The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1852-11-15
LOCAL MATTERS.


exercises continued by Rev. Bernard Philips, Of
Cai oline county; Mr. J. v. Rouse, of spottsyvania
county; Mr.. Jacob Snyder, Smith county, Mr.. A.
Fl. Price, Virginia, aud Mr.. George w. Taylor, of
| Weston, Va.
Our reporter entered the meeting when Mr.. Tay.
Tor was speaking. He had not been engage long
in the work. He had found great moral restitution
in his district. He had found great good resulted
from the distribution of the Society's temperance
tracts. People did not consider the sefsacifce OF
colporteurs-their deprivation of home comforts,
aosence from family endearments, and endurance
ofoppositlon and discomforts in their labors. He
| believed he officers and members of this Society
were honest self denying men, sud they were now
training up in these coporteurs men who would
carry the glad tidings of salvation to millions of i'm
| mortal souls. He blessed God that there " ere
men who were willing to bow the knee with sin
ners in the gold mines and the coal pits the hills
and the Valleys the fruitful and the waste places Of
| our land.
Rev. Mr.. Cook, assistant Secretary of the A. T.
Society in New York, then rose and stated in be.
half of the business committee, he would present
some OF the subjects which should occupy their at
tention and be generally understood and discussed
|
taiity which was mainly used by the A. T Society
the press in the relations which it held to the evan
| gelization of the world-was a theme which could
| we'll occupy extended consideration Such a
knowledge was vastly useful to the colporteurs in
their addresses and labors. Another subject un
derlying their whole work was the duty which
was incucated OF personal christian labor for the
| salvation of men. The A. T. Society did not send
forth lis coporteurs to engage in personal mission
| airy work. but to scatter religious publications.
aud in sending forth these publications, christian
| men were selected to distribute then who, acting
as christians and not coporteurs with reference
to their delicate responsibilities to the great Head
OF the Church, would perform christian labor in
| connection with the diffusion of printed truth.
The catholic character of the society should also
| be considered 1t was an organization of all de.
nominations to proclaim Christ aud his salvation to
| those pershing in their Sins
Another topic was the publishing department
and the principles upon which it was governed
Each coportedr should be acquainted with it's ope-
rations. The relations of this society to foreign
missionary operations ard to other institutions to
| the Bible Society, to the Sunday School Union and
| to other denominations, should also be considered
The duties Of lporeurs next claimed attention
OF preparation By prayer by the study OF the socie
| tvs documents, by knowledge of personal feel
ings, OF personal visitation, eC nversaon and how
long d-of selling books and the best mode
ofetecting their introduction into families church
es and schools and whether other books than those
published by the Society should be circu lated-of
| supplying destitute families with books, how and
when-of the propriety Of making grants AMI to
whom-of intercourse with errorists of various
classes, and the best manrer-of devotion of time
and mind to the work, of intercourse with minis
terra OF the gospel and the best mode of op Grating
with them to do good, and Ct personal rel atons: all
these were qaestisns worthy of mature delibera.
ton.
In regard to the publishing department of the So
eiety the fret topic he would dscuss he would saw
it was under the contro! Of Mr.. Hallcck Some
book or tract was fret recommended to the atten
ton ofthe Society by friend. that was adapted to
wide usefulness. Each of the members of the pub
fishing committee read over the work or tract a.
amended or condensed by the Society, and no
book tract could be put to press unless its seuti
ments were unanimously endorsed by the commit
tee Everything denoEcinational wss thus ex-
Guided. Some books OF former ages, embodyiug
valuable gospel truths, were carefully and labori
ously condensed and modernzed The practical
only, were reaised.s
The committee being composed Of mem bers Of
each OF the different denominations, they united 10
sending out those truths that clustered around the
cross and nearest to it. The points OF difference
were further from the cross-the extremes-and
they were carefully eschewed. Their publications
were squared by the Bible and not BY systems of
human philosophy.
In short period the Society would publish.
book in which every wsrd Of Episcopacy, Of Pres
bytery, OF Baptism, Of Methodism, Luthsransm,
and Moravianism, that God had revealed to the
world, embodied-,he Bible (Sensstion y
They had already published the New Testament
with notes, and would shortly publish the Old
This arrangement of publishing the Bible would not
interfere with the Bible Society. it was made in
compliance with the loud and repeated calls for the
Scriptures They had engaged DR.. Edwards, of
Boston, to prepare the commentaries upon this
plan: that where the holy spirit had indted truth
by His servants plainly that it could not be made
plaiuer by exposition, to let the truth stand; and
where the language was defective in conveying to
the mind the teachings Of the spirit there to EN-
pl0y the pen Of the commentator and to sum up
great practical truths not for the Biblical scholar
but for the people-tha the de.itution OF the couu.
try might spell it out by the Gghtwood torch in
their humble cabins. Dr.. Edwards was nearly half
through with his commentary on the Old Tesla
ment.
Of the New Testament and commentary some
$1,000 copies had already been disposed of, and the
demand was increasing. Great good would thus
result. 1t would be impossible from reading these
notes, to say to what denomination the author be-.
longed. They were eminsnty useful to Sabbath
School teachers and the people generally, W no thus
found the Bible explaining itself They co-operat
hsrmonicusly with the Bible Society in spread
ing that society's Bible without notes. and the
spread of these Bibles with notes, it was believed
would in no wise initiate against the interests of