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dence of God, they find still labour enough to be performed by this society. The little which has been done, only opens to the view of a careful observer, the vast sea-field, which lies more or less unoccupied. It is ascertained, that but few of the seamen have Bibles; and many neither see, nor read one for months together. Whether they all would read the Bible if they had it, your managers do not know;-but still they feel, that in order to stand approved in the judgment of the great day themselves, they are bound to do all in their power to put the Word of life into the hands of every mariner;-and they feel also, that this is a duty, to the performance of which, the society should direct its unceasing efforts, while it shall have an existence. That the society need not relax its efforts for the want of labour; that there is sea-field enough yet to be possessed; and that to accomplish this, the society may yet bend on an abundance of sail to its little barque, are facts which afford a kind of gladness to your managers. And it is equally matter of gratulation to them, that something has actually been done in this good work. This society, limited as have been its means, has yet done something. Before the commencement of the year which has now closed, it had distributed since its formation, 3769 Bibles, and 209 Testaments; and during the year, which this day closes the seventh of the society's existence, it has distributed 216 Bibles and 16 Testaments; making in all 3985 Bibles, and 225 Testaments; which together make a total of 4210 copies of the blessed Gospel of Jesus Christ, which is able to make men wise unto salvation through faith in his name, which have been distributed by it.-But what this society has done towards supplying the destitute seamen with the Bible, is not all that has been done. The society must feel encouraged to go on with still more efficient zeal in its good work, from the reflection that it does not labour alone. The fact that there are now seventeen other Marine Bible Societies on this sea board, labouring with more or less engagedness in the same good work, should, the managers think, stimulate this society to no ordinary degree of exertion to fill, with honour to itself, and to the approbation of its Lord, the highly important station which it occupies. We say highly important station; and we may have occasion, in another part of this report, to compare its labours, and its situation with, at least one of its sister institutions.

It is, finally, more than all matter of joy to your managers that this labour of kindness has not been in vain in the Lord. Some good has been done by it. Some souls have been turned from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, by reading a Bible which you have put into their hands. Some have become reformed in their moral conduct, and are made better seamen, better fathers, better husbands, and better men in society, by means of the Bible, whose hearts may not yet be renewed by the grace of God. Some have most likely been benefited by the Bible, which has been given them, whose case will not be known till the day when the sea shall give up the dead that are in it, and you all stand along with them to hear the effects of this world's labour, and the decisions of eternity.

The expressions of joy and gratitude, which many seamen have VOL. IX

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manifested on receiving a Bible, have often been very gratifying to your distributing committees. A seaman said to one of them on applying for a Bible, "I wish I had a Bible now, I never wanted one before. I have read the tract entitled, The Bible the best of books, ten or eleven times, and I want to read that book, the Bible!" He was at the time much distressed for his soul. And after receiving his Bible, he said to the member of your committee, "if I get any comfort in reading this Bible, I will come and see you again!" There has also been a number of instances, and some during the past year, particularly on board some of the Nantucket whalemen, where the reading of the Bible has been made the instrument of salvation of souls, and in some instances the reformation among the seamen has been considerably extensive. There are still other instances in which masters of vessels have borne testimony to the good effects of the reading of the Bible, among their seamen. They have had less profaneness, less drunkenness and contention; more prompt and energetic attention to their commands, where the Bible has been read, than where it has been neglected.-Other instances there have been where the Bible has wrought reformation in the husband, in the father, and in the son. By the distribution of the Bible then, you have made better husbands, better fathers and children, better seamen, and better officers, better citizens, and better men. These alone, are sufficient, it should seem, to stimulate the society to more active measures to increase their zeal and efforts, to send abroad among seamen more extensively the word of life. But when it is remembered, that but little of the real good, which is actually done in this way, will probably be known to us in this world, your managers feel, that there are sources of joy to the hearts of all friends of the Bible cause, which every year of its history will bring anew to their joyful recollection.

