Part 2 — CHAPTER 8. A PRACTICAL CONCLUSION.

Throughout this book I have more constantly used the first personal pronoun than ever before in anything I have written. I have done this deliberately, not from egotism, but in order to make it more clearly manifest that here is a definite proposal made by an individual who is prepared, if the means are furnished him, to carry it out. At the same time I want it to be clearly understood that it is not in my own strength, nor at my own charge, that I purpose to embark upon this great undertaking. Unless God wills that I should work out the idea of which I believe He has given me the conception, nothing can come of any attempt at its execution but confusion, disaster, and disappointment. But if it be His will—and whether it is or not, visible and manifest tokens will soon be forthcoming—who is there that can stand against it? Trusting in Him for guidance, encouragement, and support, I propose at once to enter upon this formidable campaign.

I do not run without being called. I do not press forward to fill this breach without being urgently pushed from behind. Whether or not, I am called of God, as well as by the agonising cries of suffering men and women and children, He will make plain to me, and to us all; for as Gideon looked for a sign before he, at the bidding of the heavenly messenger, undertook the leading of the chosen people against the hosts of Midian, even so do I look for a sign. Gideon's sign was arbitrary. He selected it. He dictated his own terms; and out of compassion for his halting faith, a sign was given to him, and that twice over. First, his fleece was dry when all the country round was drenched with dew; and, secondly, his fleece was drenched with dew when all the country round was dry.

The sign for which I ask to embolden me to go forwards is single, not double. It is necessary and not arbitrary, and it is one which the veriest sceptic or the most cynical materialist will recognise as sufficient. If I am to work out the Scheme I have outlined in this book, I must have ample means for doing so. How much would be required to establish this Plan of Campaign in all its fulness, overshadowing all the land with its branches laden with all manner of pleasant fruit, I cannot even venture to form a conception. But I have a definite idea as to how much would be required to set it fairly in operation.

Why do I talk about commencing? We have already begun, and that with considerable effect. Our hand has been forced by circumstances. The mere rumour of our undertaking reaching the Antipodes, as before described, called forth such a demonstration of approval that my Officers there were compelled to begin action without waiting orders from home. In this country we have been working on the verge of the deadly morass for some years gone by, and not without marvellous effect. We have our Shelters, our Labour Bureau, our Factory, our Inquiry Officers, our Rescue Homes, our Slum Sisters, and other kindred agencies, all in good going order. The sphere of these operations may be a limited one; still, what we have done already is ample proof that when I propose to do much more I am not speaking without my book; and though the sign I ask for may not be given, I shall go struggling forward on the same lines; still, to seriously take in hand the work which I have sketched out—to establish this triple Colony, with all its affiliated agencies, I must have, at least, a hundred thousand pounds.

A hundred thousand pounds! That is the dew on my fleece. It is not much considering the money that is raised by my poor people for the work of the Salvation Army. The proceeds of the Self-denial Week alone last year brought us in #20,000. This year it will not fall short of #25,000. If our poor people can do so much out of their poverty, I do not think I am making an extravagant demand when I ask that out of the millions of the wealth of the world I raise, as a first instalment, a hundred thousand pounds, and say that I cannot consider myself effectually called to undertake this work unless it is forthcoming.

It is in no spirit of dictation or arrogance that I ask the sign. It is a necessity. Even Moses could not have taken the Children of Israel dry-shod through the Red Sea unless the waves had divided.

That was the sign which marked out his duty, aided his faith, and determined his action. The sign which I seek is somewhat similar. Money is not everything. It is not by any means the main thing. Midas, with all his millions, could no more do the work than he could win the battle of Waterloo, or hold the Pass of Thermopylae. But the millions of Midas are capable of accomplishing great and mighty things, if they be sent about doing good under the direction of Divine wisdom and Christ-like love.

How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the Kingdom of Heaven! It is easier to make a hundred poor men sacrifice their lives than it is to induce one rich man to sacrifice his fortune, or even a portion of it, to a cause in which, in his half-hearted fashion, he seems to believe. When I look over the roll of men and women who have given up friends, parents, home prospects, and everything they possess in order to walk bare-footed beneath a burning sun in distant India, to live on a handful of rice, and die in the midst of the dark heathen for God and the Salvation Army, I sometimes marvel how it is that they should be so eager to give up all, even life itself, in a cause which has not power enough in it to induce any reasonable number of wealthy men to give to it the mere superfluities and luxuries of their existence. From those to whom much is given much is expected; but, alas, alas, how little is realised! It is still the widow who casts her all into the Lord's treasury—the wealthy deem it a preposterous suggestion when we allude to the Lord's tithe, and count it boredom when we ask only for the crumbs that fall from their tables.

