256 LETTERS TO THE "TIMES." v 



persons who have faithfully and zealously served 

 in the Salvation Army, who express unchanged 

 attachment to its original principles and practice, 

 and who have been in close official relations with 

 the " General," have publicly declared that the 

 process of degradation of the organization into a 

 mere engine of fanatical intolerance and personal 

 ambition, which I declared was inevitable, has al- 

 ready set in and is making rapid progress. 



It is out of the question, Sir, that I should 

 occupy the columns of the " Times " with a de- 

 tailed exposition and criticism of these pieces 

 justificatives of my forecast. I say criticism, be- 

 cause the assertions of persons who have quitted 

 any society must, in fairness, be taken with the 

 caution that is required in the case of all ex parte 

 statements of hostile witnesses. But it is, at any 

 rate, a notable fact that there are parts of my 

 first letter, indicating the inherent and necessary 

 evil consequences of any such organization which 

 might serve for abstracts of portions of this evi- 

 dence, long since printed and published under the 

 public responsibility of the witnesses. 



Let us ask the attention of your readers, in the 

 first place, to " An ex-Captain's Experience of the 

 Salvation Army," by J. J. E. Eedstone, the genu- 

 ineness of which is guaranteed by the preface 

 (dated April 5th, 1888) which the Eev. Dr. Cun- 

 ningham Geikie has supplied. Mr. Eedstone's 

 story is well worth reading on its own account. 



