By-Laws of the Committee.

written report to every monthly meeting of the Committee; particularly specifying,

1. The amount of all donations and free subscriptions received by them
during the last month, with the names of all new contributors.
2. The amount of subscriptions for Bibles and Testaments received
by them during the last month, with the names of all new
subscribers.

3. Any information of an interesting nature, arising out of the pro-
ceedings of the Association.

X. That the Bibles and Testaments issued by this Association shall be sold at the cost prices, as specified in the annexed table :-but the Collectors are authorised, in cases of poverty, or under peculiar circumstances, to deliver copies when not less than one-half of the cost price has been paid.

-XI. That in case the Collectors meet with any individuals whom they may consider proper objects for the grant of a Bible or Testament, the names and address of such persons shall be reported to the General Committee, and transmitted, by the Minute Secretary, to the Secretary of the Auxiliary [or Branch] Society, with a request that they may be visited, and, if found suitable objects, gratuitously supplied.

XII. That no family, after having been supplied with one Bible and one Testament, under the cost prices, shall be supplied with any further number of copies on the same terms, without special application to the Committee.

XIII. That a copy of the Monthly Extracts of Correspondence be regularly presented, by the Collectors, to every free Contributor of half a guinea or upwards per annum; and that they be lent to free contributors of smaller sums, in the proportion of one copy to every four subscribers. The regular number of copies to be provided by the Secretaries, and delivered to the Collectors at the monthly committee meetings. XIV. That no new By-Law be made, or any existing By-Law repealed or altered, without one month's previous notice be given.

Observations on the By-Laws-Visitors-Advantages of punctuality.

4.-OBSERVATIONS.

The subsequent remarks, in addition to those which have been offered in the corresponding divisions of the preceding Chapters, are designed to explain and illustrate the tendency of those regulations.

1. In many Associations, the following words have been added to the Fourth By-Law;-"And that, in all practicable cases, a matron and a younger lady shall be colleagues. As a cautionary hint, it may not be improper to observe, that children should not be employed as collectors of districts; nor is the author aware of such. appointment having ever taken place. Experience has satisfactorily proved, that the subject may be safely left to the discretion of the Ladies themselves; and it would be difficult to point out a single Association of this description, in Great Britain, which might not be safely recommended as a model for similar institutions. In reference to this particular subject it should be stated, that the following By-Law has been adopted in many places, with considerable effect: "That every young lady who obtains six or more free contributors of a penny a-week, or upwards, shall have the privilege of attending the meetings of the Committee as a Visiter." In allusion to the practical operation of this By-Law, the Committee of the Southampton Ladies' Association, in their Third Annual Report, observe, "The Institution has been aided, in a most valuable degree, by the punctuality and perseverance of eight little girls. The plan of each of them has been, to obtain six or more free subscribers, of one penny or upwards a-week; which these juvenile collectors pay in, once a month, at the meeting of the Committee, which they attend as visitors. Their united collections, to the present time, amount to no less than 50l. 14s. 2d."

II. On a strict attention to the duties enjoined by the Fifth ByLaw, the success of the institution, humanly speaking, principally depends. The advantages of punctuality; the mode of application to the various classes of society; the inexpediency of accepting free contributions from persons who receive parochial aid; and the selection of suitable Ladies to fill up any vacancies in the Committee, constitute the subjects comprised by this important regulation. Under the head of " Hints to Collectors," (Chapter VIII. Section I.) such suggestions will be submitted as the nature of the case appears to require; and the following extracts will furnish an ample illustration of the practical tendency of the Rule.

North-West London, 1816.-" At the formation of the Paddington Association, an iron-foundry in the district was visited by one of the collectors, to solicit subscriptions from the workmen. On this occasion, some Irish Roman Catholics, employed in the foundry, gave him much opposition; declaring, that they would be glad to burn all the Bibles he would bring. A few of the other workmen, however, were induced to subscribe

Cheerful co-operation of the Poor-Illustration of the subject.

for Bibles. The happy effects produced by these books were strikingly manifested at a subsequent period: for when the same collector visited the foundry again, after a considerable interval, the men exclaimed, on seeing him enter, 'Here comes the Bible-man! we have found the benefit of some of his Bibles; now let us all have Bibles.' And several of them immediately became subscribers."

