JA BEZ B U N T I N G

A GREAT METHO DIST

LEA DER

I D . REV. MES H RR N R G D O G . JA A IS ,

T HE M D ETHO IST BOO' CON C ERN .

N EW 'OR ' C I CI AT I N NN .

P R E 'A C E

N o o ne can feel more deeply than the writer how inadequate is the little book he h a s i written , when crit cally regarded as a life - sketch of the greatest man o f middle

Methodism , to whose gifts and character organized Wesleyan Methodism throughout the world owes incomparably more than to any other man , With more Space a better book might and ought to have been made . But to bring the book within reach of every intelligent and earnest Methodist youth and ’ o f every working man s family , a very cheap volume was necessary , and therefore a very small one . The writer has done his best, w accordingly , to meet the vie s of the Metho dist Publishing House in this matter . He knows how great and serious are some o f the deficiencies in this record ; especially 6 Pre fa ce

o n i the side of Methodist Fore gn Missions , hi as to w ch he has said nothing , though Jabez Bunting in this field was the prime and most influential organizer in all the early ’ years of o u r Church s Connexional mission work and world -wide enterprises The

subject was too large and wide , too various

and too complicated , to be dealt with in

a section of a small book . It is , besides , the - - ever various and far reaching theme , in these later as in earlier times of our Church l history , of those universa ly extended public hi missionary meetings w ch Dr . Bunting may be said to have taken the chief part in o a re rganizing , and which now more than ever before prized and sustained in our

- Methodism of to day .

ME H R . JA S . IGG C O N T E N T S

C H A P . I NTRODU CTION

' H A N L' MA H I . OU T D E AR N OOD

I I . MACCLES 'I ELD

I I I . E AR L' MIN I STR' I N LONDON

A I V. A MET H OD I ST LE DER

LI NE O ' D EVELOP MENT

I C H A A E AN D I 'LU E CE V . R CT R N N

I N T R O D U C T I O N

D U RI NG the first half o f th e la st century y

Dr . Bunting was , by universal consent , recog nize d as the most influential minister o f his o wn h Church and as occupying a very hig ,

no t if the highest , place among the Noncon f N o t o r m ist leaders of his o w n time . that o r f he sought such recognition , ever a fected the style o r manner of a Nonconformist leader ; the preferment was informal , but was his by general consent . He was providentially destined to great ness as a leader of his fellows , but yet he was born in a low social position . Nor did he attain to eminence as a Church leader by any great stroke o r special method o f his o w n .

In his youth , indeed , his talents and scholarly diligence had raised him to a position and prospects which would have warranted the

9 I 0 Intro duction

confident expectation for him o f a high professional career ; but he sacrificed that position , with all that it promised , for con ’ science sake , to enter upon the hard work ,

and still harder poverty , with which was very Often coupled at that time more than o f a little social ostracism , that were the lot of a Methodist itinerant preacher a hundred years ago . From this beginning he won his way, in after life , by modest and devoted

service, first to the confidence and high appreciation o f his fellow labourers as Metho di st preachers, and afterwards to the general esteem a nd admiration o f evangelical workers

in every class of society . As Wesleyan Methodism grew into wider and still widening

acceptance and influence, his fame and l personal influence continual y increased . The reluctance o f a modesty which welcomed

work and service , but in his earlier years f i shrank from o ficial position and distinct on, w a s overborne by the appreciation o f his r i breth en, both Older and younger ; unt l at dl u length, while still in mid e life, he co ld not but accept the position for which he w as

providentially destined, and, as the leading o f o w n minister his evangelistic Church , was I ntroduction lifted into pre - eminence among the evan eli a g c l communities o f England . He was elected President o f the Wesleyan Conference while still in the prime of his life , and by — r e - election held that office four times in

1 820 1 828 1 8 6 1 8 . , , 3 , 44 His funeral was an occasion of almost national mourning .

JA BEZ B U N T I N G

CHAPTER I

'OU TH AND EARL' MANHOOD

I T will be my first attempt , in this Sketch ’ of Dr . Bunting s youth and earlier manhood, to trace in slight outline the course o f his life, before he was called to the Christian ministry . Jabez Bunting was of Derbyshire parent a o f age . His father was tailor Monyash ,

o f in the Peak the county , who moved to — Manchester in middle life a man o f feeble physique , but a Christian man . He was a Me th o distf wh o knew the value o f a good ‘ education and , though he was poor, he sent s - his o n to the best day school in Manchester .

I 3 I 4 J abe z Bunting

His wife, whose maiden name was Mary R edfern, was a superior woman, a godly

fo r r Methodist , much esteemed her Ch istian principles and firm good sense . ’ The story o f Jabez Bunting s life begins properly with the visit to Monyash Of a Methodist preacher of more than ordinary gifts for his itinerant vocation, John Bennet . —o r o ld He described his circuit , in Metho

u l u —a s o n e dist vernac ar , his ro nd hun

dred and fifty miles , in two weeks, during

- which he preached thirty four times , besides ’ meeting the Societies and Visiting the — Sick Derbyshire , Lancashire, and Cheshire being the principal scenes o f his labours .

This evangelist visited Monyash, where R Mary edfern heard him preach , and

so sh e was impressed by the word , that forthwith j oined the Methodist Society and became thenceforth a devoted follower 1 o f Wesley .

1 h t r f o hn B en n et in a r t th e Th e is o y o J is , p , ’ h to r o f o hn W e e b e ca e o f B en n e t m a r is y J sl y , us s r ia e w th G r a ce M r r a w h o b u t fo r th e O o t o n g i u y , , pp si i o f h b r o ther Ch a r e w o ha v e b e co m e th e w e is l s , uld if f o W B enn e t b eca m e a n d fello w h elp er o J hn esl e y . h m in o r Me tho t o flsh o o t kn o w n in th e ea d o f a dis ,

L a n ca shir e a s In d e p en den t M e th o dis ts .

I 6 J abez Bunting

r o f Collegiate Church , now the cathed al that 1 8 th o f city, on the July following . The father died before he was an old man, but by sending his so n to the best school in Man o f chester, where the sons professional gentle in f men received their education, he did , e fect , ’ determine the development o f his son s mind and character , and put him on the line of intellectual progress and social cu lture and elevation , which , combined with the influence Of the Spirit and fellowship Of Wesleyan i Method sm, and the converting power of true i rel gion , led to the remarkable history and world - wide influence which made Jabez Bunting the greatest leader o f Methodism in the century that followed the death of

Wesley . The School in Manchester was conducted ni by a Presbyterian mi ster, and among the scholars w a s the son o f the eminent physician and publicist , Dr . Percival , at that time the most distinguished citizen of Manchester and o ne o f the most celebrated men o f scientific culture and general knowledge in ’ England . Young Percival and the tailor s so n - were class mates and intimate friends, s h a d and, as a con equence , when the boys , Youth a nd Early M a nhood I 7

ni dis fi shed their course at school , in fine ’ o f so n regard social prejudices, the tailor s

o f . entered the family Dr Percival , probably the most refined and truly liberal household ’ in Manchester . As Dr . Percival s valued pupil and amanuensis his son ’s intimate friend ; the friend also , then and thereafter through life, of his daughters ; the trusted and beloved inmate Of that charming and cultivated household : Jabez finished his edu a n z a nd cation as English citi en gentleman , and a professional man . He was a member o f that household when he was converted as a Christian believer, in the strictest evangelical o f sense . He was still a member the same household when he offered himself fo r the ’ ministry Of the people called Methodists , o n and was accepted probation . This took place in the last year of the eighteenth cen tury, Jabez Bunting being at the time twenty years of age . Jabez Bunting remained the valued friend o f Dr . Percival through the life of that o ne o f eminent man, who appointed him his o execut rs . He was the friend and corre s o nd ent o f p , sometimes the counsellor , the ’ daughters after their father s death . The 2 I 8 J abe z Bunting

remarkable tone and aspect of gentlemanly and scholarly breeding which distingu ished

Dr . Bunting in after life , and made him

always at home in good society, whether of o r higher lower rank , was no doubt largely due to his intimate association as a youth

with Dr . Percival and his family . The clear o f and pure English, free from all note pro ’ ’ vincia lism o r , whether country cockney,

which he spoke, and his excellent style,

equally manly and scholarly, as a speaker

and writer, must also have been due very ’ much to his training as Dr . Percival s pupil

and secretary . He gave up his hopes and h is more than fair prospects , as a medical fo r student , the poverty and wearing labours o f a Methodist itinerant preacher . But all

that he had learned from Dr . Percival, and all that he sacrificed when he enlisted as servant and soldier of Christ in the life of

a Methodist preacher, served directly to prepare him fo r his calling as a Christian minister and an evangelical leader in the

Wesleyan Methodist Church .

o f The boy Jabez had , as a matter course , in that primitive period of Wesleyan Metho dism no t nl , been trained, o y in Methodist t and ar an 1 , You h E ly M hood 9

e l o f dl doctrin and ru es go y life, but as an attendant at the morning service o f the

parish church, where he had been baptized by the parish clergyman . But he had also from childhood gone with his parents to the

- Methodist preaching house, his mother carry l ing him from a very early age , not on y to the preaching in the evening, but to the lo vefe a st o r in the afternoon evening, a means o f grace in which the early Metho dists specially delighted . On this latter point hung a matter o f fo r importance his after life . Whilst Joseph n co m m en Benso , the preacher, divine , and tator, was stationed at Manchester, the boy, who by this time had fully arrived at an age o f o f moral accountability and , indeed, bright intelligence, was still received with his mother into the quarterly lo vefea st o f the

Society, though by rule none but decided believers o r earnest seekers after Christ and o f His salvation were admitted, by show a to proper ticket, that peculiarly sacred and confidential service . When Mr . Benson, however , had removed from Manchester to ‘ ’ another circuit, and Mr . Mather, an able Scotchm an and o ne o f the most influential 2 0 J abe z Bunting and exact in discipline among the ministers

One who, like Benson himself, had been w a s elected, and indeed then , President of the Conference— succeeded Benson as super intend ent b e r e of the Manchester Circuit , l m fused to al ow Jabez , by this ti e a youth in his t teens, to accompany his mother to his sacred Society gathering . This circumstance made a great impression on the boy, as it had deeply touched his mother . The result w as his definite decision for Christ and His —o r his service , to use Methodist language, ’ full and convinced conversion . In later life he said, Many attribute their conversion l a I to their having attended a o vefe st. attribute mine to having been shut o u t o f ’ o ne e . This was a lesson fo r all his life to o n a to who , in fter years, had need guard l o f ml sacred y the lesson for his Church fir y , u i though patiently and eq tably , maintaining its rules Of Christian order and principle . The lad received a note o f adm ission o n trial into the Methodist Society - the — Wesleyan Methodist Church in September 1 o f 794, being fifteen years age . At the

intirn ate - same time , his and life long friend,

James Wood, j oined the Society, and , after Youth a nd Early M a nhood 2 1

ll o flices o f fi ing many trust in Methodism , died in in its fellowship , having founded an flu ential l family, which to this day c eaves to the same Church, serving it with stead a n fast loyalty . James Wood was eminent

o f citizen Manchester , and the first president o f the Manchester Chamber o f Commerce ; he was also a county magistrate . Through all his more mature life he was also a class leader , as well as a local preacher, in the 1 Methodist Church .

