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GROWTH OF NAUVOO-JOSEPH SMITH A CANDIDATE FOR THE PRESIDENCY OF THE UNITED STATES-ADDRESS TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE-CORRESPONDENCE WITH MESSRS. CLAY AND CALHOUN-NEW TROUBLES AND PERSECUTIONS OF THE SECT-THE "SPIRITUAL WIFE" DOCTRINE-A SCHISM AMONG THE MORMONS-THE NAUVOO EXPOSITOR-DISTURBANCES IN THE CITY- ABATEMENT" OF THE NUISANCE OF AN UNFRIENDLY NEWSPAPER-LEGAL PROCEEDINGS AGAINST THE PROPHET HIS SURRENDER TO TAKE HIS TRIAL-MURDER OF JOSEPH AND HYRUM SMITH BY THE MOB IN CARTHAGE GAOL.

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FOR a time after the establishment of the Mormons at Nauvoo, the 'Prophet" and his followers were warned by sad experience, and were less haughty, less overbearing, and less presumptuous, in their intercourse with the "Gentiles." But the prosperity which attended

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them in Illinois, and the rapid growth of Nauvoo, soon filled them again with insolence and spiritual pride. The dissensions, which had subsided in adversity, were renewed in prosperity. The power and influence of Joseph were too great not to excite envy, and Sidney Rigdon did great mischief by introducing a novelty called the spiritual wife" doctrine. This caused great scandal, both among the Mormons and among their enemies. Joseph himself appears, unless he has been grievously maligned, and unless the affidavits published by his opponents were forgeries, to have had as great a penchant for a plurality of wives as Mahomet himself. Sidney Rigdon, according to the same authority, outdid him in this respect, and had "revelations" of his own, which he made subservient to the gratification of his passions. There was possibly some exaggeration in these stories, but they do not appear to have been wholly unfounded, as far as Rigdon, and some others, were concerned.

Joseph was now at the climax of his earthly glory, and might have been comparatively happy even amid the persecutions of his neighbours the "Gentiles," had it not been for secessions from his church, and the annoyances springing out of the "spiritual wife" doctrine of his indiscreet friend Rigdon. The population of Nauvoo was almost wholly composed of Mormons. The corporation over which he presided as mayor, assumed a jurisdiction independent of, and sometimes hostile to, that of the State of Illinois. They denied validity to the legal documents of the State, unless countersigned by Joseph, as mayor of Nauvoo, and they passed a law to punish any stranger in the city who should use disrespectful language in speaking of the Prophet. As time wore on, hostility against the sect increased. They waged a constant warfare with the nine counties that adjoin Handcock county, in which Nauvoo is situated, and their old feud with Missouri was kept up by legal proceedings, which, in a somewhat vexatious manner, were instituted against Smith. Lieutenant-Governor Boggs, of Missouri, was fired at through a window and narrowly escaped assassination. He swore that, to the best of his belief, Joseph Smith was a party to this attempt to murder him. The legal proceedings consequent upon this charge, tended to excite and maintain the bitterest animosity between the "Saints" and the "Gentiles." But the "spiritual wife" doctrine of Sidney Rigdon was the cause of the greatest scandal, and ultimately produced an unlooked-for catastrophe.

Nevertheless, the wealth and power of the sect continued to increase, their numbers being augmented from time to time by the English immigration from Liverpool. The Times and Seasons of the 15th of May in that year, announced to the Saints "that Nauvoo was becoming a large city, that a number of splendid houses were erected,

and that three ships' companies had arrived in the spring from England, and the Prophet was in good health and spirits." In 1844, they carried their heads so high that they put Joseph forward as a candidate for the Presidentship of the United States, and his still faithful Sidney Rigdon as a candidate for the Vice-Presidentship.

The Times and Seasons declared for Joseph Smith as President in the following address:

"The question arises, whom shall the Mormons support?-GENERAL JoSEPH SMITH. A man of sterling worth and integrity, and of enlarged views; a man who has raised himself from the humblest walks in life to stand at the head of a large, intelligent, respectable, and increasing society, that has spread, not only in this land, but in distant nations; a man whose talents and genius are of an exalted nature, and whose experience has rendered him every way adequate to the onerous duty. Honourable, fearless, and energetic, he would administer justice with an impartial hand, and magnify and dignify the office of chief magistrate of this land; and we feel assured that there is not a man in the United States more competent for the task.

"One great reason that we have for pursuing our present course is, that at every election we have been made a political target for the filthy demagogues in the country to shoot their loathsome arrows at. And every story has been put into requisition to blast our fame, from the old fabrication of 'walk on the water,' down to 'the murder of ex-Governor Boggs.' The journals have teemed with this filthy trash, and even men who ought to have more respect for themselves, men contending for the gubernatorial chair, have made use of terms so degrading, so mean, so humiliating, that a Billingsgate fisherwoman would have considered herself disgraced with. We refuse any longer to be thus bedaubed for either party; we tell all such, to let their filth flow in its own legitimate channel, for we are sick of the loathsome smell.

"Gentlemen, we are not going either to 'murder ex-Governor Boggs,' nor a Mormon in this State 'for not giving us his money;' nor are we going to 'walk on the water;' nor 'drown a woman;' nor 'defraud the poor of their property;' nor send 'destroying angels after General Bennett to kill him;' nor marry spiritual wives;' nor commit any other outrageous act this election, to help any party with: you must get some other persons to perform these kind offices for you for the future. We withdraw.

