3. Do you consider the ordination performed under the direction of the British Conference to be scriptural and Methodistical? These three inquiries, it will be perceived, involve the very points which it has been our whole object to maintain against our three brother editors. Now what are the replies of Fisk and Hedding? DR. FISK'S REPLY. WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY, MIDDLETOWN, CONN., Į REV. EGERTON RYERSON: MY DEAR SIR,-Your favor of late date is before me, making some inquiries respecting the constitution of the Methodist Episcopal Church. The first was in reference to the episcopal form of government. I, as an individual, believe, and this is also the general opinion of our Church, that episcopacy is not a "doctrine or matter of faith"-it is not essential to the existence of a Gospel Church, but is founded on expediency, and may be desirable and proper in some circumstances of the Church and not in others. You next inquire as to the power of the General Conference to modify or change our episcopacy. On this subject our Discipline is explicit, that "upon the concurrent recommendation of three fourths of all the members of the several Annual Conferences, who shall be present and vote on such recommendation, then a majority of two thirds of the General Conference succeeding shall suffice" to "change or alter any part or rule of our government, so as to do away episcopacy and destroy the plan of our itinerant general superintendency." Of course, with the above described majority the General Conference might make the episcopate office elective,* and, if they chose, dispense with the ordination for the Bishop or Superintendent. I was a delegate from the Methodist Episcopal Church to the Wesleyan Conference in England in 1836. At that Conference I was present at the ordination of those admitted to orders, and by request participated in the ceremony. I considered the ordination, as then and there performed, valid, and the ministers thus consecrated as duly authorized ministers of Christ. With kind regards to yourself personally, and the best wishes for the prosperity of your Church, I am, as ever, yours in friendship and Gospel bonds, W. Fisk. The following is Bishop Hedding's answer to a similar letter to that addressed to Dr. Fisk: LANSINGBURGH, N. Y., October 12, 1837. DEAR BROTHER,--I have just arrived at home, and found your letter. I am sorry I did not receive it early enough to render the aid you wished. The Genesee Conference did not close till the 30th ult. I suppose the law case is decided, therefore any thing I write will be of no use. I would have tried to get to Kingston had I known the request at the Genesee Conference. It is clear from the proviso added to the restrictions laid on the delegated General Conference, that by and with the supposed “recommendation" said Conference may alter the plan so as to make the episcopal office periodically elective, and also so as to dispense with the ceremony of ordination in the appointment. I believe our Church never supposed the ceremony of ordination was necessary to the episcopacy; that is, that it could not in any possible circumstances be dispensed with; nor that it was absolutely necessary that one man should hold the episcopal office for life. One evidence of this I find in the Minutes of our Conference for the year 1789, four years after our Church was organized. There it is asked, "Who are the persons that exercise the episcopal office in the Methodist Church in Europe and America? Answer. John Wesley, Thomas Coke, Francis Asbury."-Bound Minutes, vol. i, p. 76. From this it appears those fathers considered Mr. Wesley in the episcopal office, though he had never been admitted to it by the ceremony Dr. Fisk here doubtless means, as Bishop Hedding explicitly expresses it, "periodically elective." In any other sense the Episcopate is "elective" now. of ordination.* I shall be glad to know how the law case is decided. Please write me, or send me a paper containing it. My best respects to and her parents, your brothers, etc. Dear brother, affectionately yours, ELIJAH HEDDING. It will be seen at once that these letters affirm precisely our doctrine. 1. Our episcopacy is optional. 2. To change its time tenure requires the two thirds and three fourths vote, according to our Restrictive Rule. 3. To abolish ordination requires the same two thirds and three fourths vote. The same opinions were given by Dr. Luckey, and by Thomas Mason and George Lane. Nay, some of the very authorities quoted by our brethren opposite gave the same opinions, as Ezekiel Cooper, Thomas Morrell, Thomas Ware, and Nelson Reed. We think these authorities may settle the question. And it may here be added, once for all, that our opponents have not produced among all their quotations, nor can they produce, and they are hereby challenged to produce, one authority affirming that after the passing of the Restrictive Rule it is permitted by the Restrictive Rule to abolish the ordination or life-tenure without the Restrictive Rule process. It is true, these opinions say nothing either way-as nothing was asked-as to whether our Discipline is right in attributing "orders" to our episcopate. That needs no confirmatory opinions. And some of these opinions imply (what we admit) that optionally we might have had an office of paramount jurisdiction without ordination or life-tenure, and call it a bishopric. But they do not affirm that such ever was the option of our fathers. On the contrary, these letters affirm that to the episcopate of their option (as we have abundantly shown) both ordination and