A Short History Of The Methodists... - Media Sabda Org

commencement of the trial, appoint a secretary, who shall take down regular minutes of the evidence
and proceedings of the trial; which minutes, when read and approved, shall be signed by the said
presiding elder or preacher, and also by the members of the said quarterly-meeting, or by the majority
of them.
"And in case of condemnation, the local preacher, deacon, or elder, condemned, shall be allowed
an appeal to the next yearly conference, provided that he signify to the said quarterly-meeting his
determination to appeal; in which case the said presiding elder, or preacher who has the oversight
of the circuit, shall lay the minutes of the trial above mentioned, before the said yearly conference,
at which the local preacher, deacon, or elder, so appealing, may appear; and the said yearly
conference shall judge and finally determine from the minutes of the said trial, so laid before them."
Previous to the forming of the above rule, the local preachers had been brought to trial when
accused, before the society of which they were members, and were tried as if they were mere private
members.
We also formed the following rule respecting the sale and use of Spiritous Liquors, &c.
"If any member of our society retail or give spiritous liquors, and any thing disorderly be
transacted under his roof on this account, the preacher who has the oversight of the circuit shall
proceed against him as in the case of other immoralities; and the person accused shall be cleared,
censured, suspended, or excluded, according to his conduct, as on other charges of immorality."
At that time it was thought proper to have another bishop elected and ordained, and the conference
voted that it should be done during the sitting of that conference. After the vote was taken, a
difficulty arose about the manner of choosing, or electing a man to be ordained a bishop; and before
the point was settled, Dr. Coke begged that the business might be laid over until the afternoon, which
was done. When we met in the afternoon the Dr. offered himself to us, if we saw cause to take him;
and promised to serve us in the best manner he could, and to be entirely at the disposal of his
American brethren, and to live or die among them. The conference at length agreed to the Dr.'s
proposal, and concluded that if the Dr. tarried with us we could do with two bishops, without
ordaining a third, and the former vote for choosing another bishop was dropped. The Dr. then gave
us the following instrument of writing:
"I offer myself to my American brethren entirely to their service, all I am and have, with my
talents and labours in every respect; without any mental reservation whatsoever, to labour among
them, and to assist bishop Asbury; not to station the preachers at any time when he is present; but
to exercise all the episcopal duties, when I hold a conference in his absence, and by his consent, and
to visit the West Indies and France when there is an opening, and I can be spared."
[Signed, THOMAS COKE. Conference-Room,
Baltimore, October 27, 1796.
On Sunday the fourth day of December, while the congregation was assembled in the afternoon
for divine service, in our church in Light-Street in the city of Baltimore, and the preacher was