USA > Utah > History of Utah > Part 41
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168
365
6th. Iron County
191
169
360
7th. Tooele County
85
67
152
8th. Green River Precinct
22
24
46
Total
6026
5328
11354
Great Salt Lake City,
Utah Territory,
June 26, 1851.
* Among other enactments of the Provisional Government in 1850-51, were the following : " To encourage the establishment of stage lines," " Granting Little Cottonwood Canyon to Benjamin L. Clapp and Charles Down," " In relation to County Courts," "For establishing Probate Courts and defining the duties thereof," " A criminal code," " In relation to the militia of the State of Deseret," " Authorizing the judges of the several counties of the State to grant mill and other water privileges, and to control the timber in their respective counties," " Granting block No. 102 (Union Square) in Great Salt Lake City. to the State of Deseret, for the purpose of erecting a state house upon it," " In reference to gambling."
30-VOL. 1.
458
HISTORY OF UTAH.
This of course was not a complete census, but merely an enumeration of inhabitants. Fuller returns were not made owing to the lack of regular census blanks, which had not arrived from Washington .*
Upon the basis of this enumeration the Governor on June 30th made the following apportionment for the Council and House of Representatives of the Legislative Assembly :
Salt Lake County
6 Councilors and 13 Representatives.
Utah
3
Weber
3
Davis
3
Iron
Sanpete
=
Tooele
1
-
26
He then directed that the election be held on the first Monday of the following August.+
On that day-August 4th-Dr. John M. Bernhisel was unani- mously elected Utah's delegate to Congress, being the first person privileged to represent this Territory in the legislative councils of the nation. Dr. Bernhisel was a native of Sandy Hill, Pennsylvania, and was now in his fifty-third year. He was a gentleman of culture, and traditionally a Whig in politics. At this time, however, he represented no political party. The returns from the various precincts showed the number of votes polled at this election to be 1259. The names of those comprising the first Legislative Assembly of the Territory -- all of whom, save one, were unanimously elected- will be given later.
July 4th-Independence Day-was commemorated in 1851 by
* Returns obtained later showed, in addition to the above, the following : No. dwell- ings, 2,322 ; No. families, 2,322 ; No. farms, 926 ; No. deaths during 1849-50, 239.
¿ This was in accordance with a law regulating elections, enacted by the General Assembly of Deseret, Nov. 12, 1849.
2 1 1 1 - 13 2
7,
1
I. le Bemhisel
459
HISTORY OF UTAH.
a grand celebration at Black Rock, on the southern shore of the Great Salt Lake. Governor Young and many other prominent citizens, as well as stranger guests, were present. The year before there had been an observance of the day at Salt Lake City, but it was not nearly so elaborate as the celebration of 1851.
Pioneer Day, that year, was kept as usual, the program of exercises being rendered in the Bowery, on Temple Block. Among the guests present were Chief Justice Brandebury and Secretary Harris, two of the newly-appointed Federal officials of the Territory. Along with Governor Young, Presidents Kimball and Richards, Dr. Bernhisel and other notables, they were escorted to the Bowery, given seats upon the platform, and treated with every attention and courtesy due to their honorable stations.
The Chief Justice and Secretary had arrived in Utah a few days before the celebration. In honor of the former, who was the first to appear upon the scene, a ball and supper had been given at the new Warm Springs Bath House building, recently erected in the northern suburb of the city. Associate Justice Brocchus did not arrive until early in August, by which time most of the Federal officials for Utah had assembled in Salt Lake City. Among them were Henry R. Day and Stephen B. Rose, Indian sub-agents .* Another notable arrival from the east about this time-was atle Orson Hyde, who for :ormon business affairs at several years had resided and attended to
* One Indian agent and two sub-agents hat by the Federal Government. Governor Young
been appointed for the Territory was ex-officio Superintendent of Indian Affairs for Utah, on July 21st, 1851, ordered the Territory divided into three Indian Agencies, namely : (1) The Pauvan Agency, to include all within the limits of the Territory west of the Shoshone nation, and north of the south line of the Pauvan Valley; (2) The Uinta Agency, to include all of the Snakes or Shoshones within the Territory, the Uinta and Yampa, and all other tribes south, within the Territory, and east of the eastern rim of the Great Basin; (3) The Parowan Agency, to include all the country lying west of the eastern rim of the Great Basin, and south of the south line of the Pauvan Valley, to the western bounds of the Territory. Mr. Day was assigned to the First or Panvan Agency, and Mr. Rose to the Second or Uinta Agency. Mr. Holman, the chief agent, for whom was reserved the Third or Parowan Agency, had not arrived at the time of these assignments.
