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duced at, and distributed from, Beirut in Syria, a large and varied amount of Arabic literature, both definitely Christian in its message as well as some amount of general literature (see SrR,in, VI., 1, § 2). In Egypt it has lent important aid to the publication work of the Church Missionary Society, periodical and otherwise. Elsewhere in Africa, the mission of the Church Missionary Society in Uganda has received important help, while many other missions in different parts of that continent have been helped to produce Christian literature in various forms or have received grants of publications from home. In India the work is mainly carried on through prise was originated by Peter Drummond, of Stirsubsidiary societies at Calcutta, Bombay, Madras, ling, in the year 1848, in order to meet a purely Lahore, Allahabad, Kottayam, and Nageraoil, while local need. The work met with so much local suchelp has also been given to the Christian Literature ~ cess that it was gradually extended. The British and Religious Tract Society of Ceylon. Grants have been made, as in other fields, to individual workers among non-Christians as well as those working among the British soldiers and civilians. In bins, as in India, the work is mainly done through the subsidiary tract societies organized at Shanghai, Hankow, Chungking, Peking, Foochow, Amoy, and Mukden. But here, too, individual grants are also made. The society has its own agent in China for the supervision of its work, more especially for that of the special China Fund started in the year 1908. In Japan, its chief agent is the Japan Book and Tract Society, Tokyo; and in Korea the Korean Tract Society. Scarcely a year passes in which one or more new languages is not added to the society's list, and it has already assisted to publish the Pil grim's Progress in 112 languages and dialects.

The missionary operations at home consist in the supply of literature free, or at reduced prices, for pastoral and evangelistic work, for the help of ministers and students; for the encouragement of Evangelical missions, and for the instruction of inmates in hospitals and other institutions. In the ten years ending 1911, a special fund of £20,000 was also expended in the distribution of literature more especially directed against the claims of the Church of Rome.

This is not exclusively a tract society. Founded in 1698, it justly claims (Report, 1908) that its originators " were the first to care for settlers and colonists, the heathen in India and the Mohammedans in the Far East." But its grant operations have included help in founding bishoprics, in aid of church building and of education, as well as in providing Christian literature for the home and the mission fields. Its constitution confines its control and its operations to the Church of England and churches in communion with her. For these it has been a Bible society, a Christian literature society, and a tract society. It has been of great help to missionaries in its readiness to print works connected with the study of various languages used in their fields; in its generous provision for the printing of prayerbooks and definite church literature; and in its aid of tract work. Its catalogue of English books is especially strong in works explaining and defending the faith and the position of the Anglican church. Great attention has been given to Christian evidence and to devotional literature, as well as to the

issue of popular fiction. Its tract catalogue is rich in tracts dealing with Anglican church doctrine, church seasons, and the defense of the church. The Report for 1908 gives the total number of works sold during the year (other than Bibles and prayer-books) as a little over 13,000,000. For the mission field, twenty-four works were produced in London and aid was given to thirty-two published abroad. Foreign publications were granted to the value of £1,360; and the total grants of publications (excluding half-price libraries) amounted to £5,815.

Messenger (formed on the model of the American Messenger) was started in 1853, the Gospel Trumpet in 1857, and Good News in 1862. On the death of Drummond in 1877, the Enterprise passed under the care of a body of trustees. It now produces books as well as magazines and tracts, and tracts are published in several continental languages as well as in English. The circulation amounts to about 10,000,000 publications per annum. The Tract and Colportage Society of Scotland, founded in 1793, and the oldest Bible, tract, and colportage agency, is rather an evangelistic and distributing society than a publishing house. Its colporteurs are mainly employed in Scotland, but a few work in England. They sell the Scriptures, evangelistic literature, and wholesome publications popular in type. There is also a depository in Edinburgh. About 700,000 tracts were distributed in the year last reported on. The Children's Special Service Mission, which began its work in 1867 as an agency for holding seaside services for children, while continuing its home work, now has an office and missioner in India, with native evangelists in India, Ceylon, and Japan. Its leaflets are now published in several continental languages, and are also issued for use in China, Japan, and other mission-fields.

Any survey of tract work done by British societies would be incomplete without reference to the Christian Literature Society for China, and the Christian Literature Society for India. These organizations confine their work exclusively to the fields stated in their titles, but, as missionary organizations, are large producers of tract and other literature. A fuller account of their work would more properly belong to a review of missionary enterprise in these two fields. A. R. BUCKLAND.

IV. In America: Tract societies are voluntary associations of Christians to publish and circulate religious tracts, including volumes. The importance of adding to the influence of spoken truth and the permanent effectiveness of the printed page were early felt by Christians. What a good book can do and how its influence may germinate is shown in the history of Baxter's conversion aided by reading Dr. Gibbs's book entitled, The Bruised Reed, and Baxter's instrumentality in the conversion of Doddridge, by whose Rise and Progress Wil berforce was led to embrace the truth. It became evident that much good would be wrought by short,