From the Book Stock and Sales Account it will be found that in addition to the 636 volumes of the A. E. mentioned in connection with Mr. T. Potts of Manchester, that of the following pocket editions there have been delivered The deliveries of the True Christian Religion within the official are year, 499 copies, in addition to the copies presented gratuitously to clergymen, ministers, students, etc., which do not appear in the Sale account. If this number is contrasted with the former average annual sale of rather less than 80 copies, the impetus given to the circulation of this important work by its reduction in price, and without the cost of advertisements, is in the opinion of your Committee a result which fully justifies the step taken by it during the year. In addition to the delivery of 305 copies of the pocket edition of the Heaven and Hell, which is 215 more than the previous year, 128 copies of the large edition have been delivered, or only 5 less than the previous year, making the total delivery of this work 433 vols. against 223 vols., or 210 vols. more than last year. PRESENTATIONS.-In addition to those made to the Noncomformist Colleges, and the copies of the True Christian Religion already mentioned Mr. J. Martin, the Accrington Colporteur-Apocalypse Explained, Conjugial Love, Last Judgment, Four Leading Doctrines, Earths in the Universe, New Jerusalem and Heavenly Doctrine. Rev. W. C. Buller, Pocklington, Yorkshire - True Christian Religion. Rev. A. Hood, Boston-True Christian Religion, Divine Love and Wisdom, Divine Providence. Mr. Edward M. Pulsford, LeicesterApocalypse Explained, Divine Love and Wisdom, Conjugial Love, Index to Arcana Celestia, 2 vols. Mr. T. Harriot, author of "The Bible in Unity with Science"-True Christian Religion. Mr. E. W. Bailey, Coseley, Tipton-True Christian Religion. Mr. J. R. Boyle, Bacup- Your Committee purposes to append to this Report, when printed, a list of the works which have been presented at different times since the Society's formation to individuals, societies, and colleges, &c. The Committee is indebted to Mr. Speirs, the agent, for its compilation, and trusts that the labour expended upon it, and cost of printing, will be amply repaid by its usefulness. After a few years presentations are apt to be forgotten by new Committees, and an instance has occurred of an offer having been made to an institution which already had received a set of the theological works. A reference to the list will prevent similar oversights, and also be the means of informing the members how widely the theological works in particular are now spread. LATIN WORKS. The great fire at Boston, United States, having destroyed the stock of Latin Works belonging to the American convention, an application was made by Rev. J. Reed for a further supply. Your Committee at once offered half its stock on hand on reasonable terms. INDEX BIBLICUS.-In October 500 copies of the Supplement to this work were ordered to be printed at a cost of about £10. The Index is now complete, and forms a valuable aid to students and ministers, to whom its presentation would prove an acceptable gift. ALTERATION OF RULES.-In November the Committee received in writing a notice of resolutions to be moved at this meeting for altering the rules, a copy of which appeared in the Intellectual Repository for April, p. 125. Your Committee recommends the proposed alterations to the members on the ground that in its opinion their adpotion will be beneficial to the working of the Society by leading to an increased interest in its operations on the part of country members. FOREIGN-Italy. -Last year your Committee reported that Professor Scocia was engaged in translating the Divine Providence into Italian. From a communication recently received from Rev. A. E. Ford, that work will be completed this month, making with the New Jerusalem and its Heavenly Doctrine and the Heaven and Hell, three vols. in the Italian language. Your Committee recommends the presentation of copies of this work also to the public libraries of Italy, who have recently, with many expressions of thankfulness, accepted copies of the two former works. In January last, Dr. John Jackson of Oregon remitted the sum of £10 for aiding the Committee in the work of Italian translation, for which your Committee returned its grateful acknowledgment. Russia.-Your Committee has great pleasure in reporting the transfer of the sixty shares in the "Nadejda" (Hope) Insurance Company, St Petersburg, to the Society, and the receipt of the dividends payable up to March last for 3 years, amounting to £324, 3s. Sd., half of which has been paid to Mrs. Toustanovsky under the provisions of the will. The expenses attendant upon the transference of the shares, and the bank charges for collecting and remitting the dividends, etc., were £23, 10s. 6d., leaving a nett sum of £138, 11s. 4d. This sum is to be applied to the publication of the MSS. in Polish now in the Society's possession. Dr Viettingoff has kindly undertaken to examine the MSS., and if his report is a favourable one, it will be the duty of the new Committee to print and publish them at an early opportunity. Scandinavia.-In November last your Committee offered the sum of £50 to the Rev. A. Boyesen towards printing an edition of the True Christian Religion in Norwegian, provided he could obtain a similar grant from the American friends. This he has done, and the work is now in the printer's hands, and ere long the people in Scandinavia will have within their reach the ripest, fruit of the labours of the great Seer. The Christianstad Printing Society have recommenced revising and reprinting the Arcana Celestia in Swedish, and have applied for the assistance of the Society, which has been offered to the extent of £15 for each vol. printed. Seven vols. of the Arcana Celestia have been completed. FOREIGN PRESENTATIONS.-Rev. J. Reynolds, Berea, Port Natal, in Latin, Heuven and Hell, Divine Love and Wisdom; in English, Apocalypse Revealed, Divine Providence. The Brisbane Society has had the following works at a cost of one third, viz.:-True Christian Religion, 3 copies; Four Leading Doctrines, 2 copies; Apocalypse Revealed, Apocalypse Explained, Divine Love and Wisdom, and Index to Arcana Cœlestia. DOCUMENTS.