under the disadvantage of a prohibition, by the Clerk of the Meeting, of the taking of notes of the proceedings; as highly disorderly, and inconsistent with the right occupation of the thoughts of those present at such deliberations.

The character which I ventured to give to our Society (from Brissot) in my last number, has been very fairly borne out at this season. In discussing subjects of vital importance to the body, our members have very generally been preserved in calmness; there has been little exhibition of temper, or of petulance, and no personal altercation; though sixty or eighty speakers may have risen to the same question. The fair succession of these, in the order in which they have claimed to speak by rising in their places, has been also well kept, by the vigilant eye, and timely checks and intimations of the Clerk.

But vivacity of debate, and occasional consequent disorder, may be rated at nothing, compared with what we have had to endure at this time from the interferences of the other house. In giving an account of these, I must go back a few years in our history, and show how they got in. It will appear from my Fourth Volume, that in the year 1790, after twenty-four years of application to that object, (at first with a decided repulse from the Men,) our Women Friends had fully obtained the privilege of treating the discipline in a Representative Meeting of their own; corresponding with and advising the subordinate Meetings of the sex, and only inferior in the point of LEGISLATION for the whole body, to their brethren. Connected with this separate jurisdiction, (to be treated hereafter more at large,) is the privilege of communicating by reciprocal deputations with the Men's Meeting; and it was by the coming in of a powerful and influential deputation (in 1784) from the Women Friends, met as usual on the affairs committed to them, (in London, and for the occasion merely,) that their way was opened to the gradual acquisition of what amounts, now, very nearly to a co-equality of power; making the whole Society into a body with two heads, and in which consequently two distinct interests might, by possibility, be found in operation and activity together.

Thus circumstanced, not only in our Yearly but in the Quarterly and Monthly Meetings, the Men's Meetings have of late years been subjected from time to time to the process I am about to describe. Let the Reader conceive of a Meeting of several hundred MEN, representing their brethren in the different quarters of the Society, (with a considerable body besides of privileged Ministers and Elders, and a still larger number of members of all ages and descriptions, admitted by courtesy and usage,) set down in quietness and order to the business of the year, and having proceeded but a little way upon it. Suddenly a note is read from the Table, brought up by a doorkeeper, to this effect: Is the present a suitable time to admit a woman-friend under a Religious concern?' Observe, the question is not 'Does this Meeting agree to receive a religious visit from a woman?' That point is already settled for us-she comes deputed by the whole Women's Meeting; now constituted (like the men's) of all ages, and of all degrees in religious experience: yet (probably, and to judge from what happens in our own) without the smallest previous disclosure to that

nard, reported her case to Devonshire House Meeting, within which she was considered resident.

That Meeting having waited the return of the Friend to London, (who had it seems gone to Brighton for her health,) and she having signified her desire that the case should be proceeded in, John Lloyd, Sparks Moline, and Samuel Barnard were appointed to visit her, and make report. The result of several conferences with her on their part, and of the deliberation which followed was, that the Meeting advised her to desist from preaching, and return home.

At the Quarterly Meeting, held in London the 30th of Twelfth Mo. 1800, an Appeal was announced on the part of an individual, against Devonshire House Monthly Meeting, and the Meeting was informed that the said body had made an appointment of Friends to answer it. The Meet

ing proceeded, as usual, to the choice of a Committee to hear the appeal : and it being well known from whom it came, there was considerable anxiety to prevent an unfair nomination; as the Friend had already, in Ireland and in this country, a party in her favour. The members of the 'Morning Meeting,' and those Friends not members of the Monthly Meeting who, being present there, had spoken on her case, (according to the courtesy in use among us,) either excused themselves, or were excepted against by others. The choice fell on the sixteen Friends (being two out of each Monthly Meeting of the quarter, except the one appealed against) named in the following minute :

QUARTERLY MEETING OF LONDON, &c. 12th Mo. 30, 1800. "An Appeal was brought in against Devonshire House Monthly Meeting, which is referred to the following Friends to consider and make Report:-Ino. Lister, Joseph Smith, Edw. Janson, Ino. Withers, Ino. Allen, Sam. Harris, Ino. Smith, Jacob Hagen, Ino. Ingham, Wm. Binns, Jno. Hull, Simeon W. Hagen, Luke Howard, Jas. Sheppard, Wm. Dillwyn, Wm. Forster, to meet at the close of this meeting.

