Chapter XII: In Australasia

The entire programme of every tour The General made emphasises so strongly his advocacy of hard work that one really hesitates to pick out any one Campaign as more remarkable than another. What is, however, extraordinary in connexion with one of his far-away Australian journeys is our having letters which so much more than any others give particulars of his doings.

"I am resting to-night, and well I think my poor body has earned
some kind of respite. Such a ten days' work I never did before of
sheer hard work. How I have come through it, and come through so
well, I cannot understand, except that God has indeed been my
Helper."

Here is another side-light on The General's own inner life which we get by the way. We conceal, of course, the identity of the lady in question, except to say that it was a very distinguished hostess with whom he had occasion to spend some hours when travelling.

"It was perhaps the loveliest journey I ever had. I talked nearly
all the time, and, in fact, had no alternative. But I think I ought
to have made a more desperate and definite attack on her soul than
I did. She is a very intelligent and amiable lady, and I have no
doubt I made an impression.

"Good-bye. Go on praying and believing for me. I want to be a flame
of fire wherever I go. I thank God for the measure of love and
power I have. _But I must have more._ I am pushing everybody around
me up to this--the inward burning love and zeal and purity. I wish
our _best_ men were _more spiritual_. Give my tenderest love to
all."

In each of The General's visits to Australia there was much of the same character; but from the letters to his children which he wrote on one of them, we can extract enough to give some idea of what he saw and felt in passing through those vast regions:--

"What the reception (at Melbourne) would have been had it not been
for the torrents of rain I cannot imagine. Although it was known
that I could not get in before six or seven o'clock, there was a
great mass of several thousand people waiting at three o'clock. As
it was we did not get into the Exhibition Building till ten, and a
vast crowd had been sitting inside from five, and stayed to hear me
talk till 10:45.

"I had an immense Meeting--they say 5,000 were present on the
Sunday morning, 7,000 in the afternoon, with as many more turned
away.

"The opportunity here is immense beyond conception. The people are
delightful, and the Officers also. If they were my own sons and
daughters, I don't see how either Officers or Soldiers could have
been much more affectionate."

How great was the strain of the Meetings may be guessed from the following remarks as to the final one:--

"I trembled as I rose. You must understand that the Hall down which
I spoke is about 400 to 450 feet long, and that on this occasion a
partition about ten feet high was drawn across it, some 300 feet
from the spot on which I stood, so that my voice had to travel all
through the entire length of the building before it met with any
obstruction, whilst behind me there was at least another seventy
feet. The Press estimate the crowds at 10,000; but, that is an
exaggeration. There would be 7,000, at least. I had taken the
precaution to send an Officer to the far end to see how far he
could or could not hear me, and he brought back word 'excellently.'
So I drove ahead, speaking over an hour and a half, and not losing
the attention of my audience for a moment. Indeed, I felt I had the
whole house from the moment I opened my lips. Of course, it was the
greatest physical effort a long way that I ever made, and,
considering that it was my seventh address in that 'dreadful'
building, and that I commenced with a bad throat, exhausted with
the fatigues and miseries of the voyage, and that I had
ceaselessly worked at smaller Meetings, etc., all the four days, I
do think it very wonderful how I went through it, and I must
attribute it to the direct holding up and strengthening of the dear
Lord Himself.

"On all hands I think a deep impression was made. To God be the
glory, and to my poor constituents, for whom I live and plead, be
the benefit.

"I am tired this morning, but shall get a little rest to-day and a
little extra sleep in the train. We leave for Bendigo at twelve
o'clock, arriving at four for Meeting to-morrow. We go to Geelong
next day, coming back here on Friday morning, and leaving at five
for Sydney, travelling all night, and arriving there about noon on
Saturday.

"You will get tired of hearing of this round of Meetings, and of
the very echo of this enthusiasm; but you will, I am sure, rejoice,
not merely that the people of this new world have welcomed your
father and General with such heartiness, but that there is for The
Army such an open door in these parts."

That is indeed what lends such endless importance to the recital which we cannot help reporting ever and anon of The General's Meetings in each country to which he went. It was not the mere coming together of crowds to listen to a speaker, but the enthusiastic acceptance and endorsement of a system, and of demands made by a perfect stranger in which he so delighted. The General never went anywhere merely to preach or lecture. All that he did in that way was always so combined with Salvation Campaigns that at every step he was really recruiting for The Army. Hence his every movement, the reports of his journeys, the conversations he held with all whom he met, everything told in the one great War and helped to create, more and more all over the world, this force of men, women, and children, pledged to devote themselves to the service of Christ and of mankind.