Those who have followed me thus far will decide for themselves to what extent they ought to help me to carry out this Project, or whether they ought to help me at all. I do not think that any sectarian differences or religious feelings whatever ought to be imported into this question. Supposing you do not like my Salvationism, surely it is better for these miserable, wretched crowds to have food to eat, clothes to wear, and a home in which to lay their weary bones after their day's toil is done, even though the change is accompanied by some peculiar religious notions and practices, than it would be for them to be hungry, and naked, and homeless, and possess no religion at all. It must be infinitely preferable that they should speak the truth, and be virtuous, industrious, and contented, even if they do pray to God, sing Psalms, and go about with red jerseys, fanatically, as you call it, "seeking for the millennium"—than that they should remain thieves or harlots, with no belief in God at all, a burden to the Municipality, a curse to Society, and a danger to the State.

That you do not like the Salvation Army, I venture to say, is no justification for withholding your sympathy and practical co-operation in carrying out a Scheme which promises so much blessedness to your fellow-men. You may not like our government, our methods, our faith. Your feeling towards us might perhaps be duly described by an observation that slipped unwittingly from the tongue of a somewhat celebrated leader in the evangelistic world sometime ago, who, when asked what he thought of the Salvation Army, replied that "He did not like it at all, but he believed that God Almighty did." Perhaps, as an agency, we may not be exactly of your way of thinking, but that is hardly the question. Look at that dark ocean, full of human wrecks, writhing in anguish and despair. How to rescue those unfortunates is the question. The particular character of the methods employed, the peculiar uniforms worn by the lifeboat crew, the noises made by the rocket apparatus, and the mingled shoutings of the rescued and the rescuers, may all be contrary to your taste and traditions. But all these objections and antipathies, I submit, are as nothing compared with the delivering of the people out of that dark sea.

If among my readers there be any who have the least conception that this scheme is put forward by me from any interested motives by all means let them refuse to contribute even by a single penny to what would be, at least, one of the most shameless of shams. There may be those who are able to imagine that men who have been literally martyred in this cause have faced their death for the sake of the paltry coppers they collected to keep body and soul together. Such may possibly find no difficulty in persuading themselves that this is but another attempt to raise money to augment that mythical fortune which I, who never yet drew a penny beyond mere out-of-pocket expenses from the Salvation Army funds, am supposed to be accumulating. From all such I ask only the tribute of their abuse, assured that the worst they say of me is too mild to describe the infamy of my conduct if they are correct in this interpretation of my motives.

There appears to me to be only two reasons that will justify any man, with a heart in his bosom, in refusing to co-operate with me in this Scheme: —

1. That he should have an honest and intelligent conviction that it cannot be carried out with any reasonable measure of success; or,

2. That he (the objector) is prepared with some other plan which will as effectually accomplish the end it contemplates.

Let me consider the second reason first. If it be that you have some plan that promises more directly to accomplish the deliverance of these multitudes than mine, I implore you at once to bring it out. Let it see the light of day. Let us not only hear your theory, but see the evidences which prove its practical character and assure its success. If your plan will bear investigation, I shall then consider you to be relieved from the obligation to assist me—nay, if after full consideration of your plan I find it better than mine, I will give up mine, turn to, and help you with all my might. But if you have nothing to offer, I demand your help in the name of those whose cause I plead.

Now, then, for your first objection, which I suppose can be expressed in one word—"impossible." This, if well founded, is equally fatal to my proposals. But, in reply, I may say—How do you know? Have you inquired? I will assume that you have read the book, and duly considered it. Surely you would not dismiss so important a theme without some thought. And though my arguments may not have sufficient weight to carry conviction, you must admit them to be of sufficient importance to warrant investigation. Will you therefore come and see for yourself what has been done already, or, rather, what we are doing to-day. Failing this, will you send someone capable of judging on your behalf. I do not care very much whom you send. It is true the things of the Spirit are spiritually discerned, but the things of humanity any man can judge, whether saint or sinner, if he only possess average intelligence and ordinary bowels of compassion.

