Annual Report J93J. Financial Statements. ~dj. 'o'b. for V 1 1..:4. Year Ending -30th.Nove~r, J93J

Transcription

1 Annual Report J93J e Financial Statements ~dj 'o'b V 1 1..:4 for Year Ending -30th.Nove~r, J93J

2 o OFFICERS AND COMMITTEE FOR paf;s.~p~lfl' Miss E. K. BEEKMAN. Amer-ican Reformed Church Missinn. SECRETARY Mr. H. r P. ANDERSON. f,1j.:glis~'t I:r~.$.l;Yteri(ln; 1t:f ission. TREASllR~lt Mr. H. J. :po ANDERSON 1 English Presbyterian 111ission. Miss A. T. DUNCAN, ~,ond.on: C01(lllTl'~;E. -Wissionary Society. Miss lvi. FRASER, English Presb~>,terian Mrs. C. ~. ~ev. HOLLEMAN, A1)'l-eri~an Mission. Reformed,Ch1!rY:ch Mis.siQff.~ L. G. ~ILI..IPS, Lon:dp~ Mtssionqry So~iety. Rev. E. A. PRES1;'ON (:alt. Rev. W. SHORT). J: t'\' 0 Eng:li~h";Presbjlterian lvlissio;.c,tl{ Rev. H. A: '1\)PPEN (alt. Rev. H.ocPDEPREE, :p.d.) t' ~J' j, I 'n.'~ ".1 ;... \:'C'''... ;.:. J.~"... ~.... ~~'l ~L~.American IS. eformed,c~(-h!yis~ion. L

3 CONSTITUTION 1. N AME.-This Society shail be called the "South Fukien Religious Tract Society," and its headquarters. shall be at AMOY. II. OB]ECT.-The object of the Society 'shalt be the publication and circulation of books and tracts, prepared on the same principl~s as those of the Religious Tract Society of London or the American Tract Society. III. MEllBERSHIP.-All Protestant Missionaries lahduring in South Fukien may, on application through the Secretary and by payment of an annual subscription, become members thereof. Friends, o.ther than missionaries, willing to further. the object of the Society may, Dn payment of a subscription of $5 and upwards, become Honorary Life Members. IV. OFFICERS.-The officers of the Society shall be a President, Secretary and Treasurer; au of whom shall be electedannually. V. EXECUTIVE.-,-.The busmessof the Society shall be conductedoy an Executive Committee which shall consist of the ()fficers and' six other members elected at the annual meeting. This committee shall have power to fill vacancies in its mem'bersh,ip during the year. It shall meet when necessary for tqe.,:. transaction of business, four to. form a quorum. VI. ANNUAL 'MEE1'ING.-The Annual Meeting of the Society shall be held at Amoy before the 31st of December of -each year and as soon after the close of financial year on t~.3oth -of No.vember as possible. At the Annual Meeting a Report of the past year's working of the Society shall be presented for.adoption together witba statement of accounts; and the officers and Committee for the ensuing year shall be. elected. Should fewer than fifteen. members be present any matters decided must have the ~upport of three-quarters of 'the membe;s att~dillg. GENERAL MEETINGS may be held at other times when business requires, a quorum at these meetings shall consist of one-third of the total membership present in South Fukien.

4 3 VII. PUBLIcATIONs.-AIl books and tracts published by ~he :Society must first be submitted to the Executive Committee for examination, and no tract or book shall be adopted which is not.-approved by a majority of the Committee. Nothing relating to denominational published by this Society. controversy shall be VIII; SALES AXD GRANTs.-The price of books and tracts shall be fixed by the Executive Committee. Persons ordering the Society's publications from the Secretary or Book Depot shall be responsible for the payment of the Catalogue value of the same Requests for free grants must be referred to the Executive Com- mittee. IX. SUBSCRIPTIONs.-The Treasurer shall be authorized to solicit subscriptions on behalf of the funds of the Society. X.REPORT AND CATALOGUE.-A Catalogue and Annual Report shall be printed and circulated. XI. AMEND:M:ENTs.-Changes in the Society's Constitution -can be made only at an Annual or General Meeting by two-thirds 'Vote of the total membership present in South Fukien. ana pro -vided that one month's previous notice has 'been given. Members 'unable to attend may send their votes to the Secretary. CAPIT AL FUND At the first meeting of the Executive Committee it was decided -that all money received from Honorary Membership subscriptions shall be set aside as a Capital Fund, using only the interest for. current expenses. Should it at any time be desirable to use the vcapital Fund, or any part of it for special purposes, thi~ shall rhe done only by a three-fourths vote of the total membership present in South Fukien. Other friends may contribute to this..capital Fund.'

