On the whole, however, we shall be glad to see the “General” get the money he is soliciting. The cash he collects will probably be diverted from other religious enterprises, and in this respect a Freethinker need not be in the least afflicted. His experiment will, in our opinion, do a real service to society. 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 world. When it is discovered that the poor rates, the statistics of drink, the number of the unemployed, the condition of the very poor, and the miseries and degradations of what is compendiously called the social evil, are not perceptibly affected by General Booth’s efforts, the very dullest will see the deception of such enterprises, and turn their attention to the scientific aspects of the great social problem. This will be a great gain, and will amply compensate for the waste of a hundred thousand or even a million pounds. POSTSCRIPTS TO SECOND EDITION General Booth signalised the inauguration of his Social Scheme by quarreling with Mr. Frank Smith, who had acted as the chief officer of the Social Wing of the Salvation Army. Mr. Smith felt obliged to resign. From the correspondence which appeared in the newspapers, 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 Scheme. The accounts were to form a part of the general book-keeping of the Army. This was in defiance of the spirit, if not the letter, of Booth’s promises, and Mr. Smith would not connive at what he considered a deception. After his resignation, however, the General declared there had been a misunderstanding, and the accounts would be kept separate. Whether they have been so kept, is a question which outsiders have no means of determining. (2) General Booth has raised his £100,000. He has found, however, that his success in this direction has diverted about £10,000 from the ordinary income of the Salvation Army. He does not state—probably he does not know, and perhaps he does, not care—how much he has diverted from the ordinary income of other bodies. Many loud complaints have been raised, which, taken in conjunction with Booth’s own confession, seem to vindicate our contention that there is a certain amount of money available for philanthropical purposes, and that what is gained by one solicitant leaves so much less for division among the rest. Here, as elsewhere, there is a struggle for existence, and the fittest, in the circumstances, survive. (3) Many persons have desired to know how the profits of General Booth’s book have been alloted. It has had a very large sale, and there must have been a considerable sum to be disposed of. Probably a generous remuneration has been received by Mr. Stead, who generally succeeds in reconciling profit with enthusiasm.