-The first vol. of the English translation of the Documents is in the printer's hands, and is expected to be ready for delivery to subscribers about October. Mr. Ross, of Boston, United States, communicated to the Society, through Rev. S. Warren, the generous offer to be responsible for the American friends to the extent of £150 on receiving an equivalent in books, which he will undertake to distribute. The second vol. is in pre paration, and the vol. to contain copies of the original documents will follow with all convenient speed. The Committee trusts that all who can will add their name to the list of subscribers, so that this most important work may now be completed without delay-a work the publication of which is of the greatest importance, seeing that the minds of men are more and more turned to the writings of Swedenborg by their increasing circulation. In resigning its trust into the hands of the members, your Committee gratefully acknowledges the Divine assistance it has received in its labours during the past year. The responsibilities of the Society have now assumed very large proportions in respect to the means at its disposal, and it becomes an urgent duty upon both members and officers during the coming year, to place the usefulness of the Society in the forefront of the varied agencies which the spirit of the New Age has and is creating-"opening the gates that the righteous nation who keepeth the truth may enter in."-By order of the Committee. T. H. ELLIOTT, Sec. THE TREASURER'S REPORT.-From this Report it appeared that the Society's income during the past year, including the balance in hand and the anonymous gift of £1000, amounted to £2695, 18s. 10d.; and that the expenditure was £1018, 1s. 3d., leaving a balance of £1677, 1s. 3d. It was satisfactory to learn that this prosperous state of the funds was not entirely owing to the extraordinary increase from the large donation, but arose partly from a considerable augmentation of income from the ordinary sources of revenue, the subscribers being more numerous than they were the previous year. Mr. C. W. SMITH moved the adoption of the Report and Accounts with much pleasure. The Society was to be congratulated in that success and prosperity were manifested in every department of its work: He was thankful to Divine Providence that the Committee had been so energetic and so successful. When they found one friend giving £1000 it was fair to presume that they might have other friends following the example according to their means. That the Society was doing great good there could be no doubt. He had the opportunity of hearing through his son, who had been cruising for the last three years in the South Pacific, interesting accounts of what had been done in some remote regions. His son had occasion to stay some time in Sydney, New South Wales, and was pleased to find that Swedenborg's works had been presented to the Free Library there, and moreover, that they had a great number of readers. He was led to hope, upon conversing with some New Church friends, that a Society would be formed before long in Sydney. His son also went to Adelaide and Brisbane, and called upon Mr. Diggles at the latter town. He was heartily welcomed, and after breakfasting with Mr. Diggles, went to the services which were held in the Brisbane Town Hall, and which were attended regularly during the three months he stayed there by congregations averaging fifty or sixty persons. In conversation with the Marquis of Normanby, the Governor of Queensland, his son told the Marquis that his father was a New Churchman living in England, whereupon the Marquis said, "We have a Society of them here, not very numerous; but there is not a more respectable body in the colony." (Cheers.) Not long ago Mr. Williams made a present of the works to the Society in Camden Road, and in the course of a discussion upon the doctrines recently in which he, Mr. Smith, was speaking on the doctrine of free-will, but was interrupted in his argument by the expiration of "time." A gentleman rose after him and said he knew whence Mr. Smith had derived his arguments, since he had seen similar views in one of Swedenborg's works which he had borrowed from the Camden Road Library. This showed, said Mr. Smith, that wherever New Churchmen went they were respected and held in esteem; they had no reason to be ashamed of the principles of their Society. There was a large New Church Society in Melbourne in a highly prosperous condition; there would shortly be one at Sydney also; there was another at Brisbane, Queensland, and there would be one at Adelaide. When they saw societies thus springing up in remote quarters of the world they had good reason to believe the Swedenborg Society was doing some amount of good. Mr. Smith concluded by moving the adoption of the Reports. The Rev. Mr. COLLEY (Church of England) said, it gave him great pleasure to second the last speaker's motion. It was, he said, impossible to attend a meeting of the Swedenborg Society without feeling that it was identical in interest with the New Church, although it was entirely distinct in its operations and aims. They could not speak of Swedenborg and Swedenborg's works without identifying themselves to some extent with the work carried on by the New Church. As a clergyman of the Church of England, it never distressed him to hear of good done anywhere. He was always glad to see an advancement of knowledge coming from whatever quarter it might, and he never felt any jealousy with regard to good done in any quarter. He expressed his pleasure upon hearing of the success which attended the spread of Swedenborg's views as a manifestation more especially coming from the New Church. But from his own standpoint he had experiences which were different in some respects from those which had been just placed before them. Sometimes there was great discouragement concerning the spread of Swedenborg's works, but he yet had at other times a degree of encouragement that compensated for the previous discouragement. The Chairman had read Mr. Clissold's admirable letter to the Society, and he, Mr. Clissold, looking abroad over the whole Christian Church, from his vast experience and deep research could see much that they who were of later date did not apprehend. In many ways Mr. Clissold could stand as it were on lofty heights and survey the points of contrast existing between different denominations and different churches, and see divers points and ways where a good word spoken and direction proffered might do a large amount of good. Mr. Clissold remarked upon the meeting of the English Church Uuion to be held in the St. James's Hall that evening. There was a strong upheaval in the Church which had now awakened the attention of the legislature in a remarkable manner. Mr. Clissold |