Salvation Army General Booth - In Hamilton, 1895


 
      General William Booth, the commander of the hosts of the Salvation army, is in appearance a peculiar personage. Were he to appear on the streets, his name and position entirely unknown, it would be said of him, “There goes somebody” with that inflection that discriminates between commonplace and distinctive people. His head is covered, and well-covered, with rich, sliky grey-black hair and his face is partly hidden by a beard in color the same, but in quantity rather straggling, denoting advance of age and increase of care. The face – more peculiar than anything else – is a study.

A brow, high and intelligent, is furrowed with deep lines, and a pair of heavy eyebrows rest above deep-set eyes that are never still. Much of the power of this man over others must come from the sentinels of sight, for they alike pierce and melt. “Sin is a damnable and hateful thing,” said he yesterday afternoon, and as he said it his eyes flashed with an intenseness that suggested a lasting hatred in his mind of this thing called sin. “How could I help pitying them?” said he again, speaking of his people in the London slums, and in those eyes, but a moment before sparkling with an intense hate, there were teardrops sparkling instead, and a loving tenderness seemed to fill his whole being and shine in soft radiance from the expressive eyes.

His nose is large and decidedly Roman in shape, and it, along with the firm lips and chin give the key to the man’s successes in a work where all has seemed nothing but difficulty and disaster. He is a nervous man and this is inclined to make him irritable under pressure of excitement, as was amply proven at Wesley church at the morning service yesterday. Tall, thin and pale, his appearance on the platform is that of an apostle of some strange doctrine – a prophet, if you will, for his statements are made with prophetic fire, and in that earnestness of manner that must have moved prophets of old in their warnings, pleadings and denunciations. Such is the “General” as he appeared before the people of Hamilton yesterday, speaking to immense audiences on three different occasions in Wesley church and at the drill hall.

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The Morning Service

It is not often that the seating capacity of a Hamilton church is tried and found wanting at a Sunday morning service. Yet that is what happened at Wesley church yesterday morning when General Booth made his first appearance. When there remained no more seating room, the people crowded in to stand, and when standing room was all gone, many were turned away, unable to get farther than the doors. The general took charge of the meeting from the start and opened it with an army song, for which the band played the accompaniment. The books containing this and 54 other songs as well as a sketch of the general’s life, were sold through the audience at five cents each before the service. After the opening exercises were over, the general announced that his text  and preached a short sermon. Hard work has combined with age to rob the army leader of what must once have been a powerful voice, and his speech does not come as freely as it has done in past years. The eyes and features of varying expression have now to do the work the voice and tongue have largely ceased to perform, and the pleasure and profit to the audience are gained more by watching than be hearing the speaker. The sermon was on the words, “Praise the Lord with gladness,” and condensed its thoughts were these :

There is an indestructible belief in the breasts of men that there is a great God watching and noting the events of this world’s history. Sensible people will admit that it is harder to put away this belief than to retain it. We believe this God has a right to our service, as our creator, sustainer, sovereign and judge, and we ought to be his faithful servants. The service of God must mean something. My salvation here or my lamentation yonder depends upon my service for Him here. It must include the submission of my heart and a resignation of my wrong doing. No man can serve God without submission. WE must consecrate ourselves and all we have. No touching with the tips of our fingers. It is possible for a man to have two heavens – one with his heart here and one to look forward to in the hereafter, and when the heaven here and the heaven hereafter meet, my God, what a heaven they will make. You won’t shout here because you are afraid of your reputation, but you will shout there. Many of you will have to go back to your alphabet to learn how to say “Amen” and perhaps you will have a Salvationist to teach you. Many of you must admit that in your hearts you don’t believe God is made any grander or more glorious by you tail on the tail end of His chariot. To serve God with gladness, one must have the glad nature. Birds sing and fish swim because it becomes natural, and you cannot praise God unless you get that praise nature.

An unfortunate incident of the morning service was when the general stopped his remarks to rebuke someone in the choir gallery behind him. In the rush for seats the choir gallery had been used and many strangers were in the choir chairs. There had been whispering, and turning to the gallery the general said – “I have been all over America and have never before have I seen such unseemly conduct as I have seen in this singing gallery this morning. If people have no interest in what is being said, they might at least keep silence. Put down your books and go out if you don’t want to listen. There are doors there,” and he pointed to the exits. The sensation in the choir gallery was marked by a decided silence, which lasted till the service was over, but no longer. The choir members were insulted, and in some way the condition of affairs was made known to the general before the afternoon meeting in the drill hall, for he there apologized for his morning remarks, which he admitted might, under the circumstances, having been indiscreet.

          The Afternoon Crowd

At the east end of the drill hall in the afternoon, upon a large platform adorned with flags and bunting, sat the army band, the general, his son, Col. Lawley, Major Malan, Rev. Dr. Burns and Robt. Thompson. Behind this platform was reared an immense map showing the conquests of the army throughout the world. In front of the platform, all the way to the west end, was an audience in size enough of itself to make a leader’s heart glad. Around the walls were banners and flags by way of decoration. It was some time after three o’clock when the general rose to speak, and his subject was The Inception and Progress of the Salvation Army. The aged man’s voice could scarcely be heard at the west end of the hall, but he was listened to with great attention throughout.

The story he told was as follows :

“The army was organized 29 years ago, not a very great while for a religious organization – only a big, bouncing boy, getting into mischief and doing things not always right, if our religious friends are to be our judges, which they are not, thank God. We want their sympathy and their money, but we don’t go much further than that. It was 50 years ago that I became a Christian. . It was not the fear of hell nor the longings for heaven, although both these perhaps had their weight, but I wanted to be a servant of God. I saw the foolishness of following after the vanities and bubbles of life, so I gave my heart to God. I had to go down flat before His feet, which I recommend every other man to do who wants to make peace with Him. I never could understand how people could be willing to eat their feast alone in the midst of the spiritual poverty and squalor of the world. I believed my business was to save souls and I set out to do it. I got to be a preacher and it partly spoiled me, I am free to admit. Then I became a parson and that nearly finished me. Then I got out of the church into the open. It always seemed to me there are two worlds – the church world and the outside, unsaved world, and while the church gets out very little into the world, the world seems to get very much into the church.

