galee; 2,000 of the Gospels and Acts, and 500 of the whole New Testament in Persian; 2,000 Gospels and Acts in the Arabic, and 500 New Testaments in the same language. The actual number of copies of the Scriptures distributed by the Calcutta Society, during its eleventh year, amounted to more than 12,000, of which 4,000 were of Bibles and Testaments, in about 20 Asiatic languages. The Committee of the British and Foreign Bible Society had resolved to print, independently of the above-mentioned editions undertaken in the East, a new edition of 5,000 copies of Martyn's Persian New Testament; 2,000 copies of the Persian Psalter; 1,000 copies of the Book of Genesis, in the same language; and 5,000 copies of the Arabic New Testament of Sabat. The Calcutta Auxiliary had recently resolved on forming a committee for the revision of versions circulating in India. The translators at Serampore have pursued their important task with unremitting perseverance. Of the twenty-six versions of the Scriptures, in as many different languages and dialects, undertaken by that learned body, thirteen have been already carried through the press; eight are more than half printed; two are printed as far as the third Gospel; and in another the Gospel of St. Matthew is nearly finished. The Committee express their regret, in common with all sincere friends to the extension of Christianity in India, at the death of the late Dr. Middleton, Bishop of Calcutta. A short time before his decease, he expressed his intention of applying part of the Society's grant of 5,000, to the express purpose of publishing a version of the Old Testament in the Persian language, the Rev. Mr. Robinson, chaplain at Poonah, having undertaken the translation. The Madras Auxiliary Bible Society have pursued with diligence the various works which they had under taken to execute or superintend. The revision of the Old and New Testament in Tamul, by Mr. Khenius, has considerably advanced. The edition of the Tamul Old Testament, had been carried on to the Book of Ezra, and it was expected that this version would leave the press before the end of 1823. The Book of Genesis, of the Canarese version, was expected. The revision of the Four Gospels and Acts, in this language, was considerably advanced. The Malayalim version of the New Testament by the Rev. Mr. Spring, was likely to be ready for the press at the close of 1823. The Teloogoo version is in progress. The total number of copies of the Scriptures issued by the Madras Auxiliary, during the second year, amounts to 1,271 Bibles and Testaments, in European languages; and 3,059 copies of the whole Bible, or of portions of it, in the languages of India. From the Bombay Auxiliary Society, the following account of its prosperous state has been received, The holy Scriptures, or parts of them, are now printed in two native languages, which are spoken over extensive districts, in this presidency. The Gospel of St. Matthew, in Mahratta, has been in circulation for more than two years; and the whole New Testament has been printed in the Guzerattee language, and is now in very extensive circulation. The number of copies of the Scriptures distributed. in the English, and in other languages, since the formation of the Society,amounts to 2,086 Bibles and 4,410 Testaments. The Tenth Report of the Colombo Auxiliary states, that the Book of Genesis in Cingalese has excited such attention as to occasion an extraordinary demand for another edition of 1,000 copies. During the year upwards of 1,300 Bibles, Testaments, Psalters, and integral parts of the New Testament, have been issued in the English, Portuguese, Cingalese, Malay, Hindoostanee, Arabic, and Tamul languages. Many be of service in translating the of the Cingalese New Testaments have been sold to Government Schoolmasters. They are accustomed to receive them, paying. a small sum monthly until the whole is defrayed. The successful progress of the translators at Canton and Malacca, in preparing a version of the whole Bible in the Chinese language, has sustained a sudden interruption from the death of the Rev. Dr. Milne, one of the two missionaries who had undertaken the execution of that work. This long-expected version will, however, probably soon leave the press, under the direction of the Rev. Dr. Morrison. Morrison has communicated the cheering information, that 1,000 Chinese New Testaments had just been applied for by the missionaries of the new settlement formed at Sincapore in the year 1819. The Governor of Ochotsk has gratefully acknowledged the receipt of some copies of the Scriptures sent to that unfrequented portion of the globe. Dr. The Auxiliary Society in New South Wales held its sixth anniversary, under the presidency of his Excellency Sir Thomas Brisbane, the new governor. The funds of the society were in a flourishing state. It had received large contributions from the Branch Society at Van Diemen's Land, and the Bible Associations at Castlereagh, Campbell Town, Liverpool, Windsor, Sydney, and Paramatta. The total of its remittances to the parent institution since its formation is 1,350.; and 3,773 copies of Bibles and New Testaments had been circulated in the colony by its exertions. Some persons in the colony, who formerly had no knowledge of the excellency of the sacred volume, and consequently esteemed it not, now manifest a willingness to possess it. The comfort which it has afforded to some in affliction, has led others to seek and to find its promised blessings. This society has founded a Biblical library; to collect works which may sacred Scriptures, and also to excite a greater attention to Biblical reading and literary pursuits. In the Georgian and Society Islands, the Gospels of St. Matthew, St. Luke, and St. John, have been translated into the Taheitan language, and printed by the missionaries. The Acts of the Apostles were in the press; and the Epistles to the Romans and Ephesians, together with several books of the Old Testament, were under revision. The Sierra Leone Auxiliary Society has pursued its exertions, during five years, with undiminished activity. The offer of the Scriptures to the soldiers of the 4th West India