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VOL. VI. NO. 23.] CITY OF NAUVOO, ILL. FEB. 15, 1846 [WHOLE NO 131.
HISTORY OF JOSEPH SMITH.
CONTINUED.
Since the disgraceful combination of the inhabitants of Jackson county, has set the law at defiance, and put all hopes of criminal prosecution, against them in that vicinage beyond the reach of judge or jury, and left us but a distant expectation of civil remuneration for the great amount of damage we have sustained, necessity compels us to complain to the world, and if our ease and calamity are not sufficient to excite the commiseration of the humane, and open the hearts of the generous, and fire the spirits of the Patriotic, then has sympathy lost herself in the wilderness, and justice fled from power; then has the dignity of the ermine shrunk at the gigantic front of a mob, and the sacred mantle of freedom been caught up to heaven where the weary are at rest, and the wicked cannot come.
To be obedient to the commandments of our Lord and Savior, some of the leaders of the church commenced purchasing lands in the western boundaries of the State of Missouri, according to the revelations of God, for the city of Zion: in doing which no law was evaded, no rights infringed, nor no principle of religion neglected, but the laudable foundation of a glorious work began, for the salvation of man kind in the last days, agreeable to our faith, and according to the promises in the sacred scriptures of God, we verily believe, knowing that the national and state constitutions and the statute laws of the land, and the commandments of the Lord, allowed all men to worship as they pleased-that we should be protected, not only be all the law of a free republic, but by every republican throughout the realms of freedom.
The holy prophets have declared, "that it should come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord's house should be established in the top of the mountains and should be exalted above the hills, and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people should go and say, come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths; for out of Zion shall go forth the law and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem." And again it was said by Joel, seemingly to strengthen the faith of the Latter-day Saints in the above, "that whosoever should call on the name of the Lord should be delivered, for in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call." The Book of Mormon, which we hold equally sacred with the Bible, says "that a New Jerusalem shall be built up on this land, unto the remnant of the seed of Joseph, for the which things there has been a type."
In fact all the prophets from Moses to John the revelator, have spoken concerning these things, and in all good faith, by direct revelation from the Lord, as in days of old, we commenced the glorious work, that a holy city, a New Jerusalem, even Zion might be built up, and a temple reared in this generation, where unto, as saith the Lord, all nations should be invited: Firstly the rich and the learned, the wise and the noble; and after that cometh the day of his power; but the inhabitants of Jackson county arrayed themselves against us, because of our faith and belief, and destroyed our printing establishment, to prevent the spread of the work, and drove men, women and children from their lands, houses and homes, to perish in the approaching winter; while every blast carried the wailing of women and the shrieks of children, across the wide spread prairie, sufficiently horrible to draw tears from the savage, or melt a heart of stone!
Now, that the world may know that our faith in the work and word of the Lord is firm and unshaken, and to shew [show] all nations, kindreds, tongues and people, that our object is good, for the good of all, we come before the great family of mankind for peace, and ask their hospitality and assurance for our comfort, and the preservation of our persons and property and solicit their charity for the great cause of God. We are well aware that many slanderous reports, and ridiculous stories are in circulation against our religion and society, but as wise men will hear both sides and then judge; we sincerely hope and trust, that the still small voice of truth will be heard, and our great revelations read and candidly compared with the prophecies of the Bible, that the great cause of our Redeemer, may be supported by a liberal share of public opinion, as well as the unseen power of God.
It will be seen by a reference to the book of Commandments, page 135, that the Lord has said to the church, and we want to live by his words: "Let no man break the laws of the land, for he that keepeth the laws of God, hath
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no need to break the laws of the land," therefore, as the people of God, we come before the world and claim protection, by law, from the common officers of justice, in every neighborhood where our people may be; we claim the same at the hands of the governors of the several States, and of the President of the United States, and of the friends of humanity and justice in every clime, and country on the globe.
By the desperate acts of the inhabitants of Jackson county, many hundreds of American citizens are deprived of their lands and rights; and it is reported we mean to regain our possessions and even Jackson county, "by the shedding of blood" but if any man will take the pains to read the 153rd page of the book of Commandments, he will find it there said:
"Wherefore the land of Zion shall not be obtained but by purchase, or by blood, otherwise there is none inheritance for you. And if by purchase behold you are blessed; and if by blood, as you are forbidden to shed blood, lo, your enemies are upon you, and you shall be scourged from city to city, and from synagogue to synagogue, and but few shall stand to receive an inheritance."
So we declare, that we have ever meant, and now mean, to purchase the land of our inheritance, like all other honest men, of the government and of those who would rather sell their farms than live in our society; and, as thousands have done before us, we solicit the aid of the children of men, and of government, to help us to obtain our rights in Jackson county, and the land whereon the Zion of God, according to our faith, shall stand in the last days, for the salvation and gathering of Israel.
Let no man be alarmed because our Society has commenced gathering to build a city, and a house for the Lord, as a refuge from present evils and coming calamities; our fore-fathers came to the goodly land of America, to shun persecution and enjoy their religious opinions and rights, as they thought proper; and the Lord, after much tribulation, blessed them, and has said, that we should continue to importune for redress and redemption by the hands of those who are placed as rulers, and are in authority over us, according to the laws and constitution of the people, which he has suffered to be established, and should be maintained for the rights and protection of all flesh, according to just and holy principle; that every man may act in doctrine and in principle pertaining to futurity, according to the moral agency which he has given them; that every man may be accountable for his own sins in the day of judgment; and for this purpose he has established the constitution of this land by the hands of wise men whom he raised up unto this very purpose, and redeemed the land by the shedding of blood.
Now we seek peace, and ask our rights, even redress and redemption, at the hands of the rulers of this nation; not only our lands and property in Jackson county, but for free trade with all men, and unmolested emigration to any part of the Union, and for our inherent right to worship God as we please. We ask the restoration of these rights because they have been taken from us, or abridged by the violence and usurpation of the inhabitants of Jackson county; as a people we hold ourselves amenable to the laws of the land, and while the government remains as it is, the right to emigrate from state to state, from territory to territory, from county to county, and from vicinity to vicinity, is open to all men of whatever trade or creed, without hinderance [hindrance] or molestation; and as long as we are justifiable and honest in the eyes of the law, we claim it, whether we remove by single families, or in bodies of hundreds, with that of carrying the necessary arms and acoutrements [accouterments] for military duty, and we believe that all honest men, who love their country and their country's glory, and have a wish to see the law magnified and made honorable, will help to perpetuate the great legacy of freedom, that came unimpaired from the hands of our venerable fathers to us, but they will also protect us from insult and injury, and aid the work of God, that they may reap a reward in the regions of bliss, when all men receive according to their works.
In relation to our distress, from the want of our lands in Jackson county, and for the want of the property destroyed by fire and waste, rather than do any act contrary to law, we solemnly appeal to the people with whom we tarry, for protection from insult and harm, and for the comforts of life by labor or otherwise, while we seek peace and satisfaction of our enemies through every possible and honorable means, which humanity can dictate, or philanthropy urge, or religion require. We are citizens of this republic, and we ask our rights as republicans, not merely in our restoration to our lands and property in Jackson county, Missouri, but being considered honest in our faith, honest in our deal, and honest before God, till by due course of law, we may be proved otherwise; reserving the right of every man's being held amenable to the proper authority for his own crimes and sins.
"Crowns won by blood, by blood must be maintained," and to avoid blood and strife, and more full satisfy the world, that our object is
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peace and good will to all mankind, we hereby APPEAL for peace to the ends of the earth, and ask the protection of all people, while we use every fair means in our power to obtain our rights and immunities without force; setting an example for all true believers that we will not yield our faith and principles for any earthly consideration, whereby a precedent might be established, that a majority may crush any religious sect with impunity; knowing that if we give up our rights in Jackson county, farewell to society! farewell to religion! farewell to rights! farewell to property! farewell to life! The fate of our church now, might become the fate of the Methodists next week, the Catholics next month, and the overthrow of all societies next year, leaving nation after nation a wide waste where reason and friendship once were!
