The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1855-05-14

October.
RESUME OF ANNIVERSARY WEEK.-The past
week has witnessed the usual annual gathering
in New York of the pious, simple, philanthro-
pic, charitable and fanatical good people of
this and the neighboring New England States.
Clergymen of all denominations, save the
Roman Catholic, deacons of churches and their
pretty daughters, Quakers and Shakers, Bap-
fists and Anabaptists, the Mrs. Jellybys in
pants and petticoats-those who desire the pro-
pagation Of the gospel in Borriobhoolaga, those
who desire its propagation at bone, and those
who do not desire its propagation at all-aboli-
tionists of every hue, disunionists and philoso.
piers Of every stripe-all thronged last week
to this New World Mecca, and for the time
being changed the very face of affairs in the
city. The pilgrims are now for the most part,
however, at home again, or on the way to
their respective homes. The city has resumed
its wonted appearance the Union still coheres,
the Northern contederacy has not yet been es-
tablished, the female sex has not yet assumed
masculine habiliments, the heather are not
altogether converted, Southern slavery is still
existent, the millennium has not yet come, and
so we may quietly sit down to cast up the sum
total of the proceedings of Anniversary Week
in the year of Grace 1856
To whatever cause the fact may be properly
attributed we do not take upon us to decide,
but certain it is, that the ingathering Of the
tribes has been by no means so large on this oc-
casion as it has generally been heretofore.
b,% Of
ings numerously attended; and strange to say,
those to which the greatest throngs focked were
not Bible societies, tract distribution societies,
or missionary or charitable societies, but aboli-
ton societies. Messrs Garrison, Phillips, Sum-
ner and Wilson, and Mesdames Abby Kelly
Foster and Antoinette L. Brown, appeared to
have exercised the greatest attraction and 10
have drawn the largest crowds. In fact, the
anti.slavery exhibition was, par excellence, the
popular and largely patronized one Of tue week;
OIL second to it came the National Colored Con-
vention, which, under the lead OF Fred. Doug
lass, Major George Downing, and Doctor Nc
Cune Smith, was sort Of set-off to the CARR
sonien Convention, as well in point of color as
in point Of moderation, common sense and rea
soning ability. 1t is no less a singular fact
that whereas, with hardly an exception, the re-
ports of the various societies show a striking
oiminution in their last years receipts, COM
pared to those of the previous year, the inau
cial report of the American Anti. Slavery So
ciety exhibits proportonably large increase
in its receipts. Mrs. Abby Kelly Foster hailed,
in the fact that the cause of religion and Chris
tianty was neglected, while that of treason and
infidelity was supported, an evidence of the
proclivity Of the age to common sense.
Whether our readers will SO consider it, we
leave to themselves to decide.
The anniversary celebrations commenced on
Sunday the 9th, and closed on Friday the til.
We believe there was one small affair-that of
the East River Industrial School-which came
off on Thursday of the previous week; and
two others-the Central American Education
Society, and the New York Magdalen Society
were deferred, the former till last evening and
the latter till Tuesday next. Independent OF
these, twenty seven societies held their anniver
saIy celebrations, some of them occupying
two, three and four days in session. The re-
ports OF all of them were, as usual, very encoor-
aging, and the numbers of Bibles and tracts
distributed, of Chinese, Hindoos, Mahrattese,
Turks, papists and iniidels said to have been
converted into the way Of life, must have been
extremely gratifying. Nevertheless, there has
been. as we have said, a falling off in the con-
tributions whett er occasioned by the stringency
in the money market, by decline in enthusi'
asm or hberaliy, or by The conviction that
the whole world ought to have been long ago
Cbristianized aad moralized if money could ef-
feet that object, il uncertain. With some of the
societies the elimination in receipts was 30
marked that the financial reports were burked,
or presented in an unsatisfactory manner, and
in Others the funds we're so small that the trea-
surer was excused from reporting at all. Ia
only a few of them were the balances on hand
exhibited. This consideration will suggest the
reason why we cannot furnish a perfectly accu.
rate statement Of their financial condition. The
following table is the only one we could make
TO approach accuracy
10 LIST Nay, 10 1st Nay,
1874. 1855
American Tract Society ........ B4l5,l59 S4l3 ia
American Bible Societ, .......,. 1914, $40 SiG,Sll
amer. Beard OF Commissioners o,o ooo o,o coo
for Foreign Missons.....J io'-Vo o'o
Pre-, BC ara of Foreign Missions ia, 453 1S4,014
American Home Mission Society l9l, 200 lS0 1871