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BRITISH AND FOREIGN BIBLE SOCIETY.

IN proceeding with our account of the last Anniversary Meeting of this Institution, we regret that we cannot give the whole of the very original and forcible Speech of the Rev. Dr. Mason, Secretary to the American Bible Society. The following are the principal passages:

"My Lord and Gentlemen, "I felicitate myself this day upon the accomplishment of one of the dearest wishes of my heart-a wish, to the attainment of which I have adjusted my little plans and motions for the last five months-the happiness of being present at the Annual Meeting of the British and Foreign Bible Society. I have to submit a motion, which I shall claim your lordship's indulgence to preface with a few remarks; not with the intention of

informing this Society-that would be an attempt to enlighten the source of that light which has itself enlightened the world on all points, connected with the circulation of the Scriptures; nor with a view of exciting the zeal of the Society-that would be rebuked by its appearance to-day; but, as an humble organ of the American Bible Society, I would beg leave to express opinions and feelings, which, though perfectly familiar to the minds of this company, are of some value on the principle of sympathy, as they are the views and feelings of millions of your fellow men and fellow Christians, who have the blood of a common ancestry running in their veins, and whose hearts beat in unison with your own, in regard to the objects of this great institution.

The wise and the good, my lord, have long lamented the divisions and

alienations which served those who held the same 'precious faith,' and expected to meet in that place where there shall be no dissentions. But whether there was any remedy for this unhappiness, whether agreement in substantial principle could be made to supersede differences in subordinate matters, was a problem too mighty for them to solve; and left them only the feeble consolation of sighing after a blessing which they despaired of enjoying. But the problem which had thus excited the desires, appalled the resolution, and extinguished the hope of age after age, is solved at last it is solved in this institution.

"The Bible Society acts with an auspicious energy on all, even the lowest classes of civil society. The man who reads and reverences his Bible, is not the man of violence and blood: he will not rise up from the study of those lessons which the Holy Ghost teaches, to commit a burglary: he will not travel with his Bible under his arm, and, meditating upon its contents, as forming the rule of his conduct, to celebrate the rites of licentiousness or inebriety. Assuredly it was not the Bible which, in 1780, kindled the flame of Newgate; nor is it from the stores of inspired eloquence, that the apostles of mischief draw those doctrines and speeches which delude the understanding, and exasperate the passions of an ignorant and ill-judging multitude. If there are any two maxims which go together, under the sanction of scriptural authority, they are these: he who fears God,' will honour the king; and he who does both, will not be the first to meddle with them that are given to change.' On the contrary, the influence of the Bible, and, therefore, of Bible Societies, upon the habits of the community, is calculated to throw up around every paternal government, a rampart better than walls, and guns, and bayonets, a rampart of human hearts. While, at the same time, that influence over those who are in authority, descends, in its turn, upon the state at large; and, in the exercise of a wise and well-tempered rule, ramifies its genial virtue through all the branches of society. So that if any thing can make a glorious sovereign, and happy subjects, it is the attachment and submission of both to the oracles of God.

"For the very same reasons, the Bible, in proportion as it is known and believed, must produce a generally good effect on the condition of the world.

In forming the character of the individual and the nation, it cannot fail to mould also, in a greater or less degree, the conduct of political governments toward each other. It is not in the Bible, nor in the spirit which it infuses, that the pride which sacrifices hecatombs and nations of men to its lawless aggrandizement, either finds or seeks for its aliment: and had Europe been under the sway of the Book of God, this age had not seen a more than fabled monster of ambition endeavouring to plant one foot on the heights of Montmartre, and the other on the hills of Dover; and while he scowled on the prostrate Continent, stretching out his right hand to rifle the treasures of the East, and his left to crush the young glories of the West."

