Lexington weekly intelligencer. (Lexington, Mo.) 1871-1887, 1882-06-17

appear from the following summaries oil
facts, which cLver the whole country
and are detailed In the correspondence
OF the executive officers:
Dnrlng the last year, the whole mum
Der OF families visited by the represen.
tatiyes OF our auxiliaries. by pastors and
private distributors. and by the one
hundred and sixty paid calporteurs oil
this society, was TIA ,636; of whom ILL.,
932 were found without the scriptures.
and I'll ,995 were supplied, in addition
to 49, ,430 individuals not included in
these families. The destItution thus
discovered and supplied embraces large
districts OF the west and south aud
southwest. and regions in which we
have no auxiliaries. In addition to this,
lol,O95 volumes of the scriptures, in
fifteen languages, We're distributed
among the newly arrived immigrants
az this port by the marine agent of the
New York Bible Society.
From April 1872 t" April 1882. the
whole number ot families reported as
visited was 5,2UG 3s3, OF whom 723,114
were destitute vi the scriptures; aud OF
these 4Sl. .32O. III addition to 255, ZIG iu-
dividuals not included in them, were
furnished with the word of God, by sale
or by donation.
The call Tor The bible among the five
millions Of frseum n is constantly IN.
creasing with their education and evan
gelistic work among tn, m. Seven
millions OF pupils aid one million ol
teachers and officers IN American Sun.
day schools must be kept supplied with
their one great Textbook. Every enc
OF our seventy thousand protestant
preachers and eighty thousand churches
and missions is u cenlre OF biblical need 8
and circulation.
Ill. The methods OF the werk include
the cooperation OF the eighteen district
superlntendents and two thousand aux
:liaries OF this society y together with dis.
tribntion by pastors and voluntary help
ers; church organizations; Sunday.
school, tract, publication, and other
soctetles; and home and city missiona-
ries.
But in regions that cannot be reached
BY auxiliaries the principal dependence
OF the society will be upon its own sys.
tenn Of paid colportage, which will he
greatly enlarged and adapted
to this specific service and will be
under immediate direction from the
bible house. These methods will not
Interfere with the ordinary course of
the socistys other work. nor with the
purchase aud sale of the scriptures by
those who buy to sell again.
Nv. The requirements of the work
are:
1. The hearty goodwill, confidence,
sympathy. prayers, and help of all who
desire its success.
2. The united efforts of its multitudes
OF friends upon the broad, simple, and
catholic basis upon which this society
was founded and has always done its
work.
3. Generous contributions of money
to pay for books, transportation, and
distribution, 80 that this home supply
may not in the least cripple the gro wing
foreign service Of the society, which
now embraces seven agencies in the old
and new worlds. aud il linked in with
many OF the largest missionary societies
and boards Of the American evangelical
churches.
4. The last and greatest requirement
is the blessing OF Him whose word is
eur treasure and our trust, and without
whom nothing is good, nothing is
strong, and nothing can succeed.
V. The motives to this work spring
out OF its magnitude, necessity methods,
and requirements. Patriotism demands
1t Tor the preservation OF the liberty,
union. and government of this republic,
which owes its existence and pro y. perity
to the open bible and tolerant CHI istian.
ity. Humanity requires it lest the ig-
norant, neglected, ungodly, and degrad-
ed multitudes lapse into barbarism and
I'LL the land with disorder, vice and
crime. Society needs it to purify its
fountains and its streams: to protect the
family and the community; to keep the
public morals from decay, and to pre-.
vent the physical and spiritual deterior-
alton that is tho certain penalty of he
broken laws OF nature aud OF God.
The time is prOpitious. The country
is at peace, united, and prosperous. It
Is u transition period, n junclure of
eras, in which providence seems to he
preparing our country and tho world
tor future whose ,rtends alleady
weigh upon our w,sest and best men as
"the burden of the Lord' rested upon
the prophets. The blessing that we
seek Tor this great nation is the bible tor
every family and every person who will
receive it; :he open bible. "without note
or comment" in the languages Of the
people. and accompanied by the prom
ised power Of the Holy Spirit who has
revealed. inspired. and preserved il;
the bible itself. in answer to the assaults
made upon it; the bible. as the divine
charter OF our liberties. the anchor OF
our hope. and the testimony Tor our
faith