he had joined Church, his restless mind discovered the anomalous relation which his Church held. He, though young, and almost alone, set himself to work, if not to rectify, at least to arouse others who might be more potential to remedy the glaring evil, and bring about a positive recognition of the Episcopacy in Philadelphia, which, up to that time, had not been fully asserted or acknowledged. It was simply a combination without either head or tail, calling itself a corporation, overshadowing us all, shutting out the light and heat of our glorious connexion from them. To speak against it was as though you were in the Papal Church, speaking against the Pope; to act directly and openly against it was to bring down upon your head a merciless ostracism, ensuring defeat.

        It was necessary therefore to mine and ountermine, and so by unperceived and irregular approaches, take a citadel walled in and defended by all the legal precautions which the Municipal and State authorities could afford. It was, however, taken and held, to the satisfaction of our people, and to the honor and interest of the entire Church.--About

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the year 1841, there appeared a religious sect called Annihilationists; they were nearly all disappointed Second Adventists, whose rallying and centre thought was that immortality does not belong to human nature, but is conferred upon the individual by his connection with Christ. Proverbial as they were--almost every member--as Bible students, the challenge which they threw out and published in the daily papers, was accepted, and white men discussed with them for four months, after which, they retired from the field; not so with Mr. Wears, for every week for nine months he met them, and the result was a split in their organization. Maimed, halt and blind, they may be seen in obscure places with scarcely "a local habitation or a name." They split on the question of annihilation.

        For eighteen consecutive years Mr. Wears has labored assiduously in the Sabbath School attached to his Church, moulding and shaping the youthful minds of the rising Church of the living God. He is ever ready to combat error in whatever form it presents itself, whether in politics, religion or science, and the ready, off-hand manner in which he lays hold of the different questions shows an extraordinary mind.

        It was, perhaps, in 1853 or 1854--the date is not essential--when a man came across the Atlantic ocean to preach infidelity to the American people; his name was Joseph Barker. Having thrown out a challenge to the Christian clergy, Dr. Joseph F. Berg, a clergyman of the German Reformed Church,

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accepted it, and a discussion took place in Philadelphia. From that time infidelity flourished. Meetings were held, and challenges were weekly thrown out to the clergy; newspapers teemed with their impiety, until Mr. Wears attacked their camp with his invincible logic and metaphysics, when the errors of infidelity gradually yielded to the truths of revealed religion, wielded, as they were, by a skilful reasoner. These infidels made a virtue of necessity, and though some were Atheists and others Deists, they made common cause, and met to discomfit the spread of truth. Large halls were rented by them, and they advertised to answer all questions relating to religion, and to satisfy the minds of anxious inquirers after truth. Mr. Barker--who is now a Methodist minister in England, having renounced infidelity,--used to speak often on the authenticity of the Bible. Upon this very topic Mr. Wears met him, and after repeated attacks of his battery of truth, skilfully handled, the camp of the enemy dispersed. Mr. Wears met Mr. Barker, in person, publicly, and put him to silence, and a short time afterward Mr. Barker took passage for Europe, whence he came, discomfited; not by Dr. Berg, not by any D. D., but by a man who, at that time, was not allowed to enter a city railway car, nor to wield a ballot for his own political weal. To say that Mr. Wears is a prodigy, is most true, but even that needs qualification to show in what his greatness consists: as a logician, he has few equals and no superiors in the higher ranks of society; as a meta-physician,

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he is equally high in the estimation of those who are competent to judge of such matters, and as a theologian, he ranks eminently high, though only a lay member of the Church. A room 10×12 will hold comfortably all who openly avow infidelity in Philadelphia, so greatly have they diminished since the days of Barker, when they counted their numbers by hundreds.

        Few persons could do justice to Mr. Wears in a biographical notice, however extended, much less to give it in brief space. Let those, therefore, who read these brief allusions, consider them merely as a faint endeavor to show untiring zeal, well-directed energy, properly applied intellect and mental stability in one who, though born among the lowly, identified among the despised, yet, whose genius, soars far above those in more favored circumstances."

(B.)
WILLIAM C. BANTON.
LAYMAN, PHILADELPHIA.

        The superintendent of the mailing department of our book concern, is the young gentleman named above. Born in Philadelphia, Pa., in 1843, he began to drink in the pure waters of wisdom, which flow so perpetually and so plentifully in that city, but a father's death called him away from the brook. Though he cannot claim the honor of graduating from the celebrated High School, yet is he a man of respectable English attainments.

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        Converted in his sixteenth year, he joined Bethel A. M. E. Church, where his ability and devotion to duty gradually brought him forward; until he was selected as the Chief Superintendent of that flourishing Sabbath School, numbering full 500 pupils. This tribute to talent will be better appreciated when it is remembered that in many of our Churches there is much active opposition to young men, and Bethel has it in common with others. It met William C. Banton at the door; one of the most influential of the old men said, "That it did not speak well for Bethel Church, if, with all her male members, they had to elect a boy superintendent."

        Nothing discouraged, the youthful Superintendent went to work. His teachers ably supported him, and admirable, indeed, has been the success. In numbers and in discipline the school is rapidly advancing. Let me whisper a word in the ear of the beloved fathers of our Zion, "Stop opposing young men; the Church you organized needs them; your ranks are getting fearfully depleted; call them up to take your places, and give them the dying blessing, 'Boys, be faithful!' "

        It was in 1865, that Bro. Banton entered the Book Concern as its Chief Clerk. He has become invaluable by reason of business tact and reliability. The brethren of the whole Connexion have learned to confide in him, to love him. He promises to do good work for the Church. May his life be prolonged and may his zeal never grow less. We clip the following from a late issue of the Recorder:

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        "W. C. Banton, Superintendent Bethel Sabbath School, is delegated to the State Sabbath School Convention soon to meet in this city. We understand the Convention will make no distinction on account of color."

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CHAPTER VIII.
THE BALTIMORE DISTRICT.

        THE boundary of this District, as defined by the last General Conference, and as found in the Discipline, is as follows: "Baltimore Conference shall include all the State of Maryland, District of Columbia, East Virginia, North and South Carolina, and all that part of Florida lying east of the Chattanooga river, also Georgia, and that part of the State of Pennsylvania lying east of the Alleghany mountains, and north of the Susquehanna river, except Wrightsville on the south. Harrisburg, north of the Susquehanna, remains in the Baltimore Conference."

        The colored population contained within these bounds, numbers full one million seven hundred thousand souls. Of course, such a boundary could be but temporary. Slavery had no sooner surrendered to Liberty at the Appomattox, and the missionaries allowed to pass the charred gates of the black and ruined city, than it was found necessary to apportion off four new Districts; the South Carolina District, organized May 15, 1865, the Virginia District, May 10, 1867, the Georgia District, May 30, 1867, and the Florida District, June 8, 1867.

        The Baltimore District, as now constituted, has little

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more than the State of Maryland, and the District of Columbia, with a a colored population that will not fall short of two hundred thousand. The members of this District have long had the complacent thought that it stood as chief among its brethren, and they have baptised it the Banner Conference; but Bishop Wayman, in his jocular manner, avows that it has lost the Banner! and that, henceforth, his Conference, the Philadelphia, must take precedence!

        In soberness it can scarcely be gainsaid that Baltimore Conference is one of the leading, if not the leading District in the connexion; and especially is this true in regard to the two subjects, Missions and Education. Her claims to precedence in regard to the former was acknowledged at the General Conference of 1864, by constituting her the head and heart of the Missionary movement of the whole Church. Every active officer of the Parent Society was selected from among the members of this Conference.

        Nor has the Church had occasion to complain of the confidence reposed in this District in view of the rich harvest that has been reaped. Through the guidance of the officers elected in '64, not less than 75,000 members have been added to the roll of the A. M. E. Church. But it should not be presumed that this grand work has been done without help. Philadelphia gave nobly, both in men and money; little New York gave men, and 'littler' New England gave the widow's mite. The Districts of the West mainly put forth their strength in the Mississippi valley.

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        So, too, in regard to Education, Baltimore District has no occasion to blush at her past record. Her heart has been wedded to Wilberforce, and though it is afar off, she has given not only hundreds, but thousands, to make that undertaking a glorious success.

        At the meeting of the Conference immediately after the negotiation of Bishop Payne had been made public, the following resolution among others, was passed:

        1st. We highly approve of the action of Bishop Payne, in the purchase of Wilberforce University * * * and regard it as the most hopeful event in the history of the African M. E. Church.

        In the following year (1864) they say, "It is our imperative duty to make that property (Wilberforce) shine."

        In 1865, after the buildings had been destroyed by fire, they say,

        "Resolved, The Baltimore Annual Conference, sends greetings to the Trustees of Wilberforce, and bids them look up in this the hour of their trial, begging leave to tender the advice that they call a general meeting of the Board to assemble June 1st, 1865, and at once enter into ways and means whereby our beautiful house will rise Phoenix-like from the ashes, to a strength and beauty that will be perpetual."

        In 1866, they say, "Wilberforce still pleads like Rachel bereft of her children. Disconsolate doth she sit in dust and ashes, and in her sackcloth array, pleads for help. Shall she not have it?"

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        In 1867, they say, "We all felt sad when we learned that our cherished university had been laid in ashes, but now our hearts are gladdened to learn that the entire foundation is laid, and that one wing of the building is under cover."

        Nor were these all empty words, but at their utterance, monies were given by the hundreds. But enough.

        The reports made May, 1867, were as follows:

        

FINANCIAL STATISTICS.

Salary of ministers $5,559 35
Board of ministers 8,385 36
Fuel 1,123 20
Rent 1,541 35
Contingent 55 73
Bishop 689 23
Worn-out preachers 92 41
Widows et Orphans 83 72
Book Concern 118 40
Sabbath Schools 1,524 91
Church Mission Society 899 70
S. S. Mission Society 438 78
Deficiency 10 72
Centenary Money 193 80
S. S. Centenary 23 36
Wilberforce 135 76
Total $20,875 78
Value of Churches, Parsonages, &c $218,650 00

        

CHURCH STATISTICS.

Members 6,017
Travelling Elders 26
Travelling Deacons 4
Travelling Licentiates 4
Local preachers 119
Exhorters 71
Sabbath School Superintendents 72
Sabbath School Teachers 480
Sabbath School Scholars 5,534
Churches 59
Parsonages 6

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        The gentlemen whose sketches now follow, may be regarded as the leading members of the District, and we beg to introduce the reader to them, hoping he will find them not altogether unworthy of his company.

ACTIVE MINISTRY.

(A.)
DANIEL W. MOORE.
ELDER.

        No sketch-book of African Methodist preachers, however brief or extended, would be complete without a notice of this sturdy old gentleman. Low of stature, with lips given to curl, a mind that is pointed, and heart most true, he is a man of absolute worth; and while Maryland has produced many colored men more intellectual, she has produced none about whom there is so little waste. Our globe has fruitful valleys, but, likewise, desert plains; it has waters rich as nectar, and as sweet, but likewise springs that fitly may be termed mara; with much that is useful, our globe has much of waste. It is thus with man; he, too, has much waste in him, but D. W. M. has as little as most men. Of good judgment, a conscience much like the "Touch Me Not," the old man's counsel is always just.

        In fact, his virtues are his faults. His virtue, of a true deference to law, leads him to disregard all palliating circumstance; his only question is, "What

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saith the law?" His virtue, of a true independence, leads him to treat with perfect contempt the world's opinions; he cares nothing for them, and never allows them to sway his action in the least. His virtue, of an abiding faith in the truth, impassioned and simple, leads him to disregard the least effort at reaching the heart, and stirring up the life. He would have made a superb Bishop of the Catholic hierarchy.

        We have spoken of what Nature has done for him; let us now see what he has done for himself. When a boy he learned to read in a way creditable to him, and at sixteen he was conducting the first Sabbath School he ever saw, in one of the Maryland counties. Coming to Baltimore in 1827, he attached himself to the Sabbath School of the Colored Presbyterian Church, where he taught for seven years, though holding membership in the African M. E. Church.

        It was in 1839, that he joined Ebenezer, where, as Superintendent of the Sabbath School, instructor of a large Bible Class of adults, mainly his teachers, as well as a day school, he spent his time most profitably till the year 1849; two years later, he joined the Baltimore Conference, where he has ever continued.

        Unpretentious as to what he knows, D. W. Moore may yet be classed among our best-read men. A lover of books, he always has them by him. As early as 1843, he wrote a letter to Editor Hogarth, "On the Education of the Ministry," which letter

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is published in Bishop Payne's book. He thus expressed himself in regard to that all-important subject, "Let the two resolutions adopted by the Annual Conference in Cincinnati, in 1838, be carried out to the very letter, by every Elder, Deacon and preacher throughout the Connexion; let none enter into the ministry before he or they understand the plan of redemption * * *for I am of the opinion it is mockery to send a person to teach, and know not what he teaches." He is well-read in the English branches, as well as in ancient history, sacred and profane. For a number of years previous to the Conference of April, 1866, he was a member of the Executive Board of the Missionary Society, and none was more valued for his business tact; enquiring as to its prosperity one day, and being told it was not as successful as was desirable, he exclaimed, "I'm glad I'm not in it, for they would lay all to my old fogyism."

(B.)
REV. JOHN J. HERBERT.
ELDER.

        We present not the name of this brother for what he knows, and yet he knows more than most men ever learn, to wit: that he knows but little. Bro. Herbert makes no pretensions as to knowledge, is desirous only to be recognized as one of the workers in the A. M. E. Church. Or, as he said at the Conference of May, 1866, in Israel Church, Washington,

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D. C.: "If the old men had not polished the marble, they would insist on having the credit of digging it out of the quarry."

        Though uneducated, yet has he a marvellous appreciation of wisdom. Since the Wilberforce enterterprize has been on foot, no member of the Baltimore Conference, no member of the A. M. E. Church, has labored more zealously in his sphere, nor given more liberally as to his means. On this latter score, the score of giving, we are not sure, but to him belongs the pre-eminent honor of giving the most money to that grand project. From his scanty purse, $200.00 in cash was his offering to the cause of education. Other men there are of ten times the wealth and education, but none has equaled the liberal donation of "Honest John," as Bishop Wayman characterizes him. Not only has he given, but his daughter was there as a student for a number of terms, and he is now on the eve of sending a son.

        As a testimony of respect for his deep interest, he has lately been elected one of its trustees, in company with Chief Justice Chase and Major. General Howard. Surely the lowly man is exalted, and the princes of the nation esteem not their robes. In after years the name of the beloved John J. Herbert will be remembered. He offers

"THE IGNORANCE OF OUR RACE."

        After a cold and dreary winter, while I was contemplating upon the cheerful nature of Spring, as well as its living aspect, I looked upon the oak, and

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saw how winter had bereft it. It reminded me of the ignorance of our race; how that the strong winds of the law had slammed to the school doors against them, and the deep snows of prejudice had so covered the way that they were lost, and like the oak, they stood bereft of all intellectual beauty. In the spring time, the tender buds, driven by the sap, will appear, and the oak will put on its beautiful green garment. So is it with our people. Spring time has come, and soon the green garment of intelligence will be put on. Thanks be to the Giver of all good gifts.