After pointing out the future prospects of the Society, and the promised consummation of the Gospel throughout the world, Dr. Mason continued ;"Permit me to add, that no heart is too magnanimous, no arm too powerful, no station too exalted, to lend its aid in promoting so magnificent a work. In that day, when all human things shall appear in their own littleness, and shall undergo a judgment according to truth, it will not be a source of shame or regret, that princes have come down from their thrones, and that the members of kingly families, and the possessors of ecclesiastical pre-eminence, have mingled with private Christians in common efforts for the best interests of individual and social man. The recollection of such deeds of goodness will never sully the purity of the ritre, or dim the star of royalty.

"The high and holy interests and responsibilities which are lodged in the hands of this institution, do not allow it to go back, or to hesitate. Its cause and interest are not the cause and interest of a few visionaries, inebriated by romantic projects. It is the cause of more than giant undertakings in regular and progressive execution. The decisive battle has been fought; opposition comes now too late. He who would arrest the march of Bible Societies, is attempting to stop the moral machinery of the world, and can look for nothing but to be crushed in pieces. The march must proceed. Those disciplined and formidable columns, which, under the banner of Divine Truth, are bearing down upon the territories of death, have one word of command from on high, and that word is ONWARD!?

The command does not fall useless on the ears of this Society. May it go onward,' continuing to be, and with increasing splendour, the astonishment of the world, as it is the most illustrious monument of British glory.

"A word more, my lord, and I shall have done. It relates to a topic on which I know not whether my emotions will allow me to express myself distinctly; it is the late unhappy difference between my own country and this-between the land of fathers and the land of their children. I cannot repress my congratulations to both, that the conflict was so short, and the reconciliation so prompt; and, I trust, not easily to be broken. Never again, my lord, (it is a vow in which I have the concurrence of all noble spirits and all feeling hearts,) never again may we see that humiliating spectacle of two nations to whom God has vouchsafed the enjoyment of rational liberty; two nations who are extensively engaged, according to their means, in enlarging the kingdom, in spreading the religion of the Lord Jesus-the kingdom of peace-the religion of love -those two nations occupied in the unholy work of shedding each other's blood!-Never again may such a spectacle be exhibited to the eyes of afflicted Christianity! May their present concord, written not merely with pen and ink, but on the living tablets of the heart: enforced by the sentiment of a common origin, by common language, principles, habits, and hopes; and guarantied by an all-gracious Providence, be uninterrupted! May they, and their Bible Societies, striving together with one heart and one soul, to bring glory to God in the highest, and on earth to manifest good-will toward men, go on, increasing in their zeal, their efforts, and their success; and making stronger and stronger, by the sweet charities of the Gospel, the bands of their concord!"

The Rev. Richard Watson dwelt upon the great efforts likely to result from the active co-operation of Russia, and the probability of a great revival of religion in the Greek Church. "This, my lord, (said he,) is a cheering consideration. Our Reformation dawned upon us with lurid glare; all our Protestant Churches had their birth amidst the convulsions of political elements, and their cradle was rocked by storms; but in Russia we have the prospect of change without convulsion, of the good without the evil:-its refor

mation approaches like a soft and beauteous sunrise, shedding rays equally welcome on the cottages of Siberia and the palaces of the northern Cæsar. What is doing in Russia, in comparison of the wants and population of that empire, is chiefly in preparation; yet such notes of preparation fall delightfully on our ears: they are, like the first faint notes of the birds, wakened even by twilight into songs which are preludes to the full harmony of nature and the perfect light of day.I follow, with pleasure, the respectable divine who has just addressed you.

He

is an American, with a truly British heart; and he has furnished me with an American allusion, with reference to the principles of this Society, which embraces Christianity of all names and all countries. We have buried the hatchet of strife, and may the moisture which nourishes the root of that tree under which we have laid it, daily eat more deeply into its edge, and more completely destroy its temper. I know of but one malediction in the breast of Charity, and that is reserved for the man who shall dig the hatchet from the earth, and again give sharpness to its edge."

