nolds himself in the custody of the sheriff of Lee County. On the road during their progress they were met by parties of the citizens of Nauvoo; some or most of whom are said to have been members of the Nauvoo Legion; though there is no evidence that they appeared in a military capacity. There was no exhibition of arms of any description, nor was there any military or warlike array; nor was there any actual force used; though Mr. Reynolds testifies that he felt under constraint, and that Smith, soon after meeting the first parties of Mormons, enlarged himself from his custody. Mr. Reynolds also testifies (and there can be no doubt of the fact) that he was taken to Nauvoo against his will. But whether he was taken there by the command of Smith and his friends, or by the voluntary act of the sheriff of Lee County, who had him in custody, does not appear by any testimony furnished by Mr. Reynolds. The affidavit of the sheriff has not been obtained; though there is evidence on the other side to show that the sheriff of Lee County voluntarily carried Mr. Reynolds to the city of Nauvoo, without any coercion on the part of anyone.

"After arriving at Nauvoo a writ of habeas corpus was issued by the Municipal Court of that city, and Mr. Rey. nolds was compelled by the authority of the court to produce Mr. Smith before that tribunal. After hearing the case, the court discharged Smith from arrest.

"There is much other evidence submitted; but the foregoing is the material part of it to be considered on the present

occasion.

"Now, sir, I might safely rest my refusal to order a detachment of militia to assist in retaking Smith upon the ground that the laws of this State have been fully exercised in the matter. A writ has been issued for his apprehension; Smith was apprehended; and was duly delivered by the offi cer of this State, to the agent of the State of Missouri, appointed to receive him. No process, officer, or authority of this State has been resisted or interfered with. I have fully executed the duty which the laws impose on me, and have not been resisted either in the writ issued for the arrest of Smith, or in the person of the officer appointed to appre

hend him. If there has been any resistance to anyone, it has been to the officer of Missouri, after Smith came to his custody; and everything had been done on my part which the law warranted me in doing.

"Another objection to ordering a detachment of militia, arises out of the militia laws of this State; the forty-third section of which is as follows: 'Whenever it may be necessary to call into actual service any part of the militia of this State on a requisition of the Executive of the United States, on an actual or threatened invasion of this State, or any of the neighboring States or Territories of the United States, the commander in chief shall forthwith demand from each division a detachment in proportion to the strength thereof, except as hereinafter excepted; which order shall be deliv ered by a special messenger to the several commandants of divisions, specifying the number demanded from each division; the time and place of rendezvous, if ordered to march; and if the same be detached under any particular act of the United States to indorse the same on such order: Provided, that whenever the safety of any of the frontier settlements in this State shall, in the opinion of the Governor, require it, he may exempt the militia in such settlements from being called into service, and make such further provision for the defense as the necessity of the case may require; which exemption shall be expressed in his orders to commandants of the divisions; who, together with the commandants of brigades, regiments, battalions, and companies, shall govern themselves accordingly. And provided also, that such mili tiamen may be required to serve as spies on their own fron tiers; and that on actual invasion or any extreme emergency, the commander in chief, commandants of divisions, brigades, battalions, and companies may call on the whole or any part of the militia under their respective commands, as the nature of the case may require, who shall continue in service, if necessary, until the militia can be regularly called out.'

The Governor has no other authority in calling out the militia than that which is contained in this section; by which it appears that there must be either a requisition from

the President, an actual or threatened invasion, or some extreme emergency to warrant the Governor in exercising this power. No one of these contingencies has arisen. There has been no requisition from the President, there has been no actual or threatened invasion of the State, nor is this such an extreme emergency as is contemplated by the law. If we allow that force was exhibited and threatened to compel your agent to carry his prisoner before the Municipal Court of Nauvoo; that the court there took cognizance of the cause without jurisdiction, and against the consent of your agent, it would amount at most to a riot; and to a resistance of authority in a single case, and that too under color of law and legal process. To constitute an extreme emergency, so as to justify a call for the militia, there ought, in my opinion, to be something more than a mere illegal act-something more than a design to resist the law in a single instance. The design ought to be general as in treason, rebellion, or insurrection; in which cases an universality of design is essential to constitute the offense.

