Edinburgh, 7th May 1845 - 1

Rev A Brandram 

Edinburgh, 7th May 1845

 My Dear Friend,

            I now sit down to write you my first official letter from this new field of my travels, and in doing it I am reminded, that on your annual day last year I wrote you from a far foreign land, from Peto in Yucatán; & again I am reminded of God's merciful goodness to me in my then very poor state of health, his conducting me safely through that country to the coast borne for 300 miles on the shoulders of strangers, thence to Belize which is British ground, and thence again to New York, to Dover and London: again and further, for his restoring me to health, and in employing me in Bible work in my native country, and now in this very city from whence I started 27 years ago to visit and wander in foreign lands.

            Pray forgive this reminiscence, or rather the mentioning of it to you in an official letter. But I have an impression on my mind, and the same has often comforted me at great distances and in difficulties, namely, that yourself with the Committee have a kindly sympathy with your out labourers, that you rejoice and weep with them, and pray for them: and well it becomes us as diffusers of the Bible among our fellow creatures, to promote, extend and deepen all those blessed feelings of Christian charity and affection which the holy book we circulate recommends as the highest and best of gospel virtues.

            And now to business. It is about a month since I arrived in this city. The greater part of that time I have spent here, but have also during it paid two visits to Glasgow. I regret, I may say, my detention here, but yet believe that it has not been longer than necessary, and further believe that some more time might yet be spent here with profit to our general object. And with this understanding, though I leave this place tomorrow for Glasgow, I purpose afterwards to return to it, and to remain a few days in order to fully to complete the visitation. By way of strengthening my views in regard to the time occupied here, I may state that our good and worthy friend Dr. Paterson more than accords with me on the subject, and even thinks the time given to Edinburgh should be longer than I propose.

            My time has been occupied in a good measure in making private calls on former and present friends of our Society, and in explaining to them our present position and operations, and the present position of the world as to the want and need of the Bible. These representations have been coupled with kindly solicitations made to all for sympathy with us in our work, for their prayers, and their cooperation, and aid.

            Again, we have had several small meetings in the shape of Bible Society evening parties, and otherwise, and in these the same or similar representations and solicitations have been made.

            Finally, we held, two days ago a public meeting called by advertisements. The attendance was not numerous, partly because there were other public meetings held at the same time in this busy season, and partly because it was held during the day when the great many are entangled in their necessary occupations. We had with us one of the Ministers of the Established Church, and two of the Free Church body. These latter were our old and steady friend the Rev. Henry Grey, and the well known and valued Bombay Missionary the Rev. Dr. Wilson. Our old and worthy friends the Rev. Dr. John Brown and the Rev. William Innes were likewise with us. Also we had in our company Ministers representing the Episcopal Church, the Secession, and the Independents.

             We have hopes that good has been done, and have tried to avoid evil. We think that a good supply of your forthcoming Report would be of service, that we might distribute them among those who are friendly for their own use, and to show to those half friendly or less so, in order that they might see the quantity of seed sown, and also the sheaves that are already come in. 200 copies are wished for, and we beg you will be kind enough to arrange for us accordingly. But to this number I would add what may be required for Glasgow, and other places I may visit, say 300 more, in all 500 copies. Your note of the 5th has just come to hand. I observed the demur of the Committee on the subject I noticed to you; and probably your view of the matter is better than mine.

I hope to hear that you have had a very gratifying meeting today.

             I remain, My Dear Friend,

                         Yours Very Truly,

                                     James Thomson.

Inverness, 26th August 1845 - 2

Rev A Brandram

            Inverness, 26th Aug. 1845

My Dear Friend,

            Being about to leave this place, my farthest point northward, I sit down to give you my narrative from the close of my last letter up to the present date. I left Aberdeen on the 5th instant, and came to Peterhead. The Wesleyan Minister, the Rev. Mr. Baylis, to whom I had previously written received me on alighting from the stage, and took me to his own lodgings. He was, as all the Wesleyans are, friendly to our Institution and served me all he could in furtherance of its objects. We held a meeting that evening, and another on the evening following, at the latter of which a committee was formed to consider of doing something in our favour. The Independent Minister there was likewise favourable, and so was that secession Minister. The Free Church Minister was not unfriendly, and stated that he believed Dr. Candlish's name, as signing the Warning, have not much weight with the Free Church Ministers generally. The Established Church Minister was absent, and the Episcopal Minister above our reach. The herring fishery was in full action to Peterhead, and I was interested in observing that when the nets were full the fishermen drew to shore and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels and cast the bad away.