This Committee met forthwith; the Meeting adjourning to the 9th of First Mo. 1801 the appeal was opened * and notice sent to the parties to attend on the following morning. At this sitting, after a considerable time of silence, and some previous remarks by members of the Committee, as to the conduct to be observed by us all in the case, the appeal was read a first time, and the parties, i. e. the Appellant and Respondent, called in. After the Appeal had been again read, John Lloyd, a respondent, read the Minutes made in the Monthly Meeting, which they had brought with them, as its written defence; and the appellant was informed she might now speak for herself. Some time having been first spent in ascertaining how far we were to go back into the proceedings, and in personal explanations between the parties, Hannah Barnard read from her notes an account of the conferences held with the Friends of the Monthly Meeting; in which, if the three together offered no more to the appellant than was there by her put down, I do not see how their duty of dealing' can be said to have been fulfilled. What was offered by herself, to the purpose, would natu

* See the Appeal forward.

rally be more easily remembered by her. The Respondents had no notes of these proceedings; and were content to refer us to the minutes of the Monthly Meeting.

In the course of the reading of this pretty long document, the Appellant named one of the Friends appointed by Devonshire House Meeting to treat with her, who (she said) had openly acknowledged his agreement with her on more than one of the points in dispute! He was now present as a Respondent, and was allowed to say what he inclined to say in his own defence. On the Appellant being inquired of, if she had done, she said, if the Committee would take its departure,' in deliberation, from the proceedings of the Monthly Meeting, she was content: otherwise she had written accounts to lay before us, of the conferences held with members of the ' Morning Meeting,' with her observations thereon.

The Respondents having also ended the defence, the parties withdrew, while the Committee took into consideration what had been now proposed by the Appellant: an adjournment took place, while this was pending. On Seventh-day morning, the papers before the Committee being reviewed, it was found that the proceedings, had with the deputation from the Morning Meeting, formed an essential part of the case, and could not be passed over. The discussions on this point occupied the whole sitting, and the Committee adjourned to the following Second-day; giving the proper notice to the parties of what would then come on.

At this fourth sitting, one of the Committee of Respondents of the Monthly Meeting was excused further attendance, on the plea of urgent business elsewhere. Hannah Barnard proceeded to give an account, from her notes, of what had passed with the members of the Morning Meeting: the MS. took two hours to read, and was listened to with patient attention. Here, as before, we found a great deficiency, as to what had been said by the Friends appointed to treat with her: so that, if no more was offered than was set down, they must have visited her to little other purpose than the putting a few ill-chosen questions, and receiving replies to them by which they got nothing! Undoubtedly, if those Friends had made notes for themselves, their proceedings would have cut a better figure: but the replies and observations of the accused tended, principally, to recriminate upon the members of that body, by which she stood charged, and to exhibit their proceedings in an unfavourable light; as having taken up her case without sufficient ground or authority, and treated it throughout in a manner less consistent with Christian gravity, moderation and charity, than might have been expected from persons of their standing in the Society. But, here also, there does not appear to have been much anxiety felt on the part of the dealing' Friends, to have with them matter of personal justification for our perusal. Against this body of alleged facts, the Committee of Appeals had to weigh the proceedings and conclusion of the Morning Meeting,' as stated by that body to the Monthly Meeting; together with their own previous knowledge of the temper and conduct of the Friends so reflected on :-and (last not least) Hannah Barnard's own statement of her belief. This paper she gave to the Committee in her defence, along with a quotation of several pages from Richard Morris's pamphlet on the Scriptures as the Rule of

6

of Faith, &c. lately published under the authority which now impeached her soundness, the Morning Meeting! There was also in her defence a parallel attempted, between her own case and that of John Woolman; who, it was alleged, had been tolerated in his singularity of opinion (against slaveholding) to the ultimate great benefit of the Society.

The Appellant having presented this paper (which I annex) with an appeal to our candour as her judges, submitted farther the consideration of the propriety of our hearing her notes of sentiments expressed by various private Friends in her case. She was told, that if she apprehended these to have influenced the decision of the Monthly Meeting, she was at liberty to produce them. In reply, remarking that she had no direct evidence of this,' and that 'jealousy is cruel as the grave,' she preferred to withdraw the paper. Being then asked if she considered herself to have been fully heard, she replied, with an expression of entire satisfaction, in the affirmative. The same question being put to the two Friends who remained as Respondents, one of them desired to have a copy of the appeal before he could answer it ; his colleague at the same time observing that next day was their Monthly Meeting. This suggested the idea of a design of taking further instructions for the defence; and the Committee, after considering the matter in the absence of both parties, concluded not to grant a copy of the appeal. The use of the original in the Committee's presence the Respondents were not content with: so the Committee adjourned to the following morning; giving them that further time, to consider of any thing they might wish to add to their reply.

