cated that the Episcopacy is relatively a less force in the Church. than it once was; nor is that relative position to be laid to the account of the incumbents of the office. Hereafter, probably, our Episcopacy will be somewhat more exclusively a working and administrative power than formerly; and yet, from the dignity of the position, and the power necessarily confided to the Executive during the long intervals between the General Conference sessions, the Methodist Episcopacy must continue to be a very considerable factor in the Church's affairs.

But the strength of the Methodism of the future will continne to more and more concentrate itself in the Annual Conferences. In these primary synods of the traveling ministers the available power of the Church can be best and most effectively developed and brought into action; and according as these assemblies, made up of men each acting in his own individuality, shall well or ill appreciate their positions, and feel the spirit of their calling, will it be well or ill with the Church and with its work. And that it may be all that should be desired and expected, the esprit du corps of the body must be cherished and recognized by all. It is those men who do the hard work, accept the poor places, live and die in comparative obscurity, and pass on to superannuation without any adequate provision against want in age and helplessness, that, after all, contribute most to the Church's greatness and practical success. It devolves on these men to carry forward all the great enterprises of the Church, not only in the "cure of souls," but also in organizing and leading on the working forces, and in raising the supplies-the money power for driving the machinery. And as there must always be leaders where men act together, so in such bodies these must be found rather than appointed, and their commissions must be in themselves—their fitness for their places being duly recognized by their associates. Another conviction that the looker-on at the General Conference would be sure to carry away with him is, that the lay element is becoming a great power in the counsels and the work of Methodism. Such, indeed, it always has been, but that force is becoming developed and brought into working order. In the General Conference the lay element, in most individual cases, labors under the disadvantages of want of familiarity with the methods of the body, and also with the

details of the Church interests to be cared for. The former of these, however, has been pretty effectually overcome in the cases of those who have been in attendance during a number of successive sessions, and others have rapidly acquired the needed facility of action. And as to the latter, some of the laymen manifested remarkable readiness in dealing with the questions in hand, and, especially in the committees, contributed a fair share to the practical handling of the subjects to be dealt with. But the interesting point demonstrated is, that all over the land, even in the most distant parts, are found laymen who are ready to devote their time and labor and money for the sake of the Church, and who, simply as samples of a large and increasing class, are giving their studies and labors to the interests of religion.

In the proceedings of the Conference three subjects of special interest came into view: the work in the Southern States, and the race questions involved; the condition and administration of foreign missions; and the relations of the Church to the great moral issues of the times. Respecting the first of these, the Church has, all along, had a well-defined policy, to wit, that all its members shall stand upon an exact equality before its laws, and to this policy it has sought faithfully to conform its administration. But race prejudices are a social element of such far-reaching power that they cannot be altogether ignored. Accordingly, churches and conferences and schools have been organized virtually, if not in legal form, on the "color line," and to this arrangement both races have assented, while the Church, in its general administration, has accepted the fact, because those concerned desired it. But lest this form of administration might be construed as abridging the rights of some of the members of the Church in certain churches or institutions, it was broadly and emphatically declared "that this General Conference declares the policy of the Methodist Episcopal Church to be, that no member of any society within the Church shall be excluded from public worship in any and every edifice of the denomination, and no student shall be excluded from instruction in any and every school under the supervision of the Church, because of race, color, or previous condition of servitude." "Mixed" churches and schools may not be the rule in practice, but if not, the

reason is not in the law, but the local administration accepted by both parties.

The subject of the foreign missions, their administration and their relations, present and prospective, to the home Church, was among the most important and interesting of those that came before the Conference, and it was not without its perplexities. Many of those missions have grown to such proportions that it is not an easy matter to administer their affairs, simply as missions, from the central office in New York.

Most of them have been constituted Annual Conferences, and this has rendered their administration in some things the more anomalous. In all these cases the missions and churches that make up such Annual Conferences also constitute a kind of national Methodism in their several countries. The whole tendency of their normal growth is to become individualized, and that would call for, first, autonomy, and then independent selfsupport. But for these, neither the missions nor the Church at home appeared to be ready. To meet the demands of the case, at least in part, it was proposed to fix episcopal residences in some of the foreign fields, a measure for which a clear majority of the Conference voted, but it failed by the dissent of a majority of the lay delegates, voting by orders. But even that was confessed by its supporters to be only a temporary expedient, while complete individualization and final organic separation was generally confessed to be the goal to which they must come at length. But it was doubted whether the time for that consummation had arrived, and therefore it was thought best to leave things substantially as they have been for four years more, with the full conviction that then something more decisive must be undertaken and executed.

Respecting the great moral questions of the day, Methodism has always been outspoken and ready to give its moral support to every good cause. Three of these now came under consideration-Temperance, the Sabbath, and Divorce—and on all of these plain and earnest words were spoken, and the chief council of the Church fully indorsed and emphasized the utterances of its pulpits and the press on these vastly important subjects. On all these a great fight is impending, and it is well that the voice of the highest assembly of the Church should have spoken out in no uncertain tones.

The publishing interests of the Church were, of course, reviewed, but no considerable changes were inaugurated. Financially, those interests appear to be in a decidedly satisfactory condition, more so than at any former General Conference; the work done also shows a large aggregate of books and periodicals produced and disposed of; and yet it is apparent that the growth of this department of the Church's work is not keeping pace with the progress of the Church itself, or of some others of its interests. No doubt Methodists are using a much larger portion of both books and periodicals not of our own press than was formerly the case-a fact perhaps not to be deprecated; and yet some were not satisfied that even this might not be made otherwise, to the advantage of both publishers and buyers and readers. Especially in the department of magazine literature, now grown to vast proportions in the general trade, except in the Sunday-school department almost nothing has been done for a long time by our publishers; and in the general book business there seems to be no adequate method in use for bringing the books, when published, within the reach of the public.

