Thursday, January 10.—

Missouri State Senate Resolutions on Mormon Difficulties.

Resolved by the Senate, the House of Representatives concurring therein, that the three resolutions of the 18th of December be referred to a joint committee of the two Houses, heretofore raised, on the subject of the Mormon difficulties, with the instructions to report a bill in conformity thereto, as soon as they can conveniently prepare the same; which was agreed to.[[1]]

Wednesday, January 16.—Mr. Turner, from the joint select committee, introduced to the Senate, "A Bill to provide for the investigation of the late disturbances in this state." This bill consists of twenty-three sections, of which the following is the first:

1st. A joint committee shall be appointed to investigate the causes of the late disturbances between the people called Mormons and other inhabitants of this state, and the conduct of the military operations in repressing them; which committee shall consist of two senators, to be elected by the Senate and three representatives, to be elected by the House of Representatives.

Other Provisions of the Bill.

The bill further provided that the committee should meet at Richmond, Ray county, on the first Monday in May, and thereafter at such times and places as they should appoint; that they should choose a chairman, clerk, sergeant-at-arms and assistants; issue subpoenas and other processes; administer oaths; keep a record; furnish rooms; pay witnesses one dollar and fifty cents per day out of the treasury; receive their pay as members of the legislature; clerk four dollars per day, and one dollar and fifty cents for each arrest. In short, all parties concerned were to be paid the highest price—and this committee were to be clothed with all the powers of the highest courts of record. This bill did not concern the "Mormons," as the exterminating order of Governor Boggs, and the action of General Clark thereon, would compel all the Saints to be out of the state before the court would sit, so that they would have no testimony but from mobbers and worse, apostates; and this was evidently their object in postponing the time so long.

Proposition to Help the Poor.

About this time President Brigham Young proposed to Bishop Partridge to help the poor out of the state. The Bishop replied, "The poor may take care of themselves, and I will take care of myself." President Brigham Young replied, "If you will not help them out, I will."

Thursday, January 24.—I wrote as follows from Liberty jail:

The Prophet's Petition to the Missouri Legislature.

To the Honorable Legislature of Missouri:

Your memorialists, having a few days since solicited your attention to the same subject,[[2]] would now respectfully submit to your honorable body a few additional facts in support of their prayer.

They are now imprisoned under a charge of treason against the state of Missouri, and their lives, and fortunes, and characters, are suspended upon the result of the trial on the criminal charges preferred against them. Therefore your honorable body will excuse them for manifesting the deep concern they feel in relation to their trial for a crime so enormous as that of treason.

It is not our object to complain—to asperse any one. All we ask is a fair and impartial trial. We ask the sympathies of no one. We ask sheer justice; 'tis all we expect, and all we merit, but we merit that. We know the people of no county in this state to which we would ask our final trial to be sent, who are prejudiced in our favor. But we believe that the state of excitement existing in most of the upper counties is such that a jury would be improperly influenced by it. But that excitement, and the prejudice against us in the counties comprising the fifth Judicial Circuit, are not the only obstacles we are compelled to meet. We know that much of that prejudice against us is not so much to be attributed to a want of honest motives amongst the citizens as it is to misrepresentation.

It is a difficult task to change opinions once formed. The other obstacle which we candidly consider one of the most weighty, is the feeling which we believe is entertained by Hon. Austin A. King against us, and his consequent inability to do us impartial justice. It is from no disposition to speak disrespectfully of that high officer, that we lay before your honorable body the facts we do; but simply that the legislature may be apprised of our real condition. We look upon Judge King as like all other mere men, liable to be influenced by his feelings, his prejudices, and his previously formed opinions. From his reputation we consider him as being partially, if not entirely, committed against us. He has written much upon the subject of our late difficulties, in which he has placed us in the wrong. These letters have been published to the world. He has also presided at an excited public meeting as chairman, and no doubt sanctioned all the proceedings. We do not complain of the citizens who held that meeting, they were entitled to that privilege. But for the judge before whom the very men were to be tried for a capital offense to participate in an expression of condemnation of these same individuals, is to us, at least, apparently wrong; and we cannot think that we should, after such a course on the part of the judge, have the same chance of a fair and impartial trial as all admit we ought to have.

We believe that the foundation of the feeling against us, which we have reason to think Judge King entertains, may be traced to the unfortunate troubles which occurred in Jackson county some few years ago; in a battle between the "Mormons" and a portion of the citizens of that county, Mr. Brazeale, the brother-in-law of Judge King, was killed. It is natural that the judge should have some feelings against us, whether we were right or wrong in that controversy.

We mention these facts, not to disparage Judge King; we believe that from the relation he bears to us, he would himself prefer that our trials should be had in a different circuit, and before a different court. Many other reasons and facts we might mention, but we forebear.