“Then came the first great revival, which resulted in my coming to the east of London. My world was not planned. It was a development. I have gone on day after day, often in the dark, trusting my God for the development, and in this I have won the love and sympathy of the Christian world and the un-Christian world too. My first principles were few. That sin was a hateful and damnable thing, and the sooner man got rid of it the better. That a man can be rid of sin at once by a free salvation. The East End charmed me. The spirit said to me this is your parish, here are your people, 90 per cent of the million of them never having entered a chapel door. What could I do in the midst of these people ? No money, no influential company behind me. But I had the salvation of God behind me. As long as your theology is simple and firmly based, the salvation of God will do the rest. There I was with a flock of hungry, vicious, dirty sheep. What could I do with them? How was I to get them to look at Christ? The mere announcement of a sermon would have done no good. They were anxious as how to get a bit of bread for their poor empty stomachs. They wanted something to obliterate the miseries of their existence for the time being. I could not help pitying them. Wouldn’t you feel like pitying them? I think you would. Supposing you do it now? It’s not too late I decided that whatever uniform I could wear, whatever music I could play, whatever I might do, so long as the thing was in keeping with truth and righteousness, that I would do to bring these people to God. My idea was to get a dare devil band of men and women and make them out of devils. Couldn’t make anything out of respectable people, so I had to make them out of devils. Then I was asked what I would do with my converts. I said I would send them to the churches, but three difficulties presented themselves. First of all, they wouldn’t go, then they were not wanted and finally, I wanted them myself. The work progressed and we spread into Scotland and Ireland, and then to France, and finally through Sweden, Denmark and Norway, and right up to the walls of that great city, St. Petersburg. Then we have gone to India, and, I am full of hope, that the army is to be an important factor in solving the great missionary problem. Then there is Africa, South America, Australia, Java, Tasmania, New Zealand. Our flag files in about 45 different countries. We have almost 11,000 officers, with tens of thousands of men and women in the ranks. With all these, we have difficulties – our runaways, desertions and traitorisms. But you can’t have real war without dangers and difficulties. We are rivals of no one and our work is the result of no split in any other society. It is a work of God, bound to go ahead through the medium of weak, human instruments. Now, where is your position? Where do you stand on the question? If God asked of you an account of your service, what would you give?Will you bring Him the children whom you have cursed by your example? Will you bring Him that miserable little piece of ceremonial which you have offered Him? Would you show Him the niggardly offerings you made at His work? Oh, don’t play the fool. I have given my children, my whole home and myself to God to be used by Him. What will you do? Yield yourself and your all to God and help on His work for the unsaved millions.

                   The Evening Meeting

The generous proportions of the gathering at the drill hall in the afternoon were outdone by the immense crowd that had assembled at seven o’clock in the evening. It was a gathering very much mixed. The army people were there with their friends; the church people were there in large numbers, and the community that makes up what is known as “the great unwashed” was largely represented. A pleasing feature of the meeting was the solo singing of Col. Lawley, who is a strapping Englishman, with a voice of remarkable power and sweetness. He was accompanied in his solos by Commandant Booth on the accordion. The meeting was one of the regulation sort. It consisted of hymns of invitation, prayers of exhortation, a pleading address from the general and an after meeting for penitents, prayer and praise.

The general’s voice was husky and weak when he began to speak and improved but little during his address, which could not be heard much more than half way down the big hall. His subject was, How Long Halt Ye Between Two Opinions, and his remarks were particularly addressed to the unconverted. Said he:

“Punishment for sin is deferred till eternity. The troubles of the Isrealites and of the people of this day as well, are the chatisements used by God to shake up men and make them see what they really are. All trouble that comes to men comes because they forsake God, and the devil tries to keep you away from Him. Oh, I’d hate to be doing the devil’s dirty work for him. He says, don’t do anything in a hurry. What a common thing that is! Do a thing if it’s right and do it right sharp. You may see no signs of the coming trouble. Your life may run on smoothly, but somewhere in the distance the clouds of His wrath are gathering and will burst over your sky with terrible results. Fly, fly from the trouble to the refuge He has supplied for you. The prophet ordered King Ahab around like an errand boy. If we were only faithful, what revelations God would make to us and what power He would give to us over men around us. Oh, you men and women who represent God, may He give you the Holy Ghost to do His work. Oh, the mincing of God’s word, the shilly shallying of His people with money and fashion that is making the church the laughing stock of hell and the evil one and bringing disgrace upon our God. How long are ye going to halt? If the Holy Ghost is the Holy Ghost and the Bible is the word of God, and God really be God, then follow Him. If He isn’t, then burn your Bibles and don’t play the hypocrite with religion as you wouldn’t do with earthly things. Oh, my God, how they people do disgrace Thy cause! How long halt ye between two opinions ? Someone has said this should be interpreted, ‘Hop about,’ and how men do hop about over this matter of religion! Sometimes they are very much concerned and attend church and meetings, then again they rush into pleasure and business and someday they will reckon and die, going into hell from whence they will never hop out again. God help them.”

With an earnest exhortation, the speaker closed his address and the after meeting was held, a large portion of the audience remaining.

This afternoon General Booth is speaking to a large audience in Centenary church upon the Christianity of Christ, and this evening at the drill hall, he will lecture on his Social Schemes for Darkest England.

 

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