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cester, and spent several hours in the city, visited the noted ancient Cathedral, which is 400 feet in length, and contains many fine specimens of sculpture of ancient bishops, lords and princes, some of which, historians say, have been there for 700 or 800 years, and are reported to be as fine specimens of statuary as can be found in Europe. Nearly every portion of this majestic edifice is carved out of solid marble; the pulpit is carved out of one block. It also contains a small chapel hewn out of solid marble. The Church of England holds service in this Cathedral twice each day in the year; we remained during the afternoon service, at the close of which we rode to Ledbury.

On the road we passed through the

town of Malvern, at the base of Malvern Hills, the most beautiful range of hills in England, being among the highest and affording the most splendid prospect of the surrounding country for 30 miles. Surrounding one of the highest hills, which is called the Herefordshire Beacon, are many large intrenchments one above another, supposed to have been made by the ancient Britons for a retreat in time of war. These hills have been a famed

place of resort for the kings, queens, princes, lords and nobleman, and also the poets of England during the summer season. We had a view of Eastner Castle as we passed along. We spent the night at Mr. Francis Pullen's, having travelled 51 miles.

(To be continued.)

THE LATTER-DAY SAINTS' MILLENNIAL STAR.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 1863.

A DIREFUL VENGEANCE AND AN UNLOOKED-FOR AVENGER.

THE following precious morceau from a recent speech of Brigadier-General Jennison of the Federal army, delivered recently to the people of Paoli on the Kansas and Missouri border, we extract from the New York correspondence of the London Times. Its perusal will give our readers some conception of the ferocious character of the struggle in which the Federal and Confederate Border-men are engaged the field of their operations being principally those upper counties of Missouri which the Latter-day Saints were compelled to evacuate by the mob violence of many of the present settlers. Much of the land through that section of the State was legally bought and paid for by the Latter-day Saints upon their first settlement there. The only title that many of the present settlers have to those lands is what is called a "tax-title." No Latter-day Saint's life would have been safe there for a single moment for years afterwards, even for the short time that would have been necessary to have enabled him to pay the taxes. The Missourians had recourse to murder, violence and fraud to accomplish their ends; but their crimes have borne bitter and dreadful fruits! The Latter-day Saints have been avenged in a manner and to an extent their oppressors never dreamed of. It is a remarkable fact that the recollection of the upper Missourians' cruelty to the Latter-day Saints in former years, in addition to their rebellion and ruffianism since, whets the anger of their opponents on the border, and gives their swords a keener edge

EDITORIAL.

729 and prompts them to treat them with a ferocity that threatens Upper Missouri with utter desolation and its inhabitants with speedy extermination. We know that Senator Lane, the most prominent of the Kansas Border-men, is fully conversant with the atrocities practiced by the mobocrats of Missouri upon the Latter-day Saints, and the subject is a familiar one to all those Border-men. Many of them have stigmatized the Missourians' treatment of the Saints in terms the opposite of polite or complimentary, and they have branded their appropriation of our lands as wholesale robbery. Of course, where this feeling exists there are no compunctions entertained about driving them from their lands-a measure that was decided upon, as our readers will recollect, some weeks ago. The persecutors of the Saints have always dreaded the increase of the strength and influence and numbers of the people of God; for they expected that we were nursing our wrath against them to keep it warm, and that, when we became sufficiently strong, we would retaliate upon them. But the avengers of the murderous cruelties and wrongs perpetrated upon innocent and unoffending women and children, does not yet appear to the perturbed vision of the guilty Missouri mobbers in the persons of the "Mormons;" it is not their hands which wreak a dreadful vengeance upon them for their monstrous crimes; but the hands of fellow-"Christians," from whom they would expect nothing but sympathy and approval for their accursed work!

Here is the extract to which we have alluded :

"Do you suppose I will march into Missouri and ask them to take the oath? No, not by a sight! If they have protection papers I will hang them, for real Union men need no written proof of their loyalty. In my next proclamation I will say to every physically able-bodied man in the State of Missouri, 'You must fight for your homes or be put to death.' And the head of your columu will make the road so clear that no Copperhead shall see the tail end of the command. I put the negro on the top and the traitor underneath. Everything disloyal, from a Shanghai chicken to a Durham cow, must be cleaned out. Adopt this policy and there will be no more Copperheads in Kansas. The 15th will be filled three weeks from to-day. Its whole duty will be to kill rebels. [A Voice. Have you got the horses?'] Jennison.-I never had any trouble in getting all the horses I wanted. trouble I ever had was in preventing the boys from leading off six or seven. men musn't take anything that will not further the interests of their own regiment. Every man must, of course, be his own judge. This regiment will march with the revolver in one hand and the torch in the other. It will be organized on a military and patriotic, and not political basis. We carry the flag, kill with the sabre, and hang with the gallows."