It is proper here to note that , though

. r e Dr Percival , whilst a Presbyterian by li io u s o f g profession , was, like most the

o f English Presbyterians this period, an

Arian in his professed creed, nevertheless, when his pupil had taken the step o f entering the Methodist ministry, he sent him a kind and cordial letter, and with it a generous gift to enable him to buy books to help him in his studies for his vocation . He was nearly connected by marriage with the eminent Irish divine, Archbishop Magee, whose learned and able work o n the cardinal

1 ’ D r B n n in r e a ttr b t B n . u ti g a fte lif i ute d o e so n s m inistr y his d ecisive a w a ke ning to th e S pir itu a l l e . Ma ther b r o ht h im to fina l e ci o n if ug d si . 2 2 J abe z Bunting

Christian doctrines o f Atonement and Sa cr ifi w as for many years the most generally va lu< standard authority on that gr eat su bj ec

When a copy o f that work was needed f . ’ u se di di Mr . Benson s as Metho st e tor, an o f no t l the work being out print, was to

procured, Dr . Percival took great pains

i nl th ; obta n the o y copy, as it would seem,

u l Oflices Wil co d be had, through his kind

the Archbishop , and sent it to his form f O . B ensc secretary, for his use on behalf Mr

- and the Methodist Book R oom . That M ’ Buntin g s religious influence was b enefici

'

in the family o f Dr . Percival may be pr o b a b inferred from the fact that nearly all tl members o f the large family circle becan

serious adherents o f the Church o f En gla n l so l and remained through life, retaining the end their warm friendship for the ’ father s secretary and executor . tl It might have been anticipated , from position which Jabez Bunting occupied i

i . s the fam ly of Dr Percival, that his cour

for the future was plain before him . He w already know n as a young and e a r ne

no r e u dir Methodist, a fact which raised p j against him in the mind o f his pr incipa

2 4 J a be z Bunting

his connexion with Dr . Percival and S I cee d ed u to his professional position, tho

< always a Methodist . Such a future, inde was a more natural and probable outlook to a him , according business possibilities prospects , than any other . Nevertheless , deliberately turned away and took up 1 work and profession o f a Methodist itiner e

c preacher , with the poverty, the so ial fer io r it i y, and the severe toil and contin self - sa cr ifice which such a calling could I but involve, knowing full well all that

fo r ‘ meant himself, and the continued ha ship that would be the lot o f his mother 3 so a sisters . In doing he left the obvious easy path fo r the difficult and u ncer ta ir and at all events the hard and self - denying

o f i o ssi lot a Methodist preacher . It is m p to explain o r understand this result in a other way than by recognizing the call ’ fo r Providence, higher than earthly intere ‘ ’ e and reasons, to leave all and becom minister Of Christ ’s gospel to the comm f o . H o w ; people England , by what me 1 and instrumentality, he was led to conviction that he was called to become — Methodist home missionary such in eff Youth a nd Early M a nhoo d 2 5 — in its earliest aspect was his vocation is an

interesting and instructive inquiry .

It may be presumed, to begin with , that the influence Of his excellent and devoted mother had much to do with her son ’s deliberate choice o f the work and life o f a

Methodist itinerant preacher . From the time

o f . when, under the influence Mr Mather, he ’ j oined the Society, the mother who had taken him in his earliest years to the Metho dist preaching and the lo vefe a sts must have borne him continually in her mind and on her heart as belonging to Christ and Metho d ism , and her example and influence must f w a s have laid deep hold o him . He her sh e J abez , and looked forward to his fulfilling , in a high and holy sense, the word of Scripture which had dwelt in her mind and o n her i heart . Accord ngly , when, as a mere youth ,

to he began to deliver addresses young people , and to take an interest in their conduct and pursuits, his mother would naturally begin to surmise what work fo r Christ her so n might

d o . be called upon to Besides which, his father ’s house was situated very near to the ’ superintendent minister s house, in Oldham r o f Street Chapel ya d, the inmates which, 2 6 J a be z Bunting

Mr . Percival Bunting informs us in t volume from which I have already quote took kindly to their neighbour ’s polite a ‘ so n o u t o f th promising , who went in and ’ dwelling almost at his pleasure . Thus drank in influences higher , stronger, a more congenial than even the studies a

' the society with which he became fa m ilz at the home of his schoolfellow and frier vi and in the circle o f which Dr . Percival wi the centre . Such influences drew him increasing strength and w ith growing spiriti inspiration towards the work o f the go s] i di ’ min stry as a Metho st preacher, with l its toil and world y disadvantages . o f When he was but a boy seventeen, I s notable, and was , as it were, prophetic his future vocation, that he became t founder o f A Society fo r the acquirement religious knowledge consisting o f young m o f the Methodist Connexion in Ma nch este

0 the rules of which, composed and written by himself, were contained in a book lent so n his and biographer . Among the Ob j ec o f the Society was improvement in religio ’ ] knowledge, experience, and practice , a every sixth meeting was to be employed Yo uth a nd Early M a nhood 2 7

’ exercises wholly and distinctly of devotion . The minute -book of this Society records what was probably his first attempt to

expound Holy Scripture . Thursday morn ’ so Re a ing, the minute reads , Brother d being etained by indisposition, the president ,

J . Bunting, read the first chapter Of the R f Epistle to the omans, which a forded ’ matter fo r conversation . A little later in this early stage o f Methodist

circuit organization in Manchester , we find

Jabez Bunting, still in his teens , taking an active part in the working o f the Prayer ’ Leaders Association o f Manchester Metho dism f o f , which, in e fect , was a branch the Methodist home missionary agency of that time for bringing awakening gospel truth into contact with the working classes throughout the country . In Manchester this agency 1 6 was powerfully worked, and in 79 Jabez a s Bunting was its secretary, appears from a document he left behind entitled A Plan o f the Methodist Sunday Evening Prayer ’ r fo r meetings in Mancheste , the September 1 8 quarter, 79 , a relic which bears the signa ture , Jabez Bunting, 35 , Church Street, ’ Secretary . This plan gives the names o f 2 8 J a be z Bunting — 2 1 2 prayer -leaders a large proportion ’ the Society members , who regularly vis sixty-four places in the town and neighb c hood . The transition Of a youth S O active diligent as this secretary o f the pra; so e leaders , and at the same time well educ r e a c and gifted, to the work Of a local p cc must have been easy and natural , and Th er t not fail to take place speedily . 1 8 evidence to Show it was in 79 , when he ] nineteen years Old, that he made his ear attempts in the way o f e xtem po r a n a

At a later period in that year he pr e a c l — his first sermon at a vil age now , no do absorbed— between Manchester and Black l when a number Of his friends gathered r o

w h o w him , were greatly impressed ith maturity and effectiveness o f the scrn He was employed as local preacher ele

r ea c months , during which period he p

fourteen sermons . After fully weighing

r o co n reasons p and , as to which he behind a comprehensive logical enumera o f and statement the arguments, and balance which determined his co ncl Youth a nd Early M anhood 2 9 consented gladly to his being proposed in the Manchester Quarterly Meeting as a candidate for the Methodist itinerant ministry at the

1 . ensuing Conference, 799

This was indeed a disinterested choice . He relinquished the assured prospect o f pecuniary competence and professional dis tinction for a life o f severe toil and narrow ’ 1 means . By his father s death in 797 , leaving no property behind him , Jabez was left alone to ca re fo r his mother and two so n sisters . A letter from the to his clever — a nd helpful Sister the other sister was a — helpless invalid in regard to the treatment of their father in the last stage o f his physical l decline, shows with what dutifu care the youth o f eighteen gave minute directions for the tendance and nourishing o f his father

o f during the latest weeks his life , when he had to leave Manchester for the fresher air o f Ma cclesfield , with his daughter to nurse him, helped by such aid and allowances — as the mother and so n could provide for ’ him . This letter is given in Dr . Bunting s

biography, and there is in it evidence of o f fil ff professional care as well as ial a ection . The father lived only three months after 30 J a be z Bunting

; the letter was written . On his death J o f fa r a s became the stay the family, as so o w n limited means enabled him to be . gave all he could spare to help his mo and sisters . When, after two years passed, the poor youth became a j

Methodist preacher, he gave his mother co ntir half Of his circuit allowances , and he h e so d o s . to as long as lived Happily, mother was a woman greatly esteemed l by the Manchester ministers and by Oldham Street Chapel trustees and lea l friends, and thus in various ways o ld - came to the clever, fashioned, and t inve primitive Methodist widow, with her

- c o al scuttle bonnet . The Methodists R Oldham Street , like the City oad had been well taught by Wesley preachers to care fo r the faithful a

o f u members the flock, and co ld take proper care of and find more o r 1 suitable employment in connexion with o r chapel the Society , for such a not

flu c woman as the Widow Bunting . Her in throughout upon the principles and chara o f her son must have been excellent . to In referring the means Of training w,

3 2 J a be z Bunting

u These men , also , by a final unison of j w 1 ment and counsel , which follo ed marked diversities of feeling and tende may be said to have done more than others to settle the basis o f final a gr een in the Conference and among the circ and Societies as to some cardinal point f no t Connexional controversy, a fecting o f the internal discipline the Connexion , the relations o f Wesleyan Methodism i

the Church Of England . Manchester w as nearer the centre of gra ’ fo r Methodism after Wesley s death 1 ’ a s even London, , apart from Wesley s e sonal presence and special influence , Wesl Methodism had taken a stronger and de

' hold of the population o f the nort counties than the special points o f Lo nd o r City Road Methodism had of the Conne

o r generally, whether in the North S o f e England . The influence Of Manch ] accordingly, and its ministers, especial the successive superintendents were m e so c great Connexional influence , told p fully upon the Connexion during the unse period which followed the death of We im Even more than Bristol , which was so Youth a nd Ea rly M a nhood 33

fl o r R with Wesleyan in uence, than City oad , ’ s e John We ley s own home , Manchester, b ing the focus o f the Methodist influences Of the

north, was the true centre at this period o f Methodist energy and feeling for the provinces generally ; and what was in Lanca shire the strong set of the tide o f feeling was likely in the end to prevail generally in the

o f Connexion . Benson, who , first all, had religiously influenced Jabez Bunting as a

youth , was a Church Methodist , and, if he u l his co d have had way, some episcopal form of government would probably have prevailed n a nd ul in the Con exion ; , in partic ar, the societies would have still looked to the clergy o f fo r the Establishment the sacraments . in Alexander Mather, who succeeded Benson

Manchester, an able preacher and strong n n willed Scotchma , desired a Presbyteria

form Of government, and an entire separation a s soon as possible from the Church of n d ll E glan and its clergy . Wi iam Thompson, though no t to be compared with Benson as o r o nor a pulpit power a learned theol gian,

a s - with Mather an able, all round preacher di o f and vine, was a man acute and statesman

e o f like mind, and with a wider xperience 34 J a be z Bunting

Church organizations than either o f tl fo r di n e e He was , indeed, the imme ate ] Methodism , in the crisis following Wes i death, perhaps superior to any other min

c l a rr as a statesmanlike ounse lor, and, r l r eco n the senior breth en , was general y g ne e d e c as the man Of the hour , the leader

E n lish m a : Methodism . Benson was an g S co tch n the north country, Mather was a h Thompson an Iris man , but an Irishman had been freely employed by Wesley England and Scotland as well as I r elz being appointed where his gifts as a judi o pastor as well as good preaching facu lty v

specially needed . An Irishman from r county of Fe managh , who , as a Meth S co tla n preacher, knew England and

well as Ireland, he was well acquainted o f the leading forms Church polity, and his youth up had been familiar with Pr ter ia nism no less than Episcopacy had thought out a plan for the gover ’ o f Methodism after Wesley s death

excluded Episcopacy in any form . Hi pa thies and judgement led him to pr efe al liber form of Presbyterianism , and in accordance with this idea framed a Youth a nd Early M a nhood 3 5

for the collective government Of the Metho ’ di s o f st Societies after We ley s death, which he lost no time in giving an outline by o f l means a circu ar letter , which made a

decisive impression in the Connexion, and ’ which was known as the Halifax Circular . It was believed by some that Wesley had inclined towards such a form o f Episcopacy

as he had already established in America,

and under which Dr . Coke held on that side o f o f the Atlantic a sort episcopal authority,

o ne o f in concert with Asbury, himself Wes ’ ley s preachers . But what was a necessary arrangement for an immense territory of vast no t fo r distances was suitable a small island, where the Societies were no t separated by hundreds o f miles from each other ; and Wesley never committed himself in counsel o r suggestion so far as to indicate a judgement a that the Americ n plan would suit England .