460
HISTORY OF UTAH.
Kanesville on the frontier. The new-comers were all given a cordial welcome.
Secretary Harris had brought with him from Washington the sum of $24,000, appropriated by Congress for the per diem and other expenses of the Legislature. Colonel Babbitt, who had also returned, brought $20,000, the Congressional appropriation toward the erection of public buildings for the Territory.
Governor Young, soon after the arrival of the Federal Judges, by virtue of the authority given him in the organic act, defined the three judicial districts of the Territory, and assigned the three officials thereto. The First District comprised the City and County of Salt Lake, the County of Tooele, and the adjacent country east and west to the boundaries of the Territory, including Bridger's precinct; the Second District embraced the counties of Davis and Weber, and the adjacent country east, west and north to the boundaries of the Territory, and the Third District the counties of Utah, Sanpete and Iron and the adjacent parts east, west and south to the boundaries of the Territory. Chief Justice Brandebury was assigned to the First District, Associate Justice Snow to the Second, and Associate Justice Brocchus to the Third. These assignments were made on the 8th of August.
Judge Brocchus, if report did not belie him, entered upon, or rather surveyed, his official duties in Utah, a disappointed man. Though accepting the position of Associate Justice for the Territory, he had aspired, it seems, to something greater, and had hoped that the Mormon people would help him to attain it. There was nothing at all wrong in this, nor was it anything surprising. The salary of an Associate Justice was only $1800 per annum, and the social prestige of the position-especially among the sage-brush and cacti of southern Utah-being, like the salary, somewhat limited, it was no wonder if the ambition of Judge Brocchus soared to something more lucrative and at the same time more illustrious. Many in those days were tempted to believe, owing to the meagre inducement held out, that none but third or fourth rate men, unless coming to reside
461
HISTORY OF UTAH.
permanently in the Territory, could be persuaded to accept such an office. There were those who thought that this was Judge Buffington's reason for declining the appointment which Judge Brandebury subsequently accepted. Be this as it may, it was not long after the arrival of Judge Brocchus,-who seemed to possess great influence over the Chief Justice and Secretary,-that all three began to show signs of discontent, complaining among other things of the smallness of their salaries, which had been fixed by Congress in the organic act.
But the disappointment of Judge Brocchus, who was supposed to be the author of most of the discontent, was believed to be in the fact that he had aspired to be Utah's delegate to Congress, and had been much chagrined at learning, just before reaching Salt Lake City, that the election for delegate had taken place, and the honor he coveted had been bestowed upon another. Brocchus is said to have remarked at Kanesville, before starting across the plains, that his only purpose in going to Utah was to run for Congress. He hinted to the Mormons whom he met there, and with whom he traveled west, that certain dangers impended over them at Washington, and that he was anxious to be a political savior to their people. It is stated that in his electioneering he even went so far as to threaten that if the people of Utah did not send him to Congress he would use all his influence at the capital against them. Thus he went on until met by the intelligence that so saddened him,-the news of Dr. Bernhisel's election.
Certain it is that within a very short time after his arrival in Utah, and before even visiting the district to which he had been assigned by the Governor, Judge Brocchus announced his intention of returning east. He succeeded in planting the same desire in the breasts of the Chief Justice and Secretary. As stated, one com- plaint made by the trio was of the smallness of their salaries. An effort was made by prominent Mormons to have this cause of discontent removed. A petition to Congress having been prepared, asking that the salaries of the three judges be increased, down went
462
HISTORY OF UTAH.
the name of Brigham Young, heading the list of its signers. This petition was sent east early in September, Delegate Bernhisel conveying it to Washington.
Still the three officials were not satisfied ; at least Brocchus was not, for he soon afterward called upon Governor Young, and reminding him that he was about to leave the Territory, requested the privilege of addressing a large audience of the people in relation to the Washington Monument fund, whose interests he claimed to represent. The Mormon President cheerfully acquiesced. Said he to the Judge: "I will invite you to speak at our approaching conference. It is a religious meeting, I suppose you are aware; but I wish well to your cause." The matter was thus arranged that Judge Brocchus should be one of the speakers at the semi-annual conference of the Mormon Church, there to present to the people the subject of the Washington Monument, which had already received some attention from the Provisional Government of Deseret.
