0,^.1
Th c Sta r o^ Zion.
A- S- RICHARDSON, L, LB. Editor.
ORGAN OF THE A. M. E. ZION CHURCH.
REV. C R. HARRIS, Business Manager-
Volume V.
CONCORD, N. C., JANUARY 26, 1882
Number 17.
THE STAR OF ZION.
THE BOARD OF BISHOPS.
No man can Jive on the Sixth dis- at Hunter’s Chapel: 11 o’clock,
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CONCORD N. C.
A. S. Richardson,
Editor
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THE
War of ZION
IS THE
ORGAN
It will be seen by notice in an
other column, that the Board of
Bishops will meet on tne last
Wednesday in March next, in
Zion church New York, and a full
attendance is expected. The con
venience of each Bishop has been
consulted and a time fixed upon
when nothing but a Providential
interposition can prevent them at
tending. Some of the Bishops
would have preferred a more cen
tral place of meeting, but yielded
to their preferences in deference
to the wish of the mother church,
to see all of her Bishops assemble
there. This will be a most inr/'’'-
tant meeting. Heretofore the Gen
eral conference has fixed the
appointments of the Biotope for
four years. At the last seston it
only pointed out their field ,jf la
bor for two years, leaving it en
tirely with them to arrange their
work, after that, except that each
must take a new district. We have
beard it hinted that that resolution
was only a recommendation. If I
so understood it I should feel that
the Bishops were bound to act up
on it. But I do not so understand
trict. Bishop Lomax has bad to
live on hisfarin. While the Fourth
district is -more- than any living
man can take care of. The Third
district was much too large till the
Virginia Conference was. taken
-from it. But the Fourth district
is much larger than it was; hav
ing five, conferences, besides the
I exas mission. To strengthen the
Sixth district and to bring the
Fourth into manageable dimen-
tions are perhiv , two most impor
tant matters t) at will be consider
ed by the Bishops. When all the
districts are put iu good shape, the
Bishops will not care which field
they go to first, as they will expect
to goto all in turn, if life is spared
long enough.
■ J. W. II.
WEST ALABAMA CONFER
ENCE-
H. C. Banks, ordination sermon ;
8 o’clock. Elder E. D. Taylor; 7J
o’clock. Elder C. O. Pettey. Elder
Joseph Gomezand T. A. Weath-
ingt-, addressed the Sabbath
school.
Ail the committees made their
reports Monday. All are in favor
of having Bishop Thompson re
main with us. The day school of
Mr. Jeremiah Barnes, Mrs. E.
Griffin and Mies M. A. M. Kernan
paid us a visit to-day. We were
glad to see them; they presented
to the Bishop $1.25 and to the con
ference $2, for which a vote of
thanks was tendered them. Little
Zion Workers were present. It
was they that paid the first hun
dred dollars on the church. They
presented the Bishop with $2.10.
A vote of thanks was also tendered
them. Elders Jones and Pettey
Oldfield for the West Alabama
conference.
Many thanks were extended to
the dear friends and citizens of
Tuscaloosa for the hospitality
shown us during our stay with
them. We pray the blessings of
God upon them all.
Yours in Christ,
T. A. Wbathington,
Reporter.
SCHOOL TEXT BOOKS.
OF THE
A. M. E- ZION CHURCH
IN AMERICA.
It is the aim of this paper:
To furnish news of interest
parts of Zion Connection.
to all
fa give a brief review ot the load
ing event's of the day.
To present the thoughts of our best
writers upon the educational, indus
trial and religious welfare of the col
ored race.
To be worthy of a place in every
family.
Like the Star in the East, it seeks
to lead towards Christ, the Redeemer
of a lost world.
Brief well written articles on the
above subjects from the pen of colored
men will receive prompt attention.
A limited number ot advertise
ments received. Please examine our
Reduced Rates. Our circulation now
[January, 1882] numbers over 1,000,
in 22 stales, Canada and England.
Orders for printing minutes of con
ferences and associations, and other
job work, respectfully solicited.
jy All subscriptions, moneys,
and proposals for advertising must be
addressed to
Rev. C.
Sy All articles
R. HARRIS,
Charlotte, N. C.
intended fur pub-
licatiuD must be addressed to
A. S- RICHARDSON. Esq,
Salisbury, N. C.
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jy Papers discontinued
as subscription expires.
Address
31.00
CO
86
as soon
Rev. G. R. HARRIS,
Charlotte, N. C.
The West Alabama annual con
ference convened at Tuscaloosa
Ala., Dec. 14th* 1881 at 10 o’clock
Bishop J. P. Thompson opened the
conference by reading the 23d
chapter of Jeremiah. Elder W
G. Strong announced the hymn,
“What is our calling, glorious
hope” Elder Win. Burrows of-
it. It was simply a respectful way
the General Conference had ot ^ ere ^ prayer, after which a general
telling the Bishops what they shaking of hands took place in
token of thanks to God that we
must do.
