99,,salvation ,,syrup2 ,,or1 ,,light    
,,on ,,darkest ,,england99              
,by                                     
99,g4 ,w4 ,foote99                      
,a ,,reply ,,to ,,general ,,booth       
#ahia          ,,contents               
,,salvation ,,syrup2 ,,or1 ,,light ,,on 
,,darkest ,,england      ,,postscripts  
,,to ,,second ,,edition                 
,,salvation ,,syrup2 ,,or1 ,,light ,,on 
,,darkest ,,england      ,twenty years  
ago the ,hallelujah ,band spread itself 
far and wide1 but  soon spent itself    
like a straw fire4 ,then arose the      
,salvation ,army1  doing the same kind  
of work1 and indulging in the same      
vagaries4 ,these  were imitations of the
 antics of the cruder forms of          
,methodism4 ,even the  all-night        
meetings of the ,whitechapel            
,salvationists1 ten years ago1 were     
faint copies of earlier ,methodist      
gatherings1 especially of those in      
,cornwall1 which were described by the  
,rev4 ,richard ,polwhele47#a7 8,at4 ,st4

  ,agnes10 said this writer1 8the       
,society stays up the whole night1 when 
girls of twelve and fourteen years of   
age ran about the streets1 calling  out 
that they are possessed40 ,at ,probus   
8the preacher at a late hour of  the    
night1 after all but the higher classes 
left the room1 would order  the candles 
to be put out1 and the saints fall down 
and kneel on their  naked knees2 when he
 would go round and thrust his hand     
under every knee  to feel if it were    
bare40 ,the ,salvationists never went so
 far as this4  ,freaks of such          
description are left1 in this age1 to   
the followers of  ,king ,solomon in the 
,brighton ,glory ,hole4 ,but a friend of
 ours1 who  visited an all-night        
,salvation meeting at ,whitechapel in   
#ahhb1 told us  that the light was very 
dim1 the voices were low1 cheeks came   
perilously  close in prayer1 and at one 
moment the proceedings threatened to    
develope into a thoroughgoing           
love-feast4          #a4 ,anecdotes of  

,methodism4    ,as far as a more        
cultivated age would allow1 the         
,salvation ,army  advertised and        
recruited itself by the familiar        
practices of what  ,professor ,huxley   
calls 8corybantic ,christianity40       
,during the last six or  seven years it 
has grown more decorous1 but prior to   
that time its  vulgarity was excessive4 
,its songs1 its rowdy meetings1 its     
coarse1  imbecile language1 its         
ludicrous street processions1 were      
enough to  furnish a ,swift with fresh  
material for his indictment of mankind4 
,the  names of its officers1 as reported
 in its journal1 were curiosities to    
the student of human aberration4 ,there 
was the 8,hallelujah ,fishmonger10  the 
8,blood-washed ,miner10 the 8,devil     
,dodger10 the 8,devil ,walloper10 and   
8,gypsy ,sal40 ,many of the worshippers 
of success who are now flocking  around 
,general ,booth as a new ,savior of     
,society1 would be astonished if  they  
were to turn over the old pages of the  

,war ,cry4    ,no one can pretend that  
8,general10 ,booth is a man of spiritual
 genius4  ,he is essentially a man of   
business4 ,his faculty is for           
organisation1  not for the promulgation 
of new ideas or the creation of new     
material4  ,his eye for a good          
advertisement is unequalled4 ,barnum    
forgot ,booth in  calling himself the   
greatest showman on earth4 ,as the      
present writer  said in #ahhb1 the head 
of the ,salvation ,army is 8a dexterous 
manager2 he  knows how to work the      
oracle2 he understands catering for the 
mob2 in  short he is a very clever      
showman1 who deals in religion1 just as 
other  showmen deal in wild animals1    
giants1 dwarfs1 two-headed sheep1 fat   
women1 and ,siamese twins40             
,everything in the ,salvation ,army is  
subordinated to 8business40 ,at the     
head-quarters a minute register is kept 
of all the officers4 ,few of them  are  
paid a regular salary4 ,they are largely
 dependent on 8results40  ,whatever     

their faculty may be for 8saving souls10
 they must rake in  enough shekels1 or  
they are drafted from post to post1 and 
finally  discharged4 ,on the same       
principle1 ,booth has married his family
 8well10  as the world calls it1 and put
 them into all the higher posts4    ,by 
this means he secures a select circle of
 trusted subordinates1 who  convey his  
orders to the lower circles of the      
,army1 and see to their  execution4     
,while this plan lasts there will be no 
dangerous mutiny2  especially as1 in    
addition1 the whole of the ,army's      
property is held in  the name of        
,william ,booth4 ,there is1 in fact1 a  
,booth dynasty2 though it  may be       
doubted if the dynasty will long outlast
 its founder4 ,certainly  his death will
 cause changes1 and his empire will     
probably split up like  ,alexander's4   
,eight years ago the ,general's eldest  
sun was married to a young lady of      
#8#8great expectations10 who joined the 
,booths against her father's  wishes4   

,with a keen eye for business1 the      
,general resolved to turn the  marriage 
into a public show4 ,of course1 the     
legal ceremony had to be  performed     
elsewhere1 but the ,salvation           
performance came off at the  ,army's    
biggest meeting-place4 ,the price of    
admission was a shilling a  head1 and   
#cjj was taken at the doors4 ,a         
collection was also made  inside4       
,during the speech of 8,commissioner0   
,railton1 an able man who has  had an   
eccentric career1 the crowd began to    
press towards the door4  8,stop10 cried 
,booth1 8don't go yet1 there's going to 
be a collection40  ,but the audience    
melted faster than ever4 ,then the      
,general jumped up1  stopped ,railton   
unceremoniously1 and shouted1 8,hold on6
 we'll make the  collection now40       
,during the farcical marriage ceremony  
the ,general was duly facetious4  ,his  
remarks tickled the ears of the         
groundlings4 ,there was also the  usual 
spice of blasphemy4 ,before ,bramwell   

,booth marched on to the  platform a    
board was held up bearing the           
inscription1        8,behold the        
bridegroom cometh40    ,begging letters 
were sent out by ,commissioner ,railton1
 though cheques  were to be 8payable to 
,william ,booth1 as usual40 ,it was     
sought to raise  a good sum1 not for    
,bramwell personally1 but to reduce the 
,army's debt  of #aa1jjj4 ,the printed  
slips were headed1    8,wedding         
,presents to ,mr4 ,bramwell ,booth10 who
 was stated to have worked  so hard for 
the ,army that his hair was grey at     
twenty-seven4 ,but the  piety was       
properly mixed with the business1 and   
subscribers were told  that their cash  
would not only gladden the hearts of the
 ,booths1 but  8make the devil tremble10
 and 8give earth and hell another       
shock40    ,this experiment was so      
successful that the ,general has        
repeated it on  several occasions4 ,but 
he carried indecency to the point of    
disgustfulness at the funeral of ,mrs4  

,booth4 ,the poor lady's corpse was     
dragged hither and thither by the       
inveterate old showman4 ,it was brought 
up from ,clacton-on-,sea and exhibited  
to the public at ,clapton4  ,collection 
boxes were well in evidence1 and        
although there was no charge  to see the
 corpse1 there were significant hints   
that a trifle was  expected4 ,then the  
corpse was removed to ,olympia1 the     
scene of ,barnum's  triumphs4 ,no effort
 was spared to secure a great success4  
,officers were  ordered up from all     
parts of the kingdom4 ,the rank and file
 of the ,army  were also invited1 and   
tickets were available for any number of
  outsiders4 ,with regard to the        
performance1 we must remember that      
tastes  differ4 ,but one portion of it  
was calculated to shock every person    
with  any delicacy of feeling4 ,booth   
and his kindred stood up to sing around 
the coffin the hymn they sang around    
,mrs4 ,booth's death-bed4 ,the          
performers seemed to say1 8,ladies and  

