no friction should be caused at this stage.

But it was with regard to the preaching pilgrimage of the two Canadian
parsons that Crondall's friends of the Press rendered us the greatest
possible service. Here no particular reticence was called for, and the
Press could be, and was, unreservedly helpful and generous. In
estimating the marvellous achievements of the two preachers, I do not
think enough weight has been attached to the great services rendered to
their mission by such journals as the great London daily which published
each morning a column headed, "The New Evangel," and, indeed, by all the
newspapers both in London and the provinces.

We were not directly aiming, during that first week, at enrolling
members. No recruiting had been done. Yet when, at the end of the week,
a meeting of the executive committee was held at the Westminster Palace
Hotel, the founder, John Crondall, was able to submit a list of close
upon six hundred sworn members of _The Citizens_; and, of these, I
suppose fully five hundred were men of high standing in the world of
politics, the Services, commerce, and the professions. Among them were
three dukes, twenty-three peers, a Field Marshal, six newspaper
proprietors, eleven editors, seven of the wealthiest men in England, and
ninety-eight prominent Members of Parliament. And, as I say, no
systematic recruiting had been done.

At that meeting of the executive a great deal of important business was
transacted. John Crondall was able to announce a credit balance of ten
thousand pounds, with powers to overdraw under guarantee at the Bank of
England. A simple code of membership rules and objects was drawn up for
publication, and a short code of secret rules was formed, by which every
sworn member was to be bound. These rules stipulated for implicit
obedience to the decision and orders of the executive, and by these
every member was bound to take a certain course of rifle drill, and to
respond immediately to any call that should be made for military service
within the British Isles during a period of twelve months from the date
of enrolment. John Crondall announced that there was every hope of _The
Citizens_ obtaining from the Government a grant of one service rifle and
one hundred rounds of ammunition for every member who could pass a
simple medical examination.

"We may not actually secure this grant until after the general
election," Crondall explained; "but it can be regarded as a certa