Another, and the great object which we mean to accomplish, is the salvation of the souls of men and to bring to pass a glorious work, like many other religious denominations, in all ages, we shall license elders to preach the everlasting gospel to all nations according to the great commandments of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ as recorded in St. Matthew, "Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations, baptising [baptizing] them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world."
Thus we shall send laborers into the Lord's vineyard to gather the wheat, and prepare the earth against the day when desolations shall be poured out without measure; and as it now is and ever has been considered one of the most honorable and glorious employments of men to carry good tidings to the nations, so we shall expect the clemency of all men, while we go forth, for the last time, to gather Israel for the glory of God, that he may suddenly come to his temple; that all nations may come and worship in his presence, when there shall be none to molest or make afraid, but the earth shall be filled with his knowledge and glory.
We live in an age of fearful imagination, with all the sincerity that common men are endowed with, the Saints have labored, without pay, to instruct the United States, that the gathering had commenced in the western boundaries of Missouri, to build a holy city, where, as may be seen, in the eighteenth chapter of Isaiah, "the present should be brought unto the Lord of Hosts, of a people scattered and peeled, and from a people terrible from their beginning hitherto: a nation meted out and trodden under foot, whose land the rivers have spoiled, to the place of the name of the Lord of Hosts the mount Zion" and how few have come forth rejoicing that the hour of redemption was nigh! and some that came have turned away, which may cause thousand to exclaim amid the general confusion and fright of the times, "remember Lot's wife."
It would be a work of supererogation to labor to shew [show] the truth of the gathering of the children of Israel in these last days; for the prophet told us long ago, "That it should no more be said, the Lord liveth that brought the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt, but the Lord liveth that brought up the children of Israel from the land of the North, and from the lands whither he had driven them" and so it must be for the honor and glory of God.
The faith and religion of the Latter-day Saints, are founded upon the old Scriptures, the Book of Mormon, and direct revelation from God, and while every event that transpires around us, is an evidence of the truth of them, and an index that the great and terrible day of the Lord is near, we entreat the philanthropist, the moralist, and the honorable men of all creeds and sects, to read our publications, to examine the Bible, the Book of Mormon, and the Commandments, and listen to the fulness [fullness] of the gospel, and judge whether we are entitled to the credit of the world, for honest motives and pure principles.
A cloud of bad omen seems to hang over this generation, men start up at the impulse of the moment and defy and outstrip all law, while the destroyer is also abroad in the earth, wasting flesh without measure, and none can stay his course: in the midst of such portentious [portentous] times, we feel an anxious desire to prepare, and help others to prepare, for coming events; and we candidly believe that no honest man will put forth his hand to stop the work of the Lord, or persecute the Saints. In the name of Jesus Christ, we intreat the people of this nation to pause before they reject the words of the Lord, or his servants: these, like all flesh, may be imperfect, but God is pure hear ye him!
While we ask peace and protection for the saints, wherever they may be, we also solicit the charity and benevolence of all the worthy on earth to purchase the righteous a holy home, a place of rest, and a land of peace, believing that no man who knows he has a soul, will keep back his mite, but cast it in for the benefit of Zion; thus, when time is no longer, he with all the ransomed of the Lord, may stand, in the fulness [fullness] of joy, and view the grand pillar of heaven, which was built by the faith and charity of the Saints, beginning at Adam, with his motto in the base, "Repent and live" surrounded with a beautiful sign, supported by
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a cross about mid-way up its lofty column, staring the world in letters of blood, "The kingdom of heaven is at hand," and finished with a plain top towering up in the midst of the celestial world, around which is written by the finger of Jehovah, "Eternal life is the greatest gift of God."
Although we may fail to shew [show] all men the truth of the fulness [fullness] of the gospel, yet we hope to be able to convince some, that we are neither deluded, nor fanatics; but, like other men have a claim on the world for land and for a living, as good and as great as our venerable fathers had for independence and liberty; that though the world has been made to believe, by false reports and vague stories, that the Saints, called Mormons, were meaner than the savages, still God has been our help in time of trouble, and has provided for us in due season; and to use the language of Pope, he has let the work "spread undivided" and "operate unspent."
For the honor of our beloved country, and the continuation of its free government, we appeal for peace; for an example of forbearance, and the diffusion of the everlasting gospel, we appeal to the humanity of all nations; and for the glory of God, before whom we must all answer for the deeds done in life, and for the hope of holiness hereafter, we mean to remain faithful to the end, continuing to pray to the Lord to spare us, and the people, from whatever is evil, and not calculated to humble us, and prepare us for his presence and glory; at the same time beseeching him in the name of Jesus to extend his blessing to whom he will, and his mercy to all, till by righteousness, the kingdoms of this world become fair as the sun, and clear as the moon. Missouri, U S. July 1834.
Signed W. W. PHELPS,
EDWARD PARTRIDGE,
PARLEY P. PRATT,
THOMAS B. MARSH,
DAVID WHITMER,
JOHN CORRILL,
LYMAN WIGHT,
SIMEON CARTER,
JOHN WHITMER,
ISAAC MORLEY,
NEWEL KNIGHT,
CALVIN BEEBE.
On the 8th, I went to the eastern part of Clay county and held a meeting in the evening: and on the 9th, I started for Kirtland in company with my brother Hyrum, Frederick G. Williams, Wm. E. McLellin and others in a waggon [wagon].
July 10th: Elder Corrill wrote as follows;
"Samuel C. Owens, Esq.:
SIR-The last time I saw you in Liberty you said that an answer to our proposals, you thought would be forwarded soon, but it has not been done. We are anxiously waiting to have a compromise effected if possible. Respecting our wheat in Jackson county, can it be secured so that we can receive the avails of it or not, seeing we are at present prohibited the privilege?
JOHN CORRILL.
P. S. Please hand the following to Colonel Pitcher.
Liberty, July 10th, 1834.
Col. Thomas Pitcher:
Sir-The following is a true copy of an order from the Governor for our arms. Have the goodness to return an answer as soon as possible, that we may know whether we can have the arms upon said order or not, also when. Send where we can receive them and we will appoint an agent to receive and receipt the same. Be assured we do not wish to obtain them from any hostile intentions, but merely because the right of property is ours. If I remember right there is one gun and a sword more than the order calls for.
JOHN CORRILL."
[Here followed a copy of the Governor's order, similar to that of the Governor to Colonel Lucas of the 2nd of May.]
On the 12th, the high council of Zion assembled in Clay county, and appointed Edward Partridge, Orson Pratt, Isaac Morley and Zebidee Coltrin to visit the scattered and afflicted brethren in that region, and teach them the ways of truth and holiness, and set them in order according as the Lord should direct: but, that it was not wisdom for the elders generally to hold public meetings in that region. It was decided that Amasa Lyman assist Lyman Wight in his mission, of gathering the strength of the Lord's house, as I had appointed him.
July 31st; The High Council of Zion assembled, and heard the report of Edward Partridge, Orson Pratt, Zebidee Coltrin, and Isaac Morley, concerning the mission appointed them at the previous council. President David Whitmer gave the council some good instructions; that it was their duty to transact all business in order, and when any case is brought forward for investigation, every member should be attentive and patient to what is passing, in all cases, and avoid confusion and contention, which is offensive in the sight of the Lord.-He also addressed the elders, and said it was not pleasing in the sight of the Lord for any man to go forth to preach the gospel of peace, unless he is qualified to set forth its principles in plainness to those he endeavors to instruct; and also the rules and regulations of the church
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of Latter-day Saints; for just as a man is, and as he teaches and acts, so will his followers be, let them be ever so full of notions and whims. He also addressed the congregation, and told them that it was not wisdom for the brethren to vote at the approaching election, and the council acquiesced in the instructions of the President.