,gentlemen1 you were not present  when  
we sang your mother to glory1 but just  
look and listen1 and you  will see how  
it was done40    ,for a third time the  
corpse was shifted to ,queen            
,victoria-street4  ,unlimited           
advertising brought a tremendous crowd  
of sight-seers4 ,booth  headed the      
procession1 followed by the ,booth      
dynasty1 and all of them  bowed and     
smiled to the cheering multitude4       
,even in a funeral coach the ,grand ,old
 ,showman had an eye to business4       
,such being ,general ,booth's attitude  
towards the public1 what is his         
attitude towards the ,salvation ,army8  
,any one who reads his 8,orders and     
,regulations0 will see that he has his  
cattle well in hand1 and not only  can  
drive them where he pleases1 but flick  
them smartly on any part with  his      
long-reaching whip4 ,he subjects them   
absolutely to his persona6  despotism4  
,every part of his soldiers' lives is   
regulated4 ,they must  court and marry  

within the ranks4 8,should a soldier10  
he says1 8become  engaged to an officer 
who afterwards gives up or forfeits his 
or her  commission1 the soldier would be
 justified in breaking off the          
engagement40 ,the ,general wishes to    
breed ,salvationists4 ,he tells them    
what to eat and what to wear4 ,he       
informs them that they are only         
passengers through this world4 8,though 
still living in the world10 he  says1   
8the ,salvationist is not of it1 and he 
has1 in this respect no  more business  
with its politics-- that is1 the public 
management of  affairs--than he has with
 its pleasures40 ,when the ,general     
wants his  soldiers to vote or act      
politically1 he will issue a manifesto1 
and  every one is then expected to 8act 
in harmony with the rules and           
regulations laid down for him by his    
superior officers40 ,these superior     
officers1 who take their orders from    
,general ,booth1 must be perfectly      
obeyed1 for 8they have the ,spirit of   

,god1 and will only command what is     
right40    ,now it is well to remember  
all this in discussing ,general ,booth's
 new  scheme of social salvation4 ,he   
insists on retaining absolute command of
  all the funds1 and on working the     
whole scheme through the ,salvation     
,army4 ,all who assist him1 therefore1  
are helping to promote the  development 
of a vast body of religious fanatics1   
under the despotic  control of a single 
man1 who will not scruple1 when it      
serves his  purpose to1 use his         
voluntary slaves1 for political as well 
as social  objects4 ,for ,general ,booth
 has his own notions-- crude as many of 
them  are--and it is not in human nature
 to refrain from using power for the    
realisation of one's ideas4 ,and ,pope  
,booth is more absolute than ,pope      
,pecci4 ,the ,vicar of ,christ at ,rome 
is unable to move without his ,holy     
,council of ,cardinals2 but the ,vicar  
of ,christ in ,queen ,victoria-street1  
,london1 is the unchecked and           

irresponsible ruler of the whole        
,salvation  ,army4    ,general ,booth's 
success as an organiser is great1 though
 he has had a  comparatively easy task  
in organising sheep4 ,now1 however1 he  
proposes  to deal with the goats4 ,some 
of his scanty leisure has been devoted  
to  studying the social question1 and as
 the interest in the ,army's old        
methods is obviously declining1 he      
proposes to raise a million of money1   
and reform that part of the population  
which ,john ,bright called 8the         
residuum40 ,in other words1 the wily old
 ,general has launched a new boom4      
,plaudits are heard on nearly every     
side4 ,the religious bodies give him    
the homage of fear4 ,they shout approval
 because they dare not show  hostility4 
,next come the mob of cheap             
philanthropists4 ,this consists of  rich
 ladies and gentleman1 who feel twinges 
of remorse at living  sumptuously while 
others are starving1 and who are ready  
to pay  conscience-money to any social  

charlatan4 ,when they have written out a
  cheque they feel relieved4 8,on with  
the dance1 let joy be unconfined40  ,but
 it is not thus that the spectre of     
poverty and misery will be laid4        
,evil is wrought by want of thought1    
,as well as by want of heart4    ,if the
 so-called lower classes are to be      
elevated1 the so-called upper  classes  
will find they will have to do some     
thinking4 ,social knots  cannot be cut1 
they must be untied4 ,the ,sphinx says  
you must read her  riddle4 ,all the     
money-bags in the world will never      
smooth her terrible  brow4    ,general  
,booth's scheme of social salvation is  
before the world in the  form of a book4
 ,let us examine the prophecy of this   
would-be ,moses of  the serfs of poverty
 and degradation4    ,an ordinary author
 would sign himself 8,william ,booth10  
but this one is  8,general0 even on a   
title-page4 ,in ,darkest ,england is an 
obvious  plagiarism on ,stanley1 and    
,the ,way ,out is suggested by his long 

travel  through the awful ,central      
,african forest4    ,in the preface     
,general ,booth acknowledges the        
8valuable literary help0  of a 8friend  
of the poor1 who1 though not in any way 
connected with the  ,salvation ,army1   
has the deepest sympathy with its aims1 
and is to a  large extent in harmony    
with its principles40 ,the friend is    
,mr4 ,stead4  ,this gentleman has       
8written up0 the scheme in the manner of
 8the born  journalist10 that is1 in the
 fashion of the ,modern ,babylon0 and   
the  adventures of ,eliza ,armstrong4   
,he contributes the descriptions1 the   
gush1 the hysterics1 the sentences      
crowded with adjectives and adverbs4    
,sometimes he writes a whole chapter1   
unless our literary scent misleads  us2 
sometimes he interpolates the ,general1 
and sometimes the ,general  interpolates
 ,stead4 ,one result of this twofold    
authorship is that the  book is twice as
 big as it should be2 another result is 
that it often  contradicts itself4 ,for 

instance1 the ,general states in the    
preface that  he has known 8thousands1  
nay1 ,i can say tens of thousands10 who 
have  proved the value of spiritual     
means of reformation1 having 8with      
little or no temporal assistance1 come  
out of the darkest depths of            
destitution1 vice1 and crime1 to be     
happy and honest citizens and true  sons
 and servants of ,god40 ,elsewhere 7p4  
#bdc7 he speaks of them as              
8multitudes40 ,yet in the very next     
paragraph of the preface ,mr4 ,stead    
7if we mistake not7 breaks in with the  
assertion that 8the rescued are         
appallingly few10 a mere 8ghastly       
minority40    ,this little contradiction
 may throw light on the rumor that      
,booth has  been urged into this scheme 
of temporal salvation4 ,once upon a time
 he  was down on 8,commissioner0 ,smith1
 whose tendencies in this direction     
were obtrusive2 and how long is it since
 he wrote in the new ,rules and         
,regulations1 that the members of the   

