Show THE commission COMMISS non fON AND territorial GOV ERB ern MENT vei vee direct attention te to a letter wo we have received from a native born citizen asking some q questions in relation to the constitutional powers of the national government in reference to the commission to make laws for utah territory which congress gre Is is is n now ow asked to provide our coi respondent Is perfectly right in relation to the limited powers of congress under the constitution ution each state is to some extent independent certain powers were relinquished by them as se separate sep par araie arale ae and bove hove rewn reign commonwealths and vested in the generao general oas oAi 2 vern ment those powers are plainly designated in the constitution and it is specially provided in that instrument that all other powers except those mentioned therein are re reserved arved to the respective states or to the people articles nine and ten of the amendments to the constitution put this beyond question but has congress any powe of fl exclusive legislation yes r 1 is provided in se section eight of the constitution that congress shall have power to exer exercise cite elte exclusive legislation in all cases whatsoever over suea dle die district triet not exceeding 10 miles quare as may by cession of st states tes and the acceptance of congress become th seat of the government of he the united tates tales etc tile the place thus ceded and accepted is elied cAl calenthe edThe the district of columbia and over that territory longress lon uon gregs grees has P exclusive legislative jurisdiction n this mis power being specially named and limited it i follows that conati congress has no such euch rightful power over any other part of the united states ta tea A j i KWI KW khi nr I but a system has sprung up that evidently was waa not contemplated by the framers of the instrument which Is the guaranty of popular freedom Portion the public do main outside of or the boundaries of the several states were settled by citizens and some form of govern ment became necessary sary for welfare and the public good therefore what are called governments ern ments were instituted designed to give those cit a the protection of the national natio naf government while in their weakness and at the same time secure bothem to them ome home of the forms forma and liberties of republicanism previous to the adoption of the constitution and just juat after the ratifying of the 4 of confederation an ordinance was passed 1 y congress for the government of the tarri torri tory of the united states nor non h west of the river ohio winch watch was not included in any of the states that were parties to the agreement of union it was very sparsely settled congress Con gress gresa therefore appointed a governor secretary and three judges to take charge of its affairs until the population numbered five thousand free male inhabitants 01 ol full age during the period previous to this the governor and judges were u theorized zed to adopt and publish in the district such laws of the Oli ginal states elates civil and criminal as might be necessary and best su suited ted to the circumstances of the district thee thebe the e were to be reported to congress and to be in force until the population of five thousand was obtained when a general assembly was to be elected and this body should have the power of original legislation and of ann anu annulling tilling any or all laws framed I 1 by the governor and judges connected conn ebed with this ordinance as par t of it w bi iss ti cli clr ci iet let j let lct the original states and the territory by which perfect freedom of religious faith and worship the right t of habeas corpus and trial by jury and other privilege privileges were se cu cured ret rei I 1 to the people and also the organization of not lee than three nor more than five states out of the Ferri tory to be admitted into the on the same footing as the original states when wilen either of the former should have a population of sixty thousand free inhabitants and confederation the only condition to such admission besides population aa ling wing ug that the ion lon and government of the new states should be republican and in conformity to the principles enunciated in the ordinance when the constitution was adopted two months later the united states was bound by section four ot article four to guarantee to every eveny eve ry state in the union a republican form of government buta but a terri system has been establish ed which modeled after the plan pian of the ordinance referred to is in many respects anti republican the appointment by the general government of the governo secretary judges attorney marshai marshal ate without any consultation of or the wis wib wishes beser of the people also the debarring of the in terri territories to from the right to vote for president and vice president of or the tiie united states and from the right to a vote in congress by a representative or delegate is all subversive of the fundamental principle of our republican system which declares that governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed il the question Is whence is this arbitrary authority derived seeing that the government obtains its powers from the constitution by which it is regulated and limited where are the 61 chapter and versey verse verbe 1 for this jurisdiction we must state candidly that we do not know of any but those who claim to do so cite a clause of section three of article four of the tile constitution which reads reaal as follows the congress shall have power 0 dispose jofs of and make all need needful full fuli rules and regulations respecting the territory or other property belonging to the united state states and no thing