The fall conference convened that year early in September, the meetings being held, as usual, in the "Old Bowery." On the stand, besides the First Presidency, the Apostles and other Church digni- taries, were Judge Brocchus, Chief Justice Brandebury, and Secretary Harris, who had been invited to occupy seats of honor on the occasion.
Judge Brocchus being, as he himself admitted, " respectfully and honorably introduced" by President Young, arose and addressed the large assembly. His discourse, which was a rambling dissertation on a variety of topics, occupied, according to his own statement, over two hours. He began by expressing his sorrow for the past sufferings of the Mormon people, and referred tearfully to his kind reception and treatment by the citizens of Utah. He then enlarged upon himself, remarking that certain calumnies had pursued him from the east, but that the proof of his virtue lay in the fact that so virtuous a man as President Fillmore had appointed him to office. Next he indulged in a eulogy of George Washington and other Revolutionary heroes, and of Zachary Taylor, whom he regarded as "a second
463
HISTORY OF UTAH.
Washington," and a greater man than Andrew Jackson. He then referred to Brigham Young, and changing his tone, began a covert attack upon the Mormon leader and the power and influence that the people permitted him to wield. He advocated party divisions, and pleaded with the ladies-"the sweet ladies"-of the congregation to transfer their smiles from such men as Brigham Young to men like George Washington and Zachary Taylor-men who could "handle the sword."
By this time the patience of his audience, unused to such pointless drivel, was pretty well exhausted, and the orator, continuing in the same strain, was finally groaned. This incensed him, and he forthwith began assailing the congregation and the people generally. He accused them of a want of patriotism, and of prejudice against the Constitution and the laws, referring now to some remarks by General Wells on the 24th of July-a report of which he had obtained-in which the General had criticised the past course of the Federal Government toward the Mormons." He then quoted a remark of Governor Young's on Zachary Taylor, in which the former had expressed the opinion that Brocchus' patron saint and ideal hero was in Hades, and put this down also to the score of
* The following is a selection from the speech of General Wells, referred to by Judge Brocchus: " It has been thought by some that this people, abused, maltreated insulted, robbed, plundered, murdered, and finally disfranchised and expatriated, would naturally feel reluctant to again unite their destiny with the American republic." * * * "No wonder that it was thought by some that we would not again submit ourselves (even while we were yet scorned and ridiculed) to return to our allegiance to our native country. Remember, that it was by the act of our country, not ours, that we were expatriated ; and then consider the opportunity we had of forming other ties. Let this pass, while we lift the veil and show the policy which dictated us. That country, that constitution, those institutions, were all ours ; they are still ours. Our fathers were heroes of the Revolution. Under the master spirits of an Adams, a Jefferson, and a Washington, they declared and maintained their independence; and, under the guidance of the Spirit of truth, they fulfilled their mission whereunto they were sent from the presence of the Father. Because demagogues have arisen and seized the reins of power, should we relinquish our interest
in that country made dear to us by every tie of association and consanguinity."
"Those who have indulged such sentiments concerning us, have not read Mormonism aright ; for never, no never, will we desert our country's cause ; never will we be found
*
*
464
HISTORY OF UTAH.
Mormon disloyalty .* He then intimated that it was his purpose, on reaching Washington, to use his influence against Governor Young and effect his removal from office.
At this point the ladies in the congregation began to hiss the speaker. Still continuing, he now touched for the first time the subject upon which he had requested permission to speak. Address- ing the ladies he said : "This reminds me that I have a commission from the Washington Monument Association to ask of you a block of marble as the test of your loyalty to the government of the United States. But in order for you to do it acceptably, you must become virtuous, and teach your daughters to become virtuous, or your offering had better remain in the bosom of your native mountains."
The speaker's voice was here drowned in a spontaneous outburst of public indignation. The meeting arose en masse, and the orator, unable to make himself heard above the din which his gross insult had created, now took his seat. It was thought that Brandebury or Harris would reply to Judge Brocchus and apologize for his conduct, but as they remained silent, and were apparently in full sympathy with what he had said, President Young, in response to a general call from the congregation, arose and answered. The gist of the President's reply to Brocchus, as remembered and reproduced by
arrayed by the side of her enemies, although she herself may cherish them in her own bosom. Although she may launch forth the thunderbolts of war, which may return and spend their fury upon her own head, never, no never, will we permit the weakness of human nature to triumph over our love of country, our devotion to her institutions, handed down to us by our honored sires, made dear by a thousand tender recollections."
