“November 11. This evening, I heard of poor Mr. Broughton’s
zeal; but shall not persecute, after his example.”
“November 28. I put out of the Society all the disorderly
walkers; who are, consequently, ready to make affidavit of
whatever Mr. Broughton pleases.”
There is obscurity in the last two extracts. Both were written at
Newcastle-on-Tyne; and, yet, it is almost certain, that, Broughton
was, not there, but, in London. Probably letters from London had been
received by Charles, during his northern tour; but what he means by the
“affidavits” and by Broughton’s persecution, there is no evidence to
show. On the old principle, that, where there is smoke there is fire,
it may be safely inferred, that, though Charles Wesley, impulsive and
impassioned, entertained an excessive prejudice against his old Oxford
friend, Broughton was still in hostility to the doctrines and the action
of the Methodists.
Did this continue to the end of life? We cannot tell. We hope not, and
are encouraged in this by a fact which happened soon after the year 1750.
The Rev. Henry Venn is well known as having belonged to the party of
evangelical clergymen, who sprang up in the days of Wesley, embracing the
Revs. Samuel Walker, J. Jones, Dr. Conyers, W. Romaine, J. Berridge, and
others who might be mentioned. Mr. Venn commenced his earnest and useful
ministry in 1750, by accepting the curacy of a Mr. Langley, who held
the livings of St. Matthew, Friday Street, London, and of West Horsley,
near Guildford, in Surrey. It was his duty to serve the church in London
during part of the summer months, and to reside the remainder of the
year at Horsley. In this employment he continued from 1750 to 1754, when
he accepted the curacy of Clapham. Such was his activity and zeal at
Horsley, that, his family prayer was often attended by thirty or forty
of his poorer neighbours; and the number of communicants was increased,
while he was curate, from twelve to sixty. The neighbouring clergy
stigmatized him as an enthusiast and a Methodist, which presupposes that,
in spirit, doctrine, or behaviour, or all combined, he bore a likeness
to the branded sect. Up to the present, he was personally unknown to
Wesley; but he had frequently been among his auditors, and confesses, in
a letter, dated March 21, 1754, that, Wesley’s words had often been “as
thunder to his drowsy soul.” All this goes to prove, that, the sympathies
of the young curate were with Wesley and his friends; and, yet, presuming
that Broughton’s antipathy to the recently risen sect still existed, Venn
was the means of conferring a substantial benefit on the man who opposed
the principles and party which he himself regarded with affectionate and
zealous approbation. The story, as related in the life of Venn, is as
follows:—
During the time that Mr. Venn held the curacy of Horsley, Sir John Evelyn
had the disposal of the living of Wotton, in the same neighbourhood; a
living then worth between £200 and £300 a year, and at present worth
double that amount. Sir John was exceedingly anxious to obtain a
clergyman of exemplary character, and a man of knowledge and learning.
The squire of Horsley strongly recommended Mr. Venn, and Sir John seemed
ready to accept the recommendation of his friend; but Venn, who had
long been acquainted with Broughton, and had a high respect for his
virtues, judged him more in need of preferment than himself, and wrote
an anonymous letter to the patron, giving a full and faithful account of
Broughton’s character, and urging his appointment to the vacant Rectory.
Sir John, after making inquiry concerning Broughton, presented him; nor
had he ever reason to repent of following the advice of his anonymous
correspondent.[268]
If Broughton retained his objection to the doctrines of the Methodists,
is it likely, that Venn, himself a Methodist in point of doctrine, would
have recommended him for such a post? Venn was well acquainted with him,
and must have known his sentiments, not only past but present. He had no
personal interests to serve. In fact, his act was one of generous and
rare disinterestedness. He was full of youthful zeal, and ardent longings
to promote the spread of Christian truth. Under such circumstances, is
it rash to regard the action that he took as evidence that the views of
Broughton, who, at the beginning of the Methodist movement, had opposed
the Methodist doctrines, were now materially changed, and that, in his
ministerial teachings, he was substantially in harmony with the Methodist
clergy? The reader must form his own opinion on the subject; but as
Broughton has always been represented, not as a friend, but as a somewhat
zealous opponent of the Methodists, it is hoped, that this seeming
digression may not be deemed irrelevant.