Regiment, had excited on their part a great disposition to learn to read, for the purpose of obtaining a knowledge of their contents. The Second Report of the South African Auxiliary Society shews that the object of that institution is appreciated by the mingled population of the colony. Many of the Dutch and English colonists, and many of the slaves and Hottentots, are without the word of God, but are desirous of possessing it. In proceeding to review the transactions of the Society and of its Auxiliaries in the Western Hemisphere, the Committee first advert to South America. At Buenos Ayres a small Auxiliary Society has been instituted, which has made a remittance, consisting of contributions and receipts by sale of the Scriptures, amounting to 41. From the Brazils, Chili, Peru, the Caraccas, and Honduras, to which countries supplies of the Scriptures had been transmitted, the most gratifying communications have been received. A correspondent, who had distributed some Bibles among the labourers in the salt works at Vista, writes: “I was highly gratified next day to see these poor people seated on the sand at noon, when resting in the shade from the heat of the sun, and one of them reading most devoutly to In the Eastern part of the island of Jamaica, a very promising Auxiliary has been established. The Auxiliary Society of the People of Colour at Kingston still pursues its labours. At Antigua, the demands for Bibles had so much increased, in consequence of the rapid spread of education, that the supplies transmitted last year had been soon disposed of. "Before the arrival of this donation (says a correspondent), I knew an estate in this island in which neither Bibles nor Testaments were to be found ;-the manager had none-the overseer had none-the Negroes had none. This deficiency is now happily at an end. It would much delight you to see the avidity with which the Negroes read their Bibles." The Barbadoes Auxiliary for the People of Colour had distributed 72 Bibles and 132 Testaments, during its fourth year. In the Bahama islands, the demand for the Scriptures has continued to be great. receiving the Spanish Bibles and Testaments (says a correspondent), a Spanish vessel came into this port. The persons on board bought the whole of the Bibles, at two dollars and a half and three dollars each." The Bermuda Auxiliary states, that more Bibles and Testaments are wanted, to supply the necessities of the island, particularly among the Black population, in consequence of their increased ability to read. The Treasurer of this society had 1507. waiting to be remitted. about twenty who surrounded him." At Pernambuco a number of Portuguese Bibles, which had been admitted duty free into that port by permission of the Government, were distributed to crowds of applicant: At Lima, 500 Spanish Bibles and as many New Testaments were sold in two days; and a correspondent states, that, had their number amounted to 5,000, they would have been disposed of, so eager was the demand for them. At Valparaiso, Coquimbo, and Huasco, 200 Testaments had been distributed by a Captain, to whose care they had been confided by the Committee: of these, 146 were sold, and their value, 19., placed in the hands of the Treasurer. The following is the Captain's report: "I assure you the inhabitants seemed very desirous of religious instruction. I found the copper-miners, in particular, most anxious to possess and read the holy Scriptures."-At Demerara, Essequibo, Berbice, and Trinidad, the distribution of the Scriptures has been attended with good effects. On two estates in the island of Leguan, the plan of appointing catechists for the purpose of reading the Scriptures to the Negroes at weekly meetings, has been adopted, and the benefit resulting from it, on one of them, is thus described by a correspondent: "A manager of one of these estates informed me that the Negroes do three times the work they formerly did, and are quite cheerful and happy. I was first requested to visit this estate, by the proprietor, on account of the prevalence of obiah, or witchcraft; which rendered the Negroes wretched, and had been the death of some, from its miserable influence upon their minds. But the truths of the Bible banished this from the estate; and I will venture to say, that while the Bible remains in their hands, and the love of it in their hearts, no obiah will be found among them."-From the Honduras Auxiliary Society, the sum of 467. 148. has been received. "On my The Reports received during the last year from the American Bible Society, give pleasing evidence of the rapid growth of that institution. The number of copies of the Scriptures issued by the American Society, during the first five years from its formation, amounted to 140,348. In the sixth year, which closed in May 1822, 54,416 Bibles and Testaments, and fifty-four copies of the Gospel of St. John in Mohawk and Delaware, were issued from its depository; and in the first nine months of the seventh year, "that number was augmented by 38,000 copies-making the total amount of its distribution 232,049 copies. A considerable increase has also taken place in the number of its Auxiliaries: eighty had been, added during the seven last months, making their total number 347. Many seamen have exhibited much interest in the objects of the society. On one occasion, at a meeting appointed by a Marine Bible Society, all the seamen in port were requested to attend, and the request was very generally complied with. An address was delivered to them; and the immediate consequences were, thrat, in the two following days, 150 seamen applied to be furnished with the Scriptures, and eighty became members of the Society. The Female Bible Associations have contributed materially to aid the operations of the American Society. The issues of the Montreal Society, in the third year of its institution, approached to nearly double the number circulated in the two former years. It has formed a subcommittee, for the express purpose of supplying the steam-boats, and other vessels, at the port of Montreal. They report, that, excepting in one single instance, all vessels from the mother country were