Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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V:OL. V. . MANN \ING. U;LA RE\DOLT COUNTY, S. C., WVEDNTESDAY, M1AY 15, 1889.NO2. A MOONSIGIT RIDE. sermon by Rev. Dr. T. DeWitt , ehemiah'e Ride at MIdnight Through the Ruins of Jerusalem-The Ex-. p'eration of Ruins Necessar7 Be fore There Can be Recoa The subject of Rev. Dr. Talmage's recent sermon at_ the Brooklyn Tabernacle was,' ."The Moonlight Ride," and the text, Nehe miah ii, 15: "Then I went up in the night by the brook !-an viewved the wald, and turned back. and enthredby the gate of the valley, 'and so retu:rned." The eloquent divine spoke as follows: " . A dead city is more suggestive than a liv ing city-past Rome than present Rome ruins rather than newly frescoed cathedral. 'But tote best time to visit :u inis by meQn -light.C 'ieoiceinris fasrlore taseilnating .to thetrave'er after sundown than before. You may stand by daylight, amid the mo nastic ruins of Melrose Abbey, and study shafted oriel, and rosetted stone and mul lion, but they throw their strongestwitch cery by moonlight. Some of you remember what the-enchanter of Scotlan"Xsaidrin thd "IjfThe La Minstrel ' Wouldst thou view fair Melrose arigh :' Go visit it by the pale moonlight. Washington Irvine describes the Andalu sian moonlight upon the 4lhambra ruins as amountitigo an. endianiment. My text presents you Jerusalem in ruins. The tower downa.;The gates- ;do . 'Tbe walls : >ii. -Everstbing i doiRu.. rhe miah oi ed 'seback, by -. Am iglight lok ing upon the ruins. While he rides there are some friends on foot going with him, for they do not want' the many h6rses to 'disturb the suspicions of the people. These people do not know the secret of Nehemiah's heart. but they are going as a sort of body guard. I hear the clicking hoofs of the hor.s-en--w.ie te ir .tides;'a he guides it th's.wvay- ands that;- ins. this-gate and out of that, winding through that gate atid the debris of once great Jerti aIem. Now the horse comes to a dead halt at the tumbled masonry where he can not pass. Noel he shiesoff at 'he charred timbers ,Now he conies alotg where, the water under the moonlight flashes from* the mouoht of'the b:-azen dragon tafteruwthch. -t pate was named. Reavy hearted Nehemiah! Riding in and out, now by his old home desolatsed, now by the defaced temple, now amid the seurs of the city that had gone down 'under battering ram and conflagration. The es corting party knows no't what _'ehemiah means. Ishe eting'crazy ? Have his own personal sorrows, added to Vhe sorrows of the nation, unbalanced his intellect? Still the mnidnahexploraan y r~eazt'_ehemtst on horseback rides th rou rh the fish gate, by the tower of the furuaeesThy the Ki ags pool, by the dragon.well. irandout, inelnd out..un til the midnight ride is completed, and Nehe miah dismounts from his horse. and to the amazed and confounded and incredulous body guard, declares the dead secret of his heart when he says. "Come. now. let us build Jerusalem." -What, Nehemiah, have you any money :' "No." "Have you any kingly authority?" "No.'' '.'iavc you any eloquence?" "No." Yet that midnight, moonlight ride of Nehemiah resulted in the glorious rebuilding of the city of Jerusalem. The people knew 'ncot how the thing was to be done, but with ;reat enthusiaa they cried out. "Let us rise up now and build the city." Some people laughed and said it could not be done.' Some" peopile were in furiate and odfered physical violence, saye ing the thing should not. be -dope. But the vram e ight a s og to until the work was gloriously completed. At that very time, in Greece, Xenophon was writing ahistory, and Plato was making philosophy, and Demosthenes was rattling his rhetorical. thunder, but all, of them ,to get..r. NnAo'it r tm'ffitlhelabrldas courageous, homesick, close mouthed Nehe mniah. . -e, . My subject afirst inipresses nie with the idea what an intense thing is church affec Stion. Seize the bridle of that~'horse and stop Nehemiah."Why 'are'you'riskin your life here in the night? Your horse will stumble over tlhese-ri ns $n4all en'vou. Stop this useless' exlposu e 'of 'your'hifd. Nd-, Nehe whole stpry. Se lety us k1mow that he was an eiil. Mfal re la~dd, id he was a servanti, acup "bearer n ihee palace of Artaxerxeh *iangam obdday, while be was handing the cup of wire to the king, .the king said to hint. "Wh'at; 'is the matter -with 'you? ' You are not sic& I kn'of you must hiTe some great trouble.. What is the, matter with you?" Then he toly 'the kig how that b41oved 'Jerusaleta was broken down; how that his father's' t~omb had beetif desecrated; how that' the temple had been dishonored arnd defaced; howthat the wa'lls were soattere-i and broken. "Well," says King).rtaxerxes, "what do you want?" "Well," sidsthejcip bereebemiah, "I 'want to go home. I want to fix up the grave of my father. I want'to restore the beauty of the temule. I want to rebuild the masonry of the city wall. Besides, I want passports so that I shall not be hindered in my journey. 