| 394 publication of The Missouri Enquirer, a weekly paper. They also paid our lawyers, employed as counsel against the mob, three hundred dollars on the one thousand dollar note, on agreement: a small amount towards an establishment which, with the book work and furniture, had cost some three or four thousand dollars.
"From the very features of the celebrated mob circular, previously inserted, it will be seen that they meditated a most daring infraction of the Constitution of our country, that they might gratify a spirit of persecution against an innocent people. To whom shall blame be attached in this tragedy, when they in July last boldly made known their determination to drive the Mormons from Jackson County, 'peaceably if they could, forcibly if they must,' openly declaring that 'the arm of the civil law did not afford them a sufficient guarantee against the increasing evils of this religious sect.' And in their circular they further say, 'We deem it expedient, and of the highest importance, to form ourselves into a company for the better and easier accomplishment of our purposes,' and conclude with these high-toned words: 'We therefore agree, that after timely warning, and upon receiving an adequate compensation for what little property they cannot take with them, they refuse to leave us in peace as they found us, we agree to use such means as may be sufficient to remove them; and to this end we each pledge to each other our lives, our bodily powers, fortunes, and sacred honors.
"In answer to their bold and daring resolves to guard against anticipated evils, I give the following extract from the Governor's letter in relation to this affair, dated October 19, 1833: 'No citizen, or number of citizens, has a right to take the redress of their grievances, whether real or imaginary, into their own hands. Such conduct strikes at the very existence of society, and subverts the foundation on which it is based.'
"I ask again, To whom shall blame be attached in this tragedy, when the mob previously and publicly declared their intentions; and the principles involved were understood by the Executive, as appears by the foregoing; and also by the
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