Thanks to the Treasurer were moved

by the Rev. Dr. Thorpe, Secretary to the Hibernian Bible Society; and seconded by Major-General Macaulay.-Dr. Thorpe said, he should proceed to discharge that duty which would be expected from him, by giving some information with respect to the state of Ireland. He then reported that the Hibernian Society continued to prosper; that the number of copies of the Scriptures distributed during the year had been 35,000, being 12,000 more than the preceding year. The number of persons desirous of possessing Bibles had greatly increased; and these happy results he attributed, in a considerable measure, to the attention recently paid to education in Ireland. Dr. Thorpe thus concluded his eloquent remarks :—

"My lord, having stated something of what has been done for my country, I cannot but beg your attention to the magnitude of the work which is still before us. There have not yet been circulated in Ireland quite 300,000 copies of the Scriptures; and let me ask, What are 300,000 copies for a population not far short of six millions? There are millions of Irishmen at this moment, who have never seen a copy of

the scriptures.

Yes, my lord, from my own knowledge I say it, there are millions in Ireland who have never seen a copy of the scriptures; and there are many, very many, who have not heard of the Bible. In confirmation of this, I appeal to a fact in the last Report of the Sligo Branch of our Society. A poor man, nearly ninety-seven years of age, arrived lately at Sligo in quest of a Testament in large print, I have,' said the inquiring pauper, lived ninetysix years without seeing, or even hearing of such a book; and, now that I am on the brink of the grave, I wish to learn how I may be happy beyond it.' This is not a solitary instance. The notorious highwayman, Grant, who was lately executed, never saw the Bible till he was placed in the cell from which he was taken to execution; and, after perusing it for some time, he said, 'Had I possessed a copy of this book ten years ago, I should not have been here to-day.' He spent his last moments in exhorting the thousands around him to procure a Bible without delay, and to study its sacred contents.

"Now, while Ireland is in such a state, what are we doing? We are disputing whether we shall give the Bible or not-whether it is not a bad thing. What is the enemy doing? I will tell you one thing; and let that be a sample of what other things he has done, and what he may do hereafter. The enemy, aware that the people, being taught to read, must have something to read, provided something for them; and, in Dublin, within the last six months, a large edition of Paine's Age of Reason' was struck off for gratuitous distribution. This is a positive fact; it was struck off, and it is at this moment, I believe, in the course of distribution among the lower classes.

"My lord, this speaks volumes: it tells us what we should do; for when we see the enemies of God and of truth so active and successful, we, in a better cause, should be equally active, that we may be equally successful."

John Thornton, Esq. Treasurer, expressed his grateful thanks at being again elected to fill that important office, and the pleasure which he felt in attending to its duties, "It is highly gratifying to me," he added, "to be able to state to this Society, that my labours, as treasurer, are happily not likely to be diminished, In a year of most unparalleled difficulties, when we must conclude there has been a considerable defalcation of funds in some quarters of the country, there has CHRIST. OBSERV. No. 187,

been an increase from other sources, and other causes, which nearly compensates the loss which may have been occasioned by the distresses of the times. The aggregate amount of subscriptions and donations within the last year has not been less than 62,2867.; the difference between the receipts this year, (exclusive of the sales of Bibles and Testaments,) and the last, is only 6461.

"Much has been stated in the Report to which I might call your attention; but I will advert to only one or two points. When it is mentioned that the Canstein Institution, which, a few years since, I saw mouldering in inactivity, is not now capable of supplying Bibles enough for Germany, when the Moscow Bible Society informs you that it can distribute 100,000 Bibles; when I tura to the reverend gentleman lately arrived from that empire, who states, that he has heard of MS. Bibles copied by peasants, and that when money was offered for them, they said, No, they would accept nothing but a printed copy in exchange:'-Gentlemen, when I consider these statements-and I need not go further, because your own minds will supply all I can say as to the misery of those who are destitute of the Scriptures-I feel convinced that none of us will relax our efforts, merely because we have supplied the wants of our own districts."

Mr. Thornton concluded with ex-. pressing the great disappointment felt by the Chancellor of the Exchequer at not being able to be present at the annual meeting.

