Now, the above resolution in some way or other, was afterward the cause of no little dispute as to who was the author of it, and who signed it. There followed some discussion, through the papers, between Dr. Marshall W. Taylor and Dr. Fisher as to it. Like Topsy in Uncle Tom’s Cabin, it seems to have had no parents at all, “but jus’ growed up.” _Its purport, some declare, was not indorsed by all who signed it._ It, however, was a tally for the conservative element, whether so intended or not. Report No. 3 of Committee on Freedmen’s Aid and Work in the South was adopted May 22d, as follows: “Your Committee on Freedmen’s Aid and Work in the South have carefully considered the several memorials referred to us, involving the question of separate or mixed schools for the accommodation of our colored and white membership in the South, and as the result of our deliberations present the following: “It is an historical fact, highly honorable to the Methodist Episcopal Church, that she has been the constant friend of the common people, and especially of the colored man. “The Freedmen’s Aid Society, organized for the purpose of aiding in the education and elevation of the freedmen, is the unanswerable proof of our friendship to them in the hour of their need. Twenty-four institutions of learning—academies, seminaries, colleges, and theological schools—established and maintained among them at a cost of more than $1,250,000 for the benefit of the colored people, constitute a magnificent demonstration of our devotion, which requires no elaboration and admits of no denial. “The management of this portion of our educational work, we believe, in the main, has been wise, efficient, and successful. Our effort in this direction should not be relaxed, but increased. “The establishment of schools for the benefit of our white membership in the South we believe to have been a wise and necessary measure. Their success has been gratifying. The beneficial results have not been confined to those immediately interested, but their liberalizing effects upon public sentiment have greatly redounded to the advantage of our colored people. We regret that, for so great and important a work, so little has been done by the Church, and we desire most emphatically to give expression to our conviction that the time has come when this portion of our educational work should be strengthened and placed upon a strong and permanent basis, as its importance certainly demands. To the question of mixed schools we have given our most serious and prayerful attention. It is a subject beset with peculiar difficulties. That the colored man has a just and equal right, not only to life and liberty, but also to the means of grace and facilities for education, we not only admit, but most positively affirm.