(C.)
SAVAGE L. HAMMOND.
ELDER.

        This sketch is from the pen of the Rev. E. W. Hammond. now a member of the Baltimore Conference, and son of the gentleman of whom it treats.

        Rev. S. L. Hammond was born in Accomac Co., Virginia, November 25th, 1814. He was not blessed with the advantages of an early education. The laws of the State did not allow, much less give any encouragement to schools designed for colored youth. When about 23 years of age, he came to Baltimore, when he bethought himself that something else was needed e'er he could be a man, even a knowledge of books. In 1835 he hired to a Mr. Rudenstine, a German; it was there that he was taught the letters of the alphabet, by the two daughters of his employer, to whom he paid six cents a week as

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tuition. He learned so rapidly that in the space of six weeks he could read. These two young ladies continued to teach him until he could read well and cipher. He then attended the Night school of the Rev. Mr. Livingston, Rector of the St. James' Episcopal Church, also, the school kept by the Rev. Messrs. Ward and Lorely, of the Presbyterian Church. Thus having a taste, his thirst for knowledge increased as he advanced in years, and he continued to go on laboring and studying. In fact all his leisure time was spent at his books, for he felt persuaded that God was preparing him for future usefulness. A new era now dawned upon him, he resolved to devote himself to the ministry. Having gone to Philadelphia, he was directed by divine Providence to form the acquaintance of Rev. D. A. Payne, who manifested a great deal of interest in his education. He directed him what books to study, and formed a class of young men to study Theology under Dr. Kurtz, of Gettysburg Seminary. He studied theology and Church history under him for some time. Rev. D. A. Payne having been stationed at Bethel Church, Baltimore, Md., he became a pupil under him where he studied English Grammer, Geography, Intellectual and Moral Philosophy, Natural Philosophy, Natural Theology, Moral Ethics, Logic--since that time, Greek and Latin Grammars under Dr. Roan, of Baltimore. He has occupied many positions of honor and trust, having been appointed delegate to three General Conferences, and for years acted as Chairman of the Committee

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on examining candidates for "Orders and Admission" into Conference; he was assistant Editor of the Repository, Chairman of the Revising Committee at the last General Conference, as well as Chairman of the Committee on Semi-Centenary.

        As a minister the Rev. Mr. Hammond is distinguished for his ability; he cannot fail to attract attention as a man of thought. His character as a Christian minister has won him many friends, both white and colored. He has also been very successful in his ministry--his charges being always visited with the outpouring of the Spirit.

        The following is from his pen:

"THE EDUCATION OF OUR MINISTRY."

        This great drawing out principle, on the wings of inspiration as it were, is rapidly spreading its benign influence from east to west, from north to south. The small leaven of knowledge first planted by our venerable fathers, has gradually spread, until its influence is felt by nearly all. The old men convinced that Education is one of the essential qualities of a christian Minister have advocated it, and the young men catching the inspiration, have fearlessly armed themselves with it, in order to battle against ignorance. It is clearly demonstrated to be essential because, as teachers of the people we must first give evidence of having been taught ourselves.

        God demands it, because as stewards of the household of faith, we are to give a strict account of our stewardship; our talents are to be improved; we are

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to show by our diligent and earnest application to study, that we are obeying the inspired injunction, "Study to show thyself an approved workman unto God." Like well trimmed lights we are to lead those who are in darkness. Another great argument is, That the man of God must be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto every good word and work.

        The honor and success of the Gospel depends much upon the education and piety of those who preach it. With those two great levers in our hands, the success of the Gospel is certain. The huge gates of ignorance must give way; God leading the army we will march onward; and lift up the Standard, to which thousands may flock, and receive the heaven imparted instruction which will make them wise unto salvation.

        Our prospects for the future are great, many of our young men have gone to Institutions of learning in order to prepare themselves for greater usefulness. Daily is the bulwarks of "Zion" becoming strengthened by the votaries of Education. "Multitudes are in the valley of decision." The strongholds of sin grow weaker. They quail before the onward march of equipped workmen. Thousands of banners, streaming high, invite men to feasts of rightly divided truth, while the huge monster Ignorance is struggling in the last agonies of death. Let our motto be Onward! our watchword, More light! and the powers of darkness must tremble before the Captains of the Lord's host.

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(D.)

REV. WM. H. HUNTER.
ELDER.

        Tall, broad-shouldered and erect, stands the once Chaplain of the 4th Maryland U. S. C. T. He was appointed by President Lincoln, Sept. 23, 1863, and when he is arrayed in army dress, he looks every whit a soldier. But not only has he the physique of a soldier, but he possesses in an eminent degree those qualities which enable one to lead and to command, without which there could be no soldiers, or no officers rather. He is a native of North Carolina, but brought to the nominally free States at an early age.

        A youth in his teens, and living in Newark, N. J., he had the reputation of being a "hard case" especially as a fighter. He was like the English, of whom it is said, that in dealing with enemies, "it is a word and a blow, but often the blow comes first."

        Thus was it with young Hunter; no youth in the neighborhood cared about coming in contact with him; his physical strength--his daring, made him to be dreaded. And yet withal there was a germ of manliness and honor about him, that compelled him to be respected as well as dreaded. His faithfulness to a friend was notorious: nothing could quench it; no fear of personal danger, or legal prosecution could restrain his right arm when lifted in defence of a friend.

        Possessing these traits, he was just the man to do,

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when once converted, as good service for the Lord as he was doing for the Devil. The servants, and especially the ambassadors of the Lord must have muscle, and courage, and faithfulness, as well as the servants of the Devil. Of all the Hebrew youth, upon whom the Lord looked, none was so fit, to stand before kings and the philosophers of Greece, as the muscular, the courageous, the faithful Saul. In fact, truth must be defended as well as error, and to defend it, the same powers are often needed, indeed they are the same traits of soul turned to a different and better account. It was the same tongue that consented to Stephen's death, that afterwards extolled the glories of the Cross.

        The Lord saw traits in William Hunter that He needed, as well as the Devil, and he enlisted them on His side. Once in the Church, it is not to be expected that he would long remain unknown, long be a private. The energy of his soul, and its native powers could not there be restrained, nor was it intended. The very occasion of his calling, was that he should be a leader in Israel; and true to himself, he very soon took the obligations of a minister; and the very traits that made him valuable to the Devil, made him equally valuable to the Church and the truth. He is the same muscular, courageous and faithful Wm. H. Hunter, ever ready to adorn the principle, "a word and a blow, but often the blow first." But he strikes not now the truth, but error: not God, but Satan.

        Where such energy is displayed, it should always

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be tempered by a well trained intellect. Paul must first sit at the feet of Gamaliel.

        Chaplain Hunter well understood the principle, and consequently he has let no occasion pass when it was possible for him to improve his mind. When itinerating the Pennington Circuit, he studied quite a year at Ashmun Institute, now Lincoln University. While serving the Church at Georgetown, D. C., he studied under Rev. J. G. Butler, D. D., of the English Lutheran Church; at the expiration of this year in Georgetown, the Literary Society of the Baltimore Conference, pleased with his deportment and his talents, sent him to Wilberforce, where he remained quite a number of terms, when he returned again to labor within its bounds.

        We have alluded to his appointment as Chaplain in the Army. It is to be said to the credit of the African M. E. Church, that it gave the first two of the colored Chaplains enrolled in the U. S. service, Rev. H. M. Turner and W. H. Hunter, both of whom acquitted themselves with satisfaction to the government, and with honor to their Church -- and both of whom have returned within her bosom, and are now doing valiant service.

        A young man yet, Bro. Hunter gives promise of years of usefulness to his Church and the cause of truth -- a man in whatever position he may be put, he will do his part. A natural leader his influence is yet more powerfully to be felt in shaping the destiny of his Church; may his muscles become stronger, his head wiser, and his heart humbler.

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(E.)

REV. JAS. A. HANDY.
ELDER.

        Few men can boast of a mind so evenly balanced, as the writer of the article, Progression. Born in Maryland, the mother of many eminent black men, but barren in the production of great white men, if we except the late H. Winter Davis and the living Judge Bond. Jas. A. Handy, by nature, is the peer of any, and gives promise to equal the most advanced in art. Reared up by an uncle, into whose hands he was committed on the death of his mother, he was debarred of even the commonest school advantages. In his own words, the horse and saw were his books, while the wood-wharf was his school-room. Sent to Sabbath school, with no higher motive than to keep him out of mischief, he there first tasted the sweets of school books; and to taste with him, was to indulge. Four months at a night school was the sum total of his school days; but to such minds the teacher and the school-room are desirable, but not necessary; they accept them if possible, but stop not to shed a tear at their absence; like the Christian, they press forward to the mark. Just here we sandwich in the query, Whether, after all, too much stress is not laid upon the school-room and the master? Joining a mental and moral improvement society, denominated the "Lewis G. Wells," the year 1844, brought to him brighter hopes. In the exercises

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of this society, he received a burning desire for his intellectual improvement. It was in the year 1853, that he made a public profession of love to Christ, and joined Bethel A. M. E. Church; three years later he was elected one of the trustees, and at the organization of the board, was elected its secretary. In 1859 he was chairman of a committee, appointed by his Church, to negotiate terms of agreement between Zion Chapel, Wesleyan Zion Chapel, and the A. M. E. Church, which resulted in the acquirement of Water's Chapel to our Connexion.

        He received the license of a local preacher in 1860; two years later he joined the itinerant ranks, receiving as his first appointment Union Bethel Church, Washington, D. C. After two years of successful ministration at this post, he was sent to Emanuel Church, Portsmouth, Va. -- a most important Station indeed, whence he was ordered further South to superintend the mission work in North Carolina, as well as to assist in the organization of the S. C. Conference.

        As a man, Bro. Handy is characterized by a frankness and decision, which at times assume even an air of rudeness. He is an earnest preacher, as well as thoughtful, and his ministrations are crowned with uniform success. He is, in the broadest sense, a progressive man; was first to introduce the order of the Sons of Temperance into Baltimore, also the I. O. of G. L., and D. of S. into the State of Maryland; and he receives the credit of ranking high in the nic fraternity. Last but not least, he was the

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Baltimore agent of the Underground Rail Road and Telegraph Company for the year 1858-9-60. Jas. A. Handy knows how to obey his superiors, respect his equals, and command his inferiors.

"PROGRESSION."

        That magic word, Onward! is interwoven with our very being. Onward is the world's watchword! On ward is the key-note of the Church! Onward her battle cry! The school boys say Onward to a higher place in class, school or college! The young man starting out in life, as he leaves the college, the factory or the shop, stepping into responsible manhood, says, Onward! and when he has reached the first, the tenth, the twentieth round or more in progress, he still says, Onward! The statesman, grappling with great questions of State policy, or intricate questions of international law, plants himself upon the rock of truth and right, with trumpet voice he proclaims to his country and the world, Onward! The wise philosophers, the men of science, the workers amongst iron, fire, steam and lightning, while they fill the earth with books, while they beautify the land with temples, colleges and schoolhouses; while they crowd the great deep with countless steam and sail ships of commerce; while they chain continent to continent with massive links of wire; while they compel the proud Atlantic to bear up the cable while Europe talks with America; these men of genius, as they stand upon the highest round of progress that the nineteenth century has developed,

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they still point Onward! Eventful is the day in which we live. Fortunate is he who lives today, and has the happy privilege of helping the world on ward. The waves of progress kiss the strand of every continent. These mighty developments in the onward march of the age tell us of the great changes that are taking place; men are determined, the people are in earnest; the nation means that right, not might, shall prevail. America will yet do justice to her sable children; while I write, the sound of clapping hands and the shouts of rejoicing thousands fall upon my listening ear. Manhood suffrage is conferred upon the black man of the District of Columbia by the United States Congress. This is progression; the chattel is a human being; though black, the negro is a man; the former slave is a voter. Glory to God. Onward is the motto of the American Congress; the passage of this bill is but a prelude to a sequel. Universal manhood suffrage is the ultimation of the great American rebellion. Coming events cast their shadow before them. They are wise who prepare to meet and perform their duties in the momentous unfoldings which are foreshadowed. In times like these, strange times, passingly strange times, when changes are so thorough, ramifying through the entire political and social system of the nation; when institutions as old as the country totter, tumble, fall; when prejudice (that hydra-headed monster of American origin) gives away; when five millions of individuals are transformed from chattels to men; when they are removed

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from the back ground to the fore ranks in the affairs of the nation. This is progress--progress in the right direction. But this progression brings with it responsibility. Are we prepared? Have we competent leaders? Remember that we have always been directed by others in all the affairs of life, (the A. M. E. Church being an honorable exception.) They have furnished the thoughts, while we have been passive instruments in their hands, acting as we were acted upon. We need a new set of leaders--men that believe in God and revere his holy word. The times demand, the onward movings of the age require that our leaders should be men that firmly rely and trust in God. In a word, we want Christian intellectuality to lead the moving millions onward. Men that will teach us to cast behind the dark days of ignorance, superstition, self-debasement, and all the concomitant evils of slavery; men that will teach us to raise up our heads, our hearts, our brains, our whole man to receive the great light which is bursting in upon us. The world is moving. We are determined to move with it.


                         Onward, onward, is our motto,
                         Let betide us good or ill;
                         Onward, onward, is our watch-word,
                         This shall be our motto still.

(F.)

REV. W. D. W. SCHUREMAN.
ELDER.

        The A. M. E. Church throughout its whole borders

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has no more popular a preacher than the reverend gentleman named above. Descended from a preacher, and among the very strongest in his day, he has inherited all his pulpit power, even with interest; and to-day, wherever it is known that "Bro. Schureman" is going to preach, there the people flock; not strangers who have never heard, but the people to whom he regularly ministers. There is such a power in his discourses, that his congregation are held spell-bound! What is that power? We have heard him, and during our earthly pilgrimage we have heard a great many preachers say less, and a few say more, but none of whom could draw the people--draw them and keep them. Where then is the secret power of this brother, whereby he is enabled to so preach that he is always new, always charming to the mass? We answer: It is in the eyes, the gestures, the symbolic preaching, the perfect knowledge of human nature. He is a perfect adept at breaking into the hearts of the people. His words come like heated balls, and knowing precisely where to strike and when, they go through, and the heart-city is taken by storm. We speak of his eyes; he looks right at you, and you are magnetized.

        He was born at the Capitol of the nation, April 29th, 1825. His parents were among those faithful few who, in the midst of much derision, organized the A. M. E. Church. His mother was a most godly woman; and, able to read herself, she acted as teacher to her children.

