AFFAIRS IN UTAH.
Correspondence of the New York Times:
GREAT SALT LAKE CITY, Thursday, June 2. 1864.
BRIGHAM and his attendants returned from their preaching trip to Bear Lake Valley, after an ab-sence of about ten days, apparently very well pleased with the country. Mr. GEORGE A. SMITH gave a narrative, last Sunday, in the Tabernacle, of the journey, dwelling considerably, however, upon non-essential matters.
Upon the stand in that building also appeared, though rather unexpectedly, Messrs. E. T. BENSON and LORENZO SNOW, Mormon apostles, who started last Winter for the Sandwich Islands to straighten up ecclesiastical matters there. On the voyage both made a close acquaintance with old ocean ; indeed MR. SNOW with great difficulty and much discomfiture was dragged from his embraces, an unlucky wave having tossed over, topseyturvy, the boat in which the party were voyaging.
These two missionaries appear to have had quite an interesting time on the islands. It may be recol-lected that three or four years ago, Capt. WALTER M. GIBSON, of Malay Island celebrity, appeared in Utah, and was well received by the Mormons, particu-larly in this city. He investigated Mormonism, al-ways bad analagous ideas from his earliest recollec-tion, lectured extensively to numerous audiences upon the Eastern Archipelago, collected material and furnished articles concerning Mormonism for the American Encyclopedia, was baptized and became a member and an elder in the Mormon Church, and finally, armed with “letters of introduction" from the Mormon authorities, started on some sort of a Mormon mission to his favorite region—the Malay Islands. He tarried a short time in California, lecturing and raising the wind, sailed for the Sandwich Islands, and soon made himself an authority among the believers in Mormonism in that part of the globe. Whether the Captain was from the first an adven-turer, or whether he became elevated with his suc-cess and prospects in the Pacific islands, is not for me to say, but it appears that he managed things so as to secure to himself several thousand acres of land and stock it well with horses, cattle, sheep, & c. In return for the brotherly aid rendered him in amassing this fortune, he dispensed with prodigality high-sounding priestly titles to men and women.
Messrs. BENSON and SNOW "labored" with him, but the Captain couldn't see it, and was by no means prepared to abandon his property and prospects, so they excommunicated him, and left him out in the cold. One thing appears certain, the Captain has made a good thing for himself out of Mormonism, and perhaps he now concludes that he can afford to let ecclesiastical concerns slide. The Captain has two sons in this Territory.
One thing is amusing. Now the Captain is a pub-lished backslider, many sharp persons declare that they always suspected that he was an adventurer, and that he would hang on to Mormonism while he tried to "make his pile," and then desert. The Cap-tain has been more successful pecuniarily than most religious adventurers.
The emigration for California and Idaho is in-creasing through the streets, but does not stay long in the city, the high prices doubtless having their effect in hastening departur . Wagons are fall-ing in price. Several Chicago wagons were sold at $75 each the other day. The demand for butter is such that it continues at 75 cents per pound. Excel-lent times for farmers.
At the April Mormon Conference BRIGHAM YOUNG proposed to originate a mutual insurance society, rather of a private nature. Acting upon this hint the merchants have advanced a step and Messrs. WALK-ER BROTHERS appear as agents for the San Francisco Pacific Insurance Company.
The term of service of a number of the California volunteers will shortly expire, and it has been con-cluded to discharge them in the Territory, instead of returning them to California. This measure, of course, is not relished by the Mormon community, who think that irregularities and excesses may fol-low the removal of military discipline. One thing is certain, at present prices, Salt Lake is an excellent place to rapidly melt their pay, bounties and all, un-less they have the knack of making money earn money, which soldiers and sailors, as a class, sel-dom have.
The weather the present season is remarkable-cool, moist, rainy—more so than any previous sea-son. As a consequence the crops look well every-where, and the grass on the mountains, hills and benches, (uplands,) is better and will hold out later than known for years.
As Artemus Ward would say, the measles are at Salt Lake, a great many of them, just now, and the small pox, brought along by emigrants, is reported in the vicinity.
A party have started for the Weber Valley to lo-cate or survey for the great Continental Railway, which. in a few years, will unite the Atlantic and the Pacific.
There appears to be a desire at Camp Douglas to have the Postmaster of this city removed, he being a Mormon. Complaints are being published in the Vedette continually that papers and other mail mat- ter are very often missing. How true this is, I know not. Charity would lead one to suppose there was some ground for the grumbling, though, personally. I have little to complain of with the mails for the past year or two. The experience of others may be different. There always was dissatisfaction with postal matters here, whether the officials were Gen-tile or Mormon, and perhaps there always will be. The present Postmaster of this city is also Special Mail Agent for the Territory, and perhaps the Vedette thinks the public service would be improved were these two offices not vested in one person.
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