Laws and Regulations adopted by the Association.

the generous co-operation of the Whitby Auxiliary Bible Society, and the liberality of Captain SCORESBY, of the Mars, Greenland ship, who presented a munificent donation of fifty guineas in aid of the funds of the infant establishment.— The following are the

LAWS and REGULATIONS of the WHITBY MARINE BIBLE ASSOCIATION.

I. This society shall be designated "The Whitby Marine Bible Association, for promoting the circulation of the Scriptures among the seamen belonging to this town or visitants to this port, and for employing them as agents to convey this sacred treasure to those parts of the world which they may visit"-in the fulfilment of these objects, co-operating, through means of the Whitby Auxiliary Society, with the British and Foreign Bible Society.

II. Every subscriber of one penny per week or upwards shall be a member of this society.

III. The business of the institution shall be conducted by a president, (who shall also be treasurer,) two secretaries, and a committee of twelve members, any five of whom shall be competent to act.

IV. The members of the Committee of the Whitby Auxiliary Bible Society shall have the privilege of attending and voting at the committee meetings of this association.

V. The Committee shall meet, once every month, on some day and place to be fixed on by themselves.

VI. It shall be a particular part of the business of the Committee, either themselves or by means of agents, to visit the ships in this harbour, whether they belong to this or any other port, with a view to their being supplied with Bibles, and to promote, when it is practicable, the establishment of Associations on board the vessels.

VII. All members of Associations on board of ships belonging to this port shall be considered as members of this Association; and all presidents and other office-bearers of such Associations shall be entitled to attend and vote at the meetings of the Committee.

VIII. Such part of the funds of this Association as may not be required for its own immediate objects, if any, shall be annually given to the Whitby Auxiliary Bible Society, with a view to aid the funds of the British and Foreign Bible Society.

IX. The annual meeting of the Association shall be held on the second Tuesday of February, in each year, when a Committee shall be chosen, the accounts presented, and the proceedings of the foregoing year reported.

The mode of distribution originally adopted by the Committee was, to send on board every ship requiring a supply, a few copies for the use of the crew, and a more considerable number for sale, under the care of the captain; to whom a paper containing printed directions, and a form for returns, was addressed,-Specimens of which are subjoined. But owing to the protracted returns which they received, they have found it expedient to restrict their issues, by confining them to these captains, and others, who purchase copies for sale and distribution; except in reference to the Greenland ships. With regard to these, the Committee still adhere to their former practice, and entrust their captains, as before, with Bibles and Testaments for sale; their usually quick return not

Mode of distribution.-Directions to Captains of Ships.

occasioning the same difficulties as with vessels bound on other foreign voyages. This plan is extremely simple; and in those cases where the ships belong to the port at which the society is formed, it is well calculated to effect the object. For every parcel of Bibles and Testaments sent on board, the captain signs a printed receipt, of which the following is a Specimen ;-the words in italics being inserted by the Secretary.

"No. 117.

Whitby, 17th August, 1819.

RECEIVED of the Committee of the Whitby Marine Bible Associa tion, for sale among the Crew of the Ship Henry, or others, Twelve Minion and Eight Nonpareil Bibles; together with Twenty Brevier English, and Ten Foreign Testaments.

John Thornton, Master."

A paper, of which the following is a copy, is at the same time given to the captain:

DIRECTIONS TO THE CAPTAINS OF SHIPS,

for the Distribution of the Bibles and Testaments committed to their Charge by the Committee of the WHITBY MARINE BIBLE ASSOCIATION. 1. The captain is desired to dispose of the Bibles and Testaments among his crew, at the following prices : viz.

2. Provided the captain finds he has more Bibles and Testaments com. mitted to his care than are requisite for the use of his own crew, he shall be at liberty to dispose of the surplus, at the above prices, to the captain or crew of any ship with which he may meet who are in want of Bibles.

3. The Foreign Testaments (if any) may be disposed of to any person acquainted with the language, at 2s. each, or as near that price as can be obtained.

4. If any of the Bibles or Testaments remain unsold after the termination of the voyage, the captain is desired to return them to the depository at Messrs. Clark and. Medd's, or to either of the secretaries of the Association; together with an account of the money he may have received in return for the Bibles sold.

5. It is recommended to the captain to establish, where it is practicable, an Association on board of his ship, agreeable to the plan suggested in the circular" Address to Owners, Commanders, and Mariners."+

The author would respectfully suggest the advantage of inserting the costprices, and giving a discretionary authority to the respective captains to sell, if necessary, at a specified abatement.

Form of a Captain's Account of Sales, &c.

On the corresponding half sheet of this paper (which is of octavo size) the form of the Return is ruled, according to the following

Returned the above, and paid 21. 7s. 9d. to the Secretary of the Whitby
Marine Bible Association.

J. Thornton.

During the four years, ending February 1820, this Society has distributed 824 Bibles and Testaments; and collected 2371. 14s. 44d., of which the sum of 271. 1s. has been voted to the Auxiliary for the General Object of the Parent Institution.

