Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1859-10-11 00:00:00

THE LiV

tROOL _AUXILIARY BIBLE

SOCIETi

NN C L mErrisu, LAST NIGHT,

The-arinual rntieting.of.the Liverpool Auxiliary of the
British.: and F,areign Bible Society was held last night,
Jollegiato Institution. There was a.erowded and

it flin

The Ri3.ht Rev. the Lord Bishop
of the Diocese presided ; and the' deputation from the
rarthit Bociz:ty consistel of the Rev. W. P. Tiddy. M.A.,
many years agent for the'ibciety in Belgium; and the
Rev. James Bardsley, M.A., incumbent of St. Ann's,
Manchester. It was anice-iinced that..the, Rev. M„ Ct
Osborne,. W. M. Taylor, M.A., and other
ministers and gentlemen would also address the meeting..
Amongst the gentlemen on the- platform, we observed
the Ear. Dr..3llNeilei 'the Re*. Dr. Raffles, Mr. Adam
HodgSon, Mr. John Cropper, and a number of local
clergy. • •

lii6proeciedings having -been opened by , devo:ional

exercises;

His Lordship delivered a brief intreductory address.
On these.oeeasions, he said, he always felt happiness at
the thought. that they Were showing an example to the
world of real Christian uniOn—(applatise)L-,of a real
comprehensive union—of. a sincere and c'•rdiat co-
operation. (Applause.) It was very true that they
might belong to different denominations—they might in
that respect be called b'v different names; but then, lie
hoped, they remenibered only this, that they were all
called by one, ever-blessed name of our Lord Jesus
Christ. (Apif_ause.). If there was a pleasure in the
mere fact of this union amoo:cst them, there must be
still increased pleasure when they looked io.the purpose
of their union, to the work for which they were united,
the great work of circulating the Bible throughout the
world. (Applause.) He knew very well that there Were
many men who still told 'them that they were circu-
lating amongst people of little or no education, a book
that was-full of difficulties full of mysteries, and about
the interpret thou of which they were not agreed
among theMselves. Now; they did not deny,
there- were difficulties in' the. Book of God. How
could- it po§sibly "be otherwise in a book that told
n. 3 of•GO:1 himielf, of His infinite nature, of His eternal
eounSels ? Ho* could it be otherwise ?' These were
things speculations far beyond the horizon of
man's intellect—far beyond the grasp of man's under-
We received them with humility, with
reverence, with faith. But while they acknowledged
there. were these difficulties, they said, on the other
hand; this plain thing,—there is much that is clear,
that is intelligible to every understanding, that is trans-
parent to every eye. Whatever else might be difficult
or olYsdure, this was plain;—that salvation was Promised
to guilty men through . faith in Jesus Christ. And the
great object of the• society was, to circulate the Book
which contained passages, concerning man's eternal
salvation—to place that book in :every hand, and before
every eye. This message of salvation was intelligible
to all ;.• and, when -once. received into a believing
heart,' what a change did it not make as it
concerned man's eternal welfare. What. a change,
even as regarded his temporal welfare. What a
different aspect it would give to society ! What an
annexation of happiness would it' bring if the Bible
were the belief of all men's hearts and their rule of
practice--if all men were living in truth, honesty, so-
briety, and purity—in mutual kindness and good
will! How much happier would every individual be in
himself,—how niueli happier every family in its own
delighted circle—how much stronger would the nation
'be ifall were thus united, and working together for
kona I We* hear a great deal now, and
1-`4"/"~'.- -•/ • ;' t It
with,.alas ! too much truth, about the semi evils
age. We heard of one, of which there were many com-
plaints in this towrk:---he' meant the drunkenness, which
prevails to such a sad extent. He had received several
communications lately from kind friends upon that
point. There were Many persons who wished that
something should be done to check that evil by a more
stringent law. (Applause.) Whatever better regula-
:firms touching that point in any way could be en-
forced by law, would, he was sure, be hailed with
joy by every Christian, and by every lover of
countiY. (App
_lause.) But still, they must

