The Sun.
London, England, 1862-07-11 00:00:00

BURNING OF 2HE PRAYER-BOOK.

For several weeks past there has been a series of
street preachings and hot exhortations in Bedford
by Nonconformists and free-spoken preachers, who
set themselves up as bright and shining lights to
expose the iniquities of this respectable town. Up
to a certain time Bedford was reputed to be far
above the average in point of order, decorum, and
religious observance. The only cause of complaint
was occasional bitter hostility to the Established
Church, expressed by certain classes of Dissen-
ters. Of late, however, certain " hot gospellers"
have most unwarrantably set forth to blacken the
reputation of the town and to denounce its inhabi-
tants as a terribly wicked and idolatrous people.
A constant sowing of seed of any kind is certain to
produce fruit some day or other, and a long tuition
by political Dissenters must be expected to pro-
duce results hostile to the Church, against which
their attacks are directed. The Dissenting viru-
lence against the Church has at last had its culmi-
nating point. True, the church has not been pulled
down and the highway repaired with its stones, as
over-zealous schismatics have desired to see; but
Bedford has just witnessed an act which cannot but
be regarded as the foretaste of what unbridled fana
ticism and unquenchable hatred to the Church
would rejoice to see accomplished. Among the
street preachers who have been making exciting
harangues in the public places of this town is a
Mr. Jones, who was in the first instance brought
down from London by two Bedford persons. For
some weeks he has been delivering periodical dis-
courses on St. Peter's-green, and has conducted
public baptisms in the river Ouse ; but beyond some
eccentricities of phraseology and startling notions
of theology we have not heard that any great harm I
had ensued, except that he had indulged in strong
expressions towards many of the doctrines taught
in Bedford. On Sunday afternoon last, however, he
directed his fulminations more particularly at the
Church, and the vehement manner in which his
addresses were given and the vigour with which his
congregation sang the hymns very seriously inter-
fered with the comfort of the clergyman and con-
gregation assembled in St. Peter's Church close by;
but in the evening the preacher became still more
excited and more extravagant in his remarks. A
vehement denunciation of the forms of the Church
and a condemnation of the Book of Common Prayer
were the chief topics of the evening's discourse, and
as the churches and chapels emptied Mr. Jones's
congregation enlarged ; and about 9 o'clock he gave
a practical illustration to his discourse by snapping
a lucifer match and then setting fire to a Prayer-
book, accompanying the act with an expressed wish
that he could serve the Talmud, Koran, the Mass-
book, and some others in a similar manner. Some
portions of the audience were shocked at this exhi-
bition of wild fanaticism, and expressed them-
selves strongly upon the matter. Others, not
content with a remonstrance, closed in upon the
preacher and his baptized neophytes and tried to
remove them from the green to put an end to
such scandalous proceedings. Others, again, car-
ing less, perhaps, for the interests of religion than
for a spree, suggested that his own plan of baptism
by immersion should be tried upon himself. A rush
was then made to take him to the river, and a most
disorderly rout took place. The mob seemed unde-
cided in its course, and some quietly disposed per-
sons advised that he should be allowed to retire.
This suggestion was received with an indignant
shout of " Baptize the fellow ; duck him." One
person said Jones had a right to do as he pleased,
and he immediately received a pummeling for his
pains, and a sort of running scuffle took place. The
crowd surged down Dame Alice-street, then back
again towards St. Peter's, and a move was made
down the High-street in the direction of the bridge.
Some persons here interposed, and remarked that
Sunday night was not a fitting time for such pro-
ceedings, and these persons were at once roughly
assailed and thrust aside. Several persons then
him, to
proceeded to " bonnet" Jones, to spit at
while
" punch his head." and " kick his shins,
A few
some bestowed their attentions on his hat.
of his disciples came in for a share of these manife
s-
tations of the popular mind. moment a
detachment of the police came up; M ini-
he remained until the ster Jones under their protection, and
conveyed him
to the police office, where
crowd had dispersed. fie then retired to some
We understand that
uuder iniry. The exaspe-
tfrhieenwdh'soliaeoussuebitorttih.se
Will be taken
c against th suend other indigni-
Church in Bedford is very
great,
ties offered to the
ration of the
but it is not yet announced what steps
public
t a recurrence of the last outrage.—Bed-
to proven
-vd Times.

THE ISLAIVD OF ASCENSION.—The Lords Com-
missioners of the .A.lmiralty have ordered of Messrs. Bury
and Pollard, Park Iron Works, Southwark, two of their
patent self•regnlating wind. engines, for Ascension, for the
purpose of supplying the Wald with water.