The Conference closed in good order, and with a pretty full quorum, at the end of the twenty-fourth day's session, (not counting Sundays,) with its work all done-an end that was accomplished only by rushing many things to a vote with undesirable, if not unnecessary, haste, and often without any adequate discussion. But this evil was really less than it seemed, since nearly every thing had been thoroughly examined and discussed in committee, and the Conference only confirmed what had been already settled by those who had fully considered it. And so the General Conference of 1884 passed into history. It was a good session, excellent in spirit, devout, orderly, (except through excess of vivacity,) exceedingly good-tempered, zealous for the good name and prosperity of the Church, intensely denominational but not narrowly sectarian, full of faith in the agencies of the Church, and largely hopeful as to its future.

ART. X.-SYNOPSIS OF THE QUARTERLIES AND OTHERS OF THE HIGHER PERIODICALS.

American Reviews.

AMERICAN CATHOLIC QUARTERLY REVIEW, April, 1884. (Philadelphia.)-1. Plu rality of Worlds; by Rev. J. De Concilio. 2. Nature of the Human Soul; by Rev. J. Ming, S.J. 3. Improvement in Parochial Schools; by Rev. H. A. Brann, D.D. 4. Waning Influence of the English Universities; by A. F. Marshall, B.M., Oxon. 5. The Mormon Question and the United States Government; by Bryan J. Clinche. 6. The Propaganda Question and Our Duty; by Rev. Bernard O'Reilly, L.D. 7. Life and Times of Frederic II.; by Prof. St. George Mivart, F.R.S. 8. Prince Bismarck's Conflict with the Catholic Church; by H. J. Henser. 9. The Coming Plenary Council of Baltimore; by John Gilmary Shea, LL.D. 10. Sociological Aspects of Christian Charity; by A. de G.

BIBLIOTHECA SACRA, April, 1884. (Oberlin, Ohio.)-1. The Divine Personality; by James H. Fairchild, D.D. 2. The Irrepressible Conflict, (of American Slavery;) by Dr. H. von Holst, Ph.D. 3. Heredity and Depravity; by Stuart Phelps, Ph.D. 4. The Messianic Views of Christ's Contemporaries; by Rev. Prof. George H. Schodde, Ph.D. 5. The Theology of Canon Mozley; by Charles F. Thwing. 6. The Inspiration of the Old Testament; by Rev. I. P. Warren, D.D. 7. The Prophets of Israel and Place in History to the Close of the Eighth Century B. C. Eight Lectures by W. Robertson Smith, LL.D; by Rev. Israel E. Dwinell, D.D. 8. Recent Evangelistic Movements in Great Britain and on the Continent; by Samuel Ives Curtis, D.D. 9. The Niagara Gorge as a Chronometer; by Rev. G. Frederic Wright. 10. Assyrian Research, and Hebrew Lexicon; by Prof. D. G. Lyon, Ph.D. 11. Exegetical NoteTranslations of the Aorist Tense in the Indicative Mood-Dr. Ladd on Alleged Discrepancies and Errors of the Bible.

CATHOLIC WORLD, (Monthly,) April, 1884. (New York.)-1. The Workman and his Little Sister; by Kathleen O'Meara. 2. Bancroft's History of the United States; by R. H. Clarke, LL.D. 3. The Wisdom and Truth of Wordsworth's Poetry, (II;) by Aubrey de Vere. 4. By-ways; by Marion A. Taggart. 5. New Mexico and her Pueblos; by the Very Rev. J. H. Dufouri. 6. Armine, (Chaps. xxxix-xlii;) by Christian Reid. 7. An Impudent Fabrication Exposed; by Rev. George Dishow. 8. The Delicacy of Shakespeare; by R. M. Johnson.

May, 1884.-1. The Catholic Law of Marriage; by Rev. A. F. Hewit. 2. HongKong; by H. Y. Eastlake. 3. Katharine, (Chapters i, ii;) by E. G. Martin. 4. Evolution in the Light of Recent Researches; by Cornelius O'Leary, M.D. 5. The Wisdom and Truth of Wordsworth's Poetry, (III;) by Aubrey de Vere. 6. Histories and Catechisms; by Monsignor Preston. 7. Spring in the North; by Margaret F. Sullivan. 8. Armine, (Chaps. xliii-xlvi;) by Christian Reid. 9. The Building of the Mountain; by William Seaton.

June, 1884.-1. Darwin's Mistake; by Rt. Rev. F. S. Chatord, D.D. 2. The New Flagelants; by Inigo Deane. 3. The "Leading Article "in English Journalism; by A. F. Marshall. 4. The Very Last Centenary of Protestant Isms; by Rev. Thomas J. Jenkins. 5. The Wisdom and Truth of Wordsworth's Poetry; (IV;) by Aubrey de Vere. 6. The Isle of Thanet and Its Straits; by M. P. Thompson. 7. My Espousals. 8. In and Around the Magdalen Islands; by A. M. Pope. 9. Katharine, (Chaps. iii, iv;) by E. G. Martin. 10. Religious Liberty, as Understood by the "Evangelical Alliance;" by Rev. George M. Searles. 11. Paul. From the Polish of H. Sienkiewiezlitwes; by W. R. Thompson. 12. Honest Protestants and the Public Schools; by Rev. Walter Elliot.