BIBLE IN NEW ZEALAND

Taranaki Daily News, 29 April 1931, Page 9

BIBLE IN NEW ZEALAND

BRITISH AND FOREIGN SOCIETY. INCREASED ACTIVITY RECORDED. The work of the British and Foreign Bible Society in New Zealand had not suffered during the past' year, said the Rev. D. Calder, general secretary for New Zealand, in the course of an address at the annual meeting of the New Plymouth Auxiliary last night. There had been a response to the hard times which had been met by increased endeavour and more accurate organisation. The result had been splendid. Reviewing the past six years of his secretaryship, the speaker said that at the end of the fifth year the New Zealand contributions to London had risen to £8142. Last year’s figures were not definitely known but for the fourth and fifth years the average annual contribution. was £Bl3O, compared with an average of £5BOO for the first two years of the period. In the second year of his secretaryship the head office in London had written asking New Zealand to endeavour to obtain a 25 per cent, increase in their contributions. The actual increase over the period had been 40 per cent. He did not want it thought that because of the advance that the time had come when they could be satisfied.

The society had agreed to stand by the various missions in supplying the Scriptures necessary. Whatever else a missionary was short of lie must not be short of Scriptures. Outlining the extent of the work, he said if £lO,OOO were spent by the churches on missions the Bible Society had to £lOOO worth of Scriptures. The society had been in existence for 125 years and it had never yet refused a genuine appeal. The total of the New Zealand churches’ foreign mission budget was £90,000 per year and it cost the Bible Society at least £9OOO to keep this going. There were 360 New Zealand missionaries m foreign fields and these were provided for by the society. Though pleased with the increase it would be necessary to raise the quota to £lO.OOO to cover the New Zealand foreign mission work. Ho thought the past year should realise about £9OOO.

The 40 per cent, increase applied only to the five years previous to last year, the figures for which were not yet to hand. Contributions last year, however, had gone up by about £7OO, largely owing to an increase in legacies. Not only did the society's income go up, but there was also an increase in the output of Scriptures. During 1930 34,907 Bibles were supplied in New Zealand. Last year was the second in which the policy of placing Bibles in hotels had been pursued. This was extra work for the society, but last .year saw the accumulation of sufficient money for 7000 Bibles. This had been raised apart from the ordinary funds and had resulted in 6888 Bibles being placed in hotels. In most eases the hotel-keepers were glad to have them. In New Zealand Bibles had been issued in 20 languages last year and in 30 languages the previous year. Work in schools in Taranaki. Rangitikei and Hawke's Bay was outlined by the society’s lecturer in colleges and schools. Miss Violet G. S Taylor. Everywhere the headmasters had been most helpful and had permitted her to speak, said Miss Taylor. The visit to Tc Ante College had been especially memorable and she had enjoyed addressing the Maori boys in their chapel. Other memorable visits had been to the 761 boys of Wellington College and to a gathering in the beautiful old Maori church at Otaki.

Miss Taylor concluded with two vignettes, which illustrated searcliingly the benefits of the society's work in Africa.