adequately supplied with the Scriptures. From the Seventh Report of the Nova Scotia Bible Society, it appears that 588 Bibles and Testaments had issued from the depository at Halifax, during the year. The Ladies' Society at Miramichi has transmitted an interesting report of its proceedings, accompanied by a remittance of 50%. The Hudson's Bay Auxiliary celebrated its first anniversary at York, on the 25th of August 1822. The meeting was attended by Captain Franklin, and the officers of the Northern Land Expedition, who took a part in its proceedings. From Labrador the Committee have received satisfactory intelligence respecting the benefits which the Esquimaux con verts have derived from the perusal of tle Scriptures. In consequence of the season having been unfavour. abe, the Missionaries declined receiving the contribution in blubber, which these poor people were still anxious to present. The Committee, in mentioning the Domestic occurrences connected with the institution, advert to the lamented death of the Rev. John Owen, one of the Secretaries. We have already noticed the honourable resolution of the Committee commemorative of their sense of the services of this eminent man. They also mention with grief the death of W. Blair, Esq., a most active and useful member of their body, who, a short time before his removal to a better world, signalized his attachment to the society by the donation to its library of nearly the whole of his most costly and extensive collection of Bibles and Biblical Works in various languages. The Committee have appointed the Rev. A. Brandram, M.A., Clerical Secretary, as successor to Mr. Owen; and T. P. Platt, Esq., Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge, to the office of Honorary Librarian. The Committee have determined that an annual salary of 300%. should in future be attached to the office of Secretary to the Society. In consequence of the gratifying success with which Divine Providence has favoured the British and Foreign Bible Society, the magnitude of its efforts and the variety of its relations have progressively increased, and have thrown upon its secretaries an accumulation of labour, and a weight of responsibility, which could not have been foreseen, and consequently was not in the contemplation of the Society when it accepted their gratuitous services. The Committee, deeply and gratefully impressed with a sense of the Christian zeal and disinterestedness which have prompted the distinguished individuals, who have hitherto filled that office, to devote themselves gratuitously to this great work, cannot sufficiently express their unfeigned esteem and heartfelt acknowledgment for their invaluable services; but they consider that it would be unbecoming the dignity of the institution, to require the gratuitous continuation of their labours. The Committee report an increase in the free contributions of Auxiliary Societies, in the past year, to the amount of nearly nine thousand pounds. The recent establishment of similar institutions in France, is stated to have arisen from the interesting facts and details published respecting some of those now in operation in this country. The number of copies of the Scriptures issued from the depository, during the year ending March 31, 1823, was 123,127 Bibles, and 136,723 Testaments; which, together with those issued at the expense of the Society from foreign presses, since the commencement of the institution, amount to three millions, eight hundred and seventyfive thousand, four hundred and seventy-four copies of the holy Scriptures. AFRICAN INSTITUTION. THE Seventeenth Report of the African Institution brings down the proceedings of the society, and the measures taken for the effectual abolition of the Slave Trade, to the spring of 1823. The following is a summary of this Report: The Directors commence with an account of the negotiations on the Slave Trade at the Congress at Verona. The Duke of Wellington, during his stay at Paris on his way to Verona, took an opportunity of urging the French minister to adopt some effectual measures for the repression of the Slave Trade. His representations do not seem to have produced a disposition in the French government to propose any new laws for that purpose. On the contrary, the French minister stated, that, although the king and his government were sincerely anxious to put an end to this traffic, yet they could devise no measures for that purpose which they could hope would be adopted by the Chambers; and that the subjecting convicted slave-traders to a peine infamante would be inefficient, even if passed into a law; adding, that he could not conceal the fact, that the abolition of the Slave Trade was unpopular in France. Mr. Canning recommended to the Duke of Wellington to propose at the Congress,-1st, An engagement, on the part of the continental sove reigns, to mark their abhorrence of this accursed traffic, by refusing admission into their dominions of the produce of colonies belonging to powers who have not abolished, or who notoriously continue, the Slave Trade, applying entirely to Portugal and the Brazils ;-2d, " A declaration, in the names, if possible, of the whole alliance, but, if France should decline being a party in it, in the names of the three other powers, renewing the denunciation of the Slave Trade issued by the Congress of Vienna, and exhorting the maritime powers who have abolished it, to concert measures among themselves for proclaiming it and treating it as piracy; with a view to founding upon the aggregate of such separate engagements between state and state, a general engagement, to be incorporated into the public law of the civilized world." At a conference of the plenipotentiaries of Austria, France, Great Britain, Prussia, and Russia, held at Verona on the 24th November, the Duke, in a memoir presented by him, undertook to prove that this traffic had been since the year 1815, and was at that moment, carried on to a greater extent than it had been at any former period; that in seven months of the year 1821, not less than 38,000 human beings had been carried off from the coast of Africa into hopeless and irremediable sla |