All the

But my

STATISTICAL REPORTS. BRANCH AND CONFERENCE RECORDS.-We are preparing a printed form of Statistical Report for the use of the various Conferences and Branches, that there may be an uniformity throughout the Mission in this branch of business. We fear, from the inquiries we have made upon this subject, that this matter has not received that attention at the hands of the Elders in the ministry that it should have done. We find it very difficult to obtain Statistical Reports from some of the Conferences, the Elders who are laboring there assigning the imperfect state of the records as a cause for their not being able to send in better reports. We hope that this business will receive a larger share of attention hereafter from the

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Elders than it has done in the past. A half-yearly Statistical Report up to the 30th of every June, and a Yearly Report up to the 31st of every December, should be made out by every President of Conference as soon as possible after the dates mentioned, and forwarded to this office. In order to be able to do this correctly, every President of Conference should see that the Branch Records in his Conference are properly kept, that the names of all persons baptized, excommunicated, dead, emigrated, added or removed, and the minutes of all Councils and all other business connected with the Branch, such as ordinations, marriages, and the blessing of children, are carefully recorded therein in a plain and intelligible manner. There should be, in addition to the Branch Records in every Conference, a Conference Record in which the name of every member of the Church within the precincts of the Conference should be written, and in which, also, the President or the clerk of the Conference should regularly copy, at least as often as once every half-year, from the Branch Records, all the additions and changes which may have taken place during that period, so that the Conference Record will give as faithful a view of the condition of the entire Conference as the Branch Records do, or ought to do, of the Branches. In these Records the Presidents or the clerks of the Conferences will enter the Statistical Reports of the Branches as they are received by them at the end of every half-year and year; also, the minutes— or a brief synopsis of the minutes-of every Conference held in their fields. When Records of this kind are once properly opened, the labor of keeping them up is comparatively trifling, if it be attended to at suitable times. It is only when a long period is allowed to pass without their being attended to, or the Branch Records are permitted to fall into confusion, that there is any difficulty or any noticeable amount of labor connected with them. of the Conferences there are Records of the kind we allude to; they have been suffered to fall into disuse in some of them. this matter upon the attention of all the Presidents of Districts and Conferences, (for we view it as very important,) but particularly upon the attention of those in whose Districts or Conferences this business has not been properly performed. If you do not have suitable books, procure them immediately and have them properly opened and kept up.

In many

but, we fear, We must press

THE LAST APOSTATE DEVICE.-There is a miserably degraded wretch, who resides at Bristol, whose principal delight for some time has been to persecute and annoy the Elders and Saints, seeming to have no peace or pleasure except when he has been pushing himself under their observation in some manner. We have seen such persons before-persons whose importance would be wonderfully increased by a little notice, no matter how contemptible, from a Latterday Saint-but this one has been the most pertinacious of his class, yet he has not been able, despite all his efforts, to even get kicked, much less noticed in any other way, by any of the people whose attention he has so diligently sought to attract. Failing to achieve the notoriety for which he pants by the old methods so well known to the Devil and all other apostates, this despicable fellow has had recourse to a new plan-a plan that any man less mean than he would have been ashamed to adopt-to hoist himself into notice. He searches the Star, and learns from every other source that he can, the addresses of the

ABSTRACT OF CORRESPONDENCE.

731 Elders and the Saints, and then mails to them, in an unstamped envelope, a printed scurrilous sheet with some balderdash written on the back; but is careful, however, not to sign his name to it. On the outside of the envelope which he sends he frequently writes, sometimes in a disguised hand, certain initials, or Private," Immediate," or "If Mr.- is absent to be opened

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by the present occupant of the house," &c., &c. He does this to deceive the person taking the letter in, that it may not be rejected because of its being unpaid and double postage. Some of the friends of this creature think that he is insane, others that he is an idiot; we think that he is a cross between the two, with a mixture of knave thrown in. We only notice his baseness here for the purpose of putting the Elders and Saints on their guard against his attempts to make them pay for obtruding himself upon their notice. We should advise them to refuse to take in, and to tell all to whose care their letters may be directed to refuse to take in, all unpaid letters, as no respectable correspondent will send a letter to another without pre-paying it.

ABSTRACT OF CORRESPONDENCE.

