Show len LETTER ebon FROM lieutenant GENT GENERAL D 11 WELLS EDITOR DESERET EVENING NEWS sir I 1 find myself under the necessity of requesting you to give space in your columns for the enclosed correspondence between myself and his excellency governor shaffer his reply to my communication reached me yesterday and it was only a few hours afterwards that I 1 saw the entire correspondence in print I 1 might have felt some come reluctance before this in giving our correspondence publicity but now I 1 h have ave no alternative my nay duty to the public my regard for truth and my own self respect will not suffer me to remain silent and as governor shaffer closes his communication by saying that he hopes what he has written will supersede the necessity of any further communication on this subject 11 II I 1 am constrained to address you this letter the first point which I 1 will notice in his communication is the statement that As the laws of the united states provide for but one lieutenant general and astha asahe incumbent of that office is the distinguished philip H sheridan I 1 shall be pardoned for recognizing 00 no no 00 other what inference does governor shaffer wish drawn from thie this the same law of congress which provides for one lieutenant general provides for ont oner general and for five major generals gen brals see army register for 1869 also gen 33 D townsends Town sends report to gen W rp sherman commanding U B S army for same year must we therefore conclude that there shall be no major generals of militia in the states or territories the same law prescribes that there shall be eight brigadier generals are we to understand governor shaffer that the distinguished gentlemen who hold these positions in the regular army are the only ones in tho the states and territories who are to be recognized as such this being the inference to be drawn from his language who shall presume to recognize any officer of militia in any of the states and territories as major generals and brigadier geher als when the law of congress has already provided for but five of the former fo r and eight of the latter As his excellency seems to take pleasure in lix referring to law permit me also to direct his attention to the following sec 10 of an act ap approved july 1866 limits the of off omm meers officers and assistant adjutant gen brals in their respective corps prescribing their rank tank pay and emoluments and see sec 6 of an act approved march 3rd ard 1869 provides that until otherwise directed by law there hall ahall a be no kopew new appointments in the adjutant general generall s department also an act of june 1814 chap 69 entitle entitled dt ian lan tan ian act to authorize the legislatures of the several beveral territories to regulate the tho appointment of representation and for other pur poses provides in see sec 2 that justices Justice of the peace and all general off omm meers officers of the militia in the beveral several territories ri shall be elected by the people in such manner aa as t the h e respective legislatures thereof bhail shall I 1 provide bylaw by law J also see Bright lys D digest of the united states laws page gig on organization of the militia sec see 3 within one year of the passage of this act the militia of the several beveral states shall be arranged as the legislature of each stata state shall direct these extracts are from laws of congress the laws for which his excellency seems to have so much respect and if they are the only laws which obtain in the territory how can his excellency cel lency reconcile with them his recent appointment by proclamation of a major general and an assistant tant taut general for the militia of utah and what about the five distinguished incumbents of the office of major gener al already appointed under the law r or does his excellency imagine that it falls fail a to his province to fill the vacancy created by the tile death of the lamen lamented teok teck 4 geo H thomas the second point in governor shatters communication which I 1 will with notice is wherein he states that so far as I 1 have been informed this isz is the first instance in which you or any of or your predecessors in the pretended office which you assume to hold have recognized the governor of this territory to be as the organic act makes him the commander commands in chief ac ac my predecessors haye hata been contemptuously ignored or boldly deneu defied it is scarcely necessary for me to re mark to any resident familiar with the tha history of this territory that governor shaffers Shaf fena fera information upon this subject is very defective that which he styles stylea sty iea lea a pretended office I 1 have held by the unanimous voice of the people of the territory the office having been created by act of the legislative assembly of the territory of utah approved by the governor feb fth 1852 andinor andl ands nod nos transported from illinois aa as stated by bv governor shauer shaffer in another part of his hia letter evenia it were as lie he states canno good thing come from illinois ors or isit such a crime to copy after anything emanating from that distinguished state I 1 may here add further farther that IL 31 have dever fever never bad any predecessor in the the organization azain izair aff often e terri terr tory As to this being the first instance in which I 1 have recognized the governor of this territory as the com cora mahder winder ln in chief governor shaffer la Is either strangely ignorant or wil wll wilfully fally fully misrepresents for during the first eight years after the organization of the territory his bis excellency Brig hani hanx younk young was waa the governor of the territory and 1 I presume that DO ino one will dispute that lie he was recognized as the commander in chief luring during the next four vears years while excellency bib bis alfred aifred cumming was vas governor of the territory and also during the administrations of his buc suc ces ees sors up to the present time with the tha eke exception eption of governor dawson who only remained in the territory about thirty days 1 I have abundant documentary evidence to show that I 1 recognized them as governors and command ersin ers in ln chief of the militia tia of the territory ri tory and have in return been re recognized bythe by them as lieutenant gene general a command ine ing militia of utah territory r besides baing being recognized as lieutenant general by the predecessors of governor shalter shaffer I 1 have in i a every instance been acknowledged as such in all official correspondence with officers of the regular army superintendents of indian agirs