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        A peculiar history, indeed, would that be which gave the first thoughts of God, which children have, His being, His nature. Could such a history be truthfully given to the world, it might teach it a lesson. The first independent prayer of our childhood, and we remember it distinctly, was that God would save us as he saved Noah in the ark. But let us turn to Bro. Schureman, and his boyish thoughts of God. His mother had taught him that when men die, it was a visitation of the Lord; this left on his mind the impression that the Lord was a giant, going about killing people -- a great fighter. Thinking thus, he concluded that all those who died must have been cowards, and he felt like kicking their coffins; and he made up his mind when the Lord come to his house, he intended to fight him. In order to do battle, as he thought successfully, he kept piled up in the yard all the stones, pieces of bricks, broken glass, and such other missiles as he would pick up in the street; and his mother would often enquire of William what he was going to do. Understanding that the Lord came down, he would often look up to the sky, especially when he could see between clouds, and with a stone in his hand, he would shake his fist, and say: "Just you come down!"

        His father, in 1834, having charge of the Salem Circuit, N. J., Philadelphia Conference, took him thither that he might enjoy the advantages of a school, which he did, and so advanced in books that he has always appeared with no serious disadvantage.

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Returning to Washington, D. C., after an absence of five years, he came just in the height of a gracious outpouring of Divine grace, and among the happily converted, was William Schureman, then in his fourteenth year. It was in his twenty-second year that he entered the itinerant ranks in the Baltimore District; two years older, he was made Deacon by Bishop Quinn, and the following year, Elder.

        He has filled with the greatest acceptance the foremost station of the Philadelphia and Baltimore Conference; and to-day he may be regarded as the most popular preacher of any in either of them. In the prime of life, he gives promise of good service yet. May the eloquence of his tongue long be permitted to gather the multitude around the Cross.

(G.)

REV. W. B. DERRICK.
LICENTIATE.

        This young brother was born in Antigua, one of of the British West Indies. His father is a pilot among those numerous islands, and is of English blood. Brought up in the Episcopal Church, and early converted to God, he paid his devotions at its revered altar. At school to his sixteenth year, he had stored away a respectable amount of knowledge; but seeing many of his classmates leaving the schoolroom for the work-shop and the various avocations of life, he concluded that he must go, too. But

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father said, No; and endeavored to show him the necessity of more thoroughly educating his mind. It was all in vain, and seeing the boy so importunate, he gave away, consenting for him to leave school, (though he had fully intended sending him to college) and go to learn the trade of a blacksmith, which he preferred.

        The boy William spent two years and over at the anvil, when he became enamored with the sea, and concluded to exchange the shop for the deck, the anvil for the mast. Tossed like Jonah on the deep, he learned from the winds, the lesson he refused to learn from the evening zephyrs; from the storm what he refused to learn from the pleasant sunshine; for, since the day of his conversion, even in boyhood, he felt called upon to proclaim the Truth.

        Coming to the United States, he sought the shrine of the Church in which he was born, baptized, converted, and had paid his devotion, but, alas, American prejudice, in priestly habiliments, told him to stand back. Dismayed at this exhibition of partiality in the very house of God, he left it, and, in Norfolk, Va., sought a refuge where God could be worshipped in sincerity and truth -- he sought refuge in the A. M. E. Church, which has been for years as a city of refuge to negro Christians of manly hearts -- which has been as David in the cave of Adullam, unto whom the troubled of Israel might repair. In less than three years he was licensed to preach. The future of this young brother is in the hands of the Lord, unto whom we pray that he might

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be kept steady, believing that if the heart be the pilot, the force of the head will drive him a goodly distance in the right way.

        May he become one of the strong men in our future ministry.

LOCAL MINISTRY.

(A.)

REV. W. H. G. BROWN.
LOCAL ELDER, BALTIMORE.

        Full six feet in height, with light complexion and long flowing hair, the Rev. Wm. H. G. Brown may be seen any Sabbath afternoon occupying the right hand chair within the railing of Big Bethel altar, the very impersonation of clerical dignity.

        His father, steward of the ship Electra, made choice of a European lady passenger for a wife, from which union was born William Brown, March 25th, 1808, in the city of Philadelphia. His parents coming to Baltimore, he was early placed in the school of Daniel Coker, of blessed memory, whose assistant he finally became; but father was not satisfied that the boy William should teach; and taking him from his well earned position, had him learn how to make barrels -- whiskey barrels, perhaps. But, as is often the case, the boy thought different from the man -- the child from the parent, (Query: When will parents learn to let children select their

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own professions?) and William spent years to learn that which he was resolved to unlearn as soon as possible. Three years to learn, and as many, perhaps, to unlearn--six precious years thrown away!

        Embracing religion in 1825, under Rev. Moses Freeman, he bade adieu to his friends, and started, with his wife, to the West; for the ambitious youngster had thus early taken a better part. Stopping at Cincinnati, he remained there two years, and was there licensed to exhort; after visiting New Orleans, he retraced his steps back to Baltimore. After twelve years officiating as an Exhorter, he was granted preaching license, in 1840, by Bishop Brown. In 1850 he was ordained a Deacon, and in 1864 was ordained Elder.

        A man, allied to the generation past, he is still the equal of many, whose connexion is with the present and all its opportunities. Having read theology under the Rev. Mr. Kurtz and Elder D.A. Payne, the matter of his sermons is always better than their delivery would lead one to infer. Possessing a vein of self reliance, and withal a respectable amount of knowledge, he will always have people to appreciate his talents, and award him the credit of being intelligent.

        His love for the A. M. E. Connexion is true; tested as it was in the great Trustee rebellion of Big Bethel, Baltimore, in 1850, when even physical force was used in an effort to cut loose the good old ship from the Bethel harbor, but all in vain. He is, and has been for a number of years, the Secretary of the

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Official Board, as well as the Quarterly Conference of Bethel Church. We present the following as a sample of the man:

"THE A. M. E. CHURCH."

        Through the providence of God, the A. M. E. Church, I believe, was organized in 1816. The Rev. Richard Allen, Daniel Coker and Jos. Champion, were led to believe that in them was a manhood which they could and would develop if an opportunity were given. With this view, in spite of all opposition, they were induced to come before the world ard raise the banner with the inscription: "African M. E. Church." They started, and under the guidance of heaven; for God not only guided them, but gave them light and wisdom; and he will continue to be with the Church they organized.

        At the present day there is the strongest evidence of the ability of their successors to hold up that glorious banner, and lead it, under God, to final victory -- the banner raised by an Allen, a Coker, a Champion, and their faithful successors, viz: Morris Brown, E. Waters, Wm. Paul Quinn, Nazrey, Payne, Wayman and Campbell. Our ministers are becoming educated, and are going through the land unfurling that same banner, and in the midst of much opposition. Their cry is still, onward! and will be until all the States and the world shall become God's vineyard. I trust we shall soon have a burning and living ministry from Wilberforce, that can teach as

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Christ taught--that will themselves understand what they teach. I hope the Holy Spirit will continue to call young men, and Wilberforce continue to qualify them, until they shall go forth full of light and knoweledge. We want such men in these days of light and wisdom; we want them, for the Scriptures have truly said; "The priests' lips must keep wisdom."


                         Let the trumpet make a noise,
                         Let the priests cease not to call;
                         Bid the sad of heart rejoice,
                         For the Saviour died for all.

(B.)

REV. LLOYD BENSON.
LOCAL DEACON, FREDERICK, MD.

        The evils of slavery have been both positive and negative; positive in the ill it did, negative in the good it prevented.

        Had Lloyd Benson, the local Deacon of Frederick, Md., been born in Massachusetts, and not Maryland, he would have been a man of such intellectual calibre as would have blessed his Church and race. Born January 24th, 1818, in Montgomery County, Md., he was bound by all that chain of ills that held the slaves of that region. His mother was a good old Methodist, who only knew the Lord. A stranger she confessed herself, and amidst stripes and cruelties, she only had comfort in Him. She

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ever looked ahead to the rest that remained. Of course, such a mother would be the most anxious in regard to her children, and though Lloyd was sold away at the early age of two years, yet God so ordered it that his mother should attend him, and thus the first nine years of his eventful life was spent at his slave mother's side.

        From her he received that deep religious cast of mind--that controlling principle, which makes one say: "I will be religious, because it is right."

        As to the manner he learned to read, it is the same tale of sagacity, perseverance, and craft that slavery always teaches, and which the noblest of our slave brethren have ever told. Let me give it in his own words:

        "We had but little chance to learn; the little white boys that we played with would steal out into the woods, on the camp-meeting ground, and get in the preachers' tent, for they were built of plank, and stood from year to year; in these they would try to teach us, but they could not teach more than one or two Sabbaths till they would be found out, and the old persons would break it up. So we could get no learning; yet this did not discourage me, for, though a boy, learning was my object. A little white girl, coming into our family, learned me my A B C's, but it was not long till I bought a primer and learned myself." Commencing life thus, he has pursued the even tenor of his way, until he is respectably well-read, knowing more than any of his former master's children. As a preacher, he is deliberate in

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style, thoughtful in matter, giving evidence of a scope of reading beyond what might be expected; his sermons are uniformly more acceptable to those who believe that religion is not all emotional. A rare man is he for his time and place.

        Early falling in love with the A. M. E. Church, its Christian teachings, its manly position, he cast in his lot with it, and for years has been one of its strongest human stays in Frederick County; and rough, doubtless would have been the bed of the poor itinerant, had not this brother and his kind-hearted wife provided for them. As a member of society, none stands higher. The word of Lloyd Benson is his bond with all who know him.

(C.)

THOMAS E. GREEN.
LOCAL PREACHER, WASHINGTON, D. C.

        It is a good sign to be recommended by those who raised us from our boyhood -- those who looked into our boyish hearts before we had learned to shut the door -- looked and beheld what was there. Old man Jacob Gideon, received the boy Thomas from the Orphans' Court, a bound apprentice, and reared him to manhood; and if still living, doubtless, yet thinks that Thomas is the "honestest" man he ever saw. So, too, thinks Thomas of Mr. Gideon and his wife; in fact, the estimation is mutual between the parties. As a man of business, Thomas Green says

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he owes all to Mr. Gideon; as a Christian, he publicly proclaims Mrs. G-- to be his teacher. When the servant extols the goodness of the master, and the master the fidelity of the servant, both may be relied on as parties "in whom there is no guile."

        Thomas E. Green was born May 9th, 1818, and was early made an orphan. He was converted in his eighteenth year, and connected himself with the Asbury M. E. Church, where he remained some six years; when, to use his own words, "he fell in love with the A. M. E. Church," and casted in his lot with us.

        He is a model Methodist, aye, more, he is a fine type of the American Christian. There are various types of the Christian religion, different species of the same genus. The type of christianity, chiefly prevailing on the continent of Europe, like the country and the government, is great for forms, and ceremonies, and grades. The Deacon must not presume to approach the Priest; the Priest, the Bishop; the Bishop, the Pope; and so the thing goes, until the European type of religion is a thing of outward demonstration.

        The English type is not so stiff; it is a Hybrid -- like its own little island lying between Europe and America -- like its government, between pure Monarchy, and down right Democracy. Hence, while it has much of the European forms, it has not a little of the American life. It is a type -- a species destined to become extinct. It must either go back and

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become a beautiful skeleton, or come forward into an unceremonious life.

        The American type, unlike the European and the English, is like itself, purely American -- like its own boundless rivers, its own democratic institutions. An American Christian cares nothing about forms and rituals, he only values the substance; and those Churches of the Republic that insist on dazzling ceremonies and numerous grades, are anti-American. The moving idea of the great Republic is for the substance -- for the issues; and it cares but little for the means employed. An American Christian will say, and from his heart: "If the Devil will repent and do good, let him do it; and if he don't repent, let him do good any way, if he will."

        But really to bring out one trait in the character of Brother T. E. Green we have used a great many words; we only wanted to say, reader, that he is sanctified in his belief about the American type of religion. He is as free as the air, and the doors of his heart, like heaven, stand open day and night. He is no loiterer in the vineyard of the Lord. He accounts all his substance as belonging to God. In his measure, he accounts himself the Lord's banker, and he honors all the checks, which His poor presents. The glass of cool water is always on hand.

        A member of the little post, Pisgah Chapel, Washington, D. C., he may in truth be called its father, for he built it, and supports its pastor under his own roof free of expense.

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        The words of Paul apply most aptly to him: "Not slothful in business, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord." Upon an envelope which I received from him, the following was stamped:

        T. E. GREEN,
DEALER IN PAPER, RAGS, METALS, &C.,
No. 420 Eleventh Street,

WASHINGTON, D. C.


        Let his days be long, and his years not a few.

LAITY.

W. E. MATHEWS, ESQ.
LAYMAN.

        A man of vast experience, and uncommon "common sense" was Hugh Miller, the Scotch geologist. Born among the lower strata of society, by pure force, volcanic like, he burst through its incrustation, and, like the finest granite, graced the houses of princes.

        His advice to young men, poor young men, young men imbedded way down among the rocks of poverty, deserves to be written in the light. He says: "My advice to young working men, desirous of bettering their circumstances, and adding to the amount of their enjoyment, is a very simple one. Do not seek happiness in what is misnamed pleasure; seek it rather in what is termed study. Keep your conscience clear, your curiosity fresh, and embrace

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every opportunity of cultivating your mind. You will gain nothing by attending the Chartists meetings. The fellows who speak nonsense with fluency at these assemblies, and deem their nonsense eloquence, are totally unable to help either you or themselves; or if they do succeed in helping themselves, it will be at your expense. Leave them to harangue unheeded, and set yourselves to occupy your leisure hours in making yourselves wiser men......... But upper and lower classes there must be, so long as the world lasts; and there is only one way in which your jealousy of them can be well directed. Do not let them get ahead of you in intelligence."

        Thus might we continue to quote the whole of page one and two of the "Old Red Sandstone;" all of which is just as grandly pertinent as the lines we have given.

        Alas! that our dear friend Mathews has not made books more his study. A young man is he of the sublimest talents--a brain that is as fruitful as the clouds, a spirit as fretful as the Arab's steed, and a heart of singular fidelity, yet does he not fortify himself with acquired wisdom. Knowing his absolute worth--the native ability of the man--it is the one desire of his friends to see him go through college; not for the naked name, but for the grand substance. But eager for the fray, he hates to be caged.


                         Hearest thou my thoughts of thee my brother--
                         My own brother, even the child of my mother's womb;
                         Thou art as a ship, a big ship, and thy hull sinks deep;
                         Thou couldst defy the monsters in thy way--even the whale,

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                         In vain might he rub against thee, his coarse hide could be pierced;
                         A school could be driven before thee,
                         The shark would be frightened at thy approach;
                         The whole Carchari would flee,
                         But thou couldst overtake the prey;
                         His teeth would be broken in the fight--even the notched teeth,
                         And thou wouldst be mailed against the stroke of the fish with the sword;
                         Like a rover thou couldst plough the deep.
                         Weep! ye princes, for the ship goes not from the mooring;
                         She goes not hence to bring treasures, even treasures of gold, yea, fine gold;
                         Her sails are wrapt, her canvass will not kiss the breeze;
                         Tight are they to the masts and wrapped; with strong cords are they wrapped.
                         Will not the ship be dismantled if she goes not to sea?
                         Will her tall masts not be lowered if she plies only coastwise?
                         Aye, the mighty ship will be but a coaster;
                         Howl! ye starving ones, for the merchant ship goes not hence;
                         The bread has failed, the flour has leaped from the barrel; it rings,
                         And the big ship moves not;
                         Howl! ye hungry, for she rots at the dock;
                         Howl, for she brings no meat.
                         O, my brother, as the ship art thou,
                         Spread thy canvass ere it rots, and thy masts bind anew, even with iron;
                         Hang not by the coast, break thy mooring and split the sea;
                         Visit the distant shore, even Tarshish,
                         Spoil it of its treasures and its meat,
                         And bear them to thy own unhonored, starving race.

