A purpose is intended to be served by these minute statements, namely, to convey an idea of what Methodist Conferences were in the olden times, and to indicate the chief preachers, and the kind of texts they took.
It is a well-known fact that the great event of the Conference of 1784 was the rebellion raised in Wesley’s camp of preachers. In his “Deed of Declaration,” he had appointed his brother Charles, Dr. Coke, James Creighton, and ninety-seven of his itinerants to be, after his decease, his legalized successors, and to exercise the powers he had exercised from the beginning. By confining the number of the members of the legal Conference to a hundred, he necessarily excluded not fewer than ninety-two, whom he had employed in circuit work; and, among these, there were several who had claims quite equal to many of the elected ones, as, to wit, Thomas Lee, John Atlay, John Pritchard, John Pool, John Hampson, sen., John Hampson, jun., William Eells, and Joseph Pillmoor. Previous to the Conference being held, certain of the non-elected preachers published a protest against Wesley’s partiality. The crisis was a serious one. Fletcher was not included in the hundred, probably because he desired to be left out; but he was intensely anxious respecting apprehended results. Mrs. Fletcher wrote:—
“O how deeply was he affected for the welfare of his brethren, when we were at Leeds, in the year 1784! When disputes arose among them, his soul groaned beneath the burden. By two or three o’clock in the morning, I was sure to hear him breathing out prayers for the peace and prosperity of Sion; and when I said to him, I was afraid this would hurt his health, and that I wished him to sleep more, he would answer, ‘O Polly, the cause of God lies near my heart.’”
At the opening of the Conference, on July 27, Wesley mentioned the “Deed of Declaration,” and the “Appeal” which had been published against it:—
“He showed that, from the commencement of Methodism, the annual Conferences had always consisted of persons whom he had desired to meet for the purpose of conferring with him. He insisted, that he had a right to name the members of the Legal Conference, and to fix their number. The ‘Appeal,’” he said, “represented him as unjust, oppressive, and tyrannical, which he was not; the authors of it had betrayed him; and, by doing so, had hurt the minds of many, and kindled a flame throughout the kingdom. Hence, he required that they should acknowledge their fault, and be sorry for it, or he could have no further connection with them.”[[609]]
For seven days, the dispute remained unsettled. Fletcher acted as mediator.
“Never,” says Charles Atmore, “shall I forget the ardour and earnestness with which Mr. Fletcher expostulated, even on his knees, both with Mr. Wesley and the preachers. To the former, he said, ‘My father! my father! they have offended, but they are your children!’ To the latter[latter], he exclaimed, ‘My brethren! my brethren! he is your father!’ and then, portraying the work in which they were unitedly engaged, he fell again on his knees, and with fervour and devotion engaged in prayer. The Conference was bathed in tears; many sobbed aloud.”[[610]]
This appears to have been on the last day but one that the Conference sat. Hence Joseph Benson writes:—
“August 2. Our brethren, who had been concerned in the ‘Appeal,’ rejoiced our hearts, by acknowledging their fault, and making submission. In consequence of their doing so, they were admitted among their brethren, and appointed to Circuits.”[[611]]
It may be added, that, the principal appellants—John Hampson, sen., and John Hampson, jun., Joseph Pillmoor, John Atlay, and William Eells[Eells]—soon afterwards left the Connexion.