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bly, be attended by more prefiding elders, elders, and deacons, than the conference which is authorized to try a bishop, the yearly conferences confifting of from thirty to fixty members.' And we can, without fcruple, affert, that there are no bishops of any other epifcopal church upon earth, who are fubject to fo ftrict a trial as the bishops of the Methodist epifcopal church in America. We truft, they will never need to be influenced by motives drawn from the fear of temporal or ecclefiaftical punishments, in order to keep from vice: But if they do, may the rod which hangs over them have its due effect; or may they be expelled the church, as "falt which hath loft its favour, and is thenceforth good for nothing but to be caft out, and trodden under foot of men !"

3. Mr. Wefley had the entire management of all the conference-funds and the produce of the books. It is true, he expended all upon the work of God, and for charitable purposes; and rather than appropriate the least of it to his own ufe, refufed, even when he was about seventy years of age, to travel in a carriage, till his friends in London and Bristol entered into a private fubicription for the extraordinary expenfe. That great man of God might have heaped up thousands upon thousands, if he had been fo inclined; and yet he died worth nothing but a little pocket money, the horfes and the carriage in which he travelled; and the clothes he wore. But our American bifhops have no probability of being rich. For not a cent of the public money is at their difpofal: the conferences have the entire direction of the whole. Their falary is fixty-four dollars a year; and their travelling expenfes are also defrayed. And with this falary they are to travel about fix thousand miles a year, " in much patience," and fometimes" in afflictions, in neceffities, in diftreffes, in labours, in watchings, in faftings," through “honour and difho nour, evil report and good report: as deceivers, and yet true; as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and, behold," they "live; as chaftened, and not killed; as forrowful, yet alway rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet poffeffing all things;" and, we truft, they can each of them through grace fay, in their small measure, with the great apostle, that "they are determined not to know any thing, fave Jefus Chrift, and him crucified; yea, doubtlefs, and count all things but lofs for the excellency of the knowledge of Chrift Jefus their Lord: for whom they have fuffered the lofs of all things, and do count them but dung, that they may win Chrift."

We have drawn this comparison between our venerable father and the American bifhops, to fhew to the world that they poffefs not, and, we may add, they aim not to poffefs, that power which he exercised and had a right to exercife, as the father of the connection: that, on the contrary, they are perfectly de

pendent; that their power, their usefulness, themfelves, are entirely at the mercy of the general conference, and, on the charge of immorality, at the mercy of two-thirds of the little conference of nine.

To thefe obfervations we may add, 1. That a branch of the epifcopal office, which, in every epifcopal church upon earth, fince the first introduction of chriftianity, has been confidered as effential to it, namely, the power of ordination, is fingularly limitedin our bishops. For they not only have no power to ordain a perfon for the epifcopal office till he be first elected by the general conference, but they poffefs no authority to ordain an elder or a travelling deacon, till he be firft elected by a yearly conference; or a local deacon, till he obtain a teftimonial, fignifying the approbation of the fociety to which he belongs, counterfigned by the general stewards of the circuit, three elders, three deacons, and three travelling preachers. They are, therefore, not under the temptation of ordaining through intereft, affection, or any other improper motive; because it is not in their power fo to do. They have, indeed, authority to fufpend the ordination of an elected perfon, because they are anfwerable to God for the abuse of their office, and the command of the apoftle, Lay hands fuddenly. on no man," is abfolute: and, we truft, where confcience was really concerned, and they had fufficient reafon to excrcise their power of fufpention, they would do it, even to the lofs of the efteem of their brethren, which is more dear to them than life; yea, even to the lofs of their ufefuinefs in the church, which is more precious to them thau all things here below. But every one must be immediately fenfible, how cautious they will neceffarily be, as men of wifdom, in the exercife of this fufpending power. For unlefs they had fuch weighty reafons for the exercife of it, as would give fome degree of fatisfaction to the conference which had made the election, they would throw themfelves into difficulties, out of which they would not be able to extricate themselves, but by the meekeft and wifeft conduct, and by reparation to the injured person.

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2. The bishops are obliged to travel, till the general conference pronounces them worn-out or fuperannuated: for that certainly is the meaning of the answer to the 6th queftion of this fection. What a restriction! Where is the like in any other epifcopal church? It would be a difgrace to our epifcopacy, to have bifhops fettled on their plantations here and there, evidencing to all the world, that inftead of breathing the fpirit of their office, they could, without remorfe, lay down their crown, and bury the most important talents God has given to men! We would ra ther choose that our epifcopacy fhould be blotted out from the face of the earth, than be fpotted with fuch difgraceful conduct! All the epifcopal churches in the world are confcious of the dig

mity of the epifcopal office. The greateft part of them endcas vour to preferve this dignity by large falaries, fplendid dreites, and other appendages of pomp and fplendour. But if an epifcopacy has neither the dignity which arifes from these worldly trappings, nor that infinitely fuperior dignity which is the attendant of labour, of fuffering and enduring hardfhip for the caufe of Chrift, and of a venerable old age, the concluding fcene of a life, devoted to the fervice of God, it inftantly becomes the difgrace of a church and the just ridicule of the world!

