Several other Tracts and Treatises are

projected, and begun; and, the number of Labourers in our Mission being increased, I hope the fruits of your Christian Liberality will be still more widely extending in these parts, year after year. A course of "Evening Conversations," or "Polemical Dialogues," in which the idolatry, superstition, false philosophy, and iniquitous practices of the Chinese will be discussed, has been commenced; and will (should my life be spared to complete them) form, I suppose, two small volumes

duodecimo.

I wish it were in my power to inform you of the actual success of these publications-these silent preachers of righteousness-in making the Heathen wise unto salvation. Many things, of a different and contradictory nature, are said about them by the Chinese. Some neglect them: others praise them. Some despise them : others read them with attention, and apparent seriousness. The ideas of indivi. duals, and particular conversations with them, might be related; and they would perhaps afford a degree of interest to pious persons: but my colleague and myself deem it better to lay but little stress on even good sayings, and to wait patiently for surer evidence of the influence of truth on the heart; rather than run the risk of exciting too high expectations in the mind of the Christian Public, or of drawing too large a share of Christian Liberality toward our own labours, to the neglect of others. We shall, very probably, have to transmit to you and other Christian Societies, for a long time, only dry statements of what has actually been translated, written, printed, circulated, and taught; or of what there is a probability of accomplishing. Our thoughts, time, and strength, are employed about furnishing the MEANS of Christian Knowledge to as large a pro. portion of the Heathen as possible. We long to see success; but are not greatly st down if we see it not immediately. To plough and sow are the labour of this age; to reap abundantly, that of future times.

After noticing the progressive state of the Tract Societies formed in America, the Committee proceed to the

DOMESTIC TRANSACTIONS.

New Publications.

A great number of New Tracts have been offered, in the course of

1

the year of these, ten have been adopted. The series of Children's Books has been considerably increased: this series meets with increasing acceptance, and is recommended as supplying Rewards for Children. Additions have also been made to the Hawkers' Tracts and the Broad Sheets; the Broad Sheets have been found particularly useful, for affixing to the walls of Cottages and Manufactories, and for sale by Hawkers: Bishop's-Stortford Auxiliary alone has circulated upward of 20,000 of them within the year.

Printing of Foreign Tracts.

There is a remark on Foreign Tracts, which deserves notice by those Institutions which print Books for circulation abroad:

There is a diminution in the number of Foreign Tracts, in the Continental Languages, issued from the Depository during the last year: and the Committee have not deemed it expedient to add more Tracts to those already translated, for publication in this country; experience having proved, that Tracts in foreign languages printed here, are generally less acceptable abroad, than those, which, being printed in their respective countries, appear less foreign to their readers. This decrease is not a matter of any moment, as, upon the whole, there is a considerable increase in the Foreign Publications printed at the expense of the Society.

Hints on the Distribution of Tracts.

In Hospitals and Prisons, they may alarm the profane, and comfort the contrite. At Fairs, Wakes, and Revels, they have repressed thoughtlessness and vice. The Cottages of the Poor, as well as the Habitations of the Rich, have been supplied by them with profitable employment for the leisure hours of their inmates. Manufactories, Schools, and Ships, offer extensive fields for benevolence. By the Mariners of this and other countries, Tracts have been received with gratitude: of this various details are given in the Appendix; and the Committee urge attention in this respect, to

It is observed, on this subject

the numerous Foreigners who visit this country.

Hawkers' Tracts.

Much has been done (the Committee state) by the Hawkers' Tracts. By them, food is distributed instead of poison and the wholesome effects are, in some degree, already apparent; and offer a gratifying proof to the Society, that their labours, by the divine blessing, have not been in vain. Your Committee have much pleasure in reporting, that most of the Vendors of these Tracts are now found to prefer those of a superior description; and that the religious nature of their contents is not that obstacle to their circulation which it was formerly. They would impress upon the friends of the Society the importance of introducing the circulation of these Tracts, into every channel where Tracts, of another nature, are vended, by Hawkers; and thus diffuse what will invigorate the faculties of the mind, instead of that which has a tendency to destroy both body and soul.

FUNDS.

