With much affection, my dear sir, I remain your brother in Jesus Christ,

J. C.

P.S." The signs of the times" are glorious in Cork. I am quite uncertain as to the period of my departure; we want several hundred sinners to be converted first. Farewell.

My request was granted. The following letter from Bishop Hedding, directed to the care of the Rev. John Mason, London, reached me in Liverpool, through the Rev. Abraham E. Farrar :

"To James Caughey,

"The Troy Annual Conference hath permitted you to perform the office of an Elder in the Methodist Episcopal Church, in your located station, so long as you conform to the doctrines and discipline of the Church, and walk worthy of your vocation as a minister of the Gospel.

66

Brother Chichester wrote to me, requesting me to send the above to you in England.

"I am presiding in the Genesee Conference, and

have not time to write more.

Yours, &c.

"E. HEDDING.

"Rochester, N. Y. Sep. 8, 1842."

have thought it proper to insert the above letter, as it may satisfy any of the ministers of the Wesleyan Methodist Connexion in Great Britain and Ireland, who may not have been informed of my present acceptable standing in the American Church.

Hull, Jan. 20, 1844.

JAMES CAUGHEY.

Since the above was written, I have been under the necessity of writing the following letter to an influential minister of the Wesleyan Methodist Church: the postscript of which will, I trust, be a sufficient apology for its insertion; and I hope will be as satisfactory to my readers as it was to the individual to whom it was addressed.

Hull, March 13, 1844.

J. C.

Dear Sir,

LETTER XXV.

Hull, February 23, 1844.

Your favour of the 19th inst. has been duly received. I am sorry our friends in ***** should have believed reports so prejudicial; or entered into expressions of condemnation, before the individual in

question had time to answer for himself. If I enter into a rather lengthy explanation or defence, I hope you will not consider it as arising from any strong desire I entertain of visiting *****. You are aware that the repeated invitations came entirely unsolicited on my part; and I may add, that I have not visited any town on this side of the Atlantic, for the purpose of holding special meetings, for the revival of religion, without a previous invitation from the superintendent, with the exception of Dublin and Liverpool: but when I did visit those towns, and the superintendents saw the arm of God made bare in the salvation of sinners, they cordially requested me to remain a short time, to promote the work of God. I write through a sincere wish to conciliate the esteem of a minister of the Lord Jesus, with whom I have not indeed formed a personal acquaintance, but whose confidence and good opinion I highly value.

Eleven months after I received what I considered a call from God to visit Europe, I asked liberty from my Conference, and obtained it in June, 1840. After visiting a few places in the United States, I went into Canada, and, in several places, the Lord poured out his Spirit, and hundreds of sinners were converted to Him. This detained me in America till nearly the session of the next Conference. The Leaders' Meeting of the Wesleyan Methodist Society in Montreal, kindly wrote a letter to my Conference, stating their full confidence in my Christian and ministerial character, and giving, at the same time, some account of the remarkable work of God in Canada, and signed by the Rev. Mr. Squire. The letter was well received by that body, and they unanimously agreed to give me another year to continue my tour, and that my name should be so returned on the minutes.

Soon after my arrival in Dublin, the Lord poured out his Spirit upon the inhabitants of that city, in an

amazing manner, and about seven hundred sinners were converted to God. This encouraged my heart, and strengthened my confidence, that God had indeed called me to visit these countries. I then visited Limerick, where a large company were brought to God. Cork was the next scene of my humble efforts, and similar effects were produced, as in Dublin and Limerick. My Conference year being now within one month of expiration, the point to be determined was, whether I should continue my tour, and visit the nations of the continent, or return immediately to America. After much prayer, I concluded to request from Conference, a " located relation," according to discipline. The Wesleyan Methodist Leaders' Meeting of Cork, granted me a certificate of my moral and religious character, signed by the Rev. Fossey Tackaberry, superintendent of the circuit, addressed to the Bishop and Members of the Troy Annual Conference, to be held in Burlington, Vermont, June, 1842. I then stated my desire to continue my tour; that, as they had kindly granted me permission to travel at large for two years, I could not intrude in the same way upon their generosity any longer, nor be the means of inducing them to adopt any precedent that might embarrass them in their future decisions; that as I had ample funds to enable me to visit the nations of Europe; and now being in their vicinity, with the unlikelihood of my ever having another such favourable opportunity; and, hoping thereby to acquire information upon various points, which would increase my usefulness in the church of God, on my return: that therefore, if they saw proper to grant me "a location," I would give them my most solemn pledge, to return to my work, and live and die in the bosom of American Methodism.

My letter arrived in Conference about five minutes before the Bishop called up my case. The member,

to whom my letter was directed, arose, and stated that he had just received a communication from Brother Caughey, and it was handed to the Secretary, and read. After a few minutes deliberation, my request was granted by a unanimous vote. Accordingly, Bishop Hedding forwarded to me their decision; a copy of which I shall enclose in this letter. A location is to sit down; that is, to cease from the itinerant work; but not to cease from being an accredited minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church. When a minister asks a location, it is generally understood, that he is able to perform the work of an itinerant preacher; but, on account of domestic or other temporal affairs; which, in the opinion of the Conference, are a sufficient reason why his request should be granted. Otherwise, he would be set down as a superannuated, or supernumerary preacher. As he takes this relation voluntarily, it is supposed he is confident of some honourable means of support, independently of the funds of the church; it is therefore a rule in our economy, that such a minister has no claims upon the funds, during his location. He retains his ordination parchments; and his Conference certificate is given him, in lieu of his name appearing on the minutes. He has authority to preach, to baptize, bury the dead, consecrate and administer the sacrament of the Lord's supper, in the absence of an itinerant elder; or, in the presence of the latter, assist, if necessary, in the administration of that ordinance, and to perform the ceremony of marriage.

In case of heresy or immorality, he may be suspended by the preacher in charge of the circuit to which he belongs, afterwards tried by a committee of preachers; and, if found guilty, the suspension is confirmed till the next quarterly meeting conference, before whom it is the duty of the accused to appear: and, in case of condemnation, the president