To proceed. In 1743, Broughton was appointed the Secretary of the
Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge; an office which he held until
his death in 1777. For thirty-four years the secretarial duties of
this Society were the principal employment of Broughton’s life. In the
Society’s house, first in Bartlett’s Buildings, Holborn, and afterwards,
in Hatton Garden, he spent five hours every day in the week, except on
Saturdays and Sundays; and during these five hours, from 9 a.m., till 2
p.m., was accessible to all members and friends of the Society, who had
business to transact. Was his life mis-spent? In answering this, some
account of the Society itself is needful; and the following is chiefly
taken from its own Reports.
It is a well-known fact, that, the useful and popular preaching of
Horneck, Beveridge, and Smithies, led to the institution of the Society
for the Reformation of Manners, in 1677. Coexistent with this Society,
were a large number of Christian brotherhoods, in London and throughout
the kingdom, who held private meetings for religious fellowship, set
up prayers in many of the city churches, and were most exemplary in
their attendance at the monthly Sacrament, and at public services.
To some extent, these religious organizations were one; and yet they
were distinct and separate. The Society for the Reformation of Manners
was intended to suppress vice in others; the religious societies were
instituted principally to promote religion among themselves. The
Reformation Society was composed of members of the Church of England
and of Dissenters unitedly; the religious societies did not admit
Dissenters, and consisted entirely of the members of the Established
Church.
Things proceeded thus, till about the end of 1698, when a few gentlemen,
belonging to these fraternities, formed themselves into a Society “to
promote the knowledge of true religion,” on a more extensive scale than
had been yet attempted; and “in 1701, at their instance, a charter was
obtained, from William III., whereby all the then subscribing members,
with other persons of distinction in Church and State, were incorporated
for the better carrying on of that branch of their designs, which related
to the _Plantations, Colonies, and Factories_ beyond the seas, belonging
to the kingdom of England.” This Society was henceforward known as “The
Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts.”
The incorporation of this Society for foreign missions hardly satisfied
the yearnings of many of its members, principally on the ground, that,
the British plantations, colonies, and factories beyond the seas, were
chiefly in America.
The American colonies were of great importance; but others, besides them,
needed sympathy and help. Hence, these godly and earnest workers in the
cause of Christ, still continued to carry on, by distinct and separate
efforts, other designs for the honour of God, and the good of the human
race. The Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts was
chartered and designated on June 16, 1701. At the end of the same year,
the parties making the distinct and separate efforts were called, “The
Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge.”
The original designs of the latter Society were two-fold. 1. “The
dispersion, both at home and abroad, of Bibles, Prayer-Books, and
Religious Tracts.” 2. The promotion of “Charity Schools in all parts
of the kingdom; in which, besides receiving religious and useful
instruction, the children of the poor might be inured to industry and
labour, so as to make them, not only good Christians, but loyal and
useful subjects of the realm, and willing, as well as fit, to be employed
in trades and services, in husbandry, navigation, or any other business,
that should be thought of most use and benefit to the public. With these
views, the Society printed and circulated a set of rules for the good
order and government of such schools,—rules which had been approved
by the archbishops and bishops, who directed that the same should be
observed within their respective dioceses.”
“Besides these general designs, the Society undertook, in 1710, the
management of such charities as might be put into their hands, for the
support and enlargement of the Protestant Mission, then maintained by the
King of Denmark, at Tranquebar, in the East Indies, for the conversion of
the heathen in those parts.” In the prosecution of this work, the Society
assisted the Missionaries, at Tranquebar, “with money, a printing press,
paper, and other necessaries.” In 1728, they commenced a new mission, for
the conversion of the native population at Madras; and, subsequently,
another at Cudulore, an English settlement near Fort St. David; a third
at Calcutta; and a fourth at Tirutschinapally, the capital of the kingdom
of Madurei, an inland country in East India.
