The Sun.
London, England, 1817-11-01 00:00:00

BIBLE SOCIETY.

EGYPTIAisT H ALL—Th WaS yr.ltet(inV
unustuallt thronged at the Fifth Annual Meeting
of the Ci:y of London Auxiliary Bible Society.--
The LORD. MAYOR took the Chair at half-past 11
o'clock, and opened the btisiness of the Meeting ;
after which, ,the Rev. Mr. D. WtLsoN, one of the
Secretaries, read the Report of the Committee. It
contained a clear view of the design ‘yith which
the Institution had been originally formed, arid
described the progress both of the parent, and,of
this one of its affiliated Societies. 'The statement
of, its, income and expenditure exhibited a gradual
decline in the former for the last three year, and
Ihe'Cause of the reduction was tracer) partially to
the distresses of the times, and also to the ab-
sence of.that spirit atnonest„t he opulent Merchants
of this great. City, • which, there was re,tson 'to
hope, might 7lie soon awakened. It became the
character' of themetropolis, which took the lead
in every other magnificent and generous enter-
prize,, not to 'be hat.*wed, or .to fall short of
others, in the prointeion of a cause which con-
cerned•the fiuill salvation of our •fellow creatures.
With regard.tp-thegeoeral object which they had
in contempla,t4m, the yetrospeet of the_tolTonees
triade towards it was most cheering. The good
tehielt had' been tlond was immeose that which
-rentained iitfiitite. Already, by the effects of the
a9d Foreign.BiblesAssocimion, two-mil-
lions of had been distributed : it had been
tianslated'into 70 languages, and was now real
in the -remotest quarters of the globe : it had
(!,vc-n found its way,. as it was the.principleof the
Society to tran,unt andeommunicate it, without
note or 'ciuninetit, into Italy and Spain, and their
benevolent intentions were now patronized by six
of the Crowned Heads .of Europe. , The Report
concluded by' an animated appeal to the British
Nation to ehdeavour, after having conducted the
nations of Europe to security and peace, to en-
lighten them with religious truth, and-unite them
,in Christian tote.
Air. &kilt move6l that the report of the Com-
mittee be adopted by that meeting. This moti-ot
was seconded by the Rev. Mr. Sibthorpe, •who
begged to state the grounds 'on which he, as it
member of the Church of England, felt it .his
duty to support this Institution. These were the
principles-6)n which the reformation was founded ;
and he was confirmed in his opinion, that the de-
sign of this society was pet fectly consonant to
these Principles, when he saw such men as the
'Bishops of Bristol, of Gloucester, of Not wich, of
Chichester, and of St. David's, together with the
first Ministers of the Crow!), bestowing upon it
the sanction of their authority.
A Vote of Thanks was :hen moved and second-
ed to the Lord Mayor fur his zealous patronage of
the interests of the Society, and for the haodsome ,
manner in-which he had offered them the use of
the Egyptian Hall.
His• Lordship, in acknowledgment of the fa-
vour conferred upon biro, declared that he hint
Inca', actuated oily by a sense of duty, and• lie
might almost say a feeling of interest; in any cx-
'ertiobs which his station•had enabled him to make.
He alluded to the happy. improvement which the
.distribution. of. Bibles had alteady '.produced
ainongst the female prisoners; of Ne wgate. •
' In answer to a vote of thanks to the Vice-Pre-
,sideots, C. Grant; M. P. awl Kr. :;ottt,r-
worth, M. P. expressed their ardent zeal for t; e
prosperity of the institution, and their hum con—
'victimi of the :inestimable advantages it was cal-
culate(l to produce. The latter remarked, that as
this was the anniversary of the Reformation, they
could not commemo`rate it better than by endea-
;vowing, aslar as lay in their power) to extend its
•betietits to the whole of the hutnanrace.

_ _ _ , •
Many other speeches of a similar character and
tendency were delivered, and the business con-
eluded by an eloquent• appeal from Mr. D. Wilson
to the sensibilities of his auditors in su-pilot t of a
plan the success of which was so nearly connected
both- with the present happiness and the eternal
interests of mankind.
The Hall waa at one time excessively crowded.
„Three Persians sat on the left of the Lord Mayor,
clothed according to their native costume, and
paid the most Matked attention to the proceedings..
An active -subscription was immediately cQvam
named. -