Memorial services were arranged for and held on Tues-. day morning, May 13th, in honor of the deceased bishops and official members of the last General Conference who had died in the interim-George W. Woodruff and Erasmus Q. Fuller. The memoir of Bishop Scott was read by J. B. Quigg; that of Bishop Peck by C. N. Sims, and of Bishop Haven by J. M. Buckley. Memorial notices of Erasmus Q. Fuller and George W. Woodruff were read by J. J. Manker and B. M. Adams, respectively. The memoirs were adopted by a rising vote, and are printed in the Journal.

Fraternal messengers from other religious bodies were received, as follows: Robert Newton Young and Sylvester Whitehead, from the British Wesleyan Conference; Jean Paul Cook, from the Evangelical Methodist Church of France and Switzerland; Charles W. Carter and A. H. Colquitt, from the Methodist Episcopal Church, South; Samuel S. Nelles and Isaac B. Aylesworth, from the Methodist Church in Canada; and Jeremiah E. Rankin, from the National Council of the Congregational Churches of the United States. An address was received and read from the Irish Methodist Conference; and telegrams and greetings came from the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church, Saratoga, N. Y.; the Baptist National Societies, Detroit; from Charles Edward Cheney, the fraternal delegate of the Reformed Episcopal Church, unable to be present; from the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, Philadelphia; and from the General Assembly of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, McKeesport, Pa.

Reports were made by the fraternal delegates sent by the General Conference: William F. Warren, to the Wesleyan Conferences in England and Ireland; H. B. Ridgaway, to the Methodist Episcopal Church, South; and W. S. Studley, to the Methodist Church of Canada. Fraternal greetings were sent from the General Conference to the African Methodist Episcopal Church, the Southern Baptist Church, the Reformed German Church, the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church, and the General Assembly of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, all of which were holding their sessions.

The Committee on Episcopacy reported in favor of the election of four additional bishops, and their report was adopted. The Conference therefore proceeded to vote for bishops, and on the first ballot there was no election. On the second ballot, William Xavier Ninde and John Morgan Walden. were chosen; on the third ballot, Willard Francis Mallalieu; and on the last ballot, Charles Henry Fowler. The committee also recommended the election of a bishop for Africa; and the Conference ordered that one should be elected. When the ballot was taken, William Taylor received two hundred and fifty votes out of three hundred and fifty-three, and was elected. The consecration of the bishops-elect took place on Thursday morning, May 22d.

The other elections in the General Conference resulted as follows: Book Agents, New York, John M. Phillips, Sanford Hunt; Cincinnati, Earl Cranston, William P. Stowe. Editors, Methodist Review and Books, Daniel Curry; Christian Advocale, James M. Buckley; Western Christian Advocate, Jeremiah II. Bayliss; Northwestern, Arthur Edwards; Central, Benj. St. James Fry; Pittsburgh, Charles W. Smith; Northern, Orris H. Warren; California, Benjamin F. Crary;. Southwestern, Marshall W. Taylor; Christliche Apologete, William Nast; Haus und Herd, Henry Liebhart; Sunday-school Publications and Books, John H. Vincent. Corresponding Secretaries, Missionary Society, John M. Reid, Charles C. McCabe; Board of Church Extension, Alpha J. Kynett; Freedmen's Aid Society, Richard S. Rust.

The bishops were instructed to submit to the annual conferences, during the year 1887, a proposal to change the ratio of representation from one ministerial delegate for every fortyfive members of the annual conference to one for every ninety.

The secretary was instructed to have the Journal of the General Conference printed and bound, and by him certified to be correct; and when so done, the printed copy should be the official Journal. Bishop Harris was appointed to edit the Discipline for this year; and the editors of the Christliche Apologete and the Haus und Herd were appointed to edit the German translation of the same.

Foreign conferences were granted the same privileges and

rights as those possessed by conferences in the United States. The annual conferences were instructed to direct their educational efforts during the present centennial year to the relief of literary institutions under their care, which are embarrassed by debt, or are inadequately endowed. Surplus files of our Church papers were allowed to be given by the Book Agents to Methodist Historical Societies organized by the conferences, and to our theological seminaries, universities, and colleges, for preservation in their libraries. Certificates

