The Sun.
London, England, 1853-03-09 00:00:00

BRITISH AND FOREIGN BIBLE SOCIETY.

The commemoration of the 50th anniversary—the first
jubilee—of the above society was held yesterday in
Exeter-hall, and attended by a very numerous meeting
of the various religious denominations, among which
many of the Society of Friends were observable. The
proceedings of the day were opened by the Rev. Mr.
Mellar reading the 61st chapter of Isaiah. The chair
was taken by the Right Honourable the Earl of Shaftes-
bury, upon whose right the Rajah of Coorg attracted
much attention. The Eastern prince was attired in a
close-fitting surtout of blue cloth, richly embroidered
with gold lace, and wore a small blue cap of the same
materials. Upon the left of the chair the Right Hon.
the Earl of Carlisle and the Bishop of Winchester were
seated. After the meeting had commenced his Grace
the Duke of Argyll, eiltered and took his seat to the right
of the Rajah. The noble chairman read a rette'r from
the Chevalier Bunsen, the Prussian Ambassador, ex-
pressive of the sorrow of his Excellency at his unavoid-
able absence, and referring to the approaching celebra-
tion on Sunday next at Berlin of the jubilee of the
Prwsian Foreign and Bible Society. The noble earl
their proceeded to detail the rise and progress of the
British society in a speech which was subsequently '
characterised by the rev. prelate on his left as rising to
the exigencies of the occasion. It transpired that from
the first institution of the society in March, 1804, after
years of anxiety and labour, upwards of 8,000 societies,
including Colonial, Irish, and Foreign branches, had
been established. The Scriptures had been translated
into no less than 148 languages and dialects, of
which 121 had, prior to the establishment of the
society, never appeared in type. Upwards of 43,000,000
of these translated copies had been disseminated
among ,it was computed, not less than 600,000,000 of
the human race. Of the languages into which these
copies had been rendered, upwards of 25 had existed,
hitherto, without an alphabet, and merely in an oral
form. This society was essentially " a Free-trade
Society," a "Peace Society," and a " Defence Society,"
—one, too, affording a " cheap defence to nations."
The resolutions were then proposed and seconded by the
various distinguished visitors stationed upon the plat-
form, the most important being the one for the establish-
ment of a jubilee fund to aid the further proceedings of
the society. A voluminous extract from the report of
the society, circumstantially detailing past progress and
future auspices, was read, and listened to with much
attention. Letters from many of the presidents and
vice-presidents of the local societies were read, contain-
ing apologies for unavoidable absence—among the
rest, one from the Earl of Roden, president of the
Dublin society, was read by the noble chairman. The
speakers were generally received with much applause,
more particularly the Earl of Carlisle and the Rev.
Hugh Stowell. The Rev. Lord Bishop, the Rev. Mr.
James, and the Rev. Dr. Duff met with much applause
in their several modes of dealing with the topic in hand.
This, of course, mainly referred to the propagation of
the gospel, but general reference was likewise made to
those subjects which, though secular, still had more or
less close relation to the principal subject of discussion.
The despotism, anarchy, and Romanism of the Con-
tinent were the principal subjects adverted to, and were
freely handled. Allusion was likewise made to the sla-
very of America. Considerable eloquence was displayed
by those who addressed the meeting, and the alternations
from the peculiar oratory of one to the other upon the
meeting was marked in its effect. The former presi-
dents of the society, and particularly Lord Bexley, had a
tribute of respect and esteem awarded them, as did
likewise the former secretaries and other officials of the
society. The noble earl in the chair was much eulogised
for the support he had given the society, and his strenu-
ous efforts generally for the diffusion of knowledge and
the amelioration of the intellectual condition of the work-
ing classes. Great respect was evinced for a Mr. Hughes,
an itinerant preacher, formerly well known in the North,
whose expression, while propagating a provincial Bible
society, of the feasibility of making it one common to
the whole empire, had been the germ of the present so-
ciety. The temporal head of the Church was often
alluded to with unfeigned respect, and the Rev. Dr.
Duff described her gracious Majesty as having entwined
herself into the deepest recesses of the hearts of her sub-
jects by her unswerving piety and Christian devotion.
The subscriptions above 501. to the proposed fund
were then read over. Two sums of 5001. were contri-
buted by Mr. Thomas Milnes, M.P., and Mr. John Re-
mington Milnes, respectively, besides one or two others
to the same amount. Two sums of 1,0001. by Mr.
Farmer' and Mr. James Foster, and an additional sum of
1,0001. from an individual who wished for the present to
be anonymous.
The SECRETARY, in bringing forward the list of sub-
scriptions, stated that he had come prepared to ask the
meeting for a sum of 7,0001., but he was happy to say
that sum had been already exceeded by the munificent
donations above-mentioned, and he would, therefore,
merely express the hope that it would reach the sum of
10,0001. in the result of that day's proceedings.
After a few more speakers had addressed the meeting,
it broke up, at about half-past four, after the observation
of the usual formula.