July 19, 1803 — to George Roberts ?

There is no heading to this letter other than “My dear Brother.” It may have been George Roberts, and probably was, though there are some references to the Book Concern and the work of Ezekiel Cooper, the Book Agent. It is most informative as to Asbury’s reference to the episcopacy. It is interesting to remember that these ideas concerning the bishops were never put into practice. PHILADELPHIA, PA.

July 19, 1803

[TO GEORGE ROBERTS ?]

My dear Brother:¹

I know in some measure what is right and what is wrong. Evils of such magnitude will not be cured in a day. You have a partial station,² you must, it is your duty to be partial to save the people you have charge of. I know the aggrevating cases, but you have said they were such as would not justify division! Oh division! to divide the Body of Christ, you will not wonder at my want of confidence in the matter as well as the former. Lay no bet upon the General Conference, perhaps it would be better to leave the present preachers with them till peace is made. I am afraid the General Conference will have too much work laid up for them. I would wish them to have but very little, as for the Book Concern, I wish it was divided, one part in New York the other in Baltimore, with proper men to manage the work under the special notice of the conferences nominated. I think John Wilson³ a very proper man. As a clerk he is masterly and a tolerable linguist.

I am happy to feel very willing the Conference should make or unmake me as they please, but as to presiding elders I am well assured that we send such boys that we need presiding elders to keep discipline, and are a most useful and respectable body of men. I am of an opinion that every yearly conference ought to have liberty to elect their own bishop, perhaps when they have one hundred members, and these bishops should be stationed for 6 years and visit the four or five districts regularly; that if there should be general bishops to visit they ought to be chosen by the General Conference and if it was not myself, I would say the senior resident Bishop should always reside on the stations. I think that each conference could bring a bishop under the same discipline as they do the presiding elders. The seven conferences will soon be one hundred strong. When this is the case they will have a preacher in charge and nearly as much territory as I had at the first. I am very unwilling to be shouldered forward in the business. I most sincerely wish the temporal and spiritual part of our discipline to be separated. I think if the General Conference is not connected it will be the greatest curse the Methodists ever had. It ought only to meet once in six years and none under six or eight years, to meet in it. As to complaints about the books, we had them heavily laid in, at the New York Conference. I fear we shall lose the admission of thousands of members this year. The General Conference ——⁴ —— to kill the presiding eldership, others to make archbishops—Some to get a toleration for —— —— others to have our local preachers ordained over congregations to escape taxing. We have tax —— at Wilbraham and oh that they would take him to jail because he will not pay them ——.

[FRANCIS ASBURY]⁵

Drew University Library