. o f Dr Coke , himself a deacon the Church o f England, was probably disappointed that English Methodism was not organized epis

co a ll p y, and there is no doubt that at a somewhat later period he thought that Irish

H is ele ctio n a s fir s t Pr esid ent o f th e Co n fer ence o o w e f ll d . 36 J a bez Bunting

Methodism might be episcopally organize t and that he might find his sphere here . B his world-wide missionary passion eclips that idea, and his generous and impulsi

e heart was, not a great many years lat quenched fo r this life in the Indian Ocean . o f Meantime, the plan Thompson and l

' ' a sso cia tes a m o n o f e , g whom one the abl Meth o diSI was Bradburn, took hold Of Br b In an adm irable pamphlet Mr . a d u sketched a general idea o f Presbyter such as, avoiding the obj ectionable point the Scotch Church model, might meet o needs f Methodism . On this general b w as accordingly, Methodism organized at o f 1 2 Wesl Conference 79 , a year after death, Thompson being chosen the B President o f the Conference . Mr . r a db s o f we have een , was President the Confere and superintendent of Oldham Street in 1 ni year 799, when the probationary mi

o f . Jabez Bunting began Mr . Ma been President in the ye Youth a nd Early M a nhood 37

questions and principles in Methodism . There was a correlated question of gr eat o ne difficulty, and which threatened a very serious schism , that had to be settled after the plan of itinerant District superintendents o f had been withdrawn, and that itinerant

District Chairmen, stationed in circuits and

elected year by year, had been adopted . The other question to which I refer related

to the administration of the sacraments .

Here also Mr . Thompson bore a leading part . The principle was adopted that in every Society ina nycircuit in which a maj ority of o f the trustees any chapel, and also a maj ority ’ of the leaders meeting , concurred in desiring the sacraments to be administered by the u stationed ministers , the sacraments sho ld be administered to the members by the preachers of the circuit in Full Connexion . This decision healed a very threatening schism and permanently solved a question — o f profound importance settled it once and

fo r all . The same man was thus a principal instrument in settling the two greatest and gravest questions which thr eatened the peace a nd —it m —unity ight be said, the very existence o f l Methodism after the death o f Wes ey . It was after these questions had been th l 4 settled that, Bradburn having been e ect President o f the Conference and appoint d Bu ntii to the Ol ham Street Circuit, Jabez w a s admitted o n trial as a minister a i

: appointed to the Oldham circuit, within ea

o f t reach Of his parents, Oldham Street Chap and of the week - night ministrations

Samuel Bradburn . 'o r many long years the deepest feelii of need in the mind o f Jabez Bunting f Methodism related to the education—t — training and instruction o f candidates f

n o r the ministry did he rest till , after for l: years , he saw his idea taking form and coming fact by the creation o f theologic institutions . From the beginning of l

' ministry he ceased not to cry o u t for t

o f t i . . supply h s lack Nevertheless , he h himself had a very valuable training ind ee without which he could never have b ecOI what he was fo r his Church the intellectt o f training the Manchester Academy, t influence o f the family and pr o fessio r — o f . training Dr Percival , and working with these and following after them—t

- - s e class meetings, the prayer meeting , his

4 0 J abe z Bunting self always and instinctively in pure English in the manner o f the best - bred English li o f fami es, and scholars who were neither pedants nor tainted with vulgarity . He had learnt habitually to u se language equally l intel igible to gentle and simple, to scholars and working men . Such experience and l o r training made it easy for him to exp ain , ar o r li o r gue, appeal , a ke in public privately, without laboured memoriter preparation . What has now been noted must be borne in mind when we think o f the saying often repeated by Mr . Wood, his early friend and

ll . fe ow townsman, that he never heard Dr Bunting preach better than when he preached his trial sermon as a local preacher at nineteen r l years o f age . Th oughout his ife he was distinguished by the evangelical distinctness o f hi in and unction his preac ng, and, l o f particu ar , by the point and power his ’ e a i . H w s applications , accord ngly, by no means a raw o r wholly untrained youth when he received his appointment to Oldham in

1 . o f 799 Moreover, his keen personal sense his youthfulimmatu rity made him a very close observer and practical student o f all th e points o f a dministration a nd Church Youth a nd Early M a nhood 4 1

discipline which were raised by way o f s o r discussion where he was tationed, by the ministers with whom he w as brought into

contact . Here, as in other points, his

association with Dr . Percival had been of vil advantage to him . Maxims of ci polity

“ and justice, as recognized in the writings and conversation o f so eminent and equitable fo r a publicist, became axioms the guidance

of his amanuensis in ecclesiastical matters . o ne Nor was it very long, as to more than o f point administration , before he showed an acuteness and also a decision which surprised those who heard the words o f the young Daniel who had ventured to give his Opinion r in a case of doubt o difficulty . o f Ol Before leaving the ground dham , o f where he spent his first two years probation , Ma cclesfield and passing on to , his second

circuit , it may be observed that already invitations had begun to flow in to the probationer , who, however, for many years made it his rule to leave himself wholly in o f no t the hands the Conference, and to

remain more than two years in any circuit . I t s m e m e e is interesting, at the a ti , to quot e e a m e e alea h r paragraph fro a l tt r, r dy 4 2 J a bez Bu nting

2 1 8 00 o f referred to , dated October 4 , , h w to nsman and intimate friend, Joseph En

w isle o f . , relating to this period Mr Bunting life . Rode over the mountains to Oldhat

There I met with Mr . Jabez Bunting , s townsman o f mine . He left grea t pr o pec

in the world, in the medical profession,

iI become a travelling preacher . He is go

-o ne on his second year, is about twenty ,

eminent for good sense, piety, and ministeri

gifts, and promises great usefulness . Glo be to God CHAPTER II

MACCLE S 'IELD

I N leaving the neighbourhood of Man - as chester and of south west Yorkshire ,

. o n represented by Oldham , Mr Bunting was his way by Conference appointment , during the next four years , to other schools of l r e r e Wes eyan tradition and sympathy , as p Ma cclesfleld sented by and London , his two successive appointments . He was thus enabled to broaden and carry forward his education in regard to the scope and outlook o f the rising Church , in the organic develop ment of which he w a s during more than o ne generation to take so leading a part . The master -influ ence o f Thompson and Bradburn was more potent in the Methodist district he w a s leaving than in the circuits in which his next four years were to be spent . In Oldham Street Circuit the Societies had no w for several years received the sacraments 4 4 J abe z Bunting

r o wn th e influ enc from thei ministers , and

o f such m en a s Thompson and Br a db u r . N t was in the ascendant . In the London fl R s Chapel , City oad at the present time fitl l l 3 di ycal ed Wes ey Chapel , the tra tion of the Wesleys were still sacred to man ‘ n 0 leadi g Methodists , to whom the thought entire and permanent separation from th

national Church was repugnant . And ever

Ma cclesfield la r el‘ in , a manufacturing and g

- a a working cl ss centre , special circumstance d had given the Establishe Church a stron , ar il hold on the Methodist people . The p s

l a nt clergyman was earnestly evangelica , o f many his congregation , who were neve o r very rarely absent o n Sunday morning and some o f whom were large employers o l i abour , were Method sts . Among thes Methodist leading citizens were Counte e l R severa , among others the yles , whose name have since gathered sacred memories for thei — firm adherence as Churchmen especially th — . R th late Dr yle , Bishop of Liverpool to evangelicaldoctrines taught by Wesley a nt Macclesfield 4 5 makes particular mention o f the exquisite taste and devotionalfeeling with which h e touched his organ at a specialpoint in the

al m . sacrament ad inistration His daughter , as it happened , was presently to become the w as wife o f Jabez Bun ting . It natural that the trustees and leaders—that the Society — generally who worshipped in the Ma ccles field Methodist chapel , should have no desire li o r as yet to c a m for themselves , as a right riv l o f p i ege , the administration the sacra ments by their o wn ministers . Their place o f worship o n the Sunday morning was their parish church ; at other times theyworshipped o r held lo vefe asts in their o w n preaching —t houses . Presently the new order would i — did come but as yet the o ld order prevailed . r e Indeed , the young preacher , not as yet ’ ceived ‘ into full connexion , was very soon about to propose marriage to the daughter n s m a th eti Of the orga ist , who presided so yp cally at the organ in the church . The first i circu t , accordingly , to which Mr . Bunting was appointed o n leaving Lancas hire was a no t unsuitable stage o n the way to City R s e oad Chapel , where the acraments w re adm inistered by a canonically ordained 4 6 J a be z Bunting

r isir episcopal clergyman , and where the young leader o f his Church was to gain comprehensive view o f the principles th

were to govern its development . Ma cclesfield a n , however , was a wide hard circu it exceedingly trying to the healt

of a delicate young man . It embraced considerable part o f the Peak o f D er b yshii

and of the northern division of Cheshire . Tl winter rides tried his delicate co nstitu tic s lo d in everely . The diet , also , of his country g

I I homes w a s n o t always easy of digestion . fo r thi deed , but the wholesome bacon and the soft oatcake which he cou ld generally cour th r o u upon , he could scarcely have lived g his long country rides and the w intry w ea th e He owed very much to the motherly care e a good lady whose name and fame were lo n cherished ‘ in Ma cclesfield fo r her lovin

AlleI hospitality , and whose husband , Mr . left by will two good houses for the use e the two Methodist ministers stationed in th ’ l town , in one Of which the writer s father ive for three years when he was stationed i Ma ccle fi ld the s e circuit fifty years ago . During his term in the Ma ccle sfield Circui the incumbency of a large church in th

4 8 J abez Bunting and that they would be content with lo e preachers on the other Sunday P Did th know of the proposed separation and mig th they have been heard against it , if ’ ' so n lettc chose His , in quoting this says , I note this early instance of his rega ’ for popu lar rights . ’ n The question Of Mr . Bunti g s marria l now pressed upon him . It was specia important because of the physical triz involved in the working of the circuit . greatly needed proper home comforts a i care ; he needed also some pecuniary he] that he might better assist his widow mother and his sisters . He sent h is moth always o ne -half o f his circuit allowance which were not calculated to cover itinera expenses o f board and lodging and tr a vellir these being supposed to be provided for t tI itinerant rounder by his hosts , as he velled o r , the Societies to which he preach and ministered . The payments made — him by the circuit stewards his cir cr ‘ ’ o f hi le allowances , w ch he kept and behind him an exact account—never e ceeded so n info rr as a single man , his

u s . , forty pounds a year Ma cclesfie ld 4 9

This question of his marriage was discussed l by him in a arge and elaborate memorandum , in which the pr os and co ns are set down with a matter - Of- fact precision which is somewhat i n amusing , but at the same t me deeply ear est .

