Specimen of the DISTRICT COMMITTEE'S MONTHLY REPORT. SPECIMEN OF THE DISTRICT COMMITTEE'S MONTHLY REPORT. LADIES' BRANCH OF THE Plymouth, Plymouth Dock, and Stonehouse, &c. AUXILIARY BIBLE SOCIETY. Sixth MONTHLY REPORT of the Charles' District Committee. Presented 28th of December, 1819. Mrs. H....... Miss F.. Miss J. C. Mrs. P. and Miss A. M. W....... attended the last Committee Meeting of the Association in this District; of the present state of which, the following is an Abstract. Gratuitously, by Grants from Auxiliary Society 4. Number of TESTAMENTS distributed, 10 FACTS AND OBSERVATIONS. The members of the Committee evince an unabated interest in the cause they have espoused; and the most gratifying and uninterrupted Specimen of the DISTRICT COMMITTEE'S MONTHLY REPORT. harmony prevails. One Collector has declined, and two have been added this month. All the Ladies bear testimony to the kindness, civility, and gratitude, with which they are invariably received. The number of learners in the two adult schools to which our Association has given rise, has considerably increased. One of our districts, a small and rather poor one, has been revisited throughout, this month, and fourteen additional free contributors obtained: the Collectors report an increasing desire to possess the holy scriptures as being very evident. The Loan Testaments are carefully preserved, and appear to be diligently and gratefully read. A respectable schoolmaster in one of our districts, who is a free contributor, expressed a great desire to get the "Monthly Extracts," offering to pay for them. The Collectors supplied him with some odd numbers, and with the "Southwark Facts:" and on the following week, he told them he had lent the latter to some of his acquaintance. to read; and that a mother and her son had, in consequence, become free contributors: he added, that he should now read those interesting papers to the boys in his school, that they might know and understand what that great Society was about, to which he had himself been formerly opposed, before he knew the good it was doing. Another district reports:-An aged and industrious couple have been, from the establishment, constant and cheerful free contributors. They have received, at cost prices, four Testaments; most, if not all of which, they have given to poor children. When the order for the last Testament was given them, they were asked whether they purposed continuing their subscription: "Certainly," was the reply; "there are plenty of poor children; and we cannot give them any thing better than a Testament." A female servant, one of our earliest subscribers, brought the cost price for six Bibles to one of the Collectors. She had obtained it from some of her acquaintance, to whom the Ladies had not access. We have no persons to recommend for gratuitous grants this month; and we trust the system of LOANS will gradually supersede the former mode of supply. There is yet another, and an important document, which demands consideration, and forms an appropriate conclusion of this Section. It is a judicious regulation of every wellconstituted society of a benevolent nature, that an ANNUAL REPORT of its proceedings and results shall be submitted to its friends and supporters, by those to whom the executive duties have been entrusted: and in no case have the advantages of this regulation been more evident, than in reference to the British and Foreign Bible Society. The numerous Reports of Auxiliary and Branch Societies and Associations, Observations on the ANNUAL REPORT. with the periodical and occasional publications of the Parent Institution, have enlightened the public mind on the nature, tendency, and effects of their proceedings. They have afforded the best evidence that the funds have been faithfully applied; that the great principle of the Society has been maintained inviolate; and that the results, both direct and collateral, have been in a high degree beneficial. In the perusal of the many hundreds of these Reports which have fallen under the author's observation, nothing has appeared to him more astonishing, than the universal prevalence of that judgment, prudence, and charity, so essential to success. When it is considered, that, on a moderate computation, at least twenty thousand individuals, within the United Kingdom, take an active part in the concerns of these societies, it might naturally be expected that occasional deviations from the strict line of propriety, either in practice or in language, would be manifested. Whatever is entrusted to human agency, necessarily partakes of human frailty. But these Reports speak for themselves: and the author is not ashamed to confess, that the perusal of them has deepened the impression long made on his mind, in contemplating the rise and progress of the Bible Society, that "this counsel and this work is of GOD!" In Associations which hold their own Annual Meetings, the Reports are read at such meetings; in a Gentlemen's Association, by the Minute Secretary; in that conducted by Ladies, by the Chairman, or by one of the Secretaries of the society with which it is connected. In both cases, the Report is, generally, printed and circulated subsequently; although some Associations have discontinued the practice of printing their Reports. The propriety or impropriety of this depends so much on local circumstances and opinions, that the respective Committees can alone be the proper judges: but in such cases, the Annual Report of the Auxiliary (or Branch) Society should include all the particulars relative to its Associations. In Associations connected with a Ladies' Branch Society, the Annual Reports are transmitted to the Secretaries of the Branch; and one general Report is prepared, which is read at the Annual Meeting of the Auxiliary Society. The following Specimen belongs to this class. NO. XXV.