During the day I had considerable conversation in the court room with the lawyers and others, on various topics and particularly on religion. Judge Pope's son wished me well, and hoped I would not be persecuted any more, and I blessed him. Mr. Butterfield said I must deposit my discharge and all my papers in the archives of the Temple when it is completed. My discharge, here referred to, commenced with my petition for habeas corpus and closed with the certificate of Thomas Ford, governor of Illinois, including all the documents relating to my trial on separate sheets of paper, attached by a blue ribbon, and secured by the seal of the court, and reads as follows:
Official Papers Relating to the Prophet's Trial at Springfield, Ill., Before Judge Pope.
I.
Pleas before the Circuit Court of the United States for the district of Illinois, at the December term, A. D., 1842, December 31st.
In the matter of Joseph Smith: Petition for habeas corpus.
Justin Butterfield, attorney for said petitioner, comes and moves the court for the allowance of a writ of habeas corpus, and files the annexed petition and the papers referred to therein.
To the Honorable the Circuit Court of the United States for the district of Illinois:
The petition of Joseph Smith respectfully showeth that he has been arrested, and is detained in custody by William F. Elkin, sheriff of Sangamon county, upon a warrant issued by the governor of the state Illinois, upon the requisition of the governor of Missouri, as a fugitive from justice, a copy of the said warrant and the requisition and affidavit upon which the same was issued, is hereto annexed. And your petitioner is also arrested by Wilson Law, and by him also held and detained in custody, (jointly with the said sheriff of Sangamon county) upon a proclamation issued by the governor of the state of Illinois, a copy of which proclamation is hereunto annexed. Your petitioner prays that a writ of habeas corpus may be issued by this court directed to the said William F. Elkin and Wilson Law, commanding them forthwith and without delay to bring your petitioner before this honorable court, to abide such order and direction as the said court may make in these premises. Your petitioner states that he is arrested and detained as aforesaid under color of a law of the United States, and that his arrest and detention is illegal and in violation of law; and without the authority of law, in this, that your petitioner is not a fugitive from justice, nor has he fled from the state of Missouri. And your petitioner, as in duty bound, will ever pray.
JOSEPH SMITH.
II.
The Governor of the State of Missouri to the Governor of the State of Illinois—greeting:
Whereas it appears by the annexed document, which is hereby certified as authentic, that one Joseph Smith is a fugitive from justice, charged with being accessory before the fact, to an assault with intent to kill, made by one O. P. Rockwell on Lilburn W. Boggs, in this state; and it is represented to the executive department of this state, has fled to the state of Illinois:
Now, therefore, I, Thomas Reynolds, governor of the state of Missouri, by virtue of the authority in me vested by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do, by these presents demand the surrender and delivery of the said Joseph Smith to Edward R. Ford, who is hereby appointed as the agent to receive the said Joseph Smith on the part of this state.
In testimony whereof, I, governor of the state of Missouri, have hereunto set my hand and caused to be affixed the great seal of the state of Missouri.
Done at the city of Jefferson, this 22nd day of July, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and forty-two; of the Independence of the United States, the sixty-seventh, and of this state the twenty-third.
By the Governor,
[Seal] THOMAS REYNOLDS.
Jas. L. Minor, Secretary of State.
III.
#Affidavit of Lilburn W. Boggs.
STATE OF MISSOURI,
County of Jackson, ss.
This day personally appeared before me, Samuel Weston, a justice of the peace within and for the county of Jackson; the subscriber, Lilburn W. Boggs, who being duly sworn, doth depose and say, that on the night of the sixth day of May, 1842, while sitting in his dwelling, in the town of Independence, in the county of Jackson, he was shot, with intent to kill; and that his life was despaired of for several days, and that he believes, and has good reason to believe, from evidence and information now in his possession, that Joseph Smith, commonly called the Mormon Prophet, was accessory before the fact of the intended murder; and that the said Joseph Smith is a citizen or resident of the state of Illinois, and the said deponent hereby applies to the governor of the state of Missouri to make a demand on the governor of the state of Illinois to deliver the said Joseph Smith, commonly called the Mormon Prophet, to some person authorized to receive and convey him to the state and county aforesaid, there to be dealt with according to law.
