The Nelson Evening Mail. WEDNESDAY, MAY 3, 1876.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XI, Issue 112, 3 May 1876, Page 2

The Nelson Evening Mail. WEDNESDAY, MAY 3, 1876.

The case of the Queen against Millar for obtaining money under false pretences was brought to a close shortly before nine o'clock last night, when the jury, after a very few minutes consultation, returned a verdict of Not Gfuilty. Mr. Martin Powell, who briDgs with him from the West Coast a good repute as a ventriloquist, will, accompanied by several assistants, give a performance at the Masonic Hall this evening. There was a good deal of speculation on the various sweeps on to-day's racing last night, that on the Steeplechase being worth £66. There will be more this evening on to-morrow's events. The Normanby Hussar "Volunteers are ordered to meet on Saturday next at their parade ground, Wakefield, to make arrangements for the Queen's Birthday. An alteration in the railway time table for to-morrow will be found in our advertising columns. At a special parade of the City Cadet corps, held last night, Captain Godfrey, who is leaving the colony, was presented with a handsome locket and address. The locket bears the inscription — "Presented to Captain Godfrey by the Nelson City Cadets, 1876." The Marionettes were well patronised again last night, the Odd -Fellows' Hall being well filled. The performance, to judge by the shouts of laughter which greeted the various portions of it, appeared to give infinite amusement to all who witnessed it, both young and old, and what with the comicalties of the puppets and the beautiful transformation 'scenes, it has undoubtedly established itself as one of the most pleasing entertainments placed before the Nelson public. In view of Mr Backhouse's lecture to be delivered at the Temperance Hall to-night, the following particulars concerning the British and Foreign Bible Society, taken from the New Zealand Times, may be found interesting: — The Society was founded on March 7, 1804, to promote the circulation of the Holy Scriptures without note or comment, both at home and abroad. The population of the world is, say 1,300,000,000; there are in total ignorance of the existence of the Holy Scriptures, 700,000,000; during the present century the Holy Scriptures, whole or in portions, have been rendered available to 600,000,000; it may be presumed that the Holy Scriptures are known and read by only 200,000,000. The Bibles, Testaments, and portions issued by all societies are: British and Foreign, 73,750,538 ; Hibernia, 3,902,58 L ; National of Scotland, 3,803,699; British India, 5,184,740; Europe, 15,531,720; America, 32,490,136; total, 134,723,414. Private publishers, no returns. Of these, Protestant nations have received one half, or 67,361,707; in the languages spoken by Great Britian and its dependencies there have besn printed 69,000,000. Only 7,000,000 of Bibles, Testaments, and portions have been circulated among Heathens, Jews, and Mahomed3ns, numbering 800,000,000. Languages: the B. & JF. B. Society prints directly in 157; indirectly in 53; total, 210. Versions, including the above, 269 ; by other societies, 27 "total, 296. In 1875, through the donations of Christians, grants of Bibles, Testaments, and portions, to the value of £72,802, have been made to the asylums for the blind, deaf and dumb, widows, orphans, hospitals, infirmaries, prisons, union houses, hotels, boarding houses, police and railway stations, town missions, Bible Women agencies, sailors' homes, barracks, her Majesty's ships, emigrant ships, &c, &o. The following missionary societies depend entirely or partly on this society for the Scriptures:—Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, Church, London, Wesleyan, Presbyterian, Baptist, American Baptist, Abyssinian, Basle, Welsh, Moravian, Nova Scotia, &c Por the year ending March 31, 1875, Bibles, Testaments, and portions i55ued,2,619,427; freeincome, £ll9,o93; total, including donations for special objects, £222,191; expenditure, £219,397; total for 71, years, £7,731,962. The American and some of the Continental societies are rapidly increasing their issues, add thus supplying local Vants ; but Great Britain's honorable connection _ with the principal Christian Missions of the world render it necessary that she should print the Holy Scriptures in all the new languages •acquired by her missionaries. This work, added to the increased demand for the Holy Scriptures in the languages already printed, tries the resources of the B. & P. B. Society to the utmost, and warrants an appeal to Christians of all denominations to assist in carrying on the great work of supplying all mankind, in their own language, with the Word of God without not or comment. An attempt is being made in Taranaki to again get up a volunteer corps. The province was not represented at the late Colonial firing. The Prince of Wales arrived at Alexandria on April 1, en route for England. Fifty thousand dollars have been recovered from the wreck of the German steamer Schiller.