Captain Stansbury, on Mormon loyalty, says : "Whether in the pulpit, in public addresses, in official documents, or in private intercourse, the same spirit of lofty patriotism seemed to pervade the whole community. At the same time, it should not be concealed that a stern determination exists among them to submit to no repetition of the outrages to which they were subjected in Illinois and Missouri."-Stansbury's Expedition, page 146.
* Evidently it was treasonable, according to Judge Brocchus, to have any but a good opinion of General Taylor, whom he so admired. Daniel Webster was " treasonable" enough to style the hero of the Mexican War "an ignorant frontier colonel," and there were many other Americans, besides Daniel Webster and Brigham Young, who failed to see eye to eye with Judge Brocchus regarding his " second Washington."
465
HISTORY OF UTAH.
Jedediah M. Grant, in his pungent letters to the public a few months later, was as follows:
But for this man's personalities, I would be ashamed not to leave him to be answered by some of our small spouters-sticks of his own timber. Such an orator, I should suppose, might be made by down-east patent, with Comstock's phonetics and elocution primers ; but, I ask you all, have we ever before listened to such trash and nonsense from this stand ? "Are you a judge," he said, turning to him, " and can't even talk like a lawyer, or a politician, and haven't read an American school history ? Be ashamed, you illiterate ranter," said he, " not to know your Washington better than to praise him for being a mere brutal warrior. George Washington was called first in war ; but he was first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen. He had a big head and a great heart. Of course he could fight. But, Lord ! what man can't. What man here will dare to say, with women standing by, that he is a bit more a coward than Washington was ? Handle the sword ! I can handle a sword as well as George Washington. I'd be ashamed to say I couldn't. But you, standing there, white and shaking now, at the hornet's nest you have stirred up yourself-you are a coward, and that is why you have cause to praise men that are not, and why you praise Zachary Taylor. President Taylor you can't praise- you find nothing in him. Old General Taylor ! what was he ? A mere soldier, with regular army buttons on ; no better to go at the head of brave troops than a dozen I could pick up between Leavenworth and Laramie. And, for one, I'll not have Washington insulted by having him compared to Taylor, for a single breath of speech. No, nor what is more, President and General Andrew Jackson crowed down and forgotten, while I am with this people-even if I did not know that one is in one place (of punishment) and the other in another (of reward). What you have not been afraid to intimate about our morals, l will not stoop to notice, except to make my particular personal request of every brother and husband present, not to give your back what such impudence deserves. You talk of things ' you have on hearsay,' since your coming among us. I'll talk of hearsay, then-the hearsay that you are discontented, and will go home, because we cannot make it worth your while to stay. What it would satisfy you to get out of us I think it would be hard to tell ; but I am sure it is more than you'll get. If you or anyone else is such a baby-calf, we must sugar your soap to coax you to wash yourself of Saturday nights. Go home to mammy, straightway, and the sooner the better !
Then ensued the following correspondence between Governor Young and Judge Brocchus :
B. YOUNG TO P. E. BROCCHUS.
GREAT SALT LAKE CITY, Sept. 19, 1851.
DEAR SIR : Ever wishing to promote the peace, love and harmony of the people, and to cultivate the spirit of charity and benevolence to all, and especially towards strangers, I propose, and respcetfully invite your honor, to meet our public assembly at the Bowery, on Sunday morning next, at 10 a.m., and address the same people that you addressed on
466
HISTORY OF UTAH.
the 8th inst., at our General Conference ; and if your honor shall then and there explain, satisfy, or apologize to the satisfaction of the ladies who heard your address on the 8th, so that those feelings of kindness that you so dearly prized in your address can be reciprocated by them, I shall esteem it a duty and a pleasure to make every apology and satisfaction for my observations which you as a gentleman can claim or desire at my hands.
Should your honor please to accept of this kind and benevolent invitation, please answer by the bearer, that public notice may be given, and widely extended, that the house may be full. And believe me, sir, most sincerely and respectfully, your friend and servant, BRIGHAM YOUNG.
Hon. P. E. Brocchus, Ass'te. Justice.