"Under existing circumstances we have no other alternative, and if we can accomplish our object, well; if not, we shall have the satisfaction of knowing that we have acted conscientiously, and have used our best judgment; and if we have to throw away our votes, we had better do so upon a worthy rather than upon an unworthy individual, who might make use of the weapon we put in his hand to, destroy us with.

"Whatever may be the opinions of men in general in regard to Mr. Smith, we know that he need only to be known to be admired, and that is the principles of honour, integrity, patriotism, and philanthropy, that has elevated him in the minds of his friends, and the same principles, if seen and known,

would beget the esteem and confidence of all the patriotic and virtuous throughout the Union,

"Whatever, therefore, be the opinions of other men, our cause is marked out, and our motto from henceforth will be GENERAL JOSEPH SMITH."

Joseph allowed his name to be put forward without any hope of his success, but was evidently proud of occupying so prominent a position; especially as, to use his own expression, it “riled” his enemies in general, and his old Missourian persecutors in particular. He thought it incumbent upon him, under the circumstances, to imitate the example of other great political characters, and he accordingly issued an address to the American people, in which he declared his views on various weighty matters. This singular document ran as follows:"GENERAL SMITH'S VIEWS OF THE GOVERNMENT AND POLICY OF THE UNITED STATES.

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"Born in a land of liberty, and breathing an air uncorrupted with the sirocco of barbarous climes, I ever feel a double anxiety for the happiness of all men, both in time and in eternity. My cogitations, like Daniel's, have for a long time troubled me, when I viewed the condition of men throughout the world, and more especially in this boasted realm, where the Declaration of Independence holds these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness ;' but, at the same time, some two or three millions of people are held as slaves for life, because the spirit in them is covered with a darker skin than ours: and hundreds of our own kindred, for an infraction, or supposed infraction, of some over-wise statute, have to be incarcerated in dungeon glooms, or suffer the more moral penitentiary gravitation of mercy in a nut-shell; while the duellist, the debauchee, and the defaulter for millions, and other criminals, take the uppermost rooms at feasts, or, like the bird of passage, find a more congenial clime by flight.

"The wisdom which ought to characterize the freest, wisest, and most noble nation of the nineteenth century, should, like the sun in his meridian splendour, warm every object beneath its rays; and the main efforts of her officers, who are nothing more or less than the servants of the people, ought to be directed to ameliorate the condition of all, black or white, bond or free; for the best of books says, 'God hath made of one blood all nations of men, for to dwell on all the face of the earth.'

"Our common country presents to all men the same advantages, the same facilities, the same rewards; and without hypocrisy, the Constitution, when it says, 'We, the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, ensure tranquillity, provide for the common defence, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America,' meant just what it said, without reference to

colour or condition: ad infinitum. The aspirations and expectations of a virtuous people, environed with so wise, so liberal, so deep, so broad, and so high a character of equal rights, as appears in said Constitution, ought to be treated by those to whom the administration of the laws are entrusted with as much sanctity as the prayers of the saints are treated in heaven, that love, confidence, and union, like the sun, moon, and stars, should bear witness, (For ever singing as theyshine,)

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The hand that made us is divine!'

Unity is power, and when I reflect on the importance of it to the stability of all governments, I am astounded at the silly moves of persons and parties, to foment discord in order to ride into power on the current of popular excitement; nor am I less surprised at the stretches of power, or restrictions of right, which too often appear as acts of legislators, to pave the way to some favourite political schemes, as destitute of intrinsic merit as a wolf's heart is of the milk of human kindness. A Frenchman would say, 'Prosque tout aimer richesses et pouvoir' (Almost all men like wealth and power).

"I must dwell on this subject longer than others, for nearly one hundred years ago, that golden patriot, Benjamin Franklin, drew up a plan of union for the then colonies of Great Britain, that now are such an independent nation, which, among many wise provisions for obedient children under their father's more rugged hand, proceeds thus:-"They have power to make laws, and lay and levy such general duties, imposts, or taxes, as to them shall appear most equal and just (considering the ability and other circumstances of the inhabitants in the several colonies), and such as may be collected with the least inconvenience to the people; rather discouraging luxury, than loading industry with unnecessary burdens.' Great Britain surely lacked the laudable humanity and fostering clemency to grant such a just plan of union--but the sentiment, remains, like the land that honoured its birth, as a pattern for wise men to study the convenience of the people more than the comfort of the cabinet.

"And one of the most noble fathers of our freedom and country's glory; great in war, great in peace, great in the estimation of the world, and great in the hearts of his countrymen,—the illustrious Washington,—said, in his first inaugural address to Congress:-'I hold the surest pledges that as, on one side, no local prejudices or attachments, no separate views or party animosities, will misdirect the comprehensive and equal eye which ought to watch over this great assemblage of communities and interest; so, on another, that the foundations of our national policy will be laid in the pure and immutable principles of private morality, and the pre-eminence of free government be exemplified by all the attributes which can win the affections of its citizens, and command the respect of the world.' Verily, here shines the virtue and the wisdom of a statesman in such lucid rays, that had every succeeding Congress followed the rich instruction, in all their deliberations and enactments, for the benefits and convenience of the whole community and the communities of which it is composed; no sound of a rebellion in South Carolina; no rupture in Rhode Island; no mob in Missouri, expelling her citizens by executive authority; corruption in the ballot-boxes; a border

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