Northampton Ladies', 1820.-" The poor continue to feel the least pos sible inconvenience from paying for the holy scriptures by weekly instalments. Your Committee refer to a proof of it, in the case of a young woman, who was unable to attend the last public distribution to receive her Bible. When the collector called on her with it, and presented it to her, she said, 'Ma'am, I do indeed consider this as a very handsome present; for it comes like a present:-having paid only the small sum of one penny per week, I have not felt the purchase.""

Hackney, &c. Ladies', 1820).—“ In one of my visits," a collector observes, "I called on a poor woman, to whom I proposed the question, whether she had a Bible: "Oh, yes,' she replied; I have three. Knowing that she depended for her support upon her own labour, I was about leaving her; when she said, "May not the poor give something to the Bible Society as well as the rich ?" I replied,' Certainly, if they wish it.' She said, 'I wish to give a little;' and brought me twopence. At first I declined taking so much; but she repeated her request, and added, I will continue it weekly as long as I can afford it; and if I become unable, I shall rejoice that I have given something to so good a cause.'”

Plymouth, &c. Ladies', 1820.-"A man who, on the first call, received the collector with sullen disdain, opposing her exertions by every means within the sphere of his influence, and even refusing her access to his tenants up stairs, is now become a free subscriber, and a useful auxiliary. During her absence of three or four weeks, he collected part of the district for her; and in wet weather, wishes her to sit in his shop, while he runs to gather the pence-offering his services in any way in which he can' be useful."

Ditto." The collectors, on entering the room where a poor man and woman lived, and telling the object of their visit, were answered very cheerfully, 'It will give us great pleasure to throw in our mite to this treasury; for we love the cause.'-Observing, however, that this interesting couple were apparently sinking under the effects of disease, and that every thing in the room bore great indications of poverty, the collectors thought it right to make some inquiry into their circumstances. They thankfully acknowledged, that aid was afforded them by the parish, and occasional help from a few benevolent friends. As it is a rule of your Associations never to accept free contributions from persons receiving parochial aid, the collectors, on this information, felt themselves obliged to decline the willing offering. A few days after, a lady, who frequently visited these afflicted persons, hap-, pening to call on them, they related to her, with tears in their eyes, the sad disappointment they had experienced, in being denied the privilege of subscribing to the Bible Society; asking, if there were no way in which it might be done; adding, 'Any sacrifice we could make would be a pleasure to us, if we might be allowed to contribute.'-The print of their own well. read Bible being small, and in many parts almost obliterated, they were recommended to subscribe for another for their own use. The proposal was readily accepted: And then,' said they, " we shall have our little Bible to: give to some poor creature who has none.'

Cold must be that heart, and torpid those feelings that are not

Cheerful co-operation of the Poor.-Bibles should be stamped. awakened by facts like these! The labouring classes in Great Britain have furnished the best and most conclusive answer-that of practical refutation-to arguments they never heard, and theories they could never comprehend; while they have afforded the finest illustration of the admirable remarks of Dr. Chalmers, who observes, in reference to the influence of this part of the system on their circumstances and their character,—

"It brings up their economy to a higher pitch; but it does so, not in the way which they resist, but in the way which they choose. The single circumstance of its being a voluntary act, forms the defence and the answer to all the clamours of an affected sympathy.—You take from the poor.' 'No; they give.'-' You take beyond their ability.' 'Of this they are the best judges. You abridge their comforts.' No; there is a comfort in the exercise of charity: there is a comfort in the act of lending a hand to a noble enterprise: there is a comfort in the contemplation of its progress: there is a comfort in rendering a service to a friend;-and when that friend is the SAVIOUR, and that service the circulation of the message he left behind him, it is a comfort which many of the poor are ambitious to share in. Leave them to judge of their comfort; and if, in point of fact, they do give their penny a-week to a Bible Society, it just speaks them to have more comfort in this way of spending it, than in any other which occurs to them."