LILBURN W. BOGGS.
Sworn to and subscribed before me, this 20th day of July. 1842.
SAMUEL WESTON, J. P.
IV.
#Certificate of Secretary of State of Illinois.
STATE OF ILLINOIS,
Office of Secretary of State.
I, Lyman Trumbull, secretary of state, of the state of Illinois, do hereby certify the foregoing to be a true and perfect copy of the demand of the governor of the state of Missouri upon the governor of this state, for the apprehension and surrender of Joseph Smith, who is charged with being a fugitive from justice, and the affidavit of Lilburn W. Boggs attached to the same, which are on file in this office.
In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand, and affixed the great seal of state at Springfield, this thirty-first day of December, A. D., one thousand eight hundred and forty-two.
[Seal.] LYMAN TRUMBULL,
Secretary of State.
December 31, 1842.
I do hereby certify the foregoing to be true copies of the demand and affidavit upon which the writ for the apprehension of Joseph Smith was this day issued.
L. TRUMBULL,
Secretary of State.
December 31, 1842.
V.
#Governor Ford's Order for the Prophet's Arrest.
The people of the State of Illinois to the Sheriff of Sangamon County, greeting:
Whereas it has been made known to me by the executive authority of the state of Missouri, that one Joseph Smith stands charged by the affidavit of one Lilburn W. Boggs, made on the 20th day of July, 1842, at the county of Jackson, in the state of Missouri, before Samuel Weston, a justice of the peace within and for the county of Jackson aforesaid, with being accessory before the fact to an assault with intent to kill, made by one O. P. Rockwell on Lilburn W. Boggs, on the night of the sixth of May, A.D. 1842, at the county of Jackson, in said state of Missouri; and that the said Joseph Smith has fled from the justice of said state, and taken refuge in the state of Illinois:
Now, therefore, I, Thomas Ford, governor of the state of Illinois, pursuant to the Constitution and laws of the United States, and of this state, do hereby command you to arrest and apprehend the said Joseph Smith, if he be found within the limits of the state aforesaid, and cause him to be safely kept and delivered to the custody of Edward R. Ford, who has been duly constituted the agent of said state of Missouri to receive said fugitive from the justice of said state, he paying all fees and charges for the arrest and apprehension of said Joseph Smith, and make due return to the executive department of this state, the manner in which the writ may be executed.
In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the great seal of the state to be affixed.
Done at the city of Springfield, this 31st day of December, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and forty-two; and of the Independence of the United States, the sixty-seventh.
By the Governor,
[Seal.] THOMAS FORD.
LYMAN TRUMBULL, Secretary of State.
VI.
#Governor Carlin's Proclamation.
EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT, ILLINOIS,
September 20, 1842.
Whereas a requisition has been made upon me, as the executive of this state, by the governor of the state of Missouri, for the apprehension and surrender of O. P. Rockwell, who is charged with the crime of shooting Lilburn W. Boggs, with intent to kill, in the county of Jackson and state of Missouri, on the night of the sixth day of May, A. D., 1842:
And whereas a demand has also been made by the governor of Missouri upon me for the apprehension and surrender of Joseph Smith, commonly called the Mormon Prophet, who is charged with the crime of being accessory to the shooting of said Boggs at the time and place aforesaid, with intent to kill:
And whereas, in obedience to the Constitution and laws of the United States, and of this state, executive warrants have been issued, and the said Rockwell and Smith arrested as fugitives from justice from the state of Missouri; and whereas the said Rockwell and Smith resisted the laws by refusing to go with the officers who had them in custody as fugitives from justice, and escaped from the custody of said officers:
Now, therefore, I, Thomas Carlin, governor of the state of Illinois, in conformity to an act entitled "An Act concerning fugitives from justice," approved January 6, 1827, do offer a reward of two hundred dollars to any person or persons for the apprehension and delivery of each or either of the above-named fugitives from justice, viz., O. P. Rockwell and Joseph Smith, to the custody of James M. Pitman and Thomas C. King, or to the sheriff of Adams county, at the city of Quincy.