Its conscientiousness is strict , and quite

unalloyed by anything like sentimentalism . He recognizes the objections as well as the R inducements . eligious considerations find

a due place , and he does not disguise the fact that the young lady ’s artistic taste in dress and her pleasant and witty humour might probably by some o f his flock be regarded as

Objectionable . The reasons in favour of his proposing to her are ten in number ; o n the o c n other side are six . This array pr and a is prefaced by a condensed dissertation o n u l o r ul the general question , Sho d he sho d he not entertain the thought of marriage at all at that time P ’ Among the reasons which carry the point in favour of his mar r i dl age without nee ess delay , one is the delicate and interrupted state of his health . After i we ghing all the reasons , his decision was

f . r O o sal in the a firmative He made his p p , i l accord ngly , after short de ay , and was i so n o n stra ghtway accepted . His adds his w 4 5 0 J a be z Bunting

dr m comment Her ess , about which I admit that sh e teased him during a co u r tsl c In whi h both were glad to end , was , motives alike o f prudence and e co nOIr o f adapted to the proprieties his station . I vivacity he foresaw would sometimes misunderstood ; but it lit up a perpeti sunshine in his heart and household . M Of great spiritual wisdom courted her co p any ; timid young preachers sunned a strengthened themselves in the light of l loving and sagacious counsels ; and falter i Christians waited for a smile from her brig ’ and kindly eye . If Jabez B u nting had hardships a Ma cclesfield poverty to bear in , he was without some compensations . Mr . J

Whitaker , an attendant at the Metho chapel and the father -in -la w aft i the g fted Congregational minister, M‘All , sent him a very generous dona for which he returned thanks in a long a l I most gratefu letter . This gift, and Percival ’s letter and banknote sent to h

two e e at Oldham y ars before, were tim l and encouraging helps, and not on y l l their materia value , but by their appea Maccle sfie ld 5 I

u l- his co rage and aid to his modest se f respect , were cordial comforts to a needy young

man . It is interesting at this period o f his life to find the young theological student a c knowledging the loan by a friend in Halifax ’ of the volumes in French of Bo u r d alo u e s

serm ons, and in the same letter referring to ’ Saurin s sermons in their native French . He ’

l . a so refers to Dr White s Bampton Lectures, and gives other evidence o f unusually wide so and various reading for young a man, being

a Methodist preacher o n probation . He was intimate with an able and excellent clergy

Mr . l ll man , Me vi e Horne , who had been a ’ o f follower Wesley , and received the Lord s Supper occasionally at his church in Ma ccles o his o f field . At the end f second year pro b a tio n he had nearly a hundred sermons u se ready for , as he might require them, and during his four years at Oldham and a d M cclesfiel he preached sermons . o f 1 8 0 At the Conference 3 , held at Man chester in his o ld familiar chapel in Oldham e- t r Street, Mr . Bunting and twenty igh othe d th e young men stood in the front seats, roun all is a d b en g ery, h mother , who h e accustomed 5 2 J abe z Bunting

to take him to the same sanctuary from h N ew te h . R child ood, being present obert

- stood among the twenty eight . Jose; df s Bra ord, who saw Wesley die, was Pre Pa w so n o th dent ; Benson, , Coke, and

m . asters stood round him Entwisle , Walt Griflith lea dii , Clarke, Barber, and other wl fathers in the Methodist Church, elders ’ ] had outlived Joshua, were present in t - H o w Lancashire mother church . Jab passed the ordeal o f his examination v no 0] have record to quote, except as to o u point . When asked, Are yresolved devote yourself wholly to Go d and P w work he said, ith a serious ’ sa tisfa c I habitually do , to the great

o f his assessors . We learn from a letter to Miss M o n o f his that , the day examination been a keen and prolonged controversy to where he should be stationed fo r the ye m ’ After a long and war debate, he writ the Conference confirmed by a c majority my appointment to London . My mind is at present m uch pained in sequence o f what p assed o n the sub Such overstrained import Macclesfield 5 3 individual is productive of realinj u ry to him ’ to to whom it seems honour . He refers l petitions, such as were a lowed at that time to be sent to the Conference and to be publicly read when the Statio ns were co n si der ed . Petitions fo r his appointment had

been sent from Manchester, Liverpool, and l London, and had been hotly and at ength

discussed . He says, I am greatly mortified d and distressed . Pray for me that the Go o f all comfort and gr ace may help and ’ direct me . n w a s 1 8 0 n So Jabez Bunti g , in 3 , statio ed

as junior m inister in London . EARL' MI N I STR' I N LOND ON

I N View of the marriage now agreed u pc Ma clar die no t l 11 with Miss , it was on y

“ sary, but in many ways convenient, l Mr . Bunting shou d have gained an in duction to London Methodism and society o f the Metropolis before he bro his bride to a perfectly strange centr

society and o f Church work . The social a n political world o f London scarcely differ e more from the provincial and m a nu fa ctu rin life of Ma cclesfield than the Methodism e London differed from Ma cclesfield Methe

d ism . London Methodism , indeed, was b no means homogeneous . There would b defin able differences o f tone and sympath R w it between City oad Methodism , ith Ea s Foundery traditions, and its City and

End constituency, and Queen Street an i e Lambeth Method sm , with their West Stre and Lambeth traditions and their su per ic

5 6 J abe z Bunting

’ five - hi r daily o clock preac ng service, tho ’ a primaeval rite o f Wesley s original Met dism o n , and always insisted where when he himself was in evidence , had been an established rule either in M o r Ma cclesfield o f , where, late years, his visits had been rare and brief, i i being more needed elsewhere . This pr m rule Jabez Bunting found very trying, sometimes he failed to respond to it ; hi w ch occasions, in a generous and c passionate Spirit, his superintendent,

Taylor, with whom he lived, supplied 1 place . That service was kept up all so m etin time he was in London, though the attendance did no t exceed eight perso . o l tl and , indeed , occasi nally fel short of number . Another special feature was the peniten

Saturday evening service, which was a r o f 1 and influential means o f grace . One ministers was expected to give an addr at that meeting . I may mention that fo u Penzance , some forty years later, I ’ the old penitents meeting still kept l with an occasional address from a minis o r a senior member . That meeting Early Ministry in London 5 7

Es . Penzance Joseph Carne, q , banker and R . P . J , the host and friend of obert Southey, a never f iled to attend, and it was a real spiritual help , although Mr . Carne himself, d a reserved though kin ly and genial man, seldom spoke to the company present . Another novelty w as the large number of small preaching -rooms scattered over London its ll and suburban vi ages, which were regu la r l yvisited by the minister, and in most o f which classes were met quarterly to receive their Society tickets by o ne of s the ministers . The long walks to places a a s far distant Brentford, Woolwich, Hamp r stead, Hornsey, were a bu densome part o f London work . Another metropolitan peculiarity was the large number o f de i in S italfields pendent poor, espec ally p and the East End, and the small and obscure

- - to preaching places , and the poor visiting be attended to o n both sides o f the river eastwards . Altogether a London appoint ment was very laborious, especially for the

o f -o f junior minister, who was a sort man

- all work .

On the other hand , there were compensa tions . If the Methodist Societies in all 5 8 J a be z Bunting quarters o f London included many whose indigence exceeded that fou nd

l where in the Societies, on the other han Societies maintained their poor funds a generosity elsewhere unknown, and exemplified in ' a surprising degree strenuous and unwearied Spirit of b o u I giving so characteristic o f the Wesleys their early followers . Besides whicl to e there were many poor care for, ther a larger proportion than elsewhere a r the Societies o f Methodists who were

nl - - intell o y well to do , but exceptionally l and de ightfully hospitable, worthy f in all respects o f John and Charles W Of di as wealthy Metho sts, indeed, I intimated, there were comparatively though there were more than a few

- - might be considered well to do . Bu combination o f superior intelligence devout piety and with sensibilit characteristic feature of the Societies , in the east central and in the w o f quarters the Metropolis, both in City and the East End, and in Queen Stree ’ o f Lambeth . The leaders meetings Road and Queen Street dispensed Ea rly Ministry in London 5 9 aid to the needy and deserving mem bers o f e Soci ty throughout London, and perhaps ’ the Queen Street Society , through its leaders o ld meeting, excelled in this respect even the l d Society o f City Road . So at east it appeare to o n Jabez Bunting, who this account wrote high praise to Miss Ma cla r die as to Queen S l wi treet more especially, and ike se as to the superior cultivation , and with this the deep o f al o f godliness , the princip members the l ’ eaders meeting there . Here it was that he found his choicest social circle, among such l fami ies as the Butterworths, the Mortimers,

. l a nd o f dl Mrs Bu mer, others har y inferior excellence . There are notices of Lambeth S w ociety hich seem to show that, though on the other side o f the river from Queen Street ’ and having a separate leaders meeting, the Society with its separate leaders ’ meeting was l ’ of considerab e importance , and the leaders l meeting wellorganized . It is possib e that ’ l Mr . Wesley s much be oved and esteemed e Wo o lff s l l Sw dish friends , the , the one y ’ family at Balham , belonged to the Lambeth

Society . e In London, however, there w re in propor tion far fewer wealthy members among the 6 0 J abe z Bunting Meth odist Societies than there were we citizens among the Nonconformists of n don . The Dissenting Churches were ( I descended from the P u ritan o r N o nco nfo — Chu rches of the Commonwealth that is the merchants and citizens wh o were main strength o f the Parliamentary Par London which had vanquished and ex; e the Stuarts . Among them had be n i dl bered such cit zens, at once go y a s a f wealthy, Sir Thom s Abney, the

f . o . i Dr . Watts Dr Stoughton tells us, Histor yo f Religio n in Engla nd u nder t

A a d the o r e v l. . nne n Ge g s ( o i . p

apart from the Baptists, who were feeble no r a poor r eligio u were in John Wesley ’s fewer than eighty Nonconformist

- and meeting houses, where the M u l nl b es co d o y be said to have had, R oad and Queen Street Chapels,

- o r preaching rooms, very small chapel hardly more than one citizen o f n hi wealth . To t s day, indeed, though are more than a few wealthy

London, they do not furnish an proportion o f City merchants Early Ministry in London OI tu r er s who take a leading part in the business o r public life and distinctions which maintain the fame and national character o f the great and ancient city centre o f business and far reaching influence among the commercial centres of the world . A hundred years ago w as di l the proportion excee ngly smal , and indeed was quite inappreciable, though the ’ dissenting interest, with London as its a ll chief centre , was through the eighteenth century o ne o f the political forces with which a llstatesmen and all political parties had to reckon . Of the very few rich and cultivated Methodists wh o might be counted in London u a o — u l a cent ry g , some two , in partic ar, bearing the names of Wo o lff and S u ndiu s hi o i were foreigners, w lst the remainder the maj ority were provincials who had come to ’ London and had there j oined the Socie ty country people who had worked upward, and , di retaining their Metho sm , had become leading men in the Society ; in all cases

Christian people o f energy and character . l There was ife and glow in the societies, and ’ r cu la set a their leaders meetings, in pa ti r, f fine example to the Connexion . O these 6 2 J abez Bunting

E facts we gather intimations from Mr . ’ ing s j our nal and correspondence with th o a lr di . M c a die . Of the la es , Mr Bunting ho r Mr s . w Bulmer, the poetess, w ote e as m m M m o ir s o f Mr s. Mortimer and w a ’ o f the Queen Street leaders meeting dl frien y circle , to be the most accompli and one o f the most pious . On the whole the Queen Street 8 01 would appear to have excelled that of R oad, both in the generosity of their g and especially o f their charity to the I and in spirituality o f mind and general J

di . bree ng This , however, may have due to the superior cla ss o f attendant o f l Queen Street Chapel , standing west ll a s o u la gate Hi , compared with the p p in the City and in Spitalfield s and the

fo r R of London , which City oad was

c . e entre On the other hand, there are indications , in the j ournal and letter

u o f - kindli Mr . B nting, the warm hearted and hospitality of the City R oad frie who were perhaps franker and less I' CS CJ than the residents in the West End

Lambeth . The only journal which Jabez Bu n

J a be z Bunting

science we shallhave much time to culti will be that o f finding the way from

l a no th ei street , and chapel , and vi lage , to h ave hitherto had no leisure at all to thir o r o f o ld te new texts , to mend many my I am obliged to preach on those sub which happen to be at present most fa n ’ 8 a to my mind . September I w ’ weary and drowsy this mornin g at five o e — h . S t t at , though I heard Mr Taylor his intend ent , with whom he was at the o u t nei living going to preach , I had curiosity enough nor piety enough to

- and hear him . To morrow I must be as it willbe my own turn to conduct the

w h o l devotions in the sanctuary . The the forenoon was spent with Mr .

m . meetin g classes . At four p I we — a t assist Mr . Benson that time the nexio n aleditor in giving tickets

Tower Street at six pm . at the Ne

V R . estry , City oad At seven , time for previous prayer o r other pr tion , I made my first appearance in the i there . I was not v olently shocked ,

‘ co n r e a tio n w as the g g very large , and n R R Whiteh e Benso , ankin , odda , Dr . Ear ly Ministry in London 6 5

o f Hamilton , and other gentlemen the same

o f description , composed part it . My text

was I Pet . v . 7 , which has o f late been a v h as fa ourite subject . This been one of my s m to be t ti es , as freedom in public duty , n si ce I arrived in London . I afterwards met

the bands . Such is th e chronicle o f this ’ day s proceedings ; how uninteresting to h o w to others , yet important myself , if considered in connexion with my future account to th e Judge o f quick and dead ' The record just quoted refers to a Sunday ’s ‘ ’ o f work . The giving Society tickets , at a pressing season , such as that which often e follows the yearly Conf rence , when ministers have been absent from their circuit , had to ’ be crowded into the day s work . As the liturgical part of the City Road morning ser vice was always taken by the chaplain known ’ — as the Trustees Chaplain a clergyman of th e Wh o Church of England , also , on press ing occasions , relieved the stationed ministers — b ypreaching the sermon o ne of the circuit ministers was occasionally set free to meet classes for tickets in the preaching -rooms in various parts of London . The congregation was very large on the 5 6 6 Jabe z Bunting

to ( Sunday referred , because the new y minister w as to preach his first Su i evening sermon after his arrival . He h very good time , and gives the whole ta ’ ’ the day s work fo r Miss Ma cla r die s infoi it tion , as was a special and very cri ’ f Lord s Day o work . It was no wonder Jabez Bunting again overslept himself

l fr next morning . He te ls his particular ‘ ’ w a s that he very unfortunate . He ll not ca ed , as he ought to have been at

ll - past four , and did not wake ti half past

e He says , I never before committe l ’ slothfu a blunder , Sleeper as I am .

