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ating the young and timid with the daring and irreclaimable offender. They conclude their Report by declaring, that the time has at length arrived for the termination of the miseries which they feelingly describe; and they strongly urge on the Government the necessity of immediately adopting remedial mea

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The Cortes of Portugal have evinced a like earnestness for the amendment of the prisons in that kingdom. A committee of six in dividuals has been appointed, with directions to occupy themselves in the immediate improvement of the gaols. They have already begun their good work in a manner which promises the happiest results. The principal prison at Lisbon is described as a miserable place of confinement. It is a representation, on an enlarged scale, of all the filth and wretchedness so conspicuous in the Spanish gaols. The prisoners can communicate through the

bars with persons in the street. A great proportion of the crimes committed in Lisbon are planned by the prisoners and their associates at large, between whom a constaut and unchecked communica tion is kept up. By means of the bars, food, clothes, liquors, tools, weapons, &c. are introduced into the prison. The number of prisoners at one time has been as great as seven hundred: the usual number is four hundred. The state of the apartments is described to be most dreadful.

The Appendix to the Report contains much interesting intelligence, a part of which we hope to be able to extract in some future Number. At present we conclude with earnestly recommending this excellent institution to public patronage. We greatly lament to learn that the funds of the Society are very inadequate to the extent of its meritorious designs,

BRITISH AND FOREIGN BIBLE SOCIETY.

THE Eighteenth Report of the Society presents a condensed but very satisfactory account of the principal occurrences in connexion with the institution during the year. We must restrict ourselves to the leading particulars.

The Protestant Bible Society in France promises to redeem the pledge given in its First Report, that it would one day occupy a distinguished station among the continental Bible Societies. "Our resources," it is observed in the Third Report of the Paris Society, "have increased through the generosity of the friends of the Gospel in France and abroad; twentyeight new Bible Societies, of more or less importance, have been formed in our country; and upwards of 11,000 copies of the holy Scriptures have been issued from the depository of the Society." The following testimony is contained in a letter addressed to the President

of the Paris Society, by the Duke de Cazes, while on his embassy in England. "I was unable, until my visit to this country, duly to appreciate the good that may be expected from the publication of the Bible. I have found that book' in every cottage, esteemed by the peasant as the most valuable furniture of his humble habitation. His Grace, the Duke of Rochefoucault has requested me to bring him copies of books published for the use of the poor in England. I have made diligent inquiries on the subject, and shall conclude them by presenting him with the Bible, which supplies all the moral wants of a country, of whose national religion it forms the basis, and of whose political institutions, it is the safeguard and the surest guarantee."

The Parisian Society had distributed in the capital itself about 900 copies of the Scriptures. The

prisons and poor-houses have been supplied by its liberality; and the Committee record with satisfaction, a striking instance of the value attached to the sacred boon, in the case of a poor woman at the Salpetriere hospital, who, on being questioned respecting a copy of the Scriptures which had been presented to her, confessed that she had lent it to a poor friend who was busily engaged in copying it. A gratifying report has been given of the effects produced by the perusal of the Scriptures upon the prisoners in the hulks. "The superintendent of these prisons," says the Rev. Mr. Martin," had the goodness to assure me, that there was a remarkable difference between the Protestants and the other prisoners; that the former were generally more docile and more duti ful, and that their moral conduct was much more regular; and it was not doubted, that this difference must be ascribed, in a great measure, to the religious instruction which the Protestants derive from reading and meditating upon the holy Scriptures."

Guernsey and Jersey have profited by the facilities afforded by the Parisian Bible Society for supplying them with the French version of the Scriptures. There are few points on the globe where so many copies of the Scriptures have been distributed, in proportion to the population; and yet the demands multiply every year.

While the Protestant Scriptures have been diffused among the members of the Lutheran and Reformed churches in France, considerable progress has also been made in promoting among the Catholics a dissemination of the version of De Sacy, of which not fewer than 30,000 copies had been printed during the last year. As the Protestant Bible Society at Paris is precluded by its constitution from taking any part in this undertaking, it has been executed through the medium of an agent of the British

and Foreign Bible Society. Among the channels in which the Catholie Scriptures have thus been made to circulate, may be mentioned schools of mutual instruction, prisons, hospitals, and asylums. The Society for Mutual Instruction,on receiving the first offer of New Testaments, stated that "it accepted with gratitude so generous a gift, and would be happy to spread in all the provinces of the kingdom the code of the Christian doctrine, which also, being put into the hands of the children and of their families, can alone expedite that moral and religious improvement which is the object of all their wishes." The acceptance of a similar offer made to the council of administration for the prisons of Paris, was announced by the Duke de la Rochefoucault, in very gratifying terms.

The Strasburg Bible Society, in the course of five years, has brought into circulation 10,313 copies of the Scriptures. Throughout the sphere of this Society" a deep conviction of the necessity and utility of a free dissemination of the word of God has made a rapid progress beyond all expectation."