In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, and caused the great seal of state to be affixed, the day and the date above mentioned.
By the Governor,
[Seal.] THOMAS CARLIN.
LYMAN TRUMBULL, Secretary of State.
The Fulton Advocate, Quincy Herald, Galena Sentinel, and Rockford Pilot, will copy the above for two weeks.
VII.
#Petition of the Prophet for Writ of Habeas Corpus.
In the United States' Circuit Court, District of Illinois, of December Term, 1842, December 31st day.
In the matter of Joseph Smith, on petition of Habeas Corpus.
And now at this day comes the said Joseph Smith by Justin Butterfield, his attorney, and presents to the court his petition, setting forth that he has been arrested and is detained in custody by William F. Elkin, Sheriff of Sangamon county, upon a warrant issued by the governor of the state of Illinois, upon the requisition of the governor of Missouri, as a fugitive from justice; and that he is also arrested by Wilson Law, and by him also held and detained in custody (jointly with the sheriff of Sangamon county), upon a proclamation issued by the governor of the state of Illinois; that he is arrested and detained as aforesaid, under color of a law of the United States; and that his arrest and detention is illegal and in violation of law, and without the authority of law in this, that the said petitioner is not a fugitive from justice, nor has he fled from the state of Missouri; and praying that a writ of habeas corpus may be issued by this court, directed to the said William F. Elkin and Wilson Law, commanding them forthwith and without delay to bring the petitioner before this court to abide such order and direction as this court may make in the premises: upon reading and filing of which said petition, it is considered and ordered by the court that a writ of habeas corpus be issued as prayed for in said petition, returnable forthwith.
And thereupon a writ of habeas corpus was issued in the words and figures following,—to wit:
VIII.
#Writ of Habeas Corpus.
The United States of America to William F. Elkin, Sheriff of Sangamon County, State of Illinois, and Wilson Law, greeting.
We command you that you do forthwith, without excuse or delay, bring or cause to be brought, before the Circuit Court of the United States for the district of Illinois, at the District Court-room, in the city of Springfield, the body of Joseph Smith, by whatever name or addition he is known or called, and who is unlawfully detained in your custody, as it is said, with the day and cause of his caption and detention, then and there to perform and abide such order and direction as the said court shall make in that behalf. And hereof make due return under the penalty of what the law directs.
Witness, Roger B. Taney, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States at Springfield, in the district of Illinois, this 31st day of December, A. D., 1842, and of our Independence the sixty-seventh year.
[Seal.] JAMES F. OWINGS, Clerk.
IX.
#Returns on the Above Writ of Habeas Corpus.
And afterwards, on the said 31st day of December aforesaid, the said writ of habeas corpus was returned, with returns endorsed thereon in the words and figures following:—
I, William F. Elkin, sheriff of Sangamon county, do hereby return the within writ, that the within named Joseph Smith is in my custody, by virtue of a warrant issued by the governor of the state of Illinois upon the requisition of the governor of the state of Missouri, made on the affidavit of L. W. Boggs, and a copy of the said warrant, requisition, and affidavit is hereunto annexed, dated December 31, 1842.
WM. F. ELKIN,
Sheriff S. C., Illinois.
I, Wilson Law, do return to the within writ that the said Joseph Smith is in my custody by virtue of an arrest made by me of his body under and by virtue of a proclamation of the governor of the state of Illinois; a copy whereof is hereunto annexed, dated December 31, 1842.
WILSON LAW.
The return to the within writ of habeas corpus appears by the foregoing returns and the schedule hereunto annexed, and the body of the said Joseph Smith is in court.
WM. PRENTISS,
U.S. Marshal, district of Illinois.
December 31, 1842.
IX.
#Orders of the Court.
And afterwards, to wit, on the same day aforesaid, upon the return of the said writ of habeas corpus, the following orders were made in this cause:—
In the matter of Joseph Smith, on Habeas Corpus.
