IN the midst of these preparations, a message was received from Governor Ford, stating that he had arrived in Carthage in the interests of peace, and hoped to be able to avert the evils of war by his presence; and that he might the better judge of the situation he asked that well-informed and discreet persons be sent to him at Carthage, where he had established for the time his headquarters. This request of the governor's was gladly complied with on the part of the people of Nauvoo; and John Taylor and Dr. J. M. Bernhisel were appointed to represent their version of the situation, and for that purpose were furnished with a copy of the proceedings of the city council, and the affidavits of a number of citizens bearing on the subjects that would likely be discussed. These representatives of the citizens of Nauvoo, found the governor surrounded by their enemies--the Laws, Fosters, and Higbees, besides others living at Warsaw and Carthage. The only audience given to Messrs. Taylor and Bernhisel was in the presence of these parties, by whom they were frequently interrupted in the most insulting manner, and the parties insulting and abusing them were unchecked by Governor Ford. After the governor had heard the statements of these gentlemen and read the documents presented by them, he sent a written communication to the mayor, Joseph Smith, in which he said that by destroying the _Expositor_ press, the city council of Nauvoo had committed a gross outrage upon the laws and liberties of the people, and had violated the Constitution in several particulars. He also claimed that the municipal court of Nauvoo had exceeded its authority in granting writs of _habeas corpus_. He accepted the statement of the mob at Carthage that Joseph Smith refused to be tried by any other court than the municipal court of Nauvoo, although he had before him the most positive proof that Joseph was willing to go before any justice of the peace in Hancock County, except Justice Morrison of Carthage, where an angry mob had collected, and were threatening his destruction, and since the warrant was made returnable to the magistrate who issued it, or any other justice in the county, the Prophet expressed a willingness to go before any other justice, but very properly refused to go to Carthage. He was even willing to be bound over to appear in the circuit court to answer for the part he took in abating the _Expositor_ press as a nuisance. Yet in the face of these facts--in the face of the fact that all the parties charged with riot had appeared before D. H. Wells, a justice of the peace and a non-Mormon, and after investigation were acquitted--yet the governor charged the members of the city council with refusing to appear before any other than the municipal court of Nauvoo for an investigation. He demanded that the mayor and all persons in Nauvoo accused or sued submit in all cases implicitly to the process of the