'And besides that," as you will find in the, context, "l want 'an order on the 'man who keeps your forest for just so much timber as may need for the rebuilding of the city." "How long shall you be gone i" said the king. The tinie of absence is arranged:' 'In hot haste this seeming adventurer comes to Jerusalem, and in my text we find him on horseback, in the midnight, riding around the ruins. It is through the spectacles of this scene that' we 'discover the ardent at tachment'of Nehemiah for sacred Jerusalem, which in all ages has been the type of the church of God, out-Jerusalem, whieh we love just as much af Nehemniah loved his Jerusa lem. The fadt is that you' love the' chur'ch, of God so much that there is no spot on earth' .so sacred unless it is your own fireside. The' c rch- has, been~to you so.muc12h;ceg that makes you sosirate as to have it talked against. - If there have been,- times "when 'you have been carried into captivity by sickness, Tyou longed for the church, onr holy Jerusaei, just as much as Nehemiah longed for his Jerusalem, and the first day you came out you came to the house of the Lord. When the temnple was in ruins as ours was years ago, like Nehemiah, you walk~ed around and. looked at it, and in the -moonlightlyou stood listening if you could not hear the - voice of the .dead organ, the psalm of the expired Sab baths. . .Wh'at. Jerusalem was to Nehemiah thle church of God is to you. -Skeptics and infidels may scoff at the church as an obsolete affair, as a rel-ic of thet .-~k ages, as a conventlon of goody-goody people, .but all 'the impression they have ever made on your mind against the church of God is ab solutely nothing. You would make more sacrifice.s for it to-day than for any other instit tionI, and if it were needful you would die in its defeuse. You can take the words of the kingly poet as he said: "If I forget thee, 0 Je,'usalem, let my right hand forget ~her cunning." You understand in your own experience the pathos, the homesick Doss, the courage, the holf enthusiasm of ;ehemieh in his midnigbt, moon ight ride rmuh eins of hisbelovd Jrslm thatbeforeredonstiriut n eae must be an explfritiini ol rin . was' notN ehe. mialfi'asleip u'di t e-Are's Wby was not his horse stabled In the nid:ightf Let the police of the city arrest this midnight rkler out on some mischief. No. Nehemiah is go= ing to rebuild the city. and he is making the preliminaryt exploration. In this gate, out t1iRerasty, 4aie, north; h U.A: thrgug Qqzgi: Shie ruins r usj-be es plored before the work of reconstruction can begin. The reason that so many people in this day. apparently converted, do not stay converted is because they did not first explore the ruins of their own heart. The reason that there are so many po fessed Christians who in-this day lie and forge and steal. and commit adultery. and go to the penitentiary, is becanse they first do not learn the ruin of their'ow'n hdart; They have not found out that9ie-pr.isale ceitful above all thihgs. and desperately wicked." They had an idea that they were almost right, and they built religion as a sort of extension, as an ornamental cupola. There was a superstructure of religion built oti a substratum of unrepented sins. The trouble with a'good deal of modern theology is that instead of building on the right foun dation, it builds on the debris of an unre generated nature. They attempt to rebuild Jerusalem before; .b theah!dnight of con-. viction, they $e 'ieedi tht.ghastliness of the ruin. They have such a poor foun dation for their religion that the first northeast storm of temptation blows them down. I have no faith in a man's con version if he is not converted in the old fashioned wa-Johudu yantay,-John Wesley's way, John Calfin's was,. Paul's way, Christ's way. God's way. A dentist once said to me, "Does that hurt?" Said I, "Of course ithurtsLis in your.bnsijaessaa in my profession. We have to hurt before we can help." You will never understand redermption unti -you. understand ruin.. A, man tlls Tme that- some one is' a member of the church. It .makes no impression on my mind at all. I simply want to know whether he was converted in the old-fash ioned way, or whether he was converted in the new-fashioned way. If he was con verted in the old-fashioned way he will stand. If he was converted in the new-fash ioned way he will'not stand. - This is' all there is about it. A man comes to. me to talk about rcligi'n. The first ques tion I ask him is: "1Do you feel your self to be a sinner!" If he says, "Well, I-ysh, the f hesitancy 'makes' - me feel tiat that nian wants a ride on Ne'ne miah's horse by-midnight. through the ruins -in by the gate of his affections, out by the gate of his will; and before he has got through with that midnight ride he will drop the reins on the horse's neck, and will take his right band and smite on his heart and say: "God be merciful to me a sinner;" and before he has stabled his horse ho will trke- his-feet out of the stiri-aps, and-he will slide down on the ground,-and he wiMt kneel; crying. kfave.mercy on me,. 0 God, accord ing to Thy loving kindne-s according unto the multitude of Thy tender mercies; blot out my transgressions, for I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sins are ever beforeThee." Ah, my friends, you see this is not a complimentary gospe. That is what makes some people so mad. !t comes to a man of a r~il~ion dollars and Impenitent in his sins and si.ys, "You're a pauper." It comes to a wor.an of fairest cheek. who has never repented, and says, "You're a sin ner." It comes to a man priding himself on his independence and says, "You're bound - hand and foot . by the devil." It comes- to our entire race and says "You're a ruin, a ghastly ruin, an illimita ble ruin." Satan sometimes says to me, "Why. do you preach that truth? Why don't. you preach a gospel with no repent ance in it? Why don't you flatter men's hearts so that you make them feel all right? Why don't you preach a humanitarian gos pel with no repentance in it, saying nothing about the ruin, talking all the time about redemption?" I say, "Get thee-behind me, Satan." I would rather lead five souls the right way than twenty thousand the wrong way. The redemption of the gospel is a perfect -farce if there is no ruin. "The whole need not a physician, but they that are sick." "If any one, though he be an angel from aven, each any othetgospel thneis aote ."let '.hm be ride over the ruins before Jerusalem canwbe built.: ;TTh~e.ustL be .the plipkng #f :the bo0lt bye0I ~here dae -be'the'aidgifig'of the trowels. . . Again: My subject givds me a specimen of busy..and, triumphant sadness. If there was any man in the world who had a right to mope and give op every thi'ng 'as lost-it was Nehemiah. .