| Show MEMORIAL TO CONGRESS ADOPTED BY THE legislative ASSEMBLY OF THE TERRITORY OF UTAH marcu MARCH 13 ism to the honorable senate and house of of the united states in congress assembled gentlemen GENTLEMEN the legislative assembly of the territory oi utah respectfully reprise represent nt that we have been elected by the people of this territory under the provisions of the act of congress known as the edmunds law to represent them in the local legislature that we have among other enactments made pro visions for the filling of the registration and election offices as authorized by section 9 of that law but our action has been rendered void by the refusal of the governor to sign the bill that in consequence of that ref refusal us one object of the edmunds law has been frustrated and the interests of our constituents have been jeopardized that other bills needful to the progress of this territory have been nullified by the governor that measures have been introduced into your honorable body looking to extreme and as we consider hirsh harsh and unjust action towards the people of this territory that these measures have been prompted by untruthful statements made to your honorable body and by a misunderstanding of the faus facts and of the political situation in this territory we therefore consider it a duty we owe to our constituents to memorialize your honorable body aud and pian plainly if b briefly rie c explain a n to you on t the e truth an and d a appeal 1 to you on for a tuil tuii ull uli investigation tio n before e iea fea for ore a any further ste steps s are taken en to towards wa r d s t the h e etl eti curtailment aliment ailment 0 of the liberties of a people who are famed throughout the world for many qualities that mark them as good citizens the pioneer settlers of the tile territory of utah after traversing hg a wilderness of more than a thousand miles in extent making the roads building the bridges and establishing ferries as necessity necessia essit required ed and having havin at t the c inception of their e arduous journey given ven to the service c of the government nive five ve hundred of t their el r most active and able bodied men who were called out to assist in fighting the battles of their country with bl mexico exico arrived in these valleys during the summer and fall of 1847 1817 they at once unfurled the 11 flar flag of our country to the breeze and too took possession of the land which was then a part of 31 mexico exico in the name of the united states and declaring their allegiance le legi ance to this government made immediate preparations to assume the responsibilities and acquire the privileges of statehood under the auspices of the federal union this region was then considered by those who had the best opportunities of judging unfit for the habitation of any but savages of the most degraded type and in its settlement the people had io to contend with the destruction of their crops by frosts by insects by drouth and by the natural sterility of the soil soll and to eke out a scanty sub si stence upon thistle tops and wild roots but by their persistent industry they redeemed the land from barrenness introduced a system of irrigation which has been imitated with profit in surrounding places and made possible the settlement of localities adjacent which were then considered worthless states and ana territories of the united states they were the first to call cali the attention of congress to the feasibility of constructing a transcontinental railroad the line for which they trailed as th they e crossed the plains they established lish d the he first printing press west of the missouri river organized the first express company and mail 11 line lne ine connecting the wild west with the borders of civilization stretched hundreds of miles of the first tele telegraph grapa line and afterwards ter wards aided in the building of the pacific railway that first bound the eastern to the western extremity of our common country although applying for admission into the union as a state at the same time as california a territorial government was given to utah while california with no greater claims was granted granted the privileges and rights of statehood but utah did not murmur the wise and republican policy was adopted of selecting from her resident citizens many of the officers appointed by the president and senate and under them with the officers elected by the people the territory prospered and grew so rapidly in numbers wealth and importance as to attract the admiring attention of the world then the policy of the administration adminis tation was ol 01 anaed and strangers who had no interest in common with the people of utah were sent to occupy the prominent appointive offices among the evils entailed upon the territory by lm imported arted officers were these one federal federal official absconded with the funds sands appropriated by congress to p pay ay the territorial le legislature A eede fede federal rl judge of not notoriously sly siy immoral character and acts finding utah an uncongenial clime deserted his post rost and returned to washington with the false report that the territory was in a state of rebellion and that the records of his court the territorial library and other public property had been destroyed without waiting to investigate these and other vile charges the government go vern ment fitted out and dispatched troops to quell the supposed rebellion many millions of public money was wasted in this needless expedition and after the rash step was taken be 1 yond ona recall a commission wab was sent to who discovered that the whole movement was founded on false hood and subsequently the broo troops were withdrawn the cost to the e country and the proofs of its folly may be learned from the public records or s but the cost to the people of utah and the trouble vexation loss of property and difficulties entailed upon them by this vexatious escapade are known only to those who endured them an official investigation before instead of after the expedition would have saved them much unjust suffering and the country an immense amount of money which was all needed in the civil war that followed during the struggle for the supremacy of the glorious union to which the people of utah have been ever attached although no draft was waa made upon her sons for regular military service because she was but a territorial dependency yet when v on called calle upon ayt by the parent arent g government vern ment for important an aid ald ailt they e r responded s in sucha such a manner as to ell eli elicit it t the e thanks of the president within twenty four hours after a dispatch from president lincoln was received calling for men to protect the mail and government trains from the attacks of the wild tribes of the plains p I 1 ains I 1 a body of utah militia wele in the saddle armed and equipped for the fray and moving en route for the scene ol of strife where they ther performed signal service against the indians and protected many helpless traveling citizens who were on their way to the pacific coast yet this verr very militia were forbidden in 1870 by proc proclamation ves vez of a federal governor to drill muster or assemble for any purpose in consequence of this arbitral arbitrary y order one that was in direct violation of a constitutional provision the citizens in the outlying settlements were exposed to the incursions of savage tribes who were thus encouraged to make raids upon them because any organized assistance si from the militia would be in ill violation of the governors proclamation so far was this order carried into effect that the aid of federal soldiers was invoked to prevent the marching of a company of militia in salt lake city in a public celebration of the anniversary of american independence pen dence during daring the period of this invasion of the constitutional rights of citizens a chief justice newly appointed joined with other officials in an attack upon the people to deprive them under color of law of rights vested in them by tile the organic act in washington city he proclaimed re the mission which god has called upon me to perform in utah is as much above the duties of other courts and judges as the heavens are above the earth and whenever or wherever I 1 may find the local or federal laws obstructing or interfering therewith by gods blessing I 1 shall trample them under my feet the result ol of his remarkable of justice justic was evas that attorneys refused to trust the cases of their clients for adjudication the business routine of the various courts was entirely blocked and respectable american citizens languished in ariso prison n unable to secure triai triad while criminals of the most notorious character were permitted to run at lare iare lar e in T many y instances well weil known aa worthy citi zens were incarcerated merely ou on suspicion and in others placed in durance vile on the testimony of men whose oath would not be taken in the most trivial civil case judicial chaos reigned supreme in a hitherto peaceful quiet and well ordered community the supreme court of the united states after a full and complete investigation vesti gation gatlon reversed nearly all the decisions of the federal courts in this territory then rendered the chief justice wasi was removed and order was again restored we me refrain from enumerating many of the annoyances to which the people of utah have been exposed through the overbearing 17 and oppressive acts of imported 0 officials but must draw the attention of your honorable bodies to the course pursued by the present resent executive from the first he be ras gas has allied himself with a clique of adventurers busy in stirring up mischief and circulating false rumors for the purpose of provoking ulterior measures that may result in their possible advantage with nothing to lose and everything to gain any turn of the wheel so long as it be in the direction of a revo revolution revolute luty luti on may bring up something to their pecuniary advantage ile he has taken the stump in their interest publicly insulted peaceable and res respected e c t ed citizens by untruthful allegations gat a t to ions lons n f and arrogated to himself extraordinary tra Mord inary prerogatives at the canvass for the election of 1860 1880 ile he issued a certificate of election to his friend the minority candidate who rec received elvea but 1357 votes while the candidate of the he people received votes and the he only excuse he could offer for this tills labrant lagrant violation of his oath to uphold the