to have crowned our gathering with your venerable presence, with your saintly bearing, with your garnered wisdom, with your matchless eloquence-whom missing from this assembly we seem to miss its chief excellence and glory? Simpson and Pierce! Pierce and Simpson! Alas! my fathers, my fathers! the chariots of Israel and the horsemen thereof! We know your earthly history-how your life touched this rolling ball in the same annual round; how from chosen professions you were both of you called in the flush of youth to the ministry of the Word; how your brethren commissioned you both in early manhood to the chief council of the Church; how the course of our ecclesiastical history separated the movement of your lives; how you entered the chief pastorates of the Churches as nearly simultaneously as was possible; how you illustrated this high office through a long career by faithfulness, by love, by wisdom, by sacred speech; how you had hoped to meet and co-operate in this Centennial Conference, one or the other, as strength might permit, consenting to preach the sermon which to-morrow opens formally the assembly--and then, alas, how from our love and reverence you were translated to the General Assembly and Church of the first-born in heaven. All this we know. But tell us, now that ye walk with your Lord and Redeemer in white, the heart purged of all earthly taint, the eye cleared of all earthly mist, whether, next to the beatific vision, there be any joy comparable to that of the fellowship of kindred souls redeemed by the precious blood, and wrought by the divine Spirit into his likeness. And even now may we not believe that from your high estate ye bend down over this assembly of the Churches you so tenderly loved, and with outstretched hand of blessing pronounce those words of the early bishop of the Church: "Little children, love one another ?"

There were two responses, one by Rev. J. B. MCFERRIN, D. D., of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and another by Prof. J. C. PRICE, of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church. Dr. MCFERRIN spoke as follows:

Mr. Chairman and Respected Audience:

Whether by design or accident, I have been selected to make a response to the eloquent speech to which we have all listened with so much interest and profit. I may say, without egotism, that perhaps it is befitting that I should say a word. I am not a very old man, and yet they say I am far advanced in years. I am, however, the only man here, or that will be here tomorrow in the Conference, that was a member of the General Conference in 1836. I am the only man here, or that will be here, who was a member of the General Conference in this city in 1840. I was then a young man, but the recollections of that day, and of that occasion, and of that great Conference, are very fresh in my memory. We had giants in those days. Bishop Roberts was here, Bishop Soule was here, Bishop Hedding was here, Bishops Andrew, Waugh, Morris were all here. Here we had Bascom and Durbin and Hamline and the great Dr. Newton from beyond the seas. And then we had a Conference of great and good men, who deliberated upon the interests of the Church for nearly a month, and then returned to their places of labor. And now, alas! not one of them is left, and I alone am here to tell the story. Furthermore, if you will allow a per

sonality, this is the Centenary of Methodism; we have come up here to celebrate the hundredth year of our organization as a Church; more than half that number of years I have been a member of this glorious Methodist Society, as we call it, of Jesus Christ. I am in my sixty-sixth year as a Methodist, and in my sixtieth year as an itinerant preacher. If any body here has a better record than that let him speak.

Since I have been here I have been contrasting our condition with the condition of the brethren that met here a hundred years ago. Dr. Coke and Mr. Asbury came over here and sent word to their brethren to meet them here; and I see them coming out of the woods on horseback, with their saddle-bags, and they assemble in Lovely Lane, which had no stove in it, and the first thing they asked of the brethren in Baltimore was to put backs on some of the seats, that they might not break their poor backs. Now I see them coming up from Oregon and Tennessee and the South, riding in palace cars, coming up in starched collars and fine clothes, to have a grand feast in these grand churches with great organs, and where we are to be cared for in magnificent style. Compare that with a hundred years ago, and well may we say, "What hath God wrought!" I make one more effort. I have been looking over the list of delegates to see who was in the Conference of 1844, and I think but one brother is here as a delegate who was in that Conference, and that is Dr. Trimble. I look around upon those from the Church, South, and I find but two besides myself Dr. Boring and Dr. James Evans. We look back with sorrow on that day that brought such a cloud of sorrow and darkness on the Church; but there is another view of this matter; "in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word shall be established." God has permitted us to come up here to witness to our fraternal affection. Here we are from the cities and from the wilderness; from the swamps of the South, and from the rice and cotton plantations of Louisiana. Here we are, white and colored, all engaged in this glorious work, in a glorious, solid country. I say, being a witness of these things, it is not very much out of place that I should make a speech.