. r o n e w Mr Taylo , who , might suspect , party to the neglect which left him to o n se , after such a trying day , took the

o f instead his young man , and annou that Mr . Bunting would preach the morning . Mr . Lovelace , an old , i barr ster , could not help expressing that now there would be a revi fo r there had been little good morning preaching had been and that the abandonment of this pr ’ w a s the true cause of the present war .

Taylor must have preached short , E arly Ministry in London 6 7

- prayer meeting was held afterwards , and there were twenty -one who stayed to the ’ end , an extraordinary number .

Mr . Bunting closes his notes relating to this critical experience o f his duty at its hardest by adding , Another week is now nearly gone , a week certainly of many mercies , but of much inward exercise and O h frequent dejection . Lord , arise , elp and ’ ’

m . deliver me , for Thy na e s sake

What has now been' quoted may serve to indicate , in some measure , the earlier feelings f and experience o Mr . Bunting when he

entered upon his work in London , and what o f were some the special features of the work . ’ I find , he writes , that the bed which now stands in my room is that formerly occupied

by Mr . Wesley , when he was in London , and

in which he finished his triumphant course . l f This circumstance , smal as it is , a fords to ' me , who am a bigoted Methodist , con l ’ sider a b e pleasure .

If I add a quotation just here , from Ma cla r die another letter to Miss , it is because n o t to o r it relates , London to his work Ma cla r die there , but to Miss and their religious relations with each other ' Your 6 8 J abe z Bunting

’ i chief danger , he says , arises from natural vivacity . This is in itself a g blessing , but it may degenerate into a so o f mischief and danger . Give yourself ,

S . dear , to much prayer . I have pr o a ch e d myself for speaking in my la st strongly about your preceding letter

o u forgot , at the moment , that ywere wri o n to me , and indulged yourself , that acco in a degree o f playfulness which yo u w e not have allowed under other cir cu m sta n I shall be thankfu lto receive from any cautions o r advices which you may tl

I need . Watch over me in love , and ’ yourself a faithful friend . I have referred to the large numb Nonconformists in London at the time Bunting made his debu t in that great The strong leaven o f convinced N o n co — mists in London throughout a ll lower working cla ss residentiary Nonconformists wh o prized and st adhered to their distinctive tenets and special value o n able and attractive in their sanctuaries— proved an fo r Mr . Bunting , with whom it was passion to discover and cu ltivate Early Ministry in London 6 9 ship of evangelical Nonconformists who were n i not Dissenti g b gots or extreme partisans . There were not a few such for him to hear t and know among heir pastors , and he would seem to have made the acquaintance of many o f them . Mr . Clayton was the preacher

o f he most admired , the eldest three distin u ish e d D g brothers , all evangelical issenting

d u e ministers , and all in course friends f o . . o f Dr Bunting Occasionally Mr . Jay , ’ H u ntin d o n s Lady g Chapel , in Bath , visited n Londo , and the young Methodist preacher delighted to hear him . On the first occasion he found him animated and brilliant When he heard him next he was very instructive and impressive . Mr . Jay on this occasion e s took his hearer captiv , and dis olved him into tenderness and tears , while he was enlarging o n the character and sufferings o f l St . Pau . When I hear such preaching as ’ ’ Mr . Jay s , he says , I am always ashamed of l myse f , and wonder that the people should like to listen to my poor swashy sermons . I feel that I am too declamatory in my mode o f preaching . I want more weight and solidity .

se e o f However , I am roused , and the need ili to o increasing d gence , and that I , , by the 7O J a be z Bunting

s o f w o r kr ble sing God , may become a ' I that needeth not to be ashamed . ’ w as 1 completely he thus roused , and complete a contrast his characteristic s a fo r of pre ching soon came to be , all his a d life , to his own description just quote shown lu minously by the testimony o f e w temporary itnesses , beginning shortly a — the date o f this entry in his j ournal w itne not belonging to his own Church fellows and continuous through all his course l 10 pulpit work . He himself, he tel s us , l ’ to hear o d ministers . He therefore wen

’ a t hear Newton of Olney , Cowper s friend , in church Lombard Street , but found quite worn out and tottering over ’ brink of the grave . He went also to l

il a s sen Cec , but describes him being too

“ a l ex tious for his t ste , and too litt e of an i gelica lpreacher . After a wh le he bec

acquainted with Mr . Burder , and later all th at distinguished family of Dissen

ministers . The Clayton family and Burder family were through his after h a e among his choicest fr iends . He

passion for hearing the best preachers . true in stinct had made him feelthat pre

7 2 J a be z Bunting

attend to the affairs of the Missions an ’ fo the Book Committee . On the n 2 8 Wed esday , December , almost the entry in his j ournal before his marriage

r w ites , I am quite tired of the care b e business , and should glad

return to my accustomed duties .

bustling a life , spent in such emp not very favourable to my spiritual

r Pray fo me . I never needed help m His last letter to Miss Ma cla r die before

marriage was dated from Manchester ,

1 1 8 0 2 . m . January 7 , 4 , at p , where it be presumed that he w as staying with I mother . On the Sunday preceding he preached at Salford in the forenoon d t o Ol ham Street in the evening , v h crowded congregations , as he says , wit much indifference to their censure or l p a u se as I ever felt in my life . I wish I n always be kept as single of eye and sirn '

. H e of heart told his correspondent , sh e w his had ished to know , that in opin

o f dl a his sermons were the mid e cl ss , sermo ns but that he felt as if he had In than common liberty and unction in ’ a n exhortations d applications . I tru Early Ministry iniLo ndo n 73

ll he says , that this event wi be the com m encem ent of a new era in my religious , as ’ as well in my domestic , life . w as 2 He married on Tuesday , January 4 ,

at the Prestbury parish church , near l fi l Ma cc es e d . n The same eve ing , according

o n to engagement , he preached at Derby 1 i John . 9 . The next Sunday he took his

own proper appointment in London .

London Methodism , as a whole , was full

of Christian hospitality . When Mr . Bunting

brought his bride to London , and while the friends were making ready fo r them a suitable

i t h e dwell ng , they were indebted to hospi tality of members o f the Society for their

- temporary home life , and the kindly warmth and thoughtful attentions of those friends seemed to them to be very refined and ’ generous . Our proper home , writes the

bridegroom to his friend Mr . Marsden , is at City Road —the description may be followed to -day by any visitor to the interesting o ld house where; besides the room that regu la r l o f ybelongs to me , we have the use the

- large drawing room on the same floor . We i l dine w th the fami y , but at other times are

alone . But we have spent a month since 74 J abe z Bunting

’ o u r . a r e arrival at Mr Middleton s , and

Bu tt r w o paying a similar visit at Mr . e — o f I both these gentlemen , it may be being QueenStreetMethodists , andMr . B worth being the well-known law -book whose name was to remain over the ‘ - Th l shop window for four generations . ’ italit : p yand kindness , pursues Mr . Bu o f our friends in London are truly gre It w as not till a short time after h is r ia e g , and therefore after he ceased to n a liz e , that he became acquainted wit

u r d r -h e B e s . Doubtless it was the warm early f raternal intercourse between ’ Bunting and th e most esteemed an flu entia l o f the evangelical Di especially in London , which led , in gr to his widespread fame and este their brotherhood during his long residence in London , and gave him a of ascendancy in the Evangelical during all its early course of w id espr n b enefice t influence . But the most remarkable fact in to his co -operation with distingu ish e gelicalleaders for a co n London was his co Ear ly Ministry in Lond o n 7 5

Review , of which , whilst still comparatively

o n e a mere youth , he was of the founders . Some of us are old enough to remember the

Review fame of that notable , and to have traced some after - effects o f its influence in the history of evangelical culture in the al o f earlier h f the last century . A passage in reference to it which occurs in a letter to is his mother worth quoting . It was written 2 1 8 0 on July , 4 , when he had been stationed in London ten months . This morning I preached at five on Being sealed with the ' ’ Spirit . At eight o clock I went to Mr . ’ Taylor s , Hatton Garden , to attend the

fo r Review Committee the , and strange to f o n o . d tell , the motion Mr Burder , was calle to a u l the chair so I ssumed , as well as I co d , the air and attitude of a man of consequence , f and got through the duties of my o fice , in my own opinion at least , very respectably . The gentlemen present stared with admira tion when I told them that I had preached ’ ld c . o n at five o lock Calling at Gui hall , my n way home , I stepped for a while i to the ’ Court o f 'ing s Bench . I then found a Common Hall o f the city assembled to choose two n ew sheriffs . Several gentlemen 76 J abe z Bunting

h w o r. were put in nomination , among 1 o u r . . friend , Mr Marriott Fortunate

his purse , the majority of votes was in f ’ of two other persons . The E clectic Review wh en first pro

was to have been called the Biblio thec.

view w a s e . That stupid name exchang

E clectic Review r the , a title rathe pedantic but hardly more expressive e

f h . obj ect o r w ich it was started . Mr B

Pella tt u worth and Mr . Apsley , a p u and rather spec lative Nonconformist , to have been the two men who did m : n the way o f starti g it . Of the g h invited to t e gathering at Mr . — r tw o were Wesleyan ministers M .

R ev . R and the Thomas oberts , a c

and popular Wesleyan minister , a em lo e d hi man , but p v c efly by Mr

in Ireland , where he became ' Mr . nox , of London

friend , and with the Guinness fam

which he intermarried . His later fi ll Spent either in London or , na y,

1 r Ma r r o tt w as th e o n e Metho t C I M . i dis a fr i en d o f J o hn W e sle y a n d a m a n o f co n s w e a th l . Early Ministry in London 7 7

Bath and Bristol . He had a wide circle o f

h is friends , his polished address and catholic

Spirit combining to make him popular . The Eclectic Review wa s ~ intend ed to r e a ll present , in a generous spirit , cultivated and

thoughtful evangelical Christians . Of the gentlemen invited to the inaugural meeting

. nl o ne Mr Bunting attended , o y, however ,

Joseph Pratt , was an Episcopalian ; eight o f the twenty -nine laymen were members of

. Gr ea th eed the Methodist Society ; Mr , the o f friend Cowper , was the responsible and ffi o f o cial Chairman the committee . The first

Rev . e . trustees wer Mr Burder , the George o f ll Collison Hackney, Wi iam Alers , Apsley

P ella tt . , and Jabez Bunting It was a notable thing that at the first and con

stitu tive . meeting , already referred to , Mr

r e a th ee d G not being present , the youngest member of the association , Jabez Bunting , di should have imme ately , by common con f ll o . sent , been ca ed to the chair the meeting When he w a s thus placed in the chair o f the E clectic Review representatives he was only

- twenty five years o f age . One cannot but be reminded o f the fact that half a century l later , when the Evangelical Al iance was 7 8 J abe z Bunting

called to counsel; if Dr . Bunting was p

he was , as a matter of course , looked n o t the guide and moderator , if the off c r r e r esen onstituted chai man , of the p

business assembly . The one grievance that he co m pla iI w as that he was called upon continua if he had been a handy young man fo r o f department , instead pursuing his p ’ studies , to act as a sort of prentice fo r whatever work his departmental s

required to have done . He was r e e at every turn to act as assistant in an

e every departmental service , and esp

as helper to Mr . Benson , the Editor , the Book Steward and the Mi

a r tm en - p t. This last named depart

o f particular , in consequence Dr . — frequent absences from England h e nominated Secretary of the Co nfer enc yet being also absolute autocrat En la n Missionary work , whether in g o r land, Wales , Ireland , America West Indies—was in complete co seemingly in an all but bankrupt To help in this apparently hope was the final burden which fell

