GENERAL BOOTH'S WORK.

Tuapeka Times, Volume XVII, Issue 1027, 26 March 1884, Page 6

GENERAL BOOTH'S WORK.

"Of course I cannot be at headquarters very much myself," says General Booth. " Since I have discovered the possibility of sleeping in a Pullman, I have been able to return to London more frequently fr^m my country journeys than before. But a few hours a week with the heads of the various departments is the ntmost that can be possible for me. It 's naturally upon my chief of tbe staff that burden of management at head quarters constantly rests ', bnt, as I have already pointed out, we are aided in every department by devoted men, who do their utmost to share the work. We are so accustomed to the almost momentary settlement of great transactions that we cannot realise their significance. For example, on an ordinary visit to London my first few iniuutes, perhaps, will be spent in hearing and consenting by telegram to the request of a major abroad for more officers ; then the plans of a building to cost £2000 or £3000 must be passed ; then I must sign half-a-dozen deeds of agreements for land or buildings; then the papers of twenty candidates who wish to enter the training barracks at Clapton must be gone through. A newspaper correspondent must see me ; or a gentleman from a country town wishes us to commence operations there. Then I must dictate a note to some officer who is being unusually harassed in some way ; or to some friend who has just found some means to help us generously out of some difficulty. Two young officers just about to sail for a foreign land must shake hands with me for the last time. Another, who has felt discouraged lately, must get at me to be sure he has my fullest confidence. I confess I like to know that the great bond that holds the army together is not one of authority but one of love, It is an amusmg feature of my ' despotism,' when an officer comes to consult me about marriage, and to assure me that he could not think of anything of the sort without feeling sure of my hearty approval ! "