-Youpay, "Hle was a cup bearer in the palac'e of Shushan; and it was a grand palace." So It was;..; The hail of that palace was two hundred feet square. and the roof covered .ofer thirty-six marble pillars, each pillpr iaxty feet high, and thesintense blue of the sky,'and'the deep green of the forest foieage, and the white of the driven snow, all hung trembling in the upholstery. But, my friends, you know very well that fine architecture will not put down ,homesick nes. Yet Nehemiih did not give up. Then when ydu see him going among these desolated streets, and by these dismantled towers, and by the torn up grave of his father, you would suppose that he would have been disheartened, and thth would have 'dismou'nted '' froi- his horse 'and ~one't"6ds rooin a'd s'aid Woei' mel2'My father's grave is torn .up. The Temple is dishonored. The walls are'broken down. I have' no ' money -witlr w bich to rebuild. I wish I had never been born. I wish I were dead/'N. -ot -so, s~ - ehemiah, Althoggh hefadadtet -so infeuse that it'excited'the commentary of his King, yet that penniless. expatriated Nehemiah rouses himsel f up to re build the city. He gets his permission of absence. -He gets bis passports& He hastens away tb-Jeriisalem. By night on horseback he'rides through the ruins. H~e overcomes the most ferocious oppositlon. He arouses the piety and ~patriotism of the people, ard in h .e than t wo mnths,-namely, in fifty-two days. Jerusalem was rebuilt. That's what I ca; pusy and triumphant.sadness. Al frienjds, the whole tempta.tionl isgii~h you, when you have trouble, to do just the. opposite to the behavior of Nehemiah, and that is to give up. You say, "1 have lost iy child and can never smile again." You say. "I1 have lost my property, and I never can repair my fortu'nes." You say, "I have falen into sin, and I never can start again for ant-r life." I i Sat an can make you 'orm that resaution, and make you keep it, he has ruined you. Trouble is not sent to crush you, but to arouse you, to animate you, to propel you. The blacksmith does not thrust the iron into the forge and then blow away with the bellows, and thea bring the hot 'iron out en the anvil and beat with stroke after stroke to ruin the iron, but to prepare it for better use. O that the Lord God of Nehemiah would rouse up all broken-hearted people to rebuild. Whipped, betrayed, shipwrecked, imprisoned, Paul went right on. The Italian martyr Algerfus sits in his dungeoa writing a letter, and he dates it "From the delectable orchard of the Leonine prison." That is what I call triumphant sadness. I knew a mother who buried her baby on Friday and on Sabbath appeared in the house of God and said: "(Give me a class; give me a Sabbath-school class. I have no child now left me, and I would like to have a class of little childrea Gilve me roal poor ehldren., Give me a class off tha back sreet." That, I say,..is. beautiful. That is .Itiugiphant- sadness. At three. o'clock thisafirnoon in a beautiful parlor in Philadelphia-a parlor pictured and stiat .etted-there will be from ten to twenty distltute children of the street. It has been so every Sabbath afternoon at three, 'cloc k for many years. These destitute cgildren t egi religio( 1stction, concluding tit takes guidisandwielles; . Host-d' I know that that has been going on for many years? I knew it in this way: That was the first home in Philadelphia where I was called to comfort a great sor row. They had a splendid boy and he had been drowned at Long Branch. The father and mother almost idolized the boy, and the sob and shriek of that father and mother as they. hung over the coffin re sound in my ears to-day. There seemed to be'd use of'pfaying, for when I knelt down to pray, the outcry in the room drowned out all the pray. But the Lord com forted that sorrow. They did not forget their trouble. If you should go on the snow iest winter afternoon into Laurel Hili you would find a monument with the word "Wal ter" inscribed upon it. anda wreath of fresh flowers around the name. I think there has not been an hour all these ycars, winter or suner, when there was note wreath of fresh flowers arouid. Wdltyr'a name. But the Christian mother who sendeshose flowers there, having no child left,. Sabbath after noons mothers ten or twenty of the lost ones of the street. That is beautiful. That is what I call busy and' triumphant sadness. Here is a man who has lost his property. He .does 'ioC-ito hard-drinking. He does not destroy 'htsbetr'lif 'He comes and says: "Harness me for Christian work. My money's gone. I have no treasures on earth. itrant, i-casures in heaven. I have a voice and a heart to serve Go." You say that that man has failed. He has nit fai'ed-he has triumphed. p, J.wish I could .perguade all the poople Who hive- any kind'o i:roinb'e never to give up. I wish they would look at the midnight rider of the text, and that the four.hoofs of that beast on which Nehemiah rode might cut to pieces all your d:seo'urae ments, and hardships and trials. Give up!i Who is going to gi-.e up. when on the bosom of God he cats have'il -his troubles hushed? Give up! Never think of giving up. Are you borne down with