Among the more notable acts of the General Assembly under the old regime were the following:

An ordinance incorporating the University of the State of Deseret. Approved February 28th, 1850.

An ordinance prohibiting the sale of arms, ammunition, or spirituous liquors to the Indians. Approved March 28th, 1850.

An ordinance to control the waters of the Twin Springs and Rock Springs in Tooele Valley and County, for mills and irrigating purposes. Approved December 9th, 1850. This grant was to Ezra T. Benson, who, by his employes-herdsmen and mill-builders-had pioneered Tooele Valley the year before.

An ordinance concerning City Creek and Canyon. This ordinance was worded thus: "Be it ordained by the General Assembly of the State of Deseret: That Brigham Young have the sole control of City Creek and Kanyon; and that he pay into the public treasury the sum of five hundred dollars therefor." Approved December 9th, 1850.

An ordinance granting the waters of North Mill Creek Canyon and the water of the next canyon north, to Heber C. Kimball. Approved January 9th, 1851. This appropriation of waters was for running "a saw mill, grist mill and other machinery.” It was provided that the grant should not interfere with the use of said water for irrigation whenever and wherever necessary.

An ordinance in relation to the timber in the mountains west of Jordan. Approved January 9th, 1851. The grantee in this case was George A. Smith.

This grant,

An ordinance in relation to the timber in the canyons and mountains between Salt Lake Valley and Tooele. approved January 9th, 1851, was to Ezra T. Benson.

An ordinance pertaining to North Cottonwood Canyon. Approved January 18th, 1851. The control of said canyon was given to Willard Richards.*

*These grants, it should be understood, were not permanent, but temporary. Hon. George Q. Cannon, on retiring from Congress after the passage of the Edmunds Law in 1882, says upon this subject: "At no time and under no circumstances was any action of

An ordinance to incorporate Great Salt Lake City. Approved January 9th, 1851.

An ordinance to incorporate Ogden City. Approved February 6, 1851.

An ordinance to incorporate the City of Manti. Approved February 6, 1851.

An ordinance to incorporate Provo City. Approved February 6, 1851.

An ordinance to incorporate Parowan City. Approved February 6, 1851.

An ordinance to incorporate the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Approved February 8th, 1851.

An ordinance regulating the manufacturing and vending of ardent spirits. Approved February 12, 1851. By this act the establishment of distilleries and the vending of ardent spirits were prohibited, except at such time in the future as the Governor might deem it expedient to grant a license for such purposes under proper restrictions.

A resolution concerning the Washington Monument. Approved February 12, 1851. Therein the Governor was authorized and requested to procure a block of marble from the best specimens of stone to be found in the State, for a contribution to the Washington Monument, then in course of erection at the nation's capital. The stone was to be suitably sculptured at the State's expense and

this kind taken with a view to bestow the ownership or title upon any person who might occupy the land, or to whom any grant might be given. But our canyon roads had to be made, and it required some action on the part of the Legislature to induce men to build costly roads into our mountains, and to build bridges over our canyon streams. I have known canyon roads there costing over $12,000 to be swept away in a single storm. Grants of this kind were given in the early days of this Territory for such purposes, and also for herd grounds and other purposes that local rights might be preserved. * We lived in Utah Territory twenty years before the land laws were extended over us; we had to do the best we could. As soon as these laws were extended over our Territory we then obtained title to our lands."

*

forwarded to the Washington Monument Committee as soon as practicable.*

The Provisional Government being dissolved, Governor Young, on the 1st of July, 1851, issued a proclamation calling for the election of the Territorial Legislature. The choosing of a delegate to Congress was set to take place simultaneously. An enumeration of the inhabitants of the Territory had previously been made, at the Governor's order, by Thomas Bullock and his assistants. This enumeration, which excluded Indians, but included twelve colored free males and an equal number of colored free females, who were passing through the Territory at the time, was tabulated as follows:

RETURN OF THE NUMBER OF INHABITANTS IN UTAH TERRITORY ON 1ST APRIL, 1851.

* Among other enactments of the Provisional Government in 1850-51, were the following: "To encourage the establishment of stage lines," "Granting Little Cottonwood Canyon to Benjamin L. Clapp and Charles Down," "In relation to County Courts," "For establishing Probate Courts and defining the duties thereof," "A criminal code," "In relation to the militia of the State of Deseret," "Authorizing the judges of the several counties of the State to grant mill and other water privileges, and to control the timber in their respective counties," "Granting block No. 102 (Union Square) in Great Salt Lake City. to the State of Deseret, for the purpose of erecting a state house upon it," "In reference to gambling."

30-VOL. 1.

This of course was not a complete census, but merely an enumeration of inhabitants. Fuller returns were not made owing to the lack of regular census blanks, which had not arrived from Washington.*

Upon the basis of this enumeration the Governor on June 30th made the following apportionment for the Council and House of Representatives of the Legislative Assembly:

He then directed that the election be held on the first Monday of the following August.†

On that day-August 4th-Dr. John M. Bernhisel was unanimously elected Utah's delegate to Congress, being the first person privileged to represent this Territory in the legislative councils of the nation. Dr. Bernhisel was a native of Sandy Hill, Pennsylvania, and was now in his fifty-third year. He was a gentleman of culture, and traditionally a Whig in politics. At this time, however, he represented no political party. The returns from the various precincts showed the number of votes polled at this election to be 1259. The names of those comprising the first Legislative Assembly of the Territory--all of whom, save one, were unanimously electedwill be given later.

July 4th-Independence Day-was commemorated in 1851 by

* Returns obtained later showed, in addition to the above, the following: No. dwellings, 2,322; No. families, 2,322; No. farms, 926; No. deaths during 1849-50, 239.

This was in accordance with a law regulating elections, enacted by the General Assembly of Deseret, Nov. 12, 1849.