The United Netherlands Bible Society exhibits a detail of facts which demonstrate the growing prosperity and usefulness of that national institution. Its funds have been augmented, not only by liberal donations, but also by considerable legacies; and its issue of Bibles and Testaments exceeds that of the preceding year by nearly 6,000 copies. The Marine Bible Society of Amsterdam, in the course of the past year, has distributed copies of the Scriptures in the Dutch, English, Swedish, Danish, German, French, and even Hebrew and Malay languages, among seamen of various countries and denominations. A similar association has been established in Rotterdam. What is stated in the Report with regard to the activity and influence of the Central Society at Amsterdam, may be considered as representing,

with little variation, the state of the different local societies of which the national institution is composed. Three thousand copies of the Malay New Testament with Arabic characters, have been forwarded to the auxiliary at Batavia, the East-India Bible Society; and 1000 guilders have been offered as an inducement to the formation of a branch at Chinsurahı. That auxiliary has been further solicited to avail itself of all opportunities to dispense the Chinese Testament in the colonies connected with the United Netherlands government, and the Arabic Malay in the large and important island of Sumatra. The sum of 4,000 guilders (about 300l.) has been placed at the disposal of the Baptist Missionaries at Serampore, to be employed in the translation of the Scriptures into the dialects of India; supplies of the Dutch Scriptures have been furnished to the settlers of that nation at Paramaribo and theCape; and an intention is expressed of entering into an amicable connexion with the South-African Bible Society, with a view to afford it the kindest and most effectual co-operation.

In Switzerland,the Bible Societies continue to prosecute their object. The income of the Basle Society has doubled. The Monthly Extracts of Correspondence, which are issued by this Society in a German translation, to the number of 10,000 copies, have proved, it is said, a blessing to thousands who either have read them, or listened to the reading of them. "These papers," says the Rev. T. Blumhardt," find their way to the lowest classes of the people; and, for the purpose of rendering them still more efficient, not merely have reading circles been formed, but also in many places they are read regularly every month from the pulpit, and a collection for the cause is afterwards made." From the presses at Basle there have issued during the past year French

and German Bibles 9,987; 2,204 New Testaments; and 705 Psalters of the Protestant versions; besides which 1,402 Testaments of the version of Van Ess have been distributed among the Roman Catholics. The Society of Bern has distributed since its formation 6,997 Bibles and 8,670 Testaments. "Many thanks," say the Bern Committee, "were returned from the cottages of the poor, and from the schools in the canton, which we have supplied with the Scriptures. Indeed we could specify many schools, in which it may be said that a new life has been kindled ; and the most affecting instances of gratitude have been witnessed." The societies of Lausanne and Neufchatel have printed an edition of 10,000 copies of the revised version of Ostervald. Through the judicious exertions of the Geneva Committee, the poor Waldenses have been refreshed by a supply of Bibles, for which freedomofentrance into Piedmont had been procured.

The Reports of the Bible Societies in the Protestant States of Germany afford the most convincing and gratifying proofs of the progressive advances made by the common cause in the estimation of all classes ofpersons, civil and religious, and of that increasing demand for the Scriptures, which invariably arises from their distribution. The following extract from a letter received from the professors and tutors of the theological seminary of Urach, affords testimony to the effect produced by a set of the Society's versions presented to that institution. "At the first anniversary of their auxiliary, the pupils of the seminary, forty-five in number, appeared in a body,and announced that they had determined to take theirshare in promoting its object by offering a quarterly contribution of one louis d'or, a sum which their limited means could ill afford. These youthful coadjutors not only continued to fulfil their engagement, but proved their willing

compliance by repeated donations." The Frankfort Committee has issued, during the last year, upwards of 8,000 Bibles and Testaments of the Protestantand Catholic versions. On the anniversary of the Reformation, the parochial clergy in many places distributed copies, with suitable exhortations to the perusal of them. The consequence of these measures has been most beneficial. "Even our most impoverished congregations" (says the vice-president of the Eisenach Society) "have testified their attachment to the cause bycheerful,though necessarily small, contributions." The Saxon Bible Society has distributed, in the course of last year, 3,464 Bibles, and 176 Testaments, and has since issued 1500 copies of au impression from standing types. A peasant living in a very poor part of the country, presented to the Osnaburgh Society 50 dollars (about 87.) accompanied by the following note: "Because I, Casper Herrman Westerfeldt, have been married to Maria Heinkers, and God has blessed our industry, I wish to give these fifty dollars to the Bible Society for us both."-The Hambro-Altona Society has completed the revised edition of Luther's Bible. This Society has issued, since its first formation, 7,964 Bibles, and 1,000 Testaments.

