Mexico weekly ledger., 1900-11-29
MILLIONS USING THE BIBLE
The Circulation Of the Holy Scrip
ures Steadily Increasing.


LONDON, Nov. 22.-Statistics issued
show a vast increase In the circulation
OF the Bible. 1t has been stated that
the opposite is the case in the United
States, where publishers and book
sellers are cited as having said there
is no money in the Scriptures" 4" A
talk with Mr.. Henry Provide, of the
Oxford University press cOrrects this
statement very materially. He says it
is true that the business Of some
American publishers has been largely
reduced, but this is not the result of
any falling OF in the popularity of the
Bible in America The explanation
given is that new and more econOmi-
cal machinery has been introduced by
other publishers Of the Bible. Never
was there, he says, such demand for
Bibles as at present; three times as
many Oxford Bibles have been sold as
in any previous year. The British
and Foreign Bible Society, which
prints the Scriptures in 400 languages,
representing the speech of seven
tenths Of the world, issued in the
twelve months ending with last March
5,O47, 900 copies of the Bible-a bulk
absolutely without precedent and con-
siderably more than half a million in
excess Of the corresponding period
previously. OF that huge mass over
80 per cent, or 1,521, 900 copies are in
English.
In themselves those figures are
sufficiently significant, but even more
striking is the record privately COM
piled, and not yet published, of the
growth during the last decade. In 1899
30 the number Of complete English
Bibles sent out was 534,960. Each
year showed consistent, steady rise
up TO last year, when it was 6192 9215.
Ten years ago the New Testaments
we're 599,el3, and last year 6l4,7ls, the
intervening figures having somewhat
fiuetuated with general tendency TO
Increase. OF portions OF the Scrip
tures, such as the Psalms or the Cos
pels, 1900 were issued in lsSe-9O, and
last year they numbered 46T, ,4s2, not a
little Of that great increase being due
70 the fact that log, OOcopies were dis
tributed 10 the troops as they left
these shores for South Africa. The
penny new English Testament is sold
at less than cost price. Since it was
first brought on in 1894 over million
copies have been issued at loss OF
e25,0OO, as 1t cannot possibly be pro
duced at its selling price. At the Ok
ford and Cambridge University press
es, which, together with the queens
printers, alone have the right Of print
ing the Bible in this country, the fin
est Typography, the choicest paper and
most artistic Of binding are requisi-
toned for the sacred volume, and there
is not the slightest diminution to be
observed in the demand for sumptuons
copies.
Mr.. Frowde says that the total an
nual output Of Oxford Bibles for some
years past has been upward Of a mill
lion copies, and even before there was
an American branch OF the Oxford
University press the weekly shipment
Of Bibles to the United States often
exceeded five tons in weight. The
Americans take the keenest interest
in Bibles and Biblical matters, as was
shown very clearly at the time Of the
publication Of the revised TestamentS
Notonly the authorized Bible holds its
own, but the revised version is slowly,
but steadily, increasing in popularity.