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Grey River Argus, Volume XII, Issue 1051, 8 December 1871, Page 2

Not the least interesting item of news brought by the last Suez mail is that recording the flight of Brigham Younsf, the great Prophet of Morvnonism, and the breaking up of the camp of the faithful at Utah. For a very long period has the United States Government suffered this blot on its social history to remain unchecked and flourish in its midst, presenting the singular anomaly of the exist : ence of a state of Mahomtnedanism, with regard to its. social bearings in the midst of a Christian community. Not that Mormons profess Mahommedanism outwardly, but they do worse, for Mahomraedans do obey the Koran, but then the Mormons obey nothing except the will of Brigham Young and their own animal instincts in carrying out potygamy. Mormonism took its rise from one Joseph Smith, an illiterate woodcutter and a cnte Yankee, who pretended to visions and< had the gift of what uncivilized heathens would call "talkee, talkee" very strong ; and here we may remark upon the strong similarity between the founder of the original Morton Church and of the new churches of which we have heard so much lately as having sprung up in Victoria. Joe Smith was a woodcutter ;so was John Wroe, the founder of the Wroeites, or "beardies" as they are vulgarly called, aud who practise all sorts of "Garden of Eden" mysteries in their Victorian sanctum^ in Fitzroy was alscTih^tlie^lood liiieT^f hey all had visions, and all taught the doctrine of plurality of wives. Therefore it is not surprising that they had followers. In the year 1823, Joe Smith, who was a lazy loafing woodcutter, thought that it would be better and far more easy if, instead of chopping wood for others, he could get them to chop wood for him, so he had a vision at Palmyra, New York, in which the angel Maroni informed him that the world was to be regenerated, and he was to be the regenerator. He annouuced his visions, and, full of faith, he left off wood-chopping, and determined to fulfil his mission, About this time he got associated with one Sidney Rigdon, who bore the reputation of being a respectable tradesman, and inasmuch as Mahomet soon found a disciple and an aid, so did Joe in Rigdon, who acted as his secretary and recorded the visions in a book, and from this time the worthy pair went hand in hand. The book of Mormon was announced in 1827, written, on plates of gold, so Joe said, in Egyptian characters, and it was published in America in 1830, when it was at once recognised as a clumsy paraphrase of a religious novel by one Spaulding, a clergyman, written in 1812. In 1830 the first church was established at Kirkland, Ohio, then Zion, in Missouri, in 1832. From that time till 1840, the new religionists had rather a troubled time of it, when they founded the city of Nauvoo, on the Mississippi, and built a temple, after the imitation of Solomon's. In the year 1844 the sect had grown amazingly, the doctrine of plurality of wives bringing the prophet many adherents in that year. Joe, hi 3 brother Hyram, and Rigdon fell foul of the Nauvoo Expositor, a newspaper published In the city, and the consequence was that it published an article giving the names of sixteen women for whom Joe and Rigdon had .conceived more than a platonic friendship, besides detailing other" little piocadilloes of the prophet and his associates. SmjLtJi declared this was a libel, called hig followers together, and destroyed the printing office. At this sta 5 e t|ie United States Marshal interfered, and Joe and his brother were cast into prison. A mob meeting was paljled, and the citizens determined to take the law into their own hands, and attacked the prison. Smith getting alarmed, tried to make his escape, and broke his nenk by jumping out of a window, and Brigham Yowng now appears on the scene. He was a lawyer, and pretty well versed in knavery, and being an able man he was chosen to succeed Joe in June. It was resolved that Nauvoo should be abandoned, and the valley of the Great Salt Lake was chosen as the New Jerusalem and took possession of in 1847, In 1849 and 1850, the Utah territory was recognised by the United States Government, and clever Mr Brigham Young was appointed its first Governor ; but in 1857 the United States Judge had to leave Uiah in consequence of the proceedings of Brigham. This state of things continued till 1808, when the United Stales Government sent an army to bring Brigham to order, and a (Compromise was entered into, and ,so things h&ve continued till the present time. The society having gone on increasing and sending out its missionaries all over the world, till not even New Zealand was exempt from their teachings. The growth of j this power, having a population of fanaticsaiu\ rogues amounting to over 300,000 was closely watched by the United States

Government, but although they threatened they made no movement, and Bvigham almost defied them to interfere. By the List San Francisco mail we learnt that the Government had determined to put the law in force relative to Brigham Young's bigatnousuproceedings, and made preparations for immediate action, and wo now learn thataßrighara, thinking discretion the better part of valor; has turned tail and fled. Such, up to • the present time, is the history of one of the greatest delusions of'ntodern days, but it remains to be seen whether the flight of the Prophet and the scattering of the disciples will erradicate the evil which has been so industriously sown in the minds of thousands of human beings during past years.