The Net Receipts have amounted to 6188/. 11s.; of which 43591. 13s. 4d. was the produce of the Society's Publications.

The Net Payments have reached within a trifle of the Receipts; having amounted to 61771. 13s.

There is a Balance in hand of 131. 11s. 10d.; but the Society is under engagements for Paper and Printing, and for Grants to aid the printing and distribution of Religious Tracts in Foreign Parts, to an amount exceeding this Balance by about 8001.

A more parsimonious system of proceeding might have been adopted: but your Committee deeply felt the importance of the object in which they were engaged; and the evidences of usefulness attendant on the operations of the Society are of such peculiar strength, that it would have been criminal for them to stay their hands.

To the Public they must look for the assistance thus needed; and they trust, that the religious and moral benefits which have, by the Divine Blessing, resulted from the labours of this Institution, have been so apparent, that their call will not be in vain. They are ready to take blame to themselves for not having more fully declared their wants, and the increasing claims upon the Society from Foreign Parts; but the pressure of more important objects has made pecuniary concerns appear of less moment. And now, they can only appeal for assistance to those who feel the great objects which the Society has in view; and they trust such appeal will not, they believe it cannot, be made in vain: but, that the succeeding year will show proofs of the increased activity of the friends of the cause; and, that neither those multitudes, who, in foreign countries, are perishing for lack of knowledge, nor the rising generation of these Islands, will have cause to say, that they have called upon the Religious Tract Society in vain, for that pecuniary assistance, which is rendered necessary by the peculiar situation of the one, or for that increased supply of mental food which the unprecedented increase of general education renders needful for the other.

BRITISH AND FOREIGN BIBLE SOCIETY.

DOMESTIC BENEFITS OF THE SOCIETY.

Success of the Oxford Ladies' Association. We are happy to add to the testimonies, repeatedly given in our former pages, of the activity and benefits of Ladies' Associations, a gratifying statement of the same nature, by the Committee of the

Oxfordshire Auxiliary Bible Society, respecting the exertions and success of the Ladies of Oxford.

When the Committee reflect on the series of years, during which many have continued destitute of the Word of God, who yet only needed the suggestion of friends, alive to their best interests, to remind them of its utility and importance, and the opportunity of procuring it by the gradual accumulation of small sums; and when they think of the numerous indivi

duals who may have lived and died in ignorance of the consolations of that Book of Life; they cannot but entertain a fear, lest they may have acted too much on the pernicious principle of those of old, The time is not come. Experience has, however, demonstrated that the time is come; and that each may afford some assistance in erecting the spiritual temple of the Lord. More than all the expected good has been accomplished: new openings for exertion present themselves; while, on the other hand, all the inconveniences which may have been foreboded, have vanished as mere illusions.

Twenty-eight Ladies volunteered their services to carry into effect the purposes of the Institution, in the several districts of the city and its vicinity. These have reported, with evident satisfaction, the interesting and encouraging reception which they have experienced in their visits to the Poor. Many were found wholly destitute of the Scriptures. Many had long desired the valued possession, but had not known how they might acquire it, and were not able to raise at once the requisite sum to make the purchase. Others, again, who had themselves enjoyed the benefit, rejoiced in the opportunity thus presented to them, of providing their children with the Word of Life, when they were about to go into service, or to be otherwise removed from the eye of their parents. One Female Servant, after having supplied herself with a Bible, begged that she might be allowed to subscribe in behalf of her aged Father, and then successively for her Sister, her Brother, and a poor Neighbour. Several, after having promised to subscribe themselves, conducted their Visitors to some of their friends, whom they knew to have been desirous of procuring the Scriptures; and the answer given by one was this, "If I have no bread, I'll have a Bible." Some, indeed, were found really too poor to subscribe even a penny per week it, therefore, could not but be a gratification to the Society to learn, that simultaneous efforts were made in other quarters, which afforded the prospect that these would be gratuitously supplied. In one case the feelings of the Ladies were greatly interested by the account of a poor Widow, who was reported to have been "in the habit of preserving every scrap of paper she could meet with, on which there was any part of the Scripture."

