Despite a year of—unparalled economic distress and of widespread Political and social "unrest, the British and Foreign Bible Society has been able, according to its 128th annual report, to place ten and a half million volumes of Holy Scripture fu the hangs of the people of the World, Mofeover, the Gospel has been printed in 11 new languages; eight being for Atria, one for Asia, tone for South America, total sales, Rowewer, declined those countries; except in Lithuania. copies of the Christian Scriptures {mostly Gospels) should have beer bought last year in Asia is worth pondering: it means, surely, that the Kitigdom of the universal Lord, who after
that continent. The figure is large, Himself an Asiatic, a but. not quite so large as in the versions now stands at 655, namely, Bibles, 148; New Testaments 161; and sinaller integral portions of the Bible, 846. An outstanding feature of this vast undertaking is that all the money for the year's working has been provided by the work of Christian people in many lands.
The details of distribution for this year is shown in the—following 1 commotion and rebellion.
absorbed more copies than ever before, and the growth, we due to an increasing interest in the deeper things of life and religion in these days of econo:
New Testasieais': Soekee 8517.88
Total 10582, In Korea the Bible continues to be the best-seller and the most-read increased from 645,000 b> 680,000. fourth special reprint of the New the publication of a shilling edition great event of the year was of the Authorised Version with the help of funds contributed by frien in Canada and Newfoundland, Since April 131 copies have been produc:
rapidly as modern processes fre able, and in the eight months during' which copies Have been on Sale no fewer than 357,000. have teen issued." Of these approxima 1y. 282,000 were sold in the British Tiles. and' 125,000 were sent abroad, The sales of other editions brought the total figure up to 633,041, which is"the largest. number of complete English Bibles ever cold by the Society ina year. On the other ihand, 22,000 fewer Testaments, and 243,000 fewer single books of the Bible were issued, 40 that, as com pared with the Previous 13. months, There was a net decrease of 164,000 in the issue of the English Seriptures, The reason for this decline not far to seek. Single books of the Bible, chiefly Gospels, are large-Iy'distributed among emigrants In the\great ports of the Empire, and during 1031 this distribution fell to few thousands, because for the ime being: the tide of migration has ily ceased. More people left ada, for example, than entered fein' the ports of Canada and Newfoundland an average of 11 000 volumes weeded ed; 37,000 copies had been sold by 5 but apart from this there was some falling off. In the Malay Peninsula and throughout the Eastern Archipelago 223,000 volumes languages were placed in the hands of men and women' of varied race, chiefly by indefatigable -colperteurs, and this was somewhat less 1
The largest decrease of all took What astonishes not that 188,000 would have been sent, id, but rather that 4,500,000 books ' were taken by During the past five years of unexampled political tur-
209,000 Testaments, part) have been circulated in China by the Society alone. This surely that the Chi which bulks so large in the newspapers is net the only China. The vast. circulation may be partly attributable to the. Bible Society's extensive organisation to the fine exertions of the 450. dauntless colporteurs, and still more to the
Christians seek to propagate their zeal with' which "many Chinese faith. But it is accounted for ultimately. by something in the people "who buy. the books An eminent Chinese. professor of philosophy, Dr. T. ©. Chao, of Peking University, thus concludes a survey of the present religious Ghina: "Those who have eyes to See and ears to hear, should know that this. country. i spiritual hunger and thirst' for Christ and for the Spirit of God, gives peace to the heart and hope in this life,' The figures we have quoted bear witness to the truth of what Dr. Chao affirms. Once again we have to report an increased sale of the complete Chinese Bible; the sale in 1931 surpass. ed all previous records. This betokens a growing literacy among Chinese Christians, and a rising tide of spiritual energy" in the Chinese Church.
There was no decline in the lands that are predominantly Moslem, In the Egypt Agency, which comprises Anglo-Egyptian. Sudan, Abys-la, Palestine, Syria and Cyprus, 8 Well as Egypt, the sales) were the "highest on record: 166,740 volumes in 95 languages. The multiplicity of tongues reported is, in part, owing to the work done on the steamers in Port Said and Alexandria harbours; and here we may note. in. passing that, new launch has, by the generosity of a friend, been provided for Port Said. But many languages are indigenous to these lands; and of the Seripturca in classical the sacred: language of Islam, 101,000 copies were dispensed, and 5,000 inthe colloquial Arabic of Egypt, the colporteurs exrried these volumes far and wide. One of them visited Bedouin camp of 9,000 tents Syria and sold a Bible to the sheikh, "who confessed that he had never heard of Jesus Christ. "In the countries lying between Egypt and the Atlantic close upon 70,000 books vere. distributed among the, hetero. generous population, he Society's (Continued on page 314.)
1931 the gute declined to 12,656. Te should be added that a large pro portion of these, volumes given to Immigrants are in languages other than English. "Because of this decrease in immigration, and for other reasons, the circulation (where, however, is not" confined to"
000 copies: im. Australia by. 40, in South Africa by 29,000; in ud. By 1,120.
When, we look over the rest, the world, says the report, we discover that. 1,800,000 "volumes of [Scripture were circulated in Euroyé 16,900,000 in Asi {370,000 in Africa; 418,700 in South' Ameri So far as Europe is concerned, the sales in the Latin countries of the west have almost doubled in the last ten years, and this year again show fan increase: Italy of 42,000 and Spain of 32,000; but proportionately the work in Bulgaria and Greece was more successful, the former reporting a 50 per cent and the latter a 16 per cent. n above the figures for 1930. In Greece. the-active opposition which red agains the Scriptures in modern Greek has disappeared; of this version 70,000 copies were' sold last year, as against 10,000 of the ancient Greek. One of the colporteurs was neavtily welcomed among the monks en the Isle of Patmos, and they eagerly purchased the modern version. In Some of the countries of central Europe, where present distresses are at' the maximum, the sales diminished; but many who are suffering purchased the Word of tel! God, we are told, ith a now wistfulness and hope." Once. again can be reported an enlarged circulation in Austria, and in Hungary also the colporteurs found an i creased demand. A Hungarian pet Sant who walked 20 kilometres to secure.a free copy of the Bible; had no' money to pay for one. Russi still keeps her doors barred. against the Bible," but, wherever Russians live in exile outside the Soviet Re-Publics, whether in France or in Canada, Persia or Manchuria, the Society' has endeavoured to meet the need: of their hearts for the Scriptures. In the Baltic republics, for example, Russians purchased some thousands of copies. The How to be sure you get the right piano The price of any piano is too large a sum to chance on the hope of getting a You take no risks when you buy a Robinson, When a Robinson goes into your home it has behind it a proven reputation, jealously guarded by its maker.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.