JS, Letter, , Hancock Co., IL, to , [, Hancock Co., IL], 22–23 June 1844; handwriting of ; dockets in handwriting of and ; four pages; JS Collection, CHL.
all the time no one person to our knowledge has been arrested only for violatin of the peace. & those some of our own citizens.— All of whom we believe are now discharged.—
And if any property has been taken <for public benefit> without a compensatin. or against it has been done without our knowledge or conse[n]t & when shown shall be corrected. if the people will permit us to resume our usual labors.
If we “have committed any a Gross outrage upon the <Laws &> liberties of the people” as your represents we are ready to correct that outrage, when the testimony is forth coming, all Men are bound to act in their sphere on their own judgmet and it would be quite impossible for us to know what your ’s Judment would have been in the case refered to. consequently acted on our own and according to our best Judment after having taken able council in the case. But since you require us to be forth coming <if we have erred we again say we will make all right if we can have the privilege.—>
“The constitution also provid[e]s that the people shall be protected again[s]t all unreasonable search & seasure” true, but <does> this refer particularly the doctrine we believe most fully. and have acted upon it, but we do not beli[e]ve it unreasonable, to search so far as it is necessary to prevent the destructionof <protect> lives life.— & property which has been the case in all <from destruction,> And we are confidant that nothing more has been done, if any thing, by us in the pervious
We do not believe <in> the “Union of Legislative & judicial power” and we have not so under[s]tood the action of the case, in qustin [question]
Whatever power we have exe[r]cised in the , has been done under in accordance with the strict Letter of the Charter, <&> and Constitutin & ordinences, as we confidently understnd them.— and that too with the ablest counsel— and but if it be so that we have Erred in this thing. Let the Supreme Court Correct the evil. we have never gone cont[ra]ry to constitutionality Law. so far as we have been able to learn it. If Lawye[r]s have belied their profession, to abuse us, the evil be on there heads
You have intimated that no press had been abated as a nuisance in the . we refer your to Richard <Humphrey> vs [p. [2]]