"3. All our preachers shall prudently enforce upon our members the necessity of teaching their slaves to read the word of God; and to allow them time to attend upon the public worship of God on our regular days of divine service.

"4. Our coloured preachers and official members shall have all the privileges which are usual to others in the district and quarterly conferences, where the usages of the country do not forbid it. And the presiding elder may hold for them a separate district conference, where the number of coloured local preachers will justify it."

"5. The annual conferences may employ coloured preachers to travel and preach where their services are judged necessary; provided that no one shall be so employed without having been recommended according to the Form of Discipline."

*These provisions respecting district conferences have been retained ever since, although district conferences were abolished in 1836.

APPENDIX.

EXTRACTS FROM THE NOTES TO THE DISCIPLINE, BY DR. COKE AND BISHOP ASBURY.

THE fact has already been noticed, that Dr. Coke and Bishop Asbury appended explanatory notes to the Discipline of 1796. These consisted partly of Scripture proofs of the doctrines and rules of the church, and partly of expositions of the Discipline. The latter, constituting about two-thirds of the whole, are inserted in this Appendix, under their respective heads. The bishops themselves disclaimed having any authority "to make laws or regulations," much less can their notes be regarded in that light, now that the Discipline has been considerably modified. Bu they are still interesting and important, as containing the views of the first bishops of the Methodist Episcopal Church respecting its discipline at that time, and also, as having been prepared at the request of the General Conference of 1796, and having received the implied sanction of the General Conference of 1800, which directed that they should be printed in such a manner that they could be conveniently bound up with the Form of Discipline.

"Of the Origin of the Methodist Episcopal Church."

“It cannot be needful in this country to vindicate the right of every Christian society to possess, within itself, all the privileges necessary or expedient for the comfort, instruction, or good government of the members thereof. The two sacraments of baptism and the Lord's supper have been allowed to be essential to the formation of a Christian church, by every party and denomination in every age and country of Christendom, with the exception only of a single modern society and ordination by the imposition of hands has been allowed to be highly expedient, and has been practised as universally as the former. And these two points as above described, might, if need were, be confirmed by the Scriptures, and by the unanimous testimony of all the primitive fathers of the church for the three first centuries; and, indeed, by all the able divines who have written on the subject in the different languages of the world down to the present times.

"The only point which can be disputed by any sensible person, is the episcopal form which we have adopted; and this can be contested by candid men, only from their want of acquaintance with the history of the church. The most bigoted devotees to religious establishments (the clergy of the Church of Rome excepted) are now ashamed to support the doctrine of the apostolic, uninterrupted succession of bishops. Dr. Hoadley, bishop of Winchester, who was, we believe, the greatest advocate for episcopacy whom the Protestant churches ever produced, has been so completely overcome by Dr. Calamy, in respect to the uninterrupted succession, that the point has been entirely given up. Nor do we recollect that any writer of the Protestant churches has since attempted to defend what all the learned world at present know to be utterly indefensible.

"And yet nothing but an apostolic, uninterrupted succession, can possibly confine the right of episcopacy to any particular church. The idea, that the supreme magistrate, or legislature of a country, ought to be the head of the church in that nation, is a position, which, we think, no one here will presume to assert. It follows, therefore, indubitably, that every church has a right to choose, if it please, the episcopal plan.

"The late Rev. John Wesley recommended the episcopal form to his societies in America; and the General Conference, which is the chief synod of our church, unanimously accepted of it. Mr. Wesley did more. He first consecrated one for the office of a bishop, that our episcopacy might descend from himself. The General Conference unanimously accepted of the person so consecrated, as well as of Francis Asbury, who had for many years before exercised every branch of the episcopal office, excepting that of ordination. Now, the idea of an apostolic succession being exploded, it follows, that the Methodist Church has every thing which is Scriptural and essential to justify its episcopacy. Is the unanimous approbation of the chief synod of a church necessary? This it has had. Is the ready compliance of the members of the church with its decision, in this respect, necessary? This it has had, and continues to have. Is it highly expedient, that the fountain of the episcopacy should be respectable? This has been the case. The most respectable divine since the primitive ages, if not since the time of the apostles, was Mr. Wesley. His knowledge of the sciences was very extensive. He was a general scholar and for any to call his learning in question, would be to call their own. On his death the literati of England bore testimony to his great character. And where has been the individual so useful in the spread of religion? But in this we can appeal only to the lovers of vital godliness. By his long and incessant labours he raised a multitude of societies, who looked up to him for direction; and certainly his directions in things lawful, with approbation of the people, were sufficient to give authen

ticity to what was accordingly done. He was peculiarly attached to the laws and customs of the church in the primitive times of Christianity. He knew, that the primitive churches universally followed the episcopal plan: and indeed Bishop Hoadley has demonstrated that the episcopal plan was universal till the time of the Reformation. Mr. Wesley therefore preferred the episcopal form of church government; and God has (glory be to his name!) wonderfully blessed it among us."

"But in all we have observed on this subject, we by no means intend to speak disrespectfully of the Presbyterian Church, or of any other we only desire to defend our own from the unjust calumnies of its opponents."

66 SECTION III.

"Of the General and Yearly Conferences."

"Our societies are scattered over a vast country, extending about fourteen hundred miles from north to south, and from five to eight hundred from east to west. We could not, therefore, in justice to the work of God, nor from the state of our finances, hold our General Conferences oftener than once in four years. If they were more frequent, the long absence of so many ministers from their respective circuits and districts would be an irreparable loss to the societies and congregations. Nor do we think, that the nature of a religious constitution renders it necessary to revise more frequently the regulations by which it is governed. But there are various particulars, which do not come under the name of laws, which require more frequent assemblies or conferences for their consideration. The admission of preachers on trial and into full connection, the ordination of elders and deacons, the examination of the characters of the ministers and preachers, and the stationing of them all, as well as the management of the fund for the superannuated preachers, &c., are points of the first moment, and call for frequent meetings. On this account, the General Conference has appointed yearly conferences, divided in the best manner they were able; to be composed, as far as possible, of at least one bishop-the president elder of each district within the control of those conferences, respectively-the elders, deacons, and the preachers in full connection. These men, who have been travelling the preceding year among all the societies in those districts and circuits, respectively, can give the fullest, the completest information on all the subjects which come under the cognizance of the yearly conferences.

"But it may be asked, Why are not delegates sent to these conferences from each of the circuits? We answer, It would utterly destroy our itinerant plan. They would be concerned chiefly, if not only, for the interests of their own constituents.