P. S .- Be assured that no gentleman will be permitted to make any reply to your address on that occasion.
B. Y.
P. E. BROCCHUS TO GOVERNOR YOUNG.
GREAT SALT LAKE CITY, Sept. 19, 1851.
DEAR SIR : Your note of this date is before me. While 1 fully concur in, and cordially reciprocate, the sentiments expressed in the preface of your letter, I must be excused from the acceptance of your respectful invitation, to address a public assembly at the Bowery tomorrow morning.
If, at the proper time, the privilege of explaining had been allowed me, I should, promptly and gladly, have relieved myself from any erroneons impressions that my auditors might have derived from the substance or tone of my remarks. But as that privilege was denied me, at the peril of having my hair pulled, or my throat cut, I must be permitted to decline appearing again in public on the subject.
I will take occasion here to say, that my speech, in all its parts, was the result of deliberation and care-not proceeding from a heated imagination, or a maddened impulse, as seems to have been a general impression. 1 intended to say what I did say ; but, in so doing, I did not design to offer indignity and insult to my audience.
My sole design, in the branch of my remarks which seems to be the source of offense, was to vindicate the Government of the United States from those feelings of prej- udice and that spirit of defection which seemed to pervade the public sentiment. That duty I attempted to perform in a manner faithful to the government of which I am a citi- zen, and to which I owe a patriotic allegiance, without unjustly causing a chord to vibrate painfully in the bosom of my hearers. Such a duty, I trust, I shall ever be ready to dis- charge with the fidelity that belongs to a true American citizen-with firmness, with boldness, with dignity-always observing a due respect towards other parties, whether assailants or neutrals.
It was not my intention to insult, or offer disrespect to my audience ; and farthest possible was it from my design, to excite a painful or unpleasant emotion in the hearts of the ladies who honored me with their presence and their respectful attention on the occasion.
In conclusion, I will remark that, at the time of the delivery of my speech, I did
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HISTORY OF UTAH.
not conceive that it contained anything deserving the censure of a just-minded person. My subsequent reflections have fully confirmed me in that impression.
I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
PERRY BROCCHUS.
To his Excellency Brigham Young.
Two more letters were written by the Governor to the Judge, who did not reply in writing to either. A few excerpts from these will suffice :
It was true, sir, what I said, at the close of your speech, and I repeat it here, that my expressions may not be mistaken-I said in reference to your speech, ' Judge Brocchus is either profoundly ignorant-or wilfully wicked-one of the two. There are several gentlemen who would be very glad to prove the statements that have been made about Judge Brocchus, and which he has attempted to repel ; but I will hear nothing more on either side at this conference."
And why did I say it? To quell the excitement which your remarks had caused in that audience ; not to give or accept a challenge, but to prevent anyone (of which there were many present wishing the opportunity) and everyone from accepting your challenge, and thereby bringing down upon your head the indignation of an outraged people, in the midst of a conference convened for religious instruction and business, and which, had your remarks continued, must have continued the excitement, until there would have been danger " of pulling of hair and cutting of throats," perhaps, on both sides, if parties had proved equal-for there are points in human actions and events, beyond which men and women cannot be controlled.
* *
Charity would have induced me to hope, at least, that your speech, in part, was prompted by the impulse of the moment ; but I am forbid this pleasing reflection by your note, wherein you state that 'my speech, in all its parts, was the result of deliberation and care, not proceeding from a heated imagination or a maddened impulse.' 'I intended to say what I did say.' Now, if you did actually 'intend to say what you did say,' it is pretty strong presumptive testimony that you were not ignorant, for if you had been ignorant, from whence arose your intentions ? And if you were not ignorant you must have been wilfully wicked ; and I cannot conceive of a more charitable construction to put upon your conduct on that occasion than to believe you designedly and deliberately planned a speech to excite the indignation of your hearers to an extent that would cause them to break the bonds of propriety by pulling your hair or cutting your throat, willing, no doubt, in the utmost of your benevolence to die a martyr's death, if you could only get occasion to raise the hue and cry, and re-murder a virtuous people, as Missouri and Illinois have so often done before you. Glorious philanthropy this ; and corresponds most fully with the declaration which, it is reported, on pretty good authority, that Judge Brocchus made while on his journey to the valley, substantially as follows: "If the citizens of Utah do not send me as their delegate to Washington, by God, I'll use all my influence against them, and will crush them. I have the influence and the power to do it, and I will accom- plish it if they do not make me their delegate."
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