Portland gazette and Maine advertiser., 1816-05-07
THE BIBLE.... No. XIII.
IS Erertions on our return to Neu-, nglaud.

is EIerti0nS on our return 10 Ne,c-l ngtlnd.
This is the last article in the Report, OF which
d very concise account has been given in the five
preceding numbers. 1t consists principally Of an
account OF the return home by land, Of the repor-
ters Messrs Mills and Smith and OF their state
ments and interviews with the managers Of Bible
societies in several of the chief cities aud towns
through which they past.
An appendix thereto contains number OF let
tiers which they received from gentlemen OF aote,
setting forth, the want OF Bibles, the desires OF ma
ny to obtain them and The blessed effects in several
instances with which the gift of soue had been at
tended An account Of the conversion OF one pro-
fame person IL given at length "as nm encourage
a'ent e. the friends OF Bible Societies" It's too
lengthy for insertion here; suffice il 60 sayt was
OF a man who had been MARRIED mora thru thirteen
years and hsd never bad Bible in bis house-hnd
not read chapter s,ncc he was school boy, nor
heard a sermon for eight or ten years.
The CONCLUDING part of the report is in these
wordss /" The whole country, from Lake Erie To
the gulph of Mexico is as the valley OF the shadow
OF death, darkness rests uponit only here and
there a few rays OF gospel light pierce through the
awful gloom This vast country contains more
than million of inhabitants. Their number is
every where increased, by a mighty food oil emf
grafton. coon will they be as the sands on the sea
shore for multitude Yet there are at present only
a little more than one hundred Presbyterian or
Congregational ministers in it, Were these minis
tiers equally distributed throughout the country;
there would be only one TO every ten thousand
people. But now there are districts Of country,
containing from twenty to City thousand Inhabi-
tants, entirely destitute.
Ind hobo shall they hear tciilopt a preacher"
:" From the estimates made in the presiding pa
ges. it appears that seventy SIX thousand families
destitute Of the sacred volume, in this portion
Of our country.
these estimates are not ungroupded and exagger-
ated conjectures. They are The result vi much en-
quiry, and patient examination. 1t Is our sober
conviction, that at least I6, go Bibles necessa-
ry for the supply OF the destitute. And the num.
Der is every year increasing. Most Of those who
cmigrate from the Older states are poor: there
many young men who go into that country, and are
| married afterwards-and never have opportun-
ty of supplying their families with Bibles. The
number of Bibles sent there by all the societies in
| the United States, is by no means great as the
yearly increase Of the destitute. The original num-
Der still remains unsuppied. When we entered on
che mission we applied in person TO the oldest and
weaithiest of these Institutions for Bibles to dis
tribute in the western country; but we consd only
obtain one solitary donation. The existing soci-
cites have not been able to supply the demand in
their own immediate vicinity some mighticr effort
must be made Their scattered and feeble exertions
are by no means adequate to the accomplishment Of
the object. it's thought by judioous people, thai,
half million OF Bibles are necessary, for the sup
ply Of the destitute in the United States.
1t lisa foul blot on our national Character
Christian America must arise aud wipe il away.
The existing societies not able to do 1t. They
want union they want corporation they want
resources. liza national Institution cannot be form
ed, application ought 10 be made to the British and
Foreign Bible Societys for aid"
As Ale British and Foreign Bible Society hare
rery loud aud calls upon its beneroIenee,
from, the people Of The eastern Henlisphere-a is hop
Cd The ersrtons Of the ceailhy CHRISTIANS Of the Z. y
'eW moi be waniag to relieve the aeanas Of those IN
he wesfern, CHOSE calls for help sounding