8 0 J abe z Bunting

transcribing , for the Methodist Magazir hundred large and closely printed pa ’ Dr . Magee s great work o n Ato n em eI

o f a s e Sacrifice , a copy which , we hav Jabez had been able to obtain throu o f private influence Dr . Percival w i

-in - brother law , Dr . Magee .

o f From the letter Dr . Percival

friend , whom he addresses as My de

relating to this subject , what I am

su es to quote is , in various respects , gg ’ w e Dr The work of Dr . Magee , rit s

civa l l . , sha l be delivered to your sister forwarded to yo u for the use of your I am in daily expectation o f a vis

Dr . Magee , and shall state to him t ticu la r o u s ymention . I believe his o u t as of print in Dublin , as well in He is at present so much o ccu pie his D isco u r ses o n the P r ophecies a s have leisure for a new edition of his o n Atonement . I thank you for yo attention to my commission respect m o n P u nish ent. My whole family unite , in the kindest regards t sincerely affectionate friend Early Ministry in London 8 1

In a letter from Dr . Percival to Mr . Bunting ’s sister w ritten at a somewhat later

date , he says

Be so good as to offer my most affection

ate respects to your brother , with my best thanks fo r his very acceptable a nd obliging

o f h present . The third edition t e P ena l La w is the last , and that which I wanted . Lord Auckland informs me that his book

seller could nowhere meet with a copy . h as Your brother , therefore , been fortunate

in his search .

Yours , ’ T . P .

Such were the terms in which Dr . Percival corresponded , not only with Jabez Bunting , but with his sister . The Buntings were poor , yet not unworthy o f the warm friendship o f such distingu ished persons as Dr . Percival and his family . In describing the conditions of his life in London in the foregoing pages , I have anticipated in part what refers to a date

ll b e subsequent to his marriage , but sti longing to the second year o f his resi dence in London , and necessary to give an 6 8 2 J a bez Bunting

' intelligible idea of th e co nditio ns under w 1 8 0 i Lo n in the year 4 , the joint l fe in religiously and also socially regarded , o married pair was to be passed , in vie grave opening responsibilities and of r a j unfolding opportunities . It was not til vocation was completed by marriage all that was involved in it began distinct unfold before him , and his sphere of resp b ilit y, as shared with a religiously mi V e x a n partner , came into iew as an p

0 prospect . The meaning and capacity life were now begin ning to come roundly —in perspective breadth , and depth , height ; till no w it had been fr a gm en

e H had been ordained that was much , essenti much , but not all that was prepare him for the work o f a pr im iti th practical , presbyter or bishop , with o f u cure so ls , in an evangelical and apo

Church . CHAPTER I V

A METHOD I S T LEADE R

’ MR B U T G S . N I N rule at this period o f his itinerancy was fixed and immovable not to remain in any circuit more than two years . At the end of his residence in London he i took rank immediately , notwithstand ng his o f youth , as one the leading men in the

Conference . His unanimous appointment a s Assistant Secretary of the Conference did

f . in e fect give him that position Dr . Coke n having been , ext to Wesley himself , the minister taking precedence of all the Metho dist preachers , and holding in America the f l o fice of Superintendent , whi st elsewhere the whole missionary field o f Methodism was u nder his sole and supreme direction , was , f as a matter of course , instated in the o fice ’ o f Secretary of the Conference after Wesley s death . He was , however , elected President 1 1 80 in 797 , and a second time in 5 but, after

8 3 84 J abe z Bunting

his l a ne that, mu tifarious responsibilities , necessary j ourneys as Missionary directe a ll o f d -field n parts the Metho ist mission , it im possible fo r him to perform the a c

to a lth e work belonging the secretaryship , o u t of a fin e courtesy the Conference after year yielded him the titu lar dig f o Secretary of the Conference . Indeed al al sever years , though nomin Secretar' did n o t even j oin h is signature as Secre with that o f the President in the auth : cation of the Minu tes o f the Confere

o f All semblance reality , however , ha

Minu tes thus been lost , and the having secretarial signature to sanction them

d eter m ine e after year , the Conference resolve the o fficial difficulty by a ppo intin

a a e Assist nt Secretary , who should do the

a u ld secretari l work , but whose name sho ’ appear under the President s a s Secretai

the Conference ' Except , however , for purpose of the general and fin a l sign a tu i

o f Secretary , he was , during the sittings

de a cto . Conference , the Secretary f The actual hitch in the Conference i ’ Mr a o in which led to . Bunting s pp tm er Assistant Secretary is described by A M ethodist Le a d er 8 5

to Bunting in a letter his mother , written from Leeds , where the Conference was held

1 806 . in the year Dr . Coke at length very o f a s nearly failed election Secretary . The

Conference , it was evident , felt that it was time to put an end to an unreality . Dr .

Clarke was chosen President by a fair , though — o wn divided , vote chosen against his pro ‘ ’

o ffice . test , and literally dragged into the l Dr . Coke was elected Secretary , by a sm al

: majority , Mr Benson being very near him ’ in the voting It was proposed , says Mr . to Bunting in his letter his mother , to elect in an Assistant Secretary ; and , after an f o n e fectual struggle my part , I was com ’ pelled to take my seat in that character . He complains that this willbe a heavy tax o n ll him , and wi oblige him to stay all through the Conference , to the very end . ’ On the other hand , he adds , I secure by it the advantages o f occupying a capital

station in the Conference , close to the

’ President s chair , where I see and hear everything ; and o f gaining considerable ’ information on our affairs .

Here , indeed , was a seat near the throne , and a duty o f perpetual consu ltation with 8 6 J a be z Bunting

h the President , w ich , for such a man as

Bunting , meant in reality a seat of

i i dancy , g v ng him complete and knowledge and a right o f advice or S tion to the President and the Conf f official sta f . He was the man whom e one who wanted any new thing o f import done found it necessary to see and m o

o f less consult . And he was a man tran dent ability and great insight Dr . C ’ c a s n preoc upation w Mr . Bunti g s oppo fo r taking a legitimate and effective pa o f the guidance Conference business . o f h a d course , if he himself proved a o and unequal to the pportunity , his fai wou ld have been exemplary and d ecisiv

s e His two years in London , and the p work which had been imposed upon there , had given him such an insight into actual condition o f things in the Conne: as no other young man had or could h

r o n s gained , and he was al eady term cordial friendship with the leading minis and many of the leading laymen o f

Connexion . His training under Dr . Perc had been , in fact , a training in the princi i ex and equities of public bus ness . His p

8 8 Ja be z Bunting to a system of mixed committees and councils fo r the co -operation o f the itinl ministers and their lay helpers on other . CHAPTER V

L I NE O' DEVELOPMENT

’ S I I A D some pages back that Mr . Bunting s opportunity for taking an effective lead in the conduct of the affairs of the Wesleyan Methodist Church had been created by his appointment as Assistant Secretary o f the Conference to supply the necessary lack of f o . his service Dr Coke , owing to Missionary calls and engagements ; but that what r e mained to be proved was that Mr . Bunting was equal to the great Opportunity and difficult position which had devolved upon him . During the years which followed, his competency was tested and very fully estab ’ lish e ev d . . r i Accordingly, when Dr Coke s g sea ous but glorious death took place at , on h a d b e co m e his voyage to India, and it an absolute necessity that his place as Secretary

must be definitely supplied , there was no 89 90 J abez Bunting serious controversy o r hesitation as 0 successor There was, in fact , no be thought o f but the very able and Assistant Secretary who for years pa borne with consummate co m pe tenc success the burden o f Secretarial

Jabez Bunting, still a young ma nevertheless by common consent in f with the most important o fice , next

Presidency, which could be conferred —a n o flice minister , indeed , practically the influence it carried , the most resp and important which the Meth o dis ference had to bestow . He brought into the position much than the weight which any nomination other circumstances could have con h is His experience , his past services, n exio na l o f his se prestige , the result c oncurred in giving him a moral influ e i

h e to speak, which no other minister ,

o r o r e able faithful brilliant , could p ne possess . The whole Conference k v a few more years o f Connexional servio < ’ bring him to the President s seat o f d tion and public authority . But when chosen Assistant Secretary his ser vic Line o f De ve lo pm e nt 9 1

been brief he was still a very young man , and he could no t with dignity and general satis faction have succeeded to the Presidential seat till years of responsible service had been d i him adde , wh ch would enable to guide and n advise , as bei g no longer in early youth . The weight o f mature age wou ld have been added to his consummate ability and his recognized high services to his Church . He was chosen 1 80 Assistant Secretary in 5 , Secretary in 18 1 1 8 20 . 4 , President in

Meantime, it will be interesting and appropriate to view him as he worked and frater nized in some o f the most inter esting and important o f the Methodist circu its during the ripening period o f Methodist development between his early ministry in London and his first Presi d e nc i yin 1 8 2 0 . Th s was his season for coming into close personal relations with the most worthy and influential o f his o f brethren , and some the most important l o f of the country circuits , especial y, the

Connexion . Dr . Bunting, till age and pre c o cupations came , which limited his powers and opportunities, was a particularly social mi c and brotherly nister, whilst as a cir uit 92 J a bez Bunting

th minister he was , without doubt, powerful preacher and gospel cv that the ranks o f the Wesleyan brot have produced .

1 80 . On leaving London in 5 , Mr was appointed to his native town, in ance with the urgent request of th i chester Method sts , though not in all r di n accor ng to his o w preference .

u a o in tm e however, a very successf l pp laid the foundation of personal influ i a preacher, especially when appo nte

e to lat r period, a second time Man such as perhaps no other Methodist has exercised in any circuit . Here hi so n , the devout and accomplished

Ma cla r die w as . e Bunting , born Ther as so n se t tradition , his second has d ’ his w as a b seI father s memoir, that he

home when this event took place . ne 1 return, and when he received the fellon his knees and poured forth o ne c d fo r plea ing prayers which, through ri was so remarkable implo ng, in par

so l d that, if God should wil , the chil ] become a Methodist preacher . The a rush of pater nal pride and j o yso gre : Line o f Deve lopm e nt 93

r as a f iend had to remind him , he forgot to seal the letter which took the good news to ’ e dl Ma ccle sfi ld . It need har y be added that the first wish o f his fatherly heart was not denied him . It was in this his first appointment to Manchester that he was able to organize what fo r years afterwards he carried o u t in all his CI r cu its , the periodical gathering for Christian

— c ends social ends and opportunities , in whi h his brotherly heart and social spirit greatly delighted, consultative opportunities and general conversations mutually helpful for the religious life , all this in a truly Methodist — spirit of brotherhood and fellowship o f as many brethren from the District as could conveniently come together . These meetings were not seldom fertile in prudent su gges tions for helping forward the work o f the r Church , and always cont ibuted to promote mutualgood understanding and br otherly concert and union among the ministers . They greatly increased his legitimate in

flu e nce his among brethren , prevented seeds of jealousy from springing up , and promoted

Connexional unity . If, in later years, his ffi overwhelming o cial cares and duties, 94 J abe z Bunting

coupled with the increasing though ne seclusion in his study which consta occupation and grow ing infir m ities h a

imperative for him , had not render large social opportunities im po ssib l might have contributed powerfully mote unity and mutual confidence Methodist Church It w a s not an o f f n o r o ficial reserve , , like Achill o r r e content pride , that made our g

co u ld m e keep his tent . Those who him in privacy found his b r o tlr his instinctive , and friendliness spon ener o u < and natural ; and, if of a g such men never lost the sense o f hi t b r o th er li pleasant , unosten atious

fatherliness, as the case might be . is A homely story told by Mr .

