THE CHRISTIAN HERALD.

VOL. IV.] Saturday, January 4, 1818.

[No. 18.

To our obliging Correspondent at Liverpool we are indebted for the following interesting intelligence, contained in the 4th No. of the Monthly Extracts of the Correspondence of the British and Foreign Bible Society.

ZEAL OF CATHOLICS IN GERMANY, FOR THE CIRCULATION OF THE

SCRIPTURES.

From a Catholic Professor of Divinity at, July 20,1817. For this fortnight past, a disorder in my eye has prevented me from writing and reading; and the first use I make, with thanks to God, of my recovered sight, shall be, to discharge the sacred duty of conveying to the Revered Bible Society the sentiments of superlative joy in the Lord, and of heartfelt gratitude, which abound-not in me only, but in many thousands, languishing after scriptural food. Writing, however, can give but a faint idea of those overflowings, beheld and interpreted by God alone. "God will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth:"-This was the motto that presented itself in heavenly radiance to my faith, as inscribed on the magnanimous grant of Christian charity, of which your letters to me were the cheerful harbingers. Blessed be God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the God of all consolation and grace, for having opened the hearts and hands of his faithful worshippers, who did not seek their own, but that which is profitable for the salvation of many.

And how shall I sufficiently praise the Lord, for his wise and unsearchable ways, in disposing of all events, who changes night into day, and darkness into light, and is able to make friends out of foes; in whose omnipotent hand opposition and obstruction become instruments of bringing forth that which is good, and accomplishing his eternal decrees. For never did I disseminate, in so short a period such a vast number of copies of the New Testament, as since the time of the late bible prohibitions; and no where have I perceived a more lively and ardent desire after the word of God, than in those very places where infatuated men strive to dry up that fountain of living water, or to prevent the people from having free access to it!

Of this, the annexed copies of letters, selected from a vast number that pour in upon me, will convince you; many other letters from different quarters speak of the blessed fruits of repentance, renovation, putting off the old man, and putting on the new, daily produced in the hearts and conduct of those Christians who have obtained that Book of Books, with which they were unacquainted before, and which they esteem now as the most sacred rule of their faith and practice. Many persons, who were cold

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both in faith and in charity, have thereby been brought to know themselves, and have been made partakers of a life hid with Christ in God. A number of letters contain passages that bear testimony to the power and wisdom of God, experienced by multitudes in these days of distress and of famine; nothing short of this bread, which came from heaven, and gives life unto the world, was able to snatch them from the gulph of Despair, to soothe their minds, and to cheer them with hope and confidence in God, the Father of mercies. It has effected wonders, and satisfied more than the bread which perishes.

The physicians advise me to use the bath for the benefit of my health; but I can hardly spare so long a time from Bible distribution However, after much earnest prayer for divine direction, I have resolved, instead of going to a bathing-place, to make a Biblical tour. My aim will be to strengthen and confirm many friends of the Bible, to reconcile enemies, and to scatter the blessed seed of the word, on the right hand, and on the left. On the 16th of August, I begin my journey for the honour and glory of God. Pray for me that his protection and his blessing may be with me, for the sake of his cause; and that, by the power of his Spirit, I may, in weakness, be able to proclaim Christ, and him crucified, before friend and foe, and to communicate favourable results after my return.

Remember me to the continued favour of the Members of your most excellent Bible Society. I shall always willingly continue to labour with all my strength, as long as it is day, for the honour of our Divine Redeemer; to the end that he may be kown more and more, and many may be saved by the word of his salvation; that his name may be hallowed, his kingdom more effectually come, and his will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Amen, Hallelujah.

1. From the Senior Catholic Minister at January 29, 1817. You will perceive by the enclosed continuation of the Report of the Bible Society, that our zeal in the distribution of the Bible has been delightfully progressive.

I have been enabled to forward the good work more effectually by your kind assignment of 1000 copies. Pray receive, my beloved friend, once more my grateful thanks, as well as the expressions of gratitude from thousands of poor persons who could obtain no access to the fountain of life; and to whom the gospel will, in their distressed outward and inward condition, afford alleviation, light and comfort.

I reiterate, my brother in Christ, the wish expressed before, that the powerful word of our Lord and Master, to whom we devoutly bend our knees; that word which gives us peace of mind, relief, consolation, assurance of forgiveness of sins, joy, and salvation; which points out the right path, in our journey through this life, and will brighten even the gloomy moments of death; may be known throughout the earth, and among all nations, kindreds,

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and tongues; and bring forth fruit a thousand fold, in the hearts of all who read and hear it.

2. From another Catholic Minister at

January 24, 1817.

In order to promote a desire to peruse the Holy Scriptures, I read publicly, every Sunday, certain select passages of the New Testament; and have had the gratification of hearing that they' have been read over again, at home. I also endeavour to awaken the same desire by my sermons, as it is my duty to do. The rising generation will, if it please God, grow up with better principles for the regulation of their conduct in life.

3. From another Catholic Minister.

I have sometimes met with parents who have expressed themselves not friendly to the propagation of the Bible; but when, at a proper opportunity I presented their children with a New Testament, they have spoke in another strain, and I have found no further resistance on their part.

I hope and trust that God will be pleased to enlighten all men, and conduct them to the fountain of everlasting lite. It appears that the promulgation of the Bible has the same difficulties to encounter as the propagation of the Gospel had at first. This cause has many violent opponents; but we trust in God, that he will carry us to the end gloriously.

