unction from the Holy One prepare us for the duties and responsibilities of the session, and concentrate our entire moral being upon the great work to which we are called. Among the interesting recollections of the past year, there are some of a solemn and impressive character. We are forcibly reminded of the necessity of redeeming our time, and of girding ourselves for the work of God, by the recent departure of our beloved brother and Recording Secretary, the Rev. MORGAN J. RHEES, to the rest that remaineth for the people of God. At our last session we had the benefit of his valuable services, and listened with profit and pleasure to his judicious counsels; but that active hand is now still, and that persuasive tongue is now silent in death: long will his memory be cherished, and his loss deplored by the members of this Board. Amiable in manner, and gentle as a child in disposition and feeling, yet wise in council, prompt and energetic in action, his talent and labors were inestimable to this Society, while his admirable qualities and ardent piety endeared him to the entire circle in which he moved, and especially to those who were honored with his confidence. It was my very great privilege to be near him in his dying hours, and to frequently unite in prayer with and for his departed spirit; nor shall I soon forget those solemn scenes, for sweet and precious beyond expression were those moments of communion with that happy spirit, just about to be made perfect in heaven. Eloquent and artless he certainly was, both in the pulpit and on the platform, but more impressively and touchingly so upon the bed of death. I sat by his bedside, and listened to his affecting deprecations of an imperfect life and ministry, to his expressions of confident faith in the merits, grace, and cross of his Redeemer, and his exulting hope of immortal life, until I deeply realized that "The chamber where the good man meets with death, Is privileged beyond the common walks of life, Among the last of his expressed desires and prayers (not the least fervent) were for the prosperity of this Society and the successful prosecution of its work. Upon one occasion, when his physician had intimated some encouragement, and I had expressed the hope that he might yet be restored, he said, "Yes, it would be pleasant to live for my family, and that I might be present at our anniversary in Albany." Then, after a pause, in which he appeared absorbed in thought, he said, "But no, this is not probable, but you will be there. Say to our brethren, the word of the living God is in their hands, let it fly let the Bible fly over the whole earth!" I have delivered the message of that ardent spirit, when standing as upon the threshold of the Father's House, and shall we not listen to it? It comes back upon us as a voice re-echoed from his lone grave! Or rather like the mantle of the prophet that fell upon Elisha, as he ascended in a chariot of flame; it drops down upon us from heaven, as he was starting upon his upward flight from this dark world of sin and death, to the bright abodes of perfection and bliss. May the last desire of our departed secretary be answered on earth, while he lives in the presence of God and the Lamb in heaven. Beloved brethren, our Anniversaries not only afford the opportunity of mutual counsel and congratulation, but also to review the past; and from the recollections of the Divine goodness, derive motive to grateful confidence in his faithfulness and power, and the strong impulse to earnest devotedness in the important work confided to our hands. The history of the American and Foreign Bible Society is replete with interesting reminiscences that forcibly evince, in its formation and progress, the smiles of the Divine favor. Its origin was marked by peculiar and gracious interpositions of His unseen but mighty hand, leading His people in a way that they knew not, but in a path and progress beautifully illustrative of His superintending providence, and to results eminently calculated to glorify His name, and vindicate the authority of His word. With this history you are perfectly familiar, and have frequently admired the displays of wisdom and grace by which it has been characterized. After long and pleasant co-operation with our great and honored national institution, to whose treasury the zeal of our Churches contributed their full proportion, and after protracted and painful discussion, aid was refused by their Board to our foreign translations of the Scriptures; their patronage withheld, and for no other reason but because the fidelity of our translators imparted the inspirations of the Holy Spirit in intelligible terms, making known the will of God in heathen lands, in relation to the ordinances of His house. Our duty was plain and unquestionable. We were impelled, by our allegiance to the King in Zion and His sovereign claims upon us as the subjects of His moral government, to take the work into our own hands, and prosecute it in humble dependence upon His providence and promise, "whose we are and whom we serve." Who that was present at our great Denominational Convention at Philadelphia, in the year 1836, (an assembly unsurpassed in number and sanctified intelligence by any ecclesiastical body ever convened in this country,) could fail to have marked the evident tokens of the Divine presence and guidance? It