and that you will kindly send to it any subsequent publications of your works, as well as the few volumes which are wanting, as I have noticed from those you have sent, to complete the precious collection which already, thanks to you, embellish our establishment.

Receive, etc.

TIMOLEON I. PHILIMON, L'Ephore de la Chambre Hellénique.

India. In a recent letter from Mr. Pandurung the Committee are informed that one-half of the "Reflections" have been translated into the Marathi language by Mr. Pandurung's youngest daughter, who possesses a knowledge of the English language, under Mr. Pandurung's supervision. With the kind permission of Miss Clissold the work when completed will be dedicated to her, in accordance with a wish expressed by Miss Pandurung. Up to the present time Mr. Pandurung has been unable to obtain the services of a good Hindi translator for the "Heaven and Hell," but he is trying to obtain one in the NorthWest Provinces. It is intended to publish the chapters of the work as they are translated, and circulate them as widely as possible, and not wait for the completion of the work.

A thousand additional copies of the "Reflections" have been printed, and during the year 1181 copies have been sold and 47 presented. Of these 25 have been distributed by the kind assistance of Lieutenant Inman to military men of various rank, who have apparently read these works with great avidity and interest, many of them never having heard the name of "Swedenborg" before. Lieutenant Inman has intimated his willingness to be of further use to the Society, an offer the Committee hope to avail themselves of at an early date. Mr. Pandurung has kindly sent a donation to the Society's General Fund, and expresses the continued interest he feels in the good work in which the Society is engaged.

Italy. During a recent visit to the metropolis of Mr. Preston Powers, an opportunity was taken of enlisting his services in obtaining information respecting such public libraries and institutions in Italy as would be likely to accept copies of the works in Italian if presented by the Society. On his return to Florence Mr. Powers made a communication to the Rev. A. E. Ford, and a friend of the latter gentleman was discovered who was possessed of the requisite information, and who kindly offered to furnish Mr. Ford with a complete list of the existing institutions of this class. A circular has been prepared by Mr. Ford, and is now in course of distribution, in which an offer from the Society of the 4 vols. in Italian is made to the respective librarians. Mr. Ford is informed that there are in all Italy 143 public libraries, viz. 33 governmental and 110 municipal. The former are in the larger cities, and range from 150,000 to 300,000 vols. The latter are in places of considerable population and importance, such as Pestoria, Leghorn, Ferrara, Catania, etc., and contain from 20,000 to 30,000 vols.1

1 In 1873 a similar offer was made on behalf of the Society by Professor Scocia, and about seventy librarians accepted copies for their libraries.

Russia.-Arrangements have been made with Mr. Mittnacht to have 500 copies of the Polish translation of "Heaven and Hell" printed at a cost of about £75. When completed, efforts will be made to circulate the work as freely as possible, and it is thought that the nature of its contents will be very likely to attract more readers than the "Divine Providence," which has already been published. By Mr. Toustanovsky's will Mrs. Toustanovsky receives one-half only of the proceeds of the shares in the Nadeja Company left by her husband, the remaining half being paid to the Society to be used in publishing the works in the Polish language. In a recent letter Mrs. Toustanovsky, who is in her sixty-sixth year, states that for some time past her general health has required not only medical advice but a change of climate, but that her means have been insufficient to enable her to reap the benefit which such a change would probably ensure her. Under these circumstances the Committee have deemed it advisable to make Mrs. Toustanovsky a grant of £50 to help her in obtaining the relief from suffering which she so much needs. The Committee feel assured that their action in this matter will meet the approval of the members generally, more especially as the balance in hand of the Toustanovsky fund is amply sufficient for present purposes.

Smyrna.-In this case also an intimation was received from the Auxiliary Society of a paragraph in the Athenæum which stated that an Armenian Library and Reading-Room in this town was established in 1869 and now contained upwards of 2000 volumes. The institution belongs to the Gregorian or National Armenians and not to the Roman Catholic Armenians, but all have access. Many of the Armenians, it appears, are applying themselves to the study of English, and desire to increase the number of their English books. An offer of a selection of the works was made and accepted by the president and secretary on behalf of the library.