,salvation ,army had nothing to do  with
 the world1 its politics1 its business1 
or its pleasures8 ,the hand  is the hand
 of ,booth1 but the voice seems the     
voice of ,stead4    ,here is another    
contradiction1 and this time a vital    
one4 ,the ,general  curls his upper lip 
7p4 #ah7 at those 8anti-,christian      
economists who hold  that it is an      
offence against the doctrine of the     
survival of the  fittest to try to save 
the weakest from going to the wall1 and 
who  believe that when once a man is    
down the supreme duty of a              
self-regarding ,society is to jump upon 
him40 ,without dwelling on the  fact    
that this is a shocking and perfectly   
gratuitous libel1 probably  meant to    
pander to ,christian prejudices1 we     
content ourselves with  drawing         
attention to a contradictory declaration
 7p4 #dd7 that 8,in the  struggle for   
life the weakest will go to the wall1   
and there are so many  weak4 ,the       
fittest1 in tooth and claw1 will        

survive4 ,all that we can do  is to     
soften the lot of the unfit and make    
their suffering less horrible  than it  
is at present4 ,no amount of assistance 
will give a jellyfish a  backbone4 ,no  
outside propping will make some men     
stand erect40 ,thus the  ,general1 or   
,mr4 ,stead1 joins hands with the       
8anti-,christian economists0  in the    
doctrine that it is useless to try to   
save the weakest from going  to the     
wall4 ,of course he does not endorse the
 policy of jumping on  them1 but that   
policy is merely a production of his own
 pious  imagination4    ,this           
contradiction we say is vital4 ,the     
first statement is a sneer at  ,natural 
,selection1 the second is a frank       
admission of its supremacy4  ,they      
represent two antagonistic philosophies4
 ,they mark the parting of  the ways    
between the ,christian and the          
,evolutionist4 ,they are as             
incompatible as oil and water1 and no   
thoughtful man would attempt to         

reconcile them4 ,but ,booth 7or isn't it
 ,stead87 combines incompatibles  with  
the alkali of sentiment4 ,and this      
failure to discern the  distinctiveness 
of opposite first principles shows the  
book to be the  work of sciolists1 and  
vitiates its scheme of social reform    
from  beginning to end4 ,no work can    
succeed without a knowledge of          
materials4  ,every effort at improvement
 has in it the elements of success or   
failure  as it recognises or ignores the
 special laws of human nature1 and the  
more general laws of biology that lie   
behind them4    ,an amusing             
contradiction occurs in another place   
7p4 #ad71 to which we  call attention in
 order to show the chaotic character of 
the writing2  and this time1 we judge   
from the style1 it is ,stead            
contradicting ,stead4  ,speaking of the 
harlot1 he says--    8,but there1 even  
in the lowest depths1 excommunicated by 
,humanity and  outcast from ,god1 she is
 far nearer the pitying heart of the    

,one true  ,savior than all the men who 
forced her down1 aye1 and than all the  
,pharisees and ,scribes who stand       
silently by while these fiendish wrongs 
are perpetrated before their very eyes40
    ,the theology of this passage is    
worthy of the wild exaggeration with    
which it closes4 ,the poor harlot is    
8outcast from ,god10 but near the       
8pitying heart0 of ,christ2 in other    
words1 ,god the ,father is on the side  
of injustice and cruelty1 and ,god the  
,son on the side of justice and  mercy4 
,one person of the ,trinity is played   
off against another1 and it  is not for 
us to settle the difference between     
them4 ,we leave the matter  to the      
second thoughts of ,mr4 ,stead1 or the  
divine illumination of  ,general ,booth4
    ,indeed1 the entire theology of this
 book is worthy of ,bedlam1 and         
especially of the criminal lunatic      
department4 ,a personal ,devil is       
seriously trotted out 7p4 #aei7 for the 
laughter of intelligent men and  women1 

and even of decently educated children4 
,prosperous people1 we are  told1 see   
something strange and quaint in the     
language of the ,bible1  which          
8habitually refers to the ,devil as an  
actual personality10 but  ,hell and the 
,devil are certitudes to the            
,salvationists who work in the  slums4  
,well1 if the ,devil is so active1 what 
is ,god doing8 ,apparently nothing4     
,booth is going to reform our drunkards1
 or try to if we give him the  money1   
but he candidly admits 7p4 #aha71       
perhaps in a moment of  forgetfulness1  
that the confirmed toper will drink     
himself 8into a  drunkard's grave and a 
drunkard's hell10 unless he is          
8delivered by an  ,almighty hand40 ,it  
is ,god alone1 then1 who can save the   
most fallen4  ,their fate lies in his   
hands4 ,and what does he do for them8   
,the answer  is to be found in ,general 
,booth's appeal4 ,a million of money1   
and the  co-operation of a multitude of 
men and women1 are requested for the    

purpose of saving at least some of the  
poor wretches who are beyond  the power 
of self-help1 although 8the ,almighty   
hand0 could easily pluck  them out of   
their degradation4 ,nor does ,booth     
expect that all will be  saved by his   
scheme1 however well supported and      
successful4 ,it is  perfectly clear1    
therefore1 that the ,god he worships    
will allow men and  women to perish whom
 he might promptly save2 yes1 allow them
 to perish  in this world1 physically1  
intellectually1 and morally1 and        
afterwards  torment them for ever and   
ever in ,hell4 ,and it is this ,god1    
this  incredible monster of wickedness1 
in whom ,general ,booth trusts1 and whom
  he bids the ,freethinker look up to   
with admiration and love4 ,nay1 he      
regards 8trust in ,jehovah0 7p4 #bda7 as
 the chief credential of the  ,salvation
 ,army for carrying out an enterprise   
which is to cost a million  sterling4   
,let the worshippers of ,jehovah support
 him then4 ,the  ,freethinker will      

necessarily regard this insane theology 
as a rottenness  at the very heart of   
the experiment4    ,without going       
through all the insane theology of this 
book1 we may--nay1  we must--give a     
crowning instance of it4    8,i am quite
 satisfied that these multitudes will   
not be saved in their  present          
circumstances4 ,all the ,clergymen1     
,home ,missionaries1 ,tract             
,distributors1 ,sick ,visitors1 and     
everyone else who care about the        
,salvation of the poor1 may make up     
their minds as to that4 ,if these       
people are to believe in ,jesus ,christ1
 become the ,servants of ,god1 and      
escape the miseries of the wrath to     
come1 they must be helped out of  their 
present social miseries4 ,they must be  
put into a position in which  they can  
work and eat1 and have a decent room to 
live and sleep in1 and  see something   
before them besides along1 weary1       
monotonous1 grinding  round of toil1 and
 anxious care to keep themselves and    

those they love  barely alive1 with     
nothing at the further end but the      
,hospital1 the  ,union1 or the          
,madhouse4 ,if ,christian ,workers and  
,philanthropists will  join hands to    
effect this change1 it will be          
accomplished1 and the  people will rise 
up and bless them1 and be saved2 if they
 will not1 the  people will curse them  
and perish40--7p4 #beg74    ,did ever a 
human being excogitate such blasphemous 
nonsense8 ,god is  openly declared to be
 a passive spectator of the great       
struggle between  good and evil4 ,at the
 end of it he will save the succeeders  
and damn the  failers2 although1        
according to ,booth's own admission1    
hosts of both  classes are what they are
 through the pressure of circumstances4 
,compared with such a ,god the bloody   
,moloch was a respectable deity4        
,four men are living within sight and   
sound of each other1 and one of  them   
goes to the bad4 ,thereupon it is the   
duty of ,smith1 ,jones1 and  ,brown to  