5 SOUTH FUKIEN RELIGIOUS TRACT SOCIETY Annual Report 1931 In presenting the twenty-fourth annual Introduction. report of the activiti~s of the ~ol.j.th Fukien Religious Tract Society the Committee in the first instance expresses its gratitude and_ thanks to God for all that He has enabled it to do'throughout. the y ar and also for the loyal assistance and',helpfinancial and otherwise-that h'3:ve been given by' its lji;1embers and friends. ' At the end of the previous year the Society was, recover,ing froll) qifficult times _caused by the.late.depot- keeper, bl1t the ~ommitt~e l~ow feels that the i:~tri~tiol1s that hampered them at that time have now been overcome. The year under review, for:tunately, has been free.-lrom: such worries, and there has. not been anything to. dismib, s~riously the activities of the Society. The Comm~ttee is of the opinion that ~ew Premises. there shou:d be development in-the work ";, of the Society and that efforts: should: be made to awaken 'greater: interest in Christian -literaturein order that the circulation not only of the Society!s own publications but of those of other similar societies may be increased in So~tl1 Fuk;ien. Nso the present rented: premises, although in a central position on Kulangsu and suffici~nt1y commodious, are dark, unattractive and apt tq ~ pe flooded. in wet weather, and do not permit of being ~uitably adapted to meet the peeds,of the work. In, add~tiqn there is no security of tenure of the Societyfs. tenancy and twice in the course of the year under reviewthe;.landlord asked the Society. to make arrangements to' move.. elsewhere,-by agreeing to an increase.in ther.ental the $ocietywas able to remain in possession, but within six months the Society is again under. notice; to,; quit. For these reasons and to secure premises that will

6 5 b~':'p.#e~ up for tqe work the Society alms to do, the 'C;oniiriittee inp:' ablngly feels that permanent quarter!? shouler' be obtained and that, as soon as possible, the Soc~ety should build premises for itself in order to get security of tenure and to have the headquarters of the Society in better surroundings than the present ch:pot. To this end the <=:ommittee.is giving serious consideration to a scheme' for erecting its own depot on leased hmd, an'd it' i,s hoped that it will be possible to put definite proposals qefore the annual meeting of the Society. The work in the,depot has on the whole heen Depot. satisfactori1y carried on by 1\1r. Tsng' L~ Chhel'lg. The stock has been Wdl1 cared for~r~nd the leakage from stock has been very slight indeed. With a storeroom specially prepared for stock such. as the Society arrries, it might be hoped that this leakage (smpll as it is) might entirely disappear. The show-room and sales department has been kept tidy and presentable, and the -customers have been able to get access to the publications of the Society and of other publishing houses. :', Circulation. Romanised publications 27,656 Character publications (books and tracts) 29,193 Sunday School Lessons and Daily Readings Dictionaries "Amoy Church News" Sunday School Cards 6, copies per month 1,000 sets. These figures' $ow. an im,provement as compared with the' previous: : year, but, there should be a larger circulation of religious literature than what exists' at present. There mls been:'a falling-off,in the circulation of the "Amoy- Church News,'; but in many quarters the -claims 0 f the paper are not recogmsed and also the Christians are not exhorted to subscribe to the paper as

7 6 they ought. Under the present efficient editorship the', COl'lmiittee expects that in time this paper will be more valued by the Christian community in South Fukien and. that its circulation will be increased. For several years the Sooiety has arranged for the distribution of the. Sunday. School cards issued by the Sundav School Union of China. This has entailed considerable work to the depot-:-keeper-wprk that'can be more efficiently done at the headquarters of the. Union in Shanghai The purchasers of these cards, therefore, have been asked to arrange -in future for their cards to be sent to them direct from Shanghai, but the Secretary of the South Fukien Religious Tract Society wiii be' pleased to forward any orders for these cards to Shanghai. The Committee regrets that more has not Publications. been done in issuing new' publications.. throughout the year. The greatest di f ficulty has been to get the work done quickly by the local printers. The printing of romanised books must be done in Amoy as in nearly every case reprints have to berevised before publication. All new work must be done in Amoy as in Shanghai the printers do not have thenecessary type, and also proof-reading has to be done in Amoy. It is. possible. QI the Shanghai printers by the use of a photographic process to do the re-printing of old books :in which there needs to be no revision, and,. when possible, the Committee places orders in Shanghaa. Also in the case of books in Chinese character it is possible to get the printing done in Shangha.i, and the Committee makes full use of this possibility. Several editions of the hymn books wita. tunes havebeen held up as the music plates were wocn out, and. new plates are being made in Shanghai. These plates should be ready fairly early in the Spring of 1932, and: it will then be possible "to go ahead with the printing of hymn books with music (both staff and sol-fa notations). The Committee is specially gratified that the:' ~'Pilgrim's Progress" Part 1 in romanised is again ore

