ELEVENTH ANNUAL REPORT.

Another year of Bible operations has transpired. Another annual period of man's existence has passed, and multitudes of the race still remain in ignorance of the Being that formed them, and of the Savior who died for the redemption of sinners! The Board of Managers of the American and Foreign Bible Society, have, during this period, done their utmost to extend the knowledge of salvation by the dissemination of the word of God. They have the happiness to reflect that their efforts have not been in vain that many thousands, through their instrumentality, have been put into possession of those Scriptures that are able to make them wise unto salvation through faith in Jesus Christ; and that some. at least, of the number, have received the truth in the love of it, and are now exemplifying it in their lives on earth, or enjoying the ultimate blessings of salvation in a better world.

The operations of the year, have been more extended than those of any preceding period. A part of what was noticed by anticipation in the last report, may now be presented as a cheering reality. The Society has commenced in earnest the enterprise of publishing corrected versions of European Scriptures. All that is done in these, is so much added to the sum and extent of our former operations, none of which have been relinquished or diminished.

In looking over the general field, the conviction is forced upon the mind that, while the Society is to a certain degree prosperous. while it is enlarging its plans and extending its usefulness from

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year to year, it still accomplishes so little in proportion to what is required by the wants of the heathen and the destitution in semichristian countries, that, in connexion with a grateful acknowledgment of what God has permitted us to do, we are bound to put forth renewed and greatly increased efforts in so important, so noble, and so hallowed an enterprise.

Under the respective departments in which such information is appropriately detailed, it may be seen that there have been published in foreign countries upon appropriations furnished by this institution previously to May, 1846, three hundred thousand volumes of sacred Scriptures, 300,000, and at our Depository in in this city up to the present date, 262,734. The two sums united, make the gross amount of 562,734 volumes.

FOREIGN OPERATIONS.

interest.

Our foreign operations have always been regarded with peculiar The Society was originated with the grand design, to secure the circulation of pure versions of the sacred Scriptures throughout the world. It is gratifying to be permitted to state, that probably more has been done during the past year for this object than in any similar period of the Society's history. The gross amount of foreign appropriations, indeed, is not so great as it has been in particular years, although it far exceeds the amount designated last year for such purposes. But so enlarged and comprehensive a policy has been pursued by your Board, that every version for the support of which application has been made, and every missionary in behalf of whom assistance has been asked by the body that sustains him, have received aid and encouragement from this Society; and at the same time the most vigorous, and, in some instances successful, efforts have been made to increase the number of versions conformed to the original language of inspiration. It should not, however, be understood that all, or nearly all, that was required to be done for the foreign field, has been accomplished. A competent enlargement of means would have enabled us to effect far more for the cause of Gol and

righteousness, but it is believed that, with the resources at their disposal, your Board have effected all that was in their power.

Efforts have been made to ascertain with as great accuracy as practicable, the number and descriptions of books that have been issued at the expense of this Society from its origin till the present time. It is a matter of deep regret that in some of the missions where Scriptures have been published with appropriations made by us, a rigid discrimination has not always been maintained between the moneys received from this Society and others accruing from different sources. Care is now taken to prevent such neglect in future. In consequence of its existence in the earlier history of your operations, it is now found to be impracticable to ascertain with certainty the numbers of copies issued at your expense in foreign lands, and in some instances an approximation to the truth can be reached only by estimates.