Frazerburgh was the next place visited, where under bad weather we had a small meeting and made a small collection. Little else was done in direct help of our objects, but something preparatory perhaps for a future occasion, and it may be to a little society.

Next came Banff and here we held no meeting a tall, being hindered by various circumstances. The Established Minister showed every disposition to befriend us, and promises, along with other friends we have in that place, to give his aid in the formation of a little Auxiliary Society. Our expected meeting having proved a failure, he gave me his collection of five shillings, which he intended to drop into the plate, and another gentleman gave me ten shillings under similar circumstances. The Free Church Minister here is not friendly, but the others are all decidedly so, namely, the Established, the Secession, Independent, and the Wesleyan Ministers, and there are good hopes of a society being formed.

Elgin followed in succession. Here the Rev. Mr. McNeil the Independent Minister has long and all along stood our friend, and keeps up a sort of society in his own personal efforts to get little sums for us. He gave me £2 thus collected since his last remittance. The Free Church Minister here, though connected with the Edinburgh Bible Society, is by no means unfriendly to us, and thinks the Warnings were uncalled for and unkindly. But for some good purpose or other it seems you are privileged to have an opponent in every place, and so there was such found here in one of the Secession Ministers. The other Minister however of this connexion is our warm friend, as is nearly invariably the case with the Ministers of this body. The Established Church Minister is entirely for us. In Elgin there subsists our Bible Society in connection with Edinburgh and this society has always been, I may say, a warm partisan of its parent. Nevertheless the "irae" elsewhere existing in certain "animis coelestibus" does not seem to be nursed here. They say in their last report: – "We have no wish that hushed controversy with the friends of the London Bible Society be revived; we rejoice in the real good which that great Institution has done. We have no feeling towards its respected friends, but reverence for their conscientious conviction of duty; but we have not confidence in the purity of some of its agencies; we conscientiously disapprove of some of its alliances, and are fully persuaded that it would be more useful without them." Here you see is friendliness in the midst of non-accordance, and this, I may say, is the more general spirit of the Auxiliaries to the Edinburgh Bible Society in Scotland, so far as I have observed them; and in correspondence therewith. I have on several occasions heard in these quarters disapprobation expressed in regard to the steps recently taken in Edinburgh against us. We had a meeting here and the collection.

Forres lay next in course after Elgin. In this place, strange to say, all and everybody is for us. But despite of this the adversary has come in in another shape. The Rev. Mr. Grant, the Free Church Minister, who always stood our friend, is about to join the Edinburgh Bible Society, because he was invited, along with others, to attend a sermon for the Society in the Parish Church, from which he had been ejected. The Provost is president of the Society in Forres, and we held our meeting in what I may call his Meeting House, namely, the Court House, and made a little collection as usual.

Nairn followed, and here in company with the Independent Minister, I walked some distance out of town to see the Minister of the Established Church, whom we found very friendly, and grieved at seeing nothing done in your cause. He promises to bring the subject before the Presbytery at next meeting. There is a Bible Society here, neither connected with you nor with Edinburgh, but for a long time it has been rather nominal than effective. I did not see either the Free Church or the Secession Minister, though I called on both, but learned that the former was doubtful, and the latter friendly. Here we had, as generally had, a little meeting and a little collection.

In the above statements you have a sketch of my rapid movements from Aberdeen to Inverness. In all the places I met with hospitable treatment for your cause's sake: many were found friendly to us, some ranked with another Bible Institution, but were not unkindly towards us, and scarcely any were opposed.

In Inverness there are three Free Church Ministers, one is very cordially for us, another is entirely opposed, and the third is neutral, and about to study the subject more closely than he has hitherto done. The other Dissenters are all with us, but none of them are more cordial than are all the Ministers of the Established Church, two of whom I had formerly met with in Nova Scotia and Cape Breton. The Rev. Mr. Clark of this church, who has always been on our side, will probably transmit to you soon some £20, from a Bible and General Religious Institution existing in his own parish. Dr. Ross of the same body spoke of you in a very friendly manner, and as having been grieved with former occurrences, as well as later ones. Our Bible Society cause they intend soon to bring before their Presbytery. We had a meeting and a collection in one of the Secession Churches in Inverness. I had arranged to hold this meeting previous to the sitting of the General Assembly of the Free Church there, knowing that there would be no opening during their sessions, and this is what hurried me over previous places. On the occasion of this Assembly I had an opportunity of getting acquainted with several Ministers of the Free Church from various parts of the country, and this knowledge may prove useful in visiting some other places not yet taken in. Tomorrow morning I leave Inverness and proceed without stopping for business till I come to Glasgow.

            I remain, My Dear Friend, Yours Very Truly,

                                                James Thomson.