Wm. W. Phelps proposed to the council to appoint a certain number of elders to hold public meetings in that section of country, as often as should be deemed necessary, to teach the disciples how to escape the indignation of their enemies, and keep in favor with those who were friendly disposed; and Simeon Carter, John Corrill, Parley P. Pratt, and Orson Pratt, were appointed by the unanimous voice of the council and congregation to fill the mission.
Elder Nathan West preferred charges against Samuel Brown, High priest, for teaching contrary to council, namely: encouraging the brethren in practicing gifts, (speaking in tongues,) in ordaining Sylvester Hulet, high priests, (without council) in a clandestine manner; asserting that he had obtained a witness of the Lord, which was a promise of performing the same on receiving the gift of tongues, which gift he had never before received, but afterwards said that he had been in possession of the gift for the space of a year; and in seeming to undervalue the authority or righteousness of the high council by charging Elder West not to say any thing that would tend to prejudice their minds that they might not judge righteously. These charges were sustained by the testimony of Leonard Rich, Charles English, Brother Bruce, Edward Partridge, Hiram Page, Roxa Slade, Caleb Baldwin, and Sylvester Hulet; and President David Whitmer gave the following decision which was sanctioned by the council.
According to testimony and the voice of the Holy Spirit which is in us, we say unto you that God in his infinite mercy doth yet grant unto you a space for repentance, therefore if you confess all the charges alleged against you to be just, and in a spirit that we can receive it, then you can stand as a private member in this church, otherwise we have no fellowship for you; and also, that the ordination of Sylvester Hulet by Samuel Brown is illegal and not acknowledged by us to be of God; therefore it is void and of none effect.
Brother Brown confessed the charges, and gave up his license, but retained his membership. Council adjourned on the evening of the first of August, but previous to adjourning the council gave the following letter to the elders appointed to visit the churches in Clay county &c.:
"To the Latter day Saints who have been driven from the land of their inheritance, and also those who are gathering in the regions round about, in the western boundaries of Missouri-The High Council established according to the pattern given by our blessed Savior Jesus Christ, send greeting:-
Dear Brethren:
We have appointed our beloved brother and companion in tribulation, John Corrill, to meet you in the name of the Lord Jesus. He in connexion [connection] with others duly appointed also, will visit you alternately, for the purpose of instructing you, in the necessary qualifications of the Latter-day Saints; that they may be perfected, that the officers and members of the body of Christ, may become very prayerful and very faithful, strictly keeping the commandments and walking in holiness before the Lord continually; that those that mean to have the "destroyer pass over them, as the children of Israel and not slay them" may live according to the "word of wisdom," that the saints by industry, diligence, faithfulness, and the prayer of faith, may become purified, and enter upon their inheritance to build up Zion according to the word of the Lord.
We are sure, if the saints are very humble, very watchful, and very prayerful, that few will be deceived by those who have not authority to teach, or who have not the spirit to teach according to the power of the Holy Ghost, in the scriptures. Lest any man's blood be required at your hands, we beseech you, as you value the salvation of souls, and are within, to set an example worthy to be followed by those without the kingdom of our God and his Christ, that peace by grace, and blessings by righteousness, may attend you, till you are sanctified and redeemed.
Dated, Clay county, Aug. 1st 1834."
About this time, I arrived at Kirtland, after a tedious journey, from the midst of enemies, mobs, cholera, and excessively hot weather, having parted from those who I started with on the 9th ult., at different points of the journey.
Kirtland, Aug. 4th, 1834. A council of elders ordained Thomas Colburn, elder; and resolved to send Elder Zerubbabel Snow to Canada to labor in the ministry.
The High Council of Zion assembled in Clay county, Aug. 6th, and resolved that Leonard Rich act in the place of Parley P. Pratt, who was absent, and Amasa Lyman in place of W. E. McLellin, absent. The following charge was then preferred:
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"This may certify that whereas, the brethren and sisters comprising that part of the church known by the name of the Hulet branch, have imbibed certain principles concerning the gifts, that are thought not to be correct by the greater part of the remainder of the church; which principles seem to have a tendency to cause a split and disunion in the church:
I, therefore, as a well wisher in the cause of Christ, and for the peace, and love, and upholding of the great cause of God; do hereby pray that the High Council will take into consideration the above report, that we all may come to understanding and grow up as calves of the stall, until we all come unto the perfect stature of men and women in Christ Jesus.
(Signed) NATHAN WEST."
Charles English testified that the Hulet branch believed that they received the word of the Lord by the gift of tongues, and would not proceed to their temporal business without receiving the word of the Lord. Sylvester Hulet would speak and Sally Crandall [Crandal] interpret.-Said they would not receive the teaching of ordained members, even Brother Joseph Smith jr., unless it agreed with their gifts. Said they received the word of the Lord while they were in Jackson county, that they were to be persecuted by their brethren in Clay county, and now it had come. Also said that the heads of the church would have to come down and receive the gifts as they did. Said that they the branch, had come up to their privileges more than the rest of the church. They thought they were right, but if they could be convinced that they were wrong, they would retract. Sister Crandal professed to know and see men's hearts."
Philo Dibble concurred in the foregoing testimony, also that sister Crandal saw the hearts of King Follet, and Hiram Page, and they were not right. Hiram Page testified that Lyman Leonard said if it was necessary to lay aside the gifts for a season, they would receive a knowledge of it through the gifts. Nathan West concurred in the foregoing testimony, also testified that Sally Crandall [Crandal] saw his heart that it was full of eyes, also eyes in other hearts, some few, some many eyes.
Daniel Stanton testified that Sally Crandall [Crandal] said she saw his heart and saw two books in it, and that there was a Nephite standing behind him to push him into his duty: also that Sylvester Hulet, spoke in tongues in meeting and Sally Crandall [Crandal] interpreted thus; "verily thus saith the Lord unto you little band, ye must beware, for there are many who are seeking to pry into your privileges. Absalom Crichfield, testified that when he was in Jackson County, last spring the Hulet branch said in tongues that they would be safe during the night from any interruption by the mob, but before morning Lyman Leonard and Josiah Summer were whipped; they also said they saw my heart and three young women in it." Brother Batson, and Alpheus Gifford concurred in much of the foregoing testimony, and also other similar circumstances in addition.
After an adjournment of three fourths of an hour the President instructed the speakers not to seek to excel, but speak according to truth and equity: and that they ought to chase darkness from their minds, and be exercised upon the subject upon which they were to speak in order that they might teach upon points of doctrine, bring hidden things to light, and make dark things clear, &c., &c. After the counsellors [counselors] had spoken the president said, "as for the gift of tongues, in the manner they used it in the Hulet Branch, the devil deceived them, and they obtained not the word of the Lord, as they supposed but were deceived; and as for the gift of seeing, as held by the Hulet Branch, it is of the devil saith the Lord God." The council were unanimous in sanctioning the decision, and appointed Amasa Lyman and Simeon Carter, to go and labor with Brother Hulet and Sister Crandall [Crandal] and other of like faith, and set the truth in order before them. I have been thus particular in giving the history of this council, as the gift of tongues is so often made use of by satan to deceive the saints. The council adjourned to the 7th, when about twenty elders were sent forth to preach the gospel to the world, but not in Jackson or Clay Counties, or their vicinity.
President David Whitmer testified to the council that William Batson was not capable of filling his office of eldership, because he had not discretion and understanding sufficient to act wisely in that capacity, whereupon, the council voted unanimously, that his office and licence [license] be taken from him: to which he consented, and gave up his license. Elias and Isaac Higbee, and Jesse Hitchcock, were ordained to the High Priesthood, &c., and council adjourned to the 21st inst.