of Church membership were made good for only one year from their date, though if a member find it impracticable to present the certificate within that time, the preacher in charge of the Church from which it was received may renew it. A Sundayschool hymnal was ordered, such as would be the most likely to meet the requirements of the Sunday-school, social and religious meetings, and revivals; more books for Sunday-school libraries, under the editorship of the Sunday-school department, were ordered to be published; and it was recommended that the Bible be used in our Sunday-school classes instead of the lesson-books or leaves. A commission, consisting of one from every General Conference District and one at large, was ordered to be appointed, to take into consideration the whole subject of representation, and report to the next General Conference. A commnission was also ordered to consider the subject of the consolidation and unifying of our benevolent societies, and report as above. The commission was to consist of one bishop, the representatives of the mission districts in the General Mission Committee, and one secretary from the Missionary, Church Extension, Freedmen's Aid, and Educational Societies. In the licensing of local preachers, the district conferences were directed to inquire of the candidates if they will wholly abstain from the use of tobacco. The quarterly conferences were authorized to organize in every Church an Official Board, to be composed of all the members. of the quarterly conference, including all the trustees and Sunday-school superintendents who are members of the Church. The Official Board, so organized, were to discharge the duties belonging to the leaders and stewards' meetings, except certain duties specially assigned to them. The Book Agents

were empowered to provide for the sale and distribution of our publications at Kansas City as soon as judicious arrangements could be made. The rule directing a preacher to take no step toward marriage without first advising with his brethren was stricken out of the Discipline. No divorce, except for the cause of adultery, was to be regarded by the Church as lawful. Ministers were forbidden to marry any parties together where there is a divorced wife or husband living, though this rule was not to apply in the case of an innocent party to the divorce.

The possible number of stewards in a charge was increased from nine to thirteen. The Woman's Home Missionary Society, founded by a number of godly women of the Church in Cincinnati in 1880, was recognized by the Conference. Its Constitution, as well as the Constitution of the Woman's Foreign Missionary Society, were ordered to be printed with the Journal, and the General Conference was authorized to change or amend these Constitutions. The Managers of the Missionary Society were instructed to consider the importance and advantage of publishing a magazine devoted exclusively to the dissemination of missionary literature; and the bishops were requested to insert in the courses of reading for traveling and local preachers some books on missionary topics.

Library associations were recommended to be formed in every charge, and a form of Constitution was suggested, to be placed in the Appendix to the Discipline. The annual conferences were requested to form historical societies, to collect and preserve all facts, documents, relics, and reminiscences relating to the origin and growth of the Church. As this was the centennial year of the founding of the Church, the pastors were directed to see that an outline history of every charge be prepared, furnishing the date of origin, names of founders and of succeeding leading members, characteristic events, etc., the same to be preserved with the Church records.

A few changes were made in the Discipline; New York City was selected as the place for holding the next session of the Conference; Bishop Simpson made a brief closing address, full of hopefulness for the Church; and the Conference adjourned on Wednesday, May 28th.

THE

1888.

HERE were one hundred and eleven conferences represented in the General Conference of 1888, which met in the city of New York on Tuesday, May 1st. The sessions were held in the Metropolitan Opera House; and there were two hundred and eighty-eight clerical and one hundred and seventy-five lay delegates elected. As soon as the preliminary exercises were concluded, Bishop Bowman read a paper stating that certain persons had been elected as lay delegates which the Church had never recognized as eligible, and for that reason their names had, by the authority of the bishops, been omitted from the roll, which was now about to be called. The bishops, however, had no jurisdiction, he said, in the matter of the eligibility of the persons in question, and the General Conference can only exercise this jurisdiction when duly organized. These delegates-elect can not, therefore, assist in the organization. The persons to whom the bishop alluded were Amanda C. Rippey, Kansas Conference; Mary C. Nind, Minnesota; Angie (Angeline) F. Newman, Nebraska; Lizzie (Elizabeth) D. Van Kirk, Pittsburgh; Frances E. Willard, Rock River; John M. Phillips, Mexico (a non-resident); Robert E. Pattison, North India (non-resident); and John E. Rickards, Montana (irregularly elected). The roll was then called by David S. Monroe, who was immediately elected secretary by acclamation. Sabin Halsey, Charles J. Clark, Manley S. Hard, William H. Crogman, Jacob Wernli, William S. Urmey, A. C. Crosthwaite, and Robert R. Doherty were, upon the secretary's nomination, elected assistants. C. J. Clark died suddenly at 1.15 o'clock on Sunday afternoon, May 6th, and Leavitt Bates, a lay delegate from the New England Southern Conference, died on the same day at 5.45 P. M. Committees were appointed to prepare resolutions expressive of the sympathy of the Conference, which reported on Tuesday morning, May 8th. Bert E. Wheeler, Carlton E. Wilbor and Ernest A. Simons were elected additional secretaries.