To The Editor Of The Time...
Sir,_ y attention was attractei by the rema-k. irn your paper of this morningn regard to Bibles in the Irish languaee and character, which liave been recently circulated in Ireland. As one of the ga. tuitous secretaris of a societvl formed for the purpose of teaching Irish in those districts where the penople converse entirelv, er prin. cipally, in their native tongue, I am enabled to offer an opinion upozm this subject, which I apprehend will prove both the necessity aind utility of the measures which have been adopted for that purpose. In consequence of the schools which have been established by dif- ferent societies. a considerable number of the rising generation can now read, and,have been supplied with copies of the Irish Scrip- tures; the greater part of them read the English, but many of therm the !Ir7h character. The chief reason for pre_;enting thenr with the Bible in the Irish character is because of the well.lknown partiality of the Aborigines for every thing ratioeaL. When one o.^ these was presented an Irish Testament in the Irish character, he exclaim- ed, "Indeed, this is all our own rout and branch 1" I admit that at present the chief,though not" the only advantape" of sending Irish Bibles, "is the enablingrqome sho can read the Irish lrnguage to read them to those who do not understand Eng- lish." But when it is cossidered that thereare :'hundredsoftb,ou_ sands who converse fluentlv in the Irish tongue," and that "not one in a thousand can read it," is it no an imniense advantage for men to be employed in readisg the Irish Scriptures to those to whom the English language is still unintelligible : amn happy to say, that this object is efft'ctld to avervconsitier- able extent; as there are t hiee societies vwho emplov Irisbmen, wvho have embraced the doctrines of the reforndtuon, to read -the Scip- tures in that language to their neigrhb{uss great iurmbers of whom, inlabitants of bogs and mountains7, asac been astonished and de- lighted to" hear them speak, in their own tongue. the wonderfil works of God." Our society einploys 25, somne of whom are con. stantly e-ogagedas itinerants, and others are only Sabbsthi-readers o the people of their own imrnediate districts. 1', Sir, you will oblige ne by eiving inserlon to these statements, it will be seen that " the Bible Rocietv ha. nt made a great misap- pticati.'n of its funds by printing the Bible in the Irish character'" liaere the Script!ires were thus printed by that Societv, a copv of Bedell's Bible was only to be found in the cabinets of the curious% but could not have beena purchased. The Irish Bible can now be procured by the intelligent and inquistitive maive Irish, I without money and without price ;" and in many instances it has been con. sidered hy them as the greatest boon they could possibly have 1 acquired; because it has enasled tlhcm to attend to the divine pre- ccpr, " Search the Scriptures." which are " abe to make them wise unto salvation, through fai:ih which is in Christ Jesus." r -m Q; ~ - r- 20, Haputr-street, Nov. 5, ' J6OS9ff i X.WhR. - i me Baptist Irlshi Societr, form-d in Londor in 18;.t TO THE EDITOR OF THE TIMES.