I do not intend to repeat what our beloved brother has said, but, if there is any one thing in Methodism next to religion, next to the power of the Holy Ghost, the power of God in the soul, it is the interest of Methodists in the great cardinal doctrines of the Bible. I hope I shall die before the day comes when it shall be supplanted by modern speculation in theology and religion. I want to go down to my grave seeing the doctrines of Methodism exerting their saving power upon our Protestant Christianity. Mr. Chairman, we have not come up here to legislate and to make suggestions with regard to new creeds. They tell us it is time for the creeds of the Church to be remodeled. Well, that may do for some people's creed, but not ours. Our creed is like the New Testament-finished. Woe be to the man who takes any thing out of it or puts any thing into it. Justification by faith, the Witness of the Spirit, Sanctification of Heart and Life, these are the grand peculiarities of Methodism, and let them be preserved forever. Mr. Chairman, we have come up here to celebrate the Centennial of Methodism. We do not expect to have any costly mottoes, any golden crosses, or blazonry or procession; but we expected to come here and shout all over this place. If you think that I have come down here to tramp around these streets, you are greatly mistaken. Methodist

preachers had enough of that before they came here. I am glad to meet you all, and especially these brethren from Canada.

Last year I was very near the gate of heaven, but God has allowed me to come back to witness this grand Centenary of Methodism, and when I have witnessed this I may say, with one of old, "Now, Lord, lettest thou thy servant depart in peace;" and I am going to carry up with me this intelligence, that all Methodists are one in heart, and are carrying out the apostle's injunction, "Little children, love one another."

Prof. PRICE said:

Mr. Chairman, Ladies, and Gentlemen:

In the history of individuals and nations it is customary for them to halt in their onward march and consider the way through which they have been brought, and the progress they have made. Ordinarily this is a pleasant task. It is most agreeable to contrast great results, and to look back to small beginnings. A man full grown in years, and whose life has been attended with remarkable successes, delights to go back to the days of his youth, and to the scenes familiar to his mind-the old broken fence, the cabin and the mansion, the rickety bridge and the stream across which he could jump, yet to him the largest in the world. Not only is this customary among this class, but also among those who desire to increase the national grandeur and power. How often, when seas have been traversed, and oceans have been crossed, to add to the greatness of the nation, the generals have met to talk over the victories and the events of the march which may have aided their successes! But, when we consider the march of nations, what joy can come up without its alloy? The victories in which the general has led have been won by kinsman against kinsman. His march has been over fields where the ground has been drenched by the blood of its people, and these victories have been won through the shedding of the blood of many dear ones. We have halted here in the march of a hundred years-halted in a march, followed by a thousand prayers. Here we have gathered to receive new inspiration, strengthen the old faith, and utilize the past for the cause of God and the salvation of the race.

It is perhaps fitting that I should come here to make response to the able and eloquent speech that has been made. It is proper that I should come here to recognize the outstretched arms of this hospitable city and people, and to pray that God may clothe us with new power and kindle a new flame, until we all have the fire of the Holy Ghost burning in our hearts, enabling us to carry his blood-stained banner to the remotest ends of the earth; but we can not forget or leave out the past as we compare this present with the hundred years ago. How my heart rejoiced when I read of the great number of members that have been brought into the Church during that time! Can you think of the many thousands of churches, seven million twenty-five thousand sittings, thirty thousand preachers, a membership of three million nine hundred thousand souls, without having your hearts stirred? Can you look over the churches and think of the seventy-three million nine hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars' worth of property belonging to the Methodist family, and not rejoice? Let us, as we look at these things, only catch the spirit of Wesley, and pray that the Spirit of God may permeate all these agencies, prompting us

to go forth and renew the struggle in the name of the great founder of Christianity, whom we follow.