        Of the most versatile talents, there is scarcely any position our young friend could not fill with honor.

        Let him take in a good cargo of facts--religious, scientific and political--and what a merchant ship, laden with produce, would be to a famishing land, even so would he be to his race. When we read the words: "My schooling ending when I was about fifteen years of age," a sense of pain ran through my heart. From the generation with which Mr. Mathews is identified, is to come those who are to be the leaders of our people in a period the most eventful; because in it we will have power. Hitherto not

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much depended upon our action, because we had no absolute power, and as long as the vessel did not move, not much depended on the pilot; but the vessel once in motion--the swift motion which characterizes democracy, then must we look well to our pilots! If our pilots are to graduate, not only from school, but from books, at fifteen--and pilots the most promising--we tremble when we think of the "rubs and knocks" which the good old ship will be called upon to endure. If our young men could be persuaded to study, if they would take Miller's counsel: "Read good books, not forgetting the best of all; there is more true philosophy in the Bible, than in every work of every skeptic that ever wrote;" then indeed might we look with complacency upon the coming days.

        William E. Mathews, Jr., was born of Wm. E. and Maria Mathews, in Baltimore, the summer of 1843, July 17th. His father died in 1853. His mother, who still lives, is thus described by a friend: "She is a woman of fine intellect, well read in history, and perfect in grammar, if one can be perfect in that. Although not a professed Christian, her life is a striking example of practical Christianity."

        Under the training of such a mother, young Mathews soon learned to look upward, and with a temperament like his, he was not long in making that training manifest. Since his sixteenth year, he has been more or less identified with all the public movements in his birth city. Joining the Galbreath Lyceum of Baltimore, Md., in his 17th year, he

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thenceforward took a most active part in all of its proceedings. He was elected its President before his twentieth year.

        Brother Mathews was converted in Big Bethel, Baltimore, under the administration of Rev. John M. Brown, which Church he joined in 1859. Of advanced ideas in regard to Church economy, and of the most liberal sentiment, he has only to identify himself fully with his Church to make his influence felt.

        The agent of the Parent H. and F. Missionary Society, his energy is made manifest by those brilliant reports of monies collected which gladden the heart of the poor missionary. We conclude this sketch with the hope that he, in company with all the rising leaders of the race, may fully qualify themselves for the great work before them.

        The following is Mr. Mathews' offering:

AN ADDRESS DELIVERED IN BALTIMORE ON THE OCCASION
OF OUR SEMI-CENTENARY.

        Fifty years ago, over a blacksmith shop, in the city of Philadelphia, our fathers planted the standard of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. To-day we meet in this beautiful sanctuary*

        * Big Bethel, Baltimore.


for the purpose of dedicating that Banner anew to God, with the earnest prayer that He who was with us then, may yet protect us, and send the principles of our holy faith down to the oncoming host.

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        It was in the year 1703, June 14th, that John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, was born, in Lincolnshire, England. John was blessed with the the Christian example of a good mother. Susanna Wesley was a woman of superior intellect and piety. It was her custom to commence the duties of each day by calling her family, comprising thirteen children, around the family altar, and there, by singing and prayer, conducted solely by herself, dedicate their lives to God. It will not, therefore, be surprising to know that all her children, who attained to years of responsibility, became shining examples in the Church of God. When John was not yet seven years of age, the house in which his father lived, caught fire. It was midnight, and the entire household wrapped in slumber. The alarm was given, and all the inmates, except John, speedily escaped; he was sleeping in an apartment around which the flames had already wrapped their fiery tongue, and rendered escape impossible. It was a moment big with interest. The Rector (John's father) knelt on the cold ground, and, in the light of his burning home, committed the soul of his child to its Maker. When hope from every breast had departed, John suddenly appeared at the window of his chamber. A peasant, mounting the shoulders of another, rescued him at the very moment the roof fell in.

        John, after passing through a collegiate course at the Oxford University, and after a heart struggle of many years groping in the darkness and finding no light, seeking consolation and finding it in none of

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the established Churches, he, with his brother Charles, and fellow student George Whitfield, planted the seed of Methodism in England, which soon sprang into animated life, and which is now illuminating the world with the glory of its refulgence, and wrapping both hemispheres with its angelic folds!

        And it is well that the Wesleys were imbued with this spirit of planting a Church with new life and vigor, for just at this time (1730-40) the established Churches seemed to have been overclouded by a spiritual night. Everywhere temperance, Christian zeal and manly integrity were receding, and giving place to vice and licentiousness in their worst forms. "Indeed," says a popular writer, "there was, in fact, a profound infidelity undermining British Christianity." There was need, therefore, for just such men, and just such religious enthusiasm as the Wesleys and Whitfield excited. They saw the situation, and endeavored to prove themselves equal to it. The trio set out on their holy mission of carrying "glad tidings of great joy to all mankind." Their efforts, therefore, were not confined to Church edices, but to the mines of England they went, and there among the colliers, began that reformation which has proved one of the greatest triumphs of Methodism, and, among the common people in the public grounds, lanes and alleys, they went with their war-shout of


                         "Come ye sinners, poor and needy,
                         Weak and wounded, sick and sore."

        and thousands of people, who had been precluded by

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their poverty from attending the established Churches, for the first time listened to a free salvation.

        I will not detain you to relate the history of the introduction of Methodism into the United States. You already know how Barbara Heck and Philip Embury came over from Ireland, in 1760, and commenced the sowing of the seed in this new soil, which has yielded such an abundant harvest. A few years later new laborers arrived in the persons of Webb, Strawbridge and Asbury. Like a whirlwind this new faith spread, and gave


                         "Healing and sight!
                         Health to the sick in mind!
                         Light to the inley blind,
                         Offering to all mankind
                         The new found light!"

        Thus has the spirit of Methodism progressed, until today it stands a power of strength, not asking, but challenging the respect of all. Let us look at a few facts in the case.

        Methodism, in this country, commenced in the city of New York, with a small room, in a private house, for its sanctuary, and six persons for its congregation. To-day the Methodist Church possesses a membership of over one million of souls, exclusive of about six millions of congregational adherents, some ten thousand Church edifices, valued at twenty-seven millions of dollars. While her influence in the cause of education and moral training may be judged when it is known that thirteen thousand Sabbath schools are attached to her Churches, with one million bright-eyed children in attendance;

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besides Universities, Colleges, Seminaries and Academies to the aggregate number of two hundred and two, and valued at three million of dollars.

        As the little stream gushes from the mountain base, flows on into the river, broadens and deepens until it forms a bay, and finally empties itself into, and forms a part of the mighty ocean, so the Methodist Church, commencing poor and among the humble, feared on the one hand and despised on the other, she has rolled on, surmounting difficulties the most perplexing and stubborn, until now the Church, which a century ago was unknown, stands in the noon-tide of its glory; proud in the consciousness of having brought millions from darkness to the saving knowledge of the truth.

        But alas! American Methodism, like all other objects, no matter how bright and beautiful, has its lights and shades, and of this its dark side we will of necessity have to speak, as it was the abuse of Methodism which compelled our sires to withdraw from the men who permitted their prejudices to get the better of their Christian obligations.

        For this our fathers were compelled, in respect to their own manhood and Christian character, to withdraw from a people holding views so directly antagonistic with the spirit of godliness--and fifty years ago there sat in the city of Philadelphia as august an assembly, actuated by principles as pure and exalted as influenced our first Continental Congress. It was the Convention which formed the first Conference of the African Methodist Episcopal Church.

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        As may be easily imagined this bold act of Allen and his compeers to form a Church governed entirely by colored men, met with a great deal of resistance from those whites from whom they had withdrawn; but they soon won the respect of all candid persons. Look at it as you may, you will all be obliged to admit that it was an act which required no little amount of moral courage and determination, as it would need broad brain and able hands to steer safely our little barque which for the first time was to try the waves and battle the billows of an unexplored sea, as it was an experiment which was to test and settle forever the hither perplexed question: whether colored men were capable of grasping and mastering all points in Church policy and settling all the conflicting issues which so frequently arise in Church jurisprudence. We tried and we triumphed!


                         "For who that leans on his right arm
                         Was ever yet forsaken?
                         What righteous cause can suffer harm,
                         If He its part has taken?
                         Though wild and loud,
                         And dark the cloud
                         Behind its folds
                         His arm upholds
                         The calm sky of to-morrow."

        Battling as we have, the popular prejudices of the masses and being deprived by our independent and isolated position from that out side assistance and Christian help and sympathy which other Churches have enjoyed, we have yet succeeded, and to-day the A. M. E. Church to the student of history furnishes

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the strongest argument and most conclusive proof of the competency of the race for self-government.

        Let those who grumble, let all those who permit their prejudices to get the better of their judgment, study the facts as they exist and then dare say that the A. M. E. Church, is not progressive in spirit and catholic in tone.

        During the first ten years of our existence, we had but one Bishop, seventeen ordained preachers, two stations and seven thousand members. The entire amount of money expended throughout the entire connection was but $11,157 75. Then our houses of worship were often the lofts of work-shops, or if a Church rude and small, and like angels' visits, "few and far between."

        But to-day rejoicing in its strength and extending its branches like the green bay tree, our Church has progressed east, west, north and south, until our Banner shelters beneath its sample folds over two hundred thousand souls!

        And then at the end of the first ten years of our existence there was to be seen no trace of any effort whatever for educational improvement. Neither Sunday School nor Missionary Society had existence amongst us; but to-day how changed the scene! We have now seven Educational Associations connected with our Churches for assisting deserving males and females in securing a finished education. Sixty-six Missionary Societies to aid the glorious work of sending the Gospel to our brethren in the south -- one College, Wilberforce, and one Church organ, the

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"Christian Recorder" one of the ablest and most widely circulated papers published by colored men in the country. Our Church property which a few years ago could have been purchased for a few hundred dollars, is now valued at one million and a half of dollars! The Church which started with one Bishop and scarce enough ministers to form a corporal's guard, now has four Bishops, six hundred regularly ordained ministers, not including local preachers which will swell the number to at least one thousand, and the church which during its first decade's existence, expended only eleven thousand dollars -- now in one single year collects and expends one hundred thousand. Surely, "God has chosen the weak things of this world to put to nought the things which are mighty."

        A glorious future beckons us on to labor and to victory, the terrible clash of arms has been brought to a close. Freedom is triumphant, and a race long oppressed has been lifted from the thraldom of it chains, up to freedom and manhood.

        These four millions of people, must now be educated and christianized--for you must know that the barbarism of slavery possessed a tendency to heathenize and blot out all signs of manly integrity and Christian virtues, and who better than the A. M. E. Church, can perform this labor? Who more willing than ourselves to go among this woe-smitten and long injured class, and stooping, lift them up to manhood and to God?

        The future hangs thick with a most abundant

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harvest, a harvest of heads to educate, and of hearts to sanctify and bring as willing subjects to the foot of the Cross. Shall we prove equal to the task? This remains to be seen, but judging the future by the past we shall succeed. For it is one of the brightest pages in the history of our Church, that while the Army of the Union, were forcing their victorious passage through the southern land and striking down treason, the missionaries of our Church in the persons of Brown, Lynch, Cain, Handy, Stanford, Steward and others, were following in their wake and establishing the Church and the school house, in many instances in view of the enemies' works. And long before the rebellion had come to a close, these faithful pioneers of the Gospel, had already planted our Church in Virginia, North and South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama and Tennessee. Indeed one of our Bishops (Bishop Wayman,) during the hottest of the conflict, was in the field marshalling his host for one purpose, while General Sherman drilled his men for another.

        Already has some seven Conferences been organized in this benighted portion of our land. The people are rapidly coming into our borders and seeking shelter under our protecting care -- indeed the entire South, which a few years ago was black with the darkness of its mental night and lost in the depths of its spiritual swamps, is now being radiated with the halo of freedom, Religion and Education.

        This then must be the mission of our Church,

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evangelizing, educating, uplifting these long neglected ones and making them fit heirs of a glorious immortality. But in order to fulfil this grand design and enable our Church to keep pace with the spirit of the age, we need to have a broader and more catholic spirit amongst us, and this reformative must commence in the pulpit. The fountain head must be pure, before the stream can possibly be. We need and must have an educated ministry, for depend upon it, the world will expect more of us in the future than it has hitherto. I would therefore insist that all of our educational establishments be encouraged and supported, for henceforth brain and culture as well as Christian zeal will be the standard by which the ministers of this Church will be measured.

        Again we must do away with some of the strange customs we have among us. One of which, is the lining out of hymns during the singing of them. This was very well in days when our people were ignorant, but now that we have entered the new dispensation of light and knowledge, it should be insisted upon that all of our members should procure hymn books and join in the anthems of praise.

        Then there is another strange custom against which I desire to raise my voice, and that is the dividing of the sexes in our houses of worship--compelling the wife to sit on this side and the husband on that. Why separate in the house of God any more than around the family altar? Do let us be consistent. Permit the wife and husband to come to Church

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with their little ones and sit together, and let us be done with that piece of barbarism of colonizing the children in the galleries and separating a family in a place which, above all others next to their homes, they should be together.

        Let us go forward then, in this broad spirit of Christian progression. Relying upon the strong arm and guiding-hand of the God of our fathers and invoking his blessings upon us, we will plant anew our Banner, and girding on our armor we will march forward to reap richer harvests. Then in the spirit of Christian heroism let us


                         "Take with solemn thankfulness
                         Our burdens up; nor ask them less,
                         But count it joy, that even we,
                         May suffer, serve and wait for thee--
                         Who's will be done!"

        Nor will we cease our efforts until around the world our flag shall go to the heights of the Rocky Mountains, until it covers the dark-browed children of the Isles of the sea, Cuba, Hayti and onward, crossing the Atlantic to the shores of Africa, we shall gather in to our embrace the millions of that benighted shore--then shall we receive the "well done!" of Heaven, and looking, we shall behold the morning-light throwing its beams upon our tempest-tossed Banner, upon which shall be inscribed in leters of living light -- VICTORY.

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CHAPTER IX.
THE NEW YORK DISTRICT.

        IT was in the year 1822, that the growth of the lately organized A. M. E. body made it desirable to set off a new conference, to be denominated the New York District. It has for its present boundary, "from the northern extremity of the Philadelphia District to the east of Long Island, and all the State of New York, Riceville and Rumsen, in New Jersey;" with an accessible colored population of about 55,000. The census of New York for 1860 was 49,005.