In 1720, the Society extended their work to the Greek Church in
Palestine, Syria, Mesopotamia, Arabia, and Egypt; and, by a special
fund, towards which King George I. contributed £500, printed, in Arabic,
and, by means of correspondents in Russia, ultimately dispersed in the
aforesaid countries, 6000 Psalters, 10,000 New Testaments, and 5000
Catechetical Instructions, with an abridgment of the History of the Bible
annexed.
In 1725, when workhouses began to be instituted, for employing the
poor and their children, the Society used its influence to promote the
extension of such establishments, by publishing an account of those
already in existence, and by urging, that, “a particular regard ought
always to be had to such an education of poor children, as might, by
bringing them up in the faith, knowledge, and obedience of the Gospel,
prove the most effectual means to make them good men, and useful to their
country.”
In 1732, the Society, hearing the melancholy account of the sufferings of
the Protestants in Saltzburg, issued two publications on the subject, and
raised a fund, out of which, “besides many large remittances to Germany,
they sent to the colony of Georgia, in 1733, 1734, 1735, and 1741, four
transports, containing more than two hundred of those poor, persecuted
Protestants; who, with two missionaries and a schoolmaster, were settled
at Ebenezer, and there lived contented and comfortable.”
This brief outline of the ordinary and special work of the Society brings
us down to the time when Broughton was made Secretary. The following are
extracts from the manuscript Minutes of the Board of Management:—
“Bartlett’s Buildings. Tuesday, June 28, 1743. Agreed, that,
the Rev. Mr. Thomas Broughton and Mr. Watts jointly perform the
office of Secretary to this Society during pleasure.
“Agreed, that, Mr. Broughton come immediately to reside in the
Society’s house, and open, and give proper answers to, all
letters concerning the Society,” &c., &c.
“Tuesday, July 5th, 1743. Ordered, that, Mr. Broughton have
twelve Addresses to Prisoners in Debt, and twelve Addresses to
Prisoners for Crimes, out of the Society’s store, for the use
of poor prisoners.
“July 26, 1746. The Secretary having reported, that, the
Highlanders, under confinement in the Tower, were desirous of
religious books,—_Ordered_, that, Bibles, Testaments, Soldiers’
Monitors, and Morning and Evening Prayers be sent them; and,
that, the Secretary take care to have them distributed in a
proper manner.”
Here is added another field of usefulness,—that of benefiting indebted,
criminal, and political prisoners. Remembering the interest which, for
years past, Broughton had taken in the welfare of prison inmates, there
can be little doubt, that, this proceeding of the Society was adopted at
his suggestion. Broughton’s sermon to Soldiers, in 1737, has been already
mentioned. So far as can be ascertained, his only other publication was
issued at the time referred to in the above extracts from the Society’s
Minute Book; and, as will be seen, it had its origin in his anxiety
concerning prisons. Its title was as follows,—“A Serious and Affectionate
Warning to Servants, more especially those of our Nobility and Gentry:
occasioned by the shameful and untimely Death of Matthew Henderson;
who was executed April 25, 1746, for the Murder of his Lady, Mrs.
Dalrymple,[269] With some Account of his Behaviour under Sentence of
Death. By Thomas Broughton, Lecturer of Allhallows, Lombard Street, and
late Fellow of Exeter College, Oxford. London. 1746.” 47 pp. Broughton
repeatedly visited Matthew Henderson,—who was only nineteen years of
age,—in the murderer’s cell, and expressed a hope, that, he found peace
with God. “His behaviour,” says he, “at the place of execution, was
penitent and devout, and such as moved the compassion of a great crowd
of spectators, who came to see him suffer.” Two days before his death,
Henderson was also visited by Wesley, who wrote;—
“April 23. At the earnest request of a friend,” (was this
Broughton?) “I visited Matthew Henderson, condemned for
murdering his mistress. A real, deep work of God seemed to be
already begun in his soul. Perhaps, by driving him too fast,
Satan has driven him to God; to that repentance which shall
never be repented of.”
