Manawatu Herald. TUESDAY, MAY 2, 1905. A REMARKABLE MAN.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXVII, Issue 3516, 2 May 1905, Page 2

Manawatu Herald. TUESDAY, MAY 2, 1905. A REMARKABLE MAN.

The Rev. William Booth, better known as the "Geiteral” of the Salvatidn Army, who was accorded an official welcome at Wellington on Saturday in the presence of a large gathering of citizens, is undoubtedly a great man in every sU 'se df the word. He is bile of the fast diminishing band of men whose names are writ large in the records tlf the doings Uf the latter half of the nineteenth century. Since the 'ime of John Wesley there has been such a revival in religion as that stared by General Booth, and few the purposes of his mission he could have conceived of no better method than that of hie uriiqiie organisation, the Salvation Army. William Booth was born in Nottingham in 1829, and entered the Methodist New Connexion Ministry in 1850. He remained with the church for eleven years, during which time his fame as a missioner had brought him into much notice. He applied to the conference to he relieved of regular church work, as he thought his call was Id labour amongst the outcasts of humanity. The conference, however, thought otherwise, and appointed him to a church. The Rev. William Booth refused to accept the appointment, and in lß6t he resigned from the- Methodist Ministry, preferring to work as an evangelist amongst those who never attended a place of worship. In 1865 he established in the East End of London the Christian Mission, out ot which grew the world-wide organisation known as (he Salvation Army, which has invaded almost every town in England and Wales and nearly every country in the world. In November 1890 he published his famous book, “ In Darkest Englaad and the Way Out,” in which he outlined a social scheme which the Army has devoted itself largely to ever since. Apart from its religious aspect, the Salvation Army has done noble work as a social regenerator. It has held out a helping hand to thousands who were considered to be irreclaimable, and wonderful success has crowned its efforts. General Booth is an old man, now 78 years of age, and’this will be the last occasion most probably that New Zealanders will have of gazing on a figure which will be remembered with veneration by posterity.