4. From the Catholic Chaplain at

March 25, 1817,

I was happy in receiving your letter of the 19th instant; my stock of New Testaments is exhausted, and I witness, with great pleasure, an ardent desire for the Holy Scriptures, in both young and old. My joy was greatly heightened, when I observed many of these making known to me, in simple, but significant language, the delight they experienced from the perusal of the saving word of God. The comfort and the power of the Gospel show themselves anew in the hearts of the faithful.

A farmer, whose minister you are well acquainted with, visited me lately; the Bible is his delight, though he has not perhaps the 'whole of the Vulgate in his house, much less a German version. This countryman had perused the New Testament with which you presented me; and said that himself and his family were, by reading it, better instructed, and more comforted and strengthened, than they had been before. He felt himself quite happy in having the word of God in his own house; it was the treasure mentioned in the Gospel, which he had discovered, and on which he sets the highest value.

I could add much more, to the same effect, from my own experience; but you are already possessed of so many similar instances from other quarters, that mine would not convey any thing new to you.

I have completely gained my three neighbouring Ministers over to the good cause of the Lord: they are afraid of no man who lays obstacles in the way of their distribution of the New Testament; they are ready, with myself, should it so happen, to endure the humiliation, and bear the cross, of Jesus Christ. But,

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here in Prussia, particularly as the King protects and values Bible Societies, endeavours to obstruct their progress will avail nothing.

Hasten, my dear friend, to send me a few hundred copies, gratis, and, if possible, bound. You do not know the extent of poverty in these parts.

(To be continued.)

EXTRACTS from the FIRST ANNUAL REPORT of the SABBATH SCHOOL UNION for SCOTLAND.-Presented 30th June, 1817.

IN presenting their first annual report, your committee do not consider it necessary to enter into any argument in favour of the general principles, or of the particular plan, upon which your society was founded. They will only beg permission to remind you of the great objects which were originally contemplated in its institution; as these will naturally lead to the best arrangement, for the report which they are now to make of the success of their exertions during the past year.

The leading objects of the Sabbath School Union for Scotland are these:-1st, To promote and encourage the formation of Sabbath Schools in every part of the country where their establishment is required. 2d, To form a central point of union for the various societies and schools, from whence every information connected with the subject of the religious instruction of youth, and all the knowledge and experience, acquired in the different individual establishments in connection with the society, may be easily and rapidly diffused over the whole, and from which may be exhibited an interesting view of the progress of Christianity among the rising generation. 3d, To select and publish the most suitable books and tracts, to be put into the hands of children; and by forming a depository for these, to afford to the various schools throughout the kingdom, the opportunity of obtaining them at the lowest possible price.

With regard to the first of these objects, your committee could not expect that they should be able, in their first report, to present you with a very large list of schools formed by their means. It obviously required a considerable time to obtain that circumstantial information which was necessary to guide them under this department of their plan; and even after such knowledge was acquired and acted upon, it could not be suddenly, or in a short period, that the operations of the committee could be followed with complete success. The general establishment of Sabbath Schools in places where they are most required that is, in places most destitute of religious instruction-it is evident, from the very nature of the thing, must be a progressive work, and can only be effected by the activity of a variety of causes, which it is not easy at once to combine or put in motion. Your committee, therefore, have been chiefly engaged in attempting, by means, of a very extensive correspondence, to excite throughout the country a spirit

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of interest and zeal in this great cause, and to diffuse a general acquaintance with the salutary influence of Sabbath Schools.

The committee have the satisfaction to know, however, that since the formation of the society, a considerable number of new schools have commenced in different parts of the country; and that in several of those previously existing, not only has the number of children greatly increased, but a greater degree of energy and animation has been distinctly perceptible in all the various departments of the schools.-These propitious changes the teachers, in some instances, have ascribed to the zeal which has been infused by means of your institution.

But for a more extensive effect in regard to this first branch of your plan, your committee look to the operation of a wide circulation of your report: and in this view they cannot omit the opportunity which the present occasion offers, of endeavouring, seriously and strongly, to impress upon the minds of those who profess an anxiety to maintain and to elevate the intellectual and moral character of Scotland, as well as of those who feel a concern for the eternal interests of their brethren, the conviction, that nothing can so effectually contribute to the accomplishment of their wishes, as the training of the youth in the principles of true religion.

The committee discern in the rising race, the elements of society for the years that are to come. They believe that the future character of the people must, in a great degree, be moulded by the principles which are now imbibed, and the habits which are now acquired by the youth throughout the land; and they cannot therefore refrain from recommending it earnestly to all, but to those more especially who are placed in stations of rank or influence, to turn to this subject their most serious thoughts; and, by encouraging the early religious improvement of those within their sphere of influence, to lay by far the most solid foundation for the highest of national attainments-the possession of an enlightened, religious, and virtuous population. It is highly gratifying to your committee to have it in their power to refer to the Right Honourable President of your society for the example of that special patronage to religious education which they wish so anxiously to recommend. One of the schools recently established, has been formed under his Lordship's particular direction.

The committee will now proceed to lay before you a concentrated view of the information they have received, respecting the state of the schools connected with the institution, and the modes of their management,

STATE OF THE SCHOOLS.

From the difficulty of communicating widely the precise views of the institution, it was not to be expected, that previous to the circulation of any report, a very general connection would be formed; yet your committee have to report, that already there are embraced under your bond of Union

324 SCHOOLS, containing 22,827 CHILDREN. In order to avoid