I should, however, if I had a choice, prefer an investigator who has some practical knowledge of social economics, and much more should I be pleased if he had spent some of his own time and a little of his own money in trying to do the work himself. After such investigation I am confident there could be only one result.

There is one more plea I have to offer to those who might seek to excuse themselves from rendering any financial assistance to the Scheme. Is it not worthy at least of being tried as an experiment? Tens of thousands of pounds are yearly spent in "trying" for minerals, boring for coals, sinking for water, and I believe there are those who think it worth while, at an expenditure of hundreds of thousands of pounds, to experiment in order to test the possibility of making a tunnel under the sea between this country and France. Should these adventurers fail in their varied operations, they have, at least, the satisfaction of knowing, though hundreds of thousands of pounds have been expended, that they have not been wasted, and they will not complain; because they have at least attempted the accomplishment of that which they felt ought to be done; and it must be better to attempt a duty, though we fail, than never to attempt it at all. In this book we do think we have presented a sufficient reason to justify the expenditure of the money and effort involved in the making of this experiment. And though the effort should not terminate in the grand success which I so confidently predict, and which we all must so ardently desire, still there is bound to be, not only the satisfaction of having attempted some sort of deliverance for these wretched people, but certain results which will amply repay every farthing expended in the experiment.

I am now sixty-one years of age. The last eighteen months, during which the continual partner of all my activities for now nearly forty years has laid in the arms of unspeakable suffering, has added more than many many former ones, to the exhaustion of my term of service. I feel already something of the pressure which led the dying Emperor of Germany to say, "I have no time to be weary." If I am to see the accomplishment in any considerable degree of these life-long hopes, I must be enabled to embark up on the enterprise without delay, and with the world-wide burden constantly upon me in connection with the universal mission of our Army I cannot be expected to struggle in this matter alone.

But I trust that the upper and middle classes are at last being awakened out of their long slumber with regard to the permanent improvement of the lot of those who have hitherto been regarded as being for ever abandoned and hopeless. Shame indeed upon England if, with the example presented to us nowadays by the Emperor and Government of Germany, we simply shrug our shoulders, and pass on again to our business or our pleasure leaving these wretched multitudes in the gutters where they have lain so long. No, no, no; time is short. Let us arise in the name of God and humanity, and wipe away the sad stigma from the British banner that our horses are better treated than our labourers.

It will be seen that this Scheme contains many branches. It is probable that some of my readers may not be able to endorse the plan as a whole, while heartily approving of some of its features and to the support of what they do not heartily approve they may not be willing to subscribe. Where this is so, we shall be glad for them to assist us in carrying out those portions of the undertaking which more especially command their sympathy and commend themselves to their judgment. For instance, one man may believe in the Over-Sea Colony, but feel no interest in the Inebriates' Home; another, who may not care for emigration, may desire to furnish a Factory or Rescue Home; a third may wish to give us an estate, assist in the Food and Shelter work, or the extension of the Slum Brigade. Now, although I regard the Scheme as one and indivisible—from which you cannot take away any portion without impairing the prospect of the whole—it is quite practicable to administer the money subscribed so that the wishes of each donor may be carried out. Subscriptions may, therefore, be sent in for the general fund of the Social Scheme, or they can be devoted to any of the following distinct funds: —

1. The City Colony. 2. The Farm Colony. 3. The Colony Over-sea. 4. The Household Salvage Brigade. 5. The Rescue Homes for Fallen Women. 6. Deliverance for the Drunkard. 7. The Prison Gate Brigade. 8. The Poor Man's Bank. 9. The Poor Man's Lawyer. 10. Whitechapel-by-the-Sea.

Or any other department suggested by the foregoing. In making this appeal I have, so far, addressed myself chiefly to those who have money; but money, indispensable as it is, has never been the thing most needful. Money is the sinews of war; and, as society is at present constituted, neither carnal nor spiritual wars can be carried on without money. But there is something more necessary still. War cannot be waged without soldiers. A Wellington can do far more in a campaign than a Rothschild. More than money—a long, long way— I want men; and when I say men, I mean women also—men of experience, men of brains, men of heart, and men of God.

In this great expedition, though I am starting for territory which is familiar enough, I am, in a certain sense, entering an unknown land. My people will be new at it. We have trained our soldiers to the saving of souls, we have taught them Knee-drill, we have instructed them in the art and mystery of dealing with the consciences and hearts of men; and that will ever continue the main business of their lives.

