SALTATION ARMY

Evening Post, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 140, 13 June 1912, Page 8

SALTATION ARMY

NEW ZEALAND STANDS ALONE THE NEW COMMISSIONER. Commissioner Richards, who has been given supreme . command of the Salvation Army m New Zealand, arrived' today by way of Sydney. The Salvation Army in New Zealand, formerly under Australia, is now independent, so far as the management of its own affairs is concerned, and the Commissioner is at it 3 head. During an interview with a Post representative, it was made clear that the new commandant is a. born fighter, trained in the severe discipline which the circumstances attendant en the early days of the Army imposed on its soldiers. Born in a home "which had a pro- ! nounced moral atmosphere, but where, although the form of religion was observed, there -was not much vital godli-. ness, from the age of twelve to twentyone," he said, "my chief delight was that of novel-reading. For some years I read novels aloud to a party cf congenial spirits nightly. , Other vices, common to the youth of that age, I did not practise to any great extent. On 6th Juno, 1878, however, came tho great change. I attended a meeting of the Christian Mission at Merthyr Tydvil, and there got converted, being then twenty-one years of age." A little more than a year later he married, and tho young couple at once engaged in Army work, in which they have been together for over thirty-two years. "THE SKELETON ARMY."' " Persecution was rampant in those days," continued the Commissioner. "Opponents of the Army paraded the streets with a flag on which appeared a skull and cross-bones. They dewgnated themselves 'The Skeleton Army !' wore brass helmets, and made deliberate attacka upon us at certain street corners. Scarcely a night passed but bloodshed -.vac tho experience of probably both sides. On one occasion tho mob v/as so great and the rush into our hall so determined that the captain of this socalled army was carried unwillingly into our meeting. His retreat wa«i impossible, because of the crush, and ho was consequently compelled to stand the fire of our Aymy's artillery. Eventually he Guccnmbed, and fell at iha penitent form. He afterwards became a splendid soldier. This brought about the breaking-up of the combination, f.u several of the lieutenants alfco got converted in a few days. He kept close to God for -guidance, and many a night spent in prayer gave ua the wisdom we lacked. 1 ' The command of one corps after another followed, five of them beia£ in tho roughest parts . of Louden. THE DAYS OF FISTICUFFS.. "Sometimes there would be four ov five fights going on at tho back of tho Whitoehapel Hall, one or two in the galleries, while twenty or thirty souls wept their way to Calvary," the Ccniniissioner added. "At another corps, in the old Kent-road, Peckham, a properly formed and drilled Skeleton Army existed, with black flag and cross bones. On our arrival there a postcard was sent us, supposed to have been wyiten in blood, but it was probably red ink. pn th«/ postcard was drawn a coffin, with my name inscribed thereon as being &lain by tho Skeleton Army on a certain date, \vith a. statement that unless wa immediately loft the neighbourhood that was to be tho, dato of our death. Of course, no notice was taken of this, and on the morning of the supposed date another postcard was received giving the tombstone, with a memorial and ■drawing of the kuife with which the deed v/as to be done; but en the night which should have seen the aeat'h of me, a groat revival broke cut, which swept ecores into tho Fountain, including many of tho members of tho Skeleton Army — this was the end of that organisation." Every corps commanded by Commissioner and Mrs. Richards, it wa§ learned, was left in a greatly-improved condition —spiritually, numerically, and financially, and in nearly every instance a tubstantial debt was cleared off. WORK IN RUSAL ENGLAND. At the conclusion of his term at Whitechapsl, the Commissioner becam« iha pioneer for th« Circle Village- Corps ra the Bristol Division, where, on a threswheeled solid-tired bicycle, he covered thousands of miles of country. Tho next move was to tho Preston Division, and three years of "red-hot" salvation wo»-k in tha Metropolis. Commissioner Richards was then placed in charge of the half of Great Britain. General Booth reappointcd him to tho London Province, with Increased powers. Then came tho appointment as deputygovernor of the city colony social work, where, during his three years' etay, thousands of men were fed, worked, and sheltered nightly. SERVICE IN FOREIGN LANDS. Commissioner and Mrs. Richards'e first foreign appointment was to Denmark, and subsequently South Africa, whero their command lasted for over six years. Of this period the commissioner said: "We had heavy fighting all the time, financial struggles continually, but we also had a brave backing by si, lot of noble men and women, staff and field officer.*. We revelled in thLi tough battle and delighted in tlio companionship of such a willing and capable staff. Soldiers and recruits nearly doubled — 100 officers were added with most calefactory increases in congiegatioaj, and so on.*' In both Denmark and Sduth Africa, it was learned, eelf-denial figures increased veav by year until they reached a very high record. THE ARMY TO-DAY. The Salvation Army of to-day : Ie it a cucial iat her than a spiritual force? This question was put to the Commissioner. "I consider that the spiritual tono of the Army is as high to-day as it over ww," he said ; "but there are so many social institutions clustered around it thai they are apt to obscure the spiritual power in the public vision. We know, however, hew great it is to-day." Questioned about his expectations in legard to the war in New Zealand, the Commissioner smiled and quoted tho words used in another place : "We shall sco what we shall see ! "I am quite ■sure," he added, "that a hearty welcome awaits us here, and I am equally sure that we shall love both the people find latfJ. The first we have heard cf as being tome of the finest working fighting soldiers ni ths world, and the latter as a most lovely Garden of Eden, described at- 'God's own country.' " the Vivian-street Salvation Army Temple, at 8 o'clock this evening, a welcome gathering will be hold to Comi missioned and Mrs. Richards, from £ngiaml. Lieutenant-Colonel Fisher, the Chief Secretary for New Zealand, will bo in charge of tho proceeding*?. At 7 a mpeolacular procession will take the fjjrm of a, welcome procession to tli3 Coaamkisioner, starting from the corner of TaranAlii-srtreet. and Courtcnay-place, and will include tableaux descriptive of the Army's work, aud band miwic.

Mr. A. Hamilton, Director of the Dominion Museum, who ha 3 be«m very ill, >s utiw reported to be improving iv health.