8 7 sale in the depot. The hook has been revised and new illustrations have been inserted. The Committee 1S pleased that through the generosity of the Religious Tract Society of London in giving a special grant of 25 towar.ds the cost of publication it has been possible to put this book on sale at a price considerably below th~ cost of production. The Society is also indebted to the Rev. H. Moncrieff for a gift of 900 copies of a book entitled "la-so e ka-si" which is on sale at the depot. The follmying is a list of the publications issued in 1931, viz: I. N C'W P'ttblicatiolls. II. Reprints. (a)' In Chinese Character...iichu-jit Sin-liang" (S. S. Lessons & Daily Readings)~ (b) In Romanised.. (1) "Chu-jit Sin-liang." (2) "Bin-bang-tiong e lang-kheh." (3) "Li-ka Iau-liok." (4) "Tek.. iok Ko-su." (a) In Chinese Character. (1) Scripture Text Slips. (2) "Iong-sim Sin-si":""-'large type. (b) In Romanised. (1) "Iong-sim Sin-si"-large type (2 editions)r (2) -with staff notation. (3) -small type (words only). ( 4) "Oeh-oe Ji-bu." (Romanised Primer). (5) "Roa-to Ji-bu." (Illustrated. Primer). (6) "Iu-to Kho-pun." (Kindergarten Class Book 1). (7) "Ji-bu Kho-pun." (Primer). (8) "Pilgrim's Progress"-part 1.

9 III. In the Press. 8 (1) "Iong-sim Ju-gian" in Romanised. (2) "Poe-leng Si-koa" in Ro~~nised. (words only). (3),j IV. Presentation. "la-so e ka-si." in Character. A statement of the finances.of the Society Finance. together with. lists of subscriptions from members and friends' is included in this report.. It win be seen that nea,rly 100% of the missionaries working in South Fukien are members of the Society and assist financially in its work. This, is very gratifying.to the CoI1p1;1ittee, and it.is. to,be hoped that in every missionary Will see his or her way to join the Society and by their financial support at least. help forward in this very important kind of Christian service. The cost of printing books in the course of the year has shown a considerable inct.ease. Labour is more earpensive and the cost of paper has gone.upvery muchhitherto much of the paper used was manu'factur~d ip Japan and this is no longer available. The printers have advised the Committee that mainly on accqunt of the rise in the price of paper it will be necessary to raise their pr.ices for printin~j' III quite.. antunber of cases the call in last year's annual report for a "higj?,er scale of giving" met with a favouralble response. The Committee would again q.sk~he members to gi:ve this matter their earnest consideration. I f there is a more general response to the request for. "higher giving" during 1932, it will be a relief to the in-com.ing committee, ailld make it more possib.,le to enter into contracts for reprinting. the many books that are at present out-of-print and that are being called for--it addition it will m3.ke it more possible fqr the committee to accept new books for publication.

10 The thanks of the Committee are due specially Thanks. to the Re:igious Tract Society of London for the granf of 50 to the work' of the Society as well as for the special grant of 25 towards the cost ot re-printing the first part of the "Pilgrim's Progress." ~ The Committee also acknowledges with thanks the subscriptions of the many friends, some of them anonymous, who have shared in this work of producing Christian literature. Likewise the Committee expresses its gratitude to Miss A. T. Duncan of the London l"fissionary Society for her labours in connection with the production month by month of the "Amoy Church News" and to the Editorial Board which hals assisted her. And to all who 'by their prayers and sympathy have in any W.::lly forwarded the interests of the Society, the Committee takes this opportunity of returning thanks. Above all the Committee gives thanks to God for His guidance and help throughout the year, and trusts that through the distribution of Christian literature by the Society His name mary be glorified and His kingdom advanced. On behalf of the Committee, H. J. P. ANDERSON, SecretafY

