SOCIETY. 



Society for promoting the Difcovery of the interior Parts 

 of Africa. See African AJfociation and Africa. 



Of the third kind are divers religious focieties, very pro- 

 perly fo called : thefe were firll fet on foot in London about 

 the year 1678, by a few young men, who agreed to meet 

 weekly, for prayer, pfalmody, and fpiritual conference. 

 Thefe afterwards increafed to forty diftinft bodies, who fet 

 up public prayers in many churches where they were not 

 before frequent, procured frequent adminiftrations of the 

 facrament, and maintained leftures on that fubjeft, in one 

 church or another, almolt on every Sunday evening. 



Society, Marine, was founded, principally, by the late 

 Jonas Hanway, who convened a meeting of merchants and 

 owners of fhips, and propofed their forming themfelves into 

 a focicty for giving clothing to landfmen and boys for 

 the fea-fervice. A regular fociety was formed, and a pro- 

 per committee and other officers were appointed. By the 

 regifters of the fociety it appeared, that from the 24th of 

 July, 1756, the date of the commencement of this fociety, 

 to the ift of February, 1772, it had clothed and fitted out 

 5'45i men, and 6306 boys: and the total number to the 

 t5iit of December, 1808, amounted to 20,315 men, and 

 30,857 boys. By 12 Geo. III. c. 67, A.D. 1772, fifty- 

 two governors were incorporated, from which number arc 

 appointed a prefident, fix vice-prefidents, a treafurer, and 

 twenty-four (in 1808 the number was fixty) alTiftants, 

 veiled with full powers to carry the defigns of the fociety 

 into execution. Boys ferving out their apprenticefliips at 

 fea, not being for a lefs time than four years, are entitled to 

 the liberty of fetting up and exercifing trade or bufinefs in 

 any place in Great Britain or Ireland. No fuch apprentice 

 • is liable to be imprefled into the king's fervice till after the 

 age of eighteen years. Seven governors conftitute a gene- 

 ral court, which is held four times in every year. The firll 

 local refidence of this fociety was in an office over the Royal 

 Exchange ; but it has fincc erefled a convenient building in 

 Bifhopfgate-ftreet. Among the ornaments and decorations 

 of this building, we may reckon the maufoleum of the late 

 captain Thomas Hanway, prefented to the corporation by 

 his brother, Jonas Hanway, efq. on the ilt of September, 

 1774. An annual fubfcription of two guineas qualifies a 

 governor for that year ; two guineas per annum, paid during 

 eight years fuccefTively, or a donation of twelve guineas, 

 qualifies a governor for life. 



Society of St. Patrick, Benevolent, was eltablifhed on 

 the 17th of March, 1784, by a confiderable number of no- 

 blemen and gentlemen, either natives of Ireland or varioufly 

 conneiJted with it, for the purpofe of imparting comfort to 

 perfons of that kingdom in diftrefs : one of their objefts 

 was the education of children born of Irifh parents, refiding 

 in or near London. The duke of Kent is patron of this 

 fociety. The union of this fociety with the Irilh charitable 

 fociety, inftituted in the year 1704, which continued its dif- 

 tributions till the year 1756, when it ceafed to meet, was 

 effefted by the marquis of Buckingham and a committee, 

 which fettled a plan for this purpofe. Twenty guineas 

 conflitute a governor for life, and three guuieas an annual 

 governor. The encouragement which this fociety has met 

 with has induced it to engage a piece of ground in St. 

 George's Fields, for the purpofe of erefting a fuitable 

 building by fubfcription, where the children may by degrees 

 be taken wholly under its own care. The fub-committee 

 meet every month, and the grand committee four times in 

 the year. Its officers are, a patron, prefident, feven vice- 

 prefidents, three auditors, &c. a treafurer, phyfician, fur- 

 geon, and fecretary. 



SociETY, Philanthropic, commenced at a fmall houfe on 



Cambridge-Heath, near Hackney ; but as it profpered, 

 buildings have been eredted in St. George's Fields, to which 

 a chapel has been lately added. The inflitution takes its 

 date in the year 1788, and was formed for the prevention 

 of crimes, and the reform of the criminal poor, by the 

 encouragement of induilry, and the culture of good mo- 

 rals among thofe children who were training in vicious 

 courfes, public plunder, infamy, and ruin. In Decem- 

 ber 1789, the number of wards for both fexes under the 

 fociety's care was fixty. The fund of the focietv is em- 

 ployed as a manufafturing capital, the inftruflion for which 

 will ferve at any future time to afford the children employ- 

 ment when they are capable of bemg journeymen. The age 

 of admiffion is limited to the ages of feven and fourteen, 

 and the children taken under the care of the fociety are 

 either the offspring of convifted felons, or fuch as have 

 themfelves been engaged in criminal praftices. Thofe of 

 the firft clafs are orphans ; and thofe of the fecond clafs are 

 fuch as in many cafes have been guilty of offences at an age 

 which faves them from legal punifhment. Obje£ls are ad- 

 mitted by the committee at its weekly meetings ; and they 

 are feldom taken younger than eight or nine, or older than 

 twelve. After admiffion, boys that have been delinquents 

 are fent in the firll inllance to the " Reform," a houfe at 

 Bermondfey fo called ; where the fyftem is framed with a 

 view to the amendment of the moral charafter by inflruftion : 

 out of fchool-hours they are fet to pick oakum, that by re- 

 maining unemployed they may not acquire habits of idlenefs. 

 When any of them appear, by the reports of the chaplain, 

 to be fufficiently reformed, they are transferred to the manu- 

 faftory in St. George's Fields, and placed on the fame foot- 

 ing with the reft of the boys in that fituation. The fons of 

 convifts, not having been themfelves criminal, are fent at 

 once to the manufaftory, which contains, befides accom- 

 modations for lodging about 100 boys, workfliops for car- 

 rying on the following trades, •jv'z. printing, copper-plate 

 printing, book-binding, flioe-making, tailor's work, rope- 

 making, and twine-fpinning. The profits of the trades are 

 carried to the account of the fociety, a portion being ap- 

 propriated, by way of reward, to fuch of the boys as are in- 

 duffrious, partly paid to them immediately, and partly re- 

 ferved for their ufe when they ceafe to belong to the fociety. 

 The girls are placed in a building contiguous to the manu- 

 faftory ; but all intercourfe between them and the boys is 

 eftedlually prevented by a wall of confiderable height. The 

 girls are brought up for menial fervants : they make their 

 own clothing, and Ihirts for the boys, and walh and mend 

 for the manufaftory : befides which, their earnings in plain 

 work are confiderable. When of proper age, they are 

 placed out, at low wages, in reputable families, and receive 

 rewards for good behaviour at the end of the firft and third 

 years of their fervice, ii;z. one guinea at each period. A 

 chapel has been eredfed for the convenience of their attend- 

 ing public worfhip. 



Every general court muft confift of feven members at 

 leafl ; and the committee, which confiffs of twenty-four 

 members, together with the principal officers, vifitors, and 

 auditors, meet once a week, and three of them are competent 

 to proceed to bufinefs. They appoint fub-committees. A 

 number of boys having ferved a regular apprenticefhip in the 

 fociety's manufaftory, and received certificates of their 

 honelly and induilry during the latter part of their fervice, 

 are now employed in town as journeymen to refpeftable 

 maftcrs ; and many of the girls are in fervice, and have re- 

 ceived the pecuniary rewards affigned them. The prefent 

 officers are his royal highnefs the duke of York, prefident, 

 twelve vice-prefidents, a treafurer, four vifitors, three au- 

 ditors, 