AMERICA. We publish a few extracts from a letter received by us, from Elder Brigham Young, jun., written in Great Salt Lake City, Sep. 1st, 1863, after his and Elder C. W. West's arrival home :

"On the morning of the 17th we took the stage and were soon rolling over the great western prairies. I began to feel like myself once more, yet I could scarcely realize that I was on my way home. Had a very tedious time on the stage. Brother West stood it better than I expected he would, and on the whole gained in health. We reached this city on the 27th, at 6 p.m. I got the driver to go by father's office. Mr. Otis and Mr. Street were in the stage, one superintendent and the other paymaster of the Overland Mail Company. They were very willing to have the stage go that way. Father, brother Wells, all of my brothers and sisters and many more, were gathered at the office gate to welcome me. You can far better imagine my feelings than I can write them. Never did man receive a warmer welcome from a warm-hearted people than I have. And if I know myself, with the assistance of my Father in heaven, I will keep trying until I become what you wished me to be. I have said to myself the same as you did when you commenced to labor in this kingdom,-'I give my whole soul to this Work.' I think I can see it will be a hard task for me, but I will call upon my Father and strive diligently to improve in the kingdom, and tread the path of a Saint; and if God will give me that strength which I desire, I will serve him all my days.'

SOUTH AFRICA. The following extracts are from a letter from Elder William Fotheringham, dated Cape of Good Hope, Sept. 15th, 1863 :—

"I am pleased to learn that our emigration has safely passed through the States once more. Some of the Saints here have had letters from Florence from their friends who left this spring. They are all well and seemed to be satisfied, which has its influence with those who are left behind. The Dutch here are a hard lot, and they seem, so far, to have no desire to embrace the Everlasting Gospel. They are entirely under the influence of their priests. Perhaps we are sowing with tears hoping the day will come when a joyous harvest will be reaped. After Jehovah has poured out some of his fierce judgments upon them, by suffering the bitter branches to be cut off, which stand in the way, then I am satisfied many of the rising generation will yield obedi

732

ABSTRACT OF CORRESPONDENCE

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ence to the requirements of Heaven. After all our labors among the folks, they manifest a cool indifference for the truth. There is one thing the inhabitants of this colony will not be able to say, that they never heard of it, for we do all we can to inform their minds upon the subject. About the time our emigration left, there was quite a stir throughout many parts of this Mission. A few came forward and yielded obedience to the Gospel, some of which have already gone back to where they came from. We, the Elders from Zion, have endeavored to preach by precept and example to those in and out of the Church. We know, from experience, that such is the only preaching that will save us individually. May God grant that we may always be on our watch-tower. The Lord has said, My Spirit will not always strive with man.' From the reports I receive from my brethren in the ministry, the African world is fast settling down in darkness, unbelief and hardness of heart. The spirit which now actuates the people is similar to the one which operated upon the American people a short time before the breaking out of the war. When I look at South Africa, taking all things into consideration, she has not done so very bad. Her population is very small. The class from which we generally make our converts is very small indeed. I find, by travelling through this country, that there is not much to work upon. I will, if here next mail, write you a long letter, giving you an outline of our experience and its results. The brethren are all well. Elder Atwood is at Humansdrop. Elder Dixon is still in the Natal country. Elder Talbot is in the Cape Town District. I keep moving back and forth in this region of country, as I have considerable correspondence and other business to attend to. I expect shortly to proceed to Winterburg, 200 miles from here. I will close now, for the present, praying the Lord to bless and nerve you for your station. I remain, as ever, your brother in the kingdom of peace."

SWISS AND ITALIAN MISSION.-Elder J. L. Smith, writing from Rotterdam on the 21st ult., says :-"I arrived here on the 15th, at 3 p.m. I met brother Mets and several friends, who were very glad to see me. On Sunday, the 18th, about fifteen met together for the purpose of hearing my teachings upon the first principles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and of the progress of the Church, its organization, &c. Brother Mets had instructed them as far as he was able. We had a splendid time together, and at the close of the evening ten persons presented themselves for baptism, which I intend attending to as soon as opportunity offers. I had intended returning to Switzerland before the 1st of November; but being pressed to stay, and being unable to accomplish much except on Sundays, I have concluded to wait here while there is a prospect of doing so much good. On Sunday, the 25th, I expect to go to a small Branch about fifty miles distant. Brother Mets will accompany me as pilot and interpreter. I anticipate a visit to the Saints in Amsterdam on the first Sunday in November; at least, I do not know anything to prevent it at present. I will from there return to this place. Since my departure from Geneva the Lord has truly showered his blessings upon me, and has given me words to speak unto the people to my own astonishment, and to him be all the praise and honor, and to him alone. I feel to rejoice in being an instrument in His hands of doing some good, and pray that I may not be unworthy of His Spirit to accompany me, for in and of myself I realize I can do nothing."

BIRMINGHAM CONFERENCE. Elder Charles S. Kimball, writing from Wolverhampton, Oct 27th, says :— "For myself I never felt better than I do at the present time. Last week I baptized two into the Church; and I always feel best when I know I am doing good both for the kingdom of God and for myself. There are more who are about to join, and I expect next

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