To save the soul, to regenerate the life, and to inspire the spirit with the undying love of Christ is the work to which all other duties must ever be strictly subordinate in the Soldiers of the Salvation Army. But the new sphere on which we are entering will call for faculties other than those which have hitherto been cultivated, and for knowledge of a different character; and those who have these gifts, and who are possessed of this practical information, will be sorely needed.

Already our world-wide Salvation work engrosses the energies of every Officer whom we command. With its extension we have the greatest difficulty to keep pace; and, when this Scheme has to be practically grappled with, we shall be in greater straits than ever. True, it will find employment for a multitude of energies and talents which are now lying dormant, but, nevertheless, this extension will tax our resources to the very utmost. In view of this, reinforcements will be indispensable. We shall need the best brains, the largest experience, and the most undaunted energy of the community.

I want Recruits, but I cannot soften the conditions in order to attract men to the Colours. I want no comrades on these terms, but those who know our rules and are prepared to submit to our discipline: who are one with us on the great principles which determine our action, and whose hearts are in this great work for the amelioration of the hard lot of the lapsed and lost. These I will welcome to the service.

It may be that you cannot deliver an open-air address, or conduct an indoor meeting. Public labour for souls has hitherto been outside your practice. In the Lord's vineyard, however, are many labourers, and all are not needed to do the same thing. If you have a practical acquaintance with any of the varied operations of which I have spoken in this book; if you are familiar with agriculture, understand the building trade, or have a practical knowledge of almost any form of manufacture, there is a place for you.

We cannot offer you great pay, social position, or any glitter and tinsel of man's glory; in fact, we can promise little more than rations, plenty of hard work, and probably no little of worldly scorn; but if on the whole you believe you can in no other way help your Lord so well and bless humanity so much, you will brave the opposition of friends, abandon earthly prospects, trample pride under foot, and come out and follow Him in this New Crusade.

To you who believe in the remedy here proposed, and the soundness of these plans, and have the ability to assist me, I now confidently appeal for practical evidence of the faith that is in you. The responsibility is no longer mine alone. It is yours as much as mine. It is yours even more than mine if you withhold the means by which I may carry out the Scheme. I give what I have. If you give what you have the work will be done. If it is not done, and the dark river of wretchedness rolls on, as wide and deep as ever, the consequences will lie at the door of him who holds back.

I am only one man among my fellows, the same as you. The obligation to care for these lost and perishing multitudes does not rest on me any more than it does on you. To me has been given the idea, but to you the means by which it may be realised. The Plan has now been published to the world; it is for you to say whether it is to remain barren, or whether it is to bear fruit in unnumbered blessings to all the children of men.

APPENDIX

1. The Salvation Army—A Sketch—The Position of the Forces, October, 1890.

2. Circular, Registration Forms, and Notices now issued by the Labour Bureau.

3. Count Rumford's Bavarian Experience.

4. The Co-operative Experiment at Ralahine.

5. Mr Carlyle on the Regimenation of the Out-of-Works.

6. "Christianity and Civilization," by the Rev. Dr. Barry.

THE SALVATION ARMY

The position of our forces. October, 1890.

Corps or Outposts Officers or persons Societies wholly engaged in the work.

The United Kingdom … 1375 —- 4506

France … … ) 106 72 352 Switzerland … )

Sweden … … … 103 41 328

United States … … 363 57 1066

Canada … … … 317 78 1021

Australia— Victoria … …) South Australia ) New South Wales ) 270 465 903 Tasmania … …) Queensland …)

New Zeland … … 65 99 186

India … … …) 80 51 419 Ceylon … …)

Holland … … 40 8 131

Denmark … … 33 — 87

Norway … … 45 7 132

Germany … … 16 6 75

Belgium … … 4 — 21

Finland … … 3 — 12

The Argentine Republic 2 — 15

South Africa & St Helena 52 12 162 —— —— —— Total abroad 1499 896 4910 —— —— —— Grand total 2874 896 9416

THE SUPPLY ("TRADE") DEPARTMENT At Home. Abroad

Buildings occupied … … … 8 22

Officers … … … … … 53 15

Employes … … … … … 207 55 —- —- Total 260 70

THE PROPERTY DEPARTMENT.