poverty? A little dhidwayfoncd- bding ner 'dea-f mother's ?hnd inthe darkness of:atenemeit house. and some one coming in. the littlo girl k oked up. while holding her dead mother's faud, anai said: ' -." I do wish that God had made more light for poor folks." Mv dear, God will be your light, God will be your shelter. God will be your home. Are you borne down with the he reavements of life? ilthe house lonely now that the child' is gone? Do not give up. Think of what the old sexton said when the minister. asked him wby he put. so much care on the little graves in the cemetery-so much more care than on the larger graves, and the old sexton said. "Sir, you know that -of such is the kingdom of H eaten,' and I think the Saviour is pleased when He sees so much .vhite clovergrowin' around these little graves." But when the minister pressed the old sexton for a more satisfactory answer, the old sexton said, "Sir, about these larger graves. I don't know who are the 'Lord's saints and who are not; but you know, sir, it is clean different with the bairns." O. if you have had that keen, tender, 'indescribable sor row that comes from the loss of a' -child, do not give up. The old sexton was right. It is all well with the bairns. Or. if you have sinned, if yout have sinned. griev ously -sinned uO'til vou~hve- been cast out by the church, sinned until you have been cast ont by society, do not give up. Perhaps there may 1e in this house ohe that could truthfully utter the lamentation of another: Once I w.s as pure as the snow. but I fh Fell jlIha snowflake from 1eavpmnto brll Fell, to be trampled as tilth in the strce Fell. to be scoffed at. spit on, and teat Praying. cursing. wishing to die. Selline my soi:1 to whoever would buy. Ilealing in shnme for a morsel of bread, 1(atmngthc liid g and fearing-the~dead. I~eokolgiveuj. Oneiike into th.hedg Gd 'e esrtodoto'day, --sali !GW and sin no more" while he cries out to your assailants: "Let him that is without sin cast the first stonle at her."~Oh ! thera is no reason wnhy any one an. this acuse,. by reason.iofarly tt-oubM .or sins. rt.oubtgive up. Are you a foreigner, and in a strance land? Nehemiah was :an exile. Are you penniles Nehemiah was poor. Are you homesik.? ..Nehemniah was homesick? Are you broktn-hearted? Ijehemiah-, was brokneirfed. Nut jisf- see hid t' n the text, riding along the sacrileged grave of his father, and by the diragon well, and through the fish gate, and, by the. king's pool, in and out, in and. out, the moonlight falling on th'e 'br~keni masonry, which' thrbws a long shadow at which the~horse shies, and at the sam'e time thint noofiight kindling up the features of this'nman till you see not only the mark of sad -reminiscen~e, but~the courage, the hope, the enthusiasm of a man wo knows that Jerusalem wvill be rebuild ed. I pick you up to-day out of your sins and out of your sorrow, and I put you against the warm heart of Christ. "The eternal'God is thy refuge. and uniderneath re the ererlasting arms." TI.E W ESTE RN WOMAN. Some of the QOulities Which Make Hter thA nexst Type of Wom2,anho(.L The woman born. in the West i.; a crand and'goodly type of womanhood. She' is strong and keen and comprehensiec;: she is full of life and grace and freed~om; she is quick to feel an injury, and she is quite equal to being 'er own avenger. I1er eye is keen and'her tongue.-is, sharp. but- her' art is 'ta m :nw her hand is open, She is always ready with lier sympathy and prompt with her help. Her business abii ity and executive talent are of a ver'y hivh order. as a pro> f of which is the fact thaI some of the fine caie-rnchs and most cx tensire erid most pr'o spetous sheep ho run owned and mnanaged by women. I have now in my: mind the case of a woman. b,:rn in Ohio. who,-ten years ago, in the city oIf New York, w~as eaning five or six dollh rs a weelt, with which sum she' sux ported her mother an~d her fathier's oroter, a .somisipvahd old man. Atithe time I speak of. when tius woman was about nineteen years of are, she not:ihned after much dilliculty and delay a a-rant of a quatur section of Goverrment land to which her dea-l father hadi becme enxtitled through his s-:rvices in th' Rebellion. This land was located in Oregon. She sent her uncle out to take up the hand, and she pinched and saved, and seat. to himfromx time.t.o.tixme, almost dollarby dollar, money with which to hir'e help to clear a space in the timber' and to put tip a Ior house. As soon as this poor shieitor was provided for them she tokc tier mother and went out and lived on he:' land. As she could from time to tinie, she bought stock, and so she crept on step) by step, until now she has a good house and barn, and last year she cleared from the sale of stock she had raised and from the sale of crops several housnd dollars. And what this woman ~as done hundreds of women na doing every year. And if many of these wvomn ave not got miuch education, their sons and daughters wvili have. And it is well with a land that breeds such wonmen, and it is with the men of the land who have such mothers. -elford's Magraaina. DIOCESAN CONVEN'TION. A LARGE A'ITENIANCE OF CLERIY AND M etinx of-e.Protestant Episcoplon vention at Aiken-A Conference of the "Seceders"-Most of Them Enter the Convention-Synopsis of the Proceed ings. AIEEN. May S.-[Special to the Regis ter.]