William F. Elkin and Wilson Law having made return to the writ of habeas corpus issued in this cause, and brought the body of the said Joseph Smith into court, on motion of Justin Butterfield, his attorney, it is ordered that the said Joseph Smith be admitted to bail; and thereupon came the said Joseph Smith in proper person, principal, and James Adams and Wilson Law, sureties, and severally acknowledge themselves to owe and be indebted to the United States of America, in the sum of two thousand dollars each, to be levied of their respective goods and chattels, lands and tenements; but to be void on condition that the said Joseph Smith shall be and appear before the Circuit Court of the United States for the district of Illinois, now sitting from day to day, and shall not depart without leave of the court. And thereupon it is ordered that this cause be set for hearing on Monday next; and it is further ordered that the governor of Illinois and the attorney-general be informed by the marshal that Joseph Smith, arrested on a warrant issued for his apprehension by the governor of Illinois, 31st December, 1842, is before this court on habeas corpus, and that the case will be heard on Monday, January 2nd, 1843, and that a copy of this order be handed to each of those officers.
It is ordered that the governor of Illinois and the attorney-general be informed by the marshal that Joseph Smith, arrested on a warrant issued for his apprehension by the governor of Illinois, 31st December, 1842, is before this court on a writ of habeas corpus, and that the case will be heard on Monday, 2nd January, 1843, and that a copy of this order be handed to each of those officers.
District of Illinois.
I, James F. Owings, clerk of the Circuit Court of the United States for the district aforesaid, do certify that the foregoing is a true copy of an order passed by said court, the 31st day of December, 1842.
In testimony whereof I have hereunto subscribed my name and affixed the seal of said court at Springfield, this 31st day of December, A. D., 1842.
[Seal.] JAMES F. OWINGS, Clerk.
Delivered a copy of the within order to Thomas Ford, governor, and Josiah Lamborn, attorney-general of the state of Illinois, December 31st, 1842.
WM. PRENTISS, Marshal.
In the matter of Joseph Smith on habeas corpus; copy of order, marshal's fees for serving on two, $4.00; returning twelve, $4.12.
X.
#Denials of the Prophet.
And afterwards, to-wit, on the 2nd day of January, A. D. 1843, Justin Butterfield, attorney of said petitioner, filed the written denials of the said petitioner of the matters and things set forth, in the return to the said writ of habeas corpus, which denial is in the words and figures following,—viz.:
Circuit Court of the United States,
District of Illinois,
In the matter of Joseph Smith upon habeas corpus.
Joseph Smith, being brought up on habeas corpus before this court, comes and denies the matter set forth in the return to the same in this, that he is not a fugitive from the justice of the state of Missouri; but alleges and is ready to prove, that he was not in the state of Missouri at the time of the commission of the alleged crime set forth in the affidavit of L. W. Boggs, nor had he been in said state for more than three years previous to that time, nor has he been in said state since that time; but, on the contrary, at the time the said alleged assault was made upon the said Boggs, as set forth in the affidavit the said Smith was at Nauvoo, in the county of Hancock, in the state of Illinois, and that he has not fled from the justice of the state of Missouri, and taken refuge in the state of Illinois, as is most untruly stated in the warrant upon which he is arrested, and that the matter set forth in the requisition of the governor of Missouri, and in the said warrant, are not supported by oath.
JOSEPH SMITH.
State of Illinois, ss.
Joseph Smith being duly sworn, saith that the matter and things set forth in the foregoing statement are true.
JOSEPH SMITH.
Sworn and subscribed to before me, this second day of January, 1843.
JAMES F. OWINGS, Clerk.
XI.
#Procedure of the Court.
And afterwards, to-wit, on the same day and year last aforesaid, the following order was made in this cause,—viz.:
In the matter of Joseph Smith on habeas corpus.