Minutes of a council held at "Kirtland August 11th 1834."
"This day a number of high priests and elders of the church of the Latter-Day Saints, assembled in the new school house, for the purpose of investigating a matter of difficulty growing out of certain reports or statements made by elder Sylvester Smith, one of the high councillors [councilors] of this church, accusing President Joseph Smith Junior, with criminal conduct during his journey to and from Missouri, this
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spring and summer. After coming to order President Joseph Smith, spoke at considerable length upon the circumstances of their Journey to and from Missouri, and very minutely laid open the causes out of which those jealousies of Brother Sylvester and others, had grown. He made a satisfactory statement concerning his rebukes and chastisments upon Sylvester and others, and also concerning the distribution of monies and other properties, calling on brethren present who accompanied him to attend the same, all of which was satisfactory to the brethren present, as appeared by their own remarks afterwards.
After President Joseph had closed his lengthy remarks, brother Sylvester made some observations relative to the subject of their difficulties, and began to make a partial confession for his previous conduct, asking forgiveness for accusing brother Joseph publicly, on the Saturday previous of prophecying [prophesying] lies in the name of the Lord, and for abusing (as he had said,) his (Sylvester's) character, before the brethren.
From the New York Messenger Extra.
TO OUR BRETHREN AND FRIENDS SCATTERED ABROAD,
We have thought proper to issue an Extra this morning, to inform our brethren and friends scattered abroad, of the ship Brooklyn leaving port last Wednesday, with about two hundred and thirty souls on board including men, women and children, together with three or four passengers. As it regards the getting up of this company of emigrants, we desire to give a brief and correct statement, for the benefit of all concerned. Some two months since, Elder S. Brannan was counselled [counseled] by President O. Pratt, of this city, before leaving for the west, to charter a vessel, and take out a company of the saints to Oregon or California, and as soon as an opportunity offered, others would follow, and endeavor to get beyond the reach of persecution and oppression. Accordingly he obeyed the counsel. It is now about one month since he chartered the ship Brooklyn, Capt. Richardson, for twelve hundred dollars per month, besides paying the Port Charges. In this short space of time, by untiring assiduity, has he collected together the number heretofore stated, consisting of Farmers, Mechanics, &c., the greater part young and middle aged men and women.
The ship was expected to sail on the twenty-fourth or twenty-sixth of January, but in order to have all things in readiness, and complete to make them comfortable she did not get off until last Wednesday. At two o'clock, P. M., she left her moorings and swung around the Pier into the stream. The Steamboat Sampson came along side, made fast to her, to pilot her down towards the narrows. As she left the wharf, it was a beautiful sight to behold. The noble ship with hundreds of ladies and gentlemen, lining her decks, friends, relations, &c., of the Emigrants. As she left the wharf, three hearty cheers were sent up, by the numerous crowd of gentlemen upon the Pier, which was as heartily returned, or responded to by those on board the ship. The day was propitious, the bright luminary of the heavens, had passed the zenith of his meridian glory, and was retiring in his stately robes toward the chamber of the West! Yet his oblique rays, as the noble ship passed down the bay, glistened with a propitious smile upon the bosom of the waves, which were now being parted asunder by the bow of the gallant ship. The order at length was given, for all those who did not belong to the ship's company, to get on board the steamboat preparatory to her casting off. Then there was a scene, we feel ourselves inadequate to describe. There you could behold the father bidding adieu to his only son perhaps forever. In another quarter you could see the mother embracing a daughter, and bidding each other farewell. While tears of parental and filial affection, trickled warmly down each other cheeks there, you could also behold the young man and young woman, without Father, Mother, Brother or Sister, (except those of their brothers and sisters endeared to them by the Gospel of the Son of God) willing to leave all behind, sacfrising [sacrificing] all the comforts and enjoyments of the scenes of their childhood and former associations, for the faith which they have embraced, and which they know is true, and are willing to die for the same. They have borne reproach, defamation, obloquy, and scorn, they have been persecuted (or at least the church they belong to,) mobbed, plundered, robbed, driven and murdered, and now they go as exiles, banished from the land of their nativity, the land that gave them birth, the land that is called the "asylum of the oppressed," the liberty that was obtained by the sweat, blood and tears of their fathers, and bequeathed to them as the greatest legacy they could have, has taken its flight and gone, when it comes to be exercised in their behalf. But to return from my digression after bidding a last farewell, the steamboat was disengaged, and as she rounded to return to the city, three hearty cheers were given by them on board, the steamboat consisting of ladies and gentlemen, (among whom were doctors, clergymen, merchants, ship owners, clerks, &c.,) which was immediately responded to, by three more,
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from those on board the ship; she then passed on in a beautiful and majestic style, with her topsails and jib spread to the breeze which was blowing direct from the N. N. W., amid the waving of handkerchiefs, hats, &c., until she was finally lost in the distance. Farewell our brethren and sisters in the Lord; we commit you to the care of him whose ye are, and whose name ye have confessed. You have our prayers and hearty wishes, that He who rules the destinies of Empires and Kingdoms, may send his Angel before you. Soothe the howling tempest, stay the rolling billows, vanquish the fell destroyer, and guide you safe to your destined haven. Go then noble ship, with thy noble crew, spread thy canvass to the winds of heaven, and bear them swiftly to their destined port, where no pious "christian" thirsts for gold nor seeks the blood of innocence. The prayers of the Saints of God shall be offered up, for those thou carriest, and that, ere long, thou mayest return and bear another company to the same desired spot. The ship is nearly new, of four hundred and fifty tons measurement; she is well loaded with Agricultural and Mechanical tools enough for eight hundred men, consisting of ploughs [plows], hoes, forks, shovels, spades, plough [plow] irons, scythes, sickles, nails, glass, Blacksmith's tools, Carpenters, do. Millwrights, do. three Grain mills for grinding, grain, turning lathes, saw mill irons, grindstones, one printing press and type, paper, stationary, school books consisting of spelling books, sequels, history, arithmetic, astronomy, grammar, Morse's Atlas and Geography, Hebrew Grammar and Lexicon, Slates, &c., &c. Also, dry goods, twine, &c., brass, copper, iron, tin and crockery ware, with provisions and water enough for a six or seven months voyage. They have also on board two new milch [milk] cows, forty or fifty pigs, besides fowls, &c. They have every thing on board to make them comfortable; there is thirty-two state rooms on board, with decent births, where they can spread their mattress, and repose content.-They went off joyful and in high spirits; although they have a long journey before them some fifteen thousand miles to perform, they purpose touching at the Sandwich Islands, and so on to Oregon or California.
The morning before the Ship's sailing, a gentleman of Brooklyn, J. M. Vancott, (a lawyer of great and noted celebrity I understand) presented the emigrants through Mr. Brannan, with one hundred and seventy nine volumes of Harper's Family Library: may the Lord reward him for his kindness, towards a persecuted and oppressed, yet upright and virtuous people.-And not only him, but all those of our friends who have been kind in assisting us, and was not ashamed of us although as the Apostles were "every where spoken evil against," may our Heavenly Father bless such, as much as they do it with a desire to do good, and not from selfish motives is our desire.
RULES AND REGULATIONS.
For the Emigrants on Board the Ship.
DAILY DUTY, &c.
Rule 1. Reveille to beat at six o'clock in the morning.
Rule 2. Each person will be required at the beating of the Reveille that is able to arise from their beds, put on their apparel, wash their face and hands, and comb their heads.
Rule 3. No man, woman, or child, will be permitted to leave their respective State Rooms, to appear in the Hall (or Cabin) without being completely dressed (i.e.) without their coats, &c.