life tenure were held constitutionally essential, not to be abolished without a constitutional three fourths vote of the annual conferences. That is, Wesley optionally inaugurated, and our fathers optionally accepted and incorporated into our constitution, a lifetenured episcopate by ordination; until receiving which ordination Asbury was allowed to be only a General Assistant, and no sacraments were allowed to be administered by him or presbyterial ordinations to be conferred. And now we rejoice that these points are settled beyond rational dispute. So have we firmly maintained. (Oct. Quar., pp. 676-7.) But this passage in the Minutes occurs previous to the adoption of the Restrictive Rule; and Bishop Hedding quotes it to show what our fathers thought it competent for themselves at their option to frame into the Restrictive Rale, not what they optionally and actually did frame into it. Miscellaneous. Dogs and Their Doings. By Rev. F. O. MORRIS, B.A. Blue and gold. 8vo., pp. 184. New York: Harper & Brothers. 1871. Melville Family and Their Bible Readings. By Mrs. ELLIS. 16mo., pp. 232. Edinburgh: Johnstone, Hunter, & Co. 1871. The August Stories. August and Elvie. By JACOB ABBOTT. 16mo., pp. 388. New York: Dodd, Mead, & Co. 1871. 1871. Origin and History of the New Testament. By JAMES MARTIN, B.A. 16mo., pp. Memoir of Walter Powell, Merchant. By BENJAMIN The Old Back Room. By JENNIE HARRISON. 12mo., pp. 392. New York: Dodd, Memoir of Rev. Patrick Copeland. By EDWARD D. NEILL. 12mo., pp. 93. New York: Charles Scribner & Co. 1871. Park-street Pulpit. Sermons Preached by W. H. H. MURRAY. 8vo., pp. 372. A Compendious Greek Grammar. By ALPHEUS CROSBY, Professor in Dartmouth By PAUL COBDEN. 16mo., green and gilt, pp. 364. Boston: The Cruise of the Casco. By ELIJAH KELLOGG. 16mo., red and gilt, pp. 327. IllusBoston: Lee & Shepard. New York: Lee, Shepard, & Dillingham. 1872. Aunt Madge's Story. By SOPHIE MAY. 16mo., red and gilt, pp. 215. Illustrated. Boston: Lee & Shepard. New York: Lee, Shepard, & Dillingham. 1872. Life and Letters of Catherine M. Sedgwick. Edited by MARY E. DEWEY. 12mo., pp. 446. New York: Harper & Brothers. 1871. Among the Huts in Egypt. Scenes from Real Life. By M. L. WHATELEY. 12mo., pp. 344. London: Seeley, Jackson, & Halliday. 1871. A Treatise on English Punctuation. Designed for Letter-writers, Authors, Printers, and Correctors of the Press. By JOHN WILSON. 12mo., pp. 335. New York: Woolworth, Ainsworth, & Co. 1871. Round the World. Including a Residence in Victoria, and a Journey by Rail across North America. By a Boy. Edited by SAMUEL SMILES, Author of "Self-Help," etc. With Illustrations. 12mo., pp. 289. New York: Harper & Brothers. 1872. Border Reminiscences. By RANDOLPH B. MARCY, U. S. Army, Author of "Prairie Traveler," etc. 12mo., pp. 396. New York: Harper & Brothers. 1872. Hannah. A Novel. By the Author of "John Halifax, Gentleman," "A Brave Lady," "The Ogilvies," "Olive," "Agatha's Husband," etc. 12mo. New York: Harper & Brothers. My Wife and I; or, Harry Henderson's History. By HARRIET BEECHER STOWE. Illustrated by H. S. Stephens. 12mo., pp. 480. New York: J. B. Ford & Co. Notices of the following postponed to the next number: Longfellow's Divine Tragedy. Osgood & Co. Huntington's Church Idea. Hurd & Houghton. Richmond's New York and Its Institutions. E. B. Treat. Speaker's Commentary. Scribner & Co. Smith's Ancient History of the East. Harper & Brothers. Kingsley's At Last. Harper & Brothers. METHODIST QUARTERLY REVIEW. APRIL, 1872. ART. I.—THE HIGHER EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS OF NEW ENGLAND.-FIRST ARTICLE. VERY early in the history of New England, institutions of learning were founded. In 1638, only eighteen years after the Pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock, Harvard College was established, and in 1701 Yale College. In 1800 there were seven Colleges in New England, namely: Harvard, Yale, Brown University, Dartmouth, the University of Vermont at Burlington, Williams College, and Middlebury College, nearly as many as had been founded in all the other United States. In 1830 four others, Bowdoin, Waterville, (now Colby,) Amherst, and Washington, (now Trinity College,) had been established. The Theological Schools of New England were among the first founded in this country; and, besides these, in 1830 New England had one hundred and sixty-three incorporated Academies for general education, and a large number which were unincorporated. It is our object to scrutinize, from data carefully collected from their published catalogues, the condition and prospects of these institutions in New England. Commencing with the Colleges, we have three tables, giving the statistics of these institutions in 1830, 1850, and 1870. FOURTH SERIES, VOL. XXIV.—12 NOTE. The author is indebted for a considerable part of this table to the American Quarterly Register for 1831. + For the year 1846-7. For the year 1851-52. * Scientific students not reckoned, See note under the table for 1870. The whole number is 120. See reference under the table for 1870 for explanation. †These Roman Catholic institutions cover a course of academic and collegiate studies of seven years each, and have one hundred and thirty and one hundred and forty students each. The numbers given above are those who are pursuing the collegiate course. NOTE.-In the above enumerations of students those pursuing scientific courses in Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth, Brown, and the University of Vermont are not reckoned; only those who are pursuing the regular course for the usual degree of A. B. |