The Bishop of Norwich, Vice-President, moved thanks to the Secretaries. His lordship spoke nearly as follows

"In addressing you, probably for the last time, considering the advanced age of life at which I have arrived, permit me, before I proceed to make the motion in my hand, to express the heart-felt satisfaction which I experience in meeting so many excellent men, of all religi ous persuasions, who, laying aside every minor consideration, have the wisdom to perceive, and the piety to feel, that union of heart is far more important than uniformity of sentiment towards promoting the pious object of this glorious institution. To the dissenters from the Established Church, I am happy to have this opportunity of declaring the great obligations we are all under, for their unabated exertions in this labour of love; and permit me to say, that we are no less indebted to the members of the Established Church, for their assist

3 Q

ance, undeterred by the silly or malevolent aspersions of indifference to the establishment.

"The best refutation of such false and groundless charges, is to contemplate the meliorated state of those towns and villages at home where Bible Societies have been formed; and the Report which you have this day heard by our incomparable President, will prove, that your exertions have not been thrown away in other countries. In every part of the world, we find that many who were merely nominal Christians have now become true believers; and many have been turned, by your means, from idols to the living God. If such a statement does not animate you to perseverance, nothing I can say will. shall therefore proceed to make the motion I have in my hand;-a motion which will meet the concurrence of every man who hears me; of every man who knows how to estimate the great services of our excellent Secretaries, and particularly of him whose absence we this day deplore; an individual of whose transcendent merits no eloquence, short of his own, can convey an idea."

I

The Rev. Edward Burn, in seconding the motion of the venerable prelate, detailed the benefits that had been conferred upon the Society by its valued Secretaries, and expatiated upon the success of the institution, its simplicity of character, the permanent nature of its fundamental principle, and other circumstances connected with its progress.

The Society," said he, " has realized what no scheme of comprehension, no legislative enactment, hitherto brought forward in this country, has been able to accomplish. It has actually established, within the British empire, an act of uniformity; and it is delightful to see the Episcopalian. the Presbyterian, the Independent, and the respectable representatives of other denominations, on the bare statement of your plan, without pain or penalty, as well as without hesitation, flocking to your standard, and offering themselves willingly in aid of your glorious design!"

The Rev. Dr. Skeinkopff, Foreign Secretary, expressed the pain and solicitude he felt at the absence of his excellent colleague. Adverting to himself, he added:"I esteem it my great est privilege to labour in this cause; and though sometimes these hands have trembled, and this heart has failed, and many an apprehensive thought has crossed my mind, that soon this body might perhaps sink under the accumulation of burdens, yet to spend and be spent in such a service is, in my ac

means

The Rev. John Paterson, from St. Petersburgh :-" My lord, the lateness of the hour forbids me to enter on a detailed account of the proceedings of the Society in the North of Europe; I would only beg leave to observe, that the progress we have made has tended to convince us, more than ever, of the great want of the Scriptures which exists in Denmark, in Sweden, in Finland, and in Russia; and the very which we have used to supply that want have led to new discoveries of it, and convinced us that the real extent of the evil is even yet but imperfectly known. On a moderate calculation, not fewer than fifteen millions of copies of the Scriptures will be required, before every family in the North of Europe is furnished with one copy of the Divine volume; and, after this statement, can it any longer be doubted whether Bible Societies were necessary, or whether any other plan could have been devised to meet the exigency of the case!

"It is gratifying to be able to assert, that the desire to possess the Scriptures in the North of Europe grows exceedingly. Previously to the institution of Bible Societies, this desire was, in a manner, dormant; 2,000 copies were sufficient to supply the annual demand for the Scriptures; now 200,000 copies would not suffice.

"We began our career at St. Petersburgh by giving notice, in the public papers, when we had Bibles to sell; but the effect of those advertisements was, bringing together such a crowd that it was almost impossible to proceed with the business of the depository: we have,