Property now Vested in the Army;—

The United Kingdom … … … #377,500

France and Switzerland … … 10,000

Sweden … … … … … 13,598

Norway … … … … … 11,676

The United States … … … 6,601

Canada … … … … … 98,728

Australia … … … … … 86,251

New Zealand … … … … 14,798

India … … … … … 5,537

Holland … … … … … 7,188

Denmark … … … … … 2,340

South Africa … … … … 10,401 ———— Total #644,618 ————

Value of trade effects, stock, machinery, and goods on hand, #130,000 additional.

SOCIAL WORK OF THE ARMY.

Rescue homes (fallen women) … … 33 Slum Posts … … … … … 33 Prison Gate Brigades … … … 10 Food Depots … … … … … 4 Shelters for the Destitute … … 5 Inebriates Home … … … … 1 Factory for the "out of work" … 1 Labour Bureaux … … … … 2

Officers and others managing those branches 384

SALVATION AND SOCIAL REFORM LITERATURE

At home. Abroad Circulation Weekly Newspapers … 3 24 31,000,000 Monthly Magazines … 3 12 2,400,000 — —- —————- Total 6 36 33,400,000 — —- —————-

Total annual circulation of the above 33,400,000 Total annual circulation of other publications 4,000,000 —————- Total annual circulation of Army literature 37,400,000 —————-

The United Kingdom—

"The War Cry" 300,000 weekly "The Young Soldier" 126,750 weekly "All the World" 50,000 monthly "The Deliverer" 48,000 monthly

GENERAL STATEMENTS AND STATISTICS. Accommodation Annual cost. Training Garrisons for Officers (United Kingdom) 28 #11,500 (Abroad) 38 760

Large Vans for Evangelising the Villages (known as Cavalry Forts)

Homes of Rest for Officers 24 240 10,000

Indoor Meetings, held weekly 28,351

Open-air Meetings held weekly (chiefly in England and Colonies) 21,467 ———- Total Meetings held weekly 49,818 ———-

Number of Houses visited weekly (Great Britain only) 54,000

Number of Countries and Colonies occupied

Number of Languages in which Literature is issued 15

Number of Languages in which Salvation is preached by the Officers 29

Number of Local (Non-Commissioned Officers) and Bandsman 23,069

Number of Scribes and Office Employes 471

Average weekly reception of telegrams, 600 and letters, 5,400 at the London Headquarters

Sum raised annually from all sources by the Army #750,000

Balance Sheets, duly audited by chartered accountants, are issued annually in connection with the International Headquarters. See the Annual Report of 1889—"Apostolic Warfare."

Balance Sheets are also produced quarterly at every Corps in the world, audited and signed by the Local Officers. Divisional Balance Sheets issued monthly and audited by a Special Department at Headquarters.

Duly and independently audited Balance Sheets are also issued annually from every Territorial Headquarters.

THE AUXILIARY LEAGUE.

1.—Of persons who, without necessarily endorsing or approving of every single method used by thee Salvation Army, are sufficiently in sympathy with its great work of reclaiming drunkards, rescuing the fallen—in a word, saving the lost—as to give it their PRAYERS, INFLUENCE, AND MONEY.

2.—Of persons who, although seeing eye to eye with the Army, yet are unable to join it, owing to being actively engaged in the work of their own denominations, or by reason of bad health or other infirmities, which forbid their taking any active part in Christian work. Persons are enrolled either as Subscribing or Collecting Auxiliaries.

The League comprises persons of influence and position, members of nearly all denominations, and many ministers.

PAMPHLETS.—Auxiliaries will always be supplied gratis with copies of our Annual Report and Balance Sheet and other pamphlets for distribution on application to Headquarters. Some of our Auxiliaries have materially helped us in this way by distributing our literature at the seaside and elsewhere, and by making arrangements for the regular supply of waiting rooms, hydropathics, and hotels, thus helping to dispel the prejudice under which many persons unacquainted with the Army are found to labour.

"All The World" posted free regularly each month to Auxiliaries.

For further information, and for full particulars of the work of The Salvation Army, apply personally or by letter to GENERAL BOOTH,. or to the Financial Secretary at International Headquarters, 101, Queen Victoria St., London, E.C., to whom also contributions should be sent.

Cheques and Postal Orders crossed "City Bank."

THE SALVATION ARMY: A SKETCH.

BY AN OFFICER OF SEVENTEEN YEARS' STANDING. What is the Salvation Army?