Rule 4. Immediately after the beating of the Revillie [Reveille], the Corporal will visit every State Room, and receive the names of all the sick, and of those who are not able to do duty, and report the same to the officer of the day, who will be chosen every morning.
Rule 5. Every Sate Room to be swept, cleansed, and the beds made by seven o'clock.
Rule 6. No State Room doors allowed to remain open at any time, from the spreading of the table until cleared off.
Rule 7. The Hall must be dusted and cleansed complete by half past seven, every morning.
Rule 8. Table spread at eight o'clock, at half past eight, the children to breakfast first, when done to retire on deck, or to their respective State Rooms, and no child will be allowed to be in the Hall while the Table is spreading, and meals getting ready.
Rule 9. At quarter past 9 o'clock the ladies and gentlemen will breakfast, and immediately after, retire either on Deck or to their respective State Rooms, to make room to clear the table and adjust things in the Hall.
Rule 10. By 10 o'clock the table must be cleared off, the Hall completely swept clean, and then every State Room door thrown open to receive fresh air.
Rule 11. From 10 A.M. o'clock until 2 P.M. (four hours) the time will be devoted to labor in various occupations.
Rule 12. At half past 2 o'clock, all to retire from the Hall, either to their respective State Rooms, or upon Deck, the doors of the State Rooms closed, and the table spread for dinner.
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Rule 13. At 3 o'clock the children will dine, then retire either upon Deck or to their State Rooms, and there tarry until the table is cleared off.
Rule 14. At 4 o'clock, the ladies and gentlemen will dine, and afterward retire on Deck, or to their State Rooms.
Rule 15. By 5 o'clock the table to be cleared off, the Hall swept clean, and the doors of the State Rooms thrown open, and the remainder of the time, until eight o'clock, to be occupied in reading, singing, or other innocent amusements.
Rule 16. At 8 o'clock a cold lunch will be placed upon the table, for each one to partake of that feels disposed.
Rule 17. By 9 o'clock the table to be cleared, and all ready to retire to rest.
Rule 18. One cook, and a cook Police, consisting of three men, will be detailed from the company every week.
Rule 19. A Committee of two will be detailed every morning from the company, to wait upon the sick, see that their wants are attended and administered to, &c.
Rule 20. A Health Officer will be detailed from the company every morning to inspect the State Rooms every day, and see that all are neat and clean, the beds made, and all dirty clothes removed, put into bags, or rolled up and placed in the hold of the ship.
Rule 21. Every Sabbath morning there will be divine service held on board, commencing at 11 o'clock, when all that are able must attend, shaved, and washed clean, so as to appear in a manner becoming the solemn, and holy occasion.
N. B. It is expected that the above rules will be strictly complied with by every emigrant (without having to enforce them,) until they are altered or others substituted in their place.
After the above rules were printed, it was thought expedient to procure an experienced Cook and Stewart, (coloured [colored]) which we did, at sixteen and eighteen dollars per month; and also a new cooking stove of the latest patent, for ship board, capable of cooking for four or five hundred persons.
THE SPIRIT OF THE LAST DAYS.
Man was created upright but he hath sought out many inventions:
AN IMPORTANT INVENTION.-A Mr. Phillipps of London has lately invented a "Fire annihilator for instantaneously extinguishing fires by aerated vapor." The principles, says a foreign Journal, are chemical, and they proceed on facts deduced from considerations of the source of all power-chemical action. Fire, in the ordinary acceptation of the term, is a phenomenon which results from the union of oxygen, the supporter of combustion, hydrogen, the element of flame, and carbon, the element of light. If the oxygen be withdrawn, the fire ceases. This the fire annihilator accomplishes. A jet of a peculiar gaseous vapor, which possesses a greater affinity for the oxygen of the air than the oxygen has for the hydrogen and the carbon with which it is combined, is instantaneously generated by the machine, and thrown with extraordinary rapidity on the fire, which being instantaneously deprived of the "supporter of combustion" at once ceases. The extinction is so sudden that in case of a strong fire, which Mr. Phillips "put out" on board a vessel in the Thames, the operation did not occupy "one second," and it was compared by the spectators, to a flash of lightning.
TIMES AND SEASONS.
CITY OF NAUVOO,
FEB. 15, 1846
ELDER WOODRUFF'S LETTER.
Elder Woodruff's letter, in this number of the Times and Seasons, is full of interest. Every saint that reads it will see at once, the handy work of God in the great moves of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Certainly it is a strange work and a wonder! Well might the prophet Isaiah exclaim: "And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem."
Although we have to flee from the presence of freemen, or civilized society, mark the act: watch till the end of the matter, and then judge whether God had a hand in it or not. The power of Israel was lost, by disobedience and scattering; and his power will be regained by obedience and gathering. Stand fast in the faith, brethren, the work of the Father hath commenced among all nations to restore Israel to mercy. Sing, therefore, ye that was barren, for your iniquity is pardoned, and the kingdoms of the world must pass out of your way like the chaff of the summer threshing floor.
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The Lord will cope with you for the benefit of Israel. So let us rejoice.
Liverpool, Dec. 18, 1845.
Dear Brother George:
I received your letter of Nov. 12, and you may rest assured it met a welcome reception and came in good time, for every item of news it contained was of much interest to me. I received a letter some time back from Brother Young, informing me of the intentions to move, which I have since answered. I have concluded to return immediately myself to America, and get my child in Maine, my father and mother in Connecticut, and hasten to Nauvoo, as speedily as possible, so as to be enabled to join the camp in their exodus in the mountains and the wilderness. This is the only way I can discover a deliverance for my own children and my father's household, and as all the Quorum of the Twelve, except myself, are in Nauvoo to go out with the camp; (having received no council to tarry here) I thought I would arrange my affairs here so as to accompany them, that the chain of the Quorum of the Twelve might be unbroken, as they go out at the head of the most interesting camp that ever moved, (Moses at the head of Israel, and Joshua with the Priests and rams horns nor excepted.) My wife and family, with Elders Sheets and Hater, also Brother and Sister Clark, and probably some others, will leave here about the 1st of January for Nauvoo, by way of New Orleans. And immediately after I shall take ship for New York, accompanied by Elder Stratten, and shall be in Nauvoo as soon as possible. Immediately on making up my mind to leave, I called a special conference of all the churches of the British Isles, which met at Manchester on the 14th inst. We had a most interesting conference. The following is the result of the representation of the churches. Eleven thousand and seventy two members, eight High Priests, three hundred and ninety two Elders; five hundred and ninety Priests; three hundred and eleven Teachers, and one hundred and eighty eight Deacons, added since last Conference one thousand five hundred and seventy five (being eight months.) The Staffordshire Conference was not included in this representation, which would have made several hundred more. It is the largest representation ever known in this country. The Conferences are all well united and the saints in good spirits. The exodus of the saints from Babylon has given the saints in this country an onward spur; they seem to be more than ever determined to be diligent in fullfiling [fulfilling] their duty. It is expected that the 'Joint Stock Company' will own a ship or two pretty, soon, They intend commencing emigration round Cape Horn as soon as possible. As I was about to leave, I organised [organized] a Presidency; appointed Brother Hedlock President, and Brothers Ward and John Banks Councilors [councilors]. Brother Hedlock is expecting to stop, hoping that his family will go in the camp, and he will go round and meet them in about a year, taking such farming utensils and goods as he considers they will need. Brother Davis will still tarry in London for a season. I have circulated twenty thousand proclamations, commencing with the Duke of Wellington, Sir Robert Peel, and Lord John Russell, and so on through all the officers of Government and the Clergy, as well as many of the Jewish Rabbis. We are thoroughly known now throughout England. The papers quote the Mormons as one of the first items of foreign news. The London Times has quoted certain Revelations signed by Oliver Olney, supposed to be published in America, by Wm. Smith. We have but little opposition from this Government as yet, considering how extensively the 'Doctrine and Covenants,' and Proclamations have been circulated. For my part I feel that my work is about done here for the present and that my garments are clear of the blood of the Gentiles. This nation is making great preparation for war, they are beating up for recruits throughout the land, and all the large steamers have undergone examination to see what amount of metal they 'all carry.' Scarcely any thing else is expected here but war with America, and the decisive point will be whether the United States claim Oregon; if they do the thunderings of war will speedily be heard at their doors. They have been warned of these things through the Revelations of God given in this dispensation.