Your managers feel, however, that they would do injustice to the cause, and wrong to your feelings, did they present only the bright side of the picture, while this only presents in a more gloomy shade the much more extended dark side:-For it must not be concealed, that there are yet many things, in relation to this society, which, to your managers, are sources of sorrow. One of these is, that they themselves are not better, and more faithful servants, to better Masters. The managers are sorry to say, but they feel that truth obliges them to say, that they have not exerted themselves in this good work, according to its magnitude and importance and they are sorry also to say, that they think they see the same apathy in the society which they feel in themselves. And it is to them a source of regret, that there do not appear to be some, among the friends of the Marine Bible Society, who have talents, influence, and zeal enough to give a new energy to all its operations, and its means.

It is also a cause of sorrow to your managers, that they should not be able to supply the destitute seamen with the Bible. Owing to their limited means, they have been under the necessity of laying your distributing committees under certain restrictions in regard to their distribution of the Bible to every seaman, who might apply for one. The consequence has been, that some have been sent away destitute who have applied and none can tell, but that they may have perished through

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the want of a Bible. During the past year, your managers have had an application from the "Society for promoting the Gospel among seamen," for one hundred Bibles to distribute among them, as their agents are almost constantly with these men, and know extensively their wants; and they would very gladly have complied with this request, appreciating as your managers do, the good which that Society is doing among seamen; but they were not able directly to do it, for the want of means. And from the same cause, your managers have been restrained in another important part of their duty :-they allude to that of seeking out objects of need among seamen, and supplying them without their personal application. In the present state of seamen, your managers are entirely convinced, that in every thing partaining to religion, they must be men, most literally, "SOUGHT OUT. If they must be so to attend the preaching of the Gospel, they must also be "sought out," to put a Bible into their hands But this your managers have not been able to do; and it is painful to them to witness the wants which they have not been able to supply.

which they There is still another source of sorrow to your managers, will just name:-it is, that there should ever in this, or in any similar institution, be any thing, which should seem like presenting to the world more than it has really done. One way in which this is often done by a society, is by mingling the labours of others with the details of its own. Your managers have witnessed many interesting facts, and have heard many more, concerning seamen, during the past year, which they might detail; but they are not reporting what they have seen, beard, and done as men; or even their own feelings as members of any compact, but of the Marine Bible Society; and they are unwilling to distract the public mind in this report, with any thing not immediately the object of the society and they only regret, in this view, that there is not interest enough taken in this cause to furnish the world with annually interesting detail of labour done.

It is much to be lamented that the value of the Bible among seamen is not sufficiently felt. By this remark your managers mean, that seamen themselves, do not sufficiently feel the importance of possessing and knowing the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make them wise unto salvation through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ:-they do not feel sufficiently grateful to that God, who has given the Scriptures to be the guide of man in this world of darkness and sin, and who has put the spirit into his children to labour to give them that best of all treasure; nor do they feel as they ought towards those who are thus labouring to give to their souls the bread of life ;--that they do not strive as they ought, to save a little of their wages to buy for themselves the field, which contains the pearl of great price; and that they do not properly regard the gift of a Bible when it is presented to them;-they do not read it with that prayerful attention, nor preserve it, in all cases, with that pious care which becomes those, who receive from friends the book of life.But your managers mean more than all this, by the above remark. They mean, also, that the importance of putting the Bible into the hands of seamen, is not sufficiently felt by the Christian community at large. Indeed, they feel, that it is felt in all its important bearings by very few.

These are the men who are to defend our commerce and our shores. These are the men, to whom we commit our property, our friends, our children, and our lives. These are the men, to whom also, we commit the sacred deposit which we have consecrated to the God of heaven, for the benefit of the heathen, and for evangelizing the world! And what class of men is there, within the circumference of our world, whose moral rectitude would be of equal benefit to mankind! What class would we have govern their lives by the precepts of the Bible, with more scrupulous exactness than seamen?-But how shall they govern their lives by the Bible, so long as they have it not? And who should be more ready to supply them with it, than those for whose interest they labour, toil, and suffer?-Are they vitious?-And what shall make them virtuous, if not the Bible ?-Are they faithless?—And what shall transform them into objects of confidence, if not the Bible ?-Are they an untoward and wandering race?—And what shall reclaim them if it be not the Bible?

