THE METHODIST CHURCH SOUTH.
The Methodist Advocate gives a very melancholy, discouraging picture of the condition of the Methodist Episcopal Church South. It affirms that in the recent General Conference at Atlanta, there was manifestly a lack of faith and hope in the future of the denomination; that there was an utter failure “to measure up to the demands of the present, to say nothing of the future;” that “there seemed to be little apprehension of the magnitude and import of events transpiring around us, or of the requirements of Providence;” and that “the body was marked by extraordinary timidity,” “indifference, recklessness, or desperation,” in its treatment of the questions which came before it. The Advocate further says: “The history of the Methodist Episcopal Church South is not as flattering as might be supposed. It is not stronger in numbers, relatively, among the white people of the South, now, than it was at the time of its organization. It is affirmed that the strong Book Concern with which the church started in 1844, and which has since been paid $400,000 by our own Book Concern, is now in debt $100,000, more than it is worth; that intemperance prevails to an embarrassing extent; and that the abrogation of the probationary system, and lax discipline, have added many thousands of names to the records, but only, in many cases, to be burdens to the societies.” The Northwestern Christian Advocate adds: “If the condition of the Methodist Episcopal Church South is correctly represented by these statements, it is greatly to be deplored. The South needs to-day the bold, strong leadership of earnest evangelical Christianity, and in this leadership Methodism should be at the front. Is the absence of the moral and spiritual power which can alone qualify for such leadership, the explanation of the silence or weakness in utterance of the Southern Methodist press on the great questions which involve the moral well-being of the South? Is it timidity that causes silence, or is it blindness and indifference to the demands of the hour? The grandest opportunity given to any portion of the Christian Church is given the Methodist Episcopal Church South, at this hour; yet there is danger that her candlestick will be removed out of its place.”