THE MORMONS IN AMERICA.

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume IX, Issue 931, 5 July 1854, Page 4

THE MORMONS IN AMERICA.

Everybody has heard of die Mormon settlement in America — in the Great Salt Lake Valley. It Is the head and centre of' Mormonisan, and presents features of a character which the world in all its history has not before known. It is a peculiar settlement of a very peculiar people, isohted from the rest of the universe, away from all external interference and control, and founded upon an entirely nevr phase of Christianity ; a bending, as it were', of most of the teachings and observances of that religion to the rules of social life. That Mormonism will " have its day" is certain, as it is also equally certain that it will have its '•reforms" and changes like all other human institutions, and that it will have its sects ot divers opinion 1 !, and tha* these will be splitting of creeds, and antagonisms of feeling. It will 'Aso have its use as well as vs end, and no doubt Mormonit-rn of the present day will be very different from Mormonfsnv a" century hence. It has had the great advantage of having made a good beginning, it has struck out at a time wh°n education, especially in England, is not so diffusive as it .should be, and it has selected for its habitation and nurture a fertile and onp of the most secluded spots on the fare of the globe. There can be no doubt that Mormonism has made " a hit," ami possesses attractions and prepossessions <ns calculated to invite the more sagacions and worldly, as to ensure the dullird and enthusiast. The Great SaU Lake Ciiy is situated in Utah Territory, which lies ire the gre?t basin, between the Missouri and Arkansas rivers, and is part of the recent purchase made by the United States from Mexico. This vast territoiy is for the most part barren, and rmy appropriately be termed a ( ] eser t — or, to use the more scriptural and consequently Mormonite phrase — a "wilderness." There is here and there a fer'ile valley, which )s an exception. Perhaps of all the vast territory, one twentieth part is arable land. The largest tract of fertile land lies within the eastern rim of the great basin, the Nobsatch Mountains and the Utah and Great Salt Lakes. This is about 300 miles long, and varies from & to 40 miles in breadth ; hut even in this valley there is much barren land, and much that requires, artificial irrigation. Besides this "Great Valley" there are several small valleys and oases in the " Great Basin," but they are all small and badly timbered, and are not likely to he settled. It is even doubted that the Great Salt Lake Valley would have become settled for many years to come, had not persecution driven the Mormons to seek a refuge and a home within its distant limits ; so far therefore this persecution has been advantageous to them, and resembles in its effects that of the Puritans who settled in New England. This Mormon settlement is known by the name of " Deseret," and at the present time may be said to contain 100,000 inhabitants — Mormons — and as the immigration is constantly increasing, it bids fair to become a very populous, and therefore important district. For the past four years they have adopted a constitution consistent with that of the United States, and as thoroughly republican as that of ai.y State ia the Union. They have not legislated upon the question of slavery, but they express their conviction that it can have no fcgal existence where it has never been recognised. Brigham Young is their Governor, President of the church, High Priest, Revelaior, &c. They profess themselves devotedly attached to the American Union, and say that it is the best Government the world ever produced, or ever will produce until Christ shall come a«d reign over the earth, for they believe hs will actually reappear and rule as a temporal and spiritual Piince. The Mormons live together harmoniously ; they possess the virtues of industry and frugality, awd are hospitable. It is now six years since they settled in the Valley of the Great Salt Lake, and in that time they have opened large and good farms, erected houses and temples, the latter in a style having much taste and architectural beauty; have made roads, built a bridge across the river, and have built a State or Government house, chartered a University, and in fact have done more to advance the real prosperity of the State than some of the original thirteen. They have, also, during the above period, raised large suras to assist tbeir brethren in Europe to emigrate. Their chief crop is wheat, for which both the climate and the soil are well adapted. Fifty bushels ,

an acre is an average crop, but corn is an unproductive crop wuh them. Sheep in large numbers have been introduced, and thrive well, and we understand there are two woollen manufactories at work. They are subject to repeated attacks from the Indians, whom they always manage vigorously to repel. On the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada are the Mormon gol 1 diggings, at which many of "the brethren" have been very successful, and which bave, of course, materially added to their stock of wealth. In trade they adopt Free Trade pi in- j ciples, except in intoxicating liquors, upon which j a duty, in the nature of a heavy fine, is imposed. Their internal traffic is mostly carried on by barter, and it is curious to read their advertisements, in which' the advertiser states that "he is willing to exchange a hundred weight of nails for as many bushels of wheat," and to see his condescending nola bene that " cash will not be refused," Their " leading journal" is the Deseret News, which is published daily, has two editors, and is conducted with the ability requisite for its readers. Coal has been found in several places in the settlement. There is a strange phenomenon in this region not generally known. From the mouth of the Platte River to the Sierra Nevada Mountains, a large portion of all the moist land is, in dry weather, covered with salt — hence the name " Salt Lake Valley ;" and in some places a surface of chloride of sodium is presented, having the English appearance of hoar frost. The Valley of the Great Lake is healthy ; the climate and scenery are peculiarly American, the former beautifully clear and transparent, the latter presenting a pleasing variety of hills, dales, and slopes, dotted here and there with the sugar-loaf mountains peculiar to America. The plains abound with the buffalo, elk, deer, and antelopes ; and bears and | Fild sheep abound in the mountains. The peculiar feature of Mormonism is Polygamy. This is its cardinal point, and around it I is attracted by far the largest majority of its vo- | taries. Mr. Brigham Young is said to have a,s I many as seventy-r-not " better halves" — but, we suppose, better parts; whether he or they are any " better" for that we shall not discuss, though there are many people who would say '.bat they " were no better than they should be," and from which proposition it would be bard to dissent. As long as they have for their resource an extensive tract of available territory, they will no doubt " increase and multiply," and, we may ad'!, prosper, and hear out Mr. Malthus's views upon population and its requisites for increase. With regard to their political position, it is to be observed that their remote, and consequently isolated, state has not in this respect, brought them prominently before the Central Government at Washington. Congress cannot interfere with their internal arrangements, but the time is not far distant when they will have to take up their position as one of ihe States of the Union, to the conditions anil constitution of which they will have to conform, although upon this last head, we believe, there will be some little difficulty.