me, in the great and blessed work, in which we are engaged, and which by the overruling providence and grace of God, is progressing in every direction. I adore and bless the Lord, that my application for five additional colporteurs, has been so early responded to by the Board of the American and Foreign Bible Society. May the Lord abundantly bless and reward our American brethren, for this new proof of their interest in the spiritual and eternal welfare of my countrymen. I cannot sufficiently admire the graeious providence of God, in calling your noble institution into existence, at a time when its aid has become invaluable and absolutely necessary to the missions of the American Baptist Missionary Union, in this country. Thus, the Lord causes all things, even the sins of great Societies, to work together for the furtherance and accomplishment of his own purposes. But for the strange and unaccountable resolutions passed by the B. and F. Bible Society, and afterwards adopted by the American Bible Society, against our denomination, the A. and F. B. S. might never have existed, and we should have been without the powerful aid which we now enjoy.

The fifteen Colporteurs are already all engaged in the work assigned to them, and as in April a direct line of Steam packets begins to run between this and New York, I shall then send you all their journals, some perhaps translated, from which you will learn the extent of their labor, and find, whilst all are directed to have the main object of the Society, the circulation of the Holy Scriptures, constantly in view, we have not confined them to this, as is the case with other Bible Societies, but that they embrace every opportunity presented to acquaint their perishing fellow men with the truth as it is in Jesus. At least 100,000 tracts have been distributed by your Colporteurs during the past year, and nearly all have preached the Gospel in larger or smaller assemblies, as they have had opportunities. In some places they have the pulpit oversight of the little bands of christians, which have been gathered by their labour, under the Spirit's blessing, and to the cause of Sabbath Schools, they have also rendered essential service. I am oppo sed to the mere mechanical process adopted by most Bible Societies, of selling a great number of Scriptures. The individuals who purchase our scriptures, should be made to feel that our Colporteurs are more than hawkersthat they are the servants of the living God, and witnesses of the Lord Jesus Christ, and that their great aim is, to win the souls of men for Christ. I trust, therefore that the Board will allow full scope to their Colporteurs, to labour by every possible way to win souls, always keeping in mind the primary object of the Society-the circulation of God's holy word.

The amount of scriptures circulated during the past year has been most gratifying. It is as follows:

This amount of precious seed has been sown, in one year, accompanied by the fervent prayers of the brethren, sustained by your Board. How many never-dying souls have thus been brought to heaven's door; and how many of these may have been sweetly forced to enter whilst there is room, the great day will reveal, when Sion's King shall make up his jewels. Much of the blessing with which the Lord has crowned our work, we have seen already in the conversion of sinners and in their peace, joy, knowledge, holiness and zeal. God's own truth, made powerful by his Spirit, has achieved these triumphs. Yes, again and again our hearts have been filled with joy that cannot be expressed, when beholding the all-conquering power of God's truth, triumphing over the pride, ignorance, and opposition of sinful mortals. We have seen and heard of glorious things during the past year. Here at Hamburg, we have had a precious rich harvest of souls. 119 were buried with Christ in his own ordinance and added to the Church. Most of the churches have shared in this out pouring of the Spirit, and new churches have been formed and still greater fields of usefulness opened before us. And yet our work is only in its infancy. If the Lord keeps us for the future from self, Satan and error, and enables us by his Spirit, to adhere to and dive more and more into his truth, so that seeing and feeling its beauty and its power on our own hearts and thus constraining us to labor with more zeal and to yet greater extent, we shall yet see far greater things. I wish to see some hundred churches formed in this country after the model and spirit of the churches, which 1800 years ago were in Judea in Christ Jesus, before I quit the stage; and if we look back on what the Lord has already done, and remember that all things are possible with him, why should we not ask of him all our heart's desire, and expect its fulfilment.

From the enclosed account you will see that a balance of Marks 3551 6 is due to me, or leaving out of the amount received for scriptures sold, Marks 7192, a balance in my favor of Marks 10,743 7. The account has been made up both with and without the receipts for scriptures. When I wrote last for money, I had overlooked the remittance of $1000 through the A. B. M. Union, but notwithstanding this, I must beg of you to send another remittance without delay, as the amount just received does not cover the balance due to me, and fully 3000 per account, I have yet to pay for paper. I am now printing 10,000 Testaments, which will complete the 50,000, but at least 30,000 more ought to be printed during the Summer, as otherwise I shall be in endless trouble about the binding of them; that is, to have the printers' ink dry sufficient for binding. I am also in great want of an edition of a small 8vo bible, as a school bible. It will take yet a considerable time before the 12mo bible can be ready which you have ordered, I therefore beg that the Board will allow me to have 2500 or 5000 copies struck off from the above school bible, from the plates of the Edinburgh Bible Society, to which the Committee of that society have given their consent. Indeed, as I am in the greatest need of these bibles, and hoping that the Board will meet my request, the printing will have commenced before this reaches you.

The stereotyping of the 16mo. Testament will now soon be taken in hand Now for this, and salaries of Colporteurs, I shall require as early as possible $2000 more at least.

I have now to make a request for myself. On the 9th of January, we celebrated here the 25th Jubilee of the German Sabbath School, in which the Lord permitted me, to take a leading part at its formation. 5000 children have been instructed in the first school which I was permitted to raise, and several other schools, in all about 14 or 16 in number have since been formed. I was anxious to enrich the children both in the original school and also in our own, on that day with a copy of the New Testament; and 380 children accordingly received each a copy of the New Testament, issued at the expense of the A. & F. B. S. Now as the full price of these testaments amounts to a sum too much for me to give, I would beg the Board to let me have these 380 copies at half price; the loss of the Society would not be quite £5.

"The Scriptures which I was obliged to purchase to the amount of Marks 1.539 1-2 as stated in the account, I greatly needed.”

After speaking of the political convulsions in Germany, and the disposition of national churches to persecute, he adds,

"How soon much of the liberty we still have to teach and preach God's truth, may again be taken from us, I cannot say; but the bare possibility should stimulate us to the most powerful exertions. About Austria I cannot write to-day."

In a postscript, Brother Oncken, says:

"I beg to call your attention still to the desirableness of engaging a Colporteur to labor among the seamen in the harbor of Hamburg and Altona, and up and down the river at smaller places. We have a brother in the church, a waterman, who speaks English and German, who would be very suitable for this purpose. But he would need a higher salary than colporteurs here ordinarily. It would require $150 annually. I recommend this matter to the consideration of the Board."

France.

The corrected version of the French Testament, to which allusion was made in the last Report, has been issued, and a number of copies sent to France for distribution and examination. Sufficient time has not yet elapsed to ascertain the reception which it is likely to meet. The design, as before stated, is, not to stereotype the work until it has undergone the most careful revision after examination and criticism by the learned. One of our Missionaries writes regarding it :

"I have as yet given only a casual examination to the book, but even that has served to convince me, that it is better done than I anticipated it would be. It is written in far better French than I could compose ;-as regards the fidelity of the translation it is also good."

A considerable number of letters has been received from Dr. Devan, whose location has been lately changed from Paris to

Lyons. In consequence of the circumstances mentioned in the last Periodical, he has done but little in scripture colportage during the year. In one of his latest letters, dated February 20, 1850, speaking of Bible operations, he says:

"You cite the success of Bro. Oncken. There is no more analogy between the German and French character-and German and French social usages-than there is between age and childhood. Government is here hemming us in closer and closer every month. Already have we been threatened by our rulers with the intervention of armed force to prevent our meetings. Socialism and anarchy have been employed by the Devil to seize the identical means employed by Christians to advance the Redeemer's kingdom, and hence we are confounded with these Socialists in the eyes of the authorities. And yet in view of all,—we are encouraged. The work decidedly advances, and we rejoice. More are they that are for us than they that are against us."

We have received several journals of our French colporteurs. The following, the journal of Louis Guillot, for the first fortnight of the month of June, will afford a fair specimen of their general character.

Journal of Louis Guillot-for the first half of the month of June.

At St. O. I met several persons with whom I conversed about the gospel; they appeared to listen to me quite attentively. I called upon an inn-keeper, at whose house I had given away some tracts, and sold a few copies of the New Testament. He told me that the priest having seen the tracts in the hands of his children, told him he ought not to allow them to read such wicked books. He replied that they should read them, and that he might be pleased or not, just as he chose. I gave him our chapel address, and he promised to attend.

At the Barrière St. Jacques, I called upon a wine merchant who had purchased a New Testament, before expressing himself very much pleased to have me. Upon calling again, I asked him whether he was pleased with his purchase; he replied yes, very much, he had found some very valuable truths there; he purchased another and gave it to his domestic, while I was there, advising her to read it.

I spoke also to four or five soldiers by the way, who assented to all I said, and promised to come to my chapel. I had a conversation of pretty much the same character with another individual, who also promised to attend our meeting.

At B. I did not see any Testament, but I had a conversation with an infidel whom I met. He ridiculed the New Testament, and said we might have need of, it as it had been put into our heads that we had a soul to save, and we might believe such foolishness if we chose; and said he, in ridicule, "Do you expect to go to heaven?" I replied that such was my effort and desire; he asked scornfully, "How have you found the way? I told him, "It was revealed in the New Testament. Jesus Christ has said,

I am the way, the truth, and the life."" No one can come to the Father but by me." He then wished to take my Testament and trample it under his feet. I told him at parting that it was on his own responsibility that he refused, for it was the word of God which I offered him, and I left him.

I made also several other insignificant calls, about which it is hardly worth while to write.

The sum of $500 was appropriated for colportage in France, under Dr. Devan.

Italian Scriptures.

DR. ACHILLI.

In the last Periodical were published extracts from several letters of Dr. Achilli, showing the openings for usefulness at Rome, shortly after he entered that city, and the prospect of good resulting from scripture distribution. His subsequent imprisonment was also announced. Your Board was so deeply impressed with a sense of the injustice done to him in such imprisonment by the Papal government, that, after waiting a suitable period to ascertain whether his English friends on his behalf would probably be successful, they pursued a similar course to that formerly adopted in the case of Oncken, and applied by petition to the authority which they thought most likely to be induced to interfere effectually for his release. The following is a copy of the petition which they prepared for the occasion.

TO HIS EXCELLENCY, LOUIS NAPOLEON, PRESIDENT of the FRENCH REPUBLIC.

The Petition of the American and Foreign Bible Society.

MR. PRESIDENT:-Information from authentic sources has reached your petitioners, that the Rev. Dr. G. Achilli, late Professor in St. Julian's College, Malta, has been imprisoned in the city of Rome, since that city has been under the protection of your republican government, and that he is still held in imprisonment under charges and accusations of offences alleged to have been committed many years ago. Your petitioners wish to represent to your Excellency, that it is understood and believed by them, that the charges and accusations referred to, either are unsupported by fact, or were not regarded by Rome as sufficient ground for his imprisonment, until Dr. Achilli was known to have left the communion of the Church of Rome, and to be actively engaged in the circulation of the Sacred Scriptures; and that his renunciation of Papal supremacy, and his labors for the spread of what he esteems the truth, are believed to be the real causes of the proceedings against him. Your petitioners would further represent that Dr. Achilli is justly celebrated as a man of letters, distinguished for his philoI ogical attainments, and bighly regarded both in Great Britain and in this country, as a christian and philanthropist. The incarceration of such a man,