The managers feel that, should these views be felt as they ought, by this great commercial city, or even by the Christian population of it, the Marine Bible Society would not long want means, nor the seamen of the port of New-York long want Bibles. This society would very soon compare to better advantage than it now can, with its sister institution at Boston. That society during the last year circulated 368 Bibles; while this society, with at least ten times as many seamen, whose wants it is bound to supply, has distributed during the year past, only 216 Bibles. But still with all these scenes of sorrow before them, the managers look forward with hope, and they trust with prayer to the prospect of better days. It is true, when they only look at the difficulties which stand in the way, little is seen to cheer or to animate, and the prospect of success darkens till the gloom of night covers it :-but still, the ray of light, which first broke the gloom by its steady lustre, is to them, but the sure presage of the sudden approach of that day, when our “Light shall rise in obscurity, and our darkness be as the noonday." Then shall the Bible be put into the hands of every mariner who does not possess it; and he shall value it as the "glorious Gospel of the blessed God:"-Then shall" the abundance of the sea" be converted unto God, and the merchandise thereof be “holiness unto the Lord of hosts :”— Then shall those who "go down to the sea," sing a new song unto the Lord, and "declare his praise in the islands:"Then shall the isles wait for the law of the Lord, and the "ships of Tarshish" be the first to bring presents unto the Lord, of gold, and silver, and converts :-And then shall be seen in its greatness, and its glory, the importance of giving the Bible to these men, who are thus, in a little while, to be some of the most conspicuous instruments in the conversion of the world.

These views stimulate your managers to new exertions, and they are persuaded will move every friend of seamen, to labour still more and more, to give them the Bible; that they may read the promises, and perform the duty which is there assigned them.

By order of the Society,

JOHN TRUAIŘ, Corresponding Secretary.

Liverpool Marine Bible Society.-Third Report.

765

LIVERPOOL MARINE BIBLLE SOCIETY.-THIRD REPORT. MR. BRUCE, a purser in the Royal Navy was appointed by this society to act as an agent, to visit the vessels in port and supply them with Bibles.

"From the 22nd of January to the 31st of December 1822, the Agent visited 961 vessels, forming an aggregate of 194,146 tons, and navigated by 10,450 seamen, out of which number, 254 vessels, being wholly or partially destitute of the Scriptures, have been provided. The following is a statement of the number of copies of the Scriptures disposed of by the Agent:

care of the captains, for sale to the crew, or to those who might wish to purchase in foreign ports. Of the latter number, 54 Bibles and 45 Testaments have been diposed of to the ships' companies.

It is gratifying to be able to state, that with few exceptions, and those evidently diminishing rapidly, the visits of the agent have been favourably received, in many instances, with expressions on the part of the captains, of warm approbation of the objects of the society, and an avowal that the prejudices with which they formerly viewed it, had been entirely dispelled, by observing its favourable effects on the conduct of their crews.

On the first hundred vessels visited by the agent in the beginning of the year, 52, and of the last 100 visited towards the close of the year, only 32 appeared to be unsupplied. It is much to be regretted, however, that instances of indifference, with respect to the Scriptures, are most frequent on board the ships of this port: that so great has been the apathy of the owners on this subject, that the committee have hitherto been able to secure very little support beyond a bare approval of their exertions; and that, although it is the practice of the agent to visit every ship, except where the long prevalence of particular winds renders it impracticable, a greater number of Liverpool ships have been found unsupplied, than of any other port with which a comparison has been made. Of vessels be. longing to

Liverpool, out of 239 visited, 133 were unsupplied

From this statement, it appears that, while of the vessels belonging to London about one third, to Scotland one fourth, to Philadelphia