The following remarks of the Boston Committee, in their Report for 1820, are so appropriate and judicious, that no apology is requisite for their introduction:—

"The practical good which arises to the poor from Bible Associations, must be convincingly evident to every mind, that at all reflects seriously and dispassionately on the subject. It is only by personally visiting their dwellings, and actually investigating their moral wants, that the deficiency of the Scriptures can be ascertained. To affirm, as many worthy persons do, that the poor of this island may procure Bibles, if they choose to make a proper application for them to the benevolent and well-disposed, is indeed to state a most delightful truth: but matter of fact has indisputably proved, that this mode of distributing the sacred volume does not fully meet the exigencies of the case; it does not accord with the general views, and habits, and dispositions of the poor. Friendly visits must be paid them; their individual wants must be kindly inquired into; their prejudices and aversions must, if possible, be softened and conciliated; their ignorance must be calmly and judiciously reasoned with; and the necessity and importance of possessing a copy of the word of life must be pointed out to them, and pressed home upon their hearts with an earnest and affectionate solicitude. "To be roused to the heights of mercy," says an eloquent divine, "you should have personal experience of what passes around you: one single morning devoted to explore the recesses of misery would preach to you through life." Wherever the object of Bible Associations has been thus recommended to the attention of the poor, and pursued with diligence and punctuality, the most beneficial effects have uniformly ensued."

III. In order to save time, and to fulfil in the best manner the duty enjoined by the Seventh By-Law, many Associations use a brass stamp and red ink, by which means the object in view is completely attained without disfiguring the title page. The Bible Secretary should stamp the copies as soon as they are received, before placing them in the Depository. Whether the title of the Association be

Cost prices cheerfully paid by the Poor.

stamped or written, it will be found conducive to the design in view to insert the number placed against the subscriber's name in the Bible Book, in some agreed part of the Bible or Testament, as recommended in the Twelfth By-Law of Gentlemen's Associations, Chap. III. Section III.

IV. In places where the plan of public distributions is adopted (see Chap. VIII. Section III.), the following should be substituted as the Eighth By-Law:

"That the Bibles and Testaments issued by this Society be delivered publicly, at such times, and in such part of the district, as the Committee shall deem most suitable: but that every subscriber, having completed his or her subscription, and requiring a Bible or Testament previously to a · public distribution, shall be supplied by the Bible Secretary.”

v. A reference to the Specimen of the Collector's Monthly Report, in Section V. of this Chapter, will satisfy the reader of the facility with which the provisions of the Ninth By-Law are fulfilled. A strict and uniform attention to this regulation will materially promote the interests of the Society.

VI. It will be perceived that much is left to the discretion of the collectors, in the practical application of the Tenth By-Law; and that in no part of the executive details will greater caution be necessary, to guard against the abuse of the privilege thus conferred. The subject has already been adverted to in Chapter III. (Section III., Fourteenth Observation); but its acknowledged importance justifies a more full consideration of the principle it involves, by a review of its tendency and effects in those places where it has been most extensively applied.

:

The Committee of the Liverpool Ladies' Society observe,-"There may, to a casual observer, be an appearance of oppression, in requiring from a labourer the full price of a Bible; and were it demanded at once, it might possibly be felt by the individual as such but, on their own reiterated testimony, a penny a-week is never missed;' and, in the end, the Bible is received almost as a gift, though, as the fruit of their own industry, they are more pleased than if it were gratuitously presented. Out of 9755 Bibles and Testaments issued by this society, considerably more than one-half have been sold at the cost prices.'

In the last Annual Report of the Hull Ladies' Society, it is stated;" It has always been earnestly recommended to the Collectors, not to urge the poor and needy too importunately to subscribe their penny; for there are, doubtless, individual cases which claim the divine blessing- Thou didst well, that it was in thine heart;' but there are others, where the weekly contribution appears to enrich, rather than impoverish. A poor woman, who gave threepence per week for a Bible, declared, though times were very bad, she had never found herself poorer on Saturday night for paying for her Bible on Monday.' Of 1854 copies issued by this institution, 1811 have been distributed at the cost prices."

The Committee of the Bloomsbury and South-Pancras Auxiliary

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