Necessity of a revised Code of Rules.

prices, shall, from time to time, be expended in the purchase of Bibles and Testaments at prime cost, to be given or sold amongst the mariners of these islands.

X. That application be made to the Edinburgh Bible Society, for permission to lay out the disposeable funds of this society in purchasing, at their depository, Bibles and Testaments at their prime cost.

XI. That a list of vessels employed in the Davies' Straits and Greenland fisheries in the year 1818, which touched at the port of Lerwick, whose masters, agents, and mariners are members of the society, be made out, to accompany these regulations.

XII. That a sufficient number of these regulations and list be printed, for distribution amongst the subscribers; and that the expense be defrayed out of the funds of the society.

XIII. That these regulations remain in force until altered or amended in a general meeting of the society, of which due notice must be given at the quarterly December meeting preceding.

Signed, in the name and on the behalf of the subscribers, by
W.GN. M'CRAE, Comptroller of Customs,
Secretary and Treasurer."

The list referred to in the 11th Rule comprises the names of thirty-four ships, whose masters are members of this society; and blanks are left opposite to each, for the insertion of the requisite particulars, on a plan similar to that of the " Agent's Registry, specimen of which will be found in its proper place, in Section IV. of this chapter.

SECTION III.

RULES AND REGULATIONS.

1. Having thus traced the progress and observed the modes of proceeding adopted by the various Marine Bible Societies established in the sea-ports of Great Britain, the reader cannot fail to remark the want of uniformity in the Regulations by which they are governed, and of that mutual identity of organization, to which much of the success which has attended kindred institutions may be ascribed.-The state of this part of the system, at the present period, bears a striking resemblance to that of "Auxiliary Societies" in the year 1811; and the necessity of a Code of Rules adapted to the peculiar nature of the design, and calculated to promote its stability and extension, must be evident to all who feel interested in the object. Whether the following Regulations be altogether such as may meet the exigencies of the case, it is not for the author to decide: if they only furnish hints on which others may improve, or induce the more general adoption of the measures detailed in the preceding Sections, his wishes will be equally gratified.

Laws and Regulations recommended for adoption.

2. RESOLUTIONS recommended for adoption at Meetings convened for the establishment of MARINE BIBLE SOCIETIES, at Sea-ports.

I. That the object and constitution of the British and Foreign Bible Society have the cordial approbation of this Meeting.

II. That a Society be now formed, to be called “The - Marine Bible Society," for promoting the circulation of the holy scriptures among Seamen, and of co-operating, through the medium of the Auxiliary (or Branch)

Society, with the British and Foreign Bible Society.

III. That the Bibles and Testaments circulated by this society shall be without note or comment, and that those in the languages of the United Kingdom shall be of the authorised versions only.

IV. That all persons subscribing one guinea or upwards per annum, or ten guineas or upwards at one time, shall be members of this society.

other

V. That the business of this society shall be conducted by a President, Treasurer, Secretaries, and a Committee consisting of members, five of whom shall be a quorum.

VI. That the Committee shall meet once every month, or oftener if necessary, on some day to be fixed by themselves.

VII. That it shall be the duty of the Committee, either personally, or by means of agents regularly appointed, to visit the ships in this harbour, whether they belong to this or any other port, in order to ascertain the want of Bibles and Testaments; and that the Committee shall furnish them therewith, at prime cost, reduced prices, or gratuitously, at their discretion.

VIII. That the Committee shall adopt every suitable measure for encouraging and assisting in the formation of Bible Associations on board Merchant Ships, according to the rules recommended by the Parent Society.

IX. That the funds of this society, or such part thereof as the Committee shall direct, whether arising from subscriptions, donations, or the sale of Bibles and Testaments, shall from time to time be expended in the purchase of Bibles and Testaments at prime cost, to be distributed among Seamen as before directed; and that any surplus which may arise, be remitted annually to the ➖➖➖ Auxiliary (or Branch) Bible Society, in aid of the general object of the British and Foreign Bible Society.

X. That the Committee shall be authorised to entrust Captains of Merchant Ships with Bibles and Testaments for distribution by sale, to an extent not exceeding £.- to any one Master. Such Bibles and Testaments to be sold at not less than one-half their cost prices, a list of which, with a form of returns, shall be given to every Captain with the Bibles and Testaments committed to his charge.

XI. That the Committee shall endeavour to obtain the cost prices of all Bibles and Testaments issued by them, whether to seamen individually or for the ship's use; and that in all cases where copies are delivered under such cost prices, or gratuitously, the name of this society shall be branded on the outsides of the cover.

XII. That a General Meeting of the Subscribers be held at the

on

in each year; when the accounts shall be presented, the proceedings of the past year stated, a new Committee appointed, and a report agreed upon, to be printed under the direction of the Committee.

XIII. That in the formation of the new Committee, the Treasurer, Secretaries, and such three-fourths of the other members as have most frequently attended the Committee, shall be re-eligible for the ensuing year. XIV. That Treasurer, Secretaries,

and

be President,

Members of the Committee for the year ensuing. XV. That annual subscriptions and donations be now entered into, and

Observations on the Rules and Regulations.

that they be also received by the Treasurer, Secretaries, and the several bankers of this town and neighbourhood.

XVI. That a copy of these Resolutions, signed by the Secretaries, be transmitted to the Committee of the Auxiliary (or Branch) Bible

Society.

o'clock,

XVII. That the Committee meet on the instant, at and prepare an address on the object and views of this Society, to be printed and circulated with the Rules now adopted, among the merchants, shipowners, and captains of this port; and that a copy be transmitted to the Committee of the British and Foreign Bible Society.

