The morning after the meeting alluded to in the last chapter we learned that the priests and parsons of the different denominations had met and decided to unite in preventing their people from coming to hear us preach, for they said that we were dangerous men, and we were of the class of false prophets of whom Jesus spoke, who should come in the last days to deceive the people. We had labored a few weeks in this city and had baptized a few into the Church, when we received a letter from Emue Plains, stating that the people would like to see and hear a "Mormon" Elder. Emue Plains was a distance of sixty miles from where we were, and when we started it had been raining about a week, and a great portion of the country was flooded with water. We had a large river to cross on the way, and we were informed that the bridge had been carried off and there was a ferry established across the river which charged five shillings each passenger. We did not have any money with which to pay this charge, and my companion was anxious to know what we should do for money to pay the ferriage with. We were then about three miles from the ferry, and were passing through timber. I told him that we would go into the woods and pray to God to open the heart of some one to give it to us. We did so, and we had traveled but a short distance through a lane between two fields, when we looked ahead of us a little way and saw an old man coming across the field. He came into the road ahead of us, and as he came to meet us he had a smile on his countenance. He reached out his hand to me, as if to shake hands, and left a crown, or five shilling piece, in my hand and went to my companion and did the same; but spoke not a word. I cannot describe the feeling that we had when the man took hold of our hands; we felt our hearts burn within us, and it did not seem that we had power to ask him his name or where he was from, as we usually did when a person gave us any article of clothing or money. He was a man about six feet high, well proportioned, and wore a suit of light gray clothes and a broad-brimmed hat, and his hair and beard were about eighteen inches long and as white as snow. We passed on and came to the ferry, and the money that we had was just enough to pay our ferriage.
We came to Emue Plains, labored and preached one month, baptized twenty-one persons and organized a branch of the Church. So you see that our Heavenly Father opened up our way to preach the gospel. We returned to Sidney and met in council with the American Elders. We came to the conclusion that we would like to have more influence with the people. We went before the parliament of New South Wales colony and applied to get our names registered as ministers of the gospel, in common with ministers of other denominations in that country. We spent two days answering the questions of the governor and of the members of parliament, and they decided that the doctrine that we taught was a scriptural doctrine, and therefore we should be protected in our rights as ministers of the gospel. They then furnished us with blank books and forms to solemnize marriages and register births and deaths in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Having procured our licenses we were encouraged with the idea that we could now do more good among the people. By this time a large amount of books had arrived from the Liverpool office, England, and we started again for the interior of the country, taking with us books and tracts.
Gamberriar was a mining town containing twenty thousand inhabitants. To this place we repaired. We commenced traveling through the city, talking to the people and selling our books and tracts; but, to begin with, could not get any place to preach in. Early one morning, before we started out on our labors for the day, an officer with six men came with a writ to take us before the judge of that district, to answer to five different complaints. We were charged with being guilty of treason against the government, with being horse thieves, with selling goods without a license, with preaching a blasphemous doctrine and with trying to cause a rebellion. The court was in session; we were brought before the judge and the trial came on. The charges were read and we were asked, "Are you guilty, or not guilty?" We answered, "Not guilty." The words of Jesus came to our minds:
"But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak; for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you."
Our accusers were two merchants, two lawyers and one doctor. They commenced giving in their evidence one by one, and after the judge had heard it all he asked us if we had any defense to make, or if we wanted a lawyer. We told him we did not want a lawyer, but we had a defense to make; and as my companion was my senior in age, he arose to make our defense before the court. He commenced on the treaty between England and America. He had spoken but a few minutes when the Holy Spirit rested upon him in such a way as I had never seen before. His face was very white and he spoke with great power and authority. The judge looked amazed. The house and yard were full of men who were all silent for one hour. When he was through we presented our passports from the city of Washington, our recommendation from the First Presidency of the Church and our licenses from the parliament of New South Wales colony.
The judge then arose and said,
"Gentlemen, my decision in this case is that you, the accusers, who have brought these men before this court under the pretense of grave charges, have not proved anything against them. To the prisoners I say, you are honorably acquitted. You are strangers to us; but I believe you are gentlemen of honor, or our government would not have given you the document that you bear with you. Go your way in peace, and we are bound to protect you from the ruthless hands of degraded men. I am sorry that we have put you to so much trouble; but go in peace."
After court adjourned I heard the people say that if we did not leave the town we would find ourselves in a deep hole some night, so we concluded to leave; but not before we had sold one hundred volumes of our books. We left a testimony with them that they will never forget.
Leaving Gamberriar we traveled through the gold mine one week and sold our books and tracts to the miners and preached to them the gospel, and then came to a city called Windsor situated on the Penreth River. As we had been traveling several days in the rain, and had been wet through every day, we were desirous of getting a place to stay in the suburbs of this city and recruit ourselves and clean up before commencing our labors in the ministry. We tried twelve times to stay all night, but were refused very abruptly each time. We found that a parson of the church of England had gone before us, and had warned the people that the "Mormon" Elders were coming, and they must shut their doors against them. It was now nine o'clock at night, and was raining very hard. We walked up Main street in this city, and were so wet, tired and hungry that we could but just walk. We had traveled twenty-four miles that day with but very little food to eat, and our boots were worn out and our feet scalded with the water and blistered very badly. In those circumstances my companion said to me, with tears in his eyes,
"Is it possible that the Lord has forsaken us, and will suffer us to die in the streets of this city?"