and other federal officials both here and out of the territory his M excellency xcell ency eney governor shaffer therefore stands distinguished as the first federal officer who in reply to a respectful communication has so far forgotten what is due from a man holding his position as to ignore the common courtesies always extended between gentlemen before ending my reference to this point permit me if it does not tres treb spasa coo too tooma muck cb on your space to give you copies of one or two communications which I 1 have received from pre decea sors of governor shaffer shannen EXECUTIVE great zeat reat salt nake lake I rake rare city june 11 to gen GEX D H velis veils commanding militia of utah territory sir sin A requisition has bag been made upon me this day by honry henry W lawrence esq eso territorial marshal for lor the territory of utah through his deputies R T barton burton esq and theodore mckean merean R esq esa sq for a military force foree e to act as a posse comie comit in 14 the tho service of certain aru writs issued from me tiia third judicial district court of aal sal d terri ta ory for the arrest of joseph morris aad and others residing in the nor mor northern thern thenn part ot of mavis counts county in said district it appears that mat sail sall joseph morris and his bis associates hate have organized themselves into an armed force to resist tha the execution of said writs wits and are setting at de defiance fiance flance tha tho zaw aw and its officers I 1 therefore require you yon to furnish tho the said henry houry W lawrence esq or 1 ids ilia ds Ma aforesaid a suM sufficient clent maili military tary iary force for tle tha arrest a of f the offe offenders adars aders the vindication di of justice and the tho enforcement of law acting governor and commander in la chien chief EXECUTIVE depar DEPART leest SEEST T V T 1 great salt sat lake lako ct olty city norem novem november 14 r 26 A D H VELT mele Q commanding nauvoo legion sir si r I 1 bera bere herewith with enclose a communication directed to the governor of this territory from tea the war department at mash vash fing jing ington ton in la relation to arms arins etc furnished by the several states since sinco cherof the march 1661 isyou on eave have any information on the too subject applicable to this territory I 1 will vill be glad if sott you will report ahe the same sanae to me immediately 1 re remain dasin Dazin respectfully yours etc sr S nandino comm commander an do rin r in iu chief of tho ole territory of utah WS P S you yoa will vill please plesse return the tho corn froni from the war department apartment with your report ST a 31 11 As to governor Bh shafter after atTer next text para graph I 1 fail to see the point as stated As has bas been the usage in the territory for years yeara past and in accordance with wilh the laws jaw thereof orders were issued for the holding of or the regular bail pall master muster of the militia of the TerrI territory in their respective districts these orders were dated august 1870 some thirty days afterwards governor shaffer ie is sued his proclamation prohibiting robi rohi biting the holding aiding of musters frails drills ac in my communication to him 1 1 simply asked him hirn to suspend the operation af f that proclamation until the of the esil pall musters might be completed they baving already been held in some of the districts in lia order that I 1 might inight comply with the request of the department made th the adjutant generans office ton city ashing for the annual return retura of the militia of utah territory iu in accordance corda coraa cor danee dance nce uce with the provisions of the act of Con congress gregs isio isic bec beo SEC 1 hp approved proved hla ara march ala roh rob and 2nd ISM 1803 bow how row thie thle call cari bo construed into an attempt to I 1 nullify nullity the laws of congress escapes my ray penetration but bat on the contrary it appears to me that the proclamation of governor shaffer 13 calculated to produce that result As to there being any conflict between the laws of the Territory and the laws of congles Con tres gres that Is inere mere assertion incapable of proof As to nis his allusion respecting what has been said at public meetings I 1 have to say eay that public officers federal offic officials lais included are supposed bup aup posed to be public property properly eo so far aa as their official acts are concerned and subject to the scrutiny of the people every man under our government has baa the right to free speech and to express his bis opinions loaR concerning the action of government offic eraa ersa a right moreover which is generally indulged indulged in by ail all parties I 1 lam am not awara aware t that at president young has denounced the federal officials cisla of this territory with bitter vehemence or that if he has I 1 am arn responsible or that I 1 should ho be held heid responsible lon lin for tor the opinion of ady any oilier gentleman in regard to the power of congress to organize a territorial government I 1 lam iam am of oft V eo pInion that the people of the territory according to the constitution have the right to bear arms that thab the legislative assembly A had the right to organize the alf Ali litia that congress haa bad the right to declare that the general officers should be elected by the people in la huch such manner as the respective legislatures of the states and territories ri may provide by law that the governors of the states and genitor ies les are commanders in chief of the militia rail itla the same as the president of the united states is coin corn commander mander mauder in la chief of tho the armies and navies of the united states with generals generale and admirals under him hina commanding that the military organization of our territory follows that of the federal government more closely perhaps than that of any other territory or state in the union and that governors and commanders ln la chief are as much the creatures of law as any other officers and while they exercise a higher jurisdiction they are aa AS amenable to law lev as the humblest officer or citizen I 1 will nul noo not take up your youn valuable space neither will win I 1 condescend to make reference to the tho th the o cono conc concluding ludin iudin paragraphs of his hla letter they elro are fale false faise abusive and my liy only object has been to vindicate the legislative assembly myself and the people as to our rights under tho the law go so unwarrantably assailed in the abe communication of governor Bh shafter arten alTer respectfully danieri 11 iveli ivell VELU S |