New-York daily tribune., 1858-11-10
sETH v. rfAfR
lbDg' ~ - Erho Canon ard oassas., for
The 0r,e Il Chief Js,si 10 u" plscs Of Jods. ses.
fsys ~Isssl

The 0r,e Il thief Jsst- n u" place Of Jods. sesels.
fye ~iTe.l
Pei grating the exclusive, q the tract Of land IN
Rash Ysliey for herd ground Approved Jan. "a,
1851.
CAPT. JAHEs BROWN
20, Ogden - he most no,or.ons Dants.l
Act grantTg the exclusive right 10 erect toll brdges
on The Territorial road across Ogden and Weber
RIVER. Approved Jan. G, lSJ5.
Act grating the exclusive use Of Ogden Hole for a
h,rd ground. Approved Dec. p, $50.
This il beyoud question one OF the most eXfrsor-
diusry records which any Territory can present.
Thanks to the patriotism Of the frontier population
of the nted States it Is the only instance In which
a Territory Tor eight successive years has perse-
yer.J in series of statutes which every legislator
a. III. time of ,h.ir enactment knew 70 b. uncon-
sttutional No, foot of land IN this Territory has
vet been opened even To prtempton by the United
States and the Territorial Legislature has no more
right to de pose of il than il has Ia sell the Cipt0i
grounds at Washington. Nevertheless, these grants
have practically bad all the validity which the
grantees could desire; and This has happened tor
two reasons: first, because the people are ignorant
of their rights and of the iiegality OF such acts oi
their Legislature; and secondly, because there ma.
been a combination of ecclesiastical influence to
sustain the grants, against which no Mormon dare
rebel The only instance IN which resistance was
ever made To one Of the grantees WAS IN l-.3. IN
act was passed, which will be found among those
have enumerated, granting the exclusive privilege
of running ferries Ou Green River 10 Daniel IL.
Wells for three years This was most valuable
grant, for Green River spans the whole Territory
from north 10 south, and all the Californian emf
grafton is obliged 10 cross II. There were ferries
already on the river at point northeast from
Fort Br3ger. in the hands of some noun
taineers, who had built the boats at great ex-
pense strung the ropes across the river, and IN
the Spring of 1853 We're expecting from the COM
ing emigrants return for their labor. Suddenys
party of Mormons. commanded by Robert Burton
and James Ferguson, which had been fitted out
from this city, made its appearance on the bank ot
the river and demanded in the name OF the Legisl:
ture and of Mr.. Wells, a surrender OF the ferry.
The mountaineer who had charge of the boats 8
stout. honest fellow named William Walker, re-
fused saving that be and his partners had built the
boats etc. and had a better right to own them
than any body else he knew off whereupon he was
set on shot in the back, and yolley of rifle balls
was poured into him az he lay bleeding on the
ground. One Of the parties concerned IN this
butchery, Mormon named Wakely, was arrested
at Camp Scott last Spring. and held to bail in the
sum of =, 600 10 await the action OF grand jury
III his case.
After a glance at the LIST of grants, 1t Will not be
hard for You to understand the causes of the great
disparity Of wealth in this community. The staples
of wealth here are grass and cattle During the
Summer there is 10 difficulty in pasturing the
herds, for the animals grazo up 10 the very
submits Of the Wahsatch range; but with the ap-
proach Of cold weather they must descend the |
mountain slopes, and, when Winter comes, seek
pasturage on the sheltered bottom lands. 1t is
then that these apostolic landed proprietors reap
their golden harvest, charging so much per head |
for wintering stock upon their Illegally granted I
backgrounds. Most OF them also take good care
to have large herds of their own. just so in re-
spect to wood. During the months of August,
September and October, every family is busy lay !
ipg in its stock of frewood for the Winter. Where
the family is large, son is usually employed a
whole month long with an oX-team for this pur- /
pose. The most eligible spot in the vicinity of the
city for cutting wood is Brghams Canon; but the
prestly proprietor under the illegal grant demands
that every third load cut there shall BE- hauled To
his corral, in payment for the privilege of cut
ting the other two loads. He has built q strong
stone wall across the mouth of the canon, and men
are constantly stationed there to enforce the regu-
lation.
The plain English of the matter is that these
grants unauthorized and unconstitutional in them
sely es have been distributed as to benefit few
church dgnitaries ut the expense OF the mass OF
the people Those to Apostle Benson alone have
made him one of the wealthlest men In the Terri
tory. By means of them he has built up settle
ment in Tulla Valley called after the initials of his
own name. +. L. City. Tracts of land which
iayorites with utter disregard to the right of the
sauatter to pick claim wherever he can find un-
and unoccupied land. 1t would be dam
gerous to the personal safety of any man. Mormon
or Gentle, to contest the validity OF these grants.
Let the fate of VIM. Walker bear witness to the |
truth of my assertion. 1t is Il matter in which |
Congress ought to take action. The mass of the |
people of the Territory ignorant OF their rights,
and too pusillsnnousy subject to their hierarchy |
IA maintain them If they knew them.
The week has been uncommOny quler. Ihe
police nave promenaded 10 and fro, but have not
vet laid hands on a single gambling saloon or bar
room Their only prisoner has been Mcneil, the
same man who has commenced suit against
Brigham Young and others for false imprisonment.
He made his appearance IN town one day last week.
very much intoxicated, the result of which per-
formance was that he got 81 ght again of his Winters
quarters in the calaboOse. Upon being brought |
before the Mayor he pleaded guilty to the charge |
of drunkenness, and that functioDary pronounced |
ON him the yndictiye sentence Of $50 fine and |
three months Imprisonment in the Penltentiary, |
together with costs of Court. Application for
pardon was made to the Governor, who RENTED |
that part of the sentence imposing imprisonment. |
Mcneil rendered the City Marshal the $50 hne, but
refused to pay the costs, which were taxed at the
extraordinary sum of S-l. He was therefore re- |
tanned in confinement by the Marshal, but was
brought by his counsel before Judge Sinclair on
Tuesday, upon a writ of habeds corpus. The result
of the hearing was that the Judge decided that the
costs were Illegally taxed there being no Tegritoral
law prescribing their taxation at all the Mayors
Court, and that Mcneil was released upon the
simple payment of the fine.
The California mail which arrived on Thursday,
reports that everything was quiet on the road. DR..
FOney and Agent Dodge were passed on the Hum
boldt. There is reason to believe that all the re-
ports of the Indian disturbances were exaggerated.
The Grand Jury which has been summoned for
the United States District Court, which meets on
Monday, is a queer conglomerate of Mormons and