The number of Free Subscribers for the year ending Nov. 4, 1818, has been 470. During the same space of time, 505 individuals have been supplied with the whole

Bible, and 112 with the New Testament; making a total of 617, The Receipts dur

ing the same twelve months have amounted to 3611. 1s. 2d.; of which 2261. 5s. 7d. was paid for the purchase of Bibles, and the remaining sum of 1341. 15s. 7d. has been derived from free contributions.

Out of this amount, the sum of 3057. 14s. has been employed by the Association in the purchase of Bibles and Testaments, at the cost price, from the Depository of the Auxiliary Society; and the year was closed by a vote of 301. as a gratuitous donation to the Auxiliary Society: so that, while the charity of the Members of the Association begins, as it ought to do, at home, it may not end there while their main object is the supply of the immediate neighbourhood, they may still yield their mite to the promotion of the Foreign Operations of the Parent Society.

It will be further gratifying to the Society and its Friends to learn, that although, at the commencement, there were those who intimated an unfriendliness to its proceedings, yet the expression of disapprobation has almost entirely subsided; so that there is reason to think that those who felt suspicions have, as soon as an opportunity was afforded for investigation of the subject, discovered that their fears were unfounded. This is a circumstance more particularly gratifying, because there were some among the num. ber, in opposition to whose sentiments nothing but a strong conviction of imperious duty could have induced them to act. It is, indeed, an event perfectly beyond the reach of reasonable expectation, that all should agree in the same method, even of those who were equally desirous to do good: and though this want of complete unanimity is in its own nature an evil, yet it lays a claim to our acquiescence, as an evil inherent to our present condition; and it affords an additional occasion to admire the wisdom of God, in overruling such diversities of sentiment to the more extensive and effectual promotion of the great object in view. With regard, however, to the occupation in which this Society is engaged, your Committee cannot but feel assured that the more it is known, the more entirely it will approve itself to the judgment of every thinking and benevolent person.

CHURCH MISSIONARY SOCIETY. FIFTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE BIRMINGHAM ASSOCIATION.

ON Sunday, the 15th of August, Mr. Davies, as was stated in our

last, preached at Derby: on the same day, Mr. Bickersteth preached at West Bromwich, in the Morning; and at St. James's, Ashted, Birmingham, in the Afternoon. They were joined, at Birmingham, by the Hon. and Rev. G. T. Noel. On Tuesday, the 17th, the Fifth Annual Meeting of the Birmingham Association was held in the Music Hall; the Right Hon. Lord Calthorpe, President of the Association, in the Chair.

His Lordship introduced the business of the day by a series of very impressive observations; after which the Report was read by the Secretary, the Rev. Edward Burn.

From the Report it appeared that the Association had remitted, in its last year, the sum of 6871. 17s. 11d. to the Parent Society. The sum total remitted, since its formation, had been 28371. 10s. 7d. Of the sum contri. buted in the last year, the Ladies' Association had raised 2927. 11s. 2d.; making a total collected by them, in three years, of 5771. 15s. 7d.; and adding another to the many proofs daily crowding on us, with what advantage Ladies may exert themselves in promoting objects of True Charity.

A passage in the Report so for cibly urges the duty and advantage of entering with intelligence into the Society's Proceedings, that we extract it for the benefit of our Readers :

For the important details of the Society's Proceedings in its several Stations, as well as for an account of the new scenes of labour and of usefulness which are constantly opening, your Committee would earnestly refer to the Annual Report of

1817-1818; and, since the latter period, to the statements given in the Missionary Register. The attentive perusal of these Documents is a duty which the Members of this Association owe to the

Parent Society and to themselves, if they would duly appreciate the magnitude of the work in which the Society is engaged, or be encouraged by knowing that its labour is not in vain in the Lord. Your

Committee regret that the limits assigned them on this occasion forbid their going more fully into the Proceedings of the Parent Institution: but if the attempt were even consistent with the modest du

ties of a Local Report, your Committee might well shrink from the task of compressing, within a few sentences, materials which occupy nearly 300 octavo but which will well repay the labour of a pages, for the most part closely printed, private and attentive perusal.