Bunting as to the relations of Mr s . i a nd Mrs . Newton in the r private int when both the husbands were resi colleagues in the always friendly an table Methodist stronghold of Sh effiel

these ladies , it will be remembered, di n married to Metho st mi isters , w specially educated with a view to the r eSpo nsib ilities as these developed

96 J abe z Bunting

nl f o were o y worn by seamen . The o tn n n o u ced my name and Mr s . B c from her work for a few moments

. o f th shook hands Then , with one

peculiar to her, half droll , half serio

h u : said to me, Do you mend your stockings P Of course I answered '

f . sh e a firmative Oh, well , then, ' ll 1 I wi finish my j ob , and in a few

sh e co nv r sir. Mr . Bunting and were e

o ld ] me, rather as friends , than as t

newly introduced to my acquaintance .

w a s our first meeting . They removed a s w hicl possible to Carver Street , in

' o h we also resided . The youngest ill taken ; and, a few days after, y

came to me , and requested me

Mrs . Bunting . I j oined them iru and found your mother with the b

knee , evidently in the latest o ne l thought of my own chi d,

tears with theirs . A few hours l gir was gone and, until after her I spent the morning and afternoon day with the sorrow n parents , and, ’ they returned w ith me to tea . One cannot read this without ente Line o f Deve lopm ent 97

their close and tender fellowship . A touch ’ o f nature makes the whole world kin . A later passage in this beautiful letter is worth quoting . All who have known Shef

field will remember how hospitable , no doubt sometimes to a fault , that frank and free hearted city is , and certainly not least among the Methodist people . The Society ’ ‘ Sh effield Mr s in , writes . Newton, was very, very hospitable ; and invitations to dinner , tea so , and supper were general that we a llVi agreed to decline sits on the Sabbath, and engaged to spend the evenings o f that day ’ alternately at each other s houses . Our dear husbands enj oyed the relaxation o f cheerful converse and of mutual Christian feelings ;

c and the so ial meal , after their Sabbath toils , — for they had usually had long walks o r rides , preached three times , and attended to ’ t a s i their o her duties Methodist m nisters . ’ As to Dr . Bunting s supreme power as a a l e te preacher under divine influence , I sh l nothing in this connexion . A quotation from

Mr . Arthur on a later page will more aptly and powerfully deal with this aspect o f his and his gifts than I could hope to do work Much might be se t down of interest and 7 . 98 J a be z Bunting importance as to his strict and godly S t

a s nii school views , and to the political a kindled by his faithfu l admonitions terrible time of the Luddite riots . He faithfu lpastor and preacher both on th hand and on the left , and was in because of his fidelity in rebuking

a r and their terribly violent misdeeds , because he preached justice and syn

o n in those desperate times , behalf of

and ignorant men . But in the terribl e fo r England which immediately follow peace gained by the downfall of Na' all cl a sses suffered severely ; while p l

o n rancour, both sides , made the pat honest and godly man hard and J abez Bunting passed through those

lous times , not without incurring repr and sometimes indeed serious peril — disaffected malignity but o n the w h steadily increasing honour and in He was at this time honoured and es by the most honourable and estim a b 1 o f the country . In that very year ( was by a very large majority elect sident of the Methodist Conference the youngest man who had occupi

I 00 J abe z Bunting tenance of the anonym ous character o f

l . e w hicl artic e The insight , how ver , showed into the mind and policy of a s Bunting w remarkable . It threw a f o f o n his his light character , policy ,

‘ o n his whole life . My w belief is 1 before Mr . Arthur consented to write ’ di o f i masterly vin cation Dr . Bunt ng s r a cter fo r Chr istia n Tim es the , he ha d a confidential interview with

a; Bunting , had told him what he was to a s to do , and invited his confidence l thr o u ] principles , plans , and po icy g

u ll his whole course ; and that then , f y w formed and armed , he consented to and did write the most influential ’ o i complete vindication f Dr . Bunt ng s acter that ever appeared in that distu hi tim e . T s is perfectly compatible l ' signa ly frank and independent , as hi most respectful , manner in w ch Mr . always demeaned himself towards Dr ing in Conference o r at impor m ittees , where from time to time differed from his revered friend It i consistent w ith the pathetic final fa n between , the great a cient and the Line o f Developm ent 1 0 1

ll l young man , to which I sha present y

refer .

In working the new Missionary Society,

— h e Dr . Bunting proposed , let me interject ,

to was the first propose , and stood alone at first in proposing to have laymen joined

with the ministers . This many o f his most

influential seniors Opposed but he prevailed . o ne Thus , successful in liberal measure , he l proceeded in the same direction , til upon every Connexional committee laymen were ni placed in equal number with mi sters . He also proposed and carried th e admission

o f laymen into the District Meetings . So

of that , through his legislation , no matter Connexional finance is settled by the Con

a ll b eI n ference , this g done by mixed com m ittee s , and the Conference acting as a

court o f record for their measures . He has never cared to be with the people ; l but , if his measures speak , he is carefu to di or be , accor ng to his judgement , f them . ’ Another feature of Dr . Bunting s legisla tion h as been the giving to Methodism allthe o f in ordinances a Church complete itself , so removing it from the position o f a supple

li o f ment to the Estab shment . The opening I 0 2 J a bez Bunting

colleges for the training of the ministry , use of imposition of hands in ordination , the placing of the various Connexional ft tend ee on permanent bases , all directly give Methodism a position wholly in d ej ’ dent .

Mr . Arthur in these two paragraphs

fa o f . stea d defined the policy Dr Bunting , maintained through all his course , in development of the ecclesiastical order organization o f his own Church ; and 3 h is death the Course o f onward movem has still been maintained on the same 1 f I o . constitutional development What ,

- ever , to enlightened and loyal hea i w a s Methodists is vindicat on , to some desired to rank as Methodists a groun

dissatisfaction and condemnation . The judices of levelling Methodists were sh r ex o n the scent when they fastened upon Bunting and his counsels and personal flu ence a s the main forces which were b l ing up o u r ecclesiastically ordered Meth c

c Church , a ommunity in which the Testament distinction between the pasto

a a and the flock , in regard to Spiritu l voc o and responsibility , is a fundamental prin

I 04 J abez Bunting

Wesley as the chief bishop of the Meth

o f Church . In certain districts Metho by a confusion very natural , so lon di b etw e Wesley lived, the stinction

o r travelling itinerant assistant helper , ai u nd er st local unp d evangelist , was not though the mere fact that the o ne had o nl up his trade or profession , and had free -willofferings of members or heare l trust to , whi e the other lived by his o r ness handicraft , and preached or other according to his o w n free will and con ’ o n f the Lord s Day , might have su fice prove that his ministrations were 11 vocation but a free -willservice rendere i w In and around Manchester , as is Sho ’

. w as r Dr Bunting s biography , there a tro some element o f irregularity and turbul

so - di among called Metho sts , connected prejudices and practices opposed to Ch ‘

c order and ministerial authority , which to the surface in the years following upon f ex r i death o Wesley . Bunting had had pe o f hi o f o l t s state things , and it was his to h ave such a body o f trained and compe h dlS Cl C ristian ministers , and such a I e i n stabl shed among mi isters and people , Line o f Deve lopm e nt 1 0 5 in process of time this leaven might work u itself o t without any violent agitation . But

for the intermixture , in following years , with the remains o f the spirit of ecclesiasticalin i V subordinat on , of intense and iolent political

influences , arising at successive crises of ff o f public a airs , and evil jealousy on the part ’ o f some ministers of the body , Mr . Bunting s wise policy would have been not only a

u l . complete but a peacef success It is , at any rate , to this policy that Methodism owes its position as a Church at this day . The character and the force of the feeling to which I have referred has its illustration in the fact that it was n o t till many years ’ after Wesley s death , and twelve or fifteen after Bunting had entered the Methodist Rever end— a ministry , that the title of much

' less fittin P a sto r g title than that of , but one which . had years before come into general use as an equivalent to such a designation came to be generally applied to Wesleyan ministers ; and it can hardly be said to have been Co nnexio n a llyaccepted and officially l legalized till stil later , though it had long been in use as the designation o f ordained nfo rrnist s N o nco pastor . I 0 6 J abe z Bunting

The deep and bitter prejudice a g organs in Methodist chapels , which led t Protestant Methodist secession in Lee

1 82 8 w a s o f feeli , part the same general

w hic which we have been speaking , and both strong and bitter Lin the West Ri partly through the preaching and teac ’ — o f Wesley s early friend Ingham a fe strongly savouring o f low Co m m o nw

Independency , resembling the views of

fo Plymouth Brethren , and which , but influence o f good John Nelson in Yorks would have done more harm to Metho i l than was done . Striking traces are d sc ’ in Dr . Bunting s biography o f the wide pr o f R lence such ideas in the West iding , in i form in Huddersfield , in another near Hal

e S and , in respect to the organ question J ally , in Leeds . An organ meant a solemn ,

co nd u ctec haps a stately public service ,

s an educated order of ministers . Such w a

u l o f suspicion , the unform ated inference ,

' Free Church ’ Methodists of eighty y ago ; whereas the band o f stringed ins ments , together with a numerous choir , consistent with a free - and -easy service which promiscuo us influences might domin

I 0 8 J a be z Bunting

o c llor (Lyndhurst'. The total result was recognition by the High Court of Chan< ’ o f Mr . Wesley s Deed o f Declaration B IN the Minu tes o f Conference a s legal a u th o r i binding o n Wesleyan ministers and trust

Bitterness , unhappily , had been mi with this agitation by the introduction i the ecclesiastical controversy o f polit 1 8 . 8 2 democratic ideas After , when Leeds organ controversy had resulted in formation of the soon -extinguished Pro tant Methodist secession , the current political affairs hurried swiftly on to rapids o f which the Reform Act marked ce ntre and the point o f maximum m o vem e A large middle -cla ss Church such as Wesle ‘ i Method sm had become, could not but in great force the sweep of that m o vem e which had by no means exhausted its m o m tu rn 1 8 a in 34 , when the g itation arose on l subject of the Theologica Institution .

i i o f Dr . Bunting , from the beg nn ng fo r hi ministerial course , had felt the need i self , and had earnestly desired the prov s

all di o f for can dates for the ministry ,

i appropriate training , though he never desi to be himself charged with the ta sk o f o r g: Line o f De ve lopm e nt 9

izing and takin g the management o f a train

ing college . But as to all these points o f organization he had the satisfaction o f seeing irnm o va b lyestablished the principles of Wes

di d er ive d fr o leyan Metho sm , as legitimately m those o n which John Wesley w as led to found the Methodist Society , which has developed into the Wesleyan Methodist Church , the ecclesiastical principles as well as the legally defined and scripturally derived doctrines o f which are now represented o n all the co n tinents and all the most attractive and influ entia lisland sovereignties o f this redeemed world . The o ne man who had gu ided and helped most powerfully in the final organization o f Wesleyan Methodism a s an ( Ecumenical so Church , that it stands clear and high on the sure foundations o f Christian truth and i — o ne w h o teach ng the man , beyond all other of the great and good Methodist leaders since o f the death Wesley himself , had shown how most surely to gu ard and preserve the vital truths and principles o f life andworkingwhich alone can animate and inspire a world -wide Christian Church in its aims a n d efforts- was

- the Manchester Methodist , Jabez Bunting . CHAPTER VI

CH ARACTE R A N D I N'LU ENCE

THE RE are some facts illustrative o spirit and character o f Jabez Bunting hi should not be wanting in t s sketch .

