LITMIR.BIZ

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whole earth. Then, sir, how would it have been possible for you to have offered your hearers on that occasion a greater insult than you did? The most refined and delicate ladies were justly incensed to wrath against you for intimating that their husbands were ever capable of being guilty of such baseness as you represented, "prejudice and defection" towards a constitution which they firmly believe emanated from the heavens, and was given by a revelation, to lay the foundation of religious and political freedom in this age—a constitution and union which this people love as they do the gospel of salvation. And when you, sir, shall attempt to fasten the false and odious appellation of treason to this community, even ignorantly, as we had supposed you did it, you will find plenty, even among the ladies, to hurl the falsehood back to its dark origin, in tones of thunder; but if, as you say, you know, (or else how could the whole have been 'the result of deliberation and care,') the plea of ignorance ceases again to shield you, and you stand before the people in all the naked deformity of willful wickedness,' who can plead your excuse? Who, under such circumstances, can make an apology? I wonder not that you should excuse yourself from the attempt, 'or decline appearing again in public on the subject.' "Permit me sir, to subscribe myself, as ever,

      Most respectfully, your servant, Brigham Young.

      "Hon. P. E. Brocchus, Asste. Justice.'"

      The speech of Judge Brocchus is not extant, nor is there to be found any report of that exciting conference, for it was before the existence of the Deseret News; but the subject and offence appear well defined in the correspondence itself, which is strikingly illustrated in the following paragraph from Governor Young's third letter: "Another important item in the course of your remarks, on the 8th instant, in connection with the expose of your own exalted virtue—you expressed a hope that the ladies you were addressing would 'become virtuous.' Let me ask you, most seriously, my dear sir, how could you hope thus? How could you hope that those dear creatures, some of whose acts of benevolence to the stranger drew tears from your eyes while you were yet speaking—how could you hope—what possible chance was there for you to hope—they would become virtuous? Had you ever proved them unvirtuous? If so, you could have but a faint hope of their reformation. But, if you had not proved them unvirtuous, what testimony had you of their lack of virtue? And if they were unvirtuous, how could they 'become virtuous'? Sir, your hope was of the most damning dye, and your very expression tended to convey the assertion that those ladies you then and there addressed were prostitutes—unvirtuous—to that extent you could only hope, but the probability was they were so far gone in wickedness you dare not believe they ever could become virtuous. And now, sir, let your own good sense, if you have a spark left, answer—could you, had you mustered all the force that hell could lend you—could you have committed a greater indignity and outrage on the feelings of the most virtuous and sensible assemblage of ladies that your eyes ever beheld? If you could, tell me how. If you could not, you are at liberty to remain silent. Shall such insults remain unrequited, unatoned for?"

      Judge Brocchus made no written reply to the review of his conduct, but in person acknowledged that it was unanswerable and authorized the Governor to apologize for him to the community.

      This very singular and suggestive correspondence, which itself is quite a chapter of the history of Great Salt Lake City, was published in the New York Herald, and was the commencement of a great sensation over Utah affairs.

      Having rendered themselves unpopular and being neither able to arraign a whole community for their religious institutions, nor strong enough to set aside Governor Young and his three Federal colleagues, who stood with the people, Chief Justice Brandebury, Associate Justice Brocchus, and Secretary Harris resolved to leave the Territory. But previous to their leaving, they called a Supreme Court, which was held in Great Salt Lake City, though no law had been passed fixing the time and place for holding it. At this court, as an original suit, an injunction was granted. Associate Justice Snow dissented. He said, the bill, he thought, was a good case for the injunction, yet he opposed it on two grounds:

      "1st.—There was not any law fixing the time and place of holding the Supreme Court.

      "2nd.—The Supreme Court had not original jurisdiction, and the District Court had, which was provided for in the Governor's proclamation."

      Chief Justice Brandebury and Associate Justice Brocchus left Great Salt Lake City together. Soon afterwards Secretary Harris followed their example, carrying away with him the $24,000 which had been appropriated by Congress for the per diem and mileage of the Legislature.

      It would seem that these three Federal officers expected to be applauded by the public, and sustained by the Government, their assault being against polygamy, but they indiscreetly stated, in their communication to the Government, that "polygamy monopolized all the women, which made it very inconvenient for the Federal officers to reside there."

      "Loose as people might suppose frontier life to be," observes Mr. Stenhouse in his Rocky Mountain Saints, "no one anticipated that representatives of the Federal Government would thus express themselves. That one sentence annihilated them. Over the signature of Jedediah M. Grant [the Mayor of Great Salt Lake City] a series of letters was addressed to the New York Herald, under the title, 'Truth for the Mormons,' in which the Federal officers were turned into ridicule and fiercely handled. The Herald gave the public only one letter; but Grant, nothing daunted, published the whole series in pamphlet form, and scattered them broadcast. The Grant letters, from their forcible and pungent style, attracted the attention of literary men as gems of wit and vigorous English. * * * In his moments of calm reflection, Judge Brocchus may have concluded that his zeal against polygamy had outstripped his prudence. The Government took that view of it, and quietly dropped the 'runaway judges and secretary.'"

      This view presented in the felicitous vein of the New York Herald's special correspondent on Utah affairs, well describes the scandalized sense of the American public over the conduct of the " runaway judges and secretary;" but it does not sufficiently express the offended judgment of the United States Government over their conduct. Congress had only just created the new Territory. In doing this both the legislative and executive departments had a very clear pre-knowledge that the United States was extending its rule over a religious community, whose institutions, though peculiar, were founded on the strict examples of the Bible. The President and his advisers, among whom was that gigantic statesman, Daniel Webster, had with an intelligent intent appointed Brigham Young Governor, with three other of his co-religionists, to represent the Federal authority to their people; while to the minority of the Federal officers was given the controlling power of the judiciary, and the secretaryship, with the custody of the appropriations; all of this had been done to bring the Mormon colony harmoniously into the Union under its supremacy; yet ere they had held a single United States District Court in the new Territory, or its Legislature had assembled, or the Territorial government itself was fully set up, the Chief Justice, his Associate, and the Secretary deserted their posts. The General Government was reasonably incensed over such a case; Congress was scarcely less offended; and Daniel Webster, who was Secretary of State, peremptorily ordered the judges and secretary back to their deserted positions or to resign.

      After the departure of these Federal officers from Great Salt Lake City, Governor Young appointed Willard Richards Secretary of the Territory pro tem.

      This appointment, and several other informal acts, which had become necessary in the absence of the regular officials in a newly organized Territory, was duly reported to the Department of State. Daniel Webster sustained them, and the bills of Willard Richards, which were signed "Secretary pro tem, appointed by the Governor," were allowed by the Department, and paid.

      The Utah Legislature also, finding the United States Judiciary in the Territory inoperative, passed the following act authorizing Associate Justice Zerubbabel Snow to hold the Courts in all the districts:

       "AN ACT CONCERNING THE JUDICIARY, AND FOR JUDICIAL PURPOSES.

      Sec. 1. ''Be it enacted by the Governor and Legislative Assembly of the Territory of Utah, That the first Judicial District for said Territory, shall consist of, and embrace the following counties and districts of country, to wit:—Great Salt Lake. Davis, Weber, Tooele, and Utah Counties, and all districts of country lying east, north, and west of said counties in said Territory.

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