-The inferest whieh the public seem to have taken in the Diocesan Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church in South Carolina. appointed to meet here this morning, has proceeded from the expectation that the negro's status in this ecclesiastical organi zation would here be. considered and determined. The gravity of the issue is evidenced by the atten tion given it by those sent to the con vention. It has been very fully dis cussedsb' thacbitchmeu.here--the laity, especially. giving'free expression to their views. The question that divided the convention of ISS7 seems now to be subordinated to the main issue whether negro clergymen, or parishes composed-of colored persons, shall be admtitted-into the conventior; or, as the question may be more strongly stated, whether all colored clergymen shall here after be excluded. The case is to come up on the report of the commission appointed by the- convention held a Ander son hist year. ' That commiesion pro ceeded under resolutions which declared it the sense of the convention that a * separation, entire and complete," of the two races in the diocese was "now es sential." A conference with the clergy and vestry of the colored churches, ordered by these resolutions, failed-of results. - The commission declined to re commend the adoption of- the canon submitted to the colored pegple prosid ing for separate organization, but did recommend the amendment of the law, to the effect that a minister, to be en titled to a seat in the convention, must be connected with an organized parish in union with the convention; .provided, that no minister entitled to a seat in the convention of 18S9 should be excluded. The cifects of this canon would be: 1. To leave the admission of parishes, and, therefore, the admission of clergy men connected with such parishes, to a vote of- -the convention. A division be tween the laity and the clergy, touching such alnission, would exclude the pa 2. That all clergymen, (including colored ministers.) now in the con vention must remain there. This, according to the niews of the majority of the clergy and a minority of the lay delegates, would admit Mr. Pollard of Charleston "the bone of contention." THE ISSUE JOINED. Thus is the issue joined. The "se ceders,- as they have been termed, still insist that the negro clergyman has no rig"ht. utnder the constitution, to sit in convention, and they want him ex eluded b an explicit dectaration in the organic law. These 'gentlemen held a conference this morning in the Sunday school building of St. Thaddeus Church, wnile the services preliminary to the business of the convention were in pro gress in -.the-..church itself. -The confrence 'sat 'with..closed doors, ail. the efforts of some reporters, standing at an open wvindow, to "-catch on" to the proceedings was warmly, though not discouirteously, rebuked by a member. It is learned that Dr. Flagg, of Wacea maw presided. There was some discus sion npon thec propel- course to be taken. The gentlemen - present appear to have divided into two factions-the one hold ing thatsthe "seceders" should go into the convention on the understanding ot a purpose to have a separate organi zation for the colored people, and the other that there should now and here be a distinct assurance that suh separationshould at-once be. pro vided for. 'it is said that Col. Edward eCrady, Jr., of Charleston led those who f-avored going into the convention, whist the other party were led by M1r. J. St. Julien Jer-vev of that city. TUE CONVENTION. The usual1 religious services, prelimi nary to the opening of the convention, commencedo at halt-past 10 this morning. In the ehancel, beside the Bishop. were the Rev. Drs. Wilson, Pinckney and Porter of Charleston, the Rev. Dr. Ca pe-rs of Columbia. the Rev. Dr. Bellinge~r of Walterboro, and the Rev. J. Mercier Green of Charlesaton. The sermon was delivered by the Rev. Mr. Green, from the 9th verse of the 1st chapter of St. John's gospel, and was a thoughtful and ear-nest dliscourse. The other ch rgymen divided the service, including the comn munioni. The convention met for business at 1 oclock, the Bishop in the chair, and the Rev. J. D. McC'illough of Spartanburg acting as secretary. The roll of parishes was called, and a quloromf of boththe~ laity and the clergy was foundto~ he presenit. -- . it was nioticed that Rev. Mr. Pollard. retor of St. \ar-k's, Charleston-the same being --the bone of contention," was dulv nrcent.. When ~the name of St. Michael's, Charleston, was called, Mr. J. J. Pringle Smith. a deputy from thiat parish, asked leave to read a paper signed by certain meimbers of the convention. The Bishop suggrested that nothing could be done unt the conventionl should be decla red du'lv organized. When the roll was conileted, xtr. Smith reniewed his re quie-t and up)on a motion put to the con - venution, it was granted unanimously. . The paiper is as~ follows: "-Whereas, the clergy and laity that met in Anderson last year unanimously resolved that a separate organization of the two races, entire and complete, is now essential, and whereas the under signed are willing to accept the resolu ion passed to that effect at Anderson, as an assurance that its purpose will be carried into ettec~t by appropriate legis lat ion. "The delegates from' Shurches who witdrew in 1887 from the convention will waive our objections to its legality and take our seats in this body. We add that the proviso appended to the mndelmnt tn Article TTl o f the cnsti tution, propose by the committee ap pointed at Anderson is not in accord with the above mentioned assurance of a separation of races." The paper is signed by the fhllowing named deputies. St. Philips, Charleston-J. J. Pringle Smith, Edward McCrady, Jr., Charles Richardson Miles. Grace Church, Charleston-J. E. Smith, S. B. Pickens. St. Paul's, Pendleton-W. H. D. Gail lard. Christ Church, Greenville-T. B. Hayne. Church of the Advent, Spartanburg