rescue ,robinson4 ,if they succeed1 ,god
 will give him a seat in  ,heaven2 if   
they fail1 or neglect their duty1 ,god  
will cast him into  ,hell4 ,thus        
,robinson's fate depends upon the       
sympathy1 self-sacrifice1  and wisdom of
 ,smith1 ,jones1 and ,brown4 ,want of   
heart on their part1 and  even want of  
sense1 are alike fatal to his chance of 
salvation4 ,god lets  them do their     
best2 if they do nothing1 he is just as 
serene2 and at the  day of judgment he  
sends ,robinson to bliss or damnation1  
accordingly as  ,smith1 ,jones1 and     
,brown--separately or collectively--have
 succeeded or  failed in keeping him out
 of the gutter4    ,what a view of ,god6
 ,and what a ghastly1 roundabout way of 
stating the  truth that religion is     
powerless to save the fallen1 that men  
and women  can only be elevated by      
secular agencies6    ,this truth has    
always been proclaimed by ,freethinkers4
 ,it is a  commonplace of their         
teaching4 ,yet the ,churches have       

ignored or denied  it4 ,here is ,general
 ,booth1 however1 announcing it clearly 
enough to all  who will take the        
theological wadding out of their ears4  
,true1 the  discovery is late1 but      
better late than never4    ,it is upon  
this truth that ,booth's scheme is      
founded4 ,sometimes1 indeed1  he forgets
 it1 and talks as though the preaching  
of ,christ and him  crucified were      
enough to regenerate society4 ,but this 
truth1 that man is  very largely the    
creature of circumstances1 and that evil
 circumstances  should be changed if    
there is to be any improvement1 is the  
governing  idea of his project4    ,no  
doubt the 8,general0 seeks an escape    
from the logical consequences of  this  
truth4 ,he says1 for instance1 that 7p4 
#bhf7 8to me has been given  the idea10 
as though ,god had intervened and       
selected him as the human  agent4 ,but  
this is all nonsense4 ,in the first     
place1 if ,god gave ,booth  the idea1 he
 might as well have given him the cash4 

,in the second place1  the idea--or     
rather1 the set of ideas--is by no means
 a revelation4 ,every  part of ,booth's 
scheme has been advocated by other men1 
and several  parts are already reduced  
to practice1 though not on the gigantic 
scale  he contemplates4 ,his ,farm      
,colony is admittedly borrowed from ,mr4
 ,b4 ,t4  ,craig1 a veteran ,freethinker
 who was the soul of the ,ralahine      
experiment4 ,with this gentleman ,booth 
has had interviews2 indeed1 the         
8,general0--perhaps with ,mr4 ,stead's  
assistance--has simply picked other     
men's brains1 although he takes care to 
conceal his indebtedness4    ,naturally1
 too1 the astute leader of the          
,salvation ,army recognises the         
necessity of a pious appeal to wealthy  
,christians4 ,he therefore  8asserts in 
the most unqualified way that it is     
primarily and mainly for  the sake of   
saving souls0 that he 8seeks the        
salvation of the body0 7p4  #de74 ,and  
he declares 7p4 #c7 it must not be      

supposed that he is 8less  dependent    
upon the old plans0 or that he 8seeks   
anything short of the  old conquest40   
,at the same time 7p4 #bgi7 he 8does not
 think that any  sectarian differences  
or religious feelings whatever ought to 
be  imported into this question40 ,is it
 not better1 he asks1 that miserable    
crowds of men and women should have     
work1 food1 clothes1 and a home1  even  
with 8some peculiar religious notions   
and practices10 than that  they should  
be 8hungry1 and naked1 and homeless1 and
 possess no religion  at all08 ,put in  
this way1 of course1 the question admits
 of only one  answer4 ,but this way of  
putting it begs the wider question2 for 
it does  not follow that ,booth's is the
 only possible scheme of social reform1 
or  even that it is calculated to       
succeed4    ,the real fact is1 disguise 
it how it may1 that ,booth's scheme is  
only an  extension of the ,salvation    
,army4 ,he promises that there shall be 
no  compulsion1 that the poor he gets   

hold of shall not be pressed into any   
form of faith1 that religious freedom   
shall be respected4 ,but what will  the 
promise avail8 ,the whole scheme1 from  
top to bottom1 is to be worked  by the  
,salvationists2 every penny is to pass  
through ,booth's hands1 and  every order
 is to issue from his brain4 ,outsiders 
are only wanted in the  shape of        
subscribers4 ,is it not idle then1 to   
suppose that the scheme  will1 in       
practice1 be anything else than a huge  
recruiting system for  the ,salvation   
,army8 ,we venture to say that if       
,booth's first thought  were for the    
poor1 he would invite the formation of  
an influential  ,committee1 and not seek
 the monopoly of all the cash and credit
 for his  own sect4    ,let us now turn 
to the scheme itself4 ,let us see what  
evils are to be  remedied1 and the      
nature of the remedy proposed4    ,in   
the opening chapters1 written almost    
exclusively by ,mr4 ,stead1 there  is a 
vivid1 but1 of course1 exaggerated1     

picture of the diseases of  society4    
,the writer has walked through the      
8shambles of our  civilisation10 until  
8it seemed as if ,god were no longer in 
this world1  but that in his stead      
reigned a fiend1 merciless as ,hell1    
ruthless as  the grave40 ,of course the 
grave is neither ruthless nor tender2   
and1 of  course1 it is not ,hell1 but   
the ,god of ,hell1 that is merciless4   
,but1  apart from these criticisms1 it  
is evident that ,mr4 ,booth-,stead or   
,mr4  ,stead-,booth1 is aware of much   
preventible evil2 nor are we disposed to
  quarrel with him for calling it 8a    
satire upon our ,christianity10         
although we might suggest the           
impossibility of satirising a creed     
which  has to make such shameful        
confessions after so many centuries of  
wealth1  power1 and privilege1 and such 
a supreme opportunity of cleansing the  
world if it had the capacity for the    
task4 ,this ,christianity has failed    
--disastrously and ignominiously2 yet   

has it played the dog in the  manger1   
and refused to allow ,science and       
,philosophy a trial2 and even  now1 when
 condemned and self-condemned1 it only  
whines for another  chance1 like an old 
offender for the hundredth time in the  
prisoners'  dock4    ,eighteen centuries
 after the advent of 8the ,redeemer10   
and in the most  pious country in the   
world1 it is ,booth's calculation that  
one-tenth of  the population1 or about  
three millions of men1 women1 and       
children are  sunk in destitution1 vice1
 and crime4 ,in ,london alone1 the city 
of  churches1 where everything but      
religion is tabooed on ,sunday1 there   
are  #ajj1jjj prostitutes1 #he1jjj      
thieves1 and drunkards galore1 to say   
nothing of the paupers1 the idle1 and   
the temporarily unemployed4 ,and  the   
disease is getting worse1 according to  
,booth1 who declares that  something    
must be done immediately4 ,well1 we will
 neither dispute his  statistics nor his
 forecast1 but just take his plan of    

campaign and see  whether it has the    
remotest chance of success4    ,what is 
,general ,booth's scheme for dealing    
with the 8submerged tenth10  or three   
millions of the poor1 the unemployed1   
and the vicious8 ,and in  what spirit   
will he set to work if he gets the      
hundred thousand pounds  down1 with the 
prospect of the rest of a million pounds
 afterwards8    ,booth is a bold man and
 his promises are magnificent4    8,if  
the scheme10 he says1 8which ,i set     
forth in these pages is not  applicable 
to the ,thief1 the ,harlot1 the         
,drunkard1 and the ,sluggard1 it  may as
 well be dismissed without ceremony40   
,we suspect that the ,sluggard will be  
the toughest subject of all4 ,booth  has
 to solve the insoluble problem of how  
to put nervous energy into a  body in   
which it is constitutionally lacking4   
,common sense says the  thing cannot be 
done4 ,you may galvanise the ,sluggard  
for a while1 but  the effect will not   
last4 ,energy is not acquired1 it is    