11 10 - ANNUAL MEETING The twenty-fourth Annual lvleeting of the South Fukien Religious Tract Society was held on Wednesday, February 3rd, 1932, at 6 p.m. in the Union 'Church, Kulangsu, Amoy. The following members and friends of the Socie~y were present, viz: Misses. K. M. Talmage, L. N. Duryee, M. B. Macgregor, M. L. Bryson, L. G. Thacker, A. A. Symington, E. D. Davis, A. T. Duncan, E. K. Beekman, T. Holkeboer, M. Fraser; D. M. Arrowsmith, M. Clarke. G. E. Hewett, Mrs. C. H. Holleman, Messrs... H. Moncrieff, H. J. P. Anderson, H. P DePree, L. G. Phillips, \V. Short, E. A. Preston, H. A. Poppen, C. H. Holleman, R. Tully, A. F. Griffiths. Dr. S. W. Carruthers of London and the Rev. K. A. C..Hildering of Sourabaya, Java, 'were also present. The Rev. H. A. Poppen, President of the Society, occupied the chair, and opened the meeting with a short devotional service. The minutes of the last Annual ~1eetillg, held on January 7th 1931, having been circulated, were taken as read and confirmed. ~1r. H. J. P Anderson presented the Committee's Report for 1931 together with the Financial Statements for th~ financial year ending November 30th Rev. H. Moncrieff proposed and Dr. L. G. Thacker seconded that the Report for 1931 be adopted and that it be printed and circulated. This was unanimously agreed to. :Miss E. K. Beekman proposed and Miss A. A. Symington seconded that the Financial Statements be adopted, and that they be printed and circulated. This was unanimously agreed to. On behalf of the Committee the Secretary raised the question of the Society arranging to secure more permanent quarters for the depot, etc' 1 so that the work

12 11 might be more ~fficiently carried on, and in this connection put before the meeting the Committee's proposals to attain this end. After a general discussion and after questions had been answered as to the cost of such a scheme and the funds in hand for any such scheme, the Rev. H. Moncrieff proposed and Dr. L. G. Thacker seconded: "That the in-coming Committee should, if possible, secure from the party concerned a lease of the vacant land to the East of the Kulangsu Chunghua Electric Company's offices on Cemetery Road, Kulangsu, and further that, in the event of this lease being arranged on terms satisfactory to the Committee of the Society, premises should be built for the use of the Society on this site." This proposal was;, put to the meeting and carried unanimousl y. :rvlessrs. H. J. P Anderson and H. p, DePree were appointed a committee to secure the necessary additional funds,if the amount in h<\lud was not sufficient to carry out this scheme. I t was further decided to issue another appeal for funds to friends of the Society who had not yet contributed towards this scheme. The Office-bearers and Committee for 1931 were thanked for their services throughout the year. The following were appointed Office-bearers and members of the Committee for 1932, v-iz: President: Secretary and Treasurer: Miss E. K. Beekman. Mr. H. J. p, Anderson. COl1tmittee l1tembers: Miss A. T. Duncan, Miss M. Fraser, 1\1rs. C. H. Holleman, Rev. L. G. Phillips, Rev. E. A. Preston (alt. W Short), Rev. H. A. Poppen (alt. H. P. DePree). The meeting was closed with prayer.

13 l>on~tions received duritlg 1931 "A Friend" per Miss D. M. Arrowsmith "Sp~ial" per the Rev. L. \V Koeppe., Miss A. A. Symington Rev. and Mrs. H. A. C. Hildering "A Friend" per lviiss R. Brockema Total $ $ The above amount has been carried to a Capital Account, and will be used in connection with providing new premises for the Society. In addition there were the grants from the Religious Tract Society of London. These amounted to $1, which was used for pr inting during '