In Prussia, the cause of the institution continues to enjoy the patronage of his majesty the King, who by the marked attention with which he regards the various Bible Associations which solicit his notice, and by the readiness with which he facilitates their operations by public privileges and immunities, evince a lively interest in their prosperity. His majesty has been pleased to present to the British and Foreigu Bible Society, as a particular and appropriate token of his esteem, a gold medal, com memorating the anniversary of the Reformation, accompanied by portraits of Martin Luther and several of his great and learned

coadjutors, copied after the original paintings of a celebrated German artist. From the last Report of the Central Society at Berlin, it appears, that since its first establishment, it has brought into circulation 85,000 Bibles, and 23,241 New Testaments, without including those circulated by its forty auxiliaries, which amount in the last year to 10,810 Bibles, and 9,783 Testaments. The Cologne Auxiliary, though precluded, by its position in the centre of a Roman Catholic town, from receiving general support, has circulated no less than 18,219 Bibles and Testaments, and 1,003 Psalters, among Protestants and Catholics, in prisons, hospitals, and poor-houses, and among the military. In a parish where a sermon had been preached in behalf of the institution," a violent enemy to the circulation of the Scriptures became convinced of his error: he came with tears in his eyes, and requested us to accept a considerable donation for the purpose of promoting the very object which he had so strenuously opposed."-At Halle, the twelve presses of the Canstein Institution, are constantly kept in full employment, notwithstanding the various cheapeditions of the Bible published in Germany. -The Silesian Bible Society, at Breslau, has issued 15,937 copies: these supplies have increased been followed by an demand, particularly among the Catholics. The Sixth Report of the Buntzlan Society exhibits most gratifying proofs of the increasing demand for the Scriptures among the Roman Catholics; among whom 8,140 copies of Gosner's version of the New Testament and 1,360 copies of Van Ess's version have been distributed.

Denmark presents an almost unbroken chain of effective auxiliaries acting in their several districts under the sanction of his majesty the King, and the united patronage of the bishops and the nobility, supported by the streuuous co-opera

tion of the clergy at large. The bishops of Zealand and Fuehnen have distinguished themselves by their vigorous exertions in their respective dioceses: "I can inform you," writes the Rev. Dr. Moller, the secretary of the Danish Bible Society, "that the sacred cause of the Bible gains more and more friends in Denmark, and that every month produces new associations in its favour. The sale of the Scriptures likewise increases, notwithstanding the depression of trade; and our monthly issues of Bibles and Testaments have amount ed on an average to about 1,000 copies. Most of the clergy make it a point to read the Testament with the higher classes in the schools, and with those young persons who receive instruction preparatory to their confirmation. Our country is so well supplied with schools, that no child above six years of age needs remain uninstructed. This accounts for the rapid disposal of our New Testaments, of which a new stereotype edition is now in progress; yet the supplies have hitherto fallen short of the demand." The Danish Society's foreign operations are very interesting. "The converted Greenlanders," writes the secretary, "a simple hearted and docile race, are already in possession of a translation of the New Testament, but know only so much of the Old as may be gleaned from a History of the Bible by Fabricius. Our Committee have therefore resolved to translate and print several of the most important books of the Old Testament for their use. Bishop Fabricius, superintendent of the Greenland mission, although in his 78th year, has cheerfully undertaken the translation into that difficult language, of which he is completely master." The Society is also preparing a translation of the Gospel of St. Matthew into the language spoken in the Faroe islands.

The Swedish Bible Society, unwearied in dispensing the light of Revelation, through the medium of

its auxiliaries, to the remotest corners of the Swedish dominions, had issued, according to the last returns, nearly 170,000 copies of the Scrip tures from its presses at Stockholm. His excellency Count Rosenblad, on opening the sixth annual meeting of the Society, remarked as follows: "During the past year the Swedish Bible Society has had renewed reason to offer up heartfelt thanks to the Most High. The prosecution of its ultimate design, that the meanest cottage in the kingdom should not be destitute of that holy word which points to Him who is the way, the truth, and the life, has been carried on with success. The Committee have been supported by their auxiliaries in the country, and have witnessed with delight the beneficial results of the exertions of the Ladies' Association instituted in this capital. The warm and affectionate zeal of its worthy president and menibers, affords a hopeful prospect for the future, and exhibits a praiseworthy example to that sex to whose generous care are confided the tender plants in the church of Christ." One single auxiliary has discovered. on a fresh survey of its district, that 13,900 families were destitute of the Scriptures, of which 4,385 were unable to pay the full price of a copy, and 4,403 incapable of contributing any part of it. The Ladies' Association at Stockholm has discovered even in that city, ignorance not only of the nature of the Bible and of the consolations it affords, but even of the existence of a Society whose design is the gratuitous distribution of the word of God among the poor.

The Norwegian Bible Society's revised edition of 6,000 copies of the New Testament has left the press, and is circulating in every part of the kingdom. This is the first edition ever printed in Norway, and the disposal of it goes on so rapidly that another will be soon required. The king, who laid the foundation of the institution,

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