WC. S. Manning. J. M. E!ford. St. Jude's, Walterboro-B. R. Stuart, Wm. J. Fishburne. Trinity, Black Oak-Wm. H. Cain. St. Paul's, Summerville-W. R. De hon, E. M. Gilbert, J. Alwyn Ball. St. James, Santee-S. D. Doar. All Saints, Waccamaw--Arthur B. Flagg. Holy Cross. Stateburg-Dr. W. W. Anderson. St. Thomas and St. Dennis-Samuel Sanders. Grace Church, Anderson-E. A. Bech. Of the churches whose deputies went into the conference, there were but two that remained out of the convention this morning-St. Michael's, Charleston, and Zion Church, Richland. The latter is represented on the clergy list by the Rev. J. H. Tillinghast, but therector of St. Michael's, the Rev. R. S. Trapier, is absent. Neither St. Luke's nor St. Paul's, Charleston, was represented in the conference. It is said that lay dele gates from both parishes were here yes terday, but the statement has not been authenticated. The rector of St. Luke's, the Rev. Dr. Wilson, is here, but the Rev. Dr. W. H. Campbell of St. Paul's is not. THE BISHOP'S ADDRESS. The Bishop's annual address is a brief and business-like paper, dealing directly with matters affecting the interests of the diocese. Especial attention is called to the number of dormant parishes, and an appeal is made for such aid from the diocese as will relieve the trouble. The Bishop briefly alluded to the matters 1hat had disturbed the peace of the dio cese, and referred especially to the earnest endeavor of the com mission appointed last year to settle the difficulties incident to the negro's relations to the diocese. He made a frank statement of his own posi tion so far as he had felh bound, in con science, to carry out his construction of the law touching the rights of clergymen to sit in convention, and assured the body that should the law be changed in the mode prescribed in the canons he would. in like manner, accept and en force the new provisions. He expressed the hope that the convention would reach some conclusion which would heal all dissensions, and enable the church in this diocese to proceed vigorously with its appointed work. ROUTINE BUSINESS. The usual committee on credentials was appointed-and made a formal re port, which was promptly adopted. The trustees and the standing corn mittee each made a report, which was adopted. These papers contain nothing of especial interest. The convention resolved to meet daily at 10 a. m., adjourn at 2:30 p. m., and re-assemble at 4 p. m. THE "BURNING QUESTION." When the convention reassembled this afternoon, the Rev. Dr. A. Toomer Por ter of Charleston submitted the report of the commission appointed at Ander son. Mr. R. W. Shand addressed the Con vention, explaining the propositions em bodied in this paper, and the reasons which induced its adoption. Gen. J. F. Izlar of Orangeburg moved to separate- section 2 of Article 3, as reconmendedi by the commission, into a main provision and a proviso, which latter giv-es all clergymen now in the convention the right to remain. This motion was lost, the vote standing as follows- Clergy-ayes 2, nays 20. Lay, parishes-ayes 13. nays 15, divided 2. Col. liaskell addressed the conven tion, urging the adoption of the com mission's report as an equitable adjust ment. He thought it fair to the laity, and that the clergy couldi not reasona blv be asked to concede more than it surrendered. . There were no other speeches and the new article of the constitution was adopted. It must, before becoming a law, be confirmed by a two-thirds vote of each order in the next convention. On the announcement of the vote, J. J. Pringle Smith of St Philip's. Charles ton; announced that he must withdraw trom from the convention, and retired. General McCrady said that while he would not withdraw ho hoped that beforo the next convention there wotuld be such a change of sentiment as to finally settle the questions in issme. which he felt the new article just adopted would not do. Upon the invitation of the rector and deputies of St. Philip's, Charleston, the convention resolved to meet in that church next year. The- convention nest- proceeded to elect delegates to: the* triennial conven tion to meet this year in New York. and a standing committee for this diocese. Pending thie count of the votes, the con vention adjourned till to-morrow. morn The Advancement Society held a meet ing this evening. The~reports showed a good state of mission work. Services were. held this eveniingt and were largely attended; sermon by the Rev. Dr. Wilson of Charleston. . . NoTES. Trinity, Columbia, is represented by Dr. Capers, Colonel John C. 'Haskell and Mr. R. W. Shand. The Church of the Good Shepherd sends, besides the rector, the Rev. A. R. Mitcell, Messrs. Green and Talcott as layv.deputies. Parish'es represented in the conven tion-lay deputies 52, rectors 1G, mis sionaries 3. R Second Day. AIKEN, May 9.-[Special to The Reg ister.]