The General Conference did not
trammel the Bishops by saying
that the districts must remain just
as they are, or that A shall take
this or B that district, but said, in
substance, we have fixed your
fields of labor for two years, after
that, fix it yourselves, but be sure
to take different work from that
which we have now given you;
don’t fix yourselves back like you
were. Beyond this there is no re
striction. If we. will go a little
behind the resolution, we will per
haps see more clearly its full im
port. First, there was one district
that needed strengthening, but
there wore interests just then that
forbade our doing just what need
ed to be done. Secondly, after the
speech of Bishop Hood, who favor
ed an annual rotating of the Bish
ops, commencing from that Gener
al Conference, it was generally
conceeded, that that was just what
was needed, but there were certain
interests which prevented our put
ting this needed arrangement into
operarion. After other remarks
by Bishop Jones and others favor
ing the suggestion, this resolution
passed. From this it is very clear
what the General Conference in
tended.
An annual rotation was sugges
ted. The resolution does not
touch this matter, but leaves it
with ti e Bishops. Thus it will be
seen that this whole question will
come up at the Bishops meeting.
It is the opinion of a portion of
the Bishops that there are not dis
tricts beyond the two years, unless
the Bishops meet before that time
and make them. I think however,
that the 1st, 2d and 3d districts are
not likely to be changed, as they
are quite well arranged. In fact,
the arrangement of these three
was entirely satisfactory to the
General Conference. It is well
were permitted to meet in annual
conference capacity once more.
This was a happy time indeed.
After this the Bishop made some
very interesting remarks touching
the high and holy calling of the
ministry. He also gave a brief but
interesting account of the Ecumen
ical Conference held in London,
England, of which he was a mem
ber. Tide was pleasing to all.
At the calling of the roll, a
goodly number of the members
were present. Elder W. G. Strong
was re-elected recording secretary,
Elder A English asst, sec’y, Elder
J. Gomez compiler, Elder R. S.
Evans statistical secy and T. A.
Weathington reporter. The dear
friends are manifesting great in
terest in providing for the dele
gatee. We are proud to say that
we have in this town one of the
finest churches in the South.
Many of our dear sisters are with
us to day. We were glad to meet
Elder C. C. Pettey of 8. O., who
was introduced by the Bishop to
the conference. The essay deliv
ered by the Bishop before the Ec
umenical Council, was presented
to the conference, and being so
highly prized every brother secur
ed a copy. Everything is inter
esting to-day in the conference.
The Bishop’s annual address was
delivered before the conference. It
was interesting indeed, containing
wholesome instruction, such as we
sincerely hope will be ever remem
bered. In it he spoke of education,
temperance, building up character.
Sabbath schools, Book concern,
Star of Zion, Tuskegee College&e.
These topics-were referred to ap
propriate committees for consider
ation. We are glad to know that
the white citizens of Tuscaloosa
have so liberally donated to the
trustees for the purpose of erecting
this fine church. The services on
known that the arrangement ofj L-^-cj -
the other three was not satisfactory The following
Sunday were interesting to all.
brethren preached
addressed them. May the bless
ings of God be ever with them.
Dr. Stillman, pastor of the Pres
byterian church and Prof. Rich
ardson of the Presbyterian Insti
tute, called on us to-day and were
introduced to the Bishop by Rev.
E. Hunter, and by tne Bishop to
the conference. The Dr. spoke
briefly of the great work the Pres
byterian church "18 uotng iu the
way of educating men of our race
for the ministry, and expressed
great desire to have any of our
brethren avail themselves of this
opportunity. He then requested
that we bear from the Prof. He
having spoke a vote of thanks was
tendered them. The Bishop then
requested Rev. C. C. Pettey to
make some remarks in reply to
them, which he did in a very able
and dignified manner. The Bish
op made a few statements relative
Co the rapid progress of our people
generally. After this the delegatee
from the various districts made
their reports. The pastors are
making good reports relative to
the General Conference tax, not
withstanding the leanness of the
times. During the session a letter
was received from the Rev. Jacob
Thomas, Geu. Book Agent. We
were happy to hear from him.
The Bishop at this time, stated
that he wanted ah the sub-agents
to make their reports forthwith to
Elder Thomas. This we hope will
be attended to at once.
The Bishop insisted upon the
members subscribing for the “Star
of Zion,”and that each one insist
upon the members and friends of
their charges to subscribe. We
hope that this will be done.
As the time for appointments
drew near, all the brethren were
looking quite shy, each wondering
in his mind doubtless, where bis
lot would be for the next year.
The good friends thronged the
church Tuesday evening to hear
who would be their pastor, and
they rejoiced to hear the name of
Elder J. M. Butler as being ap
pointed to them. Your reporter
can think of the following appoints:
Mobile, W G Strong; Zion Mobile
S W Jones; Tuskegee, J Gomez;
Greenville, E D Taylor; Montgom
ery, C C Pettey; Selma, R S Ev
ans; Livingston, C W Oldfield.
