published at the request of the Authc
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To the Ministers and Members of the Churches IN
North Carolina.


My BRETHREN: Knowing that to thoses who
love the Lord Jesus, any information concerning
the spread of his Gospel will be interesting, am
disposed to submit to your attention the following


facts and considerations, connected with the disri-
button of the Bible in this State.


While engaged in soliciting donations to the A
merican Bible Society from your congregations,
several circumstances came to my knowledge
which led me to suspect that the supply which
took place several years ago not entire, as is
generally supposed. But these circumstances did
not come unsought At almost every place when
presented the claims of the Society, allusions
were made to the effort which had, twelve years
ago, given the word Of God to every family in the
State The inference was that very few needed
the Bible and that in these DAYS of pressure char
ty might stay at home for while. Other circum-
stances made me believe that very many families
were at that very time, destitute of the Bible.
felt anxious to obtain some data from which cal
culation might be made of the probable lack of
the scriptures in this State. The North Carolina
Bible Society giving me permission to employ dis
trbuting agents, the counties of Wake and Orange
were selected in which it was intended to ascertain
as nearly as possible, the number of families with
out the word Of God.


WAKE COUNTY, having within its bounds the
seat of State government-which is the location of
one of the largest book stores of the south, the
idence of Bishop of one branch ofthe church,
and of five regular ministers of the leading dtno
limitations of the State,-and having, as have been
informed. at least twenty ministers, preaching to
its inhabitants, who do not reside in the town, we
might conclude that all the families ofthe county
were possessors of the Holy Book. To be certain
in this matter, the Rev. William J. Langdon un-
dertook to explore the county. He obtained from
the Clerks office, in Raleigh, the list ofthe heads
of all the families, as in the census for 1840.-
More than 1000 names were on the Register
He has examined the Eastern district, and of the
1O47 families in that district he found 500 without
the bible. The whole county, at this rate, would
contain 7S9 destitute families than one third
of the whole number within its bounds In an in
teresting communication from Mr.. Langdon, which
is now before me, he says: SIT is general i'm
preston that there are but few families without the
Bible have found this to be the prevailing SEN
timent with ministers and members of every demo-
mination. A worthy brother ofthe Baptist Church
lin Wake county,) stated that he did not believe
there were more than two or three families desti-
tute of the Bible, in ten miles square. furnished
him with list [of the headsl of families, and he
reported AZ destitute in his own neighborhood -
The families without the Bible were not too poor
to purchase, or too recently formed to have fur
nished themselves. Mr.. Langdon found one per-