success.

all the states between New-York to the northward, and North Carolina to the southward, both inclusive, preaching and forming societies with great Mr. Rankin says, in his own printed account," At our first little Conference in Philadelphia, in July, 1773, we had about a thousand in the different societies, and six or seven preachers; and in May, 1777, we had forty preachers in the different circuits, and about seven thousand members in the societies; besides manyhundreds of negroes, who were convinced of sin, and many of them happy in the love of God. Were it not for the civil war, I have reason to believe the work of God would have flourished in a more abundant manner, as both rich and poor gladly embraced the truths of the gospel, and received the preachers with open arms."

When the war between America and England commenced, which ended in American independency, Mr. Rankin, and some other preachers from England, so warmly avowed themselves in favour of the mother country, that they could not continue to preach, but were under the necessity of returning home, which they effected with considerable difficulty. And of all these European missionaries Mr. Asbury alone determined to remain at his post, and did so conduct himself as to escape any material personal danger. But though he had preserved a perfect neutrality, and had scarcely spoken a word, publicly or privately, on the merits or demerits of the war, yet such was the known loyalty of the Methodists to their -king and country, that Mr. Asbury found it neces sary to conceal himself for two years, in the county of Kent, in the state of Delaware, in the house of a Mr. White, a justice of the peace, and a Methodist. In this gentleman's house he held two Conferences, with such of the preachers as he

could collect in the midst of the troubles and dangers with which they were surrounded. But at length, a gentleman of Delaware, predecessor to Dr. Franklin in the government of Pennsylvania, gave him a letter of strong recommendation, by virtue of which he ventured out, and continued to travel through the states to the end of the war, without any serious molestation.

Some of the preachers, who were doubtful about the legality of the war on the part of the Americans, and therefore scrupled taking the oaths of allegiance to the states in which they respectively laboured, were fined and imprisoned. But such was the kind superintendence of a watchful Providence, that these always found some seasonable and sufficiently powerful friend, and sometimes among such as were not Methodists, who used their influence with the governor and council of the state, and obtained their liberty. In sundry instances, when the preachers were brought before the judges, they bore such a plain and faithful testimony against sin, and so powerfully enforced the doctrines of the gospel, that the judges were

at a loss how to treat them.

Mr. Moore, a preacher in Baltimore, on one of these occasions, delivered such a discourse at the bar, as filled the judges and the whole court with admiration, at the strength of his arguments, and the elegance of his diction, And the assembly of Maryland, partly perhaps to deliver the judges from the trouble that was given them, and partly out of a spirit of candour, passed an act, expressly to allow the Methodist preachers, so called, to exercise their functions, without taking the oath of allegiance. It is but just to remind the reader, that one considerable cause of these difficulties was Mr. Wesley's "Calm Address to the American Colonies," in which he so fully justified the

English Government, and so thoroughly reprobated the American rebels, as they were called, as greatly to exasperate the leading men in that country against both him and his friends. And if` that pamphlet had not been suppressed when a quantity of the copies of it arrived in America, it has been thought the whole of Methodism would have been extinguished there.

During the continuance of the war the American Methodists were destitute of the sacraments, except in two or three of the cities. Almost all the clergymen of the church of England had left the country, and the Presbyterian, Baptist, and other ministers, would not baptize their children, or admit them to the Lord's Supper, except they would leave the society, and join their respective

churches.

The societies in general were so grieved on this account, and so wrought upon the minds of many of the preachers by their continual complaints, that in the year 1778, a considerable number of them earnestly importuned Mr. Asbury to take proper measures, that the people might enjoy the privileges of all other churches, by being no longer destitute of the sacraments which Christ hath ordained in his church; but as Mr. Asbury was then very strongly attached to the church of England, he refused to give them any redress. Upon this, a majority of the preachers withdrew from him, and consequently from Mr. Wesley, and chose out of themselves three senior brethren, who ordained others by the imposition of their hands; and the preachers so ordained, administered the sacraments to such as were judged proper, in the places which they visited. Mr. Asbury, however, was enabled to bring them back one after another; and by the vote of a subsequent Conference the ordinations were declared invalid, and a perfect re-union took place.

When the independence of the American states was acknowledged by the British Government, and peace was established between the two countries, Mr. Wesley received from Mr. Asbury a full and particular account of the progress of the work during the war, and especially of the division which had taken place, and the difficulties he had to encounter before it was healed. He also informed Mr. Wesley of the extreme uneasiness of the people for want of the sacraments; that thousands of their children were unbaptized, and that the generality of the members of the society had not received the Lord's Supper for many years. Mr. Wesley having seriously considered the subject, informed Dr. Coke of his design of drawing up a plan of church-government, and of establishing an ordination for the Methodists in America. But being somewhat timid in taking so new a step, and to which some would strongly object, he took time for further consideration, and suspended the execution of his plan for more than a year.

At the Conference held in Leeds, in 1784, he declared his intention of sending Dr. Coke and some other preachers to America; and Mr. Richard Whatcoat and Mr. Thomas Vasey offered themselves to accompany the Doctor to America, and to remain there; and the offer was accepted. Before they embarked Mr. Wesley made an abridgment of the common prayer-book of the church of England, and desired Dr. Coke to meet him in Bristol, to receive fuller powers for the important mission upon which he was going. The Reverend Mr. Creighton, a clergyman in connexion with Mr. Wesley, and who officiated at Mr. Wesley's chapels in London, was also invited to Bristol. The Doctor and Mr. Creighton repaired to Bristol accordingly: with their assistance, Mr. Wesley

ordained Mr. Whatcoat and Mr. Vasey presbyters for America. Afterwards he ordained Dr. Coke a superintendent, or bishop, giving him letters of ordination as such, under his hand and seal.

This part of the work of preparation being finished, Mr. Wesley gave Dr. Coke the letter, of which the following is an exact copy, which was to be printed and circulated in America :

BRISTOL, Sept. 10, 1784. To Dr. Coke, Mr. Asbury, and our brethren in North America.

1. By a very uncommon train of providences many of the provinces of North America are totally disjoined from their mother-country, and erected into independent states. The English Government has no authority over them, either civil or ecclesiastical, any more than over the states of Holland. A civil authority is exercised over them, partly by the Congress, partly by the Provincial Assemblies. But no one either exercises or claims any ecclesiastical authority at all. In this peculiar situation some thousands of the inhabitants of these states desire my advice; and in compliance with their desire, I have drawn up a little sketch.

2. Lord King's Account of the Primitive Church convinced me many years ago, that bishops and presbyters are the same order, and consequently have the same right to ordain. For many years I have been importuned from time to time, to exercise this right, by ordaining part of our travelling preachers. But I have still refused, not only for peace sake, but because I was deter mined as little as possible to violate the established order of the national church to which I belonged. 3. But the case is widely different between England and North-America. Here there are