BRITISH AND FOREIGN BIBLE SOCIETY.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVI, Issue 2365, 4 December 1908, Page 6

BRITISH AND FOREIGN BIBLE SOCIETY.

GISBORNE AUXILIARY

The 'annual meeting of the Gisborne Auxiliary of the British .and Foreign Bible Society wars held in the grounds of Te Ran (tihe residence of the Von. Archdeacon Willi uns) yesterday afternoon. The President (Rev. F. Y\ . Ghatterton) occupied the chair, and there was a large attendance.

At the ' invitoition of the ladies, all present were entertained at afternoon tea, and a pleasant social hour wtis spent. The President, in his address, relerred to the good work that was being done by the Society in nil parts of "the world, but particularly among the Maori race. The Society was, he said, about to issue a now translation of the Scriptures in the Maori tongue, and in order to dispose of the stock of Bibles on hand a missionary had been appointed to travel nmotm the Natives of the East Coast and the King Country, and by holding meetings and engpging in. conversation had done excellent- work. The. people of Now Zealand wore indebted to the Society for the issue of Bibles in Maori" at a low price, and the demand for the (Scriptures in so relay languages showed that the Bible was a 'living book. The Society had been in' existence for over a- hundred years, and was worthy of the support- of nil Christian men and women. The lion, secretary (Mr. J. Pockover) read the following report: — “The Committee of the Gisborne Auxiliary of the British and Foreign Bible Society, hi presenting the fourteenth -annual -report, desire to record with gratitude the feeling of •uuily that has attended their effort to spread the knowledge of Gospel truth in those and other districts, and the spiritual and financial help they bjjive realised as being extended to them from our Heavenly Father and their 'fellowmen. In respect of con tributions, the-- donations of your subscribers .represent about onethird of the whole amount. Now that the sudden cloud to our prosperity that hf:s been depressing to so many, seems to be lifted, we shall be glad to welcome-its silver lining in the" form of now -subscriptions. In out last year’s report we .-referred to the fact that wo were expecting to engago i.i suitable person as a colporteur. We engaged the Rev. .J. I. Mon fries in that capacity for a period of three months. Ho entered on the •work in thorough earnest, and visited many Maori pas and meetings, traversing much of the King Country, about 1600 miles, conversing with individual Maoris, and addressed meetings and sold nearly 200 Bibles and Testaments. We trust that the Gospel thus sown may be permitted to prove a blessing to those whom ho labored amongst. The Home society sent -ns help towards his expenses, or wo should not have been able t-o engage him. We have lisid a biennial visit from our colonial agent, Rev. G. H. Spencer. He occupied the pulpit of Holy Trinity Church, and also gave a most .interesting _ and well-)attended lecture entitled ‘From Cape to Cairo,’ illustrated by limelight slides, in the Baptist Tabernacle. The marvellous and beautiful cßinges in tlio conduct, lives, and personnel that had been, manifested in Central Africa through the teaching of the Bible and missionary labors were cl airly depicted. The native churches employ missionaries of their own, and are very much in earnest in doing so. At the annual meeting of the Home Society in London in May last it was reported th.it receipts had increased, but not sufficient to enable them to revert to the same expenditure as they had two years ago. They have now translated into 412 languages, their operations are extending in all parts, nearly six million copies issued last year, Bibles and portions. They are hastening the day when tbe knowledge of the Lord shall oover the earth -as the waters cover the sea. W"e should he glad to receive the help of more volunteer collectors, and acknowledge the aid this year afforded by Miss Jeffreys in collecting in the town, and juvenile collectors in. town and country. Wo .conclude our report by thanking all who have helped ns in any way in the work of the Society.” ilr. W. A. Graham, hon. treasurer, read the balance-sheet as follows: Receipts: Balance from previous year £3l 9s Od, subscriptions £62 9s, collections and ados £l3O 13s 6d, remittance £6O; total, £222 3s. Expenditure: Contribution to Home Society £ll7 2s 4d, miscellaneous expenses and stock £25 10s (kl, missionary expenses £73 os 4d, balance at Bink £6 -Is lOd: total, £222 3s. The Rev. W. Grant, in moving the adoption of tho -report, -said the 'branch had reason to bo proud of the work that had been done during the year.

In seconding the motion,-Mr. T. E. Toney cliff o remarked that the preside ut’s .address brought back to his memory something ho had read more than 20 years .gao, which was a Sceptic’s Testimony to the .Bible. AVI* it he was about to repeat might aiot be word for won!, but the substance and ■meaning would be the same. He then, went on to relate what Tbcodoro Parker said, as follows: “The Bible ins taken such a hold on the world as no other collection of books ever did. The literature of Greece has not half the influence of this book. The sun never sets on its gleaming page. It goes equally into the cottage of the plain nun and -the palace of the King. D enters men’s closets, it attends men in their sickness. The mariner escaping from shipwreck dutches this first of his treasures. It goes with the pedlar in :his crowded pack, cheers him in the fatigue of eventide, and brightens the freshness of his morning face. It lifts man above himself. The best prayers in the Church of England liturgy are taken utmost verbatim from its pages. The timid an an, about to escape from the drenm of this life, looks through the glass of Scripture and his eye grows bright; he fears not to take Death by . the (hand, and bid farewell to wife and babes and home. Now for all this there must bo an adequate cause. That nothing comes of nothing is true all the world over. It is no light thing to hold 'a "thousand hearts, though but for an hour. What is it then to hold the Christian world, and ■that for centuries? Are men fed with chuff and husks? A thousand writers come up in this century, to be forgotten in the next; hut the silver cord of the Bible is not loosed, AQi’ its golden bowl broken, a? Time

iironicles its tens of centuries passed >y. Has the human race gone mad ? .kune of- the -greatest • institutions rem built- upon the Biblei Such tilings will not stand on heups of ■half, but on mountains of rock. Vhat is the secret cause of this wide ancl deep influence? It must be found in the Bible itself, and must bo adequate to the effect.’ Tlio report and balance-sheet were then adopted without -discussion. The following office ns were elected: President, Rev. W. Grant; vice-presi-dents, all ministers of religion in the district; Secretary, Mr. J. Bedcover; treasurer, Mr. W. A- Graham; compiittee, Revs. J. Griffin, W. Lamb, It. T. Koliere, and the Veil. Archdeacon Williams, Mesdames A. Graham, J. East, W. Morice, Miss L. Mo rice, Messrs H. Ac’diir, K. Kane, F. Stafford, T. E. Toneyclilfe, J. Poach, C. A. dcLautour,. and” Adjutant Dickens. The retiring President thanked the ladies for providing afternoon tea, and Archdeacon Williams for the -use of Tc Rail grounds. Archdeacon Williams responded on behalf of tho ladies, and the singing of the doxology brought tlic 'meeting to a dose.