Broughton’s pamphlet,[270] on this melancholy occasion, is characterized
by great fidelity, and outspokenness; and, as this is the last time,
that, his authorship will be mentioned, three extracts, bearing on
questions that are still of profound importance, may be acceptable:—
THE DANGER OF GREAT CITIES TO SERVANTS.—“As these great cities
entertain, so they ruin no small number of servants, who soon
exchange the simplicity of the country for the foppery of the
town. Many of these, if they brought a little religion with
them hither, part with it soon, and quickly arrive at more
wickedness than, perhaps, they will ever get rid of. Thus the
town proves a school of corruption to them, wherein they learn
everything that is evil. Here they lose their good principles;
their morals are stained; their heart grows bad; and they stand
ready prepared for the worst of crimes. With this wretched
furniture of vices, how can they make good servants? Nay, what
can prevent their turning out very bad ones? They are under no
religious restraint; who then will vouch for their veracity?
They have cast off the fear of God; where then is their
reverence for their master?”
ON DRUNKENNESS.—“No person addicted to this vice can answer
for himself, but that, in his liquor, he may commit the most
outrageous acts of violence. Being deprived of his reason, and
the grace of God having forsaken him, he is ripe for the most
daring crimes. If you suffer yourselves to be enflamed with
drink, and overcome thereby, farewell every tender impression!
every spark of humanity and gratitude! You are no longer a man,
but a beast,—mad and furious, fierce, and ungovernable,—and no
fitter to be trusted than a tiger.”
ON LEWDNESS.—“You cannot be a companion of these merciless
destroyers of soul and body without running into great
expense. And, where will you find money to satisfy these
ravenous harpies? How these abandoned wretches assemble, as
it were, in troops, and, with more than masculine boldness,
and no less than hellish assurance, assault the modesty of
every one they meet! How, in contempt of the laws of God and
their country, they attempt to decoy and ruin all such as
have not grace and resolution to withstand them! These are
the instruments of destruction to so many of our raw and
unguarded youth, and cause numbers of them to bring down the
grey hairs of their parents with sorrow to the grave. The
neglect of severe discipline and painful correction, emboldens
these transgressors to sin with a high hand, and even to act
their abominations before the sun. Whence, our streets and
alleys swarm with these execrable servants of the devil, who
are continually carrying on a trade of sin; who make it their
livelihood; and who subsist by the price of slaughtered souls.”
But enough. We return to Broughton as Secretary of the Society for
Promoting Christian Knowledge.
In 1740, Dr. Gibson, Bishop of London, issued a circular letter to the
clergy of his diocese, lamenting “the decay of piety and religion,
and the increase of sin and vice;” and strongly recommending them to
patronize the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, in their work of
printing and dispersing Religious Tracts. His Lordship urgently pleaded
for the extensive circulation of such publications, on the ground,
that, “being short, they were likely to be read; and, being plain, they
were likely to be understood; and, being always at hand, and frequently
perused, they would naturally make a deeper impression than instructions
and admonitions, either from the pulpit, or by word of mouth.”
To furnish an idea of the work of the Society in this department, it
may be added, that, the Catalogue, when Broughton became Secretary,
embraced, besides Bibles, Psalters, New Testaments, and Prayer-Books—1.
Small books and tracts on the Holy Scriptures. 2. On the Church
Catechism. 3. On the Christian Religion, Doctrine, and Practice. 4.
On the Sacraments and Church Service. 5. On Education and Schools. 6.
On Devotion. 7. Miscellanies. 8. On Confirmation. 9. On Particular
Duties. 10. On Common Vices. 11. On Charity Schools. 12. On Popery. And,
finally, on Enthusiasm, under which heading were two publications only,
namely, Bishop Gibson’s “Caution against Enthusiasm,” and “An Earnest
and Affectionate Address to the Methodists.” All the Bibles, books, and
tracts were sold to the members of the Society at _cost price_. The
number of the Society’s publications were about 160. The Treasurers were
the Rev. Dr. Denne, Archdeacon of Rochester, and Rector of St. Mary’s,
Lambeth; William Tillard, Esq., Holborn; and Benjamin Hoare, Esq., Fleet
Street.