It is an Organisation existing to effect a radical revolution in the spiritual condition of the enormous majority of the people of all lands. Its aim is to produce a change not only in the opinions, feelings, and principles of these vast populations, but to alter the whole course of their lives, so that instead of spending their time in frivolity and pleasure-seeking, if not in the grossest forms of vice, they shall spend it in the service of their generation and in the worship of God. So far it has mainly operated in professedly Christian countries, where the overwhelming majority of the people have ceased, publicly, at any rate, to worship Jesus Christ, or to submit themselves in any way to His authority. To what extent has the Army succeeded?

Its flag is now flying in 34 countries or colonies, where under the leadership of nearly 10,000 men and women, whose lives are entirely given up to the work, it is holding some 49,800 religious meetings every week, attended by millions of persons, who ten years ago would have laughed at the idea of praying.

And these operations are but the means for further extension, as will be seen, especially when it is remembered that the Army has its 27 weekly newspapers, of which no less than 31,000,000 copies are sold in the streets, public houses, and popular resorts of the godless majority. From its, ranks it is therefore certain that an ever-increasing multitude of men and women must eventually be won.

That all this has not amounted to the creation of a mere passing gust of feeling, may best be demonstrated perhaps from the fact that the Army has accumulated no less than #775,000 worth of property, pays rentals amounting to #220,000 per annum for its meeting places, and has a total income from all sources of three-quarters of a million per annum. Now consider from whence all this has sprung. It is only twenty-five years since the author of this volume stood absolutely alone in the East of London, to endeavour to Christianise its irreligious multitudes, without the remotest conception in his own mind of the possibility of any such Organisation being created.

Consider, moreover, through what opposition the Salvation Army has ever had to make its way.

In each country it has to face universal prejudice, distrust, and contempt, and often stronger antipathy still. This opposition has generally found expression in systematic, Governmental, and Police restriction, followed in too many cases by imprisonment, and by the condemnatory outpourings of Bishops, Clergy, Pressmen and others, naturally followed in too many instances by the oaths and curses, the blows and insults of the populace. Through all this, in country after country, the Army makes its way to the position of universal respect, that respect, at any rate, which is shown to those who have conquered. And of what material has this conquering host been made? Wherever the Army goes it gathers into its meetings, in the first instance, a crowd of the most debased, brutal, blasphemous elements that can be found who, if permitted, interrupt the services, and if they see the slightest sign of police tolerance for their misconduct, frequently fall upon the Army officers or their property with violence. Yet a couple of Officers face such an audience with the absolute certainty of recruiting out of it an Army Corps. Many thousands of those who are now most prominent in the ranks of the Army never knew what it was to pray before they attended its services; and large numbers of them had settled into a profound conviction that everything connected with religion was utterly false. It is out of such material that God has constructed what is admitted to be one of the most fervid bodies of believers ever seen on the face of the earth.

Many persons in looking at the progress of the Army have shown a strange want of discernment in talking and writing as though all this had been done in a most haphazard fashion, or as though an individual could by the mere effort of his will produce such changes in the lives of others as he chose. The slightest reflection will be sufficient we are sure to convince any impartial individual that the gigantic results attained by the Salvation Army could only be reached by steady unaltering processes adapted to this end. And what are the processes by which this great Army has been made?

1. The foundation of all the Army's success, looked at apart from its divine source of strength, is its continued direct attack upon those whom it seeks to bring under the influence of the Gospel. The Salvation Army Officer, instead of standing upon some dignified pedestal, to describe the fallen condition of his fellow men, in the hope that though far from him, they may thus, by some mysterious process, come to a better life, goes down into the street, and from door to door, and from room to room, lays his hands on those who are spiritually sick, and leads them to the Almighty Healer. In its forms of speech and writing the Army constantly exhibits this same characteristic. Instead of propounding religious theories or pretending to teach a system of theology, it speaks much after the fashion of the old Prophet or Apostle, to each individual, about his or her sin and duty, thus bringing to bear upon each heart and conscience the light and power from heaven, by which alone the world can be transformed.

2. And step by step, along with this human contact goes unmistakably something that is not human.

The puzzlement and self-contradiction of most critics of the Army springs undoubtedly from the fact that they are bound to account for its success without admitting that any superhuman power attends its ministry, yet day after day, and night after night, the wonderful facts go on multiplying. The man who last night was drunk in a London slum, is to-night standing up for Christ on an Army platform. The clever sceptic, who a few weeks ago was interrupting the speakers in Berlin, and pouring contempt upon their claims to a personal knowledge of the unseen Saviour, is to-day as thorough a believer as any of them. The poor girl, lost to shame and hope, who a month ago was an outcast of Paris, is to-day a modest devoted follower of Christ, working in a humble situation. To those who admit we are right in saying "this is the Lord's doing," all is simple enough, and our certainty that the dregs of Society can become its ornaments requires no further explanation.

