To the Mayor and Council of the City of :

Gentlemen:—After examining carefully, all the allegations on the part of the citizens of the country in : and the defensive matters submitted to me by the committee of your citizens, concerning the existing disturbances; I find that there appears to be but little contradiction as to important fact, so that I may be safely assurred that the immediate cause of the existing excitement is the destruction of the press and fixture of the Nauvoo Expositor; and the subsequent refusal of the individuals accused, to be accountable therefore, according to to the general laws of this ; and the insisting on your part, to be accountable only before your own municipal court, and according to the ordinances of your .

Many other facts have been asserted on both side, as tending to increase the excitement, but as they mostly relate to private persons, and committed by individuals; and tend simply, to show the present state of affairs, I will not further notice them in this communication.

The material facts to be noticed, are, that a newspaper called the “Nauvoo Expositor” was established in , that this newspaper was deemed offensive to the people of that ; that the common council without notice or process to the owners entered into a trial, and heard statements not under oath, and evidence which was under oath in relation to the character of that paper; and in relation to the character, conduct and designs of the owners and editors of the press, that upon hearing such statements and evidence, the common council passed an ordinance or resolution, declaring said press and paper to be a public nuisance; and ordered the same to be as such; that a writ was issued by the Mayor to the of the , for that purpose; that a military order was issued at the same time by the Mayor, who is also Lieutenant General of the , to the in command of that Legion, for a force sufficient to ensure the execution of the writ aforesaid.

It appears also, the press was destroyed in obediance to the foregoing ordinance and writ, according to a return on the same, by the , in the following words, “The within press and type is destroyed and pied according to order, on this 10th day of June, 1844, at about 6 o’clock P. M. , C. M.

It appears also, that the owners of the press obtained from a at , a warrant against the authors of this destruction for a ; that the charged with the execution of this procees, arrested some of the persons accused, who immediately obtained writs of from the municipal court of your , by virtue of which, they were tried in and discharged from arrest; and that they have ever since refused to be arrested, or to submit to a trial at any other place, or before any other court, except in the and before the municipal court aforesaid.

It has also, been reported to me, that Martial Law has been declared in ; that persons and property have been and are now forcibly imprisoned and detained there; and that the Legion has been ordered under arms, to resist any attempts to arrest the accused. I have not particularly enquired into the truth of these latter reports, for although they may become matters of great importance in the sequel, they are not necessary to be ascertained and acted upon at present.

I now express to you my opinion, that your conduct in destroying the press, was a very gross outrage upon the laws and liberties of the people. It may have been full of libels, but this did not authorize you to destroy it. There are many newspapers in this which have been wrongfully abusing me for more than a year; and yet, such is my regard for the liberties of the press, and the rights of a free people, in a republican government, that I would shed the last drop of my blood to protect those presses from any illegal violence. You have violated the constitution in at least four particulars. You have violated that part of it, which declares that the printing presses shall be free, being responsible for the abuse thereof, and that the truth may be given in evidence. This article of the constitution, contemplates that, the proprietors of a libellous press, may be sued for private damage, or may be indicted criminally, and that upon trial, they should have a right to give the truth in evidence. In this case the proprietors have had no notice of the proceeding. The constitution also provides that the people shall be protected against unreasonable searches, and seizure of their property; and “that no man shall be deprived of life, liberty or property, except by the judgement of his peers,” (which means a jury trial,) “and the law of the land,” which means due process of law, and notice to the accused. You have also violated the constitution, and your own charter, in this, your council, which has no judicial power, and can only pass ordinances of a general nature; have undertaken to pass judgement as a court, and convict without jury, a press, of being libellous, and a nuisance to the city. The council at most, could only define a nuisance by general ordinance, and leave it to the courts, to determine whether individuals, or particulars accused, come within such defination. The constitution abhors, and will not tolerate the union of legislative and judicial power in the same bodies of magistracy, because as in this case, they will first make a tyranical law, and then execute it in a tyranical manner.

You have also assumed to yourselves more power than you are entitled to, in relation to writs of , under your charter. I know that you have been told by lawyers, for the purpose of gaining your favor, that you have this power to any extent. In this they have deceived you, for their own base purposes.— Your charter supposes that you may pass ordinances, a breach of which, will result in the imprisonment of the offender. For the purpose of ensuring more speedy relief to such persons, authority was given to the Municipal court, to issue writs of habeas corpus in all cases arising under the ordinances of the city. It was never supposed by the legislature,—nor can the language of your charter be tortured to mean, that a jurisdiction was intended to be conferred, which would apply to all cases of imprisonment, under the general laws of the or of the , as well as the city ordinances.

It has also been reserved to you to make the discovery, that a newspaper charged to be scurillous or libellous, may be legally or removed, as a nuisance. In no other State, County, City, Town or Territory, in the has ever such a thing been thought of before. Such an act, at this day, would not be tolerated even in . Just such an other act in 1830, hurled the king of from his throne and caused the imprisonment of four of his principal ministers for life. No civilized country can tolerate such conduct, much less can it be tolerated in this free country of the .

The result of my deliberations, on this subject, is that I will have to require you and all persons in , accused or sued, to submit in all cases implicitly to the process of the Courts, and to interpose no obstacle to an arrest—either by writs of Habeas Corpus or otherwise, and that all of the people of the City of shall make and continue the most complete submission to the laws of the , and the precepts of the Courts, and Justices of the Peace.

In the particalar case now under consideration, I require any and all of you, who are, or shall be accused, to submit yourselves to be arrested by the same , by virtue of the same warrant, and be tried before the same , whose authority has heretofore been resisted. Nothing short of this can vindicate the dignity of violated law, and allay the just excitement of the people.

I am anxious to preserve the peace. A small indiscretion may bring on a war. The whole country is now up in arms, and a vast number of people are ready to take the matter into their own hands. Such a State of things might force me to call out the Militia to prevent a civil war. And such is the excitement of the country, that I fear, that the Militia when assembled, would be beyond control. You are wrong in the first instance, & I can order out no portion of the Militia for your defence, until you submit to the law. You have made it necessary that a posse should be assembled to execute legal process; and that posse, as fast as it assembles is in danger of being imbued with the mobocratic spirit. If you by refusing to submit, shall make it necessary to call out the Militia, I have great fears that your will be destroyed, and your people, many of them exterminated.

You know the excitement of the public mind—do not tempt it too far. A very little matter may do a very great injury, and if you are disposed to continue the causes of excitement, and render force necessary to cause submission, I would say, that your was built, as it were, upon kegs of powder, which a very little spark may explode.

It is my intention to do all I can to preserve the peace, and even if obliged to call the Militia, to prosecute the war so as not to involve the innocent, and comprehend all in the same punishment.— But excitement is a matter which grows very fast upon men when assembled.— The affair, I much fear, may assume a revolutionary character, and the men [p. [1]]