, 1877-09-09

Spencer. and. ike Spcuccr, Smith ded to save
his life. The Prophet Was President OF ING
bank, and after its failure his residence IN tna1
locality became very irksonlc aud dangerous
and he accordingly, With large body Of Saints,
departed for Missouri, where, in the nortn"cSt-
cru corner Of tho State, they paat 1S anS
City Of ''Far West" In few years the olu
ouarres between the Saints ana nhn lng ormnn uun
leaders declared they would not lo9Eel 2S;s
submit to the Government OF the State ol AIS
souri,. Sidney Rigdon convened the community 10y
in mass meeting and preached oeioae eieemed led,
under arms and made the further rcs1dence OF
the faithful very uncomfortable. The Clty Of
Fur West was bcsicacl and captured alter Inc
shedding Of blood On both sidcs.
III 1889 and 1916 the whole body OF Allssoui!
Mormons took up the line OF 1naich eastward
aud located in Illinois, where lucy We1e r..
cciycd Us sufferers in the cause OF reeon. @ ~ ~
is stated that several counties Vlcu With cacA
other in rendering hospitality ano ot3,o IN ten1 v
dcayors to get these strangers to sctllo a!lon
the people OF those counties. a site was h1laiiy
selected on tue Mississippi River, which was de-
cded upon as the location Of great city sur
rounding temple for the worship .,o.ie ol .de
named Nauvou. The city and the temple were
built. and the former at one time numbered
more than 5000 souls. The City Of Nau'oo
| was chartered bY the Legislature OF 1o4o.
That charter is one of the most rcm2rkaole
I grants OF power ever made in the United States,
| aud should always stand as monument 10
reckless legislation aud to the eternal d!shonor
/ Of the body which passed it.
The Alprmons had always been an important
factor in the elections, md had III Wisconsin
| voted With the Democratic party as unit.
They had, however, been driven out OF tlle e1ate
| by j Democratic il Administration, and when they
| apucacd to Prcsuent Van Buren he refused to
| grant them relief for constitutional reasons.
Uuder these circumstances the Wings OF Illinois
found the Mort.ons an easy prey on thclf af-
| r1ral in this StSle, aud they continued to vote
with the Wings In all the elections OF 1ef0 and
1S4 until tho Legislature Of the latter year lost
| the vote to the Democrats.
| 4 man named Bcunctt, who is described by
that volatile Democrat and caustlc MS
torian Ford rs ''probably the great
| agent vi the Mormon Church, solicited
charter tor the City Of Nauyoo. tie was dex-
ferrous lobbvlst, and succeeded in flattcring both
political parties with promises Of tho Mormon
vote. Tile result was the passage oi the CHAR
ter by both HOUSES. Tue following summary Of
| that remarkable instrument w,ll he read with
| interest ut this daY. 1t provided Tor Mayor
| four Aldermen, aud niue Councilmcn, who were
empowered to pass aIl ORDINANCES necessary 1or
the peace, benefit, good order, regulation, con-
| yrnience, ur cleanliness OF the city, and LOT
| the protection OF property from ilre' which
| were not rcpuguant to the Constitution Of the
| United States or this State. This gave the city
| power to erect government perfectly lndc-
| pendent OF State laws
t Muyor's Court was established having ex-
elusive Jurisdiction OF a}l cases arising lnuer te
city or 'inances, subject TO appel to the Munlc-
pal Court. The Mayor vas constituted
Chief Justice, With four Associate Justices anu
the Municipal Court could issue wrlts ol haoeas s
corpus in all eases arising under the city, ortli-
nances. This Chartcr Incorporated the
Nauyoo militia into an lndcpcnd-
ent military body, which was called
the Nauyoo Legion, and was armed and
l,r hn t,tp hit mt SIftl1tCt to
the general Militia law Of the State. \ spe-
cial cuurt-martia1 for tine Legion was cstab-
listed. The Legion was at the disposal OF the
Mayor in executing the laws anu ordinances o.
the clry. Subsequently 4 large establishment
called the Nauyoo House was chartered or in
curporatcd, in which the Prophet and his heirs
We're to have Il suite OF rooms forever. ~
short, the Legislature had actually erected
separate 1uiiitary-church palatlnatc within the
borders OF the State Of Illinois, In reading the
history Ut the rise Of the Government OF Maui
VOC, one is reminded OF the ancient 1cuual
Governments which praeticeu autonomy, at tile
same time acknowledging alltslance 70 q so-
yvo was organized, and Joe Smith was elected
Mayor. He presided in the Common Council.
Lie executed the laws made by it, nc was ex.
oticio Judge Of the Mayors Court, Chief
Justice oil the Municipal Court, and inter
prefer Of all laws. HI organzed the
Nauyoo Legion, which was divided into
divisions, .brigades, cohorts, regiments
bartalions, and companies, in order to iurnlsh
his friends with offices OF distinction, and he re-
served Tor himself the position Of Lieutcuant-
General. The Government was III every orancn.
exclusively Mormon.
Tie City of Nauyoo, containing between
15,O00 and 10000 inhabitants, covered about slx
sauare miles OF territory, aud upon the brow OF
the hill, overlooking the main portion OF the
CITY. Us well It's sweep Of the Mississippi River
for miles, stood the great nonaescr1Rt Temple OF
peculiar architecture and vast proportions Inc
place has long been dcsolatc, and tahs 10 reveal
its past interesting history.
Smith was proud OF his city. and the people
were ianaticaily proud Of HIM. Tor he ercctcd
Zion's shelter about and above them, aud the
temple was their shrine he owned i'll lee abso-
lutc all property of a permanent character With
in the corporate limits OF the city, and no one
could sell real estate or buy it without his con-
sent.
When in the zenith of his power the Prophet
erected numerous institutions within the
Church which do not seem to hare been de-
signed by linn or RisIon It the outset OF their
career, and he maue great changes in the con-
formation Of the Church, many OF which lie
justified TO The brethren on the ground that he
had been advised by the Almighty to institute
them. He established new and select order
Of the priesthood the members Of which were
to be priests and Kings: spiritual and temporal,
He caused himself u be crowned and anointcd
King and Priest, above all others He traced
his descent BY an unbroken CHAIN from Joseph
and Jacob, and the Government OF the United
States he caused to be openly denounced. He
predicted that it was about to pass away, anu
that tue government OF God vas to take its
place, to be administered by the Prophet and
and the Apostles.
The theory that the Prophet might and should
have tor Ills wives any number OIL women was
promulgated in the early days Of the Church. iu
imitation Of Solomon and the patrlarchs but it
was not until Smith had gained the summit Of
his power that he enlarged this privilege So as
to embrace the priesthood aud elders, who we're