Show federal Ire derall courts in utah we promised our readers to recur to this in discussing it it Is is necessary to looka look some somewhat Ahat into the record fortunately the history of utah and of the mormon people does riot not back beyond the memory of man the story of then their emigration and rett settlement lement here is contemporaneous with the history of the present generation vi when hen this people took up their line of march from the borders of the mississippi they supposed they were bidding a long fare well it ell to the jurisdiction and authority of the united states that they were leavin leaving g its limits forever they directed elly the eye of their faith to the establishment some here towards the setting sun of an inde pendent government of their own to constitute the zion zio N w here the saints of the nations of the earth should take up their abode they desired to establish a great central point from which mormon influence should radiate uncontrolled by any but mormon authority until through their ecclesiastical machinery of missions emigration and ti things numbers swelled the community into a nation that could lift up the banner 0 of f zion and bear it hopefully if need be against a world in arms however preposterous this may seem to practical minds i it was their ambition then it is their ambition now and the initiated know L now it our treaty with mexico vested the right to the soil in the federal government and thus ipso facto remanded them to the jurisdiction from which they had fled congress organized the people into a territory and subjected them to all the conditions which the organic act by its terms and in its construction imposed they received the favor so BO extended and set their government in notion motion A territorial rit orial code has been carefully prepared adopted and amended by such subsequent acts as their experience led them to suppose were ivere necessary these constitute their statute law now let vs us enquire into the spirit which presided over all these governmental arran arrangements ge ments and still holds its seat in the 11 talema demula the organic act conferred red upon them qualified legislative pov power er and this was in their own hands they had appointed over them the governor of their choice all this was well ell the executive how however every retained the appointment of federal judges selected as had been the practice in all other territories from the country at large here was a tumbling stumbling block in the way of exclusiveness all the world beside the saints they call gentiles and here thought they a as a gap through which the devilish influence might creep in they could not realize that they had not received the investiture of sovereignty the ile difficulty embarrassed embar assed the them independence had not then been declared in cottonwood kanyon happily however an expedient presented itself and the leaders betook retook themselves to the legislature and by cunning canning contrivance sought to present the appearance of observing the theoann theor forms nn of an act which A aich they secretly hated and the spirit of inch they shamefully violated they omitted to provide means tor for defraying the expenses of federal courts in the exercise of territorial jurisdiction 71 they y omitted to provide for the support and safekeeping of offenders against their penal code they omitted to restrict their territorial officers 0 f to the taxation of legal ascertained costs and opened the pockets of both tran mient persons and residents to the arbitrary assessment of irresponsible magistrates more than this they marred their statute books with some glaring discrepancies they sought to confer upon their PROBATE COURTS cou ws cor concurrent current jurisdiction in civil ati and criminal cases abisi arising under territorial laass laws with the district courts odthe of the united states there is a slight discrepancy between this provision and that clause of the organic act which A establishes the gradation of courts in this wise the ile judicial power of said territory shall be vested in a supreme court district courts probate courts and justices of the peace P A probate court with a grand jury and a district court with bonef one in ses at ai the same time each exercising exe concurrent criminal jurisdiction would seem to show an imperfection in the laws somewhere but suppose a probate judge should assume the power to discharge on habeas corpus criminals indicted in a district court how glaring the imperfection would appear to crown alit all the legislature proudly lifts up its head and declares the law of treason the territory as if utah were a sovereign mate to which a allglasce all liel glance lance was wa due there is is a slight discrepancy between this act and the laws lairs of the united states and the treaty of Gua guadalope dalpe hidalgo thus leaving perfected the system so artfully contrived to make inalie the oper atice judiciary correspond with the executive and legislature the lav lawgivers givers with somewhat the ecstatic feeling that came over newton when he be discovered the laws of planetary motion point to their work bork and say who vilio can object to that are not the forms all there th the e gentile judges are invited in with deceitful and smiles emiles to tale take their seats and mind their own business wont you walk into my parlor said the spider to the fly ali tie the prettiest little parlor that ever you did spy ay but what of the juries junes this did not pre sent bent much difficulty we are not left to deductions duct ions or conjecture conj on this point jedediah M grant explains how this part of the business was managed in his remarks de livered in in the tabernacle on the 2nd and march 1806 published in in the deseret Ue seret news ai jedediah said last sunday the president chastised some of the apostles Apost iea and bishops who were on the grand jury did he fully succeed in clearing away the fog which surrounded them and in in removing blindness from their eyes no for they could go to their room and again disagree though to their credit it must be admitted that a brief explanation made them unanimous in their action again in the same connection allun jedediah Jed edlah 8 speaking peaking of a traverse trai ers jury ejury continues several had got into the tog fog to suck and eat ehg th filth of a gentile court ostensibly a court in utah this is is the language of one of the first presidency comment is is unnecessary brigham young tampered with the juries ot of his country and violated the majesty of the laws if he did this act how dare he be throw his mikase into a jury box this ills is magnifying the laws with a vengeance but some say why recur to these thin things let bygones by gones be by gondol gones we reply that we want to know iv whether hether this authority is is not now claimed by the president of the church we have an interest in in knowin knowing whether our lives and property are at W the e mercy of a trinity who thus sap the foundations of civil government has any recantation been made where when in super addition to all this courts h have ave been violently interrupted in the discharge of their duties as the evidence in in fergusons Fergus ons case clearly proved whether ferguson committed the of fience or riot not it t was vi as committed and the fact is is well known here but ferguson Fer gusona a case we will not discuss in in this relation he has been acquitted of that trial hereafter finally all these acts and arrangements arrangement converged to open undisguised treaso reason against ast the united states and the crime was committed near the banks of green river yet remain the sad and pal painful abul evidences of it time passed on the people were pardoned ed the pardon was accepted and by that acceptance cep tance the guilt confessed it might have been reasonably supposed I 1 that under such circumstances this people would have manifested a proper sense of their relations to the government and properly appreciated the act of grace which saved their necks neck s from fr 0 m the halter not so however they regarded it as simply an honorable adjustment of difficulties between them and the government and like the swelled toad thought the eyes of the universe were eagerly bent upon the observance of their diplomatic achievement all we have to say gay is that they mistake their case and they will find it out ere long in october last for the first time since february 1857 a states district court was opened irk in this city by judge sinclair ills his action vi we e seated stated succinctly in our last number at the t time I 1 me of his adjourning the court he had not been notified of any remedial legislation and did not consider it consistent with the dignity of his position to prostrate himself at the doors of the legislative gisla gila tive assembly and pray that they would keep their plighted faith and comply with the provisions of the organic act the legislature though at the close of its session did address judge sinclair a letter which and the answer to it we have given to our readers what was as this but form in the name of common sense what could they have done with the report they demanded at the time of the demand nothing it wag waff a trick a sham Howe lawgivers as the laws published by authority inform us have legislated upon the subject of united states courts and such we shall continue this subject and endeavor to dissect for our readers this thia extraordinary legislation |