and marked by a variety of matter, and an easy gracefulness of style, peculiar to himself. They. must have noticed also his unremitted attention to these exercises, his nod of assent, his smile of approbation, his whole look and air in intimate keeping and sympathy with the scene. He has gone. Let us prepare to follow.

From the Report of the Agent of the Depository, it appears that there have been issued for the year ending April 30th, ten thousand six hundred Bibles, and twenty-nine thousand eight hundred and fiftyfour Testaments; making a total of forty thousand and fifty-four. Of these, thirty-eight thousand nine hundred and sixty-nine were in the English, and fourteen hundred and eighty-five in various foreign languages.

The gratuitous issues included in the above are three thousand two hundred and seventeen Bibles, and three thousand and twenty-three Testaments, making a total of six thousand two hundred and forty Bibles and Testaments.

Of these, five thousand six hundred and thirtyfive were in the English, and six hundred and five in foreign languages. And there have been distributed among seamen, one thousand seven hundred and ninety-seven; to city missions, six hundred and seventy-four; to public institutions and public houses, nine hundred and ninety-seven; to Sabbath and other schools, nine hundred and forty-two; to Germans in Boston, one hundred and seven; to destitute families and individuals in Massachusetts,

one thousand two hundred and fifty-two; and the . remaining four hundred and seventy-one abroad.

The Treasurer states in his Report that the total receipts for the past year have amounted to $19,771 06, of which $9,807 85 have been from sales, $8,202 16 from donations and annual subscriptions, and $630 from legacies; and that a balance remains in the treasury, over all expenses, of $1,753 57.

The Recording Secretary and General Agent of the Society, Rev. D. Butler, has presented its claims to the churches of the Commonwealth on fifty-one Sabbaths of the year, visiting and preaching in every county but Nantucket and Dukes. He states that a growing interest in this charity is shown in the increasing number of churches that regularly aid it, and in the enlarging contributions received from the whole State. Many churches that a few years since gave irregularly, or not at all, now annually present to it their offerings. It is upon friends such as these, that the cause must rely.

A fact worthy of mention, as indicative of the widening field and increasing activity of the National Society, is the erection and occupation of its large and commodious Bible House, notwithstanding the great expenditure for which, the ordinary receipts of the Society have amounted to nearly forty thousand dollars more than during any previous year since its organization. Equally indicative of growing zeal and efficiency abroad, has been the recent Jubilee of the British and Foreign Bible Society,-the grand pioneer in this work of printing and distributing

God's word. The public services of Tuesday of that week were held in Exeter Hall, London. The chair was occupied by Lord Shaftesbury; on his right sat the Rajah of Coory, in oriental costume, and the Duke of Argyle; on the left, the Earl of Carlyle and the Bishop of Winchester. It appeared that within the fifty years of the Society's existence it had procured the translation of the Scriptures into 148 languages and dialects, 121 of which had never before been printed, and upwards of 25 of which had existed hitherto without an alphabet; and had distributed upwards of 43 millions of copies among, as was computed, 600 millions of our race.

The generous response to these statements was a subscription of upwards of £7,000. A Jubilee Sermon was preached on Thursday in St. Paul's by the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Thus the providences of the past year, joyous and grievous, stimulate us to new exertions. Your Committee feel that our Society, and all of us, as individuals, have great and increasing responsibilities. To furnish Massachusetts with the Bible is not enough, nor to furnish New England. Our country demands our aid, and "the field is the world." No man should live or die, at home or abroad, ignorant of his duty, unadmonished of his destiny, whom we can reach and supply with these "oracles of God."

ANNUAL MEETING.

THE Forty-Fourth Anniversary of the MASSACHUSETTS BIBLE SOCIETY was held in the Central Church, Winter Street, on Monday, May 23. The Report of the Treasurer was presented and accepted, and Officers for the ensuing year elected. The Members of the Society then proceeded to the Church, where the public services of the Anniversary were held. Select passages of Scripture were read and prayer offered by the Rev. PATRICK H. GREENLEAF, of Boston. The President, Hon. SIMON GREENLEAF, then addressed the assembly as follows:

Through the favor of Divine Providence, the Bible Society of Massachusetts is permitted to celebrate its Forty-Fourth Anniversary. It has closed a year of unexampled prosperity in its work of distributing the Holy Scriptures, and now enters upon a new year with unabated interest in the good cause in which we are engaged, and with an undiminished obligation to carry it forward with all the energies at our command.

Among the results of Bible distribution during the past year, we may notice the opposition it has encountered. The enemy of light and truth, perceiving that his strongholds were invaded, has rekindled in Europe the slumbering fires of persecution against the disciples of Jesus who circulate, or even privately read the words of his gospel. It is thus evident, that the friends of Scripture truth have not been idle in the old world, since they have awakened the fears and drawn down the renewed anathe mas of the Man of Sin.

In our own country, also, efforts are unremittingly made to banish the Bible from the common schools. Should they ulti· mately succeed, it is obvious that our children may grow up in comparative ignorance of those great principles of Christianity on which our free institutions rest, and which alone will save us from that despotism, in Church and State, which now reigns over so large a portion of Europe. Against the insidious approaches of such an evil, we cannot be too widely awake. If it is true, that eternal vigilance is the price of liberty, this is emphatically true in regard to liberty of conscience, liberty of access to the Holy Scriptures, and freedom to worship God.

Our active labors in the distribution of this Sacred Volume should increase with the growing necessities of our rapidly increasing population. We must supply it in all the languages spoken in the country. We must have distributing agents on all the thoroughfares where emigrants travel. We must send it singly into all the abodes of ignorance and vice in our cities, and into the cabins of the forest and the prairie. All the children of our land must be made familiar with its teaching, that they may securely walk by its light while living, and repose on its blessed hopes and promises when they come to die.

How far this Society has performed its part in this great work during the past year, will be seen from the Report which is now to be read. And if, as we are conscious is the truth, it has come short of what the greatness of the work demands, and we are bound to higher achievements in the coming year, it rests with you, Christian friends, both to encourage us in the effort, and to enable us to accomplish it.

The Annual Report was read by the Rev. GEORGE RICHARDS.

Rev. JAMES M. HOPPIN, of Salem, moved the acceptance of the Report, and then offered the following resolution and remarks:

Resolved, That while aiding in the distribution of the Sacred Scriptures, we should also strive to lead men, and especially all in our own land, to a renewed and true study of the Bible.