SALVATION ARMY.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 5, Issue 1490, 22 September 1883, Page 2

SALVATION ARMY.

The following is a copy of some of General Booth's secret orders to his subordinates, his so-called field and commanding officers, and they certainly manifest the possession of a fair amount of the wisdom of the serpent. The fact that they are copied from the Melbourne Spectator is a guarantee of their genuineness:—A field officer, on taking command, must always be firm in believing and declaring his divine errand to the people, and therefore satisfied of his own value to them as a light. The field officer is not obliged to follow any rule of other preachers, and need take no Scripture text. He is at liberty to follow the guidance of the Holy Glwst, and to give to the people, as from (rod, whatever he feels bound to tell them. It is not well to make known the amount of offerings at first, and indeod at no time is it wise to' publish them to the whole congregation. The niass of the people will never suspect real soldiers, and it is therefore foolish to assume any possibility ■of suspicion, or to make any statement with a view to met it. There is not, as a rule, any need to refer to the fact of the field officors being paid, the expenses for rent, gas, die, being seen by all to be heavy. Sinco the entire control and responsibility belongs to the CO., it is never well to say or do anything likely to give men an idea that they have power, by vote or agitation of any kind, to produce changes of any sort, or to prevent them. Therefore, no society or members' meeting is ever to be kid, such as have been usual in churches and at some of the older stations of the Army, and no divided vote is ever to bo taken; that is no opportunity is to be given for voting in oppsilim to the CO. But a compe tent CO. will in no way display his ability more than in ihe skill with which he will carry all his force heartily with him in every operation, causing them at limes, if he judges it of value, to vote for that which he wishes tltem to do. Look to your own personal appearance. While it is to the interest of the service that you should appear anything but well-to-do, it is most important that you Bhould impress people also as being careful, orderly, and businesslike, and thoroughly practical . . . Keep your businessto yourself till you have completed somearrangement about which you can boast with good effect, -. An officer on this duty has no business with bashfuhess or propriety. . . . You can. afford any quantity of apologies, 'after you have got the information you wanted. ... Tf possible, avoid making inquiries of members of churches,; anyway, you need not till them what you are about, To make ministers and others engaged in church work friendly, you must dwell upon the faot that .we attack those who are quite, outside their range, and that, from the want of education amongst us, we cannot be in competition with them. Should you meet with a gentleman " interested in any good work, 1 do not be in too great a hurry to tell him all. : Find out what his own views are."