At this day comes the said Joseph Smith, and, by Justin Butterfield, his attorney, files his written denial, verified by affidavit, of the matters and things set forth in the return to the writ of habeas corpus issued in this cause; and at the same time also comes Josiah Lamborn, attorney-general of the state of Illinois, and on his motion it is ordered that this cause be continued for hearing until Wednesday morning next.
And afterwards, to-wit, on the fourth day of January, 1843, Josiah Lamborn, attorney-general of the state of Illinois, filed his objections to the jurisdiction of this court in this cause, and moved to dismiss the proceedings herein, which said motion and objections are in the words and figures following—viz.:
United States of America,
In the Circuit Court of the State of Illinois.
In the matter of Joseph Smith.
J. Lamborn, attorney-general of Illinois, moves the court to dismiss the proceedings herein, for the reason that this court has no jurisdiction.
1st. The arrest and detention of said Smith was not under or by color of authority of the United States, or any of the officers of the United States, but under and by color of authority of the state of Illinois, and by the officers of Illinois.
2nd. When a fugitive from justice is arrested by authority of the government of any state, upon the requisition of any other governor of another state, the courts of justice, neither state nor federal have any authority or jurisdiction to inquire into any facts behind the writ.
J. LAMBORN,
Attorney-General of Illinois.
And afterwards, to-wit, on the same day and year last aforesaid, the following order was made in this cause,—viz.:
In the matter of Joseph Smith, on habeas corpus.
And now, again, at this day, comes the said Joseph Smith, by Justin Butterfield, his attorney; and at the same time also comes Josiah Lamborn, attorney-general of the state of Illinois, and enters his motion to dismiss the proceedings herein, for want of jurisdiction; and the court having heard the allegations and proofs herein, and the argument of counsel upon the same, and also upon the aforesaid motion, and not being sufficiently advised took time, &c.
XII.
#Affidavits of Sundry Witnesses.
And afterwards, to-wit, on the same day and year aforesaid, Justin Butterfield, attorney for said petitioner, filed the affidavits, of which the following are copies:
Circuit Court of the United States,
District of Illinois.
In the matter of Joseph Smith, upon habeas corpus.
District of Illinois, ss.
Stephen A. Douglas, James H. Ralston, Almeron Wheat, J. B. Backenstos, being duly sworn, each for himself, says that they were at Nauvoo in the county of Hancock, in this state on the seventh day of May last; that they saw Joseph Smith on that day reviewing the Nauvoo Legion at that place in the presence of several thousand persons.
J. B. BACKENSTOS,
STEPHEN A. DOUGLAS.
Sworn to and subscribed in open court, this 4th day of January, 1843.
JAMES F. OWINGS, Clerk.
Circuit Court of the United States, District of Illinois.
In the matter of Joseph Smith upon habeas corpus.
District of Illinois:—Wilson Law, Henry G. Sherwood, Theodore Turley, Shadrach Roundy, Willard Richards, William Clayton, and Hyrum Smith, being duly sworn, say that they know that Joseph Smith was in Nauvoo, in the county or Hancock, in the state of Illinois, during the whole of the sixth and seventh days of May last; that on the sixth day of May, aforesaid, the said Smith attended an officer-drill at Nauvoo, from ten o'clock in the forenoon to about four o'clock in the afternoon, at which drill the said Joseph Smith was present. And these deponents, Hyrum Smith, Willard Richards, Henry G. Sherwood, John Taylor, and William Clayton, were with the said Smith at Nauvoo aforesaid, during the evening of the sixth day of May last, and sat with the said Joseph Smith in Nauvoo Lodge from six until nine o'clock of said evening. And these deponents, Hyrum Smith, Willard Richards, and William Marks, were with the said Smith at his dwelling house, in Nauvoo, on and during the evening of the fifth day of May last, and conversed with him; and all of the deponents aforesaid do say that, on the seventh day of May aforesaid, the said Smith reviewed the Nauvoo Legion, and was present with the said Legion all that day, in the presence of many thousand people, and it would have been impossible for the said Joseph Smith to have been at any place in the state of Missouri at any time on or between the sixth or seventh days of May aforesaid. And these deponents, Willard Richards, William Clayton, Hyrum Smith, and Lorin Walker, say that they have seen and conversed with the said Smith at Nauvoo, aforesaid, daily, from the tenth of February last, until the first day of July last, and know that he has not been absent from said city of Nauvoo, at any time during that time, long enough to have been in the state of Missouri; that Jackson county in the state of Missouri is about three hundred miles from Nauvoo.