There is a very interesting account of a visit to a State School, especially as it shows The General's keenness to learn, for The Army, anything possible:--

"At ten o'clock I went by the request of Mrs. McLean, the lady
with whom I am staying, to visit one of her State Schools. I was
met at the door by the managers and members of the board, who
conducted me through the building.

"There were over 1,000 children in ten different classrooms. I was
much interested in them, and spoke in each room, so that I began
the day with at least ten little sermons.

"I was very much struck with the singing of the children, rendered
very effective with some corresponding action with the arms and
feet, which gave life and vigour to the thing. I am satisfied that
we might follow this plan out with very good effect in our Army
singing. The little that is done is always appreciated."

And so whilst the Secular Australian Schools got some little gleam of the heavenly light, the aged General saw and passed on to all his world, a valuable suggestion that has since been taken up and acted upon everywhere in our Children's Meetings and demonstrations.

And then he passes at once to quite another department of his activities. He always exercised the same care in every country, which we have already described as to England to ensure the careful settlement of all property acquired for The Army, so that it may be, as nearly as possible, made certain that nothing given to the one Army should ever be removed out of the control of its central authority. How much of time and care this has demanded will be readily understood by those who have any experience in property matters, and who know how widely laws and legal usages differ in different countries:--

"I had an interview with Mr. Maddocks, our solicitor out here--a
very nice fellow indeed, and I should think capable withal. He
seems to grasp the idea of The Army government, and to be anxious
to co-operate with us in such a settlement of our property as will
be in harmony with it."

Only by means of many such interviews, and all the care they represent, was it possible, under the laws of such thoroughly democratic States, to leave the local holders of authority under The General's complete freedom of aggressive action, and yet to secure that everything they acquired with The Army's funds should remain for all time at the disposal, for The Army only, of a General with his office at the other side of the world.

And then we go on to the journey during which he was hoping "to get some extra sleep"!

"At twelve, left for Bendigo, arriving about four o'clock. Was very
weary on the journey, and had to turn out two or three times to
address the crowds waiting to listen to me on station platforms.

"Bendigo is a town of some 30,000 people, entirely made and
sustained by the gold-digging industry. An immense amount of the
precious metal has been taken here, and sufficient is being secured
still to make it a paying concern, although the miners have to go
to a considerable depth in order to secure the quartz.

"We had a public reception, and they had made a general holiday of
it in the place. People must have come in from miles around to help
make up such a crowd. They pulled up at a splendid fountain in the
centre of the town, intending to separate with three cheers for The
General; but I could not withstand the temptation, and made quite a
little sermon about saving their souls, and serving God."

It is this interest both in the everyday occupations and resources of the people, and of the tours they made which, joined with all his intense concern about the soul, constituted The General and all who truly follow him, the true brethren of all mankind. It must ever be remembered, to the credit of Australia, that its leading men were the first to recognise this characteristic of our Officers, and to lend them all the influence of their public as well as private countenance and sympathy. It is this fact which makes it a permanent pleasure to record their kindnesses to The General.

"Came on to Melbourne, on my way to Sydney. Met a body of
representative men to lunch, amongst them Sir James McBain,
President of the Upper Chamber, Mr. Deakin, an ex-Cabinet
Minister, a very nice fellow indeed, a man who appears to me to
have more capacity than any one I have yet met in the Colonies. He
made a speech, and at the close drew me on one side, and said he
wanted to do something for us, and if I could only tell him what it
should be on my return to Melbourne, he would be very glad to do
it.

"I am sure he is prepared to be a good friend. He is a coming Prime
Minister, I should think."

(The General had no idea then that all Australasia would, so soon, be united into one Commonwealth, much less that Mr. Deakin would, for so many of the next ten years, be Premier of the whole.)