The number of Charity Schools, in London and Westminster, in 1744, were
136, containing 3119 boys and 1950 girls; and, since their establishment,
15,250 boys had been apprenticed, sent to service, or to sea, or had
been taken out by their respective friends. Of the girls, 1658 had been
apprenticed, and 6162 had been employed in domestic service, etc.[271]
Besides those in the metropolis, there were, throughout the kingdom, 1703
other charity schools, in which were educated, and “inured to industry
and labour,” 31,184 boys, and 4515 girls.
It must not be understood, that, these charity schools were supported by
the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge;[272] but the Society had
promoted their establishment; and, to some extent, furnished them with
books and tracts. Every year also, a sermon was preached, in London,
under the auspices of the Society, at “the time of the yearly meeting of
the children educated in the charity schools, in and about the cities
of London and Westminster;” and all of these sermons (many of them
exceedingly able) were published in the Society’s Reports. That, such
Schools were needed, there can be no question. The following description
is taken from the sermon preached by the Rev. Glocester Ridley, LL.B., in
1757, and is alarmingly true of the “London Arabs” now existing. Speaking
of the outcast children of the metropolis, the preacher represents them,
as, “A brood of miserable wretches in themselves, and noxious vermin
to society; a kind of rational brutes, but worse than savages, being
equally beasts of prey, but more mischievous, from their use of reason
and resemblance of human kind. They may be the care, the admiration, the
triumph of Infidelity; but every generous heart must grieve to see reason
so disordered and human nature so in ruins.”
From what has been already written, an idea may be formed of the Society
of which Broughton was the Secretary, from 1743 to 1777. It was a Bible,
Prayer-Book, Religious Tract, Home and Foreign Mission, and Industrial
Society, all in one. The present “British and Foreign Bible Society” was
established in the year 1804; the “National Society for Promoting the
Education of the Poor in the Principles of the Established Church,” in
1811; the Religious Tract Society, in 1799; the Society for Promoting
Christian Knowledge was long anterior to the oldest of these.
It had two kinds of members; 1. Those who gave annual subscriptions,
lived in or near London, and were called _Residing_ Members; 2.
Corresponding Members, being persons, in Great Britain and Ireland,
and other Protestant countries, who were chosen to correspond with
the Society, on the state of religion in the places where they dwelt,
to distribute the Society’s publications, and to remit any occasional
benefactions, which they or their friends might be pleased to contribute.
No one, however, was elected a corresponding member, who was not “well
affected to his Majesty King George and his Government, and to the
Church of England as by law established;” and who was not “of a sober,
and religious life and conversation, and of an humble, peaceable, and
charitable disposition.” The subscribing members were chiefly clergymen
and bishops; including the following, who were often called Methodists,
the Rev. Thomas Adam, Richard Conyers, Thomas Hartley, Henry Venn, and
Vincent Perronet.[273] The last mentioned became a member as early as
1744. Among the few highly respectable lay-members, Sir John Thorold,
an early friend of the Oxford Methodists, was the most munificent
subscriber. The number of members altogether was, in 1767, upwards
of 700; and the income, for that year, including a balance in hand,
was £5580. In the same year, the Society sold, 3829 Bibles; 2281 New
Testaments; 5416 Prayer-Books; 8902 other bound books; and 58,429 tracts.
Of these, 1014 books and tracts were given to the Society, and 19,423
bought by it; the remainder, 58,420, were its own publications.
Such, then, was the Society of which Broughton was the chief manager.
Its operations, comparatively speaking, might be small, but it had the
honour of being the pioneer of some of the greatest movements of the
present day. It distributed Bibles long before the British and Foreign
Bible Society existed. The great Religious Tract Society was not formed
until twenty-two years after Broughton’s death. Its Foreign Missions were
few in number, but were important and successful; one of its missionaries
being the celebrated Schwartz, who, as early as 1772, had five native
assistants, and was held in such high esteem, by the Hindoos, among whom
he laboured, that, the Rajah of Tanjore made him tutor to his son. In the
education of the children of the poor, the Society deserves the utmost
commendation, for it promoted the work when all others neglected it; and
not only gave the children useful and religious instruction, but “inured
them to industry and labour,” and prepared them to become useful subjects
of the commonwealth.
