The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1894-08-02
STATEHOOD DAY CELEBRATED

HUN. GEOfSGE u. CANNON.
Broad and blessed is the continent of
Acknowledgements ana mighty this
heaven-born Republic of the United
States-peaceful, prosperous and pa
triotic this granite-ribbed mountain.
commonwealth, the state of Utahi Cold
must be the heart, and dull the sensI-
bility, which, under The joyous change
IN our condition that this occasion COM
memorates, can fail to leap WITH glad
ness and bound with gratitude that our
eyes have seen the dawnin5 of shis
day. For with slight para phrasi1g, the
swelling shout Of the patriot s1idiery
from the trenches of Ticonderogd in rs
may also be ours: Now, we are free
people, and have a name among the
states of the world" Let our accla-
nations. burst Though the mountain
barriers which hem US il. or north and
east and west and south; let Them also
mount upward like the snowy bast:ons
OF these ramparts. and ascend in Sra
clous humility to Him who sits ON high,
the great giVer of all goodi
If, as the poet says, the present is
ever but the child of the past, a sense
OF fllial duty suggests at least retros-
pectiVe glance at the attempt during
the last seven and forty years to secure
the precious boon whose giving we this
day celebrate. Appropriate though it
might be, extended allusion need not
here be made to the causes and the i'm
pelling influences which led to the set
Element of these valleys by civilized
man; that patriotism was one of them
viii not be argued, for it cannot be
gainsaid. Themselves the descendants
of patriot sires, some of them nurtured
at the knee of mothers who remembered
the surrender at Yorktown, it is not
strange that the starry flag symbolized
TO Utah'S first settlers the best in hui
man government; nor that, having
brought with them the national en-
blem, one of their earliest acts should
have been to plant its staff and unfurl
its folds in a then alien soil and to- an
alien breeze. If to the desire thus evinc-
ed to live for their country we recall and
add their courage in another tesla
willingness to die for it, as shown in
sparing the flower of their camp-a
battalion to fight its battles against
MeXicO-their case in its preliminaries
is we'll established, and the foundation
is laid deep and strong for the super
structure we find them trying to erect.
Remember that the midsummer of
1S47 was past before the earliest band
of settlers came to and decided upon
this as their abiding place. Until late
in the autumn of that year, and during
the whole of the next season, their
efforts were directed toward rescuing
and bringing forward their fellow
pioneers, who through circumstances,
and in prudence, had halted by the way
side. Then came a moment that SEEM
ed propitiouS for presenting their claims
for recognition. Utah was now United
States territory: its settlement has
passed beyond the stage of experiment;
permanence, growth and ultimate pros
perity were well-assured. The preg-
nant year of 1S49 had come, and its
early symptoms were in the highest
degree significant and promising.
Numerically weak but sincerely valiant,
Utah was ready to assume the obliga-
tons and responsibilities of statehood.
Early in March a convention was held
in Great Salt Lake city; a. constitution
was framed and adopted, the name
Deseret was selected; and a petition to
Congress, borne by Almon w Babbitt
as delegate, was sent to Washington
asking for admission into the Union.
This was long before the days of the
iron horse, or even the pony express
Days, weeks and months might elapse
before the people heard again from
their petition; but American govern
ment they were determined to have; Sc
they forthwith proceeded to elect Of
ficers of the provisional state, and in
July their representatives convened in
legislative assembly. Not until Sep
TENDER Of the following year-Septem-
Der 8, 1850, as our coat of arms tells us
was the petition answered; and then
instead of statehood, Utah was given
a territorial form of government. II
took time to get the news from the
national capital to the distant colony
but as soon as practicable thereafter
| Governor Brigham Young, our first gov
ernor, took the oath of office, and the
laws of the provisional state were
adopted and legalized for the new ter
ritory.
AS already said, this second statehood
convention met early in 1S49-in the
month of March. The second one also
met in March, but seven years later
1856. Again was a constitution framed
again the name of Deseret chosen; and
George A. Smith and John Taylor were
! chosen delegates to present the matter
to Congress.
Seven years more elapsed, and the
| flames of civil war made the continent
! lurid with their fury. Utah was still
out in the cold. but still craving adj
mission. The project was agitated dur
| ing the close of 1861, and the idea OF
! again asking for statehood met witt
! such favor that in January, 1862, the
/ third constitutional convention was
held. The memorial to Congress was
entrusted to George @. Cannon anC
William H. Hooper as delegates; a few
weeks later these delegates were elected
senators for the proposed state; at the
same time John NJ. Bernhisel wa:
elected representative in Congress, and
pending admission, territorial delegate
also; and in the following June tn;
memorial and constitution were pre-
sented in each house of Congress. NJ
action having been taken on the peti
ton, the legislature of the state o
! Deseret which had formally but hope
fully kept up the semblance of its regu
! lar sessions, met for the last time il
1865. and passed out of existence for
ever.
Seven years had been the interva
| between the first and second, and the
second and third of these unavailinE
| endeavors to obtain permission to en-
ter the Union of states. A hiatus o
| to the notable convention of February
| 1S72-a famous gathering, participated
| in by leading men of all parties an(
various factions in the territory. Barr
ring the somewhat homogeneous at
| tempt of one delegate to defeat thu
movement by Immediately moving tt
adjourn sine die, this able and repre-
| by thoroughneSS, craftsmanship, Hber
atty and eloquence. In less than two
weeks it had formed a state constitu
ton and memorial to Congress ani
elected as delegates to present the
same, George Q. Cannon, Thomas Fitcf
and Frank Fuller. Four days latel
these delegates started for Washington
and month afterwards the legislature
again hoping for favorable action OF
the territory's petition, elected VIII
liam H. Hooper and Thomas Fitch a:
| United States senators,
Again lapse of ten years, and tht
territory's fifth constitutional conven
! ton was called into existence-April
1882. During that month it framed anC