AFFAIRS IN UTAH.
General Assembly of the State of Deseret—Brigham Young’s Message—Why the State Should be Admitted,&c.
Correspondence of the New-York Times.
GREAT SALT LAKE CITY, Wednesday, April 16.
On Monday the members elect of the "General Assembly of the State of Deseret," met in the "State House," recently the "Council House," in this city, and organized. Hon. JOHN TAYLOR, President of the Senate, and Hon. A. P. ROCKWOOD, Speaker of the House, are the presiding officers elect.
After the organization, the Governor's Message was read.
The following are the essential portions of this document:
To the Senate and House of Representatives, convened in General Assembly:
GENTLEMEN: Through the blessings of God our Father, and under the inestimable rights guaran-teed by the Constitution of our country, we have the privilege of meeting in our present capacity. And in accordance with a time-honored custom, and trusting that it may aid somewhat as a basis for that unanimity which should characterise the official acts of persons assembled to promote the public good, I will briefly offer some of my views upon certain sub-jects that will more or less occupy your attention, and require your deliberation and action.
Then giving it as his opinion that the provisions of the Constitution regarding the admission of States, are very unjust, he proceeds:
"In a Republican Government like ours, I hold that both justice and consistency require that citizens in territories, however few in number, should at least have, not only a voice, but also a vote in the Repre-sentative branch of the General Government; a vote for the Chief Magistrate, and their choice in the offi-cers appointed by him, except, perhaps, the Secretary and Judges, and other law officers, so far as their offi-cial acts are exclusively restricted to business per-taining to the United States as a party; and still more just and consistent would it be were the people al-lowed one Representative in Congress, and to elect all their officers, with the exceptions already named. And then, when the people in a territory properly ex-press their wish to assume the responsibility and ex-pense of a State Government, upon their presentation of a Constitution republican in form, with a petition for admission, the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, justice, and the most ordinary regard for the rights of their fellow-citizens, all combine to counsel Congress to cordially welcome and at once admit that Territory into the family of States, re-gardless of the number of its population. That Ter-ritorial numbers, so they are capable and desirous of republican self-government, are irrelevant to the question of admission as a State, we have the author-ity Of Hon. WM. H. SEWARD, now Secretary of State, in his speech in the Senate, April 9,1856, in favor of the admission of Kansas, as follows: 'The Constitution does not prescribe 93,700, or any other number of people, as necessary to con-stitute a State.' 'The point concerning num-bers is, therefore, practically unimportant and frivolous.' 'The Constitution prescribes only two qualifications for new States, namely: a substantial civil community, and a republican Government.’ And here I assert, without fear of truthful contradic-tion, that we are clearly within the bounds so cor-rectly defined by Mr. SEWARD as requisite to our ad-mission as a State, for our conduct under a Provis-ional Government, until it was superseded by a Ter-ritorial organization, and our acts under that organ-ization clearly prove that we are ‘a substantial civil community;' and the Constitution lately adopted by our Convention and ratified by the people is certainly ‘Republican' in form, and by it we wish to abide."
After showing that in point of population the State has as good a right to admission as several of her pre-decessors had, he says:
"Most fully are we all aware that no improper, ambitious, or disloyal motives have induced us to pre-fer following in the State precedental footsteps made by California, but for reasons so justly urged for her admission, and because our position is still more iso-lated than hers, our population is already numerous and rapidly increasing, our territorial organization is each year growing less adapted to he necessities of the people who are wearied in being so long disfran-chised, while winning to civilization and freedom a region so forbidding, and, more than all, because it is our inalienable and constitutional right, have we adopted a like course in seeking our admission and in our subsequent action. And I am confident, so far as I can discern, that this course will most conduce to the advancement of the true social, industrial, and political interests of all concerned.
In this connection, and while our nation, with a large and rapidly increasing public debt, is struggling to preserve the integrity of her boundaries, I deem it proper to suggest that our admission will leave in the public Treasury some $34,000 annually appropriated for our Territorrial expenses, and will add to the revenue the full amount of our annual quota of the Governmental tax. When millions of dollars are be-ing disbursed weekly, these thousands may seem small in contrast: but in the great majority of in-stances those millions have been collected in much smaller amounts than the thousands of Utah's quota.