But as we go back over the past, we are led to ask the question, How was all this accomplished? I am led to speak of the question referred to by Dr. McFerrin. It has not been worked up without its toils; it has not been accomplished without its sorrows. How often has it been worked up without friend or shelter, but still carried forward, notwithstanding the trials, notwithstanding the tears-carried forward to make the name of Christ known to all! But we have not come here now to think of the tears and sorrows and of the troubles that lash the soul, but to cherish the precious heritage that these men of God have handed down to us. And shall we prove untrue to this trust? No, the spirit of Wesley answers no; the spirit of Coke answers no; the spirit of Asbury answers no; the spirit of black, though eloquent, Harry, answers no. Yes, that Spirit that helped them out of every difficulty, that Spirit's voice has come to us, saying, "Sons, prove yourselves worthy of your glorious heritage." And now, in the name of God, who inspires us to go forth to further that glorious work we have undertaken, let us respond with all our hearts. I will speak of some of the phases of Methodism.

Wherever the Gospel has gone, the passions of men have been changed; and wherever the inebriate has come under its influence, he has been reformed, and wherever it has gone, no longer do cities and nations and peoples sit in sackcloth and ashes, but intelligence and prosperity are promoted, and every thing becomes bright and promising under its glorious influence. Not only so, but Methodism has cut its way into almost every known country, and to-day Africa is receiving its light, and China is receiving its light, and as a pledge of his fidelity to the work, one of the noblest men of Methodism has made his grave but recently in that distant land, China. Thus Methodism is planting herself in the world, and wherever the truth is felt, and the Spirit of God has gone, its work must go. But there is a triumph still greater, and still nearer to us, and this triumph I have the pleasure to represent on this platform. You will recollect that in the formation of Methodism in this city, the words of its great founder were quoted, that it was a violation of the law of God, and of the inalienable rights of man, that the image of God should be held in slavery. That became the law of the Church. She worked the best she could under the circumstances; but was Wesley wrong when he declared this truth? A hundred years have vindicated the wisdom of his decision. Do not the voices of Methodism vindicate that decision, and do they not thus echo that truth which he uttered? Yea, he was heard, and his voice has come up out of the smoke of battle, ringing from the clash of arms, and sparkling from the glittering sword, as when God uttered the burning words, "Let the people go free;" and therefore, as one of the triumphs of Methodism, this has been recorded as one of its foundation truths. But for fear you may do as the sister told the preacher to do, I will close my remarks. A preacher was talking to a sister about the devil and his power among men, and he said, "I hope the time will come when the power of the devil will be curtailed"—and she said, "Yes, Lord, cut it short off." So if I am not careful, I may be cut short off. What is the influence Methodism has exerted upon its thousands of Churches, and schools, and members?

If responsibility is equal to the advantages, then what are her responsibilities? Suppose that millions of souls have been gathered, and suppose that there are large portions of the country covered with the light of the Gospel through her instrumentality; are there not also large portions where there is no light? Have all received it? No. But the spirit of Methodism must and will go on until all around this country there shall be a cordon of lights, from the Atlantic to the Golden Gate, and from the North to the Gulf, until the camp-fires of Methodism shall light the entire country, until everywhere they shall say not, "Know the Lord, for they shall shall know him, from the least unto the greatest ;" and when in all the islands of the sea, and the countries of the earth, they shall know the power of the Gospel as spread by Methodism. The next hundred years they shall know more, and the next hundred years after that they shall know more still. Every superstition and idol shall be cut down, and every other power shall be destroyed that is contrary to the power of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Nay, more, the work must go on until all nations shall have heard his truth and be gathered under his banner. The millions of earth shall be led to the kingdom that can not be destroyed, and the nations shall come into one. There shall be no North, and no South, but all shall come into the likeness of Jesus Christ. When that great army shall come up with their scarred shields, and with their broken swords-shall "come up out of great tribulation"-it will be seen as they come nearer the throne, and nearer the Sun of Righteousness, that all lines will melt away, and then Christ will receive those who have been faithful in his service. Then will come the day when the Church you have referred to shall be one; when, from the watch-towers of Asia shall roll out, "One Lord;" and when, from the watch-towers of Europe shall roll out the words "One Faith ;" and from the watch-towers of America, with inspiring chorus, "One Baptism;" when from the watch-towers of Africa shall roll out, "One God and Father of us all." Then the whole creation shall spring to their feet, and shall respond to the chorus, "One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism,' ""One God and Father of us all, who is over all, and through all, and in you all; to him be the glory, forever and forever."

At the close of Prof. Price's address, a communion service was held, Bishop Alpheus W. Wilson, of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, officiating, and being assisted by Bishops Andrews and Granbery, and others. The services were concluded with the doxology and the benediction.