The Atherstone, Nuneaton, and Warwickshire Times. — 1883-10-13 (Atherstone, Warwickshire, England)

THE AIMS AND METHODS OF THE SALVATION ARMY.  At a meeting of members of the London Dialectical Society held at the Grosvenor Gallery, New Bond-street, London, the Rev. E. M. Geldart delivered a lecture entitled " The Aims and Methods of the Salvation Army." The Rev. E. M. Geldart, after referring to the midnight meetings, said he hail obtained one of the so-called sacred books entitled the " Doctrines and Disciplines of the Army," and it was a most interesting document. In this book General Booth declared his object was nothing less than the conquering of the whole world, or, as he termed it, "All the world for Jesus." This, as he understood it, simply meant "All the world for General Booth and the General Booths of the future." Thee, in this same book, he stated that his intention was to get hold of all places of public entertainment and turn them into arenas for the work of the Army. Be would, in short, shut up for ever all the public-houses, and we should have Sunday all the week. Then the book told the " soldiers" that it was better not to read the ordinary newspapers, and if they did look at them it should only be a look. Of course they would not read any novels, and they should avoid all ordinary religious books. Their reading should consist only of the Bible, the Wee Cry, and books published at the Army stores. The reason of these directions, the lecturer de2lared, were so evidently practical as to be obvious to the meanest intelligence. Ile went on to say that General Booth might reckon upon a success with the besotted, the grovelling, the thoughtless, the abandoned, and the irratioual• He might call them converted infidels if it looked bett,3r on paper, but among all his trophies he (the lecturer) defied him to produce an original one who was a genuine free-thinker. The army doctrine had enslaved its ;millions, had poisoned the peace of homes, and spread gloom in all our churches ; but from every spire and every pulpit and every hearth throughout our land, step by step it had been beating a continuous though sullen retreat. He was glad it was dying—he could with it was already dead. Mr. Bennett, the solicitor to the Salvation Army, replied to some of the points raised by the lecturer. He said the exciting bills posted about by the district captains were necessary to secure the kind of audience they desired. In answer to numerous questions, he said the sergeants, who gave their time to the work, received no pay whatever, and this, he submitted, showed that they were purely in earnest, and work.d for the love of God. He believed the salaries paid to female captains was 21s. a week, and lieutenants 18s. a week ; male captains 255. a week, and lieutenants 21s. a week. Every person underwent an examination before being admitted into the army, and ono of the conditions was that they must be teetotallers.  Mr. Geldart drew attention to the fact that no confirmation had appeared in the general papers of the announcement in the official paper that the preaching of the army officers had induced two murderers to confess to their crimes. Neither had there been any confirmation that a man who murdered a captain at a meeting was found dead a few hours afterwards.  The proceedings closed with the passing of a vote of thanks ti the lecturer.