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37(7 



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FWipn Part*. eMaMishrd 1701. This ami the preceding 

 were u nilcr the entire management of member* 

 lished Church. 



I. The Society in Scotland for Propagating Christian 

 .'.!_>. incorporated in 1709. It hail distributed the 

 Scnptures in the Garlic language. 



5. Tin- Society for Promoting Religious Knowledge 

 among the Poor, established 1 750. The subscriber* were 

 entitled once in two years to copies of the Scriptures or 

 other work-* published by the society, at a ro<lucej charge. 



6. The H:ble Society, established in 1780, for the purpose 

 i.l' circulating the Scriptures among soldiers and sailors , \ 

 rluMvely. In about twenty years it had distributed about 

 30,000 copies. 



7. The Society for the Support and Encouragement of 

 Sunday School*, established in 1785. It provided the Sun- 

 day schools with copies of the Bible and Testament, and 

 with spelling-books. 



8. The French Bible Society, established in London in 

 1 :.', fur the purpose of distributing copies of the Scriptures 

 in France. This institution had made arrangements with 

 a printer for an edition of the Scriptures in the. French lan- 

 guage, when its operations were entirely stopped by the 

 Ki-volutioii. At the peace of Amiens it was discovered that 

 the printer with whom the contract had been made, and 

 vlto had received a sum of money on the society's account, 

 hud been ruined in the interval, and was unable to complete 



.ragernents. 



Such were the means in existence previous to the close 

 of the last century for ensuring the general circulation of the 

 Scriptures. 



The mort important of the above associations, in fact the 

 only one which could attempt the circulation of the Bible 

 on a large scale, was the Society for Promoting Christian 

 Knowledge. Its efforts, however, do not appear to have 

 commensurate with the increasing demand. The 

 following statement attributes to a tardiness in its opera- 

 tions the formation of the British and Foieign Bible 

 Society : 



In 1787 a clergyman in London, who had been applied 

 to tor Bibles by a brother clergyman in Wale*, wrote to the 

 latter, stating that he had received twenty-five copies from 

 the society for distributing Bibles among the soldiers and 

 jailors : and that he was collecting money to send more, 

 which he bought of the Society for Promoting Christian 

 Knowledge, ' who alone in London have got any Welsh 

 P-ihles.' A year afterwards the same individual wrote to 

 hii currespondcnt in Wales, stating that ' there was n pros- 

 pect of obtaining, through the assistance of another society, 

 and with the help of Mr. T.'s purse, no less a number than 

 1000 WeUh Bibles; but the. society, viz. the Society tor 

 Vrnioting Christian Knowledge, refuses to part with more 

 than 500. and that at a price which altogether makes 5.v. lid. 

 each. This has entirely defeated the design, so far as I am 

 concerned in it.' 



Towards the close of 1791, a clergyman who had been 

 visiting Wales alluded, on his return to London, to the 

 Karcityof Bibles: 'I heard great complaining amongst 

 tbe poor for want of Bibles, and that there were none to be 

 Vtnd for money.' A fresh series of efforts were made in order 

 to induce the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge to 

 ]>iil>!ifth another edition of the Welsh Bible; and a corre- 

 loncc was entered into with the society, which may be 

 een in Dealtry's Vindication r>f the British and Foreign 

 Hibtc Snciety. The object of this correspondence was to in- 

 duce the society to undertake an edition of 10,000 Bibles 

 fur circulation amongst the Welsh, and the applicants ex- 

 pressed their willingness ' to take and pay for 5000 as goon 

 M thev were printed.' At length, in July, 1792, terms were 

 greed upon with the society, and the wishes for a supply of 

 Hihle* seemed on the point of fulfilment. On the !Mih <>(' 

 October, however, the individual who had conducted (lie 

 Mgotutions with the society complained of its ' dilatory, 

 iMffeuivc, nnd reluctant' conduct. The society could not 

 be made to believe thnt 'a large number of Bibles could 

 Im got ofT;' it seemed averse to incur the expense of a 

 supply, although not likely to be more than from i 

 to -JuiUi/. In fine, the society surrounded the subject wilh 

 i many difficulties that for the present it was reluctantly 

 abandoned. 