congenital4 ,if  ,booth would take the  
trouble to read ,mr4 ,havelock ,ellis's 
book on  ,criminals1 not to mention more
 recondite  works1 he would see that the
  ,sluggard and the ,thief are first    
cousins4 ,both have a defective         
vitality1 only the ,thief1 and the      
,criminal generally1 is capable1 like   
all predatory creatures1 of spasmodic   
activity4 ,the type is well known  and  
should be dealt with scientifically4    
,inveterate criminals should be         
segregated4 ,there is no necessity to   
treat them with cruelty4 ,they  should  
be surrounded with comfort1 but they    
should be rigorously  prevented from    
procreating their like4 ,science shows  
us that the only  permanently successful
 way of dealing with these classes is to
 cut off  the supply4    ,certainly     
there are many persons in gaol who are  
not congenital  criminals1 and these    
should be dealt with in a spirit of     
wisdom and  humanity4 ,were they treated
 like men1 subjected to proper          

discipline1  and rewarded for good      
behavior and industry1 instead of being 
punished  so liberally for bad behavior 
and idleness1 most of them would be     
reclaimed4 ,in ordinary prisons --so    
wretched1 so inhuman1 and so imbecile   
is the system--eighty per cent1 of first
 offenders come back again2 while  in   
the one great ,american prison which is 
conducted on a better method  the       
percentage is exactly reversed1 only    
twenty per cent1 returning to  gaol1 and
 eighty per cent1 joining the ranks of  
decent society4    ,general ,booth is   
not a scientist4 ,he knows nothing of   
the lessons of  ,evolution4 ,he is not  
aware that thousands of men and women   
are born in  every generation who are   
behind the age4 ,they are types of a    
vanished  order of mankind1 relics of   
antecedent stages of culture4 ,natural  
,selection is always eliminating them1  
and ,general ,booth proposes to  coddle 
them1 to surround them with artificial  
circumstances1 and give  them a better  

chance4 ,he does not see that most of   
them1 however propped  up by the more   
energetic and independent1 will always  
bear the stamp of  unfitness2 nor does  
he see that he will enable them to beget
 and rear a  more numerous offspring of 
the same character4    ,the law of      
heredity is a stern fact1 and it will   
not budge a  hair's-breadth for ,general
 ,booth and all the sentimental         
religionists in  the world4    ,take the
 ,harlots1 for instance4 ,we are far    
from denying that many girls1  after    
being seduced by men1 are pushed into a 
life of vice4 ,christian  society has no
 mercy on female frailty2 it drives a   
girl who has  listened to the voice of a
 tempter1 or the first suggestions of   
her  sexual passions1 into a career of  
infamy2 and then1 when it has helped  to
 poison her life1 it hypocritically     
sheds tears over her and sets up        
associations for her rescue4 ,this is   
true enough--damnably true--but it is   
not the whole truth4 ,just as there are 

congenital criminals1 there are         
congenital harlots4 ,they are cases of  
survival or reversion4 ,discipline  of  
every kind is hateful to them4 ,they    
prefer to do what they like1 how  they  
like1 and when they like4 ,animality and
 vanity are strong in them1  but they   
have little steady energy and no        
self-control4 ,in a polygamous  state of
 society they would find a place in a   
harem2 but in a monogamous  and         
industrial state of society they are    
hopelessly out of harmony with  the     
general environment4 ,here is an        
instructive little table from  ,general 
,booth's book4 ,he takes a hundred cases
 8as they come0 from his  ,rescue       
,register4    ,twenty-three of these    
girls had been in prison4 ,only two were
 pushed  into vice by poverty4          
,seduction1 wilful choice1 and bad      
company1 come to  much the same thing in
 the end4 ,in any case1 one-fourth of   
the whole  hundred deliberately took to 
prostitution4 ,now3        ,causes of   

,fall3        ,drink                    
#ad        ,seduction               #cc 
,wilful ,choice           #bd           
,bad ,company             #bg           
,poverty                  #b            
,total #ajj    if ,general ,booth       
fancies that the money he spends on     
these is a good  investment1 while a    
greater number of good girls are trying 
to lead an  honest life in difficult    
circumstances1 with little or no        
assistance  from 8charity10 we venture  
to say he is grievously mistaken2 and we
  think he is basking in a ,fool's      
,paradise1 unless he is trading on pious
  credulity1 when he looks forward 7p4  
#acc7 to the girls of ,piccadilly       
exchanging their quarters for 8the      
strawberry beds of ,essex or ,kent40    
,facts are facts4 ,it is useless to     
blink them4 ,the present writer did not 
make the world1 or its inhabitants1 and 
he disowns all responsibility  for its  
miserable defects4 ,but when you attempt
 to reform the world  there is only one 

thing that will help you4 ,humanity is  
presupposed4  ,without it you would     
never make a beginning4 ,but after that 
the one  requisite is ,science4 ,now all
 the science displayed in ,general      
,booth's  book might be written large on
 thick paper1 and tied to the wrings of 
a  single pigeon without impeding its   
flight4    ,general ,booth himself1 in  
one of his lucid intervals1 recognises  
the  hard facts we have just insisted   
on4 8,no change in circumstances10 he   
says 7p4 #he71 8no revolution in social 
conditions1 can possibly  transform the 
nature of man40 8,among the denizens of 
,darkest ,england  there are many who   
have found their way thither by defects 
of character  which would1 under the    
most favorable circumstances1 relegate  
them to  the same position40 ,again he  
says 7p4 #bjd73    8,there are men so   
incorrigibly lazy that no inducement you
 could offer  will tempt them to work2  
so eaten up by vice that virtue is      
abhorrent to  them1 and so inveterately 

dishonest that theft is to them a master
  passion4 ,when a human being has      
reached that stage1 there is only one   
course that can be rationally pursued4  
,sorrowfully1 but remorselessly1  it    
must be recognised that he has become   
lunatic1 morally demented1  incapable of
 self-government1 and that upon him1    
therefore1 must be  passed the sentence 
of permanent seclusion from a world in  
which he is  not fit to be at large40   
,these very people1 who are the worst   
part of the social problem1 ,booth  will
 not trouble himself very greatly about4
 ,here are a few extracts  from the     
,rules for the 8,colonists10 as he calls
 the people who come into  his scheme4  
7a7 ,expulsion for drunkenness1         
dishonesty1 or falsehood will follow the
  third offence4    7b7 ,after a certain
 period of probation1 and a considerable
 amount of  patience1 all who will not  
work to be expelled4    7c7 ,the third  
offence will incur expulsion1 or being  
handed over to the  authorities4        

,expulsion is ,booth's whip1 and a very 
convenient one --for him6 ,he will  soon
 simplify his enterprise4 ,all who come 
to him will be taken1 but he  will      
speedily return to society all the      
liars1 drunkards1 thieves1 and  idlers2 
so that when the scheme is in full      
swing1 society will still  have the old 
problem of dealing with the residuum1   
and in this respect  ,booth will not    
have helped in the least4    ,general   
,booth's scheme is thus1 in the ultimate
 analysis1 merely one for  dealing with 
the unemployed4 ,on this point his ideas
 are simply  childish4 ,he seems to     
imagine that work is a thing that can be
 found  in unlimited quantities4 ,he    
does not suspect the existence of       
economic  laws4 ,it never occurs to him 
that by artificially providing work for 
one  unemployed person he may drive     
another person out of employment4 ,nor  
has  he the least inkling of the law of 
population which lies behind            
everything4    ,in his ,labor ,shops1 in