-There is something like dullness in the proceedings of the Diocescan Con vention since yesterday's settlement, for the present at least, of the questions that have agitated the 1grotestant Epis conal Chnreh-th Carolina for tWo years past. As before stated. the amenuments to the constitution are of no force till they shall be ratified by a vote of two-thirds of each order in the next convention If the vote then be the same as it was on this question yes terday, ihe amendment must fail. In that event the church diocese would find itself, in relation to the negro's status in its councils, in no better plight than that which gave rise to the differences, and subsequent rupture, in the convention of 1S87. By some it is thought that the provision in the new amendment, which retains in conven tion all clergymen (including, of course, the Rev. Ifr. Pollard) will be stricken out; otbers believe that laymen in suffiicut numbers to in sure the necessary two-thirds will yield their preferences and vote for the amendment. Certain it is that yester day's action has induced a state of feel ing conducive to a final settlement of all differences. Gentlemen here, on both sides of the question, are hopeful of that result. THE PROCEEDINGS. When the convention met this morn ing it was discovered that there had been some irregularity in the vote for the standing committee and the dele gates to the General Convention. The vote in each case is by parishes, but one parish, not informed as to the law, east four ballots, one by each deputy. After two ballots the following were elected: Standing Committee-The Rev. Drs. C. C. Pinckney, Robt. Wilson and A. Toomer Porter. the Rev. Messrs. John Johnson and John Kershaw, Messrs. H. P. Archer, H. W. Frost, John Gadsden, F. A. Mitchell and A. MIarklet Lee. Delegates to the General Convention Revs. C. C. Pinckney, John Johnson, A. Toomer Porter and J. D. McCullough, Messrs. R. W. Shand. H. C. -Markley, William H. Parker and Edward Me Crady, Jr. Dr. Capers received some votes for delegate on every ballot. He had pre viously declined in emphatic terms, bas ing his position on the fact that he had already enjoyed the honor in three suc cessive General Conventions. The following named gentlemen were elected alternates for the General Con vention: John Kershaw. Robert Wilson, J. .1. Stoney, Wm. H. Hanckel, John R. London. A. M. Lee, John Gadsdei, S. B. Pickens. The Trustees of the Theological Semi nary reported that they had received an otfer for the buildings and grounds located at Spartanburg. The proposi tion made by the representatives of the Converse College, an institution soon to be started in that city for the education of young women, is to pay $10,000, one-half in five years and the balance in ten years, with interest at 7 per cent., payable annually-the debt to be se cured by the bond of the company and a mortgage of the premises. The trus tees, with the exception of the Rev. J. D. McCullough, reported in favor of ac ceptance. The grounds chiefly taken on this side were that the property, now unused and constantly deteriorating, would, through this sale, be converted into an investment, the income from which could be applied to the proper aid of students from this diocese in the Theological Department of the Uni versity of the South. The trustees stated, however, that they bad lost their corporate capacity through the lapse of their charter, and they recommended that the trustees of the church in this diocese be authorized to consummate the sale. There was some discussion on the condition and the probable value of the property. A motion to refer the 'matter to the trustees ivith power to act was lost: Thereupon the resolution to direct that body to make the sale was unanimously adopted. This property was devised to the Protestant Episcopal Church in this diocese by the late James- T. Wellsman, who died in 1866, to be used as a theological semi nary. For two years it was so used, under the name of St. John's Theological Seminary, hot for a long time it has been abandoned, except that it has, at intervals, been occupied as a private residence. THlE BISHOP's FUND. At the request of the Bishop the Rev. Dr. Pinckney took the chair, and Dr. Howe retired from the convention. The treasurer's report showed that for the past church year there had been a defciency of $1,357 in the fund fot the spport of the episcopate. Earnest ap peals were mnade 1by Drs.. Capers and Porter that this deniciency be made good. By a resolu tion unanimously the parishes in arrears are earnestly requested to make good their several deficiencies not later ttmn. the 1st October next. It may be well to note-that at the con vention last year, on the- suggestion of the Bishop, it was proposed to red nee his salary to $2,500, but the resolution to that effect was sumnmariiv defeated by a unanimous vote. THE UNIvERsITY OF THlE soUTH. Dr. Porter called the attention of the convention to the fact that this diocese has been in arrears on its contributio n towards the support of the theological department of the University of the South, and urgred some immedimate ae tion. He suggested that twenty indi vidunals. including himself, snbscribe $20 ech for the purpose. M1r. E. WV. Hnghes of Charleston was unanimously elected Treasurcr of the University of the South for tile Diocese of South Carolina. Dr. Wilson -of Charleston moved that Roberts' Rules of Order be adopted by te convention as its guide in matters of p arl iamenta ry practice iuot determined in the rules of order estah!ished for the covention. After some little discussion the motion was adopted. The afternoon session was devoted to a consideration of the report of the Dio cesan Board of 3fissions. The subject was very fully discussed. After some routine business the con vention adjourned sine die. The services this evening were wellI attended. The sermon was preached by Dr. Capers. Ri. Scooped by Great Britain. SYMxEY, N. S. W., May 9.--Thxe com mander of the British cruiser Rapid has. hoisted the British flag over the Siwar row Islands, which lie in the Southern acifi Ocean Northwest of Cook Islands. RENOUNCING MILLIONS. 3ISS KATE DREXE L, THE HEIRESS,\-? TERS A CONVENT To Become a. Sister of Mercy-The Lady's Future to be Devoted to the Alleviatio of Misery and the Education of the Poor. PHILADELPHIA. May 9.