MINUTES
of
DISTRICT MEETING,
Held at Manchester, on Wednesday and Thursday, the 30th of
November and the 1st of December, 1796,
Alexander Mather
Thomas Taylor
John Allen
Benjamin Rhodes
Jeremiah Brettell
PRESENT,
Thomas Rutherford
Henry Moore
John Booth
Timothy Crowther
John Gualter
James McDonald
Thomas Wood
David B arrow clough
Robert Miller
John Denton
George Sykes
Thomas Fearnley
George Morley
George Marsden
Joseph Collier.
After solemn prayer, the meeting was opened by Mr.
Moore, who gave a pleasing account of those brethren
who had been the cause of some uneasiness in Liver¬
pool last week, being now reconciled to their brethren,
by acknowledging their fault, expressing their "sorrow
for it, and by engaging to act in union with their breth¬
ren for the time to come.
It was then desired that the Salford Address, signed
John Shore, dated the 4th day of October 1796,
should be read. This being done, the following ques¬
tions were asked,
0. 1. Does this address concern only the Society of
Manchester, and the Preachers stationed there ?
A. It manifestly concerns the whole Connection.
£?. 2. Is it proper that Mr. Mather should retain
his office as chairman p
A. Undoubtedly it is, as he was appointed to it by
the Conference, and is not personally concerne-1.
business upon which we are assembled.
Q. 3. Who is appointed Secretary ?
A. Thomas Taylor.
. 4* Shall t lie above Address ^ agaln read and con¬
sidered, paragraph by paragraph"?
A. Ly all means. ^ I his was accordingly done; and
we weie unanimous uUr judgment, That this Address
is calculated,
. ^ 0 ^eceiVe and mislead all those into whose hands
it mayr-,inc>
IJL. .0 make the minds of the people evil-affected to¬
wards the Preachers, by false and unjust representations
of them, and their conduct.
III. That its authors, and supporters, have virtually
renounced all connection with the Conference by re¬
jecting its rules ; and of consequence all connection
with those who desire to submit to them.
Any who may desire to see these points fully proved,
we refer to the Protest published against the said
Address, by the Trustees, Local Preachers, Leaders, and
Stewards of the Manchester Society, dated October 14,
1796. That Protest was also read in the same manner,
and approved of unanimously ; and it is recommended
to the brethren to let it have a full circulation in the
Societies. «—
(?. 5. What answer can be given to the three questions
proposed by our brethren who have signed the Protest ?
A. 1. We are unanimous as to the justness of our
rules, as contained in the Minutes of the Conference,
and in the Rules of the Societies ; and we believe them to
be not only designed, but well adapted, to promote the
welfare, and preserve the peace of the whole Connec¬
tion.
2. We are of one mind as to the power vested in the
Conference, and we approve of the account given of
that power in the Manchester Protest, viz.
The power of the Conference is neither " usurped,"
nor wholly " delegated" by men j but is, first, given to
them by God, in common with all who are called by
Him to the work of the Ministry, Acts xx. 28. 1 Thes.
v. 12, 13. 1 Tim. v. 17, 19. Heb. xiii. 7, 17. 1 Peter,
v. 1—5. Secondly, it is a power inherent in themselves,
as Ministers who have first formed themselves into a
body, and made such rules as they judged proper, first
for the government and direction of that body, and, se¬
condly, for those who might desire to unite with them.
This must consequently imply a power of judging with
whom they will (or will not) hold this fellowship, viz.
such as agree to be subject to these rules, and so long as
they are subject to them. There is also a power dele¬
gated by the Deeds of the Chapels to those preachers
who assemble in Conference to appoint, from year to
year, who shall therein preach and expound God's holy
word; and, in some Deeds, to perform the worship of
Almighty God, as the same has been usual among the
Methodists. Yet these powers, so possessed or delegat¬
ed, except in the first instance, have been by mutual
consent of preachers and people restricted.—First, by
the Deeds of the Chapels. Secondly, by the Minutes of
the Conference; and, thirdly, by the Pacific Plan of
1795* I his proves that the preachers are not "usur¬
pers," nor "despots;" as also that they have, since the
death of Mr. Wesley, made many rules in fairour of
the people; and that they do not consider themselves
exactly in his place, as all who knew him are fully aware
he would not have submitted to the above agreements
or rules, even for the preachers after his death.
As to the. third question,
1. We must observe, as before, that those brethren
who renounce the Conference rules, do by that act vir¬
tually separate themselves from it,
2. i hat our society rules require that the members
shall not speak evil of ministers, and that they shall
not rail at, or revile any man : and by those rules all
who thus offend are, after due admonition and for¬
bearance, ordered to be excluded. In this also we are
ufrjsr&isjous, that those brethren who signed that Ad¬
dress, as mentioned above, are guilty in all these re¬
spects, and in a high degree; that they are excluded
by these rules ; and that as they h^ve been admonished,
and borne with for some time, they outfit, agreeable to
many passages of Scripture, to be put hWay from us.
We shall only quote the following, Rom. xvV *7* We
beseech you, brethren, mark those that cause divisions and
offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned o,nd
avoid them. Titus, iii. 10. A man that is an heretic, that
is, who is a party maker, (see Mr. Wesley's notes or*
the passage) after the first and second admonition, reject.
1 Cor. v. 11. If any man who is called a brother, be—a
railer, with such a one, no not to eat —Phis we know your
Superintendent, in conjunction with the Leaders, might
have done; but as you desired our advice before you
thus proceeded, we advise you to use the same tender¬
ness and forbearance a little longer. If this do not en¬
gage those brethren to return, you have no alternative
but to refuse them tickets at the next visitation. Yet
we propose to meet the Leaders before we depart, that
we may admonish those brethren in their presence, 1.
That if they be thus removed, they are themselves the
sole cause of that removal. 2. That they have now a
fair opportunity of continuing with their brethren, on
the following easy terms, viz. That they lay^11 these
causes of dissention entirely aside; and as they have
done before, to act in union with their brethren. This
we entreat them to do for the Lord's sake, for the good
of their own souls, and for the comfort, harmony, and
prosperity of the whole Connection.
Signed by order of the Meeting,
A. Mather,
T. Taylor.
Manchester, Dec. 2, 1796.
Very dear Brethren,
You will see by these Minutes that we have been
under the disagreeable necessity of calling a District
Meeting; at which, among other things it has been said,
that some assert, " there are many of the Preachers who
do not approve of the Conference rules or laws ; nor of
the power vested in the Conference." On this diver¬
sity of sentiment some think our present uneasiness is
founded.
We are of opinion, that this matter ought to be put
out of doubt ; and therefore we wish you to use what
means you think best to get the judgment of every
Preacher in your district on these two important points.
When you have received their unequivocal sentiments,
be so kind to send them to Mr. Pawson, that when all
come to hand, he may publish them to the Connection.
We are your affectionate Brethren,
Signed in behalf of the Meeting,
A. Mather.
T. Taylor,
P. S. We entreat you to do this without delay.