 ,london1 he proposes to make           
match-boxes4 ,well1  now1 the community 
is already supplied with all the        
match-boxes it  wants4 ,the demand      
cannot be stimulated4 ,and every girl   
that ,booth takes  in from the streets  
and sets to making match-boxes1 which   
are to be put  on the market1 will turn 
some other girl out of employment at    
,bryant and  ,may's or other match      
factories4    ,similarly with the       
,salvation ,bottles 7p4 #abj7 and the   
,social ,soap 7p4  #acf74 ,booth's soap1
 if it gets sold1 will lessen the demand
 for other  people's soap1 and thus a   
lot of existing soap-makers will be     
thrown out  of work4 ,if he collects old
 bottles1 and furbishes them up 8equal  
to  new10 there will be so many less new
 bottles wanted1 and a lot of  existing 
glass-bottle makers will be thrown out  
of work4 ,the wily old  ,general of the 
,salvation ,army1 owing to a want of    
economic knowledge1  falls into a most  
obvious fallacy4 ,he is like the        

,irishman1 who  lengthened his shirt by 
cutting a piece off the top and sewing  
it on the  bottom4    ,getting hold of  
fish and meat tins1 cleaning them up1   
and manufacturing  them into toys1 is   
hardly worth all the eloquence spent    
upon it by  ,booth's literary adviser4  
,nor is there much to be said in favor  
of an  ,inquiry ,office for lost people4
 ,if it be true that #ah1jjj people are 
8lost0 in ,london every year1 it may be 
assumed that the majority of them  do   
not want to be found1 and it is the     
business of the police to look  after   
the rest4 ,neither is there any         
necessity to subvention ,general  ,booth
 to obtain workman's dwellings out of   
town instead of ugly1 dreary  model     
dwellings in the midst of dirt and      
smoke4 ,nothing can be done  until      
provision is made by the railway        
companies for conveying the  workmen to 
and fro for twopence a day1 and when    
this step is taken1 as  it must be1     
private enterprise will construct the   

dwellings without  ,salvation charity4  
,with regard to the scheme of the ,poor 
,man's ,bank1 it  would have been but   
fair to say that the idea is borrowed   
from infidel  ,paris1 where for many    
years a benevolent ,society has lent    
money to  honest and capable poor men   
with gratifying results4    ,the giving 
of legal advice gratis to the poor would
 be a good thing if  it did not lead to 
unlimited litigation4 ,of course        
,general ,booth does  not say1 and      
perhaps he does not know1 that ,mr4     
,bradlaugh has been doing  this for     
twenty-five years4 ,thousands of poor   
men1 not necessarily  ,freethinkers1    
have had the benefit of his legal       
advice4 ,no one in quest  of such       
assistance has ever knocked at his door 
in vain4 ,finally1 with  respect to     
8,whitechapel-at-,sea10 a place which   
,booth projects for the  reception of   
his poor people when they badly need a  
little sea-air and  sunshine1 it must be
 said that this kind of charity has been

 carried on  for years1 and that ,booth 
is only borrowing a leaf from other     
people's  book4 ,in fact1 the 8,general0
 collects all the various charitable    
ideas  he can discover1 dishes them up  
into one grandiose scheme1 and modestly 
asks for a million pounds to carry out  
8the blessed lot40    ,singly and       
collectively these projects will no more
 affect 8the  unemployed0 than          
scratching will cure leprosy4 ,every    
effect has its  cause1 which must be    
discovered before any permanent good can
 be done4  ,now the causes of want of   
employment 7if men desire to find it7   
are  political and economical4 ,the     
business of the true reformer is to     
ascertain them and to remove or         
counteract them4 ,pottering with their  
effects1 in the name of 8charity10 is   
like dipping out and purifying  certain 
barrels of water from an everflowing    
dirty stream4    ,at the very best      
8charity0 is artificial1 and social     
remedies must be  natural4 ,work cannot 

be provided4 ,people have certain       
incomes and  allow themselves a certain 
expenditure4 ,if they give ,booth1 or   
any other  charlatan1 a hundred pounds  
to find work for 8the unemployed10 they 
have  a hundred pounds less to spend in 
other ways1 and those who previously    
supplied them with that amount of       
commodities or service will  necessarily
 suffer4 ,shuffle one pack of cards how 
you will1 the hands  may differ1 but the
 total number of cards will be          
fifty-two4    ,general ,booth talks     
infinite nonsense about the 8failure0 of
 ,trade  ,unions because they only      
include a million and a half of workmen4
 ,rome  was not built in a day1 and even
 the ,salvation ,army1 with ,god        
,almighty  to help it1 is not yet as    
extensive as this 8failure40 ,nor does  
the  world need ,booth to tell it the   
benefits of co-operation4 ,he looks to  
it  as 8one of the chief elements of    
hope in the future40 ,so do thousands of
  other people1 but what has this to do 

with the ,salvation ,army8    ,the only 
part of ,booth's scheme which is of the 
least value is the one  he has borrowed 
from a ,freethinker4 ,the ,farm ,colony 
is suggested by the  ,rahaline          
experiment associated with the name of  
,mr4 ,e4 ,t4 ,craig4 ,but not  only was 
,mr4 ,craig a ,freethinker1 the same may
 be said of ,mr4 ,vandeleur1  the       
landlord who furnished the ground for   
the experiment4 ,at any rate1  he was a 
disciple and friend of ,robert ,owen1   
who declared that the great  cause of   
the frustration of human welfare was    
8the fundamental errors of  every       
religion that had hitherto been taught  
to man40 8,by the errors of  these      
systems10 said ,owen1 8he has been made 
a weak1 imbecile animal2 a  furious     
bigot and fanatic2 and should these     
qualities be carried1 not  only into the
 projected villages1 but into ,paradise 
itself1 a ,paradise  would no longer be 
found40    ,the ,rahaline experiment was
 a co-operative one1 while ,booth's is  

to be  despotic4 ,he proposes to put the
 unemployed at work on a big farm1 and  
afterwards to draft them to an ,over-sea
 ,colony1 where the reformed  8thieves1 
harlots1 drunkards1 and sluggards0 are  
to lay the foundations  of a new        
province of the ,british ,empire4       
,something1 of course1 might be  done in
 this way1 but it is doubtful if ,booth 
will get hold of the right  material to 
do it with1 or if his ,salvation methods
 will be successful4  ,much greater     
effects than 8charity0 could realise    
would be produced by a  wise alteration 
of our ,land ,laws1 which would lead to 
the application of  fresh capital and   
labor to the cultivation of the soil4   
,it is1 indeed1  one of the prime evils 
of ,booth's scheme1 no less than of     
almost every  other charitable effort1  
that it helps to divert attention from  
political causes of social disorders4   
,no doubt charity is an excellent  thing
 in certain circumstances1 but the first
 thing to agitate for is  justice2 and  