On Third-day morning, the members of the Committee of Appeal being all present, and neither party having come forward to be heard further in the presence of the other, (which is the invariable rule and practice,) proceedings were resumed in order to a Report. Most of the members gave their sentiments fully: two remained silent; and being called upon to speak, gave reasons for suspending their judgment; yet not as having an opinion opposed to that of the rest. After a considerable time spent in endeavours to procure the concurrence of these two, the Committee signed (with their exception) a Report, confirming the judgment of the Monthly Meeting.

Quarterly Meeting, &c. 1st Mo. 9th, 1801. "The Committee appointed to consider of the Appeal against Devonsire House Monthly Meeting brought in the following Report:

'Back Chamber, Gracechurch Street, 6th of 1st Mo.-Present all of the Committee.

To the Quarterly Meeting of London and Middlesex. We your Committee to whom was referred the Appeal against Devonshire House Monthly Meeting having fully heard the Appellant, Hannah Barnard, and also the Friends appointed by Devonshire House Monthly Meeting thereon, and having deliberately considered the same, are of the judgment, that the proceedings of the said Monthly Meeting were regular, and that their advice was proper: John Hull, S. W. Hagen, Luke Howard, Jas. Sheppard, Wm. Dillwyn, Wm. Forster, Ino. Lister, Jos. Smith, Edw. Janson, Ino. Withers, Sam. Harris, Ino. Smith, Jacob Hagen, Wm. Binns :—which was twice read, and is agreed to." "

not have been better for her to leave the gift before the altar, for the present at least; and hinted to the Clerk that, if she touched upon that subject, he ought to stop her. It fell out however, that the other minister took up the whole remainder of the sitting, in a doctrinal sermon; with a little admonition towards the end about fruitless endeavours to serve God, in our way, and yet worship mammon-which I hope was heard (and will be remembered) by those to whom it may apply.

Thus, by the force of a prescription of some forty years' standing, was a portion of time, equal to two sittings of the Men's Yearly Meeting, given up to the discretion of our Women-ministers and six thousand hours at the least, if we count the time of all present, devoted to what comes to any thing but Christian edification:-after which (and in consequence) the business itself, pre-determined to be dispatched within the week, was thrown all on heaps at the end! I regret to be obliged to expose such errors in the conduct of ministry among us: the more so, as having had occasion within little more than a year past, to be present with each of the two principal speakers, on occasions in which they were engaged in the legitimate exercise of the prophecy,' which belongs to them, to entire satisfaction. And of the third having nothing to say, against her use of it in the manner to which I now allude. But to the WOMAN speaking in the church I shall be found objecting, as long as I have the New Testament in my hands.

Friends are subjected (as was stated to the Meeting) to considerable inconvenience, if not also to serious disadvantage, from the present mixture of discussion with ministerial communication in the Yearly Meeting. The time was, when such appearances' in the exercise of the gift of ministry were refreshing, and contributed to the solidity as well as the 'solemnity' of our decisions. But the very large accession of numbers, from the time of opening the new houses in Bishopsgate Street, with the altered habits of those who attend, renders it quite a problem whether these be now profitable, or not. The numbers are increased threefold; and they consist no longer of Friends sitting in awe of the Meeting, and rising with fear and trembling to speak, but of men accustomed to vivacious discussions, and some of them public speakers in other assemblies. These cannot be restrained by a preses, any further than just to keep their turns, and treat each other as brethren in the debate. Hence, let a Friend have spoken any thing with never so much weight, the effect is lost presently in the multitude of words that follow;-and the next minister, or concerned Friend, has the disadvantage of breaking in anew upon an unsettled company, with his more solemn communication. It results (as will be admitted by experienced Friends) in a fluctuation in the state of the meeting, and its business, which, though distressing to witness, is far from being easy to cure.

Suppose we were, as a present remedy, to agree to behave in the Yearly Meeting as we do in the Monthly or Quarterly, where the time allotted at the beginning to worship exclusively, and the short solemn pause at the end, are considered the only regular opportunities for the minister to appear in-and 'order' is in consequence very seldom disturbed.