Lamoille newsdealer. [volume] (Hyde Park, Vt.) 1860-1877, 1872-02-14
Miscellany.
The Utah Troubles.

In the first place, there is polygamy :
in the second, how to treat it; third,
lack of a settled purpose in this regard on
the part of the governmen: of Washing
ton; fourth. and consequently. Differences
among the federal officers in the territory,
as to how the laws should be administered.
And this brings us to the particular pre-
sent situation. The judges Of the terri
tories are appointed from Washington, but
they hold two sets of courts, one, which
may be called the United States courts,
acting on offenses against the United
States or federal laws, and officered by
federal appointees, as the marshal, dis
trict attorney, aud so forth. Then there
are territorial courts, over which they
similarly preside, which concern them
selves with offences against the territorial
laws, are oflicered by territorial marshals
and attorneys, and run under territorial
legislation. The federal judges 10 Utah
finding that these territorial courts were
controlled in the Mormon interest, with
Mormon juries, marshals and lawyers,
whereby it was impossible, as they
thought, to bring offending Mormops tc
justice, even under Mormon or territorial
laws, ruled that the purely federal courts,
with the United States marsha, and dis.
trict attorney, should deal with offences
under the territorial statutes, as with mur.
der, adultery, and so forth. Being thus
enabled to organize iuries, independent oi
Mormon influence, they proceeded to try
Mormons for polygamy under the terri
torial law against adultery, and also tc
rake over some of the most conspicuous
cases of Mormon numbering of Gentiles
in the last few years. But the United
States furnished no money to pay the ex.
penses uf such trials, and the territorial
government, being nnder Mormon control,
refused, so that bills have runup to many
thousands of dollars for witness fees,
officers salaries and jurors pay; and the
doubt~as to their final payment has prov.
ed one mcars of practically bringing these
proceedings to IA stand-still, while the
question is brought before Congress, and j:
made test of the legality of all this ac'
ton, whether it will appropriate fedora
moneys to pay these and other like ex
penses, or take measures to collect then
of people of the territority,
At the same time there comes up a
difference of opinion; in small degree
among the Gentles in the territory
though they generally agreed in sustain
ing the judges, but in greater proportion
outside, whether these prosecutions oil
prosecutions, as they are variously des
cribed by the different parties, are either
wise or just, or even legal. At this jnuc
ture, General Grant sends new United
States attorney, Mr.. George G. Bates O.
Chicago, out to Utah, who seems to have
taken up the negative of this question al
once, and, finding he could not persuade
the judges and their supporters in the ter.
ritority to accept his view of the cases
arrests the progress of the pending cases
in court. and comes on to Washington to
appeal to the higher law there. Under
his representations, the attorney general
advises that the alleged Mormon murder.
ers be held to bail as tho first step in the
back track. To this. the judges, in theil
Independent and final authority on this
question, demur, So we the men who
can remove the federal judges. to wit, the
president and his attorney general, de6ed
them, and the two are brought in opposi.
lion to each other. Of conrse, if the
Washington authorities have made up
their minds on this matter, the federal
judges must yield or be removed But
this will contravene the great body Of
Gentle public opinion in the territory,
and much of it outside, which we presume
Gen. Grant and his advisers are not pre-
pared to meet.