History Of Methodist Reform, Volume I - Media Sabda Org

to interfere with the internal affairs of the circuits or to make laws for their guidance. The district
meetings have no judicial or legislative functions, but are the medium of communication between
the circuits and the Assembly." The circuit strength of the denomination lies principally in the
mining and manufacturing counties of England; it has also large interests in the agricultural
provinces. Lately attention has been given to London.
In the earlier years of the Union its resources were taxed to depletion in building chapels and
consolidating itself, a factor in all these secedent branches, of which too much account cannot be
taken in comparative estimates. Then it took up Home and Foreign missions, and collections must
be taken up for them under penalty of forfeiture of membership in the Assembly. Its foreign missions
are in Jamaica, West and East Africa, China, Australia, and New Zealand. The income for the
Mission Fund is 12,000. They are prosecuted at great expense and martyr devotion from its young
preachers. The denomination has a publishing house in London which issues its connectional
literature. The profits are distributed among the connectional funds. A new congregational
hymn-book was published in 1890. A Relief Fund for indigent chapels and a London Chapel Fund
are among its creations. In 1877 a college was opened at Harrogate, Yorkshire, for the education of
ministers and for commercial life. It has other funds in common with the Methodisms, special
attention being given to its "Temperance League." Its statistics are as follows: 417 ministers, 1608
chapels and preaching-places, with a roll of 85,461 members. There are also 3341 local preachers,
3889 class leaders, 1367 Sunday-schools, 26,689 teachers, and 203,883 scholars. The value of
church property is about 2,037,384. "Such is Free Methodism as at present organized and
administered. It constitutes the fairest and fullest opportunity ever given in Great Britain for testing
the problem, whether the peculiar genius of Methodism can be successfully worked on purely
democratic principles. At present Free Methodism is robust and vigorous."
It is proper for a better understanding of the origin of the Free Methodists that notice in more
detail should be taken of the expulsion of Messrs. Griffith, Everett, and Dunn at the Manchester
Conference, August 3, 1849. Several years before suspicion was aroused among not a few of the
prominent ministers and laymen of the Wesleyan body that the management of the temporalities of
the denomination, specially in the Mission House, was not as careful and judicious as might be, and
under the reasonable checks which business affairs always demand. The proceedings had been
conducted after the genius of paternalism, with a degree of secrecy deemed impolitic by those who
wished the conduct of affairs to be above suspicion. It will be remembered that even the proceedings
of the Wesleyan Conference itself were still conducted with closed doors, as had been the fashion
from Wesley's day, and as to the internal management through committees and secretaries little was
ever disclosed except in the annual reports. Inquiries were met with brusque answers, only serving
to heighten the suspicion of the wide-awake investigators. Finding themselves thwarted at every turn,
they began to issue anonymous circulars and pamphlets, which were widely distributed and
extensively read, thereby arousing the connection and bringing the subject-matter to the immediate
attention of the laity. Great excitement was created by the accusations on the one hand and the
denials on the other, the controversy waxing warmer as it became acrimonious and personal. All the
efforts of the Conference authorities proved abortive in discovering the authors of the circulars,
which came to be called "Fly-sheets," those engaged in the work proving themselves as capable of
keeping a secret as those managing the close corporation concerns of the Conference in the Mission
House, etc. A Mr. Osburn was designated by the Conference to ferret out the authors, and with much