The  conspicuous  work  of  the  Evangelicals
in  the  nineteenth  century  is  found  in  the
voluntary  societies  they  founded.  Some
contain  the  term  '  Church '  in  their  title  and
are  more  distinctive  in  their  principles,  while
others   without  this   qualification   are  more


(  212


Evangelicals]


Dictionary  of  English  Church  History


[Evangelicals


general  in  their  range.  In  1783  the  Eclectic
Society  was  formed  in  London  '  for  religious
intercourse  and  improvement.'  The  numbers
were  small,  but  their  influence  was  far-
reaching.  A  discussion  in  1796  on  the  best
method  of  promoting  the  knowledge  of  the
Gospel  among  the  heathen,  with  a  view  to
the  disposal  of  a  legacy  of  £4000,  led  to
the  foundation  of  the  subsequently  world-
wide Church  Missionary  Society  (1799).
Its  title  until  1812  was  '  The  Society  for
Missions  to  Africa  and  the  East.'  In  1802
Josiah  Pratt  (1768-1844)  became  secretary
at  an  annual  salary  of  £60,  which  later  on  was
increased  to  £300,  and  during  the  twenty-one
years  he  held  this  position  its  expansion
became  assured.  The  first  bishop  to  join  the
society  was  Henry  Ryder  (1777-1836)  of
Gloucester,  who  was  also  the  first  decided
Evangelical  raised  to  the  bench  (1815).  The
Newfoundland  Society  (1823)  owed  its
inception  to  a  votive  offering  of  a  west-
country  merchant  who  survived  shipwreck.
