".
. . outrageous assaults upon their rights and liberties as peaceable citizens."
The NEW-YORK SPECTATOR (newspaper, New York City) for Thursday, March 6, 1834.
Folio, 23 X 16¾ inches. Complete issue of [4] pages. Very good condition.
postpaid: SOLD::$ 67.50::
A short but significant Mormon-sympathetic report appears at the bottom of the back page (one column inch of small type, enlarged below), quoting the Danville, Illinois Enquirer . . .
The press of the Evening and Morning Star had been destroyed the previous July 20, the Book of Commandments scattered by the mob, and Edward Partridge and Charles Allen tarred and feathered. "The mob appeared again on July 23," explain James Allen & Glen Leonard,
carrying rifles, pistols, clubs, and whips, and compelled Mormon leaders to assemble in the public square. They were forced to sign a written agreement to leave the county . . .
This agreement allowed the Saints a little time to seek advice from Joseph Smith and consult with state officials. . . .
The leaders in Zion, meanwhile, petitioned Missouri Governor Daniel Dunklin for help and protection. The state attorney general considered the request, criticized the citizens for lawlessness, and urged the Saints to seek both redress and protection under the laws by petitioning the circuit judge and justices of the peace. To pursue their case in the courts, the Church retained the legal firm of Doniphan, Atchison, Rees, and Wood in late October. [The Story of the Latter-day Saints (SLC: Deseret Book Co., 1976/86, pp. 85-6]
For
the text of the Governor's letter (to Edward Partridge, W. W. Phelps, John Whitmer
and others) see Joseph Smith's History of the Church I:423-4. The attorneys
proposed a very high fee, knowing that in defending the Mormons, they would
lose most of their regular clientele (p. 425).