THE BIBLE IN CHINA.

Auckland Star, Volume LVIII, Issue 277, 23 November 1927, Page 6

THE BIBLE IN CHINA.

The information given by 'Archbishop Averill at the annual meeting of the auxiliary of the British and IToreizS Kliir Society that last year the society four million Bibles, New Testament* iaitil portions of the Scriptures is of interest in view of the recent publication at "Christianity In China," by Walter llußi'j Therein we learn that in 1919 the Aaericaa. Bible Society issued 3,730,000 Bibles, Tttta* meats or portions, while the issdes <of British and Foreign Bible Society .'wSbv 5,750,000 volumes, and of the Katinul Society of Scotland 2,150,000, malddf" atotid; of 14,650,000. Since tbeir foundation 1804 and 1861 respectively these BOcietie« arß/| . reported: to have circulated 504,000,000 copier,;, of the Bibles in whole or in pari. : "Aatk*#-' are at least thirty missionary societies in tti ~ field," says Mr. Mann, "the total nainhg-„»-; Bibles; distributed must amount to a staffing figure." But when we reflect flat A*_:< Christian .population of Ghina is oriy- *Bs?* thing over 2,000,000 Catholics and 62MH Protestants we might well question general effectiveness of the sales. "One oft*hears of statistics of the large numbeis of copies disposed of, not given away," says Mr. E. Teichman in "Travels of a Consular Offlcer in North-west China," "but it is not stated in explanation that the books are disposed of so cheaply that they are sometimes bought forj.the paper they contain and used in the tnanu- -~i? facture of the soles of Chinese 6hoes." j- r JAMES O. HAXLOX.