CONTENTS.

Page

INTRODUCTION

History of the Bible Society's Edition of the Welsh Scriptures

Remarks arising from it

General Division of the Subject

§. I. Absolute and paramount Importance of circulating the

§. II. State of the World with respect to the Knowledge of the

Scriptures, when the Bible Society was first proposed ...

Want of Bibles in India .......

1

4

12

17

18

24

25

35

§. III. Necessity of a new Bible Society ......

§. IV. Advantages connected with the Bible Society.

1. Unexampled Dissemination of the Scriptures.

2. Unanimity among Christians..

3. Removes Ground of Offence, &c.

4. Bond of Union with Foreign Churches

5. Beneficial to the Church of England

6. Preserves Text from Corruption

§. V. Objections.

1. Constitution of the Bible Society

.....

2. Members of Bible Society embrace a less Good, &c.......

3. New Society injures Funds of old

4. Impairs its relative Importance..

5. Contaminates its Purity

6. Injures Cause of Christian Charity

7. Contains Seeds of Decay

61

63

70

71

73

74

77

84

98

103

106

107

... 111

11. Its Bibles pass through noxious Channels

116

118

12. Has no Law to secure its professed Object

13. Originated in Love of Novelty, and has no Security for

Honesty of Versions

14. Founded in a Spirit of Rivalry

15. Supported only by Five Bishops..

16. Supported only by Half a Dozen Lords

17. Tends to produce Indifference to Christianity

18. Is closely connected with other hurtful Societies

§. VI. Proposed Remedies.

1. Church of England Subscribers to recede

149

150

154

... 156

165

169

ib.

217

2. Society to embrace Objects merely foreign ·

223

3. To receive no Church of England Members not belonging

to Society for promoting Christian Knowledge

§. VII. Miscellaneous Observations.

1. Manner of Dr. Wordsworth's Letter

.....

ib.

227

2. Its Conjectures and Hypotheses

3. Its Reflections on Lord Teignmouth

4. Its incorrect Suppositions

5. Incorrect Impressions produced by it..

6. Relative Value of Forms and Doctrines.

7. Poverty of old Society, &c.

3. Activity of Religious Public

9. Dissenters hostile to the Church

10. Patronage of Bishops

Concluding Observations

.....

Postscript-Intelligence from India

APPENDIX.

A. Correspondence in 1800, 1801, and 1802, shewing the Want
of a new Edition of the Welsh Scriptures, and the Diffi-
culty of obtaining one ......

B. Extracts from the Minutes of the Committee of the Bible

Society, on the Correction of the Welsh Bible for the

Press

C. Correspondence respecting the Society's Edition of the Welsh

-Scriptures, and Minutes of the Committee of the Bible

Society upon the Subject

vi

viii

Page

D. Statement of the Rules observed in preparing the Society's

Edition of the Welsh Scriptures for the Press ............. xxxvi

E. Extracts of Letters, &c. shewing the Want of Bibles in

different Parts of the World ....

liv

F. Correspondence in 1791, shewing the great Want which

then existed of a further Supply of Welsh Bibles lxiii

G. Testimonies in Favour of the Constitution of the Bible So-

ciety

H. Letters and other Documents, shewing the Extent of Good

done by the Bible Society ......

lxviii

lxxxiv

xcix

I. Extracts shewing the want of Protestant Missionaries in

India

K. Extracts shewing the Popish Nature of the Objections

made to the Bible Society .......

CV

L. Specimen of the Arabic New Testament, published by

the Society

cxiii

M. Extracts of Letters illustrating the Nature of the Sunday

School Society...

cxvii

1