BIBLE SOCIETY.

Otaki Mail, 27 August 1930, Page 3

BIBLE SOCIETY.

Speaking at the annual meeting of the Otaki branch of the British and Foreign Bible Society the organising! secretary, Mrs. Porter, said that for the Bible Society the past year had been .one of outstanding achievements. At the last meeting of the Wellington Auxiliary Archbisop Avcrill said: "The older the Society grew the more virjic and stronger it became. Its golden age was before it and it still had a magnilicient work to do. The Society was the handmaiden of missions and it was therefore the greatest missionary society in the world. It was one of the greatest weapons in the hand of God to bring about the unity of peoples. It had "a great international mission and •with greater vision, and strength it could play a noble part in the .kingdoms of the world."

Mrs. Porter quoted from the annual report presented at the 126th anniversary of the Sociotv held in: Queen's Hall, London, when H.R.H. The-Duke of Gloucester, presided. The figures showed that no less than 12,175,292 volumes of the Scriptures had been-issued during the year ending 31st March, 1930. 'Phils .surpassed jail previous .records. Oyer a million complete Bibles, over a million and "a quarter New Testaments, ond 9,795,000 single integral portions of the Bible had been sent,out—representing an increase of 775,000 on the figure for 1925-29. The world's best book was still the world's "best seller." New Zealand had circulated 30,566 volumes last year in 30 languages, Great: Britain had absorbed 1,872,000 copies. •■'■'' The Society requires an income of £450,000 to-.do the work that lies before it. The balance sheet showed a sur- . plus of £16,337. 'The surplus is more than accounted for by a special birthday gift from Canada —a thank-offering to mark 'the 125th birthday. This gift enables the Society to open up work that it has been waiting to, do for many :" years. The production of an attractive edition of, the Authorised Version for! use in schools and provision for the i ■dawn of the day when Russia wilt bej open to the. colporteur are among its i special objects. The number of versions '-which the Society has published lor- circulated is t>3o—twelve- new vet-' isions being added during -the past twelve ' ' truly wonderful achievement. Five of. these new . versions have been largely done by women missionaries. Mrs. Porter told of the work of the • Society's- colporteurs, .native workers of many lands nurnber--s"g nearly'' 1000, who were responsible *°r the hand-to-hand distribution of • eight million out of the twelve million copies issued. Nothing daunts these ■wave servants of God who penetrate 1 many places, where missionaries cannot g 0; ofteu enduring un told hard- &, * ** a Persecution. The speaker ,rei flu.*, t / acw °nts which showed that Jif iw, ~,,,,, 5° ueers the : Word .need to & pt/'A !^ t great taat aa<l initiative. In town-; and £?*? 0 : nv „. .-jflrtri ~-, • gti - s > one oi tnem selling '. SWIM'S ■ sstan was still Afghanis numbers of Tl 1»" scriptures in **£*£,*£?s£ ily thanked -for her interesting add'est