III of this history. After hearing the testimony of these witnesses and the pleading of counsel the court ordered that Joseph Smith be released from the arrest and imprisonment of which he complained for want of substance in the warrant by which he was held, as well as upon the merits of the case. A copy of the proceedings before the municipal court at Nauvoo and all the papers connected with the case were immediately sent to Governor Ford, as also were affidavits from leading counsel and gentlemen from outside places. I may anticipate a little by saying that about a year later a jury in Lee county, Illinois, awarded $40.00 damages and costs against Wilson, a sheriff in the state of Illinois, and Reynolds, the Missouri agent, for false imprisonment and abuse of the Prophet, a verdict, which while it confirms the unlawful course of those officers, and the fact that their prisoner was abused, insults justice by awarding such an amount for damages. At the time of the action by the municipal court of Nauvoo, ordering the Prophet's release from arrest, it was a question in Illinois whether said court had the authority to hear and determine writs of _habeas corpus_ arising from arrests made by virtue of warrants issued by the courts of the state or of the governor, as in the foregoing case; or whether the clause in the city charter granting the right of issuing writs of_ habeas corpus_ was not confined to cases arising strictly from arrests made on account of the violation of some city ordinance. The clause in the charter, giving to the municipal court the power to issue writs of _habeas corpus_ was as follows: {XXVI} The municipal court shall have power to grant writs of _habeas corpus_ in all cases arising under the ordinances of the city council. And in addition there was the general welfare provision, which provided that the City council shall have power and authority to make, ordain, establish and execute such ordinances not repugnant to the constitution of the United States or of this state, as they may deem necessary for the peace, benefit and safety of the inhabitants of said city.