North Furze, She ear, Devon, Eng/an ‘ ' Bourne Call. 
     
    
   
   
    
     6. DISSENSION AMONG THE BIBLE CHRISTIAN LEADERS 
     
    
   
   
    
     Organization into societies and circuits required meeting places and chapels. 
     
     At first, preaching was mostly in the field, the village green, in hired halls, and in 
     
     houses. All property acquired for such purpose was held in Rev. William 
     
     O’Bryan’s name. By 1819, with twelve circuits ranging from Buckfastleigh, 
     
     Devon to Morvah, Cornwall, the Bible Christians held their first Annual Con- 
     
     ference, consisting of twelve itinerant brethren and presided over by Rev. 
     
     O’Bryan at Baddash House, O’Bryan’s home at Launceston, Cornwall. This was 
     
     in constrast to an established rule that, “Every circuit is empowered to send one 
     
    
   
   
    
     of its stewards to the Annual District Meeting and, to prevent priestly domina— 
     
     tion, every fifth year additional representatives are to be so appointed as to make 
     
     the number of the itinerant preachers and representatives equal.” 
     
    
   
   
    
     To all this absolutism, there was serious objection, and an effort to secure 
     
     an amended deed by which all property should be held in trust for the Connec- 
     
     tion was begun in 1826. A crisis was reached at the eleventh Conference in 1829, 
     
     when opposition to Rev. O’Bryan’s expressed intention, “that if all the Con- 
     
     ference were opposed to his views, his single vote was to determine every case,” 
     
     resulted in his adjourning the Conference, and withdrawing with comparatively 
     
     few sympathizers. The Conference refused to recognize his authority, elected 
     
     Andrew Cory president in his stead, and proceeded with business. It was resolv- 
     
     ed, “that the Conference be the organ of government, its membership to 
     
     ministers and laymen, and its next place of meeting annually fixed.” The Con- 
     
     ference thus declared against an episcopacy, as it also decided against ec— 
     
     clesiasticism by admitting laymen to church government in equal numbers with 
     
     clerical members. Eight years later these separatists negotiated terms of reunion, 
     
     but Rev. O’Bryan never again'united. 
     
    
   
   
    
     Between 1819 and 1829, the Bible Christians in England experienced a very 
     
     rapid and country-wide growth in membership, but they also saw an extremely 
     
     tragic deterioration in the relationship between Rev. O’Bryan and his followers. 
     
     This growing separation between their leader and the Bible Christians also was 
     
    
   
   
    
     180