The Report of the Committee which agreed to inquire into
the expenditure of the money received by" General " Booth for his "Darkest England" experiment has been published. The Committee, which secured Sir Henry James as Chairman, entirely exonerate the " General " and his family from pro- fiting by the subscriptions, but report that be is 260,000 in debt for the experiment, on which 2216,000 has been already spent. On the other hand, the " General " has set up in London shelters which can accommodate 4,020 men nightly, and 762 women; has established factories, chiefly for making firewood, which employ between 400 aud 500 men on an average; and has set up a Labour Registry, which is found useful. He has also established a farm-colony in Essex with all needful buildings, and a railway, and there 800 " rescued " persons have been more or less successfully trained to labour. The Over-sea Colony is not yet started, but a reserve of 224,000 is retained on its behalf. We have said enough on the subject elsewhere, but may remark briefly here that while the Com- mittee report favourably on" General "Booth's character, they pass no opinion on his judgment, and reserve all estimate as to the success of his scheme until more time has elapsed, the first cost of the land, buildings, &c., disturbing all calcula- tions. The impression left on our minds by the Report is that " General " Booth is an excellent person of great energy, who has some ability for controlling men, but who dashes at his benevolent ends in a very reckless fashion. The money spent would have found pensions of 220 a year for a thousand poor people over sixty, the " rescue " from poverty lasting their whole lives.
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