-In the-mothei-: house of the order at Pittsburgyitei day Miss Kate Drexel, the sedond daughter of.the late F. A. Drexel, of the world-wide-known firm of bankers, en tered as a postulate, or ''earnest seeker," in the Order of the Sisters of Mercy This is not becoming a novice and is not. equivalent to entering the order, but there are few who know tie young lady who doubt that this act of hers amounts to a complete renunciation of all-her as sociations, of her family, of her surviv ing relatives and dear friends and of her great wealth. It now transpires that Miss Drexel has meditated this step for some time-in fact, since her sister's marriage, if not before-and there can' be no question that what she has done, whatever' may have been her motive; in volves a resolution to withdraw herself. completely from society and the wort. Unless at the end of the probationar:y, period of six months she concludes'fo... change her mind and renounce'her:in tention and profession,'which is.within her. power to do, Miss Dreiel, so- well known- as the most attiactive of the sis ters of her branch of the family, and one of the greatest heiresses in America, will henceforth be "dead to the world, and the circles of Walnut street, where - she has been so familiar; will know her no more. No. incident of the sort since the beautiful Miss MacTavish of BaltiN more entered a convent will- caise -so great a social sensation, as it was Utterly A unexpected and until now,.has been ab-; solutely unknown outside of her familya. Something more than a local interest is attached to this act of the lady, from. 1 the fact that she is one of the- three sis ters who inherit a fortune of about $17, 000,000, which is said to have increased to about $21,000,000 since their -father's - death. This fortune is invested net only. in real estate all over Philadslphia and in securities and bonds of various organ izations and industries in and out of Philadelphia, but in the great banking house of which her father was a mem ber. The way in which it was left also has an important bearing. In case either of the three daughters should marry and have an heir. the heir inherits the whole fortune after the daughters' deaths. If neither should leave an heir, the entire fortune goes to the Catholic Church. The youngest daughter, now Mrs. E. De V. Morrell, married a few months ago. and this daughter, with her husband and unmarried sister, Miss Lizzie Drexel, will sail from New York for Europe to day, with-their uncle, A. J. Drexel. Miss Kate Drexel, who entered the convent yesterday, has quite a large fortune.in-. dependently inherited from-ter mother, who died before her father, but should she remain in the order herincome from her interest in her father's estate -and probably her share. of the' principal amounting to $6,000,000 or-f7,000,0QAW will be relinquished to the church. - . On Monday morning Miss.Drexel at- - tended Mass in St. John's Church in-this city, and chose that sacred.place; to take farewell of her relatives .xcepfing such as were to accompany. .her - agd : one, or two very intimate friends. She was at tired alf in black;--and,' cedi-ding to ous tom, knelt in front of the :altar dedi-' ated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. . The - Mass over, her distant relatives and ale or two others and her old governessand her maid and one or two yfaithful serv;:. ants crossed from the other ,aisle and. bade her farewell. She kisd them'a1l. Although evidently deepIf and greatly afeted, she did not shed tears, and this very severe ordeal showed rematkable - frness and fortitude. All themreces-' sary arrangements had previously been:; made, and with her two sisters and Mr. Morrell she drove direct.fro.m the churc'h to the station and took the train for Pittsburg, arriving at the convent Mdnu day night. Mfiss Kate Drexel, the postulate;.is. the second daughter, and is about 30: years of age. In appearance she is the most attractive of - the three sisters, though not so tall as the other two. She has a good complexion, a sweet er pression and was noted for her smile. Her eves are blue or blue-gray and one: of hers greatest charms is a wealthi of un comm ionly beautiful brown hair, much' more than ordinary. It is said to reach far below her waist. One of the sad thoughts in connection with her with drawal to some of her relatives was that she .-hould sacrifice this part of her per sonality and "wma' glory," but ac cording to usage she will not have to. sacrifice her hair until she takes her final vows. The order is a large and influential one, and in this city- they have a large - ouse at Broad and Columbia* avenue, presided over by the Reverend Mother Mary~ Patricia. For twenty-seven years thev'hav e been visiting the prisons of, Piladelphia. The order m~akes prison work a specalty, but also teaches and viits the por~ Its primary object is the~ dissemination of religious instrue- - tin. Any work of mercy is considered a patrt ot'their mission. The order is distet from the Sisters of Charity. Miss Drexel is the young lady who has shouwn so much interest'in Indian missions. With Bishop O'Connor 'of Neraska she traveled through the In dian country and gave $150,000 for the work of Catholic missions ..among the Indians of the Northwest. She is of- a very amiale and beautiful disposition, andI her mind has always had a religious turn. Libby Prison Wrecked. CHICAGO, May 7.-A - despatch from Maysville, Ky., says that at freight train which was ~transporting the famous Libby prison from Richmond to Chicago was wrecked seven miles East of that place yesterday by the breaking of- an axle of one of the cars. The remains of the war relic were profusely scattered about and the people flocked to the scene all day to secure old bricks and lumber as mementoos, No one was hrt