in this constitution be so construed as to ce cc any the united states arof or of any particular state this is is all there Is in the constitution ution on which to base hase the claim for exclusive and supreme contro legislative and otherwise over the territories the tiie most ordinary reader will perceive that this clause clauie e relates to land that it is a question pf af property not of persons peno ns and the most learned and erudite will fail fall to make the words of the tle rara tara graph grammatically or logically logical Y apply to organized com comno cities m ties can congress dispose of the e people in the territories are ahey they c the property of the govern government men t may they be reckoned chattles as Is s not slavery abolished throughput ho the union the whole arbitrary system la is founded on a plain distor dieter lon ion tion of the text of the section aa a it is a a palpable violation of the sacred principles on which this gofern government is founded but it hajsky n adopted and has passed 1 into leto a lecog recognized principle of our natt lii ill nai nal system with Vil vii billich lich ilch however itts it is in violent liscord discord 1 I 1 the plan now proposed for the government of utah which is em embodied in the bill fathered by air willets Wll wil lets of michigan ilic Alic higan who beibe by the way being not personally gifted the powers of legislative paternity tern ity has fathered several III ill begotten things spawned by political adventurers is a further stride away from republican institutions a still greater trampling upon popular rights and a more glaring d defiance fl of the doctrines laid doya down anthe declaration f independence there is no chapter there esno is no verse for it in the constitution Itis it is subversive of every thought and an devery eveny every rule embodied in that palladium of liberty there ia is no T rallia railia tion or excuse for such an absurdity and infamy in a free republic i except that which has been manufactured by a few utah political gamesters ga who are playing for a vi place in ju the commission or position growing out of it think of it seven or nine persons appointed by the government to make laws for a hundred and alf nifty fifty ty thousand te eople ople in opposition to their voice and vote this by a national power pledged to secure a republican form of government throughout the n D the only precedent quoted for thi ahr there I 1 ia nothing to justify it in the constitution is the method adopted before the constitution was wa ordain ordained ed in the northwestern arri and it will be found on examination that the whole spirit and letter of that ordinance ito Iso viding for the management of that territory are opposed to tb the e scheme now desired by the clique that want to grasp rasp utah and its finances read bead fit tt and see compare the conditions ur and tl ties as as a wilderness irom from a peopled city contemplate the compact made with the inhabitants of certain recognized general rights and the privileges privilege of statehood contingent only on a population of which utah has nearly three times as many as were required for one state remember that utah has a legislative assembly which holds chartered powers and vested rights tinder the organic act and then think of a republican congress breaking tip a system of government which has baa been in active existence for more than thirty one years to give the whole territory and its ita people to td a seven or nine handed banded how would our fl gentile friends who have large property here like tile the change how many of the respectable spec table and mind your own busi buei nes nos non mormons Mor mons rf cf C f utah want such an anoma ions lons and dangerous of power over their affairs what whal s taupe for tho the he mormons Mor mons in this matter vf will bf just justas as sour sauce fur the gen gentiles tiles who would want to invest means in 9 a territory placed under the sovereign control of seven or nine government officials official the sear scar arret iet fet bam bag rule of the south would be high toned dm democracy compared with such despotism 1 Is there not supervision enough nj over the territory of or utah itah without utterly departing from the vital principles of our political system one man appointed b by tho the president and senate of the united states usually a perfect t stran stranger ger tout and our wants can veto all the acts odthe of the elected by the people opie opte all helias he haa baa to do is to do nothing and the laws they pass frass are vold void lacking his august aukust a signature th they y are null congress con i has hns a or exer exercises hies fies bo both jil n negative eg stiv e nna and positive supreme power over us that body can ean either elther annul our laws or make others for our government governments without any voice or vote of ours orrs judges and court off leera leers of government appointment execute such laws what more can be lie wanted nothing we should suppose by reasonable people but howling anti is IR not mot and aver has hns heien been reasonable it at ia is not republican it is ls ig 19 not human it ls is is 19 born boril of bigotry and aured nun ed by passion and ta Is hungry for tion and destruction we agno adno do no rt 3 il r gwi tei i SM asto think it will prevail we e have a better opinion of the common sense bense of our national legislators than to suppose for a moment that unreasoning popular clamor worked up by designing adventurers an aud and swelled by religious fanatics will urge them into a measure which would be more hostile to democratic republicanism than anything im upon the colonies by the despot sms of monarchial europe let jaet ua us wait patiently and see |