Rev A Brandram - No 66
Falmouth, 14th December 1837
My Dear Friend,
I gave you some account of our Bible Society transactions in the parish of St Ann's, the whole of which was of an encouraging nature, and came not short but exceeded the expectations of the parish under its actual circumstances. ―The next parish in order is Trelawny, the one from which I now write you. Our public and annual meeting here was fixed for the 12th of this month, and I looked forward to that day with some interest as a period that should fix the standing and future prospect of the Trelawny Bible Society. ―About a week before our general meeting took place, I attended a meeting at Stewart Town about 20 miles from Falmouth, and which was held with the purpose of forming a Bible Association. This meeting was of the most cheering kind. Our chair was occupied by a civilian, the best merchant of the place. There were five ministers present, and I may say we all spoke the same thing, and that there were no divisions among us, notwithstanding our peculiar and various insignia. It was a most harmonious and delightful meeting, and we felt all glad that we had come together, and rejoiced in the goodness of God which we had experienced. Our auxiliary or association was formed, and it promises to be a useful branch of our parish society.
On the evening of the 12th the Court House in Falmouth was lighted up and arranged for our meeting. Our audience was respectable and numerous, and we had with us several gentlemen of note of this town and of the surrounding country. The gentleman officiating as Rector of the parish (in the superannuation of the incumbent), was in the chair, and he was surrounded by ministers of five denominations. The Report was read, and though it contained nothing encouraging as to the labours of the past year, it gave us reason to hope that there would be more done in the one ensuing. The gentlemen who spoke took notice of the defalcation, expressed their regret for the same, and promised to do something that should in this year entered upon redeem their own character and that of Trelawny in regards to Bible Society concerns.
Mr Blyth (whose congregation and Bible Association made so good a figure last year) was with us. He made us acquainted with the progress of his Association, and the continuing diffusion of the Scriptures among his people. They have not fallen off in their Bible Society efforts, but have wrought more excellently in the extension of the Scriptures among themselves than in the preceding year. The greater part of these praiseworthy efforts however of this Association is lost to our Trelawny Bible Society, and must not and does not appear in our Report, for our good friends are Scottish in their religion, and must needs have the classical Scottish version of the Psalms bound up in their Bibles. Now you know these are not within the boards of your Bibles, for the Scotchmen obliged you take them out, or to keep them out on all occasions; and though it seems they afterwards put them in themselves. they still keep the ban upon you. This is not speaking evil of my neighbour, for I am a Scotchman myself. But, soberly, we all regret this circumstance here in Trelawny, because we cannot count these excellent efforts of our friends among our Bible Society labours, though in our own parish; and this is one of the causes of the diminution of our Bible Society work here as appears in our report. I hope our friends, as others of the same denomination are doing, will come into the use of a psalm and hymn book by itself, and thus leave the Bible, free and unencumbered as you issue it, to be taken up by us all.
None of the least interesting circumstances of our public meeting was the presence of the two Baptist missionaries Mr Knibb and Mr Dendy, and the appropriate Bible Society speeches which they made on the occasion. Mr Knibb withdrew from our Committee during last year for certain reasons satisfactory to himself; though not connected with objections of some of his body with you. He has now however returned to us, the cause being no longer in operation, and he has returned cordially. He stated, and regretted, that his congregation had not done what they should have done during the last year in Bible Society work, but said that he would venture to say that they would do more in this year. They felt he said deeply interested in the object, and as a proof of their wishes and intentions he begged me to present the Society with a donation of Ten Pounds from his congregation, and forthwith he laid down this money. The whole of his speech was of the tenor here described, and gratified us all. ―Mr Dendy's speech also gratified us. He expressed his grief that himself and his congregation had done so little in Bible Society operations, the cause being in part the occupation of their attention and their means in rebuilding their chapel and in the erection of a school house. He pledged himself however, now and onwards, to bestir himself and his flock upon the very important concern of the diffusion of the holy Scriptures among themselves and among others. ―I mentioned the feelings and expressions of these two friends the more on account of what you say in a paragraph of one of your late letters. ―We had a collection of Ten Pounds at our meeting, besides the Ten Pounds given by Mr. Knibb: thus making Twenty.
