THE MORMONS.
We have been, for some time chronicling the movements of the anti-mormons in Hancock, county, Illinois, and the final expulsion of the Mor-mons and and their friends from, the city of Nau-voo, and its vicinity—a glorious triumph, as it was deemed, of the arms and army of that state. But the unrighteous proceedings of the Anti-Mor-mons are not likely to produce peace and order; on the contrary as might have been expected, such a gross attack upon a community would scarcely be made by men having any regard for the right of man. Victory, then, purchased at the expense of justice, has resulted in a state of things that would have disgraced the old community of Bar-rataria.
The governor of the state has been compelled to call for military aid, to put down those who, with military force, expelled the Mormons; and in his address to the state, the governor says:
"It is known that when the anti-Mormons; late-ly expelled the Mormons and jack Mormons, they left a hundred men at Nauvoo, to keep them away. This hundred men are amongst the most desper-ate of the party; men who have no homes nor any way to live except upon the plunder of the city, he better part of the anti-Mormons having re-turned to their homes. The gang is under command of a blackguard named McCalla, and he has divi-ded it into two or three parts, one portion serving a few days, and then to be relieved by others. Each gang, when relieved, retires from Nauvoo with as much plunder as they can carry, taken from the houses of the Jack-Mormons, who have been driven off. Besides this the anti-Mormons, themselves have got into a quarrel, and the vio-lent anties are now engaged in driving off, lynch-ing and ducking in the river the more moderate ones. Every man who has spite at another has him driven off. If there is rivalry in business, one of the rivals has the other driven away. In this manner a tavern keeper, by the name of Van Tuyle, has had two others expelled, for no other reason than opposition in business; and so a Dr. Irvin has had some very respectable physicians driven off, and so with merchants, and in every other business. Those who now remain in Nau-voo, appear to be like the old woman who wanted every body to die in her town, so that she would have no opposition in selling ginger cakes. The mob guard of the city, encamped in the temple, have taken side with a few men there, and driven of every man they point their finger at. They go to any house, break it open, take whatever they want, and waste the balance. This is only a slight sketch of the horrors of that devoted place. And yet, gentle reader, this is in Illinois—in our own state, and the people look supinely on, and see these outrages perpetrated in the name of a mob, without appearing to care any thing about it. It is announced that the mob guard is to be kept up all next winter, and probably as long as there is plunder to subsist on."
A meeting of citizens of Springfield was held on Wednesday last, at which a preamble and res-olutions were adopted, setting forth the atrocities of the anti-Mormons, since their occupation of Nauvoo. They resolved that such acts are des-tructive of public liberty, as well as of private rights, and alike destructive to the institutions, the officers and people of a state, whose laws are thus violated; that it is the duty of the officers to take the most vigorous and prompt measures to put a stop to the reign of violence; and that the executive of the state be requested and entreated to exercise to the utmost, his constitutional pow-ers, to remedy the evil, by calling out a sufficient military force, to restore the supremacy of the law and bring the offenders to justice. The people were called upon "to assemble to organize, and make their determinations known, by acts as well as words."
Finally, we have a letter from Gov. Ford, which we annex for public information:
SPRINGFIELD, Oct. 16, 1846.
Gentlemen I have at last been able to raise a very small force here, with which to go to Han-cock once more. I think a better feeling is grow-ing up in the community. Whilst the controversy was between the Mormons and anti-Mormons, the prejudice of the people against the Mormons was such that nothing could be done; but since the mob party have proceeded to such excess against the persons and property who are not, and never were, Mormons, there is a general indignation against them. And yet, I do not know whether we shall be able to do any good. The only chance to put them down, will be, that they will stand and fight, but it is to be feared that they will escape to Missouri or Iowa, and swear they were never in arms against the state, as they have uniformly done on former occasions,
I am, respectfully,
Your obedient servant,
THOMAS FORD.
