History of Utah, 1540-1886 - Brigham Young University

482
THE GOVERNMENT IN ARMS.
adopted only such measures as were suggested in the
message, or as they knew would find favor with the
governor. 2 " Laws should be simple and plain," re-
marked Brigham, in his message of December 1853,
il
easy to be comprehended by the most unlearned,
void of ambiguity, and few in number." 3 Most sensi-
ble advice.
During the years 1852-3 little of importance occurred
in the political history of Utah. By act approved
January 3, 1853, it was ordered that general
elections should be held annually in each precinct on
the first Monday in August, 4 and in section five of
this act each elector was required to provide himself
with a vote containing the names of the persons he
wished to be elected, and the offices he would have
them fill, and present it folded to the judge of the
election, who must number and deposit it in the ballotbox;
the clerk then wrote the name of the elector, and
opposite to it the number of the vote. This measure,
J Officials nominated by the governor were also elected by the assembly,
by a unanimous vote. At a joint session held Jan. 17, 1854, Councillor Taylor
presented a list of nominations, including an auditor, treasurer, territorial
commissioner, surveyor-general, librarian, member of the code commission,
a district attorney, a probate judge, and several notaries public. A vote was
taken on each nomination, and all were carried unanimously. Utah, Jour.
Legisl, 134.
s Copies of the message will be found in Id., 1853-4, 111-23; Deseret News,
Dec. 15, 1853. It contains a statement of the revenue and expenses of the
territory for the then current year. The assessment for 1853 was at the rate
of one per cent, and should have yielded, including the delinquencies in the
previous year's collections, §24,121.09. The expenses were only $14,181.23,
of which $12,301.37 was for public improvements; but during the year warrants
had been issued on the treasury amounting to §14,834.92, and there
were previous warrants, not yet redeemed, amounting to §2,896.66, together
with outstanding debts estimated at §6,000, making in all §23,733.58. Of
this sum §10,003.66 had been redeemed, and there was a balance in the treasurer's
hands of §1,298.41, leaving a debt of §12,431.57, for which there were
no available funds. The delinquencies still remaining for 1S52, when the
assessment was two per cent, were §6,463, and for 1853, §10,523. If these
were collected, there would be a balance of $4,554.49 in the treasury. The
saints are exhorted to pay their assessments more promptly, and the officers
to be more energetic in their collection. Copies of the governor's messages
for 1851-2 will be found in Utah, Jour. Legisl, 1851-2, 100-13; Deseret News,
Jan. 10, 1852.
4 Copies of the act are in Utah, Acts Legisl. (ed. 1855), 232-4; Utah Pamphlets,
Polit., xiv. 6-7. The result of the election for 1S53 is given in an extra
of the Deseret News, Aug. 25, 1853, and will be found in the same paper for
each succeeding year.