A BROWN STUDY.

Auckland Star, Volume XXVI, Issue 5465, 24 January 1885, Page 3

A BROWN STUDY.

Tho Salvation Army.

From The " LoNDpn Wkekly Echo,"]

"Titu Salvation Army " has developed out of a Christian Mission established by the Rev. William Booth. Mr Booth was born, in Nottingham in 182fJI. He became a. minister of the Methodist New Connexion, and, finding the life too quiet far him, took up with peripatetic evangelism. Out of

his labours in Ejast I<ondon the Christian Mission arose. To the Christian Mission

tho " Hallelujah Lassea " became a valuable adjunct. These young women Bang lustily, and marched backward, waving umbrellas, and were capable of " holding forth " in marketplaces and at the corners of stroets. In process of time the organisation ceased to^e n "Mission," and bocamoan ''Army." Mr Booth took the title of General; his more active supporters, male and female, became Captains; a " Commissioner " was appointed ; a Major was made out of a converted sweep ; and Mrs Booth distributed banners bearing the sanguinary motto, " Biood and Fire.' General Booth, a tall, hook-nosed, eagerlooking man, with hair and a beard like separate wisps of straw, not only controls the organisation, but is careful that all its affairs shall be associated with his name.

"Heathen England," a book written by " Commissioner Railton," carries tl\e najp^e of William Booth on its title page'; ".Thfl Salvation Army Song Book" proclaims itself to be "By William Bpoth,'1 though it only contains, the. ordinary revivalist hymns, frequently altered fpr the wflrse. A series' of'". Oilers and feegulatjans," published in red co/pers, and modelled on SirQaynet Wolseley's "Soldier's Pocketbpo,k," js probably the General's genuine production. It is shrewd to the. point of cunning and no less worldly-wise than " The Prince " of Machiavelii, The Salvation Army t^hen m itg prco3ssio-- s> As soo - n ag the hallelu j ah lasses were organised they took the streets, nourished tambourines and umbrellas, and compelled attention by means of extravagance. Gradually, however, they fell into the shade created by the larger figure? of the male converts. There was tho "Hallelujah Giant," the "Salvation Fiddler," the " One-eyed Sailor," and the " Converted Sweep." It is now usually a male " captain" who leads the processions. He has arms like the sails of windmills, and a throat of brass. He wears a red guernsey, a dingy uniform,and a cap embroidered with the letter '.' S." After him come the brass instruments, and the hallelujah banner, and a motley crowd. The processions are seen and heard of all men. They have murdered quiet, as Macbeth murdered sleep. They increase the world's, tumult from "Worthing to Bombay.

Some, day the historian of th.Q movement may peculate on wha.t the Army might have been withpuij Mrs Booth. She is a plain, anxious-looking woman, not without a certain plumpness of feature, and with an earnest and rather pleading sty le of address. The General ia given to interjeation.il remarks, J,o sudden sallie? of wit, to spasmodic jump 3, and similar antic diversions. Mrs Booth takes thing? quietly, and makes argumentative speeches. Her daughters sine in couples, or d.ejy- constituted authority in Switzerland,' Her' sons' play the fiddle, or conduct tho'music,' or assistin tba raanagiiSentl of'tho'Armv, which is rathera family affair, %^ 'under-

takes most of the defence and explanation. When " the critics " r.ssail the Army, Mrs Booth retorts on "the critic? " with all the smartness of a woman's tongue. The Salvation Army scomii to have a singular attraction for large men. They usually officiate a? "chuckcrs-out." Their instructions are to be found in the " Orders and Regulations," where tho General explains how a stranger to the movement may be pleased to observe the firmness and de-

cision with which unruly persons are shown to the door. Those who have had occasion to come into contact with one of these preservers of order will have noticed that he has a strong arm, and a head which is armour-proof against all argument. In the choioe language of the sporting world, lie always means " business and not bounce." The Army is sustained by means of collections and "canaries." In the "Orders and Regulations " I read :—" The system of collecting at each Sunday service will be commenced from the first. In addition to any collections made, a plate or basket may be held at the door, so that anyone who may have been missed in collecting may have an opportunity to help. The total expenditure for hire of buildings, gas bills, &c., should be mentioned, if heavy— 'the fact of its being our universal custom, and the invariable generosity of working people, being pointed out. While the collection is being made a solo or song known to overybody should bo sung. It is a mistake to make any other announcoments, or sing anything requiring a book during the collecting, as it divides the attention too much." Again:—"Pressure put upon people will frequently cause them to give food as well as money." And once more :—" It is well not to make known the amount of offerings at first; and, indeed, at no time is it wiso to publish them to the whole congregation. The mass of tho poo>le will never suspect real soldiers, and it is thereforo foolish to assume any possibility of suspicion, or to make any statements with a view to meeting it." When the General requires more money than can be got through ordinary gifts or collections, he resorts to "canaries." That is a playful designation which he has given to little slips of yellow paper which are given out at the meetings, to be returned as promises to pay. During one day's service at Clapton, the "canaries" which flew back again to the General's hands were worth more than seven thousand pounds.

The Army has a valuable source of income in the " War Cry." It records the progress of the movement throughout the world, is cried through the streets by leather-lunged boys, and sold in the parks by young ladies in spoon bonnets. The General takes care that his nftwspaper, like his processions, shall penetrate everywhere. He believes in persistence, and in eccentricity. There are those who maintain that the leaping, the shouting, the groans, and the which are characteristic of Salvationist meetings,arepurely spontaneous movements of enthusiasm. Nothing of the kind. It is all explained in " Orders and Regulations." " Let everything about you show that you are peculiar religiously," says the General, " and that tho forces you represent will introduce some novelty when they come." Such is the instruction. Nobody will deny that it is acted upon in tho spirit and to the letter.—Sasciio, " Weekly Echo."