G. S. L. City, April 25th, 1862.
Elders William H. Hooper and George Q. Cannon,
Dear Brethren:-
The General Assembly of the State of Deseret having elected your Senators from this State to the Congress of the United States, to present our Constitution, proceedings of the Convention, Memorials for admission, &c., I deem it proper to present you a few ideas and suggestions that may aid you in the performance of the new duties devolved upon you.
It will be well to bear in mind that the action of the General Assembly was not designed to infringe and has not in the least infringed upon our Territorial organization, as the minutes willshow; but merely went far enough to institute a State organization as fair ground upon which to petition, and in readiness to be put in operation so soon as Congress favorably answer our petition for admission. You may be asked how a Territorial Governor will be received, should another come here. You can reply, he will be received and treated with the courtesy due his position, so long as he demeans himself properly and as a good citizen. No one has evinced a disposition to interrupt our Acting Governor, the Hon. Frank Fuller, nor Chief Justice Kinney, the only Federal Judge in the Territory; and those two are all the Federal officers now here, except the newly appointed District Attorney, the Hon. Hosea Stout, who, I believe, has not yet been qualified.
But how, about the laws? The laws of the Territory, so far as applicable, are enacted to be the laws of the State; going as already stated, no farther, in the Assembly's short session of four days, than they deemed necessary for putting the governmental machinery in readiness for motion, biding the time requisite for your answer in relation to the action of Congress on this sub ject.
In all this, after patiently waiting for our political rights during long years past, we have at length only exercised this portion of our Constitutional rights as American Citizens; and feel to still patiently postpone the full exercise of those rights until we hear the result of your efforts in our behalf in Washington.
Entirely inapplicable though it be, yet you will probably meet with the objection that our population should be more numerous. It is already well nigh one hundred thousand, is rapidly increasing at home and by a large annual immigration, and much exceeds that of Oregon now and also that of several of the States at the time of their admission. Besides, the Hon. W. H. Seward, Secretary of State, has emphatically declared "a substantial civil community" and a "republican form of government" the only qualifications essential to admission, and these we most assuredly possess.
Knowing your familiarity with our situation, feelings, political rights, and wants, and confiding in your industry, wisdom, faith, and perseverance, I waive further suggestions at present, and, invoking the guidance and blessings of Israel's God in your behalf and upon your official labors, I remain.
Your Brother in the Gospel,
Brigham Young