It would be wrong in me to close this account of our Trelawny Bible Society without noticing particularly the merits of Mr. A F Robinson one of our Secretaries, and who has latterly (and I might say formerly too,) done nearly all its active business. This gentleman continues his services, and not as a Bible Society man merely, but because he knows, and lives upon and according to the essence of the Bible's contents – the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.
To conclude: – From the nature of the public meeting, from the various communications I have had with our friends here of different denominations, and from the improved organization of the Committee, I am encouraged to hope for favourable results from this Society during the present year, and in short confidently believe that it is at present on a better footing than it has been at any former period, and that it has taken an attitude which is likely to give it permanency and fructibility.
The parishes of St. Ann's and Trelawny I now leave behind me, and move onwards in my tour over the island. I have much reason to give thanks to God for the pleasing occurrences, and for the state of things in these two districts; and I shall be truly gratified should things turn out in the similarly in our other parishes. St. James's and Hanover lie next in order, and I enter them with anxiety and hope.
Yesterday and today I have been chiefly occupied in rearranging some of the Bible cases in the Trelawny stores, and in sending out a part of the stock to St. Ann's on the one side, and on the other to St. Elizabeth's; the latter to meet the case of the Ladies' schools there agreeable to your letter and reply to the request of Miss Lloyd on behalf of these numerous and interesting seminaries, in which are being nursed up a great number of our Negro children. – I have after corresponding with the Secretary, and after mature consideration granted them 200 Bibles and 200 New Testaments. The Bibles are sent from the Trelawny store and the Testaments from the depot under my immediate charge in Kingston.
The store of Bibles here now is not too great, and it will I hope by and by be reduced entirely; and perhaps too you may hear earlier than was thought that fresh and further supplies are wanted.
I remain, My Dear Friend,
Very Truly Yours,
James Thomson.
Postscript: ―In rearranging the Bibles as above noticed, and in similar operations elsewhere, I have been much impeded by a defect in the invoice. The number of non-pareil Bibles, for instance, in a case is mentioned, but how many of these are coloured calf, how many are skivar, and how many in cloth, is not mentioned. The consequence is that the whole must be overhaled to ascertain this. The Bibles that came for me to the store in Kingston arrived just on the day before my setting out for Cuba. And I had to dispose of several of the cases without delay and without time to open and overhale them. I could not therefore give an invoice with any of the cases as to sorts and prices. Neither can I send out a case entire in any instance without this uncertainty, or the great inconvenience of taking out the whole, with the chance of not getting so many back again on repacking. Please notice this in the proper quarter, and let all the invoices contain the number of each sort in the case whether the difference is in type merely or in size, paper and bindings. ―Allow me to repeat this request, that I may not have occasion to recur to it in future, for this is not the first time I have sent in this petition. Though I have less cause of complaint now than formerly; but let's have all things as perfect as we can. ―I have also a little item to add bearing on the same department of your house. It is that several Bibles are pierced and much injured by the nails. Different friends have mentioned this to me, and I have seen it in some instances myself. This too is an old complaint, and of which I trust I shall not have occasion henceforth to complain. I should propose as a punishment for reincidence in the matter of the invoice, that the delinquent be sent out to Jamaica to unpack and repack the cases, in which he will get well stewed and roasted in our climate, and will have a fair chance of being eaten too – by mosquitos.
JT.
P.S. 2nd. ―29th December 1837
I have been disappointed of obtaining a copy of the Falmouth Post Newspaper for you of the 20th and 27th current containing articles on the Trelawny Bible society. I shall forward them when they come to hand.
I have received a letter from Mr. Watts, along with the accompanying packet which he desires me to forward to you. I am glad I can send it to you free of expense because of its bulkiness. I may here mention, in addition to what I said some time ago respecting the Lord Glenelg, but I have had a second note from him in which he makes me welcome to use his franking privilege on all such occasions as this. I therefore so use it, and so limit it.
I shall write you early in respect to Mr. Watts letter and packet, and in reply to your letters of 11th October and the first and 14th November, all of which have only reached me.
JT.