CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN THE PROPHET AND GOVERNOR THOMAS CARLIN—ANENT JOHN C. BENNETT'S CHARACTER—PHRENOLOGICAL CHARTS OF THE PROPHET ET AL.—THE GOVERNMENT OF GOD.

Wednesday, 29.—I held a long conversation with Francis M. Higbee. Francis found fault with being exposed, but I told him I spoke of him in self defense. Francis was, or appeared, humble, and promised to reform.

Heard the recorder read in the Law of the Lord; paid taxes; rode out in the city on business, with Brigham Young.

My clerk, Willard Richards, being about to leave me for a season, committed the business of my office to Elder William Clayton, who had been engaged with him for a few weeks past.

Thursday, 30.—In the forenoon, spent some time with C. A. Warren, Esq., from Quincy, and others, in the private office, and in the afternoon was in the court martial, giving testimony concerning John C. Bennett, who was cashiered.

Letter of Governor Thomas Carlin to Joseph Smith—Anent John C. Bennett.

QUINCY, June 30, 1842.

DEAR SIR:—I received by the last mail, your letter of the 24th instant, in which you have thought proper to give me a statement of charges against the conduct and character of General John C. Bennett; I can say that I regret that any individual should so far disregard his obligations to his God, and to his fellow man, as to condescend to the commission of the crimes alleged in your letter to have been perpetrated by General Bennett. It is, however, in accordance with representations of his character, made to me more than two years since, and which I then felt constrained to believe were true, since which time I have desired to have as little intercourse with him as possible. No resignation of his commission as major-general of the Nauvoo Legion has reached me.

Some weeks since I read a short note from him, stating that you had reason to believe that a conspiracy is getting up in the state of Missouri, for the purpose of mobbing the Mormons at Nauvoo, and kidnapping you, and take you to that state, and requested to be informed in case of such mob, whether you would be protected by the authorities of this state, etc. To which I replied; that as all men were held amenable to the laws, so in like manner the rights of all would be protected, and the dignity of the state maintained, to the letter of the constitution and laws. The above is, in substance, the contents of his note to me, and my reply to him, having destroyed his letter, as I considered it of no use, should it be retained.

You state that you have heard that I have of late entertained unfavorable feelings towards you (the Mormons) as a people, and especially so with regards to yourself, &c., &c. If this should be true, you would be pleased to know from me the reasons of such hostile feelings.

In reply, I can in truth say that I do not entertain or cherish hostile or revengeful feelings towards any man or set of men on earth; but that I may have used strong expressions in reference to yourself, at times when my indignation has been somewhat aroused by repeated admonitions of my friends (both before and since the attempt to assassinate Ex-Governor Boggs) to be upon my guard; that you had prophesied that Boggs should die a violent death, and that I should die in a ditch, all this, however, if true, I looked upon as idle boasting until since the assassination of Boggs, and even since then, in reference to myself, I cannot view it in any other light, because whatever your feelings may have been towards Boggs, the mere discharge of an official duty on my part, enjoined upon me by the constitution and laws of this state, and of the United States, could not possibly engender feelings of such deep malignity. Be assured that this matter gives me no uneasiness, nor would the subject now have been mentioned, had you not requested a reply to your inquiries.

I have seen your denial published in the Wasp, of the prediction, attributed to you, of the death (or assassination) of Governor Boggs; be that true or false, nothing has contributed more towards fixing the belief upon the public mind, that you had made such prediction, than the repeated statements of a portion of your followers, that the manner of his death had been revealed to you, and their exultation that it needs must be fulfilled.

In reference to your request, to be advised how you should act, in case a mob should come upon you, I should feel very much at a loss to recommend any course for you to adopt, other than the resort to the first law of nature, namely, to defend your own rights; because, were I to advise a quiet submission on your part, I could not expect that you would fold your arms, and silently look on, whilst those rights were violated and outraged, as long as you have the power to protect them. I, however, have not the most distant thought that there exists, at present, any real cause for the apprehension of a mob coming upon you, otherwise I should feel it my duty to endeavor to arrest it.

Very respectfully, your obedient servant,

THOMAS CARLIN.

To General Joseph Smith.

I received a letter from Horace R. Hotchkiss, of which the following is a copy:—

Letter of Horace R. Hotchkiss to Joseph Smith—On the Prophet taking Advantage of the Bankrupt Act.

FAIR HAVEN, May 27, 1842.

Rev. Joseph Smith:

DEAR SIR:—Yours, notifying me of your application for the benefit of the bankrupt act, is at hand. I regret very much the step you have taken, as I am fearful it will have a most disastrous influence upon your society, both commercially and religiously; you have, however, probably weighed the subject with sufficient care to arrive at a correct decision.

You will oblige me by stating, immediately upon the receipt of this letter, your precise meaning, in saying, that "all your creditors would fare alike." It is, as you will see, important for me to know the course taken with my notes, and also the position in which we stand to each other.

You have my bond for certain lands, or rather you have my bond that you shall have a deed to certain lands upon the payment of notes specified in said bond. I wish to know exactly how this bond stands in your inventory. Of course, it cannot stand as a title to the property; but I want to know the disposition which is to be made of it.

Possibly some arrangement might be made between us at once; still I do not know how Mr. Tuttle and Mr. Gillet will view the subject.

Yours, &c.,

HORACE R. HOTCHKISS.