GENERAL BOOTH

New Zealand Times, Volume XLVI, Issue 10610, 8 June 1920, Page 3

GENERAL BOOTH

TO ARRIVE TO-DAY COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF OF THE SALVATION ARMY. General W. Bramwell Booth, Com-mander-in-Cbief . and leader of the Salvation Army, who is on a world tour, will arrive by the Mocraki, which is due in the stream from Sydney at 6 o’clock to-night, and on arrival will he accorded a reception. The General is accompanied by Commissioners David C. Lamb, ~j. Lawlcy, Theodore Hitching, and StaffCaptain Smith, and Adjutant Bernard Booth, the General’s eldest son. While in Sydney the General was accorded a splendid reception, and the' international visitors were delighted and deeply impressed with the Army’s might in the Southern Hemisphere. According to a personal .impression, as Australia saw him,, the General is a tall man—somewhat over.six feet, his passport states—and lie is remarkably well-proportioned. The morning of his reception at Sydney, though tine, had a nip in it; so he wore his red-lined cloak, which, thrown hack, increased the martial appearance created by the uniform of his rank. His ehapely and well-poised head is surmounted by a mass of white hair, mid when a smile illuminated his fine features as he stood framed in. the hatchway of the ship, he seemed the incarnation of sweetness and strength, and looked every inch of him the General of the Salvation Army. NEW'ZEALAND’S WELCOME.

Tho official organ of the Salvation Army, “The War Cry,” in extending to General Booth a welcome on behalf of all New Zealand Salvationists, nays::—ln this Dominion, the Salvation Army is to be found strenuously and self-denyingly labouring for the Well-being and happiness of the people, maintaining the glorious traditions of our heritage—a heritage bequeathed to us by the self-denial and sacrifice of heroic souls, amongst whom wo arc happy to associate your name. ‘‘The practical service of the Salvation Army during tho past thirtysix years amongst tho people of New Zealand ban not only captured their fertile imagination, but touched their hearts, for magnificently and ungrudgingly they support its humanitarian (Juterpriscs, better proportionutely than any other people in tho world.

“The sustaining of this service falls to the lot of the New Zealand whose loyalty to the flag, firm adherence to principle, ready service, selfforgetting labours and love for their General, will, I have no doubt, bring no small measure of comfort and joy to your heart, as it will, I feel sure, cause you to rejoice in God, because of the splendid work already accomplished by the thousands of. devoted comrades of the Army in this Dominion, especially those upon whose shoulders fell the heavier responsibilities and vicissitudes of pioneer days.”

AN ORGANISER OF FORLORN ENDEAVOURS.

As an organiser of forlorn endeavours, General Booth iis probably seen at his best. His mainly was tho creation of tho slum work of the Army, and in his younger days he often evangelised in the slum' quarters of East Condon and other places. A man who never uses a stern word, nevertheless, he can and does exact obedience from those responsible to him. Ho possesses the power of conciliating—a. power which has proved invaluable in his work for the Army. Ho has ever shown that lie possessed the pluck necessary to perpetuate tho Balvatiomsm of the movement. 1

Those who know the General best recognise him as an indomitable fighter. He has proved it more than once in matters of great moment to the community at large; and it is a mark of his work in his ■ regular campaigns. If there is a eoul to, be helped or saved, time and place are nothing to him—ho will gladly stay till midnight, or turn a scat, in a railway compartment into a penitent’s bench.! On this point of fight and struggle, ho says:— .. “All through my carper I have been able to extract consolation and even strength from the oppositions and conflicts which, from the very begin ning, the Array has had to encounter. They have tried ancT harassed and often aggravated mo, but they have heartened and cheered mo at thp same time. 1 early perceived that all through the history of the world the principle of opposition to God, to God’s work and truth and to God’s people, has been in violent operation. Even in my boyhood days it appealed to mo as strong evidence of the rightness of the development of a man or woman’s personal godliness, as well as usefulness in the salvation oi others, that I have again and again said to myself when choosing one comue out of several: Let us take the roughest road—the way iu which we shall meet the most resistance.” t MESSAGE FROM THE KING.

Tho General brings with him the following message from King George for conveyance to file people of New Zealand:

“I congratulate the people of Australia and New Zealand upon the splendid part they have played in the Great War, now happily concluded, and I hope to hear of their continued nucccss in the struggle against sorrow, misery, and sin. i am deeply convinced of this—that the strengthening of Christianity is the true hope for the .maintenance and spread of our civilisation, and that without Christianity our civilisation and all that it embraces must fail. I am very glad to hear of the progress of the Salvation Army in that important part of the world.” MOVEMENTS OF GENERAL BOOTH.

On arrival thin evening, General Booth and his staff will he the guests of the Garrison Training College in Aro street. To-morrow Tic will not attend any public functions, and leaves for Christchurch by the ferry steamer cm Wednesday,

The civic reception to be tendered by the Mayor to General Booth will take place in the Town Hall on June X7th, the day of his return to Wellington from the south.