began to disown their former name, and refused to call themselves" Republican Methodists," any longer. Most of the societies belonging to that party, soon after the publication of that pamphlet, began to call themselves "The Christian church." A difficulty was then raised among themselves respecting the name of their party. They reasoned thus: If we are the Christian church, it will imply there are no Christians but our party." Some of their party protested against the name of the denomination; and four of their preachers broke off from the new plan, and united together on a plan of their own in Charlotte county in Virginia.

They have been divided and subdivided, till at present it is hard to find two of them that are of one opinion. There are now but few of them in that part of Virginia where they were formerly the most numerous; and in most places they are declining.

It will be proper to mention here another division of less magnitude which took place in Charleston, South-Carolina, which was brought about by Mr. William Hammit, who was an Irishman by birth. Mr. Hammit had been a Methodist preacher in the West-Indies, previous to his coming to the United States. When he left his station in the West-Indies, he came to Charleston, and shewed some inclination to tarry among us. The bishop consented to his staying in Charleston; but at the same time fixed another preacher in the city. This was in the beginning of the year 1791. In the month of May following, Mr. Hammit tra velled to the North as far as the city of New York, and preached there a few times. He then returned as far as Baltimore, and there preached a considerable length of time. While he was there, it was discovered that he had a wish to settle himself, if

he could do it to advantage.

Some uneasiness

took place in the society on his account, and leav ing Baltimore, he returned to Charleston in South Carolina.

Mr. Hammit had not been long in Charleston, before he began to lay his plan for a separation, and to use his influence to divide the Methodist society.

In the close of the year 1791, Mr. Hammit left the Methodists, and on Christmas day he preached in the market house in that city, for the first time after leaving us. From that time he continued to preach in the market house or in other places, where it was convenient, but never after preached among us as a Methodist preacher.

In the course of the next year, 1792, he drew off a great part of our society in that city. He proceeded as he had formerly done, to preach, meet the classes, and the like; but made some alterations in the government of the church, and pretended to be on a better plan than the Methodists had established. He got Mr. P. Matthews, a Methodist preacher to unite with him. Some time after that a few more preachers joined him. But none of our travelling preachers joined him. Mr. Hammit called his party the "Primitive Methodists." He tried to make the people believe that he was on the plan that the Methodists set out on at the beginning. He procured some lots of ground in the city, and built a large church, and a dwelling house for the preacher to live in. After that they built a small meeting house in the suburbs of the city. They built another meeting-house in George Town; and one of their preachers built a small meeting-house in Sa va nnah in Georgia; another of their preachers went to Wilmington in North Carolina, and collected to

gether a large number of black people, and built a meeting-house there.

Mr. Hammit wrote against the Methodists, and Mr. Thomas Morrill and Dr. Coke in reply. Several pamphlets were published on each side.After some years Mr. Hammit differed with the preachers in connection with him, and the disagreement was so great that he disowned some of them, and others of them could not fellowship him; and so they divided and came almost to nothing.

Mr. Hammit died on the 14th day of May 1803, after a very short illness; which was a little more than eleven years after he left the Methodists. His name was never entered on our annual minutes in the United States; but he had been in the travelling connection with the British confer ence for several years.

After the death of Mr. Hammit, his society in Charleston was greatly scattered. The meetinghouse which he had built in George Town was given up to the Methodists; and the meeting. house in Savannah was seldom used for public worship.

Mr. William Meredith, who had been in connection with Mr. Hammitt, went to Wilming. ton in North Carolina, and built a meeting-house, and collected a large society of black people, and brought them into good order; and many of them appeared to be deeply pious. Some difficulties arose between him and Mr. Hammit, and they parted some years before either of them died.

Some time in 1798, Mr. Meredith's meeting house in Wilmington was burnt down, together with the dwelling house adjoining to it, in which he lived. Not long afterwards he built another meeting house, which was much larger than the first. He then wished to be united with us,

and requested of us in case he should die, that we would take charge of his society. In the latter part of the year 1799, Mr. Meredith died in peace, and left his meeting house, dwelling house and his society to us. Since then we have kept a stationed preacher in that town.

This may be considered as the beginning and end of the division which was made by Mr. Wiliam Hammit.

The first class of white people that was formed in Wilmington in North Carolina, was joined together on the 24th of December 1797. There were at that time, a few pious persons among the white people in that town, and one man that joined with us was a young preacher. But the blacks were much more attentive to religion than the whites,

CHAPTER VIII.

From the beginning of the year 1794, to the end of 1795.

In 1794 we had fourteen Conferences; three of which were held in the latter part of the preceding year.

The 105th Conference was held in Baltimore, on the 20th of October, 1793.

The 106th in Petersburg, on the 15th of November, 1793.

The 107th in North-Carolina, on the 9th of December, 1793.

The 108th in South Carolina, on the first of January, 1794.

The 109th in the New Territory, on the 2d of April.

The 110th in Kentucky, on the 14th of April. The 111th at Mitchill's, in Bottetourt, on the 26th of May.'

The 112th in Rockingham, on the 3d of June. The 113th at Union-Town, on the twelfth of

June.

The 114th in Albany, on the tenth of July. The 115th in Lynn, on the 25th of July. The 116th in Connecticut, on the 4th of September.

The 117th in New-York, on the 22d of September.

The 118th in Philadelphia, on the 5th of October.

These Conferences, from the beginning to the close of them, included upwards of eleven months and a half; in which time we took in several new circuits, which were as follows:-Federal, in Maryland; Carlisle, in Pennsylvania; Lees