BRITISH AND FOREIGN BIBLE SOCIETY.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XXXXV, Issue 120, 22 May 1903, Page 2

BRITISH AND FOREIGN BIBLE SOCIETY.

WELCOME TO KEY, A. H. RA.YNEB,

There was an txcel'ent gathering of t members and fri'-rids of this very use- , ft,l Socie'y on Thursday a f terno®n in j White'ey Memorial No. 2 Hall, to ( we'coma the R'-v. A. H. Raynep, M.A., , H me Superintendent of the Society, win is paying an official visit to the colony. The Rev, S. S, Osborne (Presby- j teiiaij) occupied the chair, and, beside* | tin guest, who is an Anglican clergy , nun, there were p'esent the Ravs. J, Newman Buttle (Pastor of Whiteley J Memorial Ohurch), A. F. Smith and Spancer (Arglican), Woolley and D:ew (Baptist). Apologie3 for tha absence i of Revs. P. G. Evans and F. A. B ; n : nett were read. There were reprasen- ! tatives of all the churches in t>wn present. Afer devotional exercises by the Rev. Mr Drew, Mr Osborne extended a very cordial welcome, on behalf of those pressn*, to Mr Raynes, and wished him God speei ia his work throughout the eolony." Mr Raynes, who is an exc?l!eti' fpeaksr, waas;oi on goad terms with his audience, acd thanked tbern for th l ? hearty wtlc me expended to him and then in an address lasting neatly fchreequwtera of an hour, reviewed tha whol fi .'ld of Bible Sciaty work. He leferred in det'il to each cuofry where the Sooiety has agendas as kindred Societies and proved by flgures which he quoted vei y extensively that considerable progress is'being mida nil along the line. He deal' at some length with the difficulties the So.iaty had to contend with, and said that while in some cases there had not been 1 all the succe3s they wished New Z alaud was a striking ex mple of progress. The latest new ground brokm by the Society was the openiDg of an agenay at Johannesburg aa tha centra from which to work the two new com-, pany's from, Mr Raynes concluded by referring to the Oentury Fund, and said that a letter had baen handed to him by the chairman from a friend of the SocVy, promising £SO and suggesting tha five o'hers should give £5 e oh and twenty-Ike XI each so that New Plymouth could give XIOO to the Oentury Fund, Mr Riyce3 thenex-l plained the various contribut'on books) and cards in use and urged their systematic use. Afternoon tea was then served and a' v«ry pleasant half hour spant. ANNUAL ME&TING. The Whi'eley Hall was fairly well filled in the evening, when the annual meeting was held, the R-v. S. S. Oiborne presiding. The annual report read by tbe Secretary, Miss Drew, the balance sheat being read hy the treasurer, Mrs John Oopeland. Both documents were adopted. They gave satisfactory tvidenca of the interest taken in the S.ciety's work in New Plymouth. Tte Rev. S. S, Osborna was re-elected president) and the secretary and treasurer were also re-elected to their respective offices, On tbe motion of the Rev. J. N. Buttle a teirty vote of thanks was ecccr led to the officers of last year, Tha president announced that each congregation el cted two m mbers on t l ie •omnitte?. The Rev, A. H. Riynap, Home Superintendent of tha Sojieiy, than an intereiting address on the objtcts of the Soci ity and the way in whicb is was attained. After brit fly retei'iing to the cius9 which brought r,he Society into existence, at.d m ;kiog ■x passing rofennce to the martyr Tyndse, h 9 poiafced to the greit impetus i s work had received during the last quarer of a century, Mr Rayoes then sketched the enormous difficulties te be overcame ere the bible could be translated, especially into languages which were not known, and had to be laboriously acquired by missionaries. As a cafe in paint hi m -n----tioned that in Turkish thar3 were thue different characters of letters necessitating three s pjrrte biblts. He painted out also the difficulty of fiading words to convey an idea not only of animils and natural phenomena unknown to those for wham the translation was intended, but also to adequately express the spiritual and other matters abounding in the scripture 3, but to'a'ly absant from the, language in which these ideas and statements were to bj incorporated. Yet by patience and perseverance thesa difficulties were overcame. Even then they bad to contend against political and > eligious prejudices, these also being y one means or another surmounted ir circumvented, aod hi urged ill those having the work cf the Society at 1 Inart to be constant in ioterces3ion cn oehalf of thosa engaged in facing aod jvercoming all the difficulties in dissaminating the word of God. In re'erring to the centenary of the Society, Mr Raynes pointed out th 3 pressing naei of increased funds to keep pace with the enormous demands on its resource^ 1 , as unless further help was r. ceived, they could not go forwaid n the &reit work in which they were engaged, but ratlnr must the 'work be curtailed. As a thankoff .ring for the centenary they were trying to raise a quarter of a ! million, and, if the same spirit was evinced elsewhere as had been shown i in Naw Plymouth that afternoon, their ' object would be accomplished. It was the duty of the saved to svve and to servo, and there were three ways they could do this—by their daily life, by itheir lips, and by the Bible. All cjuld help in the 1 tst-named by assisting to c rculate tbe plain scriptures, without note or comment. (Applause.) During the collection the Rev. Sjeocer expressed a hope that not £IOO but £SOO would be raised, and he urged th it no time should be lost in organising tor the great day set ap irt for collections throughout thediduict —Sunday, March 6ob, 1904. A hearty vo e of thaoks was accorded the Rev. A, H, Rayoes for his excellent addr, s-, and, after siogiog a hym i, tha meeting c'osad with the Bano- 1 idictiou.