S a s so th i are poken of anecdotes , that

o f o f ch a r a e true , are examples traits i o f v nstances what a man is , from

sometimes , more may be learnt than any elaborate description of ch a r a ctt have glanced at the mutual r ela tio

. Al Dr Bunting and Mr . Arthur . Mr . though a perfectly courteous gentll w a s in society the most absolutely fe

o f men , though never forward or intr Social rank or title or great wealth or d never seemed to affect his bearing to

'

those he met . The position , the ran Or o o f power auth rity , any one with c he was brought into contact , never

1 1 0

I 1 2 J a be z Bunting

l - l ( a l . S O S O the time , intently istening

the young speaker had concluded , the g old general laid his hand gently on the y man ’s shoulder and reminded h im of facts he had lost sight o f which ch a o f f the whole complexion the a fair , re o n h is his face large , full eyes , with a of such in tense and subduing tende as Paulthe aged might have b en

r o se vividl Timothy . The scene ybefo ’ o n reading William Buntin g s account 0 death -bed parting between the two

IO‘ Arthur prayed with him , and then , his u l s second time , received from tr y apo ’ lips the kiss of benediction and love . seemed to me a very beautiful and so n m en action , as betwee those two if it were the seal of a transferred mission from the elder to the you nge them to care specially fo r Me th o disr ’ India . ’

u n r . Dr . B nti g s accomplished and cha

— v : eldest so n the R e . William Macl

— c Bunting whom truly to know w a.

admire and love , thus links together in a n< a nd mutual confidence Dr . Bunting beloved so n in the English Meth Character a nd I nflue nce I I 3

ministry . In his valuable and interesting

H isto r o Metho dism in I r ela nd R ev . yf , the

C . H . Crookshank thus describes the circum stance which has lent colour and emphasis to my reference in this place to the Special

e n . relations b tween Dr . Bu ting and Mr

Arthur . Dr . Bunting , as President of the 1 8 English Conference in 37 , also , according

to rule , presided over the Irish Conference ll at its meeting held in Cork in July . Wi iam

Arthur, already famed throughout Irish di a s Metho sm a brilliant youth, known also as belonging to a family o f o ld and high o f u lineage, though red ced circumstances , was present at the Conference, and was re commended for training in the Theological

Institution , of which , at length , an instalment w a s established . Dr . Bunting had taken

o f knowledge the youth , still in his teens , and coveted him fo r the East Indian Mission o f ’

. to Methodism I wish , he said the Irish o u brethren in their Conference, ywould ’ ’

u s fo r di . give that young man In a Then, replied good and noble Mr . Waugh (ten years o f o wn later a dear friend my ', we make ’ yo u a present of him for India . Thus w as Mr . Arthur transferred to English 8 I I 4 J abe z B u nting

Methodism , and brou ght into special sonalrelations with Dr . Bunting . It may be well accordingly to bring ’ close this record of Dr . Bunting s course a greatest man o f middle Methodism by qu e ] some passages from an article of Mr . Art

e Rev e : in the Lo ndo n Qu a r t r lyi w . It is fou f on the first edition o Mr . Percival Bunt r o f unfinished biog aphy his father . article is incomparably the best estima' ’ — w o r Mr . Arthur s early patron let that sa — o f forgiven , and let us y the wise who obtained possession of the bril Irish boy for our English mission in I I and saw him rise into greatness in English Conference at an earlier age any one but himself . It has never republished since it appeared in the Re: and , indeed , has remained in a sense an

no t mous . But its authorship could ] doubtful to any one who knew Mr . Art — ha nd as a writer o r his history during twenty years which had elapsed since young lad met Dr . Bunting , in the 1 8 Conference at Cork in 37 . It is l a r perhaps , too late to pub ish that i separately , and there is no proposal to

I I 6 J abez Bunting swiftly-rolling stream of heated lang poured o u t was irresistible . He did not up a perpetual blaze like ~Ch a lm er s - who it here be interjected , read his discours o r mark his discourse by periodical clima according to the oratorical joinery of s w as celebrities . His enunciation as c and his tones as felicitous , as those of ‘ M N eile ; his discussion as luminous ,

so . never heavy , as that of Mr Noel ; points as clearly seen as those of Dr . C lish , and more compactly , less technic stated his wit and satire finer , and per ’ B elf not less sharp , than Dr . Cooke s , of

a s h o t fo r his thunderbolts , and far better g than those of Dr . Duff . Some of these qualities to which he had no pretension

c s in the masterly presen e , and in the sh c sway of a consulting assembly , we compare none of them with him .

His oratorical voice was clear , ringing

u ll Ot sonorous , yet f , very flexible , with

S io n all 11 ya high , but never a very low ’

b e ar er . It struck the , not as Dr Newton s a s r sim l a g and musical instrument , but p j t Gr a nd eu i a firs rate organ of speech . e matter he seldom reached, and of ton Characte r a nd I nfluence I 1 7

never affected . He had a sovereign con

- tempt for second hand sublimity , but a real heart for the true . In his most powerful w as al passages , though his voice oratoric in the highest degree , it was an oratory so suited to the strict and practical character o f his o b j ect that a grandiose tone was r a r elv heard .

o n e o f o f But if , in those terrible moments f sarcasm with which he often ru fled a debate , he chose to put o n the round mouth and grand

inco m a r air for a moment , the acting was p

o w n m a c line able and , beside his , simple eloquence , this superbness looked like a ’ ’ ’ drummer s j acket beside a warrior s cloak . in As to the state of heart which , as a

preacher , Dr . Bunting appeared before his ’ audience , Mr . Arthur in the same review

' writes , as follows He w a s n o t there to o f make them speak rapturously his talents ,

but to deliver a message . It was in this

aspect o f his ministry that Dr . Bunting passed beyond the criticism which follows o n a mere speaker , and put a robe which hid

all graces and defects . None ever heard his f . the preaching o Dr Bunting , ere ' natural force abated , without recognizing in his appeals a force which addressed neither I I 8 J abe z Bunting

l nl 11 imagination nor inte lect ; but , o y these as the ear and the eye of the inv conscience , went direct into that , and with it as by authority straight from he He was himself no perfunctory

le turer , who had to discuss a point and it he was a messenger with business to an ambassador with a point to carry . There are happy believers now close in u the celestial shore , who look back upo long and changeful voyage across li

se a a s troubled , and remember , the mom ’ vo of their soul s crisis , a time when his seemed as if it had made all around th i devour in g waves and then he turned th

P ea ce be still' a eye to One who said , , there was a great calm ; and in the bet country there is no sm all company o f th r i

: blessed spirits , whose course of sin end i whose life of faith began , through the amaz ’ ministry o f Jabe z Bunting . What h as now been quoted admiral ’ f i expresses the secret o Dr . Bunting s spirit i power as a preacher . In relation espec a to his paramount sway in the business asse o f co n u ncti blies his brethren , which , in j with his unique force over the conscience

I 2 0 J a be z Bunting

e s o r gr ater di interestedness , fewer causes ’ reproach . ’ In his earlier years Mr . Bunting s infl was rapidly extended and his warm mu ltiplied by the circles o f fellowship b ministers in neighbouring circuits organized in circuit after circuit as lon he was able to keep up his itinerancy . w as it of his seeking that he at length ce to itin erate . Location was never so u a s o was always disliked , and far as p shunned and avoided , by him . But C n exio n alnecessities in the end were too str fo r him , and , in spite of his repugnance, la st quarter o f a century o f his life was pas in the imprisonment o f official seclusion his i s London . Hence c rcle of frank fellow 0 became more and more restricted , to his sorrow and to the loss o f the whole Chu ' al 0 to which he belonged . Had his soci ditio ns intir been freer and larger , and his

m inist cies with provincial Methodists , l s especial y , been as numerous proportion a s o f c in his youth , his nobleness chara and the generosity of his spirit wou ld h e

o f been matter common experience , and n representations would not have been able Character a nd I nfluence 1 2 1

ill- maintain their hold of informed minds . Some honest and godly Methodists would not l have had their minds poisoned , nor wou d the fau lts o f other ministers have been laid o f at the door one who , because of his solitary

eminence , was sometimes made responsible for acts with which he had nothing to do , and transactions the responsibility fo r which

in no way rested upon him .

. sa Dr Bunting himself , it is needless to y, was a man of strict honour and godly

l al honesty , of frank and friend y temper ike

with gentle and Simple , a man of the people who never forgot his parentage o r did discredit to his humble and godly bring

ing up , though great men felt honoured by his society and nobles counted it a l privilege to cal him friend . Men there ’ Chr istia n may be , says Mr . Arthur in the Tim es r ll , whom the g eatness of another wi o make bitter and envious . Such men d ubt less there are ; but oh ' let us hope that beings o f that kind are in our churches but the pitiable few ' Is it in the nature of human things that o ne individual shall lead

vast multitudes . for years , and that all he does shall be so perfect that no man Shall I 2 2 J abe z Bunting

f strongly and honestly di fer , or that all he outpeers shall be so perfect that the u nr e never misconstrue his motives , or ably attack his plans P Has the Chur the world ever known a case in which su ’ influence as Dr . Bunting s has not pro assau lt P Is it likely ever to see such a before the days of millennial greatness P us not seek the explanation of a fa natural in a cause so distressing as th above suggested . And if there be men cannot forgive another for being great , God forgive them '

There he is , after fifty years of service , going down towards his rest , the eyes of the world upon him I

u l . powerf , but he is poor From the g

Connexion for which he has lived , his

ca n revenue is a furnished house , coals ,

N r h and £1 5 0 a year . o have we ever o f a living man who professes to know he sought for more . Yes , there he is , 5 down to his rest poor but with what ear

sa not to ydevoted , love do the men know him best seem to attend him '

see it may not live to , but before many 3 the public will be able to judge if those 1

I 2 4 J a be z Bunting

w as imitator of none , and inimitable by man . Although I had often heare his u superior power in Conference , I had a proper idea of the fact till I accustomed to meet him o n committee Al the Evangelical liance . The wisdom o suggestions , his counsel , and his advice ,

a fter w soon perceived and felt , and ever as te soon as he rose , all was hushed

: lence . In the extent of his informa

the comprehensiveness of his views , the

clu siv en ess o f h is n reasoni g in debate ,

ll o f e I wi add, the urbanity his mann his e never saw qual , and never expect t

so . He w as born to rule ; but his

was not that o f an assumed authority . w a s the necessary and natural effect ’ superior mind over other minds . Others spoke— great and wise men f n ' this a fecti g occasion , and an admi record was sent from the committee o f r e e Evangelical Alliance , which may be a n d his M em o ir by Mr . T . P . Bunting

R . R ev . G . S . owe The Conference Obituary Record st

of Dr . Bunting as a great and hur ’ no w I minded man . Perhaps no one Chara cte r a nd I nflue nce 1 2 5

besides the writer o f this little book had the w n ll privilege of kno ing Dr . Bu ting persona y and familiarly during the period of his a sce n

a s . dancy a leader and counsellor I had, how so ever, myself the privilege of knowing him , and could find no fitter words to describe his

inmost character a s I knew him . All Method

ni Liver o o l ist mi sters, however, have read the p Minu tes o f , that admirable summary pastoral

duty, that unequalled ideal for a Methodist ’ o w n minister . That was Jabez Bunting s l idea , and he cannot but be j udged by what

o n he aimed at , and could urge others without any other feeling being moved but that o f l i admiration for not on y the w sdom , but the

o f . o ne great example the counsellor No , ‘ who was n o t humble - minded as well as gr eat in his o w n ideal and personal in flu ence , could have inspired and moulded such a model o f pastoralcharacter and duty Li er o l t as the v p o Minu es . — One final paragraph I must add a n ex pression o f heartfelt satisfaction that it has been my privilege to complete this small v olume , however inadequate it may be , and in so doing to join my testimony to that o f to Dr . Gregory and others referred in the I 2 6 J abe z Bunting

r p eceding pages , as to the perfect cou and kindness with which Dr . Bunting tr the young ministers with whom he brought into working o r social con Dignity with him did not mean austeri i superciliousness . His was the d gnity father in Christ dealin g with junior me o f the ministerial family o f the Church . respects myself, I have borne testimony i R c ce little volume of em inis en s Dr . Greg testimony was published in the official of the Ma gazine Sixty years have a ll c passed since Dr . Bunting wel omed me the examination -room to his house and h — For ten years thereafter tillhe passed 2 - w e were related to each other as frie

b Ot older and younger . In this little have tried to do what might be done , w

o o c the compass , to make the worth and g o f the greatest man of middle Metho known to the great Methodist Church il am grateful for the priv ege .

A sb . P r in ted b H a z el] Wa ts o n Cr Vm e L d . , L o n d o n a n d yle y , y,