3. All these modern miracles would, however, have been comparatively useless but for the Army's system of utilising the gifts and energy of our converts to the uttermost. Suppose that without any claim to Divine power the Army had succeeded in raising up tens of thousands of persons, formerly unknown and unseen in the community, and made them into Singers, Speakers, Musicians, and Orderlies, that would surely in itself have been a remarkable fact. But not only have these engaged in various labours for the benefit of the community. They have been filled with a burning ambition to attain the highest possible degree of usefulness. No one can wonder that we expect to see the same process carried on successfully amongst our new friends of the Casual Ward and the Slum. And if the Army has been able to accomplish all this utilisation of human talents for the highest purposes, in spite of an almost universally prevailing contrary practice amongst the Churches, what may not its Social Wing be expected to do, with the example of the Army before it?

4. The maintenance of all this system has, of course, been largely due to the unqualified acceptance of military government and discipline. But for this we cannot be blind to the fact that even in our own ranks difficulties would every day arise as to the exaltation to front seats of those who were formerly persecutors and injurious. The old feeling which would have kept Paul suspected, in the background, after his conversion is, unfortunately, a part of the conservative groundwork of human nature that continues to exist everywhere, and which has to be overcome by rigid discipline in order to secure that everywhere and always, the new convert should be made the most of for Christ. But our Army system is a great indisputable fact, so much so that our enemies sometimes reproach us with it. That it should be possible to create an Army Organisation, and to secure faithful execution of duty daily is indeed a wonder, but a wonder accomplished, just as completely amongst the Republicans of America and France, as amongst the militarily trained Germans, or the subjects of the British monarchy. It is notorious that we can send an officer from London, possessed of no extraordinary ability, to take command of any corps in the world, with a certainty that he will find soldiers eager to do his bidding, and without a thought of disputing his commands, so long as he continues faithful to the orders and regulations under which his men are enlisted.

5. But those show a curious ignorance who set down our successes to this discipline, as though it were something of the prison order, although enforced without any of the power lying either behind the prison warder or the Catholic priest. On the contrary, wherever the discipline of the Army has been endangered, and its regular success for a time interrupted, it has been through an attempt to enforce it without enough of that joyous, cheerful spirit of love which is its main spring. Nobody can become acquainted with our soldiers in any land, without being almost immediately struck with their extraordinary gladness, and this joy is in itself one of the most infectious and influential elements of the Army's success. But if this be so, amid the comparatively well to do, judge of what its results are likely to be amongst the poorest and most wretched! To those who have never known bright days, the mere sight of a happy face is as it were a revelation and inspiration in one.

6. But the Army's success does not come with magical rapidity; it depends, like that of all real work, upon infinite perseverance.

To say nothing of the perseverance of the Officer who has made the saving of men his life work, and who, occupied and absorbed with this great pursuit, may naturally enough be expected to remain faithful, there are multitudes of our Soldiers who, after a hard day's toil for their daily bread, have but a few hours of leisure, but devote it ungrudgingly to the service of the War. Again and again, when the remains of some Soldier are laid to rest, amid the almost universal respect of a town, which once knew him only as an evil-doer, we hear it said that this man, since the date of his conversion, from five to ten years ago, has seldom been absent from his post, and never without good reason for it. His duty may have been comparatively insignificant, "only a door-keeper," "only a War Cry seller," yet Sunday after Sunday, evening after evening, he would be present, no matter who the commanding officer might be, to do his part, bearing with the unruly, breathing hope into the distressed, and showing unwavering faithfulness to all. The continuance of these processes of mercy depends largely upon leadership, and the creation and maintenance of this leadership has been one of the marvels of the Movement. We have men to-day looked up to and reverenced over wide areas of country, arousing multitudes to the most devoted service, who a few years ago were champions of iniquity, notorious in nearly every form of vice, and some of them ringleaders in violent opposition to the Army. We have a right to believe that on the same lines God is going to raise up just such leaders without measure and without end.

Beneath, behind, and pervading all the successes of the Salvation Army is a force against which the world may sneer, but without which the world's miseries cannot be removed, the force of that Divine love which breathed on Calvary, and which God is able to communicate by His spirit to human hearts to-day.