-ANNUAL REPORT. 1. This Report is detailed on a sheet of folio paper; and the printed form occupies about one-third of the first page. The returns under the several heads exhibit a clear view of the concerns Observations of the Annual Report. of the Association, and of its annual progress towards the attainment of its object. This, it should always be recollected, is twofold first, the supply of local wants; and secondly, the supply of all mankind with the holy scriptures. 11. The Collectors should be requested to specify, in their Reports to the Monthly Committee-meeting immediately preceding every Annual Meeting, the number of families visited during the past year, and the numbers still destitute of the holy scriptures. This is easily ascertained by reference to the Visiting and Collecting Books, and constitutes an important head of information. The sources that supply the returns under all the other heads, have been pointed out in the observations on the preceding numbers. III. It has been already stated, that the Facts and Observations detailed in these Specimens are extracted from the Annual Reports of the Ladies' Bible Societies of Liverpool, Manchester, and Plymouth. In the following Specimen there are some exceptions to this remark. The interesting fact numbered (2) is derived from the Ladies' Bible Association of Christchurch; that numbered (3) from the Association of Douglas, Isle of Man; and (4), (5), (6), and (7), from the Associations established at Hull. IV. In the preparation of an Annual Report of a Bible Association, simplicity of language and perspicuity of detail should be principally studied, especially in reference to those Associations which hold their own Annual Meetings. Few of the poor are habituated to an argumentative disquisition; but all can understand short and simple statements, and those instances of individual reformation, and moral improvement, that constitute the best evidence of the beneficial tendency and effects of the system. Allusion has already been made (see No. x.) to the importance of strict and judicious investigation, before these facts are reported to the Committee; but an equal degree of judgment is requisite in selecting them for the public eye. With a due regard to brevity and variety, it may be safely asserted, that one well-authenticated instance of moral reformation is of more value than fifty professions of attachment to the Bible. Deeds speak louder than words; and those on whom the sacred Oracles have made the deepest impression, will shew their faith by their works, rather than their oral declarations:— Silent and full the deepest rivers flow; 'Tis shallow brooks that babble as they go. v. The printed form that occupies the first part of this Report has not been adopted by any Associations, except those connected with a Ladies' Branch. How far it may be deemed applicable in other cases, is a matter of local consideration; but its advantages, in presenting a lucid and connected statement, are sufficiently evident. The remarks submitted in the last division of Section V. Chap. II., and those in reference to the same subject in Section IV. of Chap. III., afford every requisite explanation relative to the mode of conducting a General Meeting. Specimen of the ANNUAL REPORT of a Bible Association. SPECIMEN OF THE ANNUAL REPORT. ANNUAL REPORT of the Charles' Ladies' BIBLE ASSOCIATION. 12. Number of Persons supplied with Loan Testaments this Year 13. Do. of D°. supplied with D. since the establishment 14. Amount of Incidental Expenses this Year 15. Total amount of Do. Do. since the establishment. 16. Number of Districts 17. Number of Ladies now on the Committee £ S. d. 77..7.6 72.19.6 150 7.0 77.7.6 72.19.6 150..7.0 38 General Total. 150: 0.0 86 86 18. No. of Families destitute of the Holy Scriptures, as far as can be ascertained, 416 In presenting their first Annual Report, the Committee desire to acknowledge, with reverent gratitude, the extension of the Divine blessing in giv. ing effect to their humble exertions. To the same source of Infinite Mercy, they would trace that uninterrupted harmony which has characterized their proceedings; and to its continued influence they would look, for the ability to preserve unimpaired that pure principle, which can alone enable them" to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of Peace." In reviewing the events of the last year, we cannot help contrasting our present feelings of grateful satisfaction, with those that occupied our minds when we first engaged in this interesting undertaking. It is true we had not, even then, any doubts as to the importance of the cause, and the advan tages likely to accrue from our visits to the poor: but many fears and diffi, |