The Reports of the society from year to year have been replete with interesting details, not only of progress, but also of results; and yet it may safely be inferred that the good which has been directly and indirectly accom- plished tln-(,ngh its instrumentality has not "half been told. F:ternity only can reveal the full extent of in- Huences that have been so far-rea(^hing, and in many instances so remote from ordinary human observation. A few items, condensed from the society's official docu- ments, may serve as partial indications of the magnitude to which, froin the small beginnings noted above, its ojjcr- ations have grown. The society has printed important tracts and books in one hundred and twenty different languages and dialects. Its present annual issues from its own depositories and those of foreign societies, through which it acts, are about sixty-three millions, and its aggregate issues during eighty years past have been about two thousand millions. It lias co-operated
with every Protestant Christian mission in the worhl. It has assailed popery on the Continent of Europe, Mo- hammedanism in the -East, and paganism of various forms in heathen lands. It has given a Christian liter- ature to nations just emerging from bari)arism. Its pulilications have passed the wall of China, and have entered the (lalace of the Celestial emperor. They have instructed the princes of Burmah, and opened the self- sealed lips of the devotee in India. They have gone to the sons of Africa to teach them, in their bondage, the liberty of the (iospel. They have preached Christ cruci- fied to the Jew and also to the (ireek; while ii: the home land they have continued to offer the truths and conso- lations of religion to soldiers, to sailors, to prisoners, to the inmates of hospitals, and, in short, to rich and poor in every circumstance of life. In the year 1849, the Religious Tract Society celebrated its semi-centennial jubilee. In connection with that interesting event, a large jubilee fund was raised to increase the usefulness of the society. A jubilee memorial volume was also published, setting forth in an able and interesting man- ner the history of its first fifty years of work and prog- ress. When, in the year 1899, the society shall cele- brate its centennial, a still grander sh<iwiiig of results may be expected.
The additional tract societies of Creat Britain, aside •from merely local organizations, are not numerous. The following are the principal : The Religious Tract and Book Society of Scotland (Edinburgh). The primary organization of this society dates back to 1793. It is not a publishing society, and for many years had a feeble existence. About 185U it adopted a system of colportage similar to that of the American Tract Society, and, since that period, has greatlv multi[)lied its influence and use- fulness. It embraces branch societies at Glasgow and Aberdeen, and employs some two hundred colporteurs. The Stirling Tract Enterprise, founded in 1848, is chiefly a publishing institution, issuing both tracts and period- icals. The Dublin Tract Society issues tracts in large numbers. The Monthly Tract Society, London, was in- stituted in 1837.
lu passing from Great Britain to other countries, the number of tract societies is found to be very great. For the most part, they combine publication with distribu- tion, receiving aid from the Religious Tract Society of London to enable them to publish tracts and books in their several localities. It is therefore deemed sufficient to give the title and date of organization, omitting de- tails of history and statistics, although in many instances of great interest.
Continent of EtiROPE. — Tract Society of Norway and Denmark, 1T09 ; Stockholm Evano;elical Society, ISl.'J; Re- ligious Tract Society of Finland,' 1818; Tract" Society of Copeuhagen, 1S20: Stuttgart Tract Society, 1S1,S; Prussian Tract Society, Berlin, 1815; Tract Society of Wupperthal, 1814 ; Lower Saxony Tract Society, Hamlniro;, 1S'2(» ; Tract Society of Leipsic, 1821 ; The Netherlands Tract Society, 1S21 ; The Bel-ian Tract Society, 183.5: The Beltrian Evaii- gelical Society, 1839; Reli<;iousTiact Society of Paris. 1820; Evaiii;elical Society of France, IS'iit ; Religious Book So- ciety "of Toulouse, 1835; Tract Society of Berne, 1802; Tract Society of Basle, 1810; Tract Societies of Lausanne, Neufchatel, and Geneva, 1S28 ; EyaiiL'flical Society of Ge- neva, 1831; Tract Societies of J^t.G:ill, Zinicli, and Chur, 1834; Tract and Book Publishing House of the Methodist Episcopal Church, Bremen, 1850.
India Native Tract Society at Nagercoil, Travancore,
1924; Calcutta Book and Tract Society, 1825; Tract Socie- ties of Madras, Bellary, Belganm, Bombay, Sural, and Be- nares, 1825-26 ; Tiact Societies of Bangalore, Orissa, Al- lepie, Chuuar, and Qui Ion, 1829-30; Tract Societies of Mir- zapore, Viza<;apatam, C'uddapah, Neyoor, and Mangalore, 1832-40; Jafi"na Religious Tract Society, 1825; Tract So- cieties of Gotta and Colombo, 1835 ; Ceylon Christian Ver- nacular Education Society and Relitrious Tiact Society, 18()0 ; North India Tract Society, Allahabad ; Puiiiaub Re- ligious Book Society; The Christian Union of Java, 1833; Tract Society of Mauritius, 1824; Burmah Bible and Tract Society, 1861.
China — From the beginning of Christian missions in China the circulation of religions tracts and books has been diligently prosecuted. To that end nearly every separate mission has served as a publishing agency of greater or less extent. Almost all the missions have re-
TRACTS AND TRACT SOCIETIES 515 TRACTS AND TRACT SOCIETIES
ceivert from the tract societies of England and America aid for their work of publication. In ISTS the Chinese Kelifious Tract Society was organized at Shanghai. It is^composed of represeulalive missionaries of various churches, and proposes to organize auxiliaries and local societies'wherever Christian churches are established.