14 ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTIONS,Anderson, Rev. A. S. M. Ahderson, Mr: 'and Mrs. H. J. P. Arrowsmith, Mis!: D; M. Beekman, Miss E. K. Brockema, Miss R. Bruce, MiS'S E; G. Bryson, Dr. M. E. Davis, Miss E. L. DePree, Dr. and Mrs. H. P. Duncan,Miss A. N. Duncan, Miss A. T. Duryee, Miss L., N. Fraser, Miss M. Hofstra, Dr. and Mrs. R. Holkebeer, Miss T. Koeppe, Rev. and Mrs. E. W. Lindsay, Miss N. Macgregbr, Miss M. B. Moncrieff, Rev. and Mrs. H. phillips, Rev. and Mrs. L. G. Platz, Miss J. H. Poppen, Rev. and Mrs. H. A. Preston, Rev. and Mrs. L. A. Oltman, Dr. and Mrs. T. V R:amsay, Miss L. L. R~nskers, Mr. and Mrs. H. 'Roxbnrgh, Mis,s M. A. F. :sbort, Rev. and'mrs. W..Siater, Rev. and Mrs.N. B. 'Symington,,Miss A. A. 'Talmage, Miss K: M. "Talmage, Miss M. E. Nienhuis, Miss J. 'Thacker, Dr. L. G. Tully, Mr. and Mrs. R. Turner, Dr. and Mrs. G. R. Vander Linden, Miss L. Veldman, Miss J. Vosquil, Rev. and Mrs. H. J. Wheeler, Miss N. $ IO.O!) O~ ~OO ; :) ' ' ' !) ' ".. '! ;,'.. $441.49

15 The above amount of $ was taken to the General Account to meet the ordinary expenses of run- ning the depot and of printing. Note :-Since the accounts for the year were closed,.. subscriptions for 1931 have come in from the fo}1owing~ and will appear in the 1932 accounts, viz: Rev. and Mrs. 'V. R. Angus, Rev. A. F. Griffiths, Dr. and Mrs. C. R.. Holleman. HONORARY MEMBERS SUBSCRIPTIONS Ewing, :Miss H. G. Ewing, l\1iss ]. Horne, Miss A. N. (2 years) Herschell, :Miss E. T. M urman, NEss H.. Noltenius, Miss T. C. (2 years) Talman, Rev. and Mrs. L. A. Total $ 5.00' $ By Article 3 of the Constitution of the Society ordinary membership is confined to. "Protestant Mission- aries labouring in South Fukien," and the above fr iends are therefore on the 1ist of Honorary Members. Their subscriptions are therefore carried to the Capital Account in accordance with the resolution passed at the First Annual :Meeting of the Society (vide: Appendix to the Constitution).

16 Financial Sbltement~

17 1. General Working Account for INCOME Balance from previous year.. "Amoy Church News" subscriptions. Grant from R T. S. of London Sales from stock Members Annual Subscriptions Interest at Bank 'i:ommission on sales.. FINANCIAL (Year ending $ , , $5, Suspense Accoull:i;/b;-Py.f.iding. Balance forward from 1930 for printing.. $1, Placed on Suspense for meeting 1931 contracts in Amoy and Shanghai Suspense AccOlmt for Ad'l!altce payments. $2, Balance forward from 1930 accounts $ 1.83 Amounts received in 1931 and still in hand on 30/11/ Depot-Keeper's Sl perannuatio1t Fund. Amount in hand at 1/12/30.. Mr. Tsng's contributions 1/12/30-30/11/31 -Society's contribution 1/12/30-30/11/31 Interest to 30/11/31.. $ $ Capital Fund. Amount in Fund on taking over from Accumulated Interest to 27/3/31.. Refund of 1930 donations and interest 1931 Donations.. : 1931 Hoo61'ary Members Subscriptions L. A. Talman $ $ ; r

18 STATEMENT November' 30th 1931) EXPENDITURE Donations and interest 1930 ref wid to Capital account Depot running expenses Purchase and distribution of stock Printing of books Miscellaneous expenses Disco.unt on cash sales "Amoy Church News" printing expenses Refund for books sold on commission.. Suspense account to meet 1931 contracts for printing in Amoy and Shanghai Balance $ , , $5, Transferred to Printing of Books Account Balctllce $1, $2, Balance $ $ Balance $ ; $ Balance $ $ <

19 18 - BALANCE ASSETS 7Bank of Taiwan Fixed Deposit.. ~In. Hongkong and Shanghai Bank Current Account.. Cash in Treasurer~s hands.. $ ; $1, H. J. P. ANDERSON, Treasurer, 22nd December, 1931.

20 SHEET 19 - LIABILITIES ogeneral Working Account.. Suspense Account for Printing.:Suspense Account for advance payments nepot-keeper's Superannuation Fund ~apital Fund.. $ $ Audited and found correct, EDGAR A. PRESTON, 1st February, 1932.