In accordance with an act passed by Congress, in July last, nearly $27,000 of the direct tax was appor-tioned to Utah. I was gratified that our Legislative Assembly so promptly assumed the payment of our quota of that tax; and without question this General Assembly, should they deem further action on that subject necessary, will, with equal patriotism, adopt such measures as will best sustain our Government in its financial affairs, so far as our apportionment and every Constitutional requirement are concerned. But I wish it distinctly understood that I object to any ac-tion being taken in this or any other matter, except on the ground of right and justice, and in nowise as an evidence of our loyalty, for it has ofttimes been se-verely tested, and has, on every occasion, emerged from the test with unsullied purity. We are not here as aliens from our Government, but we are tried and firm supporters of the Constitution and every Consti-tutional right.
If, after electing two Senators to Congress, and adopting a memorial for our admission, and such other memorials, if any, as to you may seem proper, you should in your wisdom deem it best to proceed further in legislative duties, I respectfully recom-mend that you enact, that the laws now in force in the Territory of Utah, be in full force and virtue in law in the State of Deseret, until superseded by fu-ture legislation. I would also respectfully suggest that in all legislation, the condition, circumstances and wants of the people, are to be considered in enact-ing any given law, whereby you will avoid the blind patterning after laws entirely inapplicable. In pursuing this course, it will at once occur to you to encourage the importation of useful machinery, rather than manufactured articles; to foster, by appropriate bounties and otherwise, the raising of dye-stuffs, flax, hemp, cotton and wool, and the erection of factories; to encourage the raising of tobacco, so long as the people will use it, and the careful storing up of all surplus grain, for thousands upon thousands will flock here in need of succor; to promote the cause of general education, and, in fine, to always legislate for the good of the people at large and not for individual advantage, keeping inviolate our Constitution and the Constitution and all consti-tutional laws of our country.
Gentlemen, I tender you my future cordial co-operation in the performance of the important du-ties now devolved upon you, my confidence in your integrity, intelligence, and capability, and invoke for your guidance the blessings of Israel's God, who set-teth up nations and breaketh them in pieces, who ruleth and overruleth, and ordereth and doeth all things well, in accordance with His own good pleas-ure. BRIGHAM YOUNG.
GREAT SALT LAKE CITY, April 14,1862.
After the Message had been read, both Houses ap-pointed full lists of Committees, the Senate on Mon-day and the House on Tuesday.
The bills to be passed will doubtless be chiefly, per-haps wholly, organic, just sufficient to set the State machine in order for working. Nobody professes to know the particular line of policy to be adopted, though appearances are that after a full organization and preparation, the action of Congress will be patiently awaited. The State will likely be divided into four or five Judicial Circuits, with semi-annual sessions at each county seat.
Much speculation has been afloat as to the choice for Senators to Congress. Judge KINNEY and Super-intendent DOTY have been favorites with some, but the fortunate ones prove to be Mormons pure and simple—Capt. W. H. HOOPER, merchant of this city and late Territorial Delegate to Congress, and GEO. Q. CANNON, formerly Editor of the San Francisco Western Standard, and just now Editor of the Liver-pool Latter-Day Saints' Millennial Star, and general Mormon business agent in Great Britain.
Very little plowing yet; the weather is raw and cold, and rain and snow-storms fall about every other day. Apricot blossoms are swelled to be as large as small peas, but they have been in statu quo for two or three weeks, from cold weather.
We have been blessed all Winter with a number of Indians in our midst, who had pitched their wickeups on the hills about the city. They have been princi-pally Stroshones or Snakes, of whom WASH-E-KEEK is the great Chief, and generally very friendly dis-posed toward the whites. But the wickeups are mov-ing now, and their owners are preparing to quit the vicinity of the white man's homes for the hunting grounds in the mountains.
On Thursday and Saturday the "Charcoal Bur-ner" was performed at the theatre, with a "Pleasant Neighbor” and "Love in Livery" as afterpieces. The everlasting nigger has found his way here, or rather the "Ethiopian Minstrels" have, for they are starring it at the theatre.