By the letter of Bro. J. Thomas, it may be seen that the books credited to the account of the American and Foreign Bible Society as published with appropriations made by it to the English Baptist Missionary Society, amounted in April, 1847, to 120,102 volumes, varying in size from 60 or 100 pages to 1100. The appropriations which met the expense of these volumes were all made previously to May 1st, 1846. From this date we hope to be able to secure accurate statistical accounts in all cases of the number of volumes in foreign languages published with your money. Previously to this date you had granted for the use of the missionaries of the English Baptist Missionary Society $36,000; for that of those connected with the American Baptist Triennial Convention, and the Missionary Union $102,109; and of those sustained by the General Baptist Missionary Society $6,300. Estimating the whole according to the data furnished by Bro. Thomas on behalf of the English Missionary Society, we would suppose that there have been published with these united sums no less than 481,772 volumes of sacred Scriptures. But as we are aware that a portion of the money appropriated to the Triennial Convention was employed in the expense of translation, we have reduced the whole estimate to 300,000. This may be regarded as an unreasonably great reduction, but we prefer in matters of statistics, to confine our representations far within the limits of probability, rather than to incur the danger of error.

To Rev. J. G. Oncken, for Colporteurs' Salaries, Stereotype Plates, and
German Scriptures,

1130 00

To the English Bap. Miss. Society for Bengali, and other Scriptures in the language of India,

2500 00

To the English Bap. Miss. Society in English Scriptures for the use of their
Missionaries in Calcutta,

To the Gen. Bap. Miss. Society for Oriya and Chinese Scriptures,
To the Am. Colonization Society in English Scriptures for Sunday Schools
at Bexley and Bassa Cove, Liberia,

To the Grand Ligne Mission, Canada, in English Scriptures,
To the army in Mexico, in English Scriptures,

76 75

Several appropriations of Chinese and English Scriptures have been made to the Southern Baptist Triennial Convention for the use of its Missionaries in China, and some payments have been made for the support of Colporteurs, but the whole account has not yet been received, and an estimate of the amount is not attempted.

100 00 1000 00

27 00

37 46

INDIA.-CALCUTTA.

The epoch of the commencement of modern missions is associated with the name of Carey, and with the versions which he made in the languages of Asia. These versions, subsequently improved by Yates and Wenger, who have also added others, equally valuable, have always been regarded by us with the most kindly interest. It was the refusal of support by existing Bible Societies to one of them, the Bengali, that gave occasion for the organization of this Institution, and also of the Bible Translation

Society. Almost every year we have been privileged to do something for the circulation of these versions. In September last an urgent appeal for aid in their behalf, was received in a letter from the Secretary of the English Baptist Missionary Society. After alluding to the condition of that Society, he says,

"Our brethren in Calcutta go on with their work, looking to us, and especially to you. It seems cruel to curtail their labors; and cruel to speak of curtailing them unless it is necessary. This question, however, we cannot decide without hearing from you.

"The demands increase; and openings increase; and funds diminish. If we may rely on your accustomed grant, and especially if we may rely upon the sum you used to favor us with, it will be a great relief to our brethren in Calcutta, and it will save us from a most distressing alternative. But for our American brethren, Calcutta must do less; very much less, if you be not able to aid us."

Subsequently, a still more urgent appeal reached us, in the form of a statement of facts, from the missionaries themselves. The letter is written by brother J. Thomas, addressed to your Corresponding Secretary, and dated Calcutta, Nov. 3d, 1847. The copious extracts which we make from it are justified by the information which it communicates, concerning the use to which your appropriations have been applied.

"It has been a cause of much regret to me that the opportunity I hoped for has been so long in coming, but I felt that I could not write until I was prepared to afford the information you requested in your letter of July 14th, 1846. to my esteemed colleague, Mr. Wenger. The proper preparation of the statement you required I could not intrust to other hands, and my own numerous, varied, and incessant engagements, have prevented the earlier accomplishment of what you requested and I have so much desired.

"I have carefully gone through the accounts from the period when we were favored with the amount of the first appropriation of your Society, and the following is the result:

STATEMENT OF SCRIPTURES PRINTED.

The proportion of Scriptures printed for the American and Foreign Bible Society, or the cost of which had been placed to its account, previously to April 22d, 1847, the date of the abstract of accounts printed in our last or Fourth Report on the Translations, amounted to one hundred and twenty thousand one hundred and two books (120,102), ranging from a single gos