But a remark he once made respecting the reported scepticism of some highly-placed Colonials might be made with regard, alas! to many "statesmen" of Christian lands nowadays, and we cannot but see in that fact, and in the friendliness of so many such persons with us, a token of the meaning both of the scepticism, and The Army's position. In how many instances have men, moving in influential circles, met with a Christianity manifestly formal and carrying with it no impress of reality! How natural for them to sink into scepticism! But the moment they encounter men who convince them instantly that they believe the Bible they carry, scepticism retires in favour of joyous surprise, and without any desire to discuss doctrines, they become our lifelong friends.

The General's ability in securing the assistance of all sorts of men, including those whose religious opinions widely differed from his own, or who had got none at all, was remarkable. When reproached, as he was sometimes, for taking the money even of sporting men, he would always say that he only regretted that he had not got a larger amount, and that he reckoned the tears of the poor creatures that would be relieved would wash the money clean enough in the sight of God for it to be acceptable in His sight.

"Met Mr.----. He is interested in our Maternity work, and promised
some time back to assist us with the Hospital we are proposing to
erect. He is a multi-millionaire. He promised £2,500 right
away--£1,500 when the sum of £23,500 had been raised, making
thereby a total of £25,000 with which building operations could be
commenced.

"He is a young man; sprightly and generous, I should think. I
wanted him to make his promise £5,000 in round figures. But he
simply said, 'I cannot promise.' We shall see!"

The following description of one Australian night ride may give some idea both of the eagerness of the people to hear him, and of the amount of fatigue The General was able to endure:--

"We left at 5 P.M. The journey was certainly unique in my history.
Six or seven times in that night, or early morning, was I fetched
out of my carriage to deliver addresses. The Mayors of two of the
towns were there to receive me, with crowds all placed in orderly
fashion, with torches burning, everything quiet as death while I
spoke, and finishing up only with the ringing of the departing bell
of the train and the hurrahs of the people.

"At two in the morning, at Wagga-Wagga, of Tichborne fame, they
fairly bombarded my carriage shouting, 'General Booth, won't you
speak to us? Won't you come out?' But I thought you could really
have too much of a good thing.

"At another station, after speaking for the twenty minutes allowed
for breakfast, a lady put through the window a really superb
English breakfast, as good as ever I had in my life, with
everything necessary for eating it, and as we went off she added,
'Mind, I am a Roman Catholic.'

"The reception at Sydney was enormous, they say never surpassed,
and only equalled once at the burial of some celebrated oarsman who
died on the way from England. They had arranged a great reception
for him, and they gave it to his corpse. The enthusiasm of the
Meetings is Melbourne over again."

The General's almost invariable escape from illness during so many years of travelling, in so many varying climates and seasons, can only be attributed to God's special guidance and care. In Melbourne, influenza raged in the home where he was billetted, and seized upon one of the Officers travelling with him. And yet he escaped, and could resume his journey undelayed. In South Africa, when he was seventy-nine, another of his companions in travel was separated from him for days by severe illness; but The General, in spite of a milder attack of the same sort, was able to fulfil every appointment made for him.

Best of all, however, was the peculiarly blessed inward experience which he enjoyed amidst all the outward rush of the Australian tour. It has been so often suggested by truly excellent men that the soul cannot enjoy all the fulness of fellowship with God without a great deal of retirement from men, that we should like to have The General's inner life fairly exhibited, if it were only in order for ever to bury this monstrous and, we might also say blasphemous, superstition, which has so often been supported by one or two quotations from the Gospel, though in defiance of the whole story of Christ, and of every promise He ever made.

Of what value could a Saviour be who drew back from helping His own messengers upon the ridiculous pretence that they were too busy doing His bidding, and did not spend enough time "seeking Him for themselves"?

"Just a P.S. to say that God is wonderfully with me. I don't think
that I ever in the midst of a great Revival had a more powerful
time than last night. It was nothing short of a miracle. I had no
definite line ready, and had no time to get one. I preached an old
sermon at Melbourne, just because I must have something straight
before me that I could shout out to that immense crowd, and I had a
wonderful time; but last night God helped me in every way. The
power upon the people was really wonderful at times."

Little did most of his own Soldiers guess the extreme strain of inward weight and struggle under which The General was often labouring just when in some great assembly he appeared to every one to be overflowing with youthful gaiety and self-confidence.

The following letter to his youngest daughter, and some entries in his diary, will give some idea of the inner victory he really gained on many such occasions.