The Committee made a selection of 22 vols., of which 10 were in French, 4 in Italian, and 8 in English. The gentleman in London to whose care they were sent has acknowledged his reception of them, and kindly suggested that more readers would be likely to be found for the works if they were in the Persian or Turkish language. To the Persians, he adds, Islam is symbolical, and that a Persian treatise would be read in India.

Sweden. The price at which the first volume of the "True Christian Religion" in Swedish had been fixed having been considered too high, and in consequence the sales were much restricted, the Committee recommended the Rev. A. Boyesen to reduce the price to 3s. 6d. This change in price is too recent for the results to be reported.

Stockholm.-The Royal Library has been supplied with 12 volumes of the new editions of the works which have been recently published. In concluding their Report, the Committee particularly desire to impress upon the minds of the members that the operations of the Society are not intended to result in business profits, but to use all reasonable means and opportunities for circulating the works of

Swedenborg in this country and in all parts of the world. To this end your Committee have devoted all their energies, and they trust not unsuccessfully, and in resigning the trust reposed in them, they express unreservedly their firm belief that the future of the Society will be one of continuous prosperity, since its efforts are so intimately associated with the regeneration of the world.-By order of the Committee. The TREASURER (Mr. Samuel Teed) read the cash accounts for the past year.

Mr. JOBSON said it had fallen to his duty to have the privilege and honour of moving "That the Report of the Committee and the Treasurer's accounts be received, adopted, and printed for circulation under the direction of the new Committee," and he had very great pleasure in doing so, since the reports that had been presented had shown that they were rather going forward than backward, which in these bad times was something to be able to say. It would have given him far greater pleasure to have spoken to this resolution with greater results before them. As their Report had shown, there had only been issued during the past twelve months something like 5000 volumes, including the Hindoo pamphlet. Now 5000 volumes formed a very small number indeed for works of this kind, at the same time he did not view their labours with discouragement. If their principles were slow in their diffusion and adoption by their fellow-men, it was not a proof of their error, but rather of their soundness and superiority. In many instances error had spread quickly, but on the other hand, the sounder, the holier, the truer their doctrines were, the slower would be their propagation. They should expect them to spread slowly, because to be properly apprehended they required to be grasped by the understanding. It was not every one who had the power or the gift of thus grasping the doctrines of the New Church with the understanding. It was only to a limited number in the present state of society that that power was given, and even that was only half the work that had to be done. The doctrines had not only to enlighten the mind, to receive men's appreciation of their spiritual beauty, but they must also be carried out into practical life, and this work many had neither the taste nor the willingness to effect. The Report said in one place that the creeds of the Churches and the traditions of the elders, as popularly understood, were gradually but surely departing from among the professors of not a few of the colleges. Now he was quite willing to admit the truth of that portion of the Report, but they must at the same time remember there were many clergymen who were striving to maintain the old condition of things. In his experience of clergymen and ministers there was more genuine love of liberty of thought amongst the laity. His remarks did not apply to the esteemed ministers of the New Church, but outside he could not help thinking that ministers were moving to a very large extent from the pressure of the laity. The report also made another very excellent remark when it said that the great changes which had taken place in the social, political, and religious worlds since the formation of the Society were

difficult to estimate. He regarded those changes as owing to the hand of the Divine Providence operating by means of the New Church. It was impossible to have a high state of religious feeling without a basis upon which it could be built. If they looked back upon the history of their country-they could not compare by simply taking a very limited view of the state of the country-but if they looked back from century to century, they would find that their country had been at one time sunk in terrible degradation, that its history had been one continued succession of wars between people and sovereign, of conspiracies and so forth. Here and there would be found bright spots— the Reformation under Luther, the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus, and the establishment of the printing press-but they would find it presented a terrible contrast to what they had at the present day. If they regarded many of the conditions of life as it had formerly existed, such, for instance, as the institution of slavery and the state of the criminal laws, they would show the deplorable state in which the world had formerly been. But these blots had one by one been removed, and a purer and better morality existed, by means of which the reception of those heavenly doctrines of the New Church would be possible. Looking at the subject in this light he saw no cause for despair, but, on the contrary, let them take hope and encouragement, feeling that they were helping forward one of the best and noblest causes the world had ever had.

