TERRITORIES OF THE UNITED STATES. 



729 



which 85,844 arc whites, 118 colored, 178 

 Indians, 445 Chinese; 56,083 natives, and 30,- 

 522 foreign. The population of Salt Lake 

 City is 17,246. In the city there are 606 more 

 females than males; but in the entire Ter- 

 ritory the males are in excess hy 1,277. The 

 present Federal Governor of the Territory is 

 George L. Woods, but Brigham Young still 

 claims to be the temporal as well as spiritual 

 ruler of the Mormon people. 



An attack was made in the latter part of 

 the year by the Federal officials upon the in- 

 stitution of polygamy, the results of which are 

 still uncertain. In September, on the occasion 

 of the challenging of the fitness of several prom- 

 inent Mormons to serve as grand-jurors, 

 Chief-Justice McKeon gave utterance to the 

 following opinion regarding polygamy : 



The sophism by; which polygamy is sought to be 

 justified as being in harmony with American civil- 

 ization is that polygamy is a religious practice ; that 

 religious toleration is one of the fundamental prin- 

 ciples of American institutions, and of the Federal 

 Constitution, and that therefore polygamy is pro- 

 tected by the Constitution, and all laws enacted 

 asrainst it are unconstitutional. ^ If the mass of the 

 American people were barbarians, or if the patri- 

 archal or the tribal system of government prevailed 

 among them, it is needless to say that our Constitu- 

 tion and institutions could not exist. It is not a lit- 

 tle humiliating that it should seem to be necessary 

 to add that our Constitution and institutions do not 

 require nay, do not permit the toleration of any 

 practice which wages war against the existence of 

 civilization. There have been religions which have 

 required the offering up of human sacrifices to the 

 sun, and the casting of infant children to the croco- 

 diles of the Ganges ; but, if such deeds were done in 

 this country, is there in all the land one man so dis- 

 honest that lie would attempt to justify them by the 

 plea of religious toleration ? But why waste time in 

 discussing such a proposition as that involved in this 

 case ? When the burglar is a fit juror to inquire 

 into the crime of burglary j when the robber is a fit 

 juror to inquire into the crime of larceny ; when the 

 assassin is a fit juror to inquire into the crime of 

 murder then the bigamist, who swears in substance 

 that crimes are his religion, may be a fit juror to in- 

 quire into the crimes of bigamy and adultery. But, 

 thanks to centuries of Christian civilization, that 

 time is not now ; and, judging from the steady prog- 

 ress of the human race, that time will never come. 

 The challenger is sustained, and the three jurors 

 named are rejected. 



During the same term of the court Thomas 

 Hawkins was convicted of adultery, in a suit 

 instituted by his first wife, and was sentenced 

 to three years hard labor in prison, and a fine 

 of $500. In passing this sentence, on the 28th 

 of October, Judge McKeon said : 



I cannot imprison you for less than three years, 

 nor fine you less than $300. It is right that you 

 should be fined ; among other reasons, to help de- 

 fray the expenses of enforcing the laws. But my ex- 

 perience in Utah has been such that, were I to fine 

 you only, I am satisfied the fine would be paid out 

 of other funds than yours, and thus you would go 

 free absolutely free from all puniskment; and 

 then those men who mislead the people would make 

 thousands of others believe that God had sent the 

 money to pay the fine ; that God had prevented the 

 court from sending you to prison ; that by a miracle 

 vou had been rescued from the authorities of the 

 \Jnited States. I must look to it tbat my judgment 



give no aid and comfort to such men ; I must look to 

 it that my judgment be not so severe as to seem 

 vindictive, and not so light as to seem to trifle 

 with justice. This community ought to begin 

 to learn that God does not interpose to rescue 

 criminals from the consequences of their crimes, 

 but that, on the contrary, He so orders the affairs 

 of His universe that sooner or later crime stands face 

 to face with justice, and justice is the master. I will 

 say here now, that, whenever your good behavior and 

 the public good shall justify me in doing so, I will 

 gladly recommend that you be pardoned. 



Several other prominent Mormons were in- 

 dicted under a statute of the Territory which 

 declares that " if any man or woman, not be- 

 ing married to each other, lewdly and las- 

 civiously associate and cohabit together ; or if 

 any man or woman, married or unmarried, is 

 guilty of open and gross lewdness, every per- 

 son so offending shall be punished by impris- 

 onment not exceeding ten years and not less 

 than six months, and fined not less than one 

 hundred dollars, or both, at the discretion of 

 the court." 



Among these were Brigham Young himself, 

 and Daniel H. Wells, Mayor of Salt Lake City. 

 Mr. Young was arraigned before the court on 

 the 3d of October, and bail was refused, al- 

 though he was allowed to remain in his own 

 house in the condition of a prisoner of the 

 United States. A motion to quash the indict- 

 ment was overruled. Subsequently indict- 

 ments were found against Young and several 

 other persons for the alleged murder of one 

 Buck, at Iron Springs, in 1857. Brigham 

 Young was placed under arrest, on the murder 

 charge, on the 2d of January, 1872, but to this 

 writing none of these trials except that of 

 Hawkins, already mentioned, had reached any 

 definite result. The trials were embarrassed 

 for want of funds, and, in December, Attorney- 

 General Bates and Judge McKeon appealed to 

 Congress to make provision for the extra ex- 

 penses of the court. 



The material interests of the Territory are 

 undergoing gradual development. It has al- 

 ready 364 miles of railroad, consisting mainly 

 of a portion of the Union Pacific. Rich mines 

 of gold and silver have been discovered, and 

 there have been reports of the discovery of 

 deposits of tin and lead, of large extent and 

 value. Among the great lines of railroad in 

 contemplation is one from Salt Lake City to 

 Portland, Oregon. 



The Legislature which assembled in January, 

 1872, set about taking measures for the organi- 

 zation of a State government, preliminary to 

 asking for admission into the Union, Deseret 

 is the name proposed for the new State. 



Included in the census are 445 Chinese and 

 179 Indians. The tribal Indians are officially 

 estimated at 12,795. The true value of prop- 

 erty was $16,159,995. The value of farm-prod- 

 ucts, including betterments and additions to 

 stock, was $1,973,142 ; 109,018 pounds of wool 

 were raised. 



In the following table are given more full de- 

 tails of the census of the territory for 1870: 



