PEACE IN UTAH.
Letters to the War Department from the Peace Commissioners, state that the difficulties with the Mormons are at last settled. They write:—
We are informed by the people and chief, men of the territory, that they will cheerfully yield obedience to the Constitution and Laws of the United States. They cheerfully consent that the civil officers of the Territory shall en-ter upon the discharge of their respective du-ties. They will make no resistance to the army of the United States in its march to the valley of Salt Lake or elsewhere. We have their assurance that no resistance will be made to the officers, civil or military, of the United States, in the exercise of their various func-tions in the Territory of Utah.
The people have abandoned all the settle-ments north of this, and all the families have left the city, only about fifteen hundred (?) per-sons remaining here to take charge of the pro-perty, and to burn it if the difficulties had not been settled. The people from this city and north of it have gone south to Provo, fifty miles south of this, and to points beyond. We will visit Provo and the settlements south in a day or two, and see and confer with the people, and inform them that the difficulties have been settled, and thus induce them to re-turn to their homes.
We have written General Johnston by the messenger that will bear this, informing him of what had been done, and that he could march his army to the valley whenever he do- sired to do so. We intend to remain and visit the people and converse with them until Gen. Johnston's army arrives. We think it impor-tant that we remain until the army is located in the valley.
At the recommendation of the Commis-sioners, who said that some fears were still en-tertained by the Mormons in relation to the army, Gen. Johnston had published a procla-mation assuring "those citizens of the Terri-tory who apprehended from the army ill treat-ment, that no person whatever would be in anywise interfered with or molested in his per-son or rights, or in the peaceful pursuit of his avocation; and should protection be needed, that they would find the army always faithful to the obligations of duty, as ready now to as-sist and protect them as it was to oppose them while it was believed they were resisting the laws of their Government.''
We see nothing in the official letters, calcu-lated to sustain the telegraphic announcement from St. Louis, that the Peace Commissioners had agreed that "all the houses in the city should be closed against both civil officers and strangers, excepting the Governor and his family; and that everybody else would be obliged to sleep in wagons or on the ground." If they have made any such arrangement, it is a very curious one. Of course neither the offi-cers of the Territory, nor strangers, could ex-pect to enter the houses of the inhabitants against their will— but, if any of the inhabi-tants chose to entertain them, ''for a con-sideration, '' it would be absurd and tyrannical to say that they should not be allowed to do so. We take it for granted, however, that no such agreement was entered into—because neither party had power to enforce its terms.
Now that the Mormons, in view of the open-ing of a Spring campaign, have come to their senses a little, we trust that affairs will be managed somewhat better than they have been heretofore. ''The snake is scotched not killed”—by any manner of means. A military force, large enough to look down all opposition, should be kept permanently in Utah, until the Mormon portion of the population is largely outnumbered by the "gentiles." The "rod" of Brigham Young and his priesthood, so far as it is attempted to be used in civil matters, should be effectually broken. If the laws al-ready in force are not sufficient, Congressional intervention should be sought—either through Senator Douglas's plan of revoking the ter-ritorial organization, or some other—and Polygamy effectually repressed, either by due course of law, or by the exodus of those having more than one wife from the territory, with all the "wives" that choose to go with them. We cannot pretend to make the Mor-mons give up their Polygamy, we can only say that they shall not introduce and legalize such an institution upon American soil. But doubt-less all these considerations have occurred to the Administration, who will hardly allow a matter to drop from their hands half comple-ted, which they have carried through so far with success. To do so, would simply be pur-chasing a little hollow peace now at the cost of leaving a serious root of bitterness to suc-ceeding administrations. A great expense has been gone to by the country in sending an army to Utah—let not the work have to be done over again, in some five or ten years.