when our laws are just1 and no longer   
create evils1 it will  be time enough   
for a huge system of charity to mitigate
 the still  inevitable misery4    ,so   
far we have discovered nothing original 
in ,general ,booth's scheme4  ,its      
elements may be reduced to three4 ,there
 is 7a7 the reformation of  weak1       
vicious1 and criminal characters1 which 
is a rather hopeless task  especially   
when the attempt is made with adults4   
,something might be  done with children1
 and in this respect ,dr4 ,barnardo's   
work1 with all  its defects1 is         
infinitely more sensible than ,general  
,booth's4 ,then  there is 7b7 providing 
labor for the unemployed1 which1 whether
  attempted by governments or charitable
 bodies is an economical fallacy4       
,finally there is 7c7 the planting of   
town populations on the land1 which  has
 a certain small promise of success if  
the scheme were to take the  form of    
allotments to capable cultivators2 but  
which1 on the other hand1  will surely  

come to grief if the experiment is made 
with even the  selected residuum of     
great cities4    ,but supposing the     
scheme of ,general ,booth were in itself
 full of social  promise1 a reasonable  
person would still ask1 ,what are the   
qualifications of a religious body like 
the ,salvation ,army for carrying  out  
such a scheme8    ,first of all1 let us 
take the ,general4 ,he plainly tells us 
he is to be  the head of everything4 ,he
 is not only to be the leader1 but the  
brain2  in fact1 he expounds this       
function of his in a long passage of    
dubious  physiology4 ,now1 the ,general 
is undoubtedly a clever man4    ,but is 
he such a universal genius as to 8boss0 
everything1 from playing  tambourines to
 making tin toys1 from preaching 8blood 
and fire0 to the  administration of a   
big farm1 from walking backwards for    
,jesus to  superintending a gigantic    
emigration agency8 ,unless he combines a
 vast  diversity of faculties with      
supernatural energy1 he is sure to come 

to  grief2 for absolute obedience to him
 is indispensable1 and if he  fails1 the
 whole experiment fails with him4       
,even if ,general ,booth prove himself  
equal to the occasion1 the despotic     
nature of the management makes the      
success of the scheme precarious4       
,everything hangs upon the single thread
 of his life1 which may be  snapped at  
any moment4 ,even if we admit his       
consummate and comprehensive  genius1   
what guarantee is there that his        
successor will inherit it8    ,general  
,booth bids us remember that the        
,salvation ,army has succeeded1  and its
 past achievements are a pledge of its  
future triumphs4 ,but let  us look into 
this1 and see how much it is to the     
point4    ,that the ,salvation ,army is 
a striking success is not to be         
disputed4 ,but  what is the character of
 its success8 ,this is an all-important 
question3 for a man1 or an organisation1
 may be very successful in one          
direction1 and hopelessly impotent in   

another4    ,undoubtedly the ,salvation 
,army caters for hysterical persons who 
are  sick and tired of the 8respectable0
 forms of religion4 ,but is it true     
that the ,army reforms the thief1 the   
drunkard1 and the profligate8 ,now  in  
answering this question it is well to   
bear in mind that solitary  cases prove 
absolutely nothing4 ,there is no        
principle1 no system1 no  organisation1 
which has not absorbed some persons who 
previously led  lives of selfish        
indulgence1 aroused in them an interest 
in impersonal  objects1 and surrounded  
them with a restraining public opinion4 
,the real  question is this --,how is   
the ,salvation ,army in the main        
recruited8    ,again and again it has   
been asserted by outsiders1 and admitted
 by  candid members1 that the ,army is  
principally recruited from other sects4 
,some years ago this assertion was      
publicly made in the ,times by the      
,rev4 ,llewellyn ,davies1 who was       
prepared to prove it in his own parish  

of  ,marylebone4 ,mr4 ,davies was       
answered by 8,commissioner0 ,railton1   
who  indulged in vague generalities1    
which were cut short by the simple      
request to produce the notorious sinners
 converted in that parish4 ,of  course  
they were not produced3 for the most    
part these 8converts0 exist  on paper4  
,the ,army's pretensions are disproved  
by statistics4 ,it boasts of nearly  ten
 thousand officers and a million of     
adherents4 ,now if these1 or a          
considerable proportion of them1 had    
been drawn from the moral residuum  of  
,england1 a very serious impression     
would have been made on the ranks  of   
vice and crime4 ,but what are the facts8
 ,while the ,education ,act has  made a 
difference in the number of young       
criminals1 there is no  perceptible     
diminution in the number of hardened    
offenders4 ,prostitutes1  also1 are as  
numerous as ever1 and the national      
drink-bill actually  increases4         
,revival movements have always boasted  

of moral successes1 but history  shows  
that they make no real impression on the
 community4 ,the method is  unscientific
 and doomed to failure4 ,a salvation    
meeting1 with its noise  and excitement1
 has as much effect on public morality  
as a savage's  tom-tom has upon the     
heavens4 ,the noisy things in nature are
 generally  futile4 ,whirlwinds and     
earthquakes affect the imagination1 but 
it is the  regular action of air and    
water that produces the greatest        
changes1 and  the gentle action of rain 
and sunshine that ripens the harvest4   
,these  8spiritual10 and nearly always  
hysterical1 agencies for human          
improvement1 are based upon a denial of 
the physical basis of life1 and  of the 
doctrine of moral causation4 ,they      
attract great attention1 and  their     
leaders gain tremendous applause4 ,but  
all the while the real work  of progress
 is being done by other agencies--by the
 spread of knowledge1  the growth of    
education1 the discoveries of science1  

the silent triumphs  of art1 and the    
gradual expansion of the human mind4    
,agitation is not  necessarily progress4
 ,what is wanted is a new ingredient1   
and that is  furnished by the more      
obscure1 and often lonely men1 whose    
greatness is  only known to a few1      
although their thoughts are the seed of 
future  harvests of wisdom and happiness
 for the human race4    ,suppose1       
however1 we concede1 for the sake of    
argument1 all the claims  of the        
,salvation ,army as a religious agency  
of reform4 ,this would afford  a        
presumption of its continued success on 
the old lines4 ,but the new  lines are a
 fresh departure4 ,general ,booth       
himself admits that 8the new  sphere on 
which we are entering will call for     
faculties other than those  which have  
hitherto been cultivated40 ,what        
guarantee has he then1 beyond  an       
unbounded and possibly exaggerated      
belief in himself1 that those           
8faculties0 will come when he 8calls    

for0 them8 ,will men of the required    
stamp of character and ability enrol    
themselves under the despotism of       
,general ,booth8 ,and if they did1 how  
long would he be able to hold them      
together8 ,first of all1 at any rate he 
has to get them4 ,the ordinary          
,salvation ,army captain is not equal to
 these things4 ,this is obvious to      
,general ,booth2 hence his fervid appeal
 to persons of greater capacity to      
throw themselves into his enterprise4   
,but we do not believe he will  obtain  
their assistance4 ,it is far easier to  
extract a hundred thousand  pounds1 or  
even a million1 from a gullible public1 
than to induce men  and women of the    
stamp required in the successful conduct
 of a big  social experiment to place   
themselves at the absolute command of a 
religious revivalist4    ,let us now    
turn to a tremendously important aspect 
of ,general ,booth's  scheme1 which up  
to the present has been only alluded to4
 ,lady ,florence  ,dixie has pointed    