It has been expected that the Corn Laws will be repealed in this country; the state of the country demands it. The question has caused serious disputes in the house of Lords; the former ministry, including Sir Robert Peel, have resigned, and they are about forming a new one Ireland is in her usual unsettled state.
Our cause is still onward in this land. Elder Galley, of Macclesfield, was cut off at our Conference, which should have been done years ago. Elder Jones is doing very well in Wales; they have baptised [baptized] about two hundred since last Conference and are laying the foundation for a great work. Among other Welsh publications, he has published four thousand proclamations. He and his family are well and in good spirits. I was much rejoiced at the news from Tahiti, in the 'Times and Seasons.' I was glad you gave me a list of the deaths, of none of which I had heard before. Truly, how
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fast our old friends are going the way of all the earth. My own toils, labors, cares and fatigues during the last year have been so great, that I have grown old very fast, and at times have felt quite out of health, and Mrs. Woodruff has also felt much the fatigues of her journeyings. Still we live and are in good spirits, and have faith to believe we shall live to see the faces of our friends again in Nauvoo, and go with them to California, or West of the Rocky Mountains. You may look for us early in the spring.
Your brother in the kingdom of God.
W. WOODRUFF.
"In all countries there is a great aversion to being ruled and governed by persons coming from foreign countries. We have alluded to the deep rooted and implacable indignation that pervades the mind of every true hearted Irishman when he sees his country ruled and governed by persons from England. When William, the Conqueror, subjugated England, the most bitter part of the oppression suffered by the conquered people was the painful mortification of having foreign normans placed over their heads. In all ages it has produced a natural but deep mortification and indignation among the people, to have foreigners imported to beat sway over those who have been born and grown up in the country. This aversion to be ruled and governed by foreigners is nothing more than a patriotic impulse, which is natural to all men, and which is noble in its origin and useful in its practical effects. If it were not for this natural feeling prompting men to prefer to be governed by their own countrymen, and to object to be ruled by persons from other countries, patriotism would cease to exist, and men would soon become cosmopolites, and would as readily serve and fight under a foreign standard as under that of our own native country. Every nation should be governed by men who are bound to it by the ties of birth and education-if they have men fit to administer their government; and when they cease to have natives of the country fit to fill its offices, it will be times to seek for officers among foreigners. This opposition to foreign sway and domination, is found ever where; it is natural and beneficial, and serves to make men true and faithful to the country of their birth. The emigrant Irishman partakes of this feeling in a high degree; the exiled Pole is actuated by the same natural motive, and all foreigners who come to our shores are governed by the same natural attachment to their own native country. The Pole swells with patriotic indignation when he thinks of his own native country being ruled and governed by the Russian, and is as bitter against the Russian as the Irishman is against the Englishman for the same cause. But whilst this strong natural feeling of attachment to their native country governs and controls all foreign emigrants, many of them seem to forget that this feeling is just as natural to the American as it is to the Pole and to the Irishman: they seem to forget that it is a natural feeling with Americans to have America governed by their own countrymen: they appear to be unwilling to allow to Americans the same feelings and motives that control the action of all other men. If Americans are capable of self-government without the supervision of foreigners, they should exercise their right, and should not surrender it to foreigners: and no reasonable foreigner should complain of Americans for entertaining a feeling which is common to all men, and which nature for wise purposes has planted deeply in the heart of a man. If this view of the subject were properly taken by emigrant foreigners we would not find among them such a rush for office, and such a desire to thrust themselves into elections, to control the public affairs of this country.-America should be governed by Americans."
New Era.
The feeling expressed in the above, is probably universal, but is it a just national trait, where the motto floats on the walls of every citadel of a great country and nation:-"The asylum of the oppressed for all nations." One thing is clear, God is not in it, for he says he will gather of every nation, tongues and kindred, and let them set under their own vine and fig tree, when there is none to molest or make afraid. The freedom of the United States is like a stool pigeon, it flutters by force to decoy others. The love of man waxes cold. Alas for the world.
"Straws show which way the Wind Blows."-The following keen thrust at the popular causes of American Freedom, was clipt [clipped] from a correspondent in the St. Louis American:
"How long!-O, how long, shall we continue to be a free and happy people, when the very elements of all freedom-all happiness, viz: virtue and religion, are so eagerly sought to be derided and destroyed? Alas, it is time, indeed, for a struggle; it is time, high time "to strike for our altars and our fires."
Public opinion, politics, and mobocracy, the grand trio to test, and use up "Liberty" in America, can look into the Mirror, and see:
"Coming events cast their shadows before."
MORMONISM IN CONGRESS.
The communication from the Baltimor [Baltimore?]
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American, (which follows below) is rather indicative that Mormonism has got into Congress: and, perhaps the great men of this nation, like the Lords of the Philistians, nobles of Babylon, or the mighty of Assyria, have come to a crisis that will open their understandings to see and know that there is a "God in Israel." It is really funny to think how these Gentiles in "Ermine and lace" quote scripture, and apply it. Ah, Lord, this is a sinful nation! The ox knows his owner, and the ass his master's crib, but the great men of the earth have not got as far along in knowledge as that. But to the communication:
From the Baltimore American.
TITLE FROM SCRIPTURE.
Prone as our excellent compatriots are to believe themselves the chosen people, whom providence has substituted for Israel, as the recipients of his special bounty, it is to be doubted whether any of them had believed, until the recent Congressional discussion, that our title to Oregon was based on an express grant from on high. The Hon. John Q. Adams, however, whose extensive acquirements justify the expectation of new views from him on every question, has recently demonstrated our right to "the whole or none" to be celestial as well as terrestrial, and there is besides, a passage in Mr. Allen's speech, which is supposed to hint at the same doctrine-inasmuch as it refers, obscurely, to certain "siderial" centres [centers] of constellations"-the precise meaning of which cannot be arrived at, upon any other hypothesis. We prefer to discuss the question, as Mr. Adams puts it, because we cannot say that we precisely understand Mr. Allen's mode of presenting it, and because moreover, there is always a great deal of importance attached to any notion which is carefully covered.
"With old odd ends, stol'n forth of holy writ"-a species of logic which Mr. Adams has plentifully applied, in support of what may properly be called the Mosaic view of the subject. Let us hear Mr. Adams. Speaking of the Bible, he says:
"If the book was there, he would thank the clerk to read from it what he considers as the foundation of our title to Oregon. If he would turn to the 26th, 27th, and 28th verses of the first chapter of Genesis, the Committee would see what Mr. A. considered the foundation of the title of United States to the Oregon territory."
[The clerk here read as follows: "And God said, Let us make man in our own image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over overy [every] creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image: in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth."]
That, (said Mr. A.) "in my judgment, is the foundation of our title to Oregon, and of all the title we have to any of the territory we possess. It is the foundation of the title by which you, sir, occupy that chair, and by which we are now called on to occupy Oregon."