standing,

bear with him if lie said that, beyond a certaiii point,
he thought the question would always remain one of
morals, rather than of legislation,—that it would always
remain one more of personal prudence and responsi-
bility, than of any positive legal prohibiti( n. (Applause.)
What he thought was this, that the true remedy (to go
to the root of the evil) must be found not so much in
:the law of the land, as in the Gospel of our Lord JESUS
Christ. (Applause.) He thought that the Bible in the
house might, under God's blessing, do what acts of.
parliament might not do,— turn the drunkard from the
evil of his ways, raise him from his degradation, and
make him a better and happier man. (Applause.)
The-Rev. Dr. RAFFLES, being calledupon, rose, and
proceeded to read the report for the past year, with
reference to the report of the Parent Society. The com-
mittee made mention in their report of the Marvellous
increase of the society's income during the past year,
namely, £160,062 19s. 4d. It was tobe remembered
that this great amount was realised at the time when
they still felt the effects of the Russian and Indian wars.
Another point noticed was, the increased demand for
.the Holy Scriptures in France. The number of copies
sold by the Liverpool Auxiliary was less thas last year,
bein' 7922 while the increase of money for sales was
£34 Bs. sd. This was atethinied for by the fact that
the copies sold were more expensive. The annual sub-
scriptions amounted to £568 2s. 10d., being £49 10s. 4d.
more than last year. The donations amounted lo
£l5B 15s. 6d., being more •by £62 Os., 2d. than the pre-
vious year. The Welsh branch contributed £334,
which, when compared with the contributions of the
English, who were richer, showed that the latter were
less in proportion. The workmep of Messsrs. Hague
and Company had contributed £5 ; and these men
had, singe the year 1817, contributed more than
£6OO. The amount for sales was £Bl7 13s. Bd., being
£34 Bs. sd. in advance of last year. The total
receipts from all sources amounted to £2,693 13s. The
number of copies circulated in the year by the Auxiliary
was 19,136, being 792 copies less than the former years.
The total number of copies issued from the depository
since the year 1811 was 593,482. The total amount
presented to the society by the Auxiliary during the
year, including £293 2s. from a private source, of which
the committee was aware, was £1,438 18s: 10d. The
number of auxiliaries or • branches in the country was
3,639. The number of Bibles.issued by these collectively
was 1,625,985, being an increase on the preceeding year
of 23,798 ; and the total number issued by the society
since it was first established was 35,699,931, at an ex-
penditure of between four and five millions sterling.
The Rev. M. C. OSBORNE, of this town, was called upon
to move the first resolation, which was to the effect that the
report be adopted, printed, and circulated. After some
prefatory remarks, he west on to say that they were all
so well aware of the value of the Bible, that they were
ready to endorse the statement of Chillingworth, that
"The Bible, the whole Bible; and nothing but the
Bible, constitutes the religion of Protestants." Some
people wanted them, to take the bulls of Pope's, the
acts of councils, and the doings of saints, as well as
the Apocrypha, and unwritten tradition ; but this they
were not preparedto do, because they knew that the Bible,
and that alone, was assuredly the Word of God. Other
books had arisen from the earth : this came from Heaven.
What would become of us if we were to lose this book,
—if we were not allowed to read its pages, and apply to
our hearts its gracious teachings and premises ? h.fr.
Osborne concluded a most eoquent speech by urging
the friends of the society to continued and persevering
efforts in its behalf ; and sat down amidst enthusiastic
applause.
The Rev. JA3IES BARDSLEY, of Manchester, seconded
the motion, and said the great • object of the society was
to present a copy of God's Word to every member of the
human family. Were they to send out Gr's Word
with comments, there would be differences o opinion;
but the object was to give it in all its simplicity and
majestv to the nations of the world. As such, it s
unite 'the powerful efforts of a who love our Lord
Jesus Christ in sincerity and truth. (Applause.) Mr.
Bardsley then glanced at the mode in which
formation
the
its
society carried on its operations. Sincemillionsi
it had put into circulation fifty or sixty
of God's Holy Word. They did not say that the autho-
rised version or the Bible was faultless, but they said it
was matchless. Like the sword of Goliath, there was
none like it. (Applause.) Dr. Newman, speaking of
our own translation, had said, "Who will not say that
the uncommon beauty and marvellous English of the
Protestant Bible, is not one of the great strongholds of
"truth.
in this country ?" For "heresy" they should read
Mr. Bardsley, in reply to the observations of his
lordship on the subject' of drunkenness, said he did not
think they should multiply temptations to the working
classes. He had himself been a total abstainer for the
last twenty-five years. lie then made a passing refe-
rence to the progress of Scriptural truth in Ireland and