WILSON LAW,
HENRY G. SHERWOOD,
THEODORE TURLEY,
SHADRACH ROUNDY,
WILLARD RICHARDS,
WILLIAM CLAYTON,
JOHN TAYLOR,
WILLIAM MARKS,
LORIN WALKER.
Sworn to and subscribed in open court, this 4th January, 1843.
OWINGS, Clerk.
XIII.
#Denial of the Court to Dismiss the Case.
And afterwards, to wit on the 5th day of January, 1843, the following order was made in this cause,—viz.:
In the matter of Joseph Smith on habeas corpus.
And now, at this day, comes again the said Joseph Smith, by Justin Butterfield, his attorney, and at the same time also comes Josiah Lamborn, attorney-general of the state of Illinois; and the court being now sufficiently advised of and concerning the motion heretofore entered to dismiss the proceedings in this cause, it is considered that said motion be denied; and the court having fully considered the petition of the said Joseph Smith, and the matters and things set forth in the return made to the writ of habeas corpus issued herein, and being now sufficiently advised of and concerning the same, it is considered and adjudged that the matters and things set forth in the return to the said writ of habeas corpus are wholly insufficient in law to authorize the arrest and detention of the said Joseph Smith; and it is further considered, ordered, and adjudged by the court that the said Joseph Smith be fully released and discharged from the custody of William F. Elkin, sheriff of Sangamon county, under the warrant of the governor of the state of Illinois, mentioned in the said return, and also from the custody of Wilson Law, on the proclamation of the said governor mentioned in the said return, and that he go hence without delay.
United States of America
District of Illinois. ss.
I, James F. Owing, clerk of the United States Circuit Court for the district of Illinois, do certify that the foregoing is a true and correct copy of the record and proceedings before said court, in the matter of Joseph Smith, on petition, to be discharged on habeas corpus, as the same remain on the record and files of said court.
In testimony whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name, and affixed the seal of said court at Springfield, this sixth day of January, A. D. 1843, and of our independence the 67th year.
[Seal] JAMES F. OWING, Clerk.
XIV.
#Executive's Order of Release.
I do hereby certify that I have inspected the foregoing record, and there is now no further cause for arresting or detaining Joseph Smith, therein named, by virtue of any proclamation or executive warrant heretofore issued by the governor of this state; and that since the judgment of the Circuit Court of the United States for the district of Illinois, all such proclamations are inoperative and void.
Witness my hand and seal, at Springfield, this 6th day of January, 1843.
[Seal] THOMAS FORD,
Governor of Illinois.
The Prophet's Comment on Judge Pope's Opinion.
The opinion of Judge Pope as recorded in this history, was copied from the Sangamon Journal, and believed to be Judge Pope's opinion, as corrected and altered by him from the report furnished him by my secretary.
In the judge's opinion on the bench, he remarked like this:—"Were it my prerogative to impeach Congress for any one thing, it would be for granting power for the transportation of fugitives on affidavit, and not on indictment alone." He also passed several severe strictures on the actions of different governors and others concerned in my case, but which I suppose he thought proper to omit in his printed copy.
I received many invitations to visit distinguished gentlemen in Springfield, which time would not permit me to comply with; also a ticket from the manager to attend the theatre this evening; but the play was prevented by the rain.
CHAPTER XIII.
THE PROPHET AGAIN IN NAUVOO—CELEBRATION OF HIS RELEASE FROM OPPRESSION—"VADE MECUM"—REINSTATEMENT OF ORSON PRATT—DISCOURSES OF THE PROPHET, "THE KINGDOM OF GOD;" "THE MISSION AND GREATNESS OF JOHN THE BAPTIST;" "INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURES."