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The originated in the con troversy respecting the circulation of the Apocrypha, and was composed of Protestants professing their belief in the doctrine of the Holy Trinity, and disposed to co-operate in promoting the dissemination of the Scriptures.

The was instituted upwards of forty years ago. At the time of its establishment, the other Bible societies&quot; in Scotland employed their funds chiefly in circulating the Scriptures in foreign countries. This association was intended exclusively for the distribu tion of the Bible at home, and its funds were at first derived from collections made in the parish churches within the Synod of Lothian and Tweeddale.

The Scotch Bible societies were amalgamated in 1861, and took the name of the. During the year 1874 the society issued 340,908 Bibles, Testaments, and &quot; Portions,&quot; its receipts, including the proceeds of sales, amounting to 20.840.

The first Bible society in America is believed to have been established by a few Baptists in New York in 1804 ; its object was to purchase and lend Bibles for a month at a time. The, which was instituted December 12, 1808, was for some years the only association in the country for the gratuitous distribution of the sacred Scriptures. The was formed at New York, May 8, 1817. It has numerous auxiliaries throughout the several states of the Union. In 1875 its income amounted to $577,569. Its issues during that year were 926,900 Bibles and Testaments, and since its formation 31,893,332.

Among other societies may be mentioned the, whose versions embody the views of the Baptists, and the (named from Bishop Porteus), for the circulation of Bibles marked so as to show the practical bearing of each chapter. It is believed that there are altogether about 70 Bible societies in the world. The issues of the 7 leading societies may be summarized as follows:—

The British and Foreign Bible Society 73,750,538 The American Bible Society. 31,893,332 The National Bible Society of Scotland 4,563,669 The Prussian Bible Society at Berlin 4,083,413 The Hibernian Bible Society 3,902,581 The Wiirtemberg Bible Society 1,279,960 The Netherlands Bible Society 1,258,643 Total 120,792,142 The monopoly of the right to print the Bible in England is still possessed by the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, and her Majesty s printer for England. But after a controversy, which was carried on for some time with great warmth (1840-41), the prices of the common Bibles and Testaments were greatly reduced, and they have gradually attained their present remarkable cheapness. In Scotland, on the expiry of the monopoly in 1839, Parliament refused to renew the patent, and appointed a Bible Board for Scotland, with power to grant licences to print the Authorized Version of the Scriptures. This step produced a great reduction in the price of the sacred volume, and its circulation was considerably increased. See Owen s History of the First Ten Years of the British and Foreign Bible Society ; Bible Triumphs, a Jubilee Memorial for tlie British and Foreign Bible Society; Brown s History of the Bible Society, 1859. 