the Divine Favour on the proceedings of the Society, have only to express their hopes, that an increasing sense of the infinite im portance of the Holy Scriptures to the temporal and eternal wellbeing of mankind, will impart new vigour and activity to that zeal which at this period animates Christians for the diffusion of them; that the charity which has been consecrated to this pious use, will never cease to flow, until it shall have watered all the parched and barren spots of the habitable globe; and that the seed of the Word, which has been so extensively sown, may bring forth the fruits of righteousness even an hundred fold. Whatever may be the final result of the efforts now making for promoting the happiness of the human race, by supplying them with the best means of moral and religious improvement, enough has appeared in the Records of the British and Foreign Bible Society, and in those of its several Auxiliaries, to shew, that in this respect the Scriptures have not been distributed in vain; that numerous instances have occurred in which they have proved sources of joy and consolation to the desolate and afflicted; and that even the moral and religious state of communities has been greatly meliorated by the perusal of them, as well as by the Christian Feelings awakened through the Associations made for their distribution. The unfeigned anxiety which has been exhibited in many countries where the Bible is scarcely procurable, to obtain a copy of it, affords á gratifying presumption, that the possession of this invaluable treasure is considered, and has proved, what a gracious God intended it to be, a real blessing. It shall come to pass, says the Almighty by the mouth of the Prophet, that "I will gather all nations and tongues, and they shall see my glory," It is not for us to know the times and seasons, which God has kept in his own power; but we may be permitted to indulge, a humble hope, that the distribution of that Revelation which displays his glorious perfections, may be made instrumental to the accomplishment of the prophetic word. Let it be our care to improve the times and seasons which are given to us, for making known the ways of God upon earth, and His saving health to all nations; and to encourage, by our example and assistance, that zeal which has been so happily kindled: inculcating, both by our conduct and recommendation, a strict adherence to the principle of our Institution; to the gravity of its object, and the importance of its end; as the surest means of con solidating that spirit of Christiau Love which harmonizes the various Societies co-operating in this sacred cause, and of rendering. the Institution itself both permament and extensively beneficial. Above all, let us pray that the influence of that Holy Book which we circulate, may not only be felt in our hearts, but exhibited in our lives; that the Members of this and every other similar Institution may let their light so shine before men, that their Heavenly Father may be glorified; and finally, that those who distribute and those who receive the Holy Scriptures, may be found among the number described by the Apostle in his ApocaJyptic Vision: "After this, I beheld, and lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, kindreds, people, and tongues, stood before the Throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and with palms in their hands, and cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God, which sitteth upon the Throne, and unto the Lamb" CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE SOCIETY. FROM the Report for 1814 we have collected the following information. To which may be added .L.5,390 19 3 6,525 0 10 6,030 0 8 L.17,946 0 9 Received from the Lords of the Admiralty, by the hands of the Chaplain General .L.1,500 0 0 13,736 11 2 L.33,182 11 11 Missionary Expenditure. The amount of salaries and gratuities to the Missionaries in the East Indies was, last year, 1,3847. 18s. 8d. Issues of Books, Tracts, and Papers. Books and Tracts have been sold to the Members, gratuitously, or circulated in the Royal Navy, on account of the above-mentioned grant from the Lords of the Admiralty, from April 8, 1813, to April 21, 1814, as follows: Beside the above, there have been circulated 12,500 copies of a General Account of the Society; 10,000 copies of the Annual Sermon and Report; 52,106 copies of "Directions for the Devout Use of the Common Prayer;" and 70,000 other tracts and papers. Enlargement of the Society's House. For several years the premises occupied by the Society have been found inadequate to its increasing concerns. The lease of an adjoining house offering, the two house were thrown together. A larger room has thus been obtained for the Meetings of the Society; and apartments have been fitted up for the Secretaries, and distinct offices for the Clerks; which were all much wanted. Great facilities will hence ensue to the accuracy, punctuality, and dispatch of the Society's transactions; which had frequently been considerably impeded from the sole operation of the cause here specified. Diocesan and District Committees.. The Board continues to feel the great importance of this branch of their concerns to the maintenance and progress of the Society. With regard to the Committees reported in preceding years, the difficulties and discouragements attendant on the novelty of their institution have in most cases been surmounted: and they continue to carry on their several undertakings, with different degrees of efficiency and success indeed, but, on the whole, with a zeal and power which in the aggregate cannot but be extremely beneficial to the cause of godliness, and gratifying, in the contemplation, to the best feelings of the Christian. Through their influence, the number of the Members of the Society has been very greatly enlarged, and still continues increasing: a more wakeful attention has been excited to the spiritual necessities of the indigent and afflicted, to schools, and hospitals, and other public charitable institutions: the number of books dispersed has increased also, and there is good reason to believe that they have been distributed to greater advantage, and with a more scrupulous attention to the character and wants of the receiver. Hampshire Diocesan and District Committees. By way of illustrating the efficiency of the system of Diocesan and District Committees, the Report states the following particulars respecting Hampshire. The whole of that County has been brought into close co-operation with the Society, by District Committees: these Committees follow the ecclesiastical divisions of the country, each comprising one or more Deaneries: the amount of donations received is 12401. 12s. 6d. and of annual subscriptions 5241. 6s. Od.: and up to the date of the close of these their first year's proceedings, there have been issued from the different depôts only, exclusively of what have been obtained by Members from the Board in London, upward of six thousand Bibles, New Testaments, Common Prayer Books, and Psalters, bepide School-books and Religious Tracts in very great numbers. The practice adopted in this Diocese of the several District Committees making their Annual Reports severally to the Diocesan Committee at Winchester, which in its turn reports collectively their proceedings and its own to the General Board, produces an uniformity, zeal, and concentration in their efforts, to which a part of this success may justly be ascribed, That our readers may judge of the extensive support derived to the Society from this organization, |