Some may think, that the mode of traveling, which the bifhops are obliged to purfue, is attended with little difficulty, and niuch pleasure. Much pleasure they certainly do experience, becaufe they know that they move in the will of God, and that the Lord is pleased to own their feeble labours. But if to travel through the heat and the cold, the rain and the fnow, the fwamps and the rivers, over the mountains and through the wildernefs, lying for nights together on the bare ground and in log-houtes, open to the wind on every fide, fulfilling their appointments, as far as poffible, whatever be the hinderance,if these be little difficulties, then our bishops have but little to endure.

We have already quoted fo many texts of Scripture in defence of epifcopacy and the itinerant plan, that we need only refer our reader to the notes on the 1ft and 3d fections. The whole tenor of St. Paul's epiftles to Timothy and Titus clearly evidences, that they were invefted, on the whole, with abundantly more power than our bifhops: nor does it appear that they were responsible to any but God and the apoftle. The texts quoted in the notes on the 3d fection, in defence of the itinerant plan, we would particularly recommend to the reader's attention; as we muft infift upon it, that the general itinerancy would not probably exift for any length of time on this extenfive continent, if the bishops were not invested with that authority which they now poffefs. They alone travel through the whole connection, and, therefore, have fuch a view of the whole, as no yearly conference can poffibly have.

One bifhop, with the elders present, may confecrate a bishop who has been previously elected by the general conference. This is agreeable to the Scriptures. We read, 2 Tim. i. 6. “I put thee in remembrance, that thou ftir up the gift of God which is in thee, by the putting on of my hands:" here we have the impofition of the hands of the apoftle. Again, we read, 1 Tim. iv. 14. Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the prefbytery:" here we have the laying on of the hands of the elders. And by comparing both paffages, it is evident that the impofition of hands was, both in refpect to the apoftle and the elders, for the fame gift. Nor is the idea, that three bishops are necessary to

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confecrate a bishop, grounded on any authority whatever, drawn from the Scriptures, or the practice of the apoftolic age.

The authority given to, or rather declared to exift in, the general conference, that in cafe there fhall be no bishop remaining in the church, they shall elect a bishop, and authorize the elders to confecrate him, will not admit of an objection, except on the fuppofition that the fable of an uninterrupted apoftolic fucceffion be allowed to be true. St. Jerome, who was as ftrong an advocate for epifcopacy as perhaps any in the primitive church, informs us, that in the church of Alexandria (which was, in ancient times, one of the most refpectable of the churches) the college of prefbyters not only elected a bishop, on the decease of the former, but confecrated him by the impofition of their own hands folely, from the time of St. Mark, their first bishop, to the time of Dionyfius, which was a space of about two hundred years and the college of prefbyters in ancient times answered to our general conference.

SECTION V.

Of the Prefiding Elders, and of their Duty.

Quefl. 1. BY whom are the prefiding elders to be

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Anfw. By the bishop.

Queft. 2. What are the duties of a prefiding elder ? Anfw. I. To travel through his appointed diftrict. 2. In the absence of a bishop, to take charge of all the elders, deacons, travelling and local preachers, and exhorters in his diftrict.

3. To change, receive, or fufpend preachers in his diftrict during the intervals of the conferences, and in the absence of the bishop.

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4. In the absence of a bishop, to prefide in the conference.

5. To be prefent, as far as practicable, at all the quarterly meetings: and to call together at each quarterly meeting all the travelling and local preachers, exhorters, ftewards, and leaders of the circuit, to hear omplaints, and to receive appeals.

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6. To overfee the fpiritual and temporal bufinefs. of the focieties in his district.

7. To take care that every part of our discipline be enforced in his district.

8. To attend the bishop when prefent in his dif trict; and to give him when abfent all neceffary infor mation, by letter, of the ftate of his district.

Queft. 3. By whom are the prefiding elders to be ftationed and changed?

Anfw. By the bishop.

Queft. 4. How long may the bishop allow an elder to prefide in the fame district?

Anfw. For any term not exceeding four years fuccef fively.

Queft. 5. How fhall the prefiding elders be supported?

Anfw. If there be a furplus of the public money, in one or more circuits in his diftrict, he fhall receive fuch furplus, provided he do not receive more than his annual falary. In cafe of a deficiency in his falary, after fuch furplus is paid him, or if there be no furplus, he fhall fhare with the preachers of his diftrict, in proportion with what they have refpectively received, fo that he receive no more than the amount of his falary upon the whole.

NOTE S.

We have already fhewn by Scripture and argument, in our annotations on the twenty-fecond article of religion, that every church must neceffarily be invested with the authority of ordaining rites and ceremonies in refpect to all uneffential matters, that is, refpecting every thing which is not contrary to the Word of God. The fame arguments will hold with exactly equal force, in refpect to the powers which any church may think proper to invest in its public officers. The New Teftament is almost entirely filent about all fuch things, as they depend fo much on the circumftances of the churches, and the customs and manners of different nations.

However, there are some fundamental principles and general data* afforded us in the New Teftament (to which alone we can have recourfe on this subject) on which we may build ac

* Points which are granted, and perfectly evident.

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