law the laws of congress requiring the governor to declare elected the person having the greatest number of votes and to issue a certificate accordingly was that the minority nor ty candidate was the person who bein being a citizen had the greatest number of votes he thus a assumed both judicial and legislative powers judicial in passing u upon on the citizenship of a I 1 fo candidate n I 1 wiio had bad ad served in congress for 0 several era terms and whose citizenship had been acknowledged by that body which alone held the right to judge of the tho qualification of its members ders bers and legislative iu in adding in the certik certificate cate to the law of congress governing his duty the words being a citizen by this assumption and unlawful exercise ol of power he rendered ren reu dered void the franchises of more than 18 citizens representing the overwhelming majority of the population we aig are here reminded of the striking words of the lamented garfield if in other lands it be high tr treason eason cason to compass the death of the k king i it should combass be e counted no less a crime crim 1 fere here to strangle the sovereign power and stifle its voice he has on several occasions attempted to place in the local offices for the purpose of controlling cont roling and disbursing the territorial finances irresponsible individuals who are arc the open enemies of the people this he be has done under a pretended construction of the organic act but contrary to positive enactments of the legislative assembly signed by his predecessors virtually sanctioned by congress and ana deemed valid because obi rulings rendered by the supreme court of the united states ile he has by an arbitrary exercise of the veto power refused to sign bills enacted by the legislature unless provisions were incorporated therein in harmony with his personal designs and in extension of his executive powers even the educational interests of the territory have been hampered and obstructed by his tyranny and the L legislature eg have been prevented from a appropriating abing the money of the p people oa V whom they represent lor lon university purposes according to the public desire ile he kas las has endeavored to injure the people whose interests he be should labor to by attempting to inflame the public mind in his official utterances and documents and to influence your honorable body to take extreme measures towards this territory by which the extraordinary powers vested in the executive shall be enlarged to the extent of complete despotism to further this object ills his report to the secretary of the interior and his message to your memoria lists were drawn up containing many absolute falsehoods and finis emis representations and distortions tort ions of facts and conditions a we earnestly protestant prot estand concerning which we desire and ask for impartial investigation it was in consequence ol of some of these inaccurate and specious statements that the act of congress known krown as thel eEdmunds th Edmunds law was hurriedly passed without full debate to satisfy the tae clamor of the multitude raised without reason and pro oled obed by calumny under the provisions of that law many constitutional guarantees have been j ignored and thousands of citizens h have ve b een deprived of vested rights of that at valuable property ro perty the elective franchise which which they had exercised for many years without any process of law this summary punishment was inflicted upon them without indictment and without trial by the operation of a test oath which virtually made them witnesses against themselves and which was ex post facto in its effects this oath has been imposed upon the whole body of citizens without authority of law being formulated by the utah commission 1 on oli whom no legislative powers were conferred by the edmunds law from which th their air authority is solely derived it is as follows TERRITORY OF utan uran county of J 1 bein being first duly sworn or affirmed dejo deco depose so and say that I 1 am over tw twenty enty one years of age and have resided in the territory of utah for six months and in the precinct of one month immediate immediately ly proceeding the date hereof an and d if a male maie am a native born or naturalized as the case may be citizen of the united states and a taxpayer in this territory or if a female I 1 am native born or naturalized or the wife widow or daughter as the case maybe may be of a native born or naturalized citizen of the united states and I 1 do further solemnly swear or affirm that I 1 am not a bigamist nor a polygamist that I 1 have not violated the laws of the united states prohibiting bigamy or polygamy that I 1 do not live or cohabit wit with more than one woman in the mar ria ze relation nor does any relation exist between me and any woman which has been entered into or continued in violation of the said laws of the united states prohibiting bl bigamy blamy amy or polygamy and if a woman liati that am not the wife of a polygamist nor have I 1 entered into any relation with any man in violation of the laws of the united states concerning poly polygamy gainy or bigamy subscribed and sworn to before me this thi S day of A AD D iss registration officer precinct your honorable body will prec eive elve that |