"If a person resists a constable or sheriff, or other officer charged with the execution of process, with an intention to resist the law in that particular instance; such an act is a misdemeanor at most,-is indictable as such, and may be met by the posse comitatus. But something more than a mere misdemeanor must have been contemplated by the law. It would seem to me that it could never have been intended that the Governor should call out the militia in every case where a constable or sheriff may be resisted; and even in a case of a riotous resistance, it would not be an extreme emergency without some military array, some warlike show, or some threatened resistance to the government itself.

"In this case there has been no warlike array in the proceedings of Smith and his friends; no exhibition of arms, and no actual force of an illegal character. Mr. Reynolds was not subjected to illegal imprisonment. He was arrested on lawful process; and although that process may have been wrongfully obtained, yet his arrest was not riotous or unlawful, but according to the forms of law. Mr. Reynolds continued in the custody of the sheriff by virtue of that pro

cess until he was taken to Nauvoo; and although he was taken to that city against his will, and was by that means compelled to take his prisoner there, yet was he taken by lawful process; by an authorized officer who acted, so far as I have any evidence, freely and voluntarily in so doing. In no one aspect of the case can I consider the present an extreme emergency, warranting a call for the militia according to the provisions of law in this State.

"Thus, sir, I have stated to you the principal reasons which have influenced me in refusing to order a call of the militia. To my mind they are entirely satisfactory; and I hope they will meet with approval of your Excellency, and the citizens of Missouri.

"I have the honor to be your Excellency's most obedient servant,

THOMAS FORD."

-Times and Seasons, vol. 4, pp. 292-294. On July 29, 1843, Mr. M. Brayman, Esq., the special agent referred to in the above document, wrote a private and confidential letter to Joseph Smith, which gives expression to convictions highly creditable to Jcseph Smith and the people of Nauvoo.

'rayman's letter.

Governor Ford in his history of Illinois agrees with this account in regard to his refusal to call out the (See Ford's History of Illinois, p. 317.)

Ford agrees. militia.

On my return from Nauvoo I found Governor Ford absent on public business at Rock Island, from whence he did not return for a week after I arrived. I presented him a detailed report of my investigations, in which the fact is fully established that neither you nor your people were guilty of any violence or disorderly or unlawful conduct whatever; but that throughout the whole of the unpleasant scene connected with your arrest, and the ill treatment which you received, your and their conduct was that of peaceful, law-abiding, and good citizens. He is perfectly satisfied on that point.

As to the other points, I can assure you, with perfect confidence, that with the evidence now before him, he will issue no more writs - that he will be perfectly satisfied that the demand of Missouri is not only unjust, (as he before believed it to be,) but so palpably illegal and contrary to the meaning of the Constitution as to release him forever from all obligation to give you up, and enable him to justify himself before the world in refusing to do so. (From original in our possession.)

CHAPTER 31.

1843-1844.

CORRESPONDENCE WITH CANDIDATES-WRITES TO VAN BUREN AND CASS-CORRESPONDENCE WITH CALHOUN-WITH CLAY-JOSEPH SMITH FOR PRESIDENT-HIS VIEWS ON GOVERNMENT-TIMES AND SEASONS DECLARES FOR HIM-APOSTLES ENTER THE CANVASSTHE PURPOSE.

Correspondence with candidates.

THE church had so often appealed in vain for redress and so often been repulsed or neglected, that they thought to enter upon a correspondence with some of the leading aspirants for the office of President of the United States, before the presidential election of 1844, and learn their views on the question of redressing the wrongs of the saints; also to learn their attitude on the mooted doctrine of State sovereignty, upon which their case largely depended.

Joseph Smith wrote to Martin Van Buren and Lewis Cass, among others; but if they ever replied their replies were not made public. We suppose that the letters written them were similar to those written to John C.

Writes to Van Buren and Cass.

Calhoun and Henry Clay, which will be noticed in these pages.

Correspondence

Near the close of the year Joseph Smith wrote to John C. Calhoun, then an aspirant for the office of President of the United States, relative to his attitude towards with Calhoun the rights of the saints who had been robbed and driven from Missouri. The correspondence is valuable as expressing the situation, the views of the men on the issues, and for the remarkable prediction contained in the letter of Joseph Smith, to which we invite careful attention, and comparison with subsequent events. Because of the peculiar importance of this correspondence we reproduce Joseph Smith's letter of inquiry, Calhoun's reply, and extracts from Joseph Smith's rejoinder: