SALVATION ARMY.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2114, 3 April 1914, Page 5

SALVATION ARMY.

OFFICERS' TRAINING COLLEGE. OPENING CEREMONY. SPEECHES BY CABINET MINISTERS The William Booth Training College, the handsome brick structure in Wordsworth Street, where officers of the Salvation Army will be trained in future, was officially opened yesterday afternoon by tho Hon. F. M. B. Fisher, Minister of Customs and Marine. The assemblage at the ceremony must liave numbered many hundreds, and included several Ministers of the Crown, representatives of the clergy, ariS many mon and women active in philanthropic and religious work in tho city. ' Lieutenant-Colonel Powley, district secretary, presided, and opened tho proceedings with devotional exercises. The Work of General Booth. The-Hon. F. M. B. Fisher, who was the first of the several speakers to be called upon, said:— "Wo are here to-day to open and dedicate this home to the memory of tho, immortal AVilliam Booth, founder of this great international Army of Salvation. It -was ever tho wish and practice of the lato General William Booth that every 'controlled by his Army should bo spent in the interests of suffering humanity, and to-day, in accordance with the noble spirit inspired by that great man, the Army presents to our citizens a monument to his genius; William Booth started life in somewhat obscuro circumstances. Ho had first to conquer himself and dedicato.his life to the serviceof his Master. "Then, with an unquenchable spirit of love for his followmen, he had to lay the foundation stoDe of this magnificent institution. From the. day ho started to the day ho was'called to rest ho waged' a vigorous and relentless _ war against poverty and crime. His mission was the salvation, of men. In^all countries, ill all climes, tho invading spirit of this great man spread relentlessly. No barrior was allowed to. stand in his path. Opposition, contumely, and contempt were heaped upon him, hut liis mission of conquest was invincible. Ho was fighting vice wherever he found it. He organised his firing line, his supports, and liis reserves. He fortified himself with a staff of men who were kindled with the inspiration of his genius and enthusiasm. He was one of the world's citizen?, honoured and revered as the greatest international soldier the world has seen. His great conquests were not marked by any love of self-glorification. He gave his life freely to his Master and 110 more faithful unremitting service was' ever ren-

dered upon eartli. Jn 58 countries-is his Army now carrying on the crusade. In .38 languages is his doctrine now .being' preached. Unlike all other Armies, the Salvation Army is perpetually engaged. Every day. in every year its 120,000 officers and soldiers aro on parade. Over 7,000,000 beds and 13,000,000 meals/ are provided by the Army annually for the poor. The white slave traffic is being . fought all ever tho world by the Army. Maternity homes, homes for the destitute, prison aid societies, shelters for the poor, orphans' homes, industrial colonies, emigration and naval and military leagues—all are comprehended within tho scope of tho Army's work. It is not now, and never has been, the function of the Salvation Army to trespass upon' the sacred domains of any established church. It was the" General's desiro to gather up the derelicts -that are floating upon the ocean of degradation, crime, and poverty. He wanted but chance to stretch forth a helping hand to the sinking swimmer. "The Creat Campaign of Right." "He netted the sewers of human vice in his search for lost souls, forever before liim shone the steady beacon light of his Master, spurring him on to push tho great campaign of right/ against' wrong. Not only was he confronted with the Herculean task that had been set him of ministering to the wants of the poor and the suffering. He had also to find the funds without which he could never have succeeded. But in that great 'organising' brain the capacity to grapple,with the enormous financial difficulty was not wanting. _ He not only undertook to do the services, but ho devised tho means of raising tho money to enable him to float- hia banner of blood and firo on citadels' all over the world. Ho did not escape the whips of scorn nor the shafts of derision. Ho was hooted when lie attempted to speak, lie was treated with tho most barbarous hostility, even by thoso whoso burden of misery, ho sought to share. Ho did not escape tho charges of peculation and self-interest which are customarily levelled at those wlio seek to battlo with evil. He saw his beloved soldiers arrested and imprisoned, and his heart went out to them in their brave suffering. "And will 'it be believed that, whilst this octogenarian was toiling in tho heat to prepare if he could a. brighter future for somo of the poor, a syndicate of slanderers in London were seeking to bless 'tho British public' by enlightening them as to his selfish and foolish designs upon them? According to their theories his evory new scheme was only brought forth to turn aside attention from his entire failure in other countries,; and ensure a continuous flow of money into his own coffers. Yet the spirit of this wonderful man never flagged. Undaunted, he led his soldiers into the breach, and at each repulse his faith grew stronger, for he knew that the spirit within him was heaven-born and that no human hostility would withstand his advance. "And let us not forget the noblo devotion of his. wife, Catherine Booth, the 'Mother of tho Salvation Army.' Hor zeal and loyalty carried the General through many a crisis, and to his helpmate lie owed much of the success of his grand scheme. To General Booth the devoted soldiers of his Army have dedicated this Memorial College. 'The very atmosphere of the building is hallowed by his spirit. His life is'an inspiration to all inon. Ho lias blazed the pathway for you, his officers and soldiers, to follow. .May each and every one of you profit by the noble examplo of unflagging self-sacrifice which ho has set." (Applause.) In conclusion, he expressed the happi-

ness he was sure all present felt to :<cb their worthy citizen, Mrs. Williams, at the ceremony. Ho was sure they would ill agree with him that site was a worthy citizeness of Wellington, one who would never be forgotten. (Applause.)

Commissioner Richards Speaks. Commissioner Richards said that occasion was a unique and a very happy one for tho Army. On behalf of the Army, ho welcomed all to tho opening of tho magnificent edifice erected to the memory of General Booth, tho "Grind Old Man" and founder of th.e Salvation Army. lio was glad to be able to sa> that in different parts of New Zealand £40,000 worth of buildings had been orected by tho Army during the Itutoighteen months in memory of General Booth, and he was proud to say that the people of New Zealand had already contributed £20,000 to pay for (hit £40,000 worth of property. Another of the memorial buildings in the cit.V was the Maternity Hospital opened the previous day by the Mayor. But from tho college the fine view was spoiled by one unsightly building (the gaol on the Terrace). If the Government would hand over to him that site he would strive to havo eroded there a third building, to bo a home eJtprisouers, where they could live while they regained their character, Slid he would havo in the building alsft 4 wing for those people likely to get into g'inf. The college building, including the laud, had cost £13,000, and of this amount C 12.072 had been subscribed. Certain embellishments to tho building had to he left undone, however, owing to lack of funds, and the grounds had iioi bee-.i put into order for the same reason. He thanked all present for having corpis along, and for their support and sympathy in, the past. ■

"The Greatest Profession." Sir John Findlay said the ceremony would mark the commencement of an important institution, and also it would mark the completion of a monument to a great man. In this institution those who dedicated their lives 4cj tlie greatest profession . of tWs or any other age, would And: the training to equip them for' tlie work of lifting up the fallen, of bringing life and hope into lives that- seemed lost, and of bringiug light into thousands of lives that were sordid. Undeniably training was necessary fof the work of social ambulance, for no one required so much knowledge and wisdom as those who would make the people virtuous. The college was one qif a thousand tributes to tho memory of a man who would live in_ the hearts pf every man who loved his fellows. He hoped, as tliey all did, that from his great goodness as shown b.V the success of his labours, tliero would spring Up a rich harvest tho world over. Cood Wishes from the Prima Minister. The Right Hon. W. F. Massey (Prime Minister) was greeted with applause and cheering. He was very gla4 ha said, to be present to take some little part in tho opening_ ceremony. The | building seemed to. him to bo Jin excol-

lent one for the purpose for wli-Mi it was intended, and no hoped and believed that within its walls officers of the Army would recoive the training necessary' for the. carrying on of tho great work ; initiated by General Booth. Tho success j of the General's work was proved by the fact that, though ho had been. called from tho scene of his earthly labours, the organisation which lie had iiiit-r----ated was going on just as steadily, smoothly, and successfully as ever, and with a vigour and determination which commanded tho confidence Of the public, and augured well for still greater success in 'he future.! For some Sea-son, the Army had always appealed to him, perhaps because ho knew much of the. good work it was doing; perhaps be* causo of its militant, direct methods-— for tho Army always unfurled its flag openly, making war upon every form of evil. The Army had obeyed the divine instruction to go into the highways and byways, and had carried the Gospel to the people of almost every country. And they were always ready to give succour to those in need of it. Ho had been glad to hear from Commissioner Richards -that the Army had bee-ii able to expend £40,000 in buildings in the last 18 months in New Zealand. That was evidence of the confidence and -support freely given by the people of New Zealand to the Army. He- hoped tlj.ai tho Army would continue its great Work for many centuries to come. He congratulated- Commissioner Richards em tho completion of his Training College enterprise, and assured him that- tho Army had his heartiest good will. (Applause.) The Exemplar In Charity. The Hon. H. D. Bell said that he was ashamed to confess that when the Army came to New Zealand 31 years ago he had been among the scoffers,- but he had lived l-o know that his judgment them was wrong, and that the work begunby the Army then was work to ■vvliick overy citizen ought to have lent a help-* ing hand. Many could not alid did net share the fervour of tho faith of tho Salvation Army, many Were not buoyed by tho sure and certain hope that was tho basis of their enthusiasm, but all know that in tho still greater virtue, tho greatest of the three, chanty } th& Army had been an exemplar, One of tho Magistrates' in the city had said to him only that day: "What wo should dowithout then) in tho Courts I dofl't know." And tho Courts Were usually the last of the places where the degraded be found. Many people woro saved from the final degradation of tho Criminal Courts by the efforts of the Salvation Army. Ho believed that tljo •collcgo from which men and women Were to.go gut like tho Apostles oi old. with tho message of Faith, and Hope, and Charity among tho people of New 55ealand, would have the. enduring support of the people of Wellington. Mr. J. P. Luke (Mayor of We-lKMgton) said he believed the city of Wellington was the richer for having the college within its confines, and on behalf of thecitizens he would say to the Army; "Go on and prosper in your good work."' He supported the Commissioner's suggestion that the Government should hand over the Terrace Gaol site to the Army, in order that there should bo established t.hero a home for the reclaiming of Congratulations from Australia, Lieutenant-Colonel l'owloy read the following cablegram from Commissioner Hay, the Army's chief officer in Australia, to Commissioner Richards: "Wo send our warmest congratulations on your magnificent advance in the new training college. May hundreds of apostles and warriors for Christ and souls bo trained there." Mr. Fisher was then presented with

a key wit-h which h© opened the door of tho building. When ho had thrown the door open lie said; "In the name of the Salvation Army and the memory «f William Booth ! declare this institution open." At the call of the Minister throe cheers were given, and also olio for Co mm is sio ne r R i.fi h a r-d s. The people present were then given an opportunity to look over the building.