was indicated, and by many deeply felt, in the progress of its earnest yet calm deliberations, and especially in its wise and almost unanimous conclusions. The concentrated wisdom of our churches then and there gave birth, impulse, and efficiency to the noble institution whose sixteenth anniversary we have convened to celebrate. Truly, "The Lord of Hosts was with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge." A society originating in the clearest evidence of the Divine will, has been most graciously sustained in its onward progress of increasing usefulness by the strongest expressions of the Divine approbation. All is animating in the past; I would now briefly advert to the present condition of our affairs. As our true position has by some minds been misunderstood, and by others questioned, it may not be improper upon this occasion to define that position. Since that memorable day, the principle embodied in the concise and sufficiently definite language of the Constitution has been faithfully adhered to. The will of its constituency then, so distinctly and with so much unanimity expressed, and so unequivocally repeated at the meeting of the Society in New-York, in 1850, has been regarded by your present Board as of solemn and binding obligation. They have not felt at liberty, in any case or in any form, to transcend their constitutional limits, while they have labored with earnest devotedness for the promotion of its great object, to aid in the wider circulation of the most faithful versions of the Holy Scriptures in all lands. Our labors in the department of home circulation have been necessarily limited, as by far the greater amount of the means confided to our trust by the liberality of our churches has been demanded by the more pressing claims of the foreign field. In this work we have been strictly confined to the English version in common use, without note, comment, or slightest alteration. We are not in any sense a revision society, nor have we understood that its founders ever contemplated this service. To revise and to circulate are terms of different import, and involve a responsibility of a very different character; it would surely not require a very elaborate argument to convince a candid mind that the one does not necessarily include the other. Neither can we be regarded as a translation society. Other minds and hands are charged with this responsible duty; and if in the progress of our labors it is ever requisite to employ agencies to this end, it must be regarded not as our proper and appropriate work, but rather as incidental if not indeed unhappy. We circulate foreign translations prepared by our missionaries in heathen lands and in Europe, under the direction of another Board, and whose seat of administration is in a different locality. We sympathise with them in their labors, and aid constitutionally their operations, but in their work we have neither control nor responsibility. In making this avowal we must not be understood as resisting all advancement in theological science and sound Biblical criticism; on the contrary, we would freely open our minds to the light that may radiate from any quarter upon these important subjects; and as freely contribute all we possess, of mind, means, or influence, for their promotion. Nay more, should a new version of the English Scriptures be produced, that is more faithful, and pronounced to be so by competent learning, and by the expressed confidence of the Church of God, why then, acting under the sanctions and in compliance with the requisitions of our Constitution, we would do our best endeavor to give it the wings of the morning and send it abroad through the length and breadth of our land. But we must be permitted to say, that with the wild radicalism of the day, that can approach even holy things with reckless temerity, and affiliate with various forms of error for the attainment of its object, we have not the slightest sympathy, nor can we have, so long as we regard the honor of God, the peace of the Church, and the highest good of mankind, as the primary objects for which we live, move, and have our being. The reports of our secretary will make you acquainted with the progress and incidents of the past year. They have been such as strikingly manifest the Providential favor of God, and call for our devout and grateful acknowledgements of his continued goodness and sustaining grace. Under circumstances of peculiar embarrassment; the death of some and the protracted indisposition of others among our most efficient agents; the untiring hostility to our advancement, to which it is painful to allude, and which any thing more than allusion might be considered as of questionable propriety; with all that has tended to depress and discourage, the amount gathered into our treas ury exceeds the preceding year. The receipts in donations exhibit an excess of $5000, evincing the cheering fact, that, however strenuously assailed, the society is sustained by and is constantly gaining upon the affections and confidence of the churches. Among the most gratifying events of the year has been the purchase and occupancy of a Bible House. A devoted brother, to whom pecuniary sacrifices are pleasure, and whose heart and hand is ever opened by generous impulses, purchased the premises, No. 115 Nassau street, until recently in possession of the American Bible Society, and made the liberal tender of 50 by 100 feet to the American and Foreign Bible Society for $55,000. We have gladly availed ourselves of this opportunity for obtaining a permanent location, and have already entered upon possession. A subscription has "been opened, and about $30,000 of the required amount has been pledged to this enterprise, and I cannot entertain a doubt but that the entire sum will be obtained ere the close of the present year. 