THE SALVATION ARMY.

Auckland Star, Volume XXI, Issue 4129, 26 September 1883, Page 2

THE SALVATION ARMY.

Crowded Meeting at tho Theatre RoyaL

One of the most largely-attended meetings

ever held in this city eventuated at the

Theatre Royal last evening in connection

with the Salvation Army. Tbe stage was

crowded with prominent members of (be

organisation —trimly uniformed officers and"

black - bonnetted "hallelujah lasses." Amongst the officers present were Major Barker, in charge of Australasia, Major ' Pollard, officer commanding the New Taw land division, Bandmaster Tucker, of ths Christchu rch Corps, Captain Bowemran, t_e Auckland Commandant, and Cadet Foley,of Melbourne. After devotional exercises, Major .Barker roso to address the' assemblage. He is quite a young man with a deep musical voice, m easy delivery^ and is apparently an earnest and conscientious worker. He gave an interesting account of §| the work of the Army in these C-onie», In September, ISS2, he arrived hi Mel' bourne, and went on to Adelaide, where _s commenced the work. There were now 39 9 officers and thirteen stations in the colony of South Australia. In Victoria they had 40 officers and nine stations. At Hotham, in that colony, new barracks costinw £1,200 had recently been opened, the money having been raised entirely by tht working men. At Collingwood, where they " had a corps 1,000 strong, a large hall had been purchased for £1,000. At Prahan, ■ Ballarat, and Sandhurst, they had been . similarly successful. The head-quarters of the Army in Australasia was at Emerald 9 Hill, where they had' rented a ball that would seat 3,000 persons for £450 per annum. New South Wales had nine I stations, with 20 officers, and they had secured a valuable site in Sydney for a barracks. In Queensland, where the woik had but commenced, they had four officers and two stations. The total strength in Austialasia on September, 18.3, wag.] 124 officers, while the weekly "War Cry" circulation for the Australasiani colonies was 00,000. He expressed' himself gratified with the reception ie had received in Auckland, and heartily thanked God for the progress that had beep ' made in the work. He then called on Cadet Foley, of Melbourne, to address ths • ■ ■ meeting. The history of this young man as related by himself is a remarkable one. He had been a pugilist and a "speeler" (i.e., card-sharper.) He had been in and out of Pentridge Gaol for twenty yean, and his conversion had taken place in gaol Ho had been sitting in his dark cell, _ie_ a brothor convict started to Eing one rf Moody and Sankey's hymns. His neartwas touched, because the thought of his mother came into his mind. Some of his cardsharping friends offered to pay his fine, but he refused to allow them, being confident n-fjaat if he went on the way he had cost-

If ynu1 -it would be the best three months h. ... —«in_\_r spent in his life. A SalvationAnny 7 ..''• j officer visited thegaol, and his conversionwacoinpleted. His first work for the Lord was jK: I selling " War Crys " in Bourko-street, much to the astonishment of ladies and ' gentlemen of his acquaintance. He men- H tioned the fact that since the work of the V * Army had commenced tho number of pri- 7 soners in Pentridge Gaol had beon re- ;.;77 duced by nearly one-half. Major Pol-11 lard gave an account of the doings of the 7 Army in New Zealand. There were now 9 corps in New Zealand, viz., two at Dunedin, two at Christchurch, and one each at , i:: Invorcargill, Oamaru, Timaru, Wellington, and Auckland. It was intended shortly to open stations at Ashhurton, Napier, Port *.', Chalmers, and other stations in the North Island. Captain Wright, A.D.C., had been promoted to the rank of Staff-Captain by . Major Barker, and would now take charge of the North Island as a district, tho whole colony still remaining in „.. charge of himself (Major Pollard). The " War Cry" had a weekly circulation of 15,000. At Dunedin, during Major Barker's visit, £150 had beon collected for general work ; at Christchurch, £120; at Wellington, £150. The first barracks in the colony would bo erected in Auckland, capable of | holding 1,500 people, and costing £1,700, , and tlioy saw their way to defray tho expense. Tho Apollo Hall, formeily a notorious resort in Wellington, had bees purchased for the use of the Army. _ A number of "testimonies" were gir"" during the evening. Amongst those who testified were Bandmaster Tucker, ' of Christchurch, and the ex-captain : of the Auckland "Skeleton Amy," who had been converted through the ministra* if tions of the Salvationists. At the end of the meeting Captain Bowerman intimated _■;. that Major Barker would present colours to ._.,. -1 the Auckland branch in the Theatre Eoyaj.--this evening, and announced _■>.. all present would receive a "can_..y." He stated that ho would probably take us farewell of tho Auckland corps on Thursday. The proceedings terminated, with most impressive devotional exercises.