In their Annual Report for 1819, the Committee state, that

"a large increase of subscribers has been obtained: so that the amount of annual subscriptions, exclusive of donations, exceeds that of any former year. Of the donations received this year, several were collected by Capt. Potter, among his friends at or near Stokesley; and one donation of a guinea, communicated by Capt. Scoresby, was contributed by fourteen Shetland seamen, belonging to the Fame: which instance of liberality your Committee think proper to notice, not only as a stimulus to others, but as a pleasing indication of the growing interest which seamen feel in the cause of the Bible."

The following extract from the same Report forms an appropriate conclusion to this sketch of the constitution and proceedings of this interesting society: the language is certainly strong; but it is a melancholy fact that it is too generally applicable :

Hull Marine Bible Association.

"Our sailors have been complained of by foreigners, as exhibiting a most lamentable specimen of the British character: and no wonder ; for they have been left too long, to wander in the darkness of ignorance, to riot in the excesses of vice, and to sport with their immortal interests on the very brink of an eternal world. If merchants have had cause to complain of the profligacy of seamen, surely they themselves are to blame: there is a Book that would have taught them, but that Book has never been given: they have denied them the means of instruction, then complained of their ignorance: they have kept the light of Heaven from their minds, then wondered at their superstition: they have condemned their profligacy, yet never warned them of the great evil of sin, or pointed out the dreadful consequences of their crimes. Surely the language of the sacred moralist is of extensive, yea of universal application, ' Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it ;' for, to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.'"■

3. A Marine Bible Association, on the plan of that at Whitby was established at Hull, in February 1817. The prudence, animation, and perseverance that have characterized this society, and the success which has attended their judicious measures, entitle it to particular commendation. Previously to its formation, the plan was laid before the principal Ship Owners, and communicated to a number of respectable Masters of Vessels; and, as it met with their approbation and concurrence, no time was lost in carrying the design into execution. The General Meeting was attended by 700 or 800 seafaring men, who conducted themseives with the greatest propriety, and listened with the most evident interest and feeling to the addresses which were made to them. Several Owners immediately subscribed on behalf of their respective ships, as did a considerable number of Masters, who likewise undertook to superintend the affairs of the society on board their vessels.

Within six months after the establishment of this Association, 1133 Bibles and Testaments were consigned to various captains for sale and the first Master from whom intelligence was received on the subject, reported, that he had disposed of his whole stock previously to his reaching the Orkney Islands, and within seven days of his leaving Hull; and that he was unable to afford to many of his crew the supply they desired.

In their first Annual Report, the Committee state

"In the course of the year, 720 Bibles, 207 Testaments, or, in the whole, nearly one thousand copies of the sacred writings, have been furnished to different vessels from the stock of this Association, and sold to the seamen. It is needless, after this statement, to say that the Masters have been found

This Association has supplied many Fishermen on the coast with Bibles and Testaments, by sale and gratuitously, an example worthy of general imitation.

Proceedings and results of the Hull Association.

extremely ready to promote the objects of this institution: but it is gratifying to add, from the report of the Masters, that the seamen were generally well disposed to avail themselves of the opportunity of procuring copies of the Scriptures, and that in many instances they were observed, both singly and in groupes, making a proper use of them, at times of leisure. Several Masters of fishing-ships state, that they could have disposed of more copies than they took out; and one of them, who, owing to particular circumstances, had on board the stock designed for the unfortunate ship London,'* sold the whole of them, as well as his own stock. It is to be observed, however, that as it was thought necessary to sell the books to the men at the reduced prices of the Bible Society, (which are much below the cost-prices,) a loss of nearly 601. has been sustained upon the books thus disposed of. To counterbalance this loss, as well as to defray incidental expenses, and thus to prevent the Association's becoming a burden, instead of an aid, to the Parent Society, two measures have been resorted to. One is, that of soliciting subscriptions from the owners of the ships :-and the Committee are happy to state, that subscriptions of one guinea each have been put down for forty-three fishing ships, and of half-a-guinea each for twenty-six merchant vessels; and further subscriptions, they hope, will be obtained. The other measure, which is to be considered as a primary object in view, is the formation of Minor or Branch Associations on board the several vessels, under the superintendence of the Masters, for the reception of free subscriptions, of one penny a-week each, from such of the seamen as, being themselves furnished with Bibles, may be willing to contribute that sum during their respective voyages, for the pious and benevolent object of putting the sacred scriptures into the hands of those who may not otherwise have the means of obtaining them. This measure has hitherto been carried into effect on board only three vessels: but the Committee trust that the general establishment of such Branch Associations will furnish a leading feature in the next year's Report."

The hope thus expressed has been in a good degree realised. At their second Annual Meeting in February 1819, the Committee were enabled to state

I. That Bible Associations had been established on board
nine ships, which had produced the sum of 15l. 13s. 4d.
II. That the total number of Bibles and Testaments supplied
to different vessels was 1581, the whole of which had been
sold to the crews, with the exception of fifty copies lost
on board the ships Three Brothers and Manique.

III. That the cost-price of these 1581 copies was 336l. 17s. 10d.; and that this amount had not only been discharged, by means of the produce of the sales, and of free contributions and associations on board ships, but that a balance of 271. 5s. 7d. had been presented to the Treasurer of the Hull Auxiliary Society, for the general object of the Parent Institution.-And,

IV. That the amount of incidental expenses was only 4l. 12s. 2d.

The London perished, with all hands, in a storm among mountains of ice.