| Show A PLEA FOR POPULAR stultification THERE is a feature associated with the bill creating a fourth judicial district for utah that seems to demand special notice in the original draft the authority to establish the new district was vested in ie e governor and legislative assembly it was subsequently amended by striking out legislative assembly and substituting supreme court TheU Th eHouse ouse committee incorporated in its report recommending the passage of the bill a correspondence which on ac count account of the quality ot of the state ments it embodies is somewhat interesting te and it is consequently here inserted LOGAN CITY february dear sir in the absence of mr lomax and in response to your letter to him of the ultimo we sona you the petition which we have assisted mr lomax in circulating it might have been as well to have noted in this petition the fact that citizens citizen i of northern utah have to travel from 70 to miles to attend court and that this great inconvenience will continue for a year unless your bill is so amended as to give the governor the power to say that a term of court shall be held at logan in the meantime to transact a portion of the business that is now trant transacted acted in ogden in order that hat you may fully fully understand the situation we mention the above fact in this connection it rhay may not be out of place to call your attention to the fact that the right was given the governor of this territory to appoint the time and place of holding court in each of the be districts of this territory by section 1916 revised statutes statute united states and it might be further noted that sect section ion 3 of the act of congress of june 23 1874 entitled an act in relation to courts and judicial of officers floers in the territory of utah to be found on page of f supplement to revised statutes of the united states vol I 1 does not interfere with the right already givon given our governor it may also be noted that the utah legislature has passed enactments fixing the place of holding terms forms 0 of f court but as this was a power given the governor a and nd never riven given to the legislature of utah the said legislation on the subject by the legislature 0 of f utah was without and contrary to authority and consequently con antly void compiled laws of utah vol 11 II p section 1865 revised statutes united Sta States has cbearing a bearing upon this question pi estion also we did not think thick it necessary to get many subscribers for the petition and got a list only of the leading men hoping that you will make the amendment a eked asked and confer upon the governor a power that a consistent with previous legislation on the subject by congress and which will authorize him to exercise a power which is doubt doubtful fol whether ho hn now possesses and thus confer upon the people of northern utah ulah a right long nee needed deci yours respectfully CHAS H HART ricia RICH fc RICH to HON gilco GEO F EDMUNDS united states senate there Is one feature of I 1 the lie foregoing correspondence which is brought into prominence by its albence modesty these young men who have exhibited such guch deep interest in the public local welfare and shown sua feverish impatience at the mere prospect of a delay of be inform the stoical senator from the state of vermont that the passing of enactments by the utah legislature fixing the place of boldig terms of court was a usurpation by that honorable body of a power given the governor thle was a power never given to the legislature therefore the conclusion is inevitable the enactments were contrary to ruth authority ity and consequently vold void ay this th Is on its face a strong plea for tyranny prid and autocracy and a knockdown knock down argument against popular rule unfortunately for its safety the gentlemen who made use of it overlooked the feces sity for far the preservation oi of the consistency of one part of their statement with the rest of it had they grasped this essential they never would have written the closing paragraph which asks mr edmunds whom the logan loan gentlemen seem to regard as the entire senate to confer upon the governor a power that is consistent with previous legislation on the subject by congress and which will authorize aut him aim to exercise exe roise a power which it 9 is doubtful whether he now possesses slid and thus confer upon the people of northern utah a long needed 21 2 1 such a statement as that after having havig previously ameer ted that congress bad already given such power to the governor Govera or and that to exercise it by the legislative assembly was consequently without authority and void is to say the least a trifle absurd if the astute senator from vermont critically examined this document it would be interesting te to know what he thought of the legal elucidation he could hardly have been infatuated with its logic although he has ha s given ample evidence that he is in line with its sentiment the reduction of home rule in utah and its conAnt concentration ration in a few offic filoia lils ls in whose selection and appointment the people have no choice the correspondents of senator pd bd munds munda appear to laae bae laa ba e forgotten congress empowered the legislative assembly to enact laws on all rightful subjects of legislation 1 I this certainly includes authority aut horty to designate the places of holding terms of court sure ly the representatives of the people ought not to be charged with usurpation for performing a duty so simple and so plainly within their right as aa that it la Is the duty of every patrio patriotic tid citizen to contend for the rights of the sovereign people opposing every encroachment croach ment upon their prerogatives aasne Aas fe under a republican form of government this contention should enter into the minutest details and it to is regretful that men can be found in the community who on account of creating local professional business will urge a reduction of popular rights and their bestowal upon an official who has exercised all the energy and cunning of which he be is possessed to obtain a kingly power over utah he has also sought by all his bis resources of device to produce the disfranchisement of the majority of the che people including we presume the th e correspondents of mr edmunds no man should perform any act or utter a word that would in the smallest degree tend to the production of fetters which would woul I shackle himself we will here introduce as a otting fitting striking p ira graph capped from the american sentinel 11 ili II the citizens do not regard their liberties with a jealous care car if they do not vigorously oppose the first indication of despotism if they do not resist the first steps in unjust taxation if t they do not antagonize the minor violations vi of the principle of religious equality the time will come and and it may not be very far distant when the rights of the people will be trampled in the dust this j is a danger that has haa been seen and emphasized by the greatest of our american statesmen it is a trait of human nature too manifest to escape the observing mind some of the most important of the writings of our early statesmen titter niter this warning to the american people and the truth of their words is so evident to ahe he lover of our free institutions that we cannot disregard them with impunity |
