METHODIST CONFERENCE.

Otago Witness, Issue 2935, 15 June 1910, Page 74

METHODIST CONFERENCE.

RETURN OF DELEGATES. (Fkom Oxje Own Coeebseondent.) INVERCARGILL, June 13. The New Zealand delegates, who returned from Adelaide by the Moeraki to-day, are naturally somewhat elate regarding the carrying at the conference of the separation resolution. The. position regarding separation was explained thus to your representative :—Methodism in Australasia is controlled by the General Conference, which is held triennially, and is a legislative conference. Each Australian State and New Zealand holds annually a State Conference, which is, however, only an administrative conlerence. The New Zealand Conference could not legislate for the Church in the Dominion, but could only make recommendations to the General Triennial Conference, which might adopt the recommendations and make them the law of the Church. In New Zealand to some extent of the delays of such long distance legislating were mitigated by the General Conference passing permissive legislation, but in the natural course such permissive legislation in time accumulated difficulties. The New Zealand Church (or branch), feeling that by political circumstances as well as natural characteristics it was differently situated from the Church in the Australian States, desired autonomy, or authority to make its own yearly conference a legislative conference. The natural sequence to this is, of course, that New Zealand would not be represented at the Triennial Conference of the Church or that New Zealand would be separated to this extent from the Australian - States. The separation is thus no creedal or doctrinal difference, but a matter of Church management, and it was this separation that was by resolution granted at the recent conference. The delegates state that Mr Laws’s speech in support of New Zealand’s case was the speech of the conference, and the bitter speech of Dr Fitchett in opposition, by its fierceness, gave votes and sympathy to the New Zealand cause. The conditions attaching to the separation are that an endorsing resolution should be carried at the annual conference of each State (New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania, Queensland, and New Zealand), and that New Zealand pay the exjrenses. An act of Parliament has also to be passed in each State. It is expected that as other business will be considered at the several State conferences, the cost of these will not be charged against New Zealand, but what the Parliamentary proceedings will cost will be hard to forecast. The final vote at the conference concerning the conditions was unanimous. The delegates state that the Methodist Church in Australia is very vigorous, and is making rapid progress in most directions, and the handsome buildings erected in propagation of Wesleyan work was a marked characteristic. The delegates were handsomely treated in Adelaide, the Chief Justice of South Australia being the most imminent host.