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Show 255 ment that, "You never made a complaint that was not listened to with patience." This had been a source of contention between Utah and the government for years. More than three fourths of the way through the proclamation the president announced the intention of the document: "And being anxious to save the effusion of blood, and to avoid the indiscriminate punishment of a whole people, for crimes of which it is not probable that all are equally guilty, I offer now a full and free pardon to all who will submit themselves to the authority of the federal government." The commissioners were instructed by the Secretary of War, John B. Floyd, not to negotiate a compromise with the Mormons. They were only to offer the pardon in exchange for unconditional obedience to, and recognition of, federal authority. They were also instructed to emphasize the administration's intent not to interfere with tbe religious practices of the Latter-day Saints. In Salt Lake City Governor Cumming had been well informed by Mormon leaders that there could be no peace in Utah while a federal army threatened them. Cumming did not dismiss this ultimatum lightly. On toy 2 the governor wrote to Secretary of State, Lewis Cass: ...there are among the Mormons many brave men, accustomed to arms and to horses; men who would fight desperately as guerrillas, and, if these settlements are destroyed, will subject the country to an expensive and protracted war, without any compensatory results. They will, I am sure, submit to trial by their peers, but they will not brook the idea of trials by "juries composed of teamsters and followers of the camp," nor of an army 14 encamped in their cities, or dense settlements. After doing what he could to gain the confidence of the Mormon leaders, Governor Cumming returned to Camp Scott in an attempt to disuade General Johnston from advancing his troops before a peaceful settlement could be arranged. |