out1 with her accustomed courage1 that  
the scheme  would1 if successful1       
increase the pressure of population in  
the worst  way by multiplying the unfit4
 ,booth does not believe in celibacy1   
and we  agree with him4 ,but we are far 
from approving his idea of setting up a 
,matrimonial ,bureau and bringing       
marriageable persons together4 ,the     
marriages he is likely to promote will1 
of course1 be chiefly among the  classes
 he will try to reclaim4 ,such a        
prospect is anything but pleasant  to   
those who understand the population     
question1 and is quite appalling  to    
those who understand the philosophy of  
,evolution4    ,when ,archdeacon ,farrar
 was preaching at ,westminster ,abbey on
 behalf of  ,general ,booth's scheme1 he
 made this observation3--8,the country  
is being  more and more depleted1 the   
great cities are becoming more and more 
densely overcrowded1 and in great cities
 there is always a tendency to  the     
deterioration of manhood--morally1      

physically1 and spiritually4 ,our       
population is increasing at the rate of 
a thousand a day1 and the most  rapid   
increase is among the destitute and     
unfit40 ,precisely so2 and it  is among 
these very classes that ,general ,booth1
 if he honestly means  what he says1    
will do his best to promote an increase 
of population4 ,in  this respect his    
scheme involves a grave social danger4  
,on the whole1 it  seems pretty plain1  
as ,professor ,huxley observes1 that if 
,general ,booth  does sixpennyworth of  
good1 he will do a good shillings-worth 
of harm4    ,to conclude4 ,except for   
the ,farm ,colony1 which we do not see  
how ,booth  is to manage successfully1  
we are able to perceive nothing in his  
scheme  which really touches the heart  
of the social problem2 while as a remedy
  for the 8unemployed0 it seems to us   
perfectly ridiculous4 ,the whole        
project1 at bottom1 is a new gigantic   
device for furthering the  interests of 
the ,salvation ,army4 ,if the other     

,christian bodies do not  see this they 
must be lamentably deficient in insight4
 ,it is all very  well to say that no   
pressure will be put upon the men and   
women in the  ,refuges and the          
,colonies1 for they will be subjected to
 the omnipresent  influence of the      
,salvation ,army1 which is to carry out 
the scheme to its  minutest details4    
,unless we 8are greatly mistaken1 this  
truth is very apparent to ,general      
,booth4 ,he insists on having absolute  
control of the funds and the            
arrangements1 and although he may have  
no mercenary motives1 he is  doubtless  
seeking to gratify his ambition and love
 of power as well as  to promote the    
8salvation of souls40    ,on the whole1 
however1 we shall be glad to see the    
8,general0 get the  money he is         
soliciting4 ,the cash he collects will  
probably be diverted  from other        
religious enterprises1 and in this      
respect a ,freethinker need  not be in  
the least afflicted4 ,his experiment    

will1 in our opinion1 do a  real service
 to society4 ,it will demonstrate before
 the very eyes of  people who know next 
to nothing of history or economics the  
absolute  futility of religious efforts 
to reform the world4 ,when it is        
discovered  that the poor rates1 the    
statistics of drink1 the number of the  
unemployed1 the condition of the very   
poor1 and the miseries and  degradations
 of what is compendiously called the    
social evil1 are not  perceptibly       
affected by ,general ,booth's efforts1  
the very dullest will  see the deception
 of such enterprises1 and turn their    
attention to the  scientific aspects of 
the great social problem4 ,this will be 
a great  gain1 and will amply compensate
 for the waste of a hundred thousand or 
even a million pounds4                  
,,postscripts ,,to ,,second ,,edition   
,general ,booth signalised the          
inauguration of his ,social ,scheme by  
quarreling with ,mr4 ,frank ,smith1 who 
had acted as the chief officer of  the  

,social ,wing of the ,salvation ,army4  
,mr4 ,smith felt obliged to resign4     
,from the correspondence which appeared 
in the newspapers1 it seems that  the   
principal ground of his complaint was   
,general ,booth's refusal to  keep a    
separate account of income and          
expenditure for the ,social ,scheme4    
,the accounts were to form a part of the
 general book-keeping of the  ,army4    
,this was in defiance of the spirit1 if 
not the letter1 of ,booth's  promises1  
and ,mr4 ,smith would not connive at    
what he considered a  deception4 ,after 
his resignation1 however1 the ,general  
declared there  had been a              
misunderstanding1 and the accounts would
 be kept separate4  ,whether they have  
been so kept1 is a question which       
outsiders have no  means of determining4
    7#b7 ,general ,booth has raised his 
#ajj1jjj4 ,he has found1 however1 that  
his success in this direction has       
diverted about #aj1jjj from the         
ordinary income of the ,salvation ,army4

 ,he does not state--probably he  does  
not know1 and perhaps he does1 not      
care--how much he has diverted  from the
 ordinary income of other bodies4 ,many 
loud complaints have been  raised1      
which1 taken in conjunction with        
,booth's own confession1 seem to        
vindicate our contention that there is a
 certain amount of money  available for 
philanthropical purposes1 and that what 
is gained by one  solicitant leaves so  
much less for division among the rest4  
,here1 as  elsewhere1 there is a        
struggle for existence1 and the fittest1
 in the  circumstances1 survive4    7#c7
 ,many persons have desired to know how 
the profits of ,general ,booth's  book  
have been alloted4 ,it has had a very   
large sale1 and there must  have been a 
considerable sum to be disposed of4     
,probably a generous  remuneration has  
been received by ,mr4 ,stead1 who       
generally succeeds in  reconciling      
profit with enthusiasm4    7#d7 ,general
 ,booth declares that he has never      

derived a penny of profit  from the     
operations of the ,salvation ,army4     
,this may be literally true1  but       
virtually it must imply a reservation4  
,booth began as a very poor  man4 ,he is
 now in a more flourishing position4 ,it
 was reported in the  newspapers1 a year
 or two ago1 that he had paid #d1jjj for
 a new  residence4 ,mr4 ,bramwell ,booth
 recently lost a considerable sum of    
money  by the failure of a stock-broker4
 ,the other members of the ,booth family
  seem to be well provided for4 ,the    
present writer has seen them  travelling
 first-class when he has been riding    
third1 and they looked  fully conscious 
of their importance as they walked along
 the platform4    7#e7 ,up to the       
present the ,social ,scheme has made no 
appreciable  impression on the poverty  
and misery of ,london4 ,general ,booth  
has set up  a match-factory1 and is now 
selling ,salvation matches4 ,they are   
said to  be worth their price1 but it   
must be remembered that the ,general    

gets  all his capital for nothing4 ,it  
will also be obvious that every box of  
matches he sells will diminish by so    
much the demand for matches  supplied by
 other firms4 ,he therefore gives       
employment to one man by  taking it away
 from another4    7#f7 ,the foreign and 
the colonial tours of ,general ,booth   
are a curious  illustration of ,english 
modesty4 ,it is difficult to understand 
why the  inhabitants of ,berlin and     
,paris should be expected to contribute 
towards  the cost of reclaiming the poor
 and depraved in ,london4 ,every country
  has its own troubles1 and should meet 
them in its own way4 ,it is worthy  of  
notice1 however1 that ,general ,booth   
recognises far less misery in  8infidel0
 ,paris than in orthodox ,london4       
7#g7 ,the recent 8riots0 at ,eastbourne1
 where the ,salvation ,army insists  on 
playing bands through the streets on    
,sunday1 in defiance of the local       
bye-laws1 suggest a curious reflection4 
,general ,booth takes his leisure  and  

recreation at ,clacton-on-,sea1 and ,i  
am given to understand that he  does not
 encourage the noises of his ,army in   
that seaside retreat4 ,if  this be true1
 it must be allowed that he acts like a 
sensible man--but  why does he keep the 
,army out of ,clacton-on-,sea and       
inflict it upon  ,eastbourne1 where     
other persons go to restore their jaded 
constitutions8                          
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