The Sun.
London, England, 1857-09-07 00:00:00

LONDON, MONDAY EVENING, SEPTEMBER 7, 1857.

EXTRAORDINARY GATHERTNG OF THE
MORMON APOSTLIt'S AND ELDERS.

Yesterday a very extraordinary " Conference"
of Mormon apostles, elders, and priests, some of
whom are fresh from the Salt Lake Valley—the
Mormon "Zion," to which all these " Latter-day
Saiets," as they style themselves, are eventually to
be gathered—was hold in the Adelaide Gallery
Casino. On the platform were Pastor Ross, the
President of the London Conference, who presided,
and around him were Elder Orson Pratt, Elder
Benson, the presidents of the various provincial
conferences, and a number of Mormon celebrities.
The services commenced at ten o'clock. After the
opening devotions, the various provincial presi-
dents addressed the meeting.
Elder KELSEY, Pre4dent of the Kent Conference,
stated that there were about 50 "saints" in his
district, which was "'the most pleasantest part of
the country," and prosperity attended the lahours.
The people paid their tithes and other offerings
cheerfully, abhough they were very poor. They
supported no fewer than 13 elders, who " saw high
to high, in ball matters, hall the time." The
audience gave faint meanings of approbation, and
every now and then burst forth into a loud
" Amen," when the speaker uttered hopes and
prayers for the prosperity of their society. He com-
plained, however, of some of his people that they
were not what they ought to be, and had "given
the elders rotten eggs instead of fresh ones." He
referred to the opposition they had had to encoun-
ter, but expressed his gratification that the Govern;
went of this country would secure to them the free•
dom of worship.
Elder DAVIS, president of the Essex district,
said his people paid their tithes and offerings cheer-
fully, and had contributed 301. towards the ex-
pense of the tracts (601. worth) which had been
sent them for distribution. They supported nine
travelling elders. and they had preached in 86 dif-
ferent places. He rejoiced in persecution, because
it " caused the work to roll forth."
Elder JOHN HYDE, president of the Reading dis-
trict, gave but an indifferent account of the "saints"
in his district. They numbered, ho said, between
350 and 400, of whom, however, only some 250
were, in his opinion, "saints of a high order," and
the rest fell under his severe condemnation. He
gave a touching description of the poverty of his
people, who, he said, had only lls. or 12a. a-week,
yet they paid their tithes and other offerings cheer-
fully. They were very " obedient" to the com-
mands of the Church, and had contributed, in spite
of their poverty, about 501. for the purposes of emi-
gration to the Salt Lake Valley, the Mormon State
of Utah. fl complained of a number of them that
they had refused to be re-baptised, according to
some recent "command of God" (that is, an order
from Brigham Young and Co.) to that effect. He
said that those who had fallen off from the Church,
now spent more in a week than their tithes and
offerings would have come to in a fortnight. He
concluded by regretting that they bad net been
able to " establish new causee"—that is, to gain
new societies—in any place within his district ; but
they would go on in faith, and be hoped they would
have better success. (Loud cries of "Amen.")
Elder Ross said he could testify that these repre-
sentations as to the state of the districts were core
rect. He was glad to see those people, although
so very poor, contributing of their scanty earnings
towards the Emigration Fund, and he said " God
bless them." (Loud cries of " Amen.") He hoped
they would all strive to get to the land which God
had appointed for his people. (" Amen !")
The audience then sang a hymn to one of thole
fine old psalm tunes which have been for ages the
admiration of the Christian Church. We cannot,
however, compliment the Mormonites on the pecu-
liar poetry of' their psalmist, or upon their ideas of
time and tune, for the Chairman had to request.
them to folhivr the "leads, " of the singing—a
country lad of 18.

Elder BERNARD SNOW, of the Southampton Con-
ference, next addressed the meeting. Efe rather
ccmplained of some of his people as being " half-
hearted," but said there was a very general dispo-
sition amongst them " to go home to Zion" (i.e.
the'Mormon State of Utah). He complained bit-
terly of the newspaper press of this country for ex-
pt,sing the villany, profanity, and licentiousness
which prevail at the Mormon head-quarters, but
he did not condescend to disprove any single state-
ment which his been made. He contented him-
self merely with a general denial. He did not
eneer at all into the question of polygamy—
a question in this country reserved only fur the
fully initiated.

