BIBLE SOCIETIES. Societies formed for the pur pose of circulating copies of the Old and New Testaments. The First Bible Society seems to have been founded in Germany in 1712 by Baron Hildebrand von Canstein (1667-1719), the friend of the pietists P. J. Spener (1635 1705) and A. H. Francke (1663-1727). Called the " Can steinsche Bibelanstalt," it was afterwards combined with the Francke Institutes at Hall. In 1780 a society called " The Bible Society " was formed in England with the object of supplying Bibles to soldiers and sailors. This afterwards became known as the " Naval and Military Bible Society." In 1792 a " French Bible Society " was formed for the purpose of circulating Bibles in French. In 1802 Thomas Charles (1755-1814) went to London to call the attention of religious people to the scarcity of Welsh Bibles in Wales. " Having been introduced to the committee of the Religious Tract Society, it was sug gested by the Rev. Joseph Hughes, a Baptist minister, who was present, that there might be a similar dearth not only in Wales, but in other parts of the country, and that it would be desirable to form a society for the express purpose of circulating the Scriptures." On
inquiry it was found that there was such a dearth, and " The British and Foreign Bible Society " was founded (1SO4). The Society " was founded on unsectarien prin ciples. it being resolved that one-half of its committee should be elected from amongst Churchmen, and one-half from amongst Dissenters (H. S. Skeats and C. S. Miall). This is now the greatest society of the kind, and has branches in all parts of the British Empire. There is also a " National Bible Society of Scotland," which was formed in 1861. The Society next in importance to the British and Foreign Bible Society is the " American Bible Society," which was founded in 1S16 at New York. There are similar societies in Germany and Russia. The income of the " British and Foreign Bible Society " is about a quarter of a million, and about five millions and a half of Bibles, Testaments, and portions of Holy Scrip ture are annually circulated in 409 languages and dialects " London Diocese Book, 1910). See Chambers' Eneycl; Brockhaus; Prot. Diet.