        The African M. E. Church hitherto has been wofully weak in New York, especially the city; and in the New England States. Flourishing elsewhere, in these quarters, it has seemed to droop. Where shall we find a reason for this lamentable truth? Of New England we will speak hereafter. We renew the query, Why has not the A. M. E. Church hitherto flourished in New York city? Why have the Zion Methodists, with their loose government, the Presbyterians and the Baptists, been allowed to outstrip us in the race for souls? It was a sad truth that previous to 1860, our strength there was weak; in New York city, the old Church on Second street was badly located and poorly constructed, while our interest in Bridge street, Brooklyn, was most uncertain.

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        We see a field under the management of one tenant, is most unprofitable indeed--it is one-half weeds, and the products it gives are not full and plump. We are led often to pronounce the soil bad. But the field changes hands--a new tenant comes, and behold the change! The weeds mostly disappear, and when harvest time comes, the ears of corn are full, the wheat is heavy. Thus was it with the New York District. Previous to 1860, it was weak, but during the years since, it has done marvels; and especially since Bishop Wayman has been flying through it like John's angel. No District has advanced more rapidly in material and moral worth. Fine Churches have been acquired, new ones have been built, old ones have been repaired and paid for, the Bishop is hopeful, the Preachers are encouraged, and the work goes bravely on. Other denominations have not longer to pity Bethel; and when Sullivan street shall have broken her cords, and Bridge street leaped into glorious day, then will the New York District stand forth the peer of any. The following most creditable reports, were made at the Conference of May, 1867:

        

FINANCIAL STATISTICS.

Contingent Money $ 136 19
Ministers' Support 10,251 91
Sunday Schools 484 38
Missions 234 40
Two Cent Money 111 95
Bishops' Money 371 12
Superannuated Ministers 5 35
Widows et Orphans 30 30
Centenary 145 97
Education 3 30
Sum Total $ 11,774 87

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CHURCH STATISTICS.

Travelling Elders 14
Travelling Deacons 4
Travelling Licentiates 2
Members 2,272
Local Preachers 44
Exhorters 18
Churches 31
Parsonages 2
Sabbath Schools 27
Teachers 151
Scholars 1,177
Superintendents 29
Volumes in Library 5,603

        The value of the Church property in this District is estimated at $181,000.

        Let the reader learn somewhat of two of its preachers.

ACTIVE MINISTRY.

(A.

REV. JOSHUA WOODLIN.
ELDER.

        At the late Conference of the Baltimore District, May, 1867, this Elder visited it, and Bishop Wayman, ever and anon, introduced him to the people as the "big brother from New York." In height he is full six feet, and in breadth three, while the cloth to go round him, must be an Ell English and a half in length. He is brown complexioned, an oval face, with lips given to curl, a voice that is pleasant, but broken, and eyes that are quite prominent, and when he walks, unstable things tremble. He weighs

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more than fifteen score pounds. Surely one so large, from a Conference so small is enough. Nor is this all that makes this gentleman of more than usual worth, for he was born at Attleborough. Attleborough! says the reader, and where is that?

        Why, my good Sir, it is the little town that vied with Philadelphia and Baltimore, in giving existence and shape to the A. M. E. Church. Philadelphia with its thousands had five delegates at the Convention; Baltimore with equally as many had six; whilst little Attleborough with scarcely a hundred sent three! In this courageous little community, Joshua Woodlin was born, February 13, 1813: and we doubt not his parents were among the number, that commissioned those three to speak for them in the Convention; and when these delegates returned and told the news, that the grand project had been set on foot, his parents were among the first to step forward, to have their names placed on the roll, that was destined to have the names of an "innumerable company," inscribed upon it.

        Born at such a place, and of such parents, Joshua Woodlin is a strong Methodist of the Bethel school; e'er manhood was upon him, for he was converted in, 32 he stepped forward in that same small Church at Attleborough, and wrote his name as near to his fathers as possible, and to the present he has kept up the fight. The aged father Buleigh received him into Church, and bade him God speed. In it he has filled every post from the gravedigger and sexton, up to the position of Elder. He was for years

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a member of the Philadelphia Conference, and has filled with acceptance its chief appointments. Bishop Nazrey, now of the British M. E. Church, in the Dominion of Canada, made him a Deacon in 1855, and Bishop Quinn an Elder in 1858.

        Of respectable English attainments he long taught school, before he entered the ministry. A respectable preacher, a successful pastor, may he long live to bless the Church.

        We once heard him say in a Love-feast at a moment of rejoicing, "You mustn't be too nice serving the Lord."

(B.)

REV. WM. H. W. WINDER.

ELDER.

        Again are we under obligations to the good Quakers for what they have done for the above named gentleman; to them belongs the credit of placing him in the front ranks of the Methodist preachers of the Philadelphia Conference -- the front ranks intellectually.

        Born in Greenwich, N. J., April 4th, 1834, his pious mother was his abecedarian. From the year 1840 up to 1852, he could be found in school almost any day, especially in the winter season; but to Clarkson Shepherd, a Quaker, is he chiefly indebted for what he knows, as this gentleman taught him for six consecutive winters; in fact he it was who enabled

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him to stand a creditable examination, by Dr. Newkirk, in 1852, for the position of master of the public school, for the town of Greenwich; as well also to stand a more rigorous examination, in 1857, for the position of tutor of the Hope Well school; both of which positions he attained and filled, we doubt not, to the satisfaction of all concerned. Advanced beyond single equations in Algebra, together with a respectable amount of knowledge in all English branches, it is possible for Brother Winder, who is yet a young man, to attain to more than respectability in literature. May he do it.

        His ministerial career began in 1857, when he was licensed to exhort, by the Quarterly Conference of Greenwich Circuit; but he pressed still on, till, in 1865, he was elected by the Philadelphia Annual Conference to the position of Elder, and ordained by Bishop Wayman.

        Ranked among the young men composing the ministry of the A. M. E. Church, may it be his to cease not to study until the most daring shall fear to say that Methodism degrades mankind.

        The Rev. Mr. Winder's offering to our Apology is the following:

OUR DUTY AS A RACE.

        When we review the present state of affairs in our country, and behold the spirit that exists among a class of the whites, that are urged by a spirit of envy against us, we cannot fail to obey the demands of duty. We are aware of this spirit, hence duty

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demands more strongly that we crush it out. And how can this be done? Only by improving the opportunities we now have, and showing ourselves worthy of those in the future.

        The time is coming when we will be called upon to travel through society on our intellect, and if we are not prepared, then will they cast in our teeth their by-words of prejudice, and bind more strongly their malicious ideas. Then, to us, as a colored race, our fate is in our own hands; the question is, shall we or shall we not be men? Let us answer yes.

        As a Church, we have a name that has gone far and wide; is it to be disgraced? Are we to be behind our reputation? We answer no! We are rather to strengthen our reputation. We should, as ministers and representatives of our race, prove to them that we are engaged in a great work, and encourage our friends, and silence our enemies.

        We should encourage education by all means, for the advantages derived from it are greatly needed by us. Education is required in this period more than in any other since the world began, and he who wishes to make his mark upon the sand of time, must take advantage of the present opportunity. As the future of our race depends, in a great measure upon us, let us forward march.

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CHAPTER X.
THE OHIO DISTRICT.

        THE year 1830 witnessed the organization of this District into a Conference. "All the State of Pennsylvania west of the Alleghany Mountains, the State of Ohio and West Virginia, and East Kentucky," are the territories composing it. The geography of this District is varied; it has mountains, approaches to table land, and magnificent valleys; it has rivers and rivulets. Its eastern boundary in Pennsylvania and West Virginia is, the lofty Alleghany range as it sweeps from the North down through the Southern States of Virginia and North Carolina. Down the western slopes of these mountains, and flowing north-west are numerous rivers: the Big Sandy, the Guyandotte, the Kanawha, the Monongahela and the Alleghany; these two last, uniting at Pittsburg, form the Ohio, which receives as tributaries the Muskingum, the Hocking, the Sciota and the Miama. In eastern Kentucky this District is watered by the Licking and the Kentucky Rivers.

        Within the vast domains of the Republic there is no richer agricultural lands than is enjoyed by the brethren who inhabit this region. The rich loamy

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valleys of the aforementioned rivers are celebrated for their fertility. In 1860 Ohio had 12,665,587 acres of improved land, and ranked as the third State in the Union in this respect; that portion of Pennsylvania lying within the bounds of this District can be reckoned at 5,000,000 acres of improved land; while West Virginia and the eastern portion of Kentucky will count up at least 7,000,000 more -- making the whole amount of improved land within the Ohio District to be upwards of 20,000,000 acres. The products of Ohio industry alone, for the year ending June 1st, 1860, was $125,000,000. Of all this goodly land, the colored people partake in no small measure. The Ohio Methodists are generally farmers, full half of whom own the soil they plough. All that is to be expected of men of strong muscle and industrious habits are found among them, and not one of the thirteen Conferences can boast of a more virtuous membership; for they learn from the whistling birds and the murmuring brooks, and not from the vicious men of crowded cities. Within the bounds of this District there may be found not less than 300,000 Anglo-Africans. The strength of this Conference thirty years ago, (1836) as then reported, was 8 Pastors; 2 Stations; 6 Circuits; 16 Churches; and a membership of 1,507; but amidst such a people, and in such a field, its growth has been marvelous.

        Look at the reports of the Conference held in Lexington, Ky., April, 1867:

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CHURCH STATISTICS.

Members with Probationers 8,127
Sabbath Schools 76
Teachers of Sunday Schools 550
Scholars of Sunday Schools 4,854
Superintendents 83
Volumes 7,420
Traveling Elders 34
Traveling Deacons 10
Traveling Licentiates 15

        

FINANCIAL STATISTICS.

Contingent $127 72
Salaries 7,603 90
Board 6,874 62
Rent 2,131 00
Traveling expenses of Ministers 1,498 00
Bishops' Salary 368 49
To make up Preachers' Allowance 18 45
Missions 425 57
Support of Sunday Schools 1,417 25
Book Concern 107 59
Widows and Orphans 68 01
Wornout Preachers 27 94
Wilberforce 115 88
Sum Total $18,784 88
Value of Church Property $189,065

        We have been enabled to present the brief sketches of those who may justly be considered the leaders of this Conference; and yet to one acquainted with the men, the meek features of Grafton Graham would naturally be expected, but he was in the thickest of of the fight in Eastern Kentucky, and we could not get at him; so, too, ought Robert Johnson to be among the crowd, but is not. Lewis Woodson is an intelligent man, and we endeavored to get a few facts from him, but while conceding that, "to write an 'Apology,' for a 'Defense' of African Methodism,

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was no trifling task," and "hence, aid from all competent sources should be sought," yet was it "out of his power to assist." But we present the reader with the sketches of the men who lead the grand Army of the Ohio.

        This Conference bids fair to become one of the very strongest. Having Wilberforce within its limits, it will doubtless be the first to catch the first glimpse of the day, which that Institution promises to bring in. Being the first of all the Districts to raise its voice on behalf of an educated ministry, it deserves this peculiar honor. But to the men.

ACTIVE MINISTRY.

(A.)

JOHN A. WARREN,
ELDER,

        May truly be denominated the working Pastor. A splendid financier, he can get more money from any congregation for benevolent purposes than any man in his Conference; nor will be starve himself either. He is a good demonstration of the truth, that a Christian minister may so train his people that every demand, whether of grace or of debt, will find a ready echo in their breasts -- a good demonstration of the Scripture truth, that "the*

        * Isaiah, xxxii 8.


 liberal soul shall be made fat;" as well as, "by*

        *Prov. xi: 25.


 liberal things shall he stand."

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        Born in Baltimore, in 1815, at the early age of thirteen he joined the M. E. Church, and at once became an earnest laborer in the Sabbath school. It is said of him that on Saturday evening he would often repair to the Church, and prepare the wood for Sabbath that the school room might be comfortable.

        For two years he attended the day school taught by Mr. George R. McGill. As years grew upon him, he looked around for a wider sphere of action than was presented to him either in Baltimore or in the M. E. Church. He saw that they both tended to bondage -- political, ecclesiastical.

        Removing to Philadelphia, he joined the A M. E. Church with a view to the itinerant work. After many conflicts with foes within and without, he finally resolved to be obedient to the call, and, although engaged in a most lucrative employment, he gave up all for Christ, and started to Oxford, Ohio, where he could enjoy the advantages of the college there located. In a letter, speaking of this part of his life, he says: "I recited to the Rev. Mr. Clayball six months, when I foolishly got tired, and joined the Indiana Conference." This was in the year 1847; and then he began that successful ministerial career of which few can boast. As one of the leading members of the Ohio Conference, he has filled all the most important Stations, and with uniform acceptability. As a Church financier, Elder Warren has no superiors, and but few equals, as Chicago, Detroit, Pittsburg and Cleveland can attest. As a

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preacher, he is characterized by earnestness more than deep thought, for what is most remarkable in him, is the anomaly of passionately loving education and educated men, and yet careless to a fault in the improvement of his own mind. As an index to the estimate he lays upon intellectual worth, it is sufficient to state that his daughters are finely educated; he having provided for them a fine library of some 300 volumes, while his parlor is made happy with the music of both Piano and Melodeon.

        The following incident in his life, as well as in the life of another character who figures in this book, may not be uninteresting. During his ministry at Pittsburg, he found a youth of a score years, carnestly engaged in superintending the Sabbath school of that important charge. The good Elder became persuaded that the youth was needed in the Master's Vineyard, and at every interview insisted upon it, much to the embarrassment of the young Christian. The conclusion of much prayer to God on the part of both, was that local license was given to the cowardly young soldier; but yet the Elder could not get him to accept an appointment, some excuse was always offered and maintained with such disinterested tenacity that the Elder excused him. On a bright Sabbath afternoon, when Wylie Street was crowded, the Elder called up the young man to close, and just as the vast assemblage were on the eve of departing, the Elder desired the young man to move to his right till he made an announcement; when he said: "Friends, come out to-night, your young

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brother (naming the young man) will preach for us. Come out." When it is told that this was done without any notice to the youth, his feelings may be imagined.

        He offers the following:

"MY METHODIST PREACHER."

        (a.) On arriving in his Charge, he will receive his flock in a loving manner; and though his reception may be cool on their part, yet he will be cheerful; he may be informed of the deceitfulness of this one, and the low cunning of another, nevertheless he is equally courteous and kind to all. Nor should he denounce the doings of his predecessor, providing he stood fair at Conference. In my opinion nothing is so contemptible, as to see a brother minister chime in with the people in defaming the character of a former minister: and to cap the climax of meanness, is to receive him after with pretended love and extend to him the pulpit.

        (b.) While he will not be too formal and stiff with his Officiary, yet will he fill the chair with such becoming gravity, that he will command the respect of all.

        (c.) He will not preach too long, nor too loud; being satisfied that it is not only what he says, but how he says it, that reaches the heart of the people.

        (d.) He will look upon his members as his children, and will have no unnatural partiality toward any, respecting not the persons of the wealthy and

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influential. If he shew any preference it will be to office, to talent, or to virtue, but not merely to worldly circumstance.

        (e.) He will be sure to visit his classes, and especially the prayer meeting held in his charge. I do not say that he will be the leader of these meetings, nor do I say that he will sit there as one not interested, but he will be there to join his voice with theirs in praise and prayer.