T A Weathington, corresponding
editor East Alabama, and L W
Mr. Editor:
I noticed in the Wilmington
“Post” of December 22d, an arti
cle headed, “School Books—An
Outrage,” which I think does
great injustice to the 8‘ate Board
of Education. I will agree that
politicians are not the proper per
sons to select text books for our
schools. Every text book must be
submitted to the test of the school
room, where it must stand or fall
upon its merits. It is true that no
one series of text books combine
in itself all those excellencies
which are necessary to make it
exclusively the book of the public
schools. The books adopted by
the Board are published by differ
ent firms and are in some cases on
ly parts of series.
I have been -caching in the pub
lic schools of the State for several
years, during which time I have
had occasion to test the merits of
several series of text books. I
think I can safely say that Maury’
Geographical series has no superior
Sanford’s Arithmetics are as a se
ries, as good as any I have ever
used.
Holme’s Heeders are not quite
so good as some others I have used
but they are good, and amazingly
cheap. They are “pure in tone
and healthy in morals” if not
quite so practical in method &c.
Graded and Higher Lessons in
English are admirably adapted to
beginners in grammar while Har
vey’s Practical Grammar is all that
is needed for the more advanced
classes in our public schools. The
Board has done both teachers and
parents a great service in securing
uniformity. A very large percent
age of our population are poor and
nomadic iu disposition, moving
from place to place as wages rise
or fall. It was, to many, quite a
hardship to be compelled to pur
chase new books at each particu
lar domicile. Besides this, there
is a regular price agreed upon and
the publishers cannot raise their
prices during the time for which
the books are adopted. There is
a depository in each county in the
State where the books are kept on
consignment. There are three
exquisitely fine. During the war
when to the cares of a distracted
nation on his mind and heart was
added the keen sorrow of his son’s
death, and for the almost hopeless
sickness of his boy Robert, (the
present Secretary of War), Mrs.
Rebecca R. Pomeroy was detailed
by Miss Dix from hospital duty to
go to the White House as nurse.
While she watched by Robert’s
bedside, the President sat in the
sick room, night after night, sleep
less, and waiting with a father’s
agony of hope and fear. The life
of the little by hung in even bal
ance,. and he would not go away.
Much of that weary time the nurse
and the President could converse
without disturbance to the patient,
and the themes on which Mr. Lin
coln was then most ready to speak
were dear and familiar to the
Christian woman who shared his
vigils with his son. Gradually he
led her to relate the story of her
life, and of her religious experience
The narration charmed him, and
it was not strange that it should,
for Mrs Pomeroy bad herselfknown
sorrow, and there was a history of
consecration in the way Divine
comfort came to her. The next
night he begged her to tell him
the same story again, not omiting
a single particular. On the third
night he wanted-to hear it agar.,
For four nights—till the disease
of his child took a favorable turn
—that recital of a Christian’s trials
and trust was asked for and repeat
ed to the anxious, sorrowing Pres
ident, soothing his painful sus
pense, and teaching him the mys
teries of resignation and patience.
He felt his need to learn the les
son, and would ask for explanations
as the story went on, and eagerly
sought to know how she had put
herself in into God’s hands, and
how her faith found its reward.
His interest did not cease when
the danger was past and his son
was saved ; but he retained Mrs.
Pomeroy through the lad’s conva
lescence, and, as if longing for
more instruction, he carried her
daily to the hospital duties himself
and made her tell him the words
of peace and hope she breathed
over the dying soldiers, and how
she pointed them to Christ. Often
she saw him at short intervals of
respite in his crowded days, lying
on his lounge, reading the Bible
that belonged to his mother; and
once when he asked what part of
the Bible she laved best, she re
plied that it was the Psalms.
“They are the best,” he said; “I
find something in them for every
day in the week.”—“Youth’s Com
panion.”
prices: regular, introductory
exchange.
Very respectfully Yours,
J. 0. Crosby,
and
Brin. State Col’d Nor. School,
Salisbury, N. C., Jan. 5. ’82.
PRESIDENT LINCOLN’S CON
SOLATION.
Those who saw President Lin
coln’s serious side could best testi
fy to the breadth of his great na
ture. Few men have lived in
whom the chords of humor and of
reverent tenderness were so equally
tuned, and in whom both were so yond.—Ex
In a report by Superintendent
of Public Instruction, Wickersham
of Pennsylvania, published by the
Bureau of Education, in reply to a
charge that the higher grades of
education are not sateguardes a-
gaiust tendencies to crime, says—
first, about one-sixth of all the
crime in the country is committed
by persons wholly illiterate; sec
ond, that about one-third of i* is
committed by persons practice lly
illiterate; third, that the propor
tion of criminals among the illit
erate is about ten times as great as
it is among those who have been
instructed in the eliments of a
common school education, or be-