OBSERVATIONS.

3. Many of the remarks already submitted, in reference to the Rules and By-Laws of Auxiliary Societies, (See Chap. II. Sections II. & III.) will be found equally applicable in the case now under consideration. There are, however, some peculiarities in the nature and constitution of a Marine Bible Society, which demand more particular notice.

1. It will be observed, that the term "Auxiliary" is omitted in the Second Rule; as its adoption might lead to confusion, by identi fying the establishment in question with the Local Society. It is however earnestly hoped, that many Marine Societies will follow the example of their elder sisters in the Northern Counties, by contributing their aid to the general object of the Parent Insti tution.

11. It may be occasionally found of advantage to add « VicePresidents to the honorary officers specified in the Fifth Rule this, however, will be matter for local arrangement. With regard to the number of secretaries, two will be sufficient, especially if the society employ agents. The appointment of the latter will, in all probability, be a circumstance of rare occurrence, except in seaports of considerable magnitude, and the duties enjoined by the Seventh Rule be discharged by the members of the Committee in rotation. If the Committee consist of twenty-four or thirty mem bers, and six be appointed monthly as Visitors, the state of every ship may be investigated, and the interest be preserved, without subjecting the gentlemen thus engaged to any extraordinary incon

venience.

III. As the practical tendency of the Eighth Rule will be fully considered in Section V. it is only necessary, in this place, to observe, that in no respect can the services and influence of the Committee be more profitably directed, than in the promotion and organization of those highly important institutions to which the regulation refers.

IV. The Reader will be prepared to appreciate the provisions of the Tenth Rule, on referring to the proceedings of the Whitby and Hull Societies, in Section I., where every necessary information relative to this part of the plan has been already given. It is difficult

Y

The Agent's or Visitor's Memorandum Book.

to specify the precise amount of Bibles and Testaments which should be entrusted to any particular captain for sale, as much will depend on the character of the individual, and the nature of his voyage; but perhaps 10. may be judiciously entered as the maximum. In this, as well as every other part of the design, the discretion of the Committee must be exercised, to guard against abuse, and protect the interests of the society. The considerations suggested by the Eleventh Rule will be found among the general remarks in the last section of this chapter.

SECTION IV.

FORMS OF THE BOOKS, And mode of keeping THE ACCOUNTS,

In all the Specimens contained in this and the following Sections, the entries in Italics are to be considered as Manuscript.

Many of the Books and Papers required by a Marine Bible Society are similar to those of an Auxiliary Society, which have been fully described in Chap. II. Section V.; and the requisite alterations in the mode of making the entries will readily suggest themselves to the secretaries. It may be necessary, however, to observe, that an account should be opened in the Leger, with every owner, &c. whose ship has been supplied, whether by sale or gratuitously, in order to shew what it has cost the society to furnish the vessel. The London Merchant-Seamen's Society has experienced the advantage of this plan; as in many instances the owners have subsequently paid for the Bibles and Testaments on receiving a bill of parcels, though the supply in the first instance was gratuitous. The following are the Books and Papers peculiar to a Marine Society.

I.—THE AGENT'S (OR VISITOR'S) MEMORANDUM BOOK.

This book should be of a convenient size for the pocket, and ought to be taken on board every ship visited or revisited. The author is not aware that any such book is now in use; but he ventures to recommend its adoption, as calculated to save considerable trouble. It may contain about 300 pages, each of which should be printed according to the Specimen, leaving blanks for the entries, which are here inserted in italics. If it be cut in the form of an alphabetical index, leaving a suitable number of pages for every letter, it will facilitate the reference to any particular ship. A few blank pages may be left at the end of the book, for the purpose of noting any observations in reference to vessels revisited, the original entries of which are in a preceding Memorandum Book.

Specimen of the Agent's Memorandum Book.-Observations, &c.

14. Amount received for Bibles and Testaments .

15. Amount of Donations and Subscriptions received for

None. £.3.6.8

One Pound.

66

The Captain told me, that in his last long voyage he found the benefit of giving suitable instruction to those under his orders. Every sabbath morning it was his practice to assemble his people together to prayers and to hear the Scriptures read; and in the after-part of the day, he observed, it was pleasant to behold the seamen scattered about the ship, under the boats, and in other shady places, reading their Bibles. "Great things, Sir," said he, can be done, if Owners and Commanders are pleased to put their hands to the good work, which I hope they will do, when they see it to be their interest, as well as their duty, to attend to the morals of their people: no Owner or Captain ought to receive the Scriptures without contributing to the funds. I intreat you, Sir, to accept of a pound note, towards defraying the expense attending the circulation of Bibles and Testaments amongst our seamen : I wish I could do more."― It will be observed, that cost prices have been obtained for all the copies sold on board this ship. I was pleased with the candid confession of one of the crew, who carried with him an honest countenance: he said aloud-" We sailors have been swearers quite long enough; it is now high time we began to pray-let me have a Bible."

II. THE AGENT'S REGISTRY.

This should be a large quarto book, to open lengthways. A few pages at the beginning may be ruled according to the Specimen No. 1, for the purpose of entering the receipts and deliveries of Bibles and Testaments, which should be balanced every month. The remainder of the book should be ruled according to Specimen No. 2. On returning to his office, the Agent should immediately enter from the Memorandum Book the requisite particulars into the Registry, the specimen of which will sufficiently explain the mode of proceeding.