        (f.) He will not fail to be found in Sabbath school, and he will make opportunity to devote a portion of each Sabbath to the benefit of the children, always having a kind word for them, and an encouraging one for the Teachers and Superintendent. In connexion with the school he will certainly have a class of young men; if the material be not found in his school, he will hunt it up, not resting till he has formed his class.

        (g.) He will encourage the love of music in his younger members, by sanctioning it in his Church.

        (h.) He will be forward to organize a literary society for his young men, fully cognizant of its moral tendency. If he does not become an active member he will be an honorary one; he will not only attend himself but his family likewise, if he have any. Should a member acquit himself with credit, let him be the first to take him by the hand and say, "Go on."

        (i.) He will never be unemployed, as there are always something for a Methodist preacher to do. He is the last man to eat the bread of idleness.

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        (j.) He will have taste, but will despise a fop; he will be cleanly, knowing that a lazy, dirty minister, has no in fluence among his own people, or with the community at large.

        (k.) His pastoral visits will be made in such a manner, as will have a good impression not only upon his members, but upon all the household. This is not done by appearing gloomy, walking slowly, and low speaking, but on the contrary he will be cheerful, having good manners and an easy address.

        (l.) He will by no means keep service up to a late hour, however interesting it may be, or whatever may be the opinion of his congregation; he is satisfied that if persons are truly convicted of sin, they will seek the Lord at home as well, and it is not necessary to keep them at the Church until eleven or twelve o'clock at night.

        (m.) He will certainly respect the feelings of his congregation in regard to money; should they be behind in his support, he will let the Stewards attend to their duty, never mentioning himself until it becomes absolutely necessary, then he will call his people together, and in a loving manner speak of his wants.

        (n.) He will understand the laws of his Church, and will remember that he that executes the law, should be the last to violate it.

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(B.)

JOHNSON P. UNDERWOOD.

ELDER.

        The Ohio Conference has few better equipped ministers than J. P. Underwood. Tall of stature, broad "shouldered," an open contenance, and steady eye, he is just the man to draw forth from passers-by the interrogatory, Who is he?

        Born at Mount Pleasant, Ohio, twenty-eighth September 1824, he is a true "Buckeye," possessing all that frankness, which is characteristic of his State and section. He too, in common with not a few of our ministers, especially those of the west, is indebted to the Quakers, for a training that was extended to both head and heart: feeling desirous to thank this noble people for what they have done for our race, we take pleasure in quoting from a letter which we received from him; he says. "I wish to mention Mr. James H. Gill, Dr. J. T. Updegraff, and Prof. G. K. Jenkins, if this should ever meet their sight, they will please accept my humble thanks for their many kind acts to me."

        It was in the year 1847, that Solomon H. Thompson was appointed to the Mount Pleasant circuit. That brother belongs to the generation of African preachers, whom the Lord called "to preach"--not to talk, not to lecture, no not even to teach dry truths, but called to preach red hot words--words

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that fell seething upon the naked soul. To that same generation belonged Caugh, and Robinson, and Africanus in the east, and "Sammy" Johnson, and Fayette Davis, and Abram Lewis, in the west, a generation of blessed memory, who, having done their work, are fast passing away; and a new school of African preachers is taking their place, a school with less fire, called not only to preach, but to baptize. We haste to exclaim, God grant that it may "finish its work" as fully and as successfully, as the school of the Fathers.

        Solomon Thompson in the Mount Pleasant Circuit was blessed with a revival, his hot harangues melted many an icy heart, and among them J. P. Underwood, when lo! the quiet Quaker became a noisy Methodist.

        In less than two years after his conversion, he was called upon to call others. In 1849, he was licensed to exhort by James Coleman; having occupied in turn all the grades which the Canon doth enjoin; he was ordained by Bishop Quinn, and received as his first charge Captina Circuit.

        As a man of letters, Bro. Underwood will compare most favorably with colored ministers generally. He often taught school, before entering the itinerant ranks, and since. He is to be ranked with the men who live in their day. Some men there are who live in the past, and some in the future, while still another class, live in the present; of this latter class is Bro. Underwood, not antiquated in his views, nor yet way ahead, he lives and moves in the glorious

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now. We quote the following thoughtful sentences from his pen. His theme was,

"STUDY OF DIVINE REVELATION."

        And was written for our Apology.

        "What deep and thorough conviction is produced in the mind, by a calm survey of the visible works of God--the animals, each species of which is adapted to its own peculiar habits of living, are all made subservient to some benevolent purpose; the water gently gliding along, seemingly without any propelling force, nourishes the most insignificant, as well as the greatest of all earthly beings; and upon its broad bosom floats the huge ship, that is the means by which the glad tidings of salvation are spread from pole to pole; the noble forest waving in the gentle breezes; the whole host of the feathered tribe, flying in the air, and singing their songs of praise to Nature's God, 'who first marked their throng with bright variety.' These are but the visible works of the Creator, and but a few of them; for 'who can number half His works?' "

        "And again, from the ignorance, superstition, and deceitfulness of the human heart, many have rejected the evidences on which the truth of Christianity rests; and multitudes of thoughtless mortals have been induced to disregard its authority, and have glided down the stream of licentious pleasure, sporting themselves and feeding vain fancies--cultivating their own self-deception, until they have landed in

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wretchedness and ruin. 'Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he reap.' We must likewise remember that the harvest is generally greater than the seed.' "

(C.)

PHILIP TOLLIVER, JR.

DEACON.

        The Queen city of the West, Cincinnati, can boast of few men of more genius than the gentleman whose name heads this article. Having purchased his freedom with his gold, his father removed to Cincinnati, where he brought up his four children in a manner alike beneficial to them and creditable to him--giving to each as good training as the common schools of that city made possible. Philip earnestly applied himself to the studies allotted--the the highest being U. S. History, Algebra, and the Philosophies--Mental, Moral and Natural. More latterly he has given himself to the study of the dead languages--Latin, Greek and Hebrew. Of an active disposition, he was early associated with all the public measures which look toward the popular good. He is now President of the United Colored American Association--a most responsible body--a member of the Equal Rights League, the Library Association, and more than one of the Lyceums which grace that city. He has twice served the School Board as its Secretary. The ministerial

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life of Bro. Tolliver began in 1860, as local preacher; in 1863 he was ordained to the position of Deacon. On the death of the lamented Edward D. Davis, he was appointed to succeed him as Pastor of Allen Chapel, one of the most important stations within the bounds of the Ohio Conference. Here, where nurtured and where he spent the days of childhood and youth, no pastor was ever more highly esteemed than Philip Tolliver, Jr. From his pen we have the following article:

"AN EDUCATED MINISTRY."

        We are to inquire,

        1st. What he shall preach? Answer: The Truth of God. He shall set forth the law of his God plainly; and in order to do this, he must first understand clearly the character of God--His purity, justice and mercy.

        2d. He must clearly know His will as to man; he stands in the fore-front as the representative of those to whom he shall preach; he shall exemplify the argument set forth by himself, and the errors and superstitions that he wishes to dissipate in others, must first disappear in his own character, or his ministry will be of no effect.

        3d. He must labor in the strength of God, as it is clear that God alone, with all of our acquired ability, can give final success.

        4th. Let him also labor for the glory of God, that God may have all the praise for his endowment.

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        5th. All are qualified by the Spirit; not by might of genius, riches or learning. These are but useful ornaments; but the Spirit's power makes effectual the message of heaven.

        6th. Lastly, let him preach a pure Gospel, and the whole Gospel. Cursed is he who shall handle the word deceitfully.

        While he may listen at the base of the trembling mount wrapped in tempest and smoke, and hear the voice of Him who spake as never man spake, and declare in the solemnity of death, that by the law no flesh living can be justified; let him love to study the whole Gospel that proclaims, though a man sin he has an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. Who can or ought to be so well qualified to publish mercy as he who has been made to tremble at the strictness of God's moral law? Who shall be more earnest? Who should be better qualified? I say the best fitted instrument is the minister educated and ordained. May God send forth such, that when we all meet above, both ministers and flocks may hear the welcome, Well done. Amen.

(D.)

HENRY J. YOUNG.

ELDER.

        A native of Delaware, the little State that gave birth to Bishop Campbell and John M. Brown, he

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seems to partake of that same indomitable perseverance that characterizes the above named two. Indeed, it seems peculiar to Delaware, for we know not one of her sons who is passing through the world half asleep. They are all wide awake.

        Henry J. Young was born November 7th, 1819, and his parents, Daniel and Dianah Young, were both slaves. But they could not endure it, and setting their heads and hearts together, and forgetting not their hands, they went to work; and God blessed them, and prospered their labors so signally that they soon had treasured up sufficient to pay for themselves! Astounding fact -- to pay for themselves -- their bones, their flesh, their muscle -- to pay for the air they breathed, for the water they drank. To pay whom? Him who gave them life and being? Who calls the wind from its rest, and the waters from their secret channels? If so, well. But be astounded when it is told that the creature assumes to be the Creator -- man assumes to be God, and as God claims ownership in man, and demands to be paid for flesh and bones, for air and water. Daniel Young and his wife Dianah, must take of their hard earnings, and pay to some Delawarean for the privilege of breathing God's air, through God's lungs. Was ever robbery so heaven-defiant? Bro. Young, speaking of this event, says: "They labored hard until they were able to buy themselves from their inhuman oppressors, and thereby save their offsprings from all the cruelties of a slave life."

        Henry J. Young was converted to God in June,

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1830, and joined the Methodist Episcopal Church, in which he remained a most active member until 1840, when he connected himself with the A. M. E. Church. Having filled the various positions of a zealous member, he was ordained a local Deacon, in 1848, at the Conference held in Trenton, N. J.; the same year Bishop Quinn called him into the regular itinerant work, and sent him to the Lewistown Circuit. In 1850 he was ordained Elder at the Conference held in Philadelphia; since which time he has filled some of the most prominent Stations in all our borders.

        Inheriting his father's love of liberty, he early went to Canada, where he assisted much in making the B. M. E. Church what it is. He has since returned to the States, and in the southern work of the Ohio Conference, his influence and tact have been felt; to him as much as to any one man of that Conference is to be credited the triumphs which have crowned our work in Kentucky. His education is confined to the common English branches; but he is one of those men who, having a second class education, will make a first class man; or a third class education will make a second class man.

        As a preacher he is earnest; as a pastor he is laborious, having built, since he entered the work, seven Churches, and finished and improved some seven or eight more.

        A lover of liberty and of his race, may God continue to make him useful in his day. His contribution reads well:

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"ON INTELLECTUAL PHILOSOPHY."

        In examining the component parts of man, we find a material and immaterial man; or in other words, a visible and invisible man. The material man has growing out from his body members, which tend to perfect his organization, and physically qualify him to pursue the various avocations of life. The immaterial man, like the material, has its organs or members, which are necessary for the perfection of the intellectual man. The chief character of the intellectual man is denominated mind, which can think, understand, compare, retain propositions, and solve problems of the most intricate and difficult nature. The will, is the result of the conclusions of all the faculties of the mind, but the power to execute the will in any demonstrable manner, is truly intellectual.

        We have represented in the physical organization of man a house in which a master piece of machinery is placed. The executive powers of the mind put the great machine into operation. In comparing the intellect to a machine, we regard hearing as the lever, the power to retain the safety valve, and thought the propelling power, which constantly keeps the machine in full action. The mind is the repository, where the organs of the ears are disturbed by the vibrations of air, and the ear is informed of approaching danger. Through the agency of thought, these fearful apprehensions are conveyed to the mind, which immediately call a convention

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of all the susceptible faculties; which form the mind, and thought at once devises a plan for the protection and security of man. The same course is adopted when the sense of feeling is violated, or taste tampered with; smelling intruded upon, or sight arrested; complaint is made by the same agent, who never fails to perform the duty of giving information; and the intellect is always equally ready to dictate a measure to secure the interest of each faculty of the mind.

        Our desires, affections, reasons, appetites are given to us by the munificent God, who also gave us organs, muscles, nerves, ligaments and brain. The composition of our minds, like that of our bodies, is the work of a Divine hand. The ability to exercise both the body and mind were given with an intention and purpose. Thus appetite was intended to operate for the preservation of man's life; affection binds him to his fellow man in the sacred ties of social relations. Reason is to direct and control both appetite and affection. Reason is aided to execute this office by the power to approve or disapprove.

        The intellectual mind is an aspirant. It disdains to remain fastened to dull mortality, so, on fancy's golden pinions it soars aloft to the beautiful and luxuriant fields of immortality, and there ascends the ladder of imagination to sublimities' enviable peak; and there she sets soliloquizing amid the gentle breezes of divine inspiration, and becomes invigorated, and makes an effort to ascend the heights of Divine perfection; but, alas! she is fastened by the

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cords of mortality, and has to descend and remain for a season in the temple of clay.

        Man is mentally qualified for the highest state of intellectual development, and a demonstration of the fact is seen in the arts and sciences of the day. For an impressible proof of his powers, let the sceptical mind visit the world of arts, and then he will see the genius of man displayed in a thousand useful inventions. Hence the physical structure of man, the masterpiece piece of creation, is imitated by the sculptor and painter; the one takes his mallet and chisel, brings his miniature out of the bowels of the earth, and compares him with the most choice work of nature, and longs for power to breathe the breath of life into his ideal of man; while the other takes his pencils and canvass, and sits down to imitate his God. When he wants to paint a man, he dips his pencil in the day, and shades it with the night; and he copies so accurately the delineations of the face, and the work is so beautiful, that we think it compares very favorable with the work of nature.

        In the scientific world, man not only becomes master, but invents sciences, such as: Geography, Geology, Geometry and Trigonometry, together with very useful sciences of Botany, Chemistry, Astronomy, Physiology, &c., and makes them all subservient to his will. He calls the lightning from the clouds, and makes it carry his thoughts around the earth with astonishing velocity, or he steals the thunder-bolt, and charges his metallic battery upon the seat of disease, and laughs as the result of his skill is made the blessing of many.

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        The intellectual man controls the physical by the will which puts the mind into operation, and the mind has complete control of the body; so, by the mind, both will and action are controlled. Thus we have the action of the intellectual and physical man.

        When the mind and body unite in observing the moral code, which is the duty of life, they produce the moral man. While the intellect prepares the man for human association and society, the moral character fits him for the enjoyment of the society of the holy angels; it also prepares him for the enjoyment of the companionship of the redeemed of the Lord, and the association of just men made perfect through the blood of the Lamb.

        Since the physical man is dependent on the intellectual for the knowledge of the physical laws, and the moral man appeals to the register kept by the intellect for the knowledge of the moral code, then let us store our minds with useful information, and endeavor to inform ourselves in the laws, both moral and physical. Oh! then let us study the sciences and arts of the day. Then we will be better qualified to discharge the duties we owe to our God, family and ourselves.

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(E.)

JAMES A. SHORTER.

ELDER.

