“The decision of those who are in charge of the new university at Chattanooga, erected under the direction of, and out of the funds collected for, the Freedmen’s Aid Society, that colored students shall not be admitted to its benefits, has brought the Methodist Episcopal Church face to face with certain questions which only the next General Conference can settle. But in the meantime it is wise to examine the questions involved from every point of view, and, if possible, thoroughly comprehend the situation; for, in matters of this kind, we are apt to form opinions before we have canvassed the whole field, and to make accusations that will not stand investigation. That there are differences of opinion in regard to the intention of the last General Conference in its legislation on the subject under discussion, no one can doubt. There were those in that body who understood that certain action in which they had a part established the rule that no distinctions founded on race or color should be made under any circumstances in any of our schools. But there are others who as certainly understood that there would probably be circumstances where the success of our educational work in the South would depend upon setting apart some of the schools there exclusively for the whites. It is not a difference of opinion that admits any suspicion of a lack of honesty or piety in either party, much less the accusation of trickery or intentional wrong-doing. And it will be found, we think, after proper consideration, that these differences may be easily explained; that they are simply the differences of opinion which always arise in the transformation and development of society between the party of theory and that of experience and practice.