It is pitiful to see intelligent men attempting to account, without the admission of this great fact, for the self-sacrifice and success of Salvation Officers and Soldiers. If those who wish to understand the Army would only take the trouble to spend as much as twenty-four hours with its people, how different in almost every instance would be the conclusions arrived at. Half-an-hour spent in the rooms inhabited by many of our officers would be sufficient to convince, even a well-to-do working man, that life could not be lived happily in such circumstances without some superhuman power, which alike sustains and gladdens the soul, altogether independently of earthly surroundings.

The Scheme that has been propounded in this volume would, we are quite satisfied, have no chance of success were it not for the fact that we have such a vast supply of men and women who, through the love of Christ ruling in their hearts, are prepared to look upon a life of self-sacrificing effort for the benefit of the vilest and roughest as the highest of privileges. With such a force at command, we dare to say that the accomplishment of this stupendous undertaking is a foregone conclusion, if the material assistance which the Army does not possess is forthcoming.

THE SALVATION ARMY SOCIAL REFORM WING.

Temporary Headquarters 36, UPPER THAMES STREET, LONDON, E.C.

OBJECTS.—The bringing together of employers and workers for their mutual advantage. Making known the wants of each to each by providing a ready method of communication.

PLAN OF OPERATION.—The Opening of a Central Registry Office, which for the present will be located at the above address, and where registers will be kept free of charge wherein the wants of both employers and workers will be recorded, the registers being open for consultation by all interested.

Public Waiting Rooms (for male and female), to which the unemployed may come for the purpose of scanning the newspapers, the insertion of advertisements for employment in all newspapers at lowest rates. Writing tables, &c., provided for their use to enable them to write applications for situations on work. The receiving of letters (replies to applications for employment) for unemployed workers.

The Waiting Rooms will also act as Houses-of-Call, where employers can meet and enter into engagements with Workers of all kinds, by appointment or otherwise, thus doing away with the snare that awaits many of the unemployed, who have no place to wait other than the Public House, which at present is almost the only "house-of-call" for Out-of-Work men.

By making known to the public generally the wants of the unemployed by means of advertisements, by circulars, and direct application to employers, the issue of labour statistics with information as to the number of unemployed who are anxious for work, the various trades and occupations they represent, &c., &c.

The opening of branches of the Labour Bureau as fast as funds and opportunities permit, in all the large towns and centres of industry throughout Great Britain.

In connection with the Labour Bureau, we propose to deal with both skilled and unskilled workers, amongst the latter forming such agencies as "Sandwich" Board Men's Society, Shoe Black, Carpet Beating, White-washing, Window Cleaning, Wood Chopping, and other Brigades, all of which will, with many others, be put into operation as far as the assistance of the public (in the shape of applying for workers of all kinds) will afford us the opportunity.

A Domestic Servants' Agency will also be a branch of the Bureau, and a Home For Domestic Servants out of situation is also in contemplation. In this and other matters funds alone are required to commence operations. All communications, donations, etc., should be addressed as above, marked "Labour Bureau," etc.

CENTRAL LABOUR BUREAU. LOCAL AGENTS AND CORRESPONDENTS' DEPARTMENT.

Dear Comrade,—The enclosed letter, which has been sent to our Officers throughout the Field, will explain the object we have in view. Your name has been suggested to us as one whose heart is thoroughly in sympathy with any effort on behalf of poor suffering humanity. We are anxious to have in connection with each of our Corps, and in every locality throughout the Kingdom, some sympathetic, level-headed comrade, acting as our Agent or local Correspondent, to whom we could refer at all times for reliable information, and who would take it as work of love to regularly communicate useful information respecting the social condition of things generally in their neighbourhood.

Kindly reply, giving us your views and feelings on the subject as soon as possible, as we are anxious to organise at once. The first business on hand is for us to get information of those out of work and employers requiring workers, so that we can place them upon our registers, and make known the wants both of employers and employes.

We shall be glad of a communication from you, giving us some facts as to the condition of things in your locality, or any ideas or suggestions you would like to give, calculated to help us in connection with this good work.

I may say that the Social Wing not only comprehends the labour question, but also prison rescue and other branches of Salvation work, dealing with broken-down humanity generally, so that you can see what a great blessing you may be to the work of God by co-operating with us.

Believe me to be, Yours affectionately for the Suffering and Lost, etc.