Elder HATCH, a juvenile Yankee orator, president
of the Sheffield district, delivered a lengthened hi-
rangue on the advantages of Mormonism, and con- •
demned, very severely, every other sect of religion-
ists as being " in' darkness," ire. He described
London as the "Babylon" of the Scriptures, and
dwelt touchingly on the self-denial of the Mormon-
it' s, who, he said, bad " throwed away their pipes
and pots, aed were a temperate people." He said
several times that he felt "first-rate," and that the
Mormon deetrines made them all feel " fust-rate,"
and made them '"good-looking people"—an asser-
tion
that was strikingly contradicted by the coun-
tenances of a great number of the saints present.
Touching the emigration, he said that those who
stayed in " Babylon" (London) would partake of
the plagues .which were sure to fall upon it, or else ,
he was a false prophet. (Moans:of approbation from
the saints, and smiles from the general auditors.)
Seeing the incredulity of some of the audience, the
speaker invited those who disbelieved him to "stay
here and try it on," an invitation which many
seemed perfectly willing to accept.
A service of a similar kind was held in the after-
noon, but the principal meeting was intheevening.
The "saints" re-assembled at half-past sir, in
full force. The room was nearly full. In the in-
terim the apostles, elders, priests, and members had
partaken of refreshments, in the shape of tea, Sic. ;
and as the room was exceedingly warm, most of the
men, including one of the apostles on the platform,
preferring "ease before elegance," appeared in their
shirt-sleeves. There was a number of babies in the
room, who took a very active part in the proceed- ,
hies. Judging, however, from the complacency
with which both speakers and hearers seemed to .
regard their interruptions, it-would seem that their
presence was not unusual in Mormon gatherings.
A large number of the mothers were young girls
apparently under 20. The youngsters contributed
materially to enliven the proceedings, some by
laughing and others by crying. Several lads in
their shirt-sleeves were occupied during the "ser-
vice," if service it can be called, in circulating large
white jugs, apparently containing water, among
the auditory, which were handed about, each tak-
ing. a Lenity pull, and then returned to the juvenile
"saints" in the shirt-sleeves to be replenished and
circulated again. The whole affair had a " free-
and easy" kind of air, quite foreign to English no-
tions of religious services, or even of public
meetings on week days of an ordinary character.
The celebrated,
.or rather the notorious "Orson
Pratt," occupied the whole of the evening in a detail
of the history of the Book of Mormon, the Bible of
the Latter-day Saints. He described how the angel
of the Lord appeared to Joe Smith, or, as he called
him, Smeth, when he was quite a lad. How the
said angel pointed out to Smith where be would find,
in a mountain three miles away from his residence,
a box of plates of a metallic substance on which
were engraven the records of the ancient inhabi-
tants of America, who, were descendants of the
Israelites, and had come over miraCulously.to the
American continent 600 years before Christ, and he
desclibeid the miraculous " translation" of the re-
cords. The speaker, however, did mot go into all the
details ; he did not, for instance, tell the people,
what the Book of Mormon affirms, that they went
over from Asia to America in a vessel which was
"like unto a dish," and which had "a hole at the
top thereof," and "likewise a hole at the bottom
thereof." The speaker might well say that the con-
I veyance was a "miraculous" one. we cannot
him into all the absurdities of this oft refuted
story ; suffice it to say that his principal point was
the necessity of a further revelation, such as the
Book of Mormon ; and in urging this point he re-
ferred to the " Tarious readings" of the different,
versions of the New Testament, and, calling them
" errors," he argued therefore the necessity of a
more complete revelation of the Divine will, which
he contendel was the Book of Mormon. He forgot,
or purposely ignored, what every one now admits,
that these "various readings," though very nume-
rous, affect no vital point either of fact or of doc-
trine. In \noticing the various parts of the world to
which Mormon missionaries had been sent, he said
dist the only countapesirnis which
wchtahseylnhaddia.T
been
Their
to make any
missionaries there had been persecuted severely,
' and had been forbidden to, preach at any of the
military stations. But the "voice of the Lord" had
recalled all the missionaries from India before the
decent outbreak, which'he regarded as a " retribu
'ion" of Providence ; and he predicted, although lie
was very Sorry for what had occurred in India,
' similar calamities for England, if she refused to ac-
. cept the Mormonish missionaries.
The "service" concluded with a hymn, and a col-
ection was made on each occasion.