Mr. DUNCAN said it had fallen to him to be honoured by undertaking the duty of seconding the adoption of the Reports. It was indeed gratifying to learn that on this significant seventieth year of the age of the Swedenborg Society, that such excellent and promising results had been obtained, thanks to the efforts of the indefatigable members of their Committee. It was perhaps indulging the imagination a little to suppose that they had attained the condition usually attributed to those who had arrived at the ripe age of threescore years and ten-the allotted span of mortal existence. Their Society perhaps more nearly resembled a feeble lisping babe, lacking the full vigour of manhood. They were not, however, to expect a rapid development of the New Church. It was to be slow but very sure, and concurrent with man's capacity to receive it, and the extirpation of doctrines based upon falsehood and evil. It would doubtless resemble that of the early Christian Church, the disciples of which, glad in their day of small things to assemble in a little room, became the apostles of a Church which now numbered one-third of the inhabitants of the earth. Just as surely must the incipient and early efforts of that Society lead to equally vast and marvellous results, in which the active members of the New Church in the present day and the energetic propagators of its tenets would themselves have an honourable and conspicuous part. The importance of the objects of this Society were second to none, and the honour of holding office in it was not surpassed by any the State had to bestow. For the State had to deal with effects, but their officers had the higher duty of working in the loftier domain of the

causes of human thought and action, to disseminate the new seed which in due time would envelop the earth in beauty and fruitfulness, to spread abroad the knowledge which at no distant date should cover the whole earth. To that great end was that Society one of the humble but honoured instruments, and the practical means which its Committee were adopting with so much vigour and credit to themselves were making themselves felt in many directions. He looked with peculiar interest and hope on their efforts in Eastern lands. He thought they had a good and receptive soil in the pliant Oriental mind, unlikely to be startled and scandalized by being told of the substantiality of spirit. Unclouded by the teachings of a fallen Christianity, it would more readily accept the doctrine of the manifestation of Deity in a human form, and with it that magical sesame which opened every door, the law of correspondence. There was another field which their Committee had been cultivating in the presentations which had been made to students of copies of some of Swedenborg's works. That was ground promising a most fruitful harvest. Swedenborg had not only told them that the New Church was formed by degrees, but also that the universities, from whence came ministers, were first instructed. The Report also alluded to the heresy which had set in amongst the younger ministers, and the general agitation in religious circles in Scotland. Professor Robertson Smith of Aberdeen had come off triumphant at last, and by a majority of one he had been acquitted with an admonition; and he had heard that very night that a special commission had been appointed to inquire into the nature of the theological teaching in the colleges of the Free Church in Scotland, and the flood of heresy that had set in. Everything, in the hand of the Divine Providence, was moving in a right and hopeful direction. The march of the new ideas was irresistible, and would eventually end in supremacy. Let it be their pride, as it was their privilege, to support so good and so noble a cause. They should be grateful for the many benefits they had received at the Lord's hands, and in that way they would have good reason to indulge in the hope of still more promising reports, by which the glory and honour of the Church should be vastly increased.

The CHAIRMAN put the resolution to the meeting, when it was carried unanimously.

Mr. H. R. WILLIAMS then said that the resolution that had been put into his hands was that Mr. Teed be the Treasurer for the ensuing year. He said he need not dilate at all upon the importance of the office; for they were all well aware that very much of the success of any society must depend on the exertions of its treasurer, and he was sure that every member of the Committee would bear witness that they had in Mr. Teed a very valuable officer of the Society, and therefore he had much pleasure in proposing that resolution. He would take that opportunity of referring to a circumstance that had lately occurred to him that was not referred to in the Report, of a visit he had lately made to a gentleman who had been a very great contributor