        Blunt as the light, and as honest, is Jas. Shorter, who, in 1864, came very near being crowned with the Episcopal crown. We will not say he was too honest, but he was too out-spoken -- too blunt. We were no member of that body, nor were we present until the election was over, but from what we heard, we are decidedly of the opinion that, had the Rev. Mr. Shorter not spoken so freely on the Green et Nazrey question, he would to-day have been reading out Appointments. So very certain were some of his friends of it, that they made the telegraph going Southward say, in effect, "Come on and see your -- ordained Bishop."

        When but a child, at the General Conference of 1844, in Pittsburg, we recollect hearing it said of the late Richard Robinson, who was then urged by the men of the East for Bishop, "If he hadn't a talked so much, he would have been elected."

        So you see, brethren, it does not do to talk too much, especially on the unpopular side. The maxim says: "A hint to the wise is sufficient."

        But Jas. Shorter was not made Bishop, and he is none the less a man for that; perchance Providence does not will, that appreciation for the integrity of the man should thrust him into a position which he is not backward to confess his want of literary ability

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to fill. But the echoes come to us over the Alleghany peaks, saying that it is the purpose of the West, especially his own District, to try it again in 1868. We are perfectly willing that Providence should decide it.

        James A. Shorter was born February 4th, 1817, in Washington City, D. C., and, although nominally free, the fetters pressed his limbs too tightly, for the love of liberty is the ruling passion of his soul. The little ten mile square, with its huddle of slave pens, whips and chains, could not contain him, and when but a youth, he bade it adieu, and started for the glorious West, where he could hear, not the clanking chain, but the rustling of the wind over the broad prairies -- could see, not the auction and pen, but the surging lakes, and the swift rolling rivers.

        He stopped at Galena, Ill., where he was converted in 1839, and joined the M. E. Church; coming East in July of the same year, he united with the Bethel A. M. E. Church in Philadelphia, then under the pastoral care of Bishop Morris Brown. Lot Fletcher was his leader, who was pleased with the outspoken zeal of the youngster.

        In the month of September, having married Miss Julia Steward, he returned with his bride to his birth city, Washington, D. C., and united with Israel Church, Rev. John Cornish, Elder. Many of the members of this Church lived in the lower part of the city, the distance of a full mile or more from the place of worship, and they resolved to have a place of worship at a more convenient distance.

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        Bro. Shorter, who had become distinguished for his usefulness, was elected one of the first Trustees; and, having made due preparation, they went to work; a lot was procured, the one on which the stately Union Bethel now stands, and a temporary structure was soon up. In this little frame they worshipped and rejoiced, grew strong in numbers and in faith, until now, in their fine brick, they divide equally the spoil of souls with old Israel. From this Church -- the Church which he had been instrumental in making -- the Church which he had served as Trustee, Steward, Leader, Exhorter and Local Preacher, he was recommended for the itinerant service in the Baltimore Conference, and was received April, 1846.

        Within the bounds of this District, he labored for eleven years, filling its most important Charges; but the thorns of oppression were too painful in his sides, and although measurably willing to endure them himself, he could not endure the thought of subjecting his children to the same torture; and he says: "On account of slavery and its concomitant evils, and with a view of educating my children, I took a transfer to the Ohio Conference, where I now remain." Of course he has helped to develop the Ohio Conference, and in it, to-day, none stands higher.

        What James Shorter lacks in education, he makes up in native ability, so far as that is possible; a leader in Israel, may the courage of his heart long be vouchsafed to the Church, to push through the

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counsels of more intelligent minds, and may the sunlight of his integrity never be eclipsed.

(F.)

BENJ. W. ARNETT.

LICENTIATE.

        Wrote the article, "Suggested at the tomb of Bishop Allen," from which we have quoted. He was born way up the Monongahela river, at Brownsville, Pa., March 6th, 1838, and is consequently a young man. He is most noted for an unflinching perseverance -- does a mountain lay across his pathway, he nerves himself for the task, and surmounts it; does a broad surging river flow before him, he coolly goes to work, bridges it, and passes over. He has had all kind of oppositions since he began to walk the life-path -- prejudice, poverty, ill-providence, all seemed to conspire against him; but as ever, they only tended to develop the latent talent of his soul. I speak of his talent, and yet it must be confessed that many men are born with far more than he; for really what he has accomplished, is not so much due to his talent as to his perseverance. He has a pound of talent, but five pounds of go-ahead-ativeness. Hence his success. His education commenced at the public schools, where he tells us he went one day, and stayed home two. In this way the boy-days were passed, and when they ended he was not much wiser than when they began. But

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the years creeping on him, his live nature woke up, and bade him to bestir himself, for manhood was coming. Obedient to her voice, he did awake; and, although, following the river for a livelihood, he did not forget his God and his books -- two towers into which if any run we will be safe. Whilst plying the Western waters between New Orleans, La., and St. Paul, Minn., an accident, by which he lost a leg, unfitted him for the river life, and returning to Brownsville, he began to teach school, in 1859. To some men, falling down is getting up. Whilst thus employed, he gave evidence of that public spirit which has since actuated him. When the Syracuse National Convention was called in 1864, he urged the people of his section to send delegates, which was done, himself being among the first chosen. At this Convention he made the acquaintance of all the leading colored men of the land, and coming hence, it was "with the determination to leave nothing undone that should tend to carry out the deliberations of that body." Since which time, he has acted most zealously with the "Equal Rights League;" being chosen its chief Secretary at the National Convention, called by it in the city of Washington, January, 1867. Engaged by the African Civilization Society, he went to Washington, D. C., and took charge of its largest school. While in this city, it was his privilege to witness many of the events which are now historical. Arriving there Dec. 24th, 1865, on the 29th he wrote a letter on the Vice-President's desk, in the Senate Chamber;

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on Jan. 2d, '65, he went to the President's Reception, and shook the hand of President Lincoln; and he was present when the Constitutional Amendment, abolishing slavery in the land, passed the House of Representatives.

        Converted under the ministry of the A. M. E. Church, he joined the same, and was licensed by the Quarterly Conference of Union Bethel, Washington, D. C., to preach. Of course the influence of such a man will be felt; youthful and energetic, he gives promise of extended usefulness to the Church. Having returned to the West, he has entered regularly into the itinerant work. May the hopes of his friends be more than realized. He contributes the following:

SUGGESTED AT THE TOMB OF BISHOP RICHARD ALLEN,
MARCH 6th, 1867.

        "Men will travel hundreds of miles, over freezing snow and scorching sand, to behold the place where a poet first breathed the air; they will journey to the tombs of mighty heroes. The Mahommedan thinks he must visit Mecca once during his life time, in order that he may receive the smiles of Allah! The ancient Jew went annually to the City of David. The patriotic American embraces every opportunity to visit the grave of Washington. The Freedman of the South raises his devotional window toward the tomb of Lincoln, and teaches his children to visit the sepulchre of the great Emancipator. The Christian,

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though not permitted to visit the place where Jesus is, yet may he visit the tomb where he once lay. In the same spirit I invite the communicant and friend of Bethel to come with me, and let us visit the sacred tomb of Richard Allen, the first Bishop of the A. M. E. Church. Though no costly pile of granite attracts the passing throng, no ostentatious statue of brass marks the place where sacred worth is enshrined; nor is there any finely written epitaph to speak of his fame, yet let us approach the sacred spot in reverential awe. There is the tomb! what gloriour reminiscences! what sweet recollections of the departed great! There is the mother church standing in unostentatious splender; and while I stand soliloquising about the past and the present, I look once more upon the temple, and wonder how many have gone from it to join the saints above. Imagination starts up and annihilates time and space, brings the holy bands before me in all the vividness of life; and whilst I look and contemplate, away ye Profane! ye souls, whose lives are folly and mirth, disturb me not in my reverie; and Ye who have no taste for the spiritual, away! and let me meditate upon the saint of the living God! We ask the pure in heart, and especially the ministers of Christ, to come and stand at the sacred tomb, and see if they cannot learn a lesson of incalculable benefit.

        Though the white slab of marble and few brick hide from mortal view all that remains of the Bishop, yet I feel to rejoice in the belief that his spirit has mounted above, and is now pleading for the preservation

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of the Church he organized -- our beloved Bethel.

LOCAL MINISTRY.

JOHN PECK.

LOCAL ELDER, PITTSBURG.

        Paul enumerates the heads of the primitive Church, in 1 Cor. 12-28, as follows, "And God hath set some in the Church, first Apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues."

        The commentators of every age, from Origen-down, have been puzzled to clearly define labor of each of these several orders. The order Illustration[Word in Greek], what was the scope of its action? The Greek language newly made subject to the divine Spirit, could only define things or offices, by their quality or work; or as Dr. Robinson more neatly expresses the idea, "The writers of the New Testament, further applied the Greek language, to subjects on which it had never been employed by native Greek writers. No native Greek had ever written on Jewish affairs, nor on Jewish theology and ritual. Hence the seventy in their translation, had often to employ Greek as the signs of things and ideas, which heretofore had only been expressed in Hebrew. In such a case, they could only select those Greek words, which most nearly corresponded to the Hebrew, leaving the different shade, or degree of signification to be gathered

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by the reader from the context." Accepting this fact, what better word than Illustration[Word in Greek] could possibly have been used, to denote the office and work of a local Methodist preacher? "Illustration[Word in Greek], aid, assistance, met, one who aids, or assists, a help," says the critical Lexicon of Bagster. Donnegan defines it, "the act of taking in exchange, a getting possession, the affording aid." And while Parkhurst, following Vitringa, confines this help, as given to the infirm and sick, as does also Dr. Robinson, yet does the learned Dr. Lighfoot conjecture, "that they were the Apostles' helpers; persons who accompanied them, baptized those who were converted by them; and were sent by them to such places as they could not attend to, being otherwise employed."

        Whatever may be the opinion of the learned as to the labor here designated, it is certain that it may with the very greatest propriety, be taken as a scriptural guarantee for the office and work of a local ministry, which is preeminently a helping ministry.

        But what has all this to do with the Rev. John Peck? whose name heads this article. That brother stands conspicuous among those constituting an order of ministry, found in the A. M. E. Church, even the local or helping ministry, whose lawfulness we have been defending; and upon scriptural grounds.

        Of Roman Catholic parents, his soul very early planned a revolt from the picture worship which it demanded, and on the 10th of Sept, 1815, the city of his soul surrendered, and the Conqueror entered, with his sword girded upon his thigh.

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        Though born in Maryland, he early removed to Virginia; but the free aspiration of his nature was too buoyant to be confined in either of those dungeons, and in the year 1821, he issued out the gate and came to Pennsylvania. Coming to Carlisle, he there joined the A. M. E. Church, then a mere circuit post; but the Brother dying, at whose house the meetings were held, the little band dissolved, and Brother Peck joined the M. E. Church, which had for its paster, the youthful Thomas Sargent. Here he remained but a short time, for at a Camp meeting given, the colored members were subjected to the most unchristian treatment, and the spirited John Peck was the last man in the world upon whom to attempt such treatment. The wrongs were no sooner inflicted, than he gathered around him, all his colored boarders, for he kept a tent, and the conclusion of the matter was, that, to a man they resolved to leave. Striking the tent all the colored people formed into a line, and as they marched from the ground, they sang the good old Methodist tune, "Farewell, we have a right up yonder."

        The little band, made strong by their awakened manhood, as one man resolved to hoist again the A. M. E. flag; they purchased a lot, and soon there was reared upon it a neat little brick Church. In this Church John Peck was first licensed to preach, by Rev. John Cornish.

        While in Carlisle, an incident worthy of record took place. About the year '34 or '35, there was a young man in attendance upon the Lutheran Academy

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my at Gettysburg. He had lately come from the South, and report gave him credit of being pious and wise.

        A student of theology, and regularly empowered, it so happened that he made his first public effort in that same little Church, although, not a member of the Methodist family. He seemed greatly desirous of becoming of the greatest possible use to his people; and opening his soul to Brother Peck, he was at once advised to cast in his lot with the A. M. E. Church, whose future career he pictured forth as if with the spirit of prophecy. "Who knows," said he to the young man, "but you may one day be a Bishop of that Church." That youth was none other, than our present Bishop, D. A. Payne.

        It was in 1836, that he removed to Pittsburg, where Rev. Wm. Paul Quinn was in charge. By the great fire of 1845, the Church on Front St. was destroyed, and the flock, weak and scattered, was destitute of a place of worship. The leading men were undecided as to the course to pursue, some advocated rebuilding, others, and among them John Peck, advised selling their lot, small and cramped up, and purchase a site more eligible. Wylie St. was suggested, but many of the members grew furious; the objections urged against it were the distance, the mud, and want of gas; but the party favoring it, led on by Brother Peck, were uncompromising. They saw the direction that the City must necessarily grow, and though the site proposed was a little far, yet they felt assured that the time was not distant, when the

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corner of Wylie and Elm, would be in the centre of the city. They carried their point, and the result is precisely what they had presumed on. No Church, among the many scores which decorate the Smoky City, has a site, more beautiful or central than this Church. Very much of the credit belongs to John Peck. But let me conclude this lengthy sketch of the Local Elder.

        None stands higher in the community than he; his word is sufficient endorsement with those who know him; in fact his endorsement is necessary to every project which comes before the people.

        A man of unblemished integrity, of more than usual culture, and judgment not to be despised, he dishonors not his Church and connexion.

LAITY.

(A.)

JOHN G. MITCHELL, A. M.

Professor of Greek and Mathematics, Wilberforce.

        I have this moment finished reading the very brief facts which the dear Professor sent me at my very urgent request, from which to write a brief sketch; and in the fullness of my heart, I feel like exclaiming: O, ye despisers of the negro, behold what this man hath done!

        Of Western birth, he longed for books! And why should any Westerner care for books? It is for him to read the books of nature--the field book,

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the barn book, and the books of the horse and cow. But why should he descend to man-made books; God had given him a library in the rich rolling prairies. Why should he want another? Yet are these Westerners ambitious. They accept the library God hath given, and still in addition demand those which man hath made. John G. Mitchell was as ambitious as any; with true Western instinct, he demanded a double library.

        But he was poor, and why should the poor aspire to seats filled by princes? Did he not know that they who wore soft raiment are in the court of kings? And how could he expect to get through college? Whence was he to get bread and raiment? God, in truth, gives bread and raiment, but men charge for the handling. However, young Mitchell had a pair of hands that never quaked before the plow or the cradle--hands that were eager for the fray--hands that assured him of victory. Confident in his hands, he went to work.

        He was wading through the deep current manfully, and the banks of the opposite shore heaved in view, and, like another Leander, he split the waves anew; but just then a sister, Margaret, laid hold on him, and, a loving nature like his, could not see that sister go down, and he nerved himself anew for the additional responsibility; and the hidden strength of his soul was equal to the work, for he bore Margaret safely through. And on he went, burdened with want and care, yet hopeful, when word came that his father was dead! and still more loads must

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he bear now, for how could he see mother and the little ones home, suffer want. "Having attended to duties painful and solemn, and having divided the scanty means obtained by teaching, I returned to Oberlin."

