BRITISH AND FOREIGN BIBLE SOCIETY.

Colonist, Volume LIII, Issue 13020, 8 February 1911, Page 2

BRITISH AND FOREIGN BIBLE SOCIETY.

THE NELSON BRANCH

A meeting in siippori, of flic "Wlson branch of the British and Foreign Bible Society was held last evening 'n the Pi: :-:byt':-riau schoolroom, Nelson. The Bishop <:f Nelson (.Dr Mules) presided over a uuineroll:: atteudincf. The ))r<K'i.-edi):gs (;p::n; d with devotional exercises. The chairman, in addressing thrmeeting, rfferr:d to the loss they had sustained by the death of Mr Pasley, their l-,le secretary. Spnaking on t!ie J?ib!:> His Lordship remarked tint in a day like the present, when thr-i-.----was a great varielv "f njiinioiis and a great variety of t-r.icliin;;, it was a grcit satisfaction to know that they had a book by wbicii they might t.'-jc-thos!1 opinions iind the diM'eieui te-icii-i-ig.-,.. The, Bib!' cl.iiinrd to b • ;> r--- ---' \e!:tti!i:i from Goii, ;>i;d (.b'it. < lain: i\---.s supr,orte:| liy th;- knnwli tl;;" which it"gave of God. Although tinl Bible was a series of books written under a great variety of ciicuiii.'.taiic.-'j and by so many different persons, ye1, they found that the volume was ;i structure. The ISiblc was a book of spiritual thought. Speaking on this head the chaiiinan read a letter writt; :i by Piofesror ,\!^x Mull'r in wliich he acknowledged t!"1 divinity <;f t'.i.l New Tevtam-i;!. I-.i (-;::eh:ding bis address Dr Mules gave some :dnli'>tics in regard to the r. ceipis and expenditure' of the Bible Society If' also allude;) to the work of the Otago Bible Society, whoso headquarters were af Durcdin.

Th- Rev. W. J. McLaren nddrer-Tod the gathering on ''Why We X; < -d the Bible." In the course'of his remarkhe said that I he holy Scriptures were need il iv order to preserve th.l ii:m:i! standard of Christ. Whenc,': r they got away from the Bible there w,"a a

lowering of the stauthid of Christian morality. They also ne: de.-J the Hib'e as th;' chief means of spiritual communion Wikii did they find their moral aud religion;; life most llourisii ing? Was it not when they had cinivmuaion with Cod through the Bible? They would never get a belt v intei-pretatie-u of th.' Christ Ihan they had in the Apostolic writings. The grace of Cod and the communion of the Holy Ghost came to them through those, sacred pages.

The I'fV. Mr Lnwlr, .'••poke of former times when so largo a number of families in every country possessed no copy of the. .Scriptun-s. About six million copies of tl.e ,Scrii>luivs were

now circulated every year, and altogether net hrr- than 2V) million copies had Ihvjii circulated. One r.( the most beneficent productions of Ilr> .Sociely had bren tii'; Bibb for the blind. Thy increasing (Illicit in the fiKPv.r's of the Hible Society showed the demand for their work, and \\.?s a definite, summons to them to bring up tho re■serves. The Society employed 90!) nol]>oiteurs, ruul some of the .: vnngclistie work had bi.'c:i done by those colporteur.;. Ths Soeietv also employed GOO Bible women ili Ihe East. As an illustration of the demand for the Scripture* in heathen countries, 800.000 copies had br.en cir. cub.ted in. China in one year, rmd Chii'.i was making :>. fresh .summons upon tlii-ir sfll'-sacrilice. Jn JJurmah ?M>) copies of Die Heripture:; had been circulated in one. year, and 8000 conks had been m'u\ for. Six thousand copies of the Bible were given to the Hindoo students yrarly. " The Indian dependency excelled oil others dejjen-d-encies in the cirr.-ulation of the Bci ipturcs. In Japan Christianity would hive been stamped out had it. not been for the work of the Bible Society. When, they looked at the vast and beneficent work of the Society it was a^rcnt privilege for them to support it to the utmost of their power. A collection was made in aid of die funds of the Society, and after the singing of a hymn tho proceedings closed with the Benediction, pronounced by the chairman, . |