AFFAIRS IN UTAH.
Great Flow of Mormon Immigrants—The Uintah Valley Settlement a Failure—Post-age Difficulties—Miscellaneous News. Correspondence of the New-York Times.
GREAT SALT LAKE CITY, Thursday, Sept. 19,1861.
For several days the past week the Mormon emigration has been flowing in like a continual stream, and the streets of our city have been in one continual cloud of dust from the travel of teams and wagons. The companies under the command of "Captains" ELDRIDGE, MILO ANDRUS, JOHN MURDOCK, HOMER DUNCAN and JOSEPH HORNE, are all reported here, and are being rapidly absorbed by the communi-ty,—the "brethren" to assist in the labors of the har-vest or of building, and the likely single "sisters,” perhaps, with an eye to their affectionate aid in "building up the kingdom."
The settlement of the Uintah Valley is entirely "knocked into pi." The pioneer party write back to this city that the valley is by no means the Paradise it has been represented. They find the soil very grav-elly, or very sandy, or very much impregnated with salt and alkali, altogether unfit for extensive settle-ment; indeed, the poorest valley known hereabouts. Such is the present report, and on the strength of it, the expedition, the main body of which was to have started next Monday, has been dissolved, broken up, and most of the members of it have returned to their wonted pursuits. The pioneer party returned last night; so the Mormon settlements may not be extend-ed in that quarter for some time to come. But if must not be forgotten that the now settled valleys of Cache, Provo and Weber, were long considered and pronounced unfit for settlement, from one cause or another, whereas this present abundant season they have produced the finest crops of small grain and veg-etables. It may yet prove so, in a degree, with the now much below par Uintah Valley. Indeed, I may remark that there are persons in this city who affirm that there is yet a "good place" on or near the Uintah, and that these returned explorers did not look hi the right direction. Be this as it may, on Sunday those persons who had been "called" to proceed to Uintah, were publicly "released" from that obliga-tion, except such as specially desired to go on their own hook, if any there were.
There seems to be a deal of uneasiness extant here relating to the late increase of postage between this Territory and the States east of the Rocky Mountains. The Deseret News states that the chief clerks of the New-York and Philadelphia Post-offices declare that three cents is still the proper postage thence to Utah, while the ten-cent rule is imposed at the Post-office here, though I believe that other offices in this Terri-tory still cling to the old rate. The News recommends our Postmaster, BELL, and our Delegate, BERNHISEL, to exert their influence in Washington for a decision in favor of the old rate.
The above paper resumed issue last week on home-made paper of a tolerable quality, heavy enough, but not of the most immaculate whiteness. The Moun-taineer still lies dormant, for how long nobody seems to know. There is a club here, connected with the Deseret News, or the News with it, that obtains, by subscrip-tion, a semi-weekly express by the Pony from the East. The News has heretofore published "Extras" on the arrival of each Pony, but they have suddenly ceased to appear, and it is given out that the Pony news will not be. published unless five hundred sub-scribers to the "Extra," at the rate of ten cents cash per number, be first guaranteed. And, furthermore, the members of the Club will not tell the news to their neighbors. They will consequently become a society of Know-Nothings, or K. G. C.' s, or some-thing of that secret sort of beings.
WILLIAM COCROFT has been convicted of the murder of ROBERT BROWN, both of this city, and sentenced to death by the Probate Court of the county. The stat-utes of Utah permit a judge the choice of passing sen-tence of death in one of three modes—hanging, shoot-ing, or beheading ; or he may give the convicted his choice of the three ways. The National Judges gen-erally cling to the method common with them, whilst the Mormon minds instinctively revolt at the halter, being great sticklers for the Mosaic notions about things strangled. So in the case in question, Judge SMITH gave the prisoner his choice, which, however, was not taken advantage of by him. The convicted man did not wish to say anything "why sentence of death should not be passed upon him." He said he did not know that anything he could say would help his case, and he did not wish to injure anybody else. Only he desired that his wife be permitted to visit him occasionally in the interim between his condem-nation and execution. The Judge sentenced him to be shot till he was dead, between the hours of 2 and 5 P. M. In passing sentence, the Judge was exceeding-ly affected, while the prisoner heard the same with a a great amount of indifference, and at the close shook the Judge by the hand.
Last Thursday evening, BRIGHAM returned from his preaching trip to Cache Valley. Great crops of all farming stuff are spoken of in that region.
For several years past there has been a partial, al-most general, failure of the potato crop in the higher lands in this city. There would be sufficient tops, but the tubers would run in size from peas to walnuts, though often few so large,—in fact, not worth digging. This year the failure reaches down towards the bot-toms—the lower parts of the city—though the full ex-tent is not yet known. New land is most to be de-pended on in this crop.