        Not long had he been seated till another messenger came with the word: "Nancy Ann is dying, haste home," and home he went; full of trouble, yet must he comfort; poor, yet must he enrich; weak, yet must he take more burdens. Nancy died, and his consequent burdens well nigh triumphed over him; so oppressed was he, that he could not return to his beloved Oberlin.

        But the fire in him was unquenchable; the strength unfailing; the genius not to be thwarted. "If I cannot study at Oberlin, I will study at Gallipolis," thought he, "locality has nothing to do with mental achievements. If I cannot triumph as pupil, I will triumph as master; I will be both teacher and pupil." Thus reasoned our hero, and while teaching school for bread at Gallipolis, he was keeping up with his class at Oberlin; and in '58 he returned to Oberlin to share with it the honors of graduation.

        But John G. Mitchell was not only a Westerner, and though, it would seem, ought only to desire the book of nature; he was not only poor, and it would seem ought not to aspire to heights of literary distinction, but more than all, he was a negro! And why should a negro desire to learn? Hated by all, and hated everywhere, and at all times, why should he trouble himself about knowledge? He could not

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use it; a man need not be able to read the Anabasis, to black boots--the Tityrus, to wait on the table; and these menial employments were about as much as young Mitchell could hope to do. And as to the effects of education, it only made him the more sensible of his wrongs, and increased his misery. Yet did John J. Mitchell and a host of colored Americans want the boon; there was a charm in it that drew them, and they ran after it, and attained the prize.

        O, ye despisers of the negro, ye biographers of your proud Anglo Saxon race, accept the challenge, and show a man of all your trive, who paid so great a price for an A. M.

        Professor Mitchell was born March 24th, 1827, and when a boy, for a brief period, attended the common schools of the State with all other children; but the foul air of slavery blew across the Ohio, and slammed to the school doors against all the colored boys and girls of the State. Four years were passed away, when a colored teacher was employed in Laurence County, to whom young Mitchell went for a year and a half. His parents moved to Indianapolis, where, in 1845, he embraced religion, and joined the A. M. E. Church. Of this event he says: "A radical change was wrought in me, I felt to marvel not at the saying: 'Ye must be born again.' The new birth with me was an intelligent realization."

        In Randolph Co., Ind., is located the Union Literary Institution, under Quaker patronage, and free

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from those unchristian prejudices which controlled the schools generally of that State; here he spent a year or more greatly to his intellectual advancement. He entered Oberlin in 1852, and graduated in 1858. As we scan over the colored Alumni of this celebrated college, of the six or eight gentleman that pass before our mind, not a third of them are orthodox Christians. What a comment on American churches.

(B.)

GEORGE BOYER VASHON, A. M.

Principal of Avery College, Alleghany, Penn.

        Who, that has ever lived in western Pennsylvania, has not heard of "Col" Vashon, the old high notioned barber of the St. Charles Hotel, Pittsburgh. A barber it is true, but only thus on account of the stupid prejudices of the past generation of Americans--so stupid indeed, that it could behold no merit beneath a black skin. The father of the Professor was a gentleman by instinct; he had served in the war of 1812, on board a man of war, and had been captured; and when the old man gazed upon the current of events, and beheld himself--he who had fought for the national honor, politically ostracised, together with his children, while the children of those who had fought to humiliate the country were preferred, he used to give vent to the deep indignation of his soul.

        George B. Vashon was born at Carlisle in 1824, and five years after his father came to Pittsburg.

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        Unlike Prof. Mitchell, whose sketch has just been given, George Vashon had the courageous aspirations of a hopeful father to push him forward. The Colonel thought no sacrifice was too great to make for "my son George" while at College. George had advanced sufficiently far in the English and Classics, in the schools of his native city, as to enable him to enter the Freshman Class of Oberlin in 1840, from which he graduated an A. B. in 1844. Returning to Pittsburg he began the study of law, under the Hon. Walter Forward, of virtuous memory. Three years were spent in the office of this able jurist, and though fortified with his commendation, he was refused admittance to the bar, on the ground that being a colored man, he was not a citizen. Leaving the city celebrated for its smoky walls, and it would seem, for smoky consciences as well, he repaired to New York city, where after a most critical examination, he was permitted to practice. A fine French scholar, and galled with the prejudices of his birthland, the Professor turned his eyes to another land, and in the month of March, 1848, he sailed for Portau-Prince, Hayti, where he remained as Professor in the "College Faustin" and other educational establishments, until the year 1850, when he returned again to the States. Whilst in Hayti his Alma Mater conferred on him the title A. M. He repaired to Syracuse, N. Y., where he practised law for three years, whence he was called to a Professorship in the New York Central College. Since 1864, he has been Principal of Avery College. On all hands Professor

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Vashon is recognized as a ripe scholar; especially is he a good linguist.

        Of uncertain theology during the years past, he has latterly given in his adhesion to Methodism.

        Of this gifted genius, we have but a single hope to express--may he become a right good Methodist.

        He contributes the following:

THE PROCLAMATION AND ITS PROMISE.

        By reason of President Lincoln's Proclamation, it is fitting that New Year's day should ever be regarded as a day to be marked with a white stone in our American annals; that its annual return should be greeted by gladsome assemblages, by all manifestations of rejoicing, by hearty interchanges of congratulation among men, and by fervent outpourings of thanks to Him who holds in His hands the destinies of nations. The 1st of January, 1863, may well stand as a rival, in national commemoration, of the 4th of July, 1776; for on that day came utterances from the Chief Magistrate of the Republic, which caused every patriotic heart to swell with rapture, as it opened from them, that the United States of America was destined to become a soil consecrated only to the tread of freemen: that the land of Hancock and of Washington, awaking from the demoniac spell which had forced it to be the oppressor of the lowly, was about to realize the idea which lay at the foundation of its national existence, and become, as in its earlier days, the pride and boast of each and all of its children.

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        For, in its origin, Americans had reason to be proud of their country,--greater reason than could be adduced by the denizens of any other nation that had ever figured in the history of the world. Miraculous interpositions of superior powers may be alleged to have heralded the advent of some of this earth's dominations. The sowing of a dragon's teeth may have been succeeded by a harvest of warriors. The thunder-peal and the meteor streaming through the air may have pointed out the site of future greatness. The fierce wolf may have forgotten her nature, and nurtured with maternal care the destined founder of an empire. But a greater glory was yet in reserve for the United States of America. Other nations, at the outset of their respective careers, may have been compelled like the infant Hercules, to battle with threatening dangers, and thus portend their success in more than mortal labors. It was reserved for our beloved land, to burst forth a Pallas at her very birth, armed at every point, and effulgent in every feature with the beams of the fully matured divinity.

        What was the occasion of this glory? What other, than that it spurned aside the assumed inequalities of human conditions which had characterized the monarchical and even the republican organizations of the earth hitherto,--organizations which, commencing with the king upon his throne, or the aristocratic noble in ducal state, descended through all the gradations of life, until they reached their lowest round in the beggar wallowing in the filthily-reeking

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sewer? What other, than that it professed to vitalize the sublime idea of human equality, which had until then only served to give a glow of originality to some philanthropical essay, or of fascinating interest to some highly colored romance? Nobly was the announcement made in the Declaration of Independence. "All men were created equal -- all men were equally endowed by their Creator with inalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." No wonder that an announcement so radical in its terms should have carried terror to the hearts of princes, and caused their knees to tremble, "Belshazzar-like," as they in fancy beheld the "Mene, Tekel, Upharsin," inscribed upon their palace walls. No wonder that the noble daring of the singers of that Declaration found fitting responses throughout a seven-years' war, in the dying cheer of the citizen soldier, or in the groan which even determined manhood could not suppress, as the march was traced with bloody footprints in the December snow.

        It makes one sad to feel, that the glorious emotions awakened by the reminïscences which cluster around the days of '76, are all checked by a consciousness of the many backslidings which less than a century has been called to witness. It makes one sad to turn away from the bright anticipations of an Adams, a LaFayette and a Herder, to trace our country downwards through Missouri compromises, Louisianian and Floridian acquisitions, Seminole and Mexican wars, Fugitive Slave Law concessions and

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Kansas outrages, until the fearful story terminates in a recital of rebellion which threatened for a time to annihilate the Union and blast all the hopes of philanthropy throughout the world. And it makes one sad to know, that all this fell dream of wrong doing and its fearful consequences came upon our beloved country, because the negro, despised after having been outraged, was excluded from participation in the rights accorded to 'all men' in that glorious Declaration of Independence.

        It is related in one of the sages of the old Norse mythology, that the goddess Friga, knowing that danger was threatening her son Baldur, took oath of all Nature that nothing should harm him; but that in obligating all the powers of earth under this oath, she overlooked one thing -- the humble mistletoe plant. This humble plant, Loki, the Genius of Evil, tore up and persuaded the blind god Hodur to throw at his brother in sport, and thus was the fatal Baldur slain. Will the despised and apparently powerless descendant of Africa prove a neglected mistletoe plant, potent for the destruction of our beloved Union? Such he once threatened to be; but thank God! the utterances of the 1st of January, 1863, gave a complete and satisfactory denial to every such menace. Thank God! that he whom the proclamation of President Lincoln found a bondman in the sugar-fields of Louisiana, has since proven himself an intrepid and devoted soldier of the Union, in that pseudo-chivalric foray of secession at Milliken's Bend, and in those twelve hopeless charges

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against the death-belching batteries of Port Hudson. Thank God! that he who aforetime was a serf on the cotton plantations of South Carolina, has since vied with his more favored brother of the North, in the effort to plant the banner of the glorious old Bay State upon the slippery parapets of Fort Wagner. And, in the cordial recognition by the Federal Government, and by the several State Governments, of the manhood and daring thus attested; his, the sole hope that the United States of America will successfully carry out the mission assigned to them by the God of Nations.

        The Union reconstructed, without a full and impartial recognition of the rights of all its children, black as well as white, might attain to such a position that our national eagle, from its pride of place, could cast its glance over the western continent, without beholding a spot of ground unguarded by the swoop of its mighty wings. Such an event, our armies and navies might attain to an importance that would enable them to hold the world in awe; our shipping whiten with its sails the most distant as well as the nearest seas; and our territory be studded with cities and villages, rich in all the adornments of science and art, and affording, in their busy marts, unceasing testimony to that prosperous trade which is "the calm health of nations." Science, too, might achieve her proudest triumphs among us. Our patient students, sitting in their lonely observatories, might by aid of unerring calculations indicate the being of some planet, which had till then,

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unnoticed amid the starry glories of remotest space; or, by means of their powerful glasses, might call into view other splendors upon the brilliantly embroidered mantle of the night. They might plunge into the recesses of the earth; and by a careful study of the phenomena presented by each successive formation, be enabled to trace out the laws of creation in their every development, or with powers like those which eastern legends ascribe to Solomon, they might be enabled to declare the treasure houses, wherein are heaped up the richest stores of gold and of silver, of diamonds and of sapphires. Nay, more. They might imitate nature so cunningly as to become, by their art, essentially creative, and in the wide sweep of their invention, give birth to instrumentalities, in comparison with which, the railroad, the steam engine and the electric telegraph, would seem the cumbrous machinery of a less civilized epoch.

        And yet, with all these glories, our country would still be a by-word and a hissing among the nations. But the Union reconstructed, with the former slave recognized as part and parcel of the political system, and invested with all the franchises of a government, towards whose preservation and aggrandizement he had rendered no inefficient aid, would, doubtless, under the providence of God, rank not only as a first-rate power, but among the most honored of the nations. And, to such a result the tide of events now tends. God grant, that to this result, it may attain!

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CHAPTER XI.
THE INDIANA DISTRICT.

        BISHOP PAYNE says: "While our Church was conquering territory in a foreign land, she was also strengthening her stakes, and enlarging her borders in the great West. This extension was promoted chiefly through the wisdom, endurance and activity of Elder Wm. Paul Quinn, his missionary labors culminating in the organization of the Indiana Annual Conference. For this purpose twenty-one ministers, itinerants and local, assembled at a place, in the midst of a settlement of colored farmers, called Blue River, on the 2d of October, 1840."

        The reader will perceive from the article which the Rev. A. McIntosh has contributed, and who has labored a quarter of a century within the borders of this District, that he seems not to regard the Blue River meeting, to which the Bishop alludes, as the regular "setting apart" of that District into a distinct Conference. We suppose to reconcile the matter, it is only necessary to consider, that the Bishop dates from the time the Conference began de facto, and Elder McIntosh from the time, de lege.

        "Indiana Conference," says the Discipline, "shall include the States of Indiana, Illinois, Minnesota,

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Michigan, Wisconsin and Iowa." These States form the great North-West of the Republic; of whose people Gen. Logan said, during the Rebellion, "They would hew a passage to the Gulf with their swords." Descending mainly from Emigrant stock, they are a hardy race; the very men to dig up its prairies, to navigate its lakes and rivers, to beat back the confirmed Savage, and to hunt out the wolf and the bear. The climate of this District is varied; Cairo, in the South, is almost as warm as its ancient namesake, while the winter breath of Lake Superior makes the coat of the bear most desirable.

        Of course the negro is there; he has a hankering after his white brother, ever saying with the Moabitess of old: "Whither thou goest, I will go." In 1860, these five States had a colored population of 28,389; disposed as follows: Illinois, 7,628; Indiana, 11,428; Iowa, 1,104; Michigan, 6,799; Minnesota, 259; Wisconsin, 1,171, ten per cent. can safely be added, and we have, as a present population, about 31,227. These people have come along with the country, and not a few of them count their dollars by the score thousand.

        The A. M. E. Church towers like a green bay tree throughout all this section. Few, indeed, are the congregations that have not her ministry. Coming to the people in their loneliness and poverty, they forget her not in the times of their prosperity.

        To this Conference belongs the honor of originating

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the idea of an "outside Congress"*

        * This "outside Congress," as it was called, consisted of the most eminent of the colored men in the land, who repaired to Washington, and remained there during the last half of the 39th Congress, looking after the interests of the colored people generally. The following action was taken on the memorial which the representatives presented:

        The motion was agreed to.

        Similar action was taken by the Missouri District, and with the same result.


of colored men at Washington, and the delegates sent under their auspices, were among the first that arrived at the Capitol. We would make special note of one feature of the statistical report for the year 1866--nine parsonages are reported at an aggregate value of $5,450. Good for Indiana! May she continue to teach the older Districts lessons of ministerial comfort and of self-respect.

        Let us see the real strength of this Conference, as manifested in the reports made in August, 1866:

        

CHURCH STATISTICS.

Members 3,841
Probationers 1,011
Local Preachers 87
Exhorters 60
Churches 64
School Houses 3
Parsonages 9
Sabbath Schools 56

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S. S. Scholars 3,299
S. S. Teachers 336
Superintendents 59
Volumes in Library 7,142
Traveling Elders 18
Traveling Deacons 4

        

FINANCIAL STATISTICS.

Contingent $ 178 50
Ministers' Board 6,799 95
Ministers' Rent 1,186 60
Ministers' Fuel 747 25
Ministers' Traveling Expenses 1,291 50
Ministers' Salary 5,464 66
Sunday Schools 1,019 12
Missions 81 69
Book Concern 89 15