PRIMITIVE METHODIST CENTENARY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 13497, 25 May 1907, Page 7

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CENTENARY.

' . , ♦ THE 'FIRST CAMP MEETING. j TO-MOBROW will be a red letter! day with Primitive Methodism throughout j the' world, marking as it does the inception of. their centenary; celebrations. The' first camp -meeting— which the connection really sprang—was 1 held op May 31, 1807, . though the denomination was. not ;formally organised until several : years later. Hugh Bourne and William Clowes were; the two men '"• who were chiefly instrumental in the founding of this aggressive and successful religious .body. ',[ Bourne",; though a ; working man, came of stock that dateu their advent into England from the time of William, the Conqueror. Though, largely- self-taught, he was a, man ol considerable attainments in science and languages., lie possessed initiative and the organising gilt to a remarkable degree. Beading ot the great success of the camp meetings of America, he determined to try it similar gatherings might not prove useful in England. Clowes, his- coadjutor, was a man of winning personality and magnetic preaching power. .-. .both men ..alike were actuated by an ardent .desire to "promote , the highest interests of . their ; fellow men. Around these two gathered others of like heroic and earnest spirit. ; The ; various meetings held for the i promotion of : religion awakened much interest, and; converts, won from the wordly and the vicious, ' whose lives under the Gospel became transformed, ; rapidly ; multiplied. The founding of-a denomination was' furthest "from the thought \- of Bourne and Clowes when they commenced their '■ work. V Unfortunately, however, ,the' older denomination to which these men Delonged, failing to recognise the sagacity and devotion which were being displayed,' placed their, ban upon the open-air gatherings. It now appeared a question of obeying God rather than men, and no hesitation -was shown.' The open-air work went on with increased vigour, 'the numerous converts demanded that they should be formed into a society in' whicn they would be aole to exj tend the benefits of a; movement to which [they themselves owed so much. So the worn j went .forward;: spreading with > great' rapidity throughout most of the counties Englanu. I Their gatherings in the open-air continued I to have, a large place in their ministrations, ana there can be no doubt that in this they : were in accord with the spirit of the founder of Methodism, . lor it is recorded «of ' John Wesley that -,oni one occasion he said ■■" Pel-low-labourers, wherever there :is an open door 4 enter:;; in /;- and preach f the S Gospel; ■■■: if it be. ;to two .91' three, under,a hedge or a tree;" preach the Gospel-go out quickly into the street and lanes of the city, and bring in ; hither the poor, and , the ~ maimed, anu the halt, and the blind." - ,i .- Enthusiasm for evangelism, the powerful preaching of: the Gospel, and the self-deny-ing and unceasing labours for the improvement of the spiritual, . moral, ' educational, and social, conditions ■■> of - the masses, were the ; outstanding feature*, of < the work -of early Primitive Methodism. The labours of the early preachers were prodigious, and the persecutions some of them endured would not be out of place ma'' Book of Martyrs." The burst of happy song, however, which marks every fervent evangelical movement, was by no means absent. In the course of time; the: Church i extended to the United: States,, Canada, the Australasian colonies,, and several parts of Africa. One of the spheres of work in Africa has for its centre Aliwal North, a town which figured prominently in the recent South African, war. In this mission there are 1100 members,: chiefly natives. ,-;-,•.' ,>■ ;:'--'V - "-.:..' ',':--.:.--;.-,■■;

The, denomination was ■ established in New Zealand by the late Rev. B. Ward, who landed at New Plymouth in 1844. Though for many years its increase in this colony was slow;; more recently its progress has been very rapid indeed. In 1896 the religious census showed an increase of 34 per, cent; in 1901, an increase of 44 per cent., '■ and the census returns '■ of last ': year gave the phenomenal'increase of 114 per cent. In Canada and Australia the denomination has become .merged in the Methodist Union, but the statistics of tho Church at present show that -there * are : 1153 ministers, 16,209 lay preachers,' 61,275 Sunday-school teachers, and 477,114 scholars. ; Church property is valued at • over £5,000,000, and on an.average one new church is opened: every week. The. denomination has a publishing: house in London, the sales from ;: which last year totalled : £36.143, yielding a. profit of over £4000, £3500 of which was granted to the superannuated ministers' fund. The Hartley College, at Manchester, which Vis presided over by Professor Peake. is the training institute for the young : ministers; the,; course, of instruction being a three years'.one. The college is -said to be the largest' denominational one in England. ; The denomination 7 stands; second in the Methodism of the British Empire. ;'.'- •"■ Having 7 been : founded by ; laymen, the Church has a democratic tone, the laymen having equal voice and vote with ministers in all Cnurch courts.

Apparently the Church has found considerable favour in the eyes 'of the people of this, as well as of the old land, and it commences its second century of work under very promising circumstances. The celebration of the centenary: movement is arousing a good deal of enthusiasm in England., The Bev. J. Flanagan, a- very successful evangelist, is shortly to visit our colony and/hold meetings. The centenary will also have prominence : given to it : . in ; the local churches and schools of the denomination on Sunday.