306. Dr. Chalmers to William Lamont, Jun., Esq., Glasgow.... 373 315. Dr. Chalmers to Andrew Johnston, Esq. 316. Dr. Chalmers to Andrew Johnston, Esq... 317. Dr. Chalmers to the Rev. William Findlater 318. Dr. Chalmers to Professor Sedgwick, of Cambridge 319. Dr. Chalmers to D. Maitland Makgill Crichton, Esq. 322. Dr. Chalmers to Captain Burnett, of Monboddo 323. Dr. Chalmers to Captain Burnett, of Monboddo 324. Dr. Chalmers to the Rev. P. Henderson, Pollockshaws 325. Dr. Chalmers to Sir George Sinclair 326-338. Dr. Chalmers to Mr. Lenox, of New York 339. Dr. Chalmers to Dr. D. Stebbins, Northampton, Mass. 346. Dr. Chalmers to Mrs. Williamson 347. Dr. Chalmers to Miss Marshall, Glasgow 348-350. Dr. Chalmers to Charles Spence, Esq. 351. Dr. Chalmers to M. Descombaz, Lausanne. 852. Dr. Chalmers to Mr. John Craig.... 366. Dr. Chalmers to Mrs. Henry Wood, Edinburgh 367. Dr. Chalmers to William Buchanan, Esq., Glasgow. CORRESPONDENCE OF DR. CHALMERS. [So great an interest has been expressed in Dr. Chalmers's Correspondence with Mr. James Anderson and Mr. Thomas Smith, that we commence this volume by completing that Correspondence. Dr. Chalmers's answers to Mr. Anderson's last letters unfortunately have not been preserved, but these letters appeared to have merit enough of their own to warrant their insertion.] No. I.-DR. CHALMERS TO MR. JAMES ANDERSON. KILMANY MANSE, 22d February, 1812. MY DEAR SIR—It grieves me to disappoint the hopes I had myself raised, but the truth is, that I overrated my strength when I last wrote you. I was very much fatigued on the night of my arrival, but expected to be quite fresh and active next day; instead of which I felt myself quite powerless and exhausted, and am still in a very useless state. I am too well aware of the effects of a Sunday's exertions upon me to think, in these circumstances, of attempting Dundee on Monday at all. I regret it the less, that I find you have every prospect of matters going on as they should do. Had I been in possession of the requisite strength, I meant to prepare myself for resisting the proposal of a Scottish Bible Society, in case it had been made by Dr. Nichol or others. Be strong, I beseech you, on this head. When I meet you I will go over the mystery of this society at greater length. In the mean time, it may well be illustrated by the following comparison: Suppose the town of Dundee to be in want of water, and a general subscription proposed for bringing it in pipes from a good and copious spring at a distance. Each individual subscription tells for the benefit of the whole. Some inferior spring is discovered in the Seagate, which can only supply Α half the street, with water of less value than the former, and at a superior expense to the individuals benefited. An association in the Seagate for digging wells would not be more ridiculous than a Scottish Bible Society. It would injure the general subscription, and thereby affect the interest of the whole town. And this unlucky diversion would be found to carry along with it more expense and less benefit to the very promoters of it. When I say that a separate society must produce an inferior article, I am quite correct. The power capital multiplies beyond its own rate of increase. £20,000 a year can effect more than twenty times what £1000 a year can effect. And think of the privilege which the London Society has of working off Bibles at a University press. This explains the cheap rate at which they can afford Bibles. of The peasants of Scotland This is too fine a habit to Our people think a Bible There is one circumstance which should never be forgotten in the administration of your society. You may overdo the supply of home objects-this is the great mischief to be apprehended from the Scottish. To prove its utility, it must do something; and to manifest its importance, it will make that something as much as possible. purchase Bibles for themselves. be repressed or tampered with. worthy of its price. They should be left to make the sacrifice. It endears the Bible more to them. And you may conceive the mischief that must accrue from an officious society substituting its own bounty, and issuing Bibles from their public repository in the same business style that they would distribute soup, or shoes, or greatcoats, or breeches. The auxiliary societies in England often detain one half for home objects. But remember that in England the habit is yet to form. In Scotland the habit is formed already; and to do any thing which can trench upon this habit would be to do an incalculable mischief. If the man who, at this moment, depends upon himself for a Bible, and actually buys one, is led by the indiscreet administration of your funds to depend upon the society, what becomes of that man when this dependence |