Little is known of Broughton’s pulpit labours; and, though his
parishioners at Wotton numbered not more than about 600, if they had any
pastoral visitation at all, their visitor must have been, not Broughton
himself, but, a curate employed by him. Five days every week were spent
in the Society’s House, in Hatton Garden; Saturday and Sunday, Broughton
reserved for other duties. Some will doubt the propriety of his holding
the Wotton living, when most of his time was devoted to work, which
prevented him residing among his people; and that is a fair subject for
discussion. All that we are disposed to say, is, that, Broughton was,
unquestionably, a conscientious man, and, though liable to mistakes,
there cannot be a doubt, he acted for the best. Broughton had a large
family,—fifteen children altogether, five of whom died in infancy; and
his official salary was small, the entire payment, by the Society, for
“rent, taxes, and salaries” to himself and a “messenger,” being, for the
year 1767, not more than £290 8_s._ 9_d._ Was it surprising, that, with
such a family and such a pittance, he was willing to accept preferment?
It is true, when inducted into the Wotton living, he might have
relinquished his secretarial office, and, perhaps, should have done; but,
on the other hand, he, doubtless, felt that, as Secretary of the Society
for Promoting Christian Knowledge, he had the opportunity of being far
more extensively useful than he could be as a village clergyman, whose
ministerial labours had to be confined to a population of six hundred
souls. The two-fold position that he occupied is open to objection;
but, without all the facts, for and against it, to pronounce a decisive
judgment might be rash.
One thing is certain, Broughton’s secretaryship was not a sinecure. The
supervision of the missions in India and Georgia; the continuous printing
and publishing of Bibles, books, and tracts; the charity schools’
affairs; the publication of the annual Sermon and Report; and the
correspondence with more than seven hundred subscribing and corresponding
members, would find the Secretary quite enough of work, without the
claims of Allhallows, Lombard Street, or the parishioners of Wotton,
Surrey.
Two facts, connected with Broughton’s term of office, are too important
to be omitted.
In 1743, when Broughton became Secretary, Wales was almost without
Bibles, and the poverty of vast numbers of the people was such, that, it
was impossible for them to buy them. The Society for Promoting Christian
Knowledge, becoming acquainted with this disgraceful fact, appealed to
the public, without delay, for special contributions to publish a new
edition of the Bible in the Welsh language, with the Common Prayer, and
with the Psalms in Metre. The success of this appeal was such, that,
the Society issued an edition, in 1748, of 15,000 copies; in 1752, a
second edition of 15,000 Bibles, besides 5000 New Testaments, and as many
Prayer-Books; and, in 1768, a third edition, with marginal references, of
20,000 copies. These copies of the Holy Scriptures were not given, but
were sold at the lowest price possible.
Again: In 1763, it was ascertained, that, of the twenty thousand
inhabitants of the Isle of Man, a very large majority were _entirely_
ignorant of the English language; “and, yet, for many ages, the island
had been without the Bible in the vulgar tongue, and congregations were
necessitated to receive off-hand translations of the English Bible and
Common Prayer, according to the different sense, attention, and ability
of the officiating ministers.” To remedy this fearful state of things,
the Bishop of the Island began, in 1762, to collect subscriptions; and,
in 1763, transferred the matter to the Society for Promoting Christian
Knowledge. The result was, in 1768, the Society had printed in the
Manx language, and distributed in the Isle of Man, 1000 copies of the
four Gospels and of the Acts of the Apostles; 1500 Prayer-Books; 2000
Catechisms; and 1200 Christian Monitors. They were also proceeding with
the translation and printing of the rest of the Holy Scriptures; the
Apostolical Epistles being now, _for the first time_, translated into the
native language of the island.
Little more remains to be narrated. On Sunday morning, December 21, 1777,
in Hatton Garden, Broughton put on his ministerial robes, and, according
to his wont, retired into his room till church-time. The bells were
ringing, and he continued in his closet. They ceased, but he made no
appearance. His friends entered, and found him on his knees,—dead.[274]
An original portrait of him hangs in the Board Room of the Society for
Promoting Christian Knowledge, 67, Lincoln’s Inn Fields; from which the
engraving, in the present volume, has been taken.