'I need not detain you upon this subject, as the peculiar advantages of this locality, the objects con templated and the means by which it is proposed to attain them will be presented more in detail in the report of the corresponding secretary. There is much in this event to encourage our hearts and induce unhesitating reliance upon the wise and gracious government of God. How impressive are the lessons of His holy Providence, and how important that they should be humbly received and faithfully improved. The spacious room in which your board now convenes was once the scene of painful conflict. It was there that under adverse depressing circumstances, which severely tried their faith in God and the power of holy principle in controlling his people, that our brethren, Cone, Sommers, Colgate and Winterton, then in the prime of life and intellect, men of heart and men of strength, contended for the truth of God, urged the just claims and sustained the character of the Denomination. The result of that conflict, it is well known, was unhappy: the faithful representatives of the denominational sentiment and feeling were in effect expelled, constrained by the strong. est convictions of judgment and conscience to vacate their seats in that Board. Some 18 years have passed away and now in the mysterious and gracious movements of the divine hand we have returned to the same place where mind was in collision with mind in defence of the undisguised word of the God of truth, there to unite our councils and efforts, and around that then desecrated altar, offer up our fervent prayers at the throne, for its universal diffusion throughout the world. This is our work, our great and glorious work, the most important and sublime that ever engaged the thought or employed the energies of men; it is worthy of the most devoted zeal, of the most untiring effort, of the most expensive sacrifices. Let us gird ourselves to it in humble dependence upon the faithfulness and love of our divine Master. In the language of our dying secretary, "let the Word of our God fly; yea, let it fly !" until His way of grace and truth shall be known over the whole earth, and His saving health among all its nations. N. C. PLATT, Treasurer, made his report which was accepted. See page 54. The Corresponding Secretary presented the Annual Report of the Board. See page 55. The Hon. IRA HARRIS moved the acceptance of the report, and made very pertinent and eloquent remarks touching the Society's operations and prospects. He cordially welcomed them to Albany. The Rev. J. W. TAGGART presented and sustained with appropriate remarks the following resolution: Resolved, That devout gratitude is due to God, and cordial thanks to the individuals and churches contributing to the Society, for raising the amount this year contributed to its treasury by the persevering fidelity of its agents, so largely over that of former years. Adopted. Prayer by Rev. J. GIRDWOOD, of Mass. Adjourned to meet in the evening at 7 o'clock. EVENING SESSION. HALF-PAST 7 O'CLOCK. Society again convened. Prayer by Rev. WM. C. CHILD, of Mass. J. W. HOYT, Esq., of Cleveland, Ohio, offered and sustained the following resolution. Resolved, That the Bible, the gift of the Creator to man, and the fountain of spiritual truth, addresses its revelations to the soul as the voice of God, demanding faith and obedience. The resolution was adopted. Rev. J. LANSING BURROWS, of Philadelphia, offered and sustained the following: Resolved, That the Bible was designed by God, and is adapted by its own intrinsic character, to be a book for the people, rather than an esoteric manual for the priesthood. The resolution passed. Rev. J. HYATT SMITH, of Cleveland, Ohio, offered and advocated the following: Resolved, That in the spirit of Christian love and zeal, we will go forward upon the high errand of the American and Foreign Bible Society, in distributing the Word of God. Adopted. Resolved, That the thanks of the Society are cordially tendered to the beloved brethren for the addresses by which they have instructed and delighted us; and that they be requested to furnish the substance of them in written form, to be published and sent abroad for a still wider usefulness. Rev. S. S. CUTTING, of Mass., moved, and Rev. DR. DOWLING, of Philadelphia, seconded and sustained the following resolutions, which were unanimously adopted: Resolved, That the thanks of this Society are hereby tendered to the Committee on the purchase of a Bible House, and to the gentlemen associated with them as donors, who, by their sound judg ment, financial skill and practical benevolence, have secured the possession of the property now occupied by the Society in Nassau-st., in the city of New York. Resolved. That this Society regards the full payment of the purchase money at an early day, as a most desirable consummation, and commends this object to the consideration and liberality of the friends of the Bible cause. PROF. M. B ANDERSON offered a resolution of thanks cordially tendered to the Baptist churches in Albany, for their generous, fraternal welcome, and abundant hospitality, which was warmly adopted. The New Board was directed to hold their meeting for Organization the first Thursday of June, at 4 o'clock, in the Bible House, 115 Nassau-street. To them was confided the duty of making the appointment for the next Anniversary. Adjourned with the benediction by the President. 