Commissioner Lawley, mentioned in this letter, was The General's almost constant companion and helper in many years' travel in many lands, leading the singing, soloing, managing the Prayer Meetings, and generally aiding in every arrangement, a true armour-bearer and comrade at every turn:--

"Fair night; might have been better. Plenty of weakness; still,
better than it often is.

"Lawley just been in; he is not over well; says we have got the
biggest theatre (The Empire). He is not quite sure whether its
suitability for talking is beyond the Coliseum at Glasgow, but he
thinks the Meetings are rather heavy for a sick man, whom four
doctors have been conjuring during the week to 'settle down' and
take things quietly, under pain and penalties of the sufferings
described.

"However, I am going on with faith that God won't forsake me. It is
very probable that Mr. MacDougal said something of the same kind
when he retired to rest on his last sleep, and failing to appear in
the morning was found by his son with life extinct, gone to live by
sight; anyway, to have some further assistance to sight through his
faith in the Better Land.

"This has been one of the most remarkable of the many remarkable
days of my history.

"I passed a weary night, and felt altogether unfit for the task
before me. The natural force seemed to have passed out of me, both
mentally and physically. In fact, my heart failed me, and there
seemed nothing before me but the prospect of slackening down. I was
only kept going by the memory of so many deliverances brought out
for me in the past.

"We had one of the largest audiences, and the biggest crowd I ever
addressed in a single day. In the morning it appeared that Satan
sat at my door, suggesting all sorts of discouraging things. He
tried to make me believe that my public work was done, and
especially suggesting that I should renounce the subject on which I
was talking, and wait for better days before I attempted to talk
again. The Prayer Meeting that followed was certainly encouraging.
We had twenty-seven out. Still, I came away with very much the same
feeling that had been aroused while I was talking. I took a little
refreshment, and tried to get a little sleep, but my mind was too
much agitated to allow of it. I woke up and called for the notes
of my lecture. My mind could not put two and two together hardly,
and so I gave up in despair and left myself to my fate. On my way
to the Meeting, however, a strange feeling came over me. It was
like the sun through a rift in the black clouds, and all at once a
spirit of tenderness, hope, and faith came over me. A voice in my
soul seemed to say, 'Go and do the Lord's work, and the people will
gather; go for their souls, and all will be well.' I accepted the
command, my fears vanished, a spirit of confidence took possession
of me, I rose, I addressed the crowd for an hour and twenty minutes
with all the physical vigour and mental liberty I could desire.

"Night. A terrific crowd. I talked for an hour and ten minutes with
the same force and fervour as in my most successful efforts; 147
came on to the stage in the After Meeting."

It was thus in the smaller matters of personal strength and health, as in the greatest affairs, that The General struggled, believed, and triumphed all through his career.

Australasia has gone farther than most countries towards State socialism. But it was well remarked by some statesman many years ago, "We are all socialists now."

No man within his times was more intensely devoted to the cause of the poor than William Booth. He was indifferent to no practical scheme or effort for the improvement of the people's condition in any land. But for that very reason he loathed, with uncommon vigour, such socialism as would spurn and crush out of the world the man who is no longer in first-class physical condition or desirous of earning an honest living by hard work, instead of going about to create hatred between man and man, and would prevent those who will not submit to any man's dictation from leaving their families to starve when work is to be obtained.

The General's indignation was specially aroused when "socialist" spouters tried to block all his plans of beneficence with their foul misrepresentations. He fought every such attempt with the utmost determination, and by the help of God and the more intelligent of his fellow-countrymen, crushed every such attack more completely than the public sometimes knew, for he resolutely kept out of any political or social agitation and went calmly on his way, even when his quietude led the enemy to imagine that he was yielding. In later years, when all the pressmen of a city came together to meet him, the Social Democratic paper representative would, of course, come with the rest. On the occasion of such an interview once in Denmark, he writes:--

"The Social Democrat usually contents himself by compassionating
the inadequacy of my efforts for dealing with the miseries which
they contemplate, with the remark that I don't go deep enough, that
mine is a superficial operation, whereas they destroy poverty by
dragging it up by the roots!

"My notion is that the principles upon which my efforts are founded
carry me to the lowest roots of all, namely, the selfishness of
human nature. Their notion is that capital is the root of the
misery. Destroy the capital, or rather I expect they mean divide it
up, or let everybody have the benefits that flow out of its
possession. My notion is that the roots of the selfishness are to
be found in human nature itself."