At leneth, in 1796, after an interval of about four years, 

 during which it may be presumed the society cuntmucd to 

 he urged on the point, an edition of the Welsh Bible, Com- 



mon Prayer, and Sir.cing Psalms to 1'ie nmounl of 10,000, 



n ith 2000 extra Testaments. wa ordered to be printed. In 



1799. copies were ready for <. i the sock-tv hU Tally 



offered them on moderate terms. The whole of tlie edition 



was soon disposed of, as thirty years had elapsed since the 



last edition had appeared. The wain 



having, however, only been partially satisfied, the demand 



for Bibles on the part of those who had not participate! in 



the recant supply became louder than hefov 



was made in the year 1 800 in order to ascertain if tbe society 



Disposed to undertake another edition. 1 

 hope of engaging the society to enlarge the supph 

 abandoned. The plan of contracting for a supply of Welsh 

 Bibles without the co-operation of the society was then 

 agitated for the first time. It was suggested by the 

 Thomas Charles, an ordained minister .! the Established 

 Church, but who was at tho time officiating in the C( i 

 gallons of the Welsh Calvinistic Methodists. On ti 

 of December, 1802, the subject of the scarcity of Bibles in 

 Wales having been introduced by Mr. Joseph Tarn in a 

 circle of friends, Mr. Charles, who happened to be visiting 

 London, and was present, proposed raising hy voluntary 

 contributions a sum sufficient for printing an edition. He 

 insisted upon the urgency of applying to ' new and extraor- 

 dinary means' for effecting this purpose. In tho coui 

 the evening, the Rev. Joseph Hughes, a Baptist mm 

 suggested tho outline of a plan for the general circulation of 

 the Scriptures ; and a call was made up n him to prepare 

 an mldress in which the subject might be p- pub- 



lic consideration. The matter was soon after laid before the 

 late Mr. Wilberforce. Mr. Charles (Irani, now l^ord Glenelg. 

 and other men of like views. The Rev. C. F. A. Steinko]iil', 

 Lutheran minister at the Savoy church in London, offered 

 to make inquiries in the course of a continental journey he 

 was about to undertake, as to the circulation of the Scnp- 

 tures in that quarter. A similar course was contemplated 

 with respect to Great Britain and Ireland. 



The occurrences detailed above took place prior to the 

 end of May. 1803. By this time the appeal which Mr. 

 Hughes had been called upon to prepare was finished. Its 

 title was : ' The Excellence of the Holy Scriptures, an Ar- 

 gument for their more general Diffusion.' The rudiments 

 of tho Bible Society were developed in this address, and 

 having been extensively circulated, it was deemed in the 

 month of January, 1804, that n sutlicient period had elapsed 

 for the discussion of its merits, and that the tune had ar- 

 rived for putting the plan into activity. Samuel Mills. 

 Esr]., who had prepared an outline in the precedinu year, 

 now completed the details of the plan. The projected so- 

 ciety had at first received the name of the Society for pro- 

 moting a more extensive Circulation of the Scriptures both 

 at Home and Abroad;' but it was now changed to that of 

 ' the British and Foreign Bible Society.' 



On Wednesday, March 7th, 1S04, a public meeting, con- 

 vened by a circular address, was held at the London Ta- 

 vern, Bishopsgatc- street, to discuss the means of forming the 

 society. The attendance consisted of about 300 individuals of 

 various religious denominations. The first and second resolu- 

 tions moved, were as follows: 1. 'That a society shall be 

 formed, with this designation, the " British and Foreign Bible 

 Society, of which the sole object shall be toencouruge a w ider 

 diffusion of the Holy Scriptures.' 2. ' That this society shall 

 add its endeavours to those employed by other societies l.-r 

 circulating the Scriptures through the British dominions, 

 and shall also, according to its ability, extend its influence to 

 other countries, whether Christian, Mahometan, or Pagan.' 

 Si-\ rn other resolutions relating to the organization of the 

 society were passed unanimously. A committee \v.i> formed, 

 7001. were at once subscribed, and the institution was con- 

 sidered to be fairly in existence. 



On the 12th of March, 1804, the committee met to 

 complete tho organization of the institution. The thirty- 

 six individuals composing the committee comprised men 

 of various religious opinions. It must be confessed 

 that they were surrounded with considerable difliculties. 

 Kvery step in fact was on delicate ground, and this 

 wo* more especially manifest when nn individual pro- 

 posed the appointment of the Kcv. Joseph Hughes : 

 ollirc nf secretary. This motion was opposed by the. Rev. 

 J. Owen, afterwards one of the secretaries and the historian 

 <>f the Bible Society, who insisted in strong terms mi ' tint 

 impropriety and impolicy of constituting a dissenting mi- 

 nister the secretary of all institution which was dcsi^u-.-d 