THE INDIAN I.NSU.a.RECTION.

' duces some discontent, for Hindoos ass wellas Bud-
hists dearly love the countenance of the sovereign
power to their religious ceremonies. All this time
education is beginning to making itself fe!t. Th.
wonders of truth become!more and more ireesistib'e,
and then comes slowly impinging.; upon Brahmi-
nical consciousness the rapid spread of new ideas
and opinions among the hitherto bigoted Bengaleen,
and their consequent secession from Hindooism.
The Brahmin has become more ready to fraternise
with the Moslem. But hitherto the Government
has kept itself rigidly aloof from teacher and dis-
ciple. Its apparent want of sympathy with converts
has attracted animadversion in England, and it is
at length forced to interfere by enaceing two
laws—one to release the Hindoo widow from the
cruel fiat of perpetual celibacy, the other to pro-
tect the convert from Hindooism from the spolia
tlon of his property. The Hiudoo law, it must be
remembered, prohibited the marriage of Hindoo
widows, and disinherited the seceder from the
Hindoo faith.- These last acts caused, doubtless,
a deep sensation, and formed assuredly a strong
argument for the Moslem to bring forward in
urging the Hindoo to repel the threatened down-
fall of his creed ; and when the unfortunate cart-
ridge affair occurred the match was ,applied to a
mine which had been long silently loading, and
the Mussulman was enabled to put his diabolical
machinery into movement, secure of the co-opera-
tion of the Hindoo. That his plots have not suc-
ceeded in shaking the Government is cause of
thanksgiving to God: •
I do not think that the true character of the
Mahomedan has ever been duly appreciated in
India. Wherever this infernal sect has been suf-
fered to congregate hatred and disaffection towards
Christianity and the British rule have been kept
alive, and simmering, as it were, like a cauldron over
a fire. Moorshedabad (comparatively close to Cal-
cutta) has always been a nest of lurking traitors,
Patna and Dacca hotbeds of fanatic discontent,
and in Delhi and Lucknow at no time has it been
safe for an unarmed European to be found alone.
It is fervently to be hoped that Government will
now see to the utter dispersion of this dangerous
crew. At the best they are but usurpers in Hin-
dostan, and it behoves us to destroy every trace of
royalty or nobility to which they lay claim, and
which they ever have made and ever will make a
nucleus for bloody murders and rebellion.
That the Government of India will be all the
stronger for this temporary derang ment, I feel cer-
tain. Its (Bengal) officers will have learnt the true
value of " high-caste" men, and we shall have regi-
ments formed of really hard-working and useful
soldiers, instead of the conceited scoundrels whom
we have been for years pampering and spoiling—
villains who refuse before the enemy to dig a ti smelt
because the shovel is an ignominious tool for the
"Khetree," and who make themselves useless from
inanition on service because a Brahmin may not
eat cooked food with his accoutrements on. Away
with the rabble I and in enlisting Sikhs, Ghoorkas,
and Doshads, let us get that Anglicised feeline: into
our regiments which makes the Bombay and Ma-
dras armies more really useful than the Bengal
troops, though inferior perhaps in both physique
and morale. And, finally, let Government, heed-
less of mob orators in England, refrain from extend-
ing to the dark, designing Hindostanee the same
liberty and equality that it confers on the British
subject. Most especially I refer to the " lileerty of
the pre,s"—an act of Sir C. Metealfe, which was a
real boon when limited to the 'English newsp rpers,
but a most pernicious error when extended to men-
dacious natives.