The Meeting was addressed by the Rev. Messrs. Spooner, Bickersteth, Townsend, Noel, Burn, and Lowe; and by A. S. Lillingstone, Esq., George Simcox, Esq., the Hon. Frederic Calthorpe, and Richard Spooner, Esq. A warm and holy feeling in behalf of the perishing Heathen was evidently awakened in the minds of those present.

On Sunday Morning, the 22d of August, Mr. Noel preached at St. Mary's, in behalf of the Institution; when upward of 581. was collected, which, with 18/. collected at St. James's, and 287. at the Annual Meeting, made a total

of about 104/.

ANNIVERSARY OF THE TAMWORTH
ASSOCIATION.

On Thursday, Aug. the 19th, the Annual Meeting of this Associ ation was held, in the spacious North Chancel of the Parish Church; the President, the Rev. Francis Blick, in the Chair. The several motions were made and seconded, respectively, by the Rev. William Spooner, and Edmund Peel, Esq.; the Rev. Francis Smith and the Assistant Secretary; the Rev. Henry Davies and the Rev. Samuel Holworthy; the Rev. H. C. Wooley and the Hon. and Rev. G. T. Noel; the Rev. Francis Blick and the Rev. R. W. Lloyd. vaded every speech. A solemn and impressive spirit per

Sermons were preached, by Mr. Davies and Mr. Bickersteth; and Collections made, as follows::

Treasurer,

W. Lambert White, Esq.

Secretaries:

Rev. Geo. Salmon, and Mr. J. Edwards. Mr. Biddulph feelingly alluded to the recent death of Mr. Barrett, who, with Mr. and Mrs. Jesty, had left Yeovil and its neighbourhood to labour under the Society in Western Africa. Mr. Elwin contrasted the spirit and proceedings of the Meeting, with those lately held with far different views; and quoted some forcible Episcopal Rebukes of such persons as neglected to aid in extending the knowledge of Christ among the Heathen. Mr. H. Parsons declared his personal satisfaction, in co-operating with a Society emanating from an Apostolic Church, and sending out Ministers regularly ordained. Mr. Middelton exhibited a large drawing of Brahma, the Creator in the Hindoo Triad; and drew a comparison between the imaginary attributes of that pagan divinity, and the real perfections of the Christian Saviour. Every speaker pressed on the notice of the audience the necessity of prayer in behalf of the Society; and the Meeting broke up, after continuing four hours, under an evident impression of the importance and greatness of the work in which the Members are engaged.

The Collections, Donations, and Annual Subscriptions, amounted to about 100/.

The Committee and Officers of the Church Missionary Society

feel themselves under great obligation to its Friends, who, in this mentioned, united to promote its case, as in that of Dudley just objects, when circumstances would have rendered it impracticable for the Officers themselves to attend.

THIRD ANNIVERSARY OF THE SAFFRONWALDEN AND NORTH-WEST ESSEX ASSO CIATION.

Α

On Wednesday, the 22d of September, this Anniversary was held, in the Town Hall at SaffronWalden; the Rev. Professor Farish, of Cambridge, in the Chair. Report of the Proceedings of the last year was read by one of the Secretaries; and various Resolutions were moved or seconded, by the Rev. W. A. B. Johnson, from Sierra Leone; by Messrs. Simeon, Maberly, Scholefield, Markby, and Thelwall, from Cambridge; by Captain Martin; and by the Secretaries, the Rev. Henry and Nicholas Bull.

Mr. Johnson's narrative of the beginning and progress of religion among the Negroes at Regent's Town, and the addresses of other Friends, made a lively impression on the Meeting.

Sermons had been preached, by Professor Farish, the Rev. James Scholefield, and the Rev. Nicholas Bull, at Saffron-Walden, Stebbing, Linsdell, Weathersfield, and Littlebury. About 371. was collected at the Sermons and Meeting. The amount contributed in the year had been 1357. 16s. 9d.

WESTERN AFRICA.

SIERRA LEONE.

corrections, the Returns of Population and Schools, which were

and Marriages.

FROM the Sierra Leone Gazette,

Number; also a Return of the Marriages solemnized in the Co

.

of to wind