Now, without entering into any discussion, as to the particular part of the text quoted, which applies to the speaker's chair, and leaving it to the scientific to decide whether that admirable specimen of cabinet makership and upholstery, can properly, be considered a 'creeping thing merely because it has legs, we cannot but admit that it passes our ingenuity to divine the mode in which Genesis can be reasonably connected with Oregon. Is it because we are men and women, and because we are to be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth, that we are proprietors, indefensibly, up to parallel 54 (symbol of degrees) 40? Surely our British friends were created male and female as well as we, and we call the whole "Native American" party to witness, that they increase and multiply and replenish our part of the earth, to an extent which some people have thought both awful and dangerous. Is not the wretched Indian, whose only dominion is over the fish and the fowl, a man as well as we-made like us in the image of his Maker-placed, like us, upon this earth, with rights as potent and as dear as ours? And, if we own the land we tread-as the honorable speaker holds his chair, in virtue only of our occupation as sons of Adam-is not the Flat Head or the Shoshonee a proprietor, under the same title, holding by the same tenure, at the will of the same God? Not only that-but is not the Indian in a state of civilization, much nigher to that of the patriarchs, and still more nigh to that of Adam, than are the citizens of our excellent republic, with all its vaunted institutions? Can Mr. Adams mean, that because God commanded man to 'subdue' the earth, he has therefore a right to all he can 'subdue?' Because, as he afterwards says, it is a 'characteristic' of our people to 'go ahead,' have we a necessary right to 'go ahead,' whenever we can? If these questions be answered affirmatively, what prevents the Briton also
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from 'subduing' and 'going ahead,' to the extent of his inclination and ability?
To this Mr. Adams has his answer-
"There is the difference between the British claim and ours; we claim Oregon that we may improve the country and make its desert to blossom as the rose. We claim it that we may establish laws, till the ground: that we may 'subdue the earth,' as has been commanded by God Almighty. She claims to keep it open as a hunting ground-that she may hunt wild beasts in it; she claims it of course, for the benefit of the wild beasts [a laugh] as well as the savage nations who roam over it.'
Now in the first place, there is not the slightest evidence, on the face of the earth, of any intention of Great Britain to keep the Oregon territory in a state of perpetual barbarism. On the contrary her surplus population is immense, while we have none and her necessities demand large territories and wide scope, which our broad republic, for an hundred years, will have no need of. And, second, what proof is there of our disposition to make the wilderness blossom as the rose? Does any one pretend to say that we want Oregon, for the sake of Oregon, and not for our sakes? Have we been behind hand with England, in hunting the wild beasts-aye and the wild men too, whenever we have had an opportunity? Have we not room enough within our borders, to exercise all our civilizing and 'subduing' propensities for a century? Can the honorable member from Massachusetts have forgotten the millions of acres conceded to be ours-lying within the limits of our recognised [recognized] states and territories-which are as far removed from roses and blossoming as the wildest sands in the great Sahara? Can he believe that without 'subduing' or tilling the bountiful lands that God has given us-without replenishing the half of that portion of the earth in which we dwell-we have an indefeasible 'right' to emigrate where we please-drive out aboriginal inhabitants from all the fat places of the earth-appropriate to ourselves its pleasantness, every where-make land and sea our bloody battle grounds in the support of such a 'right'-and then heal and make whole our iniquities, by quoting a chapter of Genesis? If blossoming and roses and horticultural inclinations, generally, be the only justification necessary for the appropriation of territory to ourselves why have we not a right to march into all the untilled and the 'unsubdued' parts of the whole earth? Why should we not march into Canada-capture Mexico-annex Cuba, and publish our claim 'to the whole or none' of South America generally? Surely if we are to bless the earth with our dominion there is no reason for our preferring the savages of Oregon to the people of other countries, whose inferior state of blossoming entitles them to that blessing. Above all, why should we not announce to the Russian Autocrat that our title extends over what he calls his own, and the part of Oregon which we now concede to be his shall be retained for hunting and the peltry trade no longer? Why should we not nail our flag to the north pole itself, in order that the 'unborn infants,' whom Mr. Allen spoke of in his speech, may rejoice under its star-spangled folds, when they wake up 'from the lap of the past?' If our rule is a good one it works well throughout, and it is neither logical nor honest to make 'fish' of one nation and 'fowl' of the other. If we sincerely believe ourselves the most 'subduing' nation in the world, consistency requires us to go forth, at once, to replenish the countries that please us, and vouch Moses for our title! Such doctrines are comfortable in the highest degree, and they have the sanction of the remotest antiquity. From Sesostrics to Gen. Houston, all the great annexers of territory-including Alexander, Genghiskan, and Attila the Hun-have preached or practiced just such things. History, it is true, has called some of them by hard names-and some rude spoken men have said that their principles were the essence of heathenism and rapacity. Perhaps Mr. Adams' speech may have the effect of changing the world's opinion, and convincing it that
"Things are not what they seem."
It is to be feared, however, that plain people-hearing the book of our faith appealed to, in support of doctrines, to all appearance so abominable-may remember that there is in the Bible, also, something called the Decalogue, and that not to murder, nor steal, nor covet our neighbor's goods, are commands, which explain more fully the divine intention, as to nations no less than individuals.
But Mr. Adams finds still further support in Biblical quotation, which he ostensibly applies to the Papal claim of dominion over savage lands-but which was, evidently, meant to fortify the pretensions which he formed for us upon Genesis:
"I will ask the clerk to read another short extract from that same book; he will please to read the 8th verse of the second Psalm."
[The clerk here read as follows: "Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession."]
Mr. A. "Will the clerk read one or two verses which precede that passage-showing to whom it refers."
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[The clerk here read as follows: "Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure. Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree: the Lord hath said unto me, Thou are my Son: this day have I begotten thee."]
And again:
"All power is given to me in heaven and in earth: Go, ye, therefore, and teach all nations, baptising [baptizing] them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world."
It is a favorite theory of many that we have a right to conquer, in order to civilize and Christianize, and upon the passage thus quoted that pretensions rests. But it is calculating rather largely upon public credulity to suppose that common sense can be hoodwinked thus in the present controversy, and that any one is weak enough to believe the propagation of Christianity to be one of our objects in setting up our claim so steadily to the territory in dispute. Does the language of Holy Writ, thus pressed into the service, designate us, more than any other people, as the exclusive proprietors of 'the heathen,' and the 'uttermost parts' that they inhabit? Are we commissioned, any more than English, Russians, Frenchmen, to teach and baptize? And what have naval stations, trading stations, block houses and the fur trade, harbors and islands to do with the teaching of the gospel. What is there of religion in the pretended rights given by discovery and exploration? What above all-in threats of war-in angry contention-in blood? If the strife is to be for the bringing in of the heathen within the pale of the church of Christ, why diplomatic controversies-why notices, war speeches, preparing the heart of the nation for violence and sin? There is the territory. Ignorance, debasement and barbarity are all over it. Does any one say nay to the devoted missionaries who may be anxious to win their benighted brethren to God? Who stays them? Not England-not America. Two thousand Mormons have recently taken up their line of march to Oregon, as the papers tell us. Do the heathen and their possessions belong to them too? If the book of Joe Smith has free ingress, who prohibits it to the Holy Gospel?
The truth is that the more we probe the attempts which public men are making to conceal, under specious pretexts, and to sanctify by sacred appellations, what is and can be made no more than a wild thirst for territorial aggrandizement, the deeper must grow our conviction of the utter emptiness of all the 'right' which is so vociferously claimed. Among the most unworthy of all the plans for popular delusion on the subject it is submitted that there is none less worthy than the attempt to give to the Oregon land-squabble the character of a religious dispute-a holy war. It is impossible to see scripture quoted and perverted to such ends, without applying the anecdote told of the late excellent cardinal Cheverus, when bishop of Boston. That amiable prelate had been worried by a pestilent polemic, who had endeavored to provoke him into a controversy, and whose chief weapons were sentences from scripture, selected at random, and strung together, odd and even, to suit the exigencies of the argument. Worn out at last, the bishop's patience yielded: 'Is it not written,' said he, 'that Judas went out and hanged himself?' 'It is,' was the reply. 'Then it is also written, 'Go thou and do likewise!'
