Editor's Table [pp. 180-192]

THE LADIES' REPOSITORY.
EDITOR'S TABLE.
THE GENERAL CONFERENCE AND THE
REPOSITORY.
OUR modest and unpretending monthly
was made the subject of anl exceptionably
large amount of discussion, at the late General Conference; and since important results as to its future may grow out of what
was then and there said and done, our readers may be interested to see the whole matter
set forthl in order. We accordingly reproduce the debates from the official reports,
abridged in some of the unimportant particulars.
On the fourth day of the session, Dr. L. R.
Fiske of Detroit Conference, presented a resolution in these words:
" Resolvzed, That the Committee on the
Book Concern be requested to consider the
expediency of so changing the character of
the LADIES' REPOSITORY as to connect it
with a monthly devoted to the higher educational wants and culture of the people."
The next day Rev. S. W. Lloyd, of Kansas, offered a preamble and resolution, recounting the fact that the LADIES' REPOSITORY had very greatly declined in circulation
till it had become barely self-supporting, and
recommending that it should be discontinued
after the present year. Both of these resoluttions were referred to the Committee on the
Book Concern, without debate.
Of what was said and done in the Committee, relative to this subject, no detailed
report was given, though it was understood
that a large share of attention was devoted
to it, and important modifications projected.
On the eighteenth day of May, the subject
was brought up in the Conference, in a
somewhlat irregular way. The elections for
General Conference officers were in progress,
and that for editor of the REPOSITORY was
next in order, while as yet the Committee
having that matter in hand had not yet made
their report.
At this point J. M. Buckley moved to postpone the election of the editor of the LADIES'
REPOSITORY until after that part of the re port of the Book Concern Committee had
been acted upon. He remarked,
If this General Conference proposes to al low the Agents and the General Book Conm
mittee to alter the name and extend the scope
of the periodical, that fact would liave a
bearing upon the selection of a sutitable person to edit it, and the Conference should
first understand what kind of change was
contemplated. It was very clear that there
were men who were competent to edit the
LADIES' REPOSITORY who would not be
capable of editing thle Atlantic Monthlyz, and
as we have no idea of the nature of the
changes to be proposed we can not now proceed intelligently to the election of an editor.
G. W. Hughey said some thloughlt that the
very best thing that could be dlone was to
make the magazine what its name plurportsa Ladies' Repository-and elect a lady to be
the editor. He hoped the election would be
postponed, and leave the arrangements with
the General Book Committee at Cincinnati,
and so aff'ord an opportunity to present thle
name of a lady pre-eminently qualified for
that work.
Lukle Hitchcock reminded the Conference
that, by order of the General Conference, the
editor of the LADIES' REPOSITORY is also the
editor of books for the Western Bookl Concern, and in the selection of an editor for the
REPOSITORY you must have reference to that
arrangemelt. Get the man lwho can edit the
books, and who at the same time can make
a live magazine, alnd whlen you came to the
determination of the future status of the
magazine, give your instructiolls to him accordingly.
C. D. Foss thought it very desirable that
the motion to postpone the election of editor of LADIES' REPOSITORY should prevail.
Very possibly it would affect thle character
of thle REPOSITORY. If the magazine should
be given a larger scope, it might even be
attemlpted to make it one of the very best
magazines ill thle country, and hence we
should know what is determined upon before we select an editor.
D. Cutrry said:-It is perhaps known to
every delegate onl this floor, that for causes
which may seem mysterious to some, and to
others not so mysterious, that the LADIES'
REPOSITORY has not of late been in so much
favor with thle Methodist community as in thle
times past. -lThat is seen ill thle subscription
list. Hle was prepared to say, llavinlg been a
reader from the beginning of the REPOSI TORY, that the falling off from the sub)scrip tions was not owing to any want of ability
in the rece!t editors, and yet we are circu lating little more than one-quarter tle ilum ber now of what we were sendilng out for merly. The magazine hlas done a good work
in the Church. It has done much to edtu cate our people, and has been a whlolesome
I8o
[August,