" The forces under Major-Generals Fremont,
Banks, and M'Dowell have been consolidated into
one army, called' The Army of Virginia,' and Major
General Pope has been especially assigned by the
President to the chief command. The forces under
General Fremont constitute the first army corps, to
be commanded by General Fremont. The forces
under General Fremont constitute the second army
corps, and are to be commanded by him. The forces
under General M'Dowell constitute the third army
corps, and are to be commanded by him.

"M'Call's division, 10,000 strong, which formed
a part of M'Dowell's corps, has reached M'Clellan
'by water, and another division is to follow imme-
diately in the same way, while General Pope will
also operate against the enemy at Richmond. Be-
sides M'Call's division, M'Clellan has received other
reinforcements, to the amount of several thousand,
since the battle of Fair Oaks.

" A despatch dated City Point, Virginia, June
26, says : The Confederate general, Longstreet, has
issued a flaming address to his troops on Monday,
in view of the great conflict imminent, inciting
them to new deeds of heroism, and advising them
to aim low and make sure of the mark. The
official lists of the rebel losses at the battle of
Fair Oaks have been published. Eighty-five regi-
ments and battalions in all were engaged, sus-
taining a loss of killed, wounded, and missing of
5,897: _ _

" A despatch from Chatanooga says the Fede-
rals have stampeded from that place, leaving their
camps and everything behind."
The following particulars of the late Federal
advance on. Richmond are published in the New
York papers :

- -
44 M'Clellan's Head-quarters, Wednesday,
June 25 (Evening).

" Gen. Hooker, at nine o'clock this morning,
advanced his division, with the view of occupy-
ing a new position. The result was that his
troops met with a most determined resistance
from the enemy, which lasted until four o'clock
in the afternoon : but the rebels were forced to
give way before the invincible courage of our men.

" Daring the day everything indicated a gene •
ral engagement, but the enemy, for some reason
or other, backed out of it. The troops all fought
as gallantly as ever. The loss on our side will
be about 200 killed and wounded. The loss of
the enemy is not known, but it is believed to be
equal to our own.
" The camp of the rebels in front of Gen. Hooker
was captured, and is now occupied by his troops.
The ground fought for was a swamp, with thick
underbrush, beyond which is open country_ The
woods intervening between our troops and the
enemy prevented the result of our artillery firing
being known. 'lwo Napoleon 12-pounders, under
Captain do Russy, succeeded in getting through
the swamp during the afternoon, and did excellent
service. An effort of the enemy to capture them
With
resulted in the enemy being driven back

severe less.
" The result of to-day is highly important to the
health of the army, as but little more ground is to
be gained to place our troops beyond the swamp.
" General M'Clellan was present during the
whole day, superintending all movements."
In a later despatch General M'Clellan says he
holds the new picket line undisturbed, and that all
is very quiet on the banks of the Chickahominy;
A despatch dated Charleston, June 24, says.—
The steamer Memphis, from Liverpool to Charles-
ton,via Nassau, N.P., run the blockade yesterday
successfully. She had on board Mr. Ward, late
minister to China, and a valuable cargo of British
goods. The Memphis is a new iron steamer.
General Grant has assumed command of the dis-
trict west of the Tennessee.

The Union meeting in Memphis was attended by
about 200 citizens. A full ticket of Union men was
nominated for city offices.
General Beauregat d publishes a letter in the

Mobile News, of June 19, denying emphatically the

capture by General Pope of 10,000 prisoners, as
telegraphed by General Halleek. He says that 100
or 200 stragglers would cover all the prisoners
he took, and about 500 damaged muskets. He
also says that all the Confederates lost at Corinth
during the retreat will not amount to one day's
expense of the enemy's army.
The following document appears in the Southern
papers :

"AN APPEAL TO EVERY SOUTUERN SOLDIER.
"We turn to you in mute agony. Behold our
wrongs! Fathers! husbands! brothers' sons i we
know these bitter, burning wrongs will be fully
avenged. Never did Southern women *Peal in

In the Senate yesterday it was resolved, if not
incompatible with the public interest, to print the
report of Joseph Hall and Robert Dale 0 wen on
frauds upon the Government. The bill to prevent
members of Congress and Government officers from
taking consideration for procuring contracts, office,
or place under the Government, was amended so as
to apply to those who for any reward, compensa-
tion, or consideration give any contract, office, or
place, and then passed.
In the House, the bill providing indemnity to
loyal citizens for losses and damages to property
through United States troops was discussed during
the morning hour. A bill was reported relating to
the trust funds of the Indian tribes, invested by the
Government in the State Bonds abstracted from this
Interior Department. The bill provides that the
Government shall credit the Indians with the
amount originally invested for them in the bonds
and the payment of the interest hereafter at the
rate of 5 per cent. The House then went into com-
mittee of the whole on the Tariff Bill, and several
amendments were made. An order was made for
the arrest of a certain Murphy of New York, a re-
pudiating witness in the case of Ben. Wood.