W.
At a camp meeting lately held in Connecticut, a preacher, delivered himself of the following: "I would that the gospel were a wedge, and I a beetle, I would whack it into every sinner's heart among you."-Exchange Paper.
Just so; if the Devil handles the beetle and wedge; "The gospel is the power of God unto salvation."
(->) A slip from the Salem Register office, gives the following account of the capture of a slave vessel, supposed to be from Philadelphia-and the dreadful sufferings of the slaves:
Capture of an American Slaver, with 900 Slaves,-Captain Ryder, of the Otho, from Port Praya, has furnished us with Monrovia papers to December 10, and a Circular from the Methodist Missionaries at Monrovia, dated Dec. 17. The Circular gives the particulars of the capture of the bark Pons, of Philadelphia, with 900 slaves, on the 1st of December, by the United States ship Yorktown, Captain Bell, in latitude 3 south, three days out from Cadunda, bound to Rio Janeiro. When the Pons was first seen, she raised American colors, supposing the Yorktown was a British cruiser; but discovering the mistake, immediately hoisted the Portuguese flag. On boarding her, and demanding her papers of the Portuguese captain, he replied, "I have thrown them overboard." On being asked what was his cargo, he said "about 900 slaves." On further examination it was found that she had shipped 913, between the ages of 8 and 30, and 47 of them females, and left at the factory 4 or 500 more, which they had intended to have taken in the same vessel, but
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were prevented by the proximity of a British cruiser, from which they narrowly escaped.-The Pons was put under the charge of Lieut. Cogdell, and was 14 days in getting up to Monrovia, during which time about 150 of the poor wretches died-some of them jumping overboard in a fit of desperation-and on her arrival at Monrovia, several of the slaves were in a dying state, and many were so emaciated that their skin literally cleaved to their bones, and the stench of the crowded hold was almost suffocating. The recaptured slaves were landed at Monrovia, and measures were adopted for taking care of them, by the United States Agent for liberated Africans-300 of them by the Methodist Mission establishment there, who have issued a Circular, appealing to the Christian public for aid, The Pons had sailed for the United States, (supposed for Philadelphia,) under charge of Lieutenant Cogdell. A letter from one of the Methodist Missionaries gives a horrid account of the sufferings of the slaves, and says it is utterly impossible for language to convey an appropriate idea of the horrors of their situation-the living and the dying were huddled together with less care than is bestowed upon the brute creation-the thermometer at 100 to 120 in the hold. Most of the slaves were in a state of nudity, and many had worn their skin through, producing putrid ulcers, which fed swarms of flies."
JEWISH COLONIZATION.-The present extraordinary agitation among the Jews, with the reference to a return to the land of their fathers, cannot but be regarded with interest by the Christian community-especially by those who believe in their literal restoration to the Holy Land:
"At a meeting of gentlemen feeling deeply interested in the welfare of the Jewish people, recently held in London," says the London Watchman, "it was resolved, that a society be formed, under the title of the 'British and Foreign Society for promoting Colonization of the Holy Land.' The Society is to be rastricted [restricted] to the making of all necessary preparations to facilitate the realization of the gradual colonization of Palestine, and the present protection and promotion of the civil and religious rights and liberties of the Jewish people in every part of the world; the committee to consist alike of Jews and Christians, Englishmen and Foreigners. The co-operation of politicians and good men, of every sect, country and rank, is invited, it being a fundamental rule of the Society, that it shall be entirely silent and neutral as to every point of religious controversy."
DREADFUL EFFECTS OF THE STORM.-The Norfolk Courier, of the afternoon of the 7th ult. says:-
"We learn that a very respectable resident of the vicinity of Nott's Island, (Currituck county,) N. C., arrived in our city this morning, who state that the effects of the late storm were most awfully experienced on that part of the coast. He says, that fifty families were drowned on Nott's Island, and one thousand head of cattle destroyed. The wild fowl suffered most severely-wild geese might be taken in almost any quantity-some killed, others so much crippled as to be easily seized, being unable to escape."
THE CHURCHES AND POLITICS.-The N. York Evangelist has come out in favor of leaving the Oregon controversy to arbitration, and abuses the administration with more than Whig rancor and bitterness for declining the offer of the British Government. It thinks the time has come when the Christian Churches should act in the matter, and unite their influence to put down the administration of Mr. Polk. All we have to say, is, that if the "Churches" show no more moderation, good sense, and Christian spirit than the reverend editor of the Evangelist, they will put themselves down instead of the administration, and make themselves the laughing stock of all reasonable men.-Barre (Mass.) Gaz.)
POETRY.
SONG OF LIFE.
What say the woods when soft winds sigh The thrush and linnet in the thorn,
Their gentle evening lullaby, Raising their voice to meet the morn;
When every leaf on every spray The skylark, as he shakes the dew
Catches the zephyrs as they stray; From off his wings, and flies from view,
What is their language, poet, say? To sing his lays in ether blue-
They sing of life; All sing of life;
They sing of life. All sing of life,
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The soft, sweet breath of gentle spring, To echo their tremendous roar-
Calling the earth to blossoming: Doth sing of life;
The nectrous drops of summer showers, Doth sing of life;
Opening the leaves of lovely flowers,
To smile upon this earth of ours What saith yon bright-haired happy boy,
Doth sing of life; With bounding step, and look of joy,
Doth sing of life. Dreams he that aught [ought] but joy can be
His loud, mild laugh of artless glee,
The bees, which store their waxen cells, His gladsome voice is sweet to me.-
With honied spoils of fox-glove bells; It sings of life;
The flies which, on the sun's bright ray, It sings of life;
Wanton their thread of life a day,
In restlessness and sport away- All things which meet the wand'ring eye,
All sing of life; From flowery earth to starry sky;
All sing of life. The joy of morn, the calm of even,
All on the earth, in air, in heaven,
The gentle ripples of the sea, All which a bounteous God hath given-
Its mountain waves, in maddening glee, Doth sing of life;
Dashing their foam wreaths o'er the shore, Doth sing of life;
Calling on cliff and rock so hoar
DEDICATION HYMN.
BY W. W. PHELPS.
Ho, ho, for the Temple's completed,- Gaze, gaze, at the flight of the righteous,
The Lord hath a place for his head, From the "fire shower of ruin" at hand,
And the priesthood, in power, now lightens Their pray'rs, and their suff'rings, are wrathing
The way of the living and dead! Jehovah to sweep off the land!
See, see, mid the world's dreadful splendor Sing, sing, for the hour of redemption,
Christianity, folly and sword, The day for the poor Saint's reward,
The Mormons, the diligent Mormons, Is coming for temp'ral enjoyment,
Have rear'd up this house to the Lord!- All shining with crowns from the Lord!
By the spirit and wisdom of Joseph- Watch, watch, for the blessing of Jesus,
(Whose blood stains the honor of State,) Is richer the farther it's fetch'd;-
By tithing and sacrifice daily, The wonderful chain of our union
The poor learn the way to be great. Is tighten'd the longer it's stretch'd!
Mark, mark, for the Gentiles are fearful Shout, shout, for the armies of heaven,
Where the work of the Lord is begun; Will purify earth at a word,
Already this monument finish'd, And the "Twelve, with the Saints that are faithful,
Is counted-one miracle done! "ENTER INTO THE JOYS OF THEIR LORD,"
The Times and Season, Printed and Published about the first and fifteenth of every month, on the corner of Main and Kimball Streets, Nauvoo, Hancock County, Illinois, by JOHN TAYLOR, EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR
TERMS.-TWO DOLLARS per annum, payable in all cases in advance. Any person procuring five new subscribers, and forwarding us Ten Dollars current money, shall receive one volume gratis. All letters must be addressed to John Taylor, editor, POST PAID, or they will not receive attention.
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