The assertion that these disturbances arise from
the inefficiency of the Bengal military officers is
founded apparently on the fact that they were ori-
ginally restricted to the native soldiery, but those
who reason thus seem blind to the fact that for
treason to prosper it must do so through the army.
No human being would be so rash as to commence a
revolution through the instrumentality of unwar
like peasants ; and, in the same way, n`► Zemindar,
Nawab, or Rajah was prepared-to raise the Stlndard
of rebellion till ho had seen Government stripped
of the means of immediate retaliation by the d saf-
fection of its native army. That only a few have
now done so is-probably owing to the fact that the
most powerful among them are the best informed,
and forme in the vast resources of the British Go-
vernment an effectual barrier to their secret wishes.,

It has struck some also as a significant proof of
inefficiency in the Bengal Government that Bom-
bay and Madras have not joined in the mutiny.
That the reins of discipline have been 1141 d tighter
in those presidencies than in Bengal, where too
much consideration and forbearance ha ye been prac-
tised to all classes cannot be denied, but it i 3
quite unfair to attribute to that alone the tragedy
which is now ena ting. We must make allowances
for the difference of materiel of the several armies.
The Madras and Bombay men are not equal in
physique or in morale to tho up-c',untry Hindos-
tanee, and would probably under no excitement
have shown the daring which the Bengal mutineers
have evinced in the face of Europeans. A!rocities
certainly were once committed by the first-named
in Vellore, but the outbreak there was quite unlike
the organised resistance shown at Delhi. M xeover,
the seeds of disaffection may not probably have
been cast to the south of Bengal, where the machi-
nations of treason have been restricted for rc‘a,ions
time alone can divulge. And, la,tly, it alone can
reveal whether foreign Powers have bad any hand
in this dreadful but impotent outbreak. But God
forbid that the blood of the innocent children and
the helpless women that has flowed so wantonly
from the unpitving knife of the Mussul man should
hereafter be laid at the door of the Christan. Blood
of the innocent ! Uselessly as lavishly his it
streamed to the feet of these who never knew
mercy ! But, praise la 3 to Heaven, we can with
the. Psalmist exclaim, " Thou, hast girded me with
strength unto the battle ; Thou shalt throw down
mine enemies under me." Vengeance is Thine,
Oh God ; uplift Thine arm for the orphan, the
childless, and the widow ! MAJOR.

DEATH BY MISTAKE.—An inquest was IA I on Satur-
day by Mr. Carter, at Rotherhithe, oe the body of T.
Mills, who was in the employment of Messrs. Curling,
wholesale druggists. The deceased on Saturday last
poured some tincture of colchicum that was in a large
stone bottle into a jug, and drank it, supposing it to be
Cape wine. He was attacked with sympteres similar
to diarrhoea, ands medical man who was call :d in treated
him for that comp'aint, not having been informed that
he had drank the tincture. He died on Sure-lay morn-
ing. Verdict, accidental death.
EXTBNSIVE FIRS.—An extensive fire happened in the
premises belonging to Mr. J. R. Aglend, on Saturday,
situate at No.ll, Holywell-row, Worship-square, Shore-
ditch, and which destroyed a vast amount of valuable
property. The Royal Society's escapes, under the com-
mand of Mr. Inspector Beddeley, and the parish engines
attended, as well as those of the London Brigade, from
Whitecrose-street, Watling-street, Jeffrey-square, and
Farrington-street. A supply of water was procured, from
which the firemen at once went to work, but in
spite of their Exertions the fire could not be subdued
until a very serious amount of property was destroyed,
which is thus officially returned to the diffe.rent insu-
rance companies forming the brigade :—" No. 11, Holy-
well-row, Worship-square, Shoreditch, J. R..Agland,
chairmaker ; cause of • fire not known ; the contents
were insured in the Pt.cenix fire-office, the building was
insured in the Sun office ; the premises tr-e'l as work-
shops, warerooms, &c., burnt out and roof off No 10,
ditto, W. Cutbill, private ; stairs on ground floor, first
floor, and second fl nor damaged greatly by fire, water,
and removal ; insured in the County fire-office. Wor-
ship-square (opposite) Mr. J. L. Minton, licensed vic-
tualler and proprietor of the Bald Face tavern ;
side front severely scorched and glass broken :n windows,
&c. ; insured in the Sun fire-office. No. 8, Holywell-
row, Mr. D. Barralet, cabinet plumber ; front of pre-
mises seriously damaged by fire and window glass
demolished ; insurance unknown."
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