66 66 Dr. Devan, in France... "City Bible Society, for German and Irish Colportage in New 80 00 2,094 34 24.218 18 5.426 53 York City. Total amount of Appropriations. For Annual Report and Periodical Papers.- 821 69 For Incidental Expenses in Publishing and Sales Department. 462 12 66 "For Incidental Expenses in Secretary's Department... 318 47 46 66 For Insurance and Repairs.-- 98.01 66 For Anniversary Expenses For Discount and Exchange, last year... 100.00 98 71 By Balance in the Treasury at the commencement of the Year. Received, being interest on Bond and Mortgage for a sum required 2.785 17 5,499 64 4,050 00 72 93 $44 845 11 385 24 $45.230 35 We the subscribers, a committee appointed by the Board of Managers of the American and Foreign Bible Society, to audit the accounts of the Treasurer, do report that we have examined the accounts and vouchers of the Society for the last year, and find the same correct. The receipts from all sources have been Forty-four Thousand Two hundred and Fifteen Dollars and 84-100, and the pay ments have been Forty-five Thousand Two Hundred and Thirty Dollars and 35-100. Including & balance in the Treasury at the commencement of the year of Six Hundred and Twenty-nine Dollars and 27-100, leaves the Treasury overdrawn this day of Three Hundred and Eighty-five Dollars and 24-100, The Society is also in possession of a Bond and Mortgage on unencumbered real estate, for One Thousand Dollars, drawing interest for the same. SAMUEL RAYNOR, JOHN M. BRUCE, Auditing Committee. New York, April 30th, 1853. SIXTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT. WITH mingled emotions your Board of Managers proceed to the discharge of their accustomed duty, in presenting to the Society the report of their transactions for the last twelve months. On the one hand they have to acknowledge that it has proved to be a period of unusual prosperity. Objects of interest and importance which have long been contemplated as desirable for the prosecution and permanency of the Society's operations, have been entered upon with cheering success. On the other hand, however, for the first time in the whole history of this organization, one of its executive officers, greatly beloved and confided in, has been called away by death, in the midst of his usefulness, and surrounded by all the affecting mementoes of his intense interest in the work which we are now prosecuting. Our beloved brother and associate, MORGAN J. RHEES, D. D., one of the Secretaries of this Institution, both by his life and his death has furnished the most powerful appeal to all of us who remain, to do with our might what our hand findeth, and our heart hath purposed. A suitable testimonial of regard for his unsurpassed worth, and his noble fidelity to the cause with which this Society is identified, was entered on the minutes of the Board, and has been extensively published in the following words: "At a regular meeting of the Board of Managers of the American and Foreign Bible Society, at 16 Park Place, on the 3d of March, the following action was unanimously taken : "The Board of Managers of the American and Foreign Bible Society, deeply penetrated with a mournful sense of the bereavement they have experienced in the removal by death of their beloved and highly esteemed associate, Rev. M. J. RHEES, D. D., for nearly three years, the Recording Secretary of this Institution, and a most efficient member of the Board, desire to enter upon the minutes of this body their unanimous, cordial, profound testimony of the inestimable value of services which, officially and otherwise, this brother beloved had rendered to this Society. "An arrangement had been entered into by which he was expected to give constant assistance in the Corresponding Secretary's department, especially when that officer was necessarily absent from the Rooms. On these duties he had just entered, with characteristic ardor, and that noble far-seeing devotement eminently characteristic of his renewed and sanctified nature. His last visit to our city was paid to these Rooms, and on this embassy of holy love. Here, where we meet for deliberation, he suffered a severe paroxysm of the disease which soon hurried him to the grave, thus rendering the very place of our assembling henceforth more sacredly endeared to us. "For the merciful interposition of Divine goodness which smoothed his passage to the tomb, and irradiated his pathway with a light so pure and glorious, we would record our devout acknowledgments, as well as for the assurance that in a higher sphere, where the Master has called him, not one of his estimable qualities will be lost. May